EFVblog

Meanderer: a family-owned barge in France

ABOVE: Meanderer on a canal of the Upper Loire. INSET BELOW: Meanderer in a lock, and the newly redecorated lounge.

Independently-owned hotel barges are thin on the ground (or maybe we should say "the canals") these days, so we were intrigued recently when we heard about the Hotel-Barge Meanderer, a former Belgian cargo vessel that offers luxury cruises in the Upper Loire region of France.

Meanderer was converted into an upscale passenger barge in 1992, and its current proprietors--George and Susan Kovalick--have owned the vessel since 2007. They've upgraded the vessel with such features as flat-screen TVs and Wi-Fi Internet access; other amenities include CD and DVD players in each cabin, an outdoor Jacuzzi, and a bicycle for every guest.

The 125-foot (38m) barge has three cabins, with five crew members to serve a maximum of six passengers. Voyages begin every Sunday from April though October, and the barge is available for whole-boat charters as well as conventional cruises. For more information, visit Meanderer's Web site at meandererfrenchcanalcruises.com.

April bargains: On March 13, we received word that Meanderer has opened two voyages in April, 2010 for individual bookings and is offering its remaining cabins for US $2,500 per person, based on double occupancy. The fare reduction of nearly 50 percent applies to Meanderer's April 18-24 and April 25-May cruises.

Carnival Cruises returns to Europe in 2011

ABOVE: A rendering of Carnival Magic, which will enter service with a series of rooundtrip cruises from Barcelona next year.

Carnival Cruises is returning to the European market in 2011 with its first full Mediterranean season in several years. A new 3,690-passenger ship, Carnival Magic, will offer seven-, nine-, and 12-day roundtrip cruises from Barcelona from May to October.

Seven-day cruises feature Monte Carlo (Monaco), Livorno (for Florence), Civitavecchia (for Rome), Naples, and Messina, Sicily.

Nine-day cruises call at Marseilles, followed by Monte Carlo (except the August 26 departure), Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, Messina, and Palma de Mallorca. A special nine-day cruise departing May 1 will visit Dubrovnik, Messina, Naples, Civitavecchia, Livorno, and Monte Carlo.

The 12-day "Grand Mediterranean" voyags feature Monte Carlo or Marseilles, Livorno, Civitavecchia, and Naples, along with Dubrovnik (except for the May 22 cruise, which will visit Palma de Mallorca instead), Venice (overnight stay), and Messina.

For more information, including sailing dates and prices, call your travel agent or visit the Carnival Cruises Web site at www.carnival.com.

Image: Carnival Cruises.

Impressions and images of Izmir

We'll admit that we'd never given much thought to Izmir,Turky until we visited that city during an MSC Eastern Mediterranean cruise last October. Most of the tourist information that we read dismissed Izmir as a "modern city" and suggested that, for travelers, it was mostly a jumping-off point for day tours to the ancient ruins of Ephesus.

In reality, Izmir turned out to be an extremely pleasant city with well-restored ruins (the Agora of Smyrna), a lively bazaar, an attractive downtown square, and--best of all--a waterfront promenade that ran several kilometers along the Bay of Izmir between the downtown business area and the port.

We've put together a 59-page Izmir, Turkey photo gallery to go with our MSC Poesia cruise review. Here's a sampler to whet your appetite:

ABOVE: Izmir's harbor is an incredibly busy place, with passenger ferries constantly steaming to and fro between the city center and outlying suburbs on the Bay of Izmir.

ABOVE: We walked to the Agora, which was the marketplace of ancient Smyrna. Excavations are still underway, but many of the ruins have been dug up and restored.

ABOVE: A few blocks from the Agora, two cats were enjoying dinner from a dumpster while a dapper elderly gent emptied his garbage.

 

ABOVE: Izmir's dogs appeared to be less ambitious than the city's cats: We saw dogs sunning themselves all over town.

ABOVE: Izmir's dogs may be lazy, but the city's human citizens show an entrepreneurial spirit. We saw this impromptu shooting gallery on the Alsancak promenade, where a local man was earning money with balloons and a BB gun.