We booked what was supposed to be a 15-day wildlife cruise around New Zealand, but because Noble Caledonia had failed to rid the ship's hull of biocontaminants, it failed New Zealand's inspection and was unable to sail until 6 days after the scheduled embarkation date. And instead of sailing around the South Island and its offshore islands, we got on the ship 6 days late in Auckland, and we ...
Love the small ship! We had 100 passengers, so got to know most folks on board. The ship perhaps needs to be updated, but it was clean and serviceable. There were many problems with our key cards not working, but any crew member was able to open for us, and resetting the key was pretty quick. We were in 204, so just steps from the lounge. I didn't go to the nightly entertainment, but the cabin was ...
Hudson River - Fall foliage peak times are hard to predict and we missed the color this year. I would recommend taking a late October cruise in order to see color on the Hudson.
Excursions - The excursions were fee-based, but the fees were reasonable. I thoroughly enjoyed the Lyndhurst Mansion, FDR's Hyde Park home and Presidential Library, Thomas Cole home, Olana, West Point, and the Albany ...
This was my second cruise on the Independence and I have booked two more cruises for 2019 and 2020. We were able to take a New York City tour before sailing giving me a chance to visit the 911 Memorial, which was very important to me. Touring West Point was such a wonderful experience and the FDR Home and Library were a highlight of the trip as well. I could have spent a whole day there.
I ...
My sister-in-law booked this cruise and invited my husband and I to join them. We have traveled numerous times together and have many of the same expectations and standards.
Upon reading the itinerary we were excited for the adventure. Upon embarking, the ship smelled old! The flower arrangements were artificial and very dusty/old and tired looking. The main gathering room, The Chesapeake ...
Friends had recommended this cruise line. AmericaCruise could not be blamed for the weather which was unsaleable. However, as we were could not go to Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Block Island, we were 2 days in New Bedfore and 2 days in NewPort. The brochure stated most excursions were complimentary, but this is UNTRUE. The only complimentary excursion were walking tours. They ranged from ...
We chose this cruise for the itinerary--that is the Hudson, NYC, Hyde Park, fall foliage
Very well organized; ship staff wonderful; small passenger size was important; ample time to connect with friends. We did do the NYC pre-cruise tour; it covered the hi points including One World Trade Center w/well informed guide. Cabin was small, but that size was expected; chose the veranda room and ...
We were looking for a small ship experience and we found it. We travelled with friends who we have cruised with previously on one of the large cruise lines. We had made our own travel arrangements to and from New York City in advance. Embarkation and disembarkation were well organized and went smoothly. The cruise was well run, the ship is well maintained and extremely clean. Our cabin was more ...
We chose this cruise as it was to a unique and remote location with stunning landscapes.
We departed from Broome for an 11 day sail to Darwin. Before hand we had done an APT land tour with 18 ppl who all embarked on the cruise as well.
The ship was a perfect size with 100 guests. We ate all our meals outdoors on the Lido deck as the weather was perfect every day. The food was a good quality ...
We chose this cruise to view the fall foliage and to tour the historic sites along the Hudson River Valley. We were not disappointed on either counts. I'm glad we packed heavy raincoats for this time of the year, as the weather was always windy and it rained 2 days and even snowed one morning. River cruising means very little motion, therefore no one was ever sea sick. There were only 80 ...