Ask Lonely Planet: Boutique cruises gain popularity

Picturesque Santorini in Greece is on many cruise schedules.Photo / Supplied

We (my husband and I) want to see the Greek Islands and Turkey. We would like to take a cruise but would prefer a smaller vessel over one of those giant floating hotels. The places on the wish list are Istanbul, Ephesus, Athens, Santorini or Mykonos and possibly a couple of places off the beaten track. We were planning on around 10-12 days.
Sue Dean

For many travellers, cruising the Mediterranean and Aegean is a dream come true, combining relaxation, guided or independent touring, and the ultimate means of transport. Increasingly, people are looking for alternatives to the big cruise ships, preferring niche boutique-style cruises. For example, Star Clippers, accommodating 170 passengers, has seven-day cruises to the southern (Rhodes, Bodrum, Santorini, Hydra) and northern (Kudasai, Samos, Patmos, Mykonos and Sifnos) Cyclades.

For shorter cruises, which you could perhaps combine, Easycruise, accommodating 574 passengers, does four-day cruises from Piraeus to Mykonos, Kudasai, Patmos, Rhodes, Heraklion and Santorini. Mediterranean Classic Cruises, formerly Monarch, has a similar four-day cruise.

If you've thrown your budget out the window, Travel Dynamics offers luxurious small ship and yacht cruises with a 10-day cruise to Turkey and the Greek Islands. Windstar specialises in romantic sailing cruises plying the waters between Istanbul and Athens. You wouldn't get too much change from $10,000 for these types of cruises. Alpha Yachting has some lovely small-ship Greek cruises, but its combined destination cruises (including Greece and Turkey) squeeze you aboard 1000-passenger vessels. Seafarer specialises in yacht, tall ship and smaller vessel cruises. The Small Ship Cruises website has informative details on the small ships of the world. Small Ships has a useful calendar of small ship cruises for 2009 and 2010.

Be sure to read the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade's (MFAT's) travel advisories for Greece and Turkey at safetravel.govt.nz as part of your planning.

Bewitching Venice
We are two "women of a certain age" who have a three-night stay in Venice planned for September. As we'll be leaving from and returning to Rome, can you recommend an economy flight, central accommodation and some "to do" activities while in Venice?
Joyce Insley

Venice evokes strong reactions from visitors. Some find the crowds and ferocious prices so off-putting that the experience is never repeated. For others, this bewitching city casts a spell so intense it lasts a lifetime.

You've got plenty of time to book ahead and find some real airfare bargains, particularly if you book online. For example, EasyJet is quoting a mere $105 return to Venice from Rome, and even Alitalia's return fare is only $228. Venice's modern Marco Polo airport is 12km outside Venice and just east of Mestre, the mainland city guarding the causeway to Venice. Airport bus services link the airport with Venice's Piazzale Roma transport hub, and the Alilaguna fast ferry runs from Marco Polo airport to various stops in Venice, including San Marco, Rialto and Santa Lucia train station (one-way fare $26).

There's no getting around the fact that accommodation in Venice is expensive and in high demand. A hotel in the atmospheric laneways leading off Piazza San Marco would be ideal, not too far from the ferry stop when you arrive in the city from the airport. For very comfortable B&B accommodation, the Palazzo La Scala (twin room $290) has elegant rooms on Calle dei Fabbri, the main drag connecting San Marco and Rialto.

The Ca' del Campo (twin from $200) is a renovated two-star hotel just north of Piazza San Marco overlooking a lovely campo (square).

Tucked away in the streets leading into San Marco, the Hotel Diana (rooms from $300) is another good two-star option.

For more ideas, have a look at the hotel booking service on Lonely Planet's website.

Your must-see sights include San Marco Basilica and neighbouring Palazzo Ducale, the Accademia art gallery, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection of modern art, the evocative Ca' Rezzonico museum housed in an amazing 18th-century mansion and the Arsenale's seafaring history museum. Don't-miss churches include the Frari, Santa Maria Formosa, Redentore, Gesuati, Madonna dell'Orto, San Stae and Santa Maria dei Miracoli. It might be worth buying a Venice Card (three days $160). The card includes ferry transport and entrance to 12 museums and 16 churches.

Check MFAT's travel advisory for Italy before you go at safetravel.govt.nz.

Panama flu risk
I am travelling to Panama next month for two weeks. As Panama is close to Mexico, should I be worried about swine flu?
Amir Agarwal

The World Health Organisation recently upgraded its Influenza Pandemic Alert from phase 5 to phase 6. So far Panama has 221 registered cases of swine flu, and no deaths. In comparison, Mexico has 6214 cases with 108 deaths, while Australia has 1307 cases with no deaths and the US has 13,217 with 27 deaths.

So Panama seems to be relatively safer than many other places you might be considering for a holiday. MFAT warns that there is "some risk" to your health in Panama due to swine flu.

This is the same travel advisory that applies to just about every other country affected by swine flu, including Mexico. See what MFAT has to say at safetravel.govt.nz.

There are not many countries in the world not affected by swine flu and local authorities in Panama may have flu precautions that you will need to comply with on arrival in the country, just as there will be some precautions taken on arrival back in New Zealand.

For the latest updates, go to the Ministry of Health website at moh.govt.nz. The best advice is don't panic, take sensible precautions with your health and enjoy your holiday.