Skylines 02|14

legendary names as Magellan and Captain Cook,
also had the weather, heat, cold and storms to
contend with (as if problems with navigation, food
reserves and drinking water were not enough)
today’s world tour is a more untroubled experience
entirely, aboard a floating Grand Hotel, with the
only problem how to enjoy the view down onto the
sea, whether to take a spa or a sauna, when to visit
the sundeck, which of the endless menus and
exquisite wines to enjoy, when to check out the
daily evening entertainment – or whether to just
do nothing.
The fact that we can travel through the Suez and
Panama Canals, moreover, mean today’s voyages
around the world remain in warm and pleasant
climes at all times. The Panama Canal celebrates
the centenary of its opening in 2014 – the perfect
reason to travel this passage between the Atlantic
and Pacific for the first time. You might consider
doing so on the MS Europa, which leaves Miami on
22 October 2014 flying the flag of Hapag-Lloyd,
before travelling to Venice via Oceania and
South-East Asia. This relatively small luxury liner,
with room for just 400 passengers, can also dock in
many smaller ports on the way which are closed to
the ocean giants, with their 3,000 or more passengers;
in New Zealand alone, it stops in 15 destinations
the big ships can never see. And if the 184
days the MS Europa spends at sea before reaching
the lagoon city of Venice is still not enough, you can
also board the ship in Montreal and travel the East
Coast of the US down to Miami, with the highlight
of this early trip – where else? – New York.
Each of the shipping lines presents a different
etiquette and atmosphere on board, creating its
own character with highly individual accents.
While Costa boasts a superior leisure and sports
product, Aida and Hapag-Lloyd are more focussed
on the needs of families, offering a wide variety of
children’s care programmes - at Hapag-Lloyd, for
guests as young as two years old. MSC wins its
customers over with a Mediterranean flair, more
laid-back atmosphere, Italian cuisine and design,
while the MS Deutschland focuses on creating the
timeless elegance of a floating Grand Hotel. All of
which means you have a vast choice as to exactly