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What happens when die-hard Disney Cruise Line fans trade the resort at sea for a river cruise ship? We’re joined by Tracy and Michael Ondrejko, who know Disney at 4,000-passenger scale and have sailed nearly every Disney ship (Tracy is up to 29 cruises). They share their first Adventures by Disney river cruise through Holland and Belgium aboard AmaWaterways’ AmaLea.
They tell us about every fear that came with that swap, starting with the food. We get into how their resident picky eater fared without a massive buffet, the hidden menu page she didn’t find until day four, and how the Chef’s Table went out of its way for her. We also talk about what it’s like sharing a small ship with other people’s kids when your own are grown, how much Disney magic actually makes it on board, and why they added extra days in London after the cruise.
If you love Disney’s level of service but have wondered whether a smaller ship and a port-intensive pace would work for you, this conversation gives you an honest look; the destinations become the vacation, and that changes everything.
Follow them at @adriftogether on Instagram: https://instagram.com/adrifttogether
Listen to our ABD Disney river cruise interview with DCL Duo here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2448059/episodes/17704885
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Need help planning your trip? Check out our RESOURCES, whether you're looking to understand which cruise to book, which travel insurance is best, or how to organize your luggage with our packing lists: https://sometimessailing.com/resources/
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🌏 SometimesSailing.com has even more planning tips, firsthand experiences, & advice.
📱 Have questions or topic suggestions? Contact us.
©2026 Small Ship Cruise Talk. All rights reserved. May contain affiliate links. Some trips and experiences have been hosted. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions are our own.
Bergen is one of the easiest cruise ports in Norway to explore on your own, and even if you only have two days, we're showing you exactly how to make the most of your time here. We walk you through where Viking and Havila ships dock, how close you are to Old Town, and where to find the most spectacular sights and aerial views over the city.
Viking ships tie up next to the historic Bergenhus Fortress, so you're nearly in the middle of it all; it's about a 10-minute walk to the main attractions, and Bryggen is only 15 minutes away. We share what we thought of the Hanseatic Museum and the Troll Museum, plus the two stops we'd tell every cruiser not to skip: Bryggen and the Fløibanen funicular up Mount Fløyen, where a hike and a sunset dinner at the top became our favorite night in Bergen.
If you're planning a Norway cruise, this is the walkable port-day plan you'll want to get right. Stay to the end for a bonus: our complete Bergen guide, with links to book and a suggested timeline.
• Shop our CRUISE ESSENTIALS on Amazon (don’t forget your rain gear - Bergen is notoriously rainy!) https://www.amazon.com/shop/sometimeshome/list/385CQ05UCQ86Y?ref_=aipsflist&tag=sometimesho0f-20
• Find our favorite outerwear and shoes for the rain in our ShopMy store: https://shopmy.us/sometimessailing/shelves
★ Find the links we mention below:
• Havila Voyages episode: https://pod.link/1802110861/episode/QnV6enNwcm91dC0xOTg1MDI3MQ
• Viking British Isles Cruise episode: coming November 4!
• We never travel without insurance! Book travel insurance before it’s too late: https://sometimessailing.com/2pt3
If you knit, like Mikkel, check out the yarn/knitting shop in Bergen that she mentioned she loved, called Strikkelykke: https://share.google/lK9qb7X2ioqdztjgf
Museums and restaurants we mention during this episode include:
Visit our website, where you'll find the companion article about Bergen on our website, complete with photos of every place we visited and our memorable meal: https://sometimessailing.com/bergen-cruise-port-guide-things-to-do-in-2-days/
Ask a question or send fan mail.
Support the show
👉🏻 Press that FOLLOW button so you never miss an episode, released every other Wednesday.
Need help planning your trip? Check out our RESOURCES, whether you're looking to understand which cruise to book, which travel insurance is best, or how to organize your luggage with our packing lists: https://sometimessailing.com/resources/
▶️ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @sometimes-sailing
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🌏 SometimesSailing.com has even more planning tips, firsthand experiences, & advice.
📱 Have questions or topic suggestions? Contact us.
©2026 Small Ship Cruise Talk. All rights reserved. May contain affiliate links. Some trips and experiences have been hosted. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions are our own.
🚨 Explora Journeys, the luxury ocean cruise line from MSC Group, announced it has signed a letter of intent, signaling without a doubt that it is entering the world of luxury river cruises, with bookings and more details on the horizon in 2027.
Today, we share the monumental announcement and how we found out the breaking news.
Be sure to subscribe to the show for notifications of more breaking news about Explora Journeys and the world of small ship cruising.
Listen to our episode about MSC Cruises' Yacht Club here:
Ask a question or send fan mail.
Support the show
👉🏻 Press that FOLLOW button so you never miss an episode, released every other Wednesday.
Need help planning your trip? Check out our RESOURCES, whether you're looking to understand which cruise to book, which travel insurance is best, or how to organize your luggage with our packing lists: https://sometimessailing.com/resources/
▶️ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @sometimes-sailing
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🌏 SometimesSailing.com has even more planning tips, firsthand experiences, & advice.
📱 Have questions or topic suggestions? Contact us.
©2026 Small Ship Cruise Talk. All rights reserved. May contain affiliate links. Some trips and experiences have been hosted. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions are our own.
Thinking about a cruise along Norway’s coast with Havila Voyages? We spent six days sailing southbound from Kirkenes to Bergen aboard Havila Pollux, and we're sharing everything we wish we'd known before we sailed. It's a practical guide to help you plan with confidence.
We cover how to get to remote Kirkenes (there's no Uber, no taxis waiting there to take you to town, and the airport bus may not line up with your flight). We also get into what's in the staterooms and what's missing, how dining works with assigned seatings and repeating menus, and whether the Hildring fine dining and the beverage packages are worth the money. Plus, why you'll want to download movies before you go, how rough the Norwegian Sea got, and the seasickness gear that kept Dan from needing those Havila-branded seasick bags.
Then we head into the ports. You'll hear why "over 30 stops" isn't what it sounds like, how to make the most of Tromsø at midnight, and the two excursions we'd recommend. One of them is the Trollfjord Sea Eagle Safari, where we spotted 17 eagles and watched our ship glide silently into the breathtaking fjord on battery power. We also cover the new Coastal Stopover program in Lofoten and the behind-the-scenes Insider Tour you can't miss.
Finally, we share our thoughts on who this trip is really for, and we answer the much-debated question about whether Havila is a cruise, a ferry, or a cargo ship.
Find the Tromsø Midnight Concert, our favorite binoculars, the travel adapter we swear by, seasickness remedies, and more below:
Ask a question or send fan mail.
Support the show
👉🏻 Press that FOLLOW button so you never miss an episode, released every other Wednesday.
Need help planning your trip? Check out our RESOURCES, whether you're looking to understand which cruise to book, which travel insurance is best, or how to organize your luggage with our packing lists: https://sometimessailing.com/resources/
▶️ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @sometimes-sailing
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🌏 SometimesSailing.com has even more planning tips, firsthand experiences, & advice.
📱 Have questions or topic suggestions? Contact us.
©2026 Small Ship Cruise Talk. All rights reserved. May contain affiliate links. Some trips and experiences have been hosted. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions are our own.
We're on Colombia’s Magdalena River, aboard AmaMagdalena with AmaWaterways, sharing everything you need to know before this bucket-list birding excursion, from spotting Kingfishers and the endemic Northern Screamer to exactly how to prepare and pack so you're comfortable for the full two hours on the water, with no regrets.
The reward for your early birding wake-up call is a special breakfast waiting back on the ship that we tell you all about, plus a few surprises along the way that had nothing to do with birds at all. Grab our full breakdown of the gear that made this excursion even better below:
Listen to this episode to hear more about our Colombia River Cruise experience with AmaWaterways: https://pod.link/1802110861/episode/QnV6enNwcm91dC0xOTU4NTQ1OQ
Or watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/j34hYWtJBMg
Be sure to follow our show on your podcast app, or follow and hit the 🔔 icon to be notified of new content on YouTube: @sometimes-sailing
Ask a question or send fan mail.
Support the show
👉🏻 Press that FOLLOW button so you never miss an episode, released every other Wednesday.
Need help planning your trip? Check out our RESOURCES, whether you're looking to understand which cruise to book, which travel insurance is best, or how to organize your luggage with our packing lists: https://sometimessailing.com/resources/
▶️ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @sometimes-sailing
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🌏 SometimesSailing.com has even more planning tips, firsthand experiences, & advice.
📱 Have questions or topic suggestions? Contact us.
©2026 Small Ship Cruise Talk. All rights reserved. May contain affiliate links. Some trips and experiences have been hosted. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions are our own.
🇨🇴 We just got back from Colombia, where we sailed the Magdalena River with AmaWaterways, the only cruise line currently sailing this river. If you've been curious about small ship cruising somewhere off the usual radar (but maybe you’ve already done the Mekong River or you’re simply looking to fly to a location near North America), we're walking you through exactly what to expect: the ship, the itinerary, the area’s offerings, and whether Colombia is actually safe.
We cover the differences between the two river ships — AmaMagdalena & AmaMelodia — which itinerary direction we'd pick again, and logistics like flights and currency. We also cover onboard life, from the wellness program and emerald shopping to the delicious food and drinks, our favorite excursions, and a few things to weigh if mobility or noise is a concern for you.
If you're considering this cruise or just want a real, honest take on visiting Colombia, tune in!
🦜 Watch our episode about the not-to-miss bird watching excursion during this cruise (with birding video footage!): https://youtu.be/bXVEn03cses
Grab our packing recommendations and links to everything we mention below:
Ask a question or send fan mail.
Support the show
👉🏻 Press that FOLLOW button so you never miss an episode, released every other Wednesday.
Need help planning your trip? Check out our RESOURCES, whether you're looking to understand which cruise to book, which travel insurance is best, or how to organize your luggage with our packing lists: https://sometimessailing.com/resources/
▶️ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @sometimes-sailing
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🌏 SometimesSailing.com has even more planning tips, firsthand experiences, & advice.
📱 Have questions or topic suggestions? Contact us.
©2026 Small Ship Cruise Talk. All rights reserved. May contain affiliate links. Some trips and experiences have been hosted. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions are our own.
Forgetting a travel adapter can turn "Let's go see Buckingham Palace" into "Where's the nearest electronics store?" ‼️ We know, because it happened to us. ‼️
Let’s talk about the travel adapter brand we've trusted for a long time (since we embarked on our fourteen-month "gap year" of travel years ago), called TESSAN. We're walking through the exact lineup of products we have at home so we’re fully equipped to pack for any trip correctly, no matter what country we’re visiting around the world.
(The YouTube version of this episode shows us holding the products: https://youtu.be/cKn9RHTBi_0
Or view photos in the article on our website: https://sometimessailing.com/best-travel-adapters-for-europe-japan-and-worldwide/ )
This episode is sponsored by TESSAN.
Watch us on YouTube to see each product up close, or listen along; either way, everything we mention is linked in the show notes.
We break down what we use, including our go-to 7-in-1 adapter for mainland Europe (Rhine River cruises, Danube cruises, tulip season in the Netherlands, and more), a sleek pop-out-pin adapter that covers Europe in a compact design with lightning speed, what you need for UK outlets, and the swap-tip universal adapter that works in 200+ countries, which is ideal if you're doing a world cruise.
We also get into our Japan-specific pick (a lifesaver in older buildings with limited outlets), the fast-charging power bank that bailed us out mid-trip in upstate New York, and the surge protector we now keep at home.
Plus, we tell the story of landing in London straight off a Rhine River cruise with the wrong adapter in hand — and exactly how to avoid that mistake before your next trip.
🧳 Find all the products below on TESSAN: https://tessan.com/CRUISE
➡︎ US to Europe Adapter: Our favorite Europe go-to that we’ve had for years!
➡︎ Ultra Thin Universal Adapter
➡︎ 6-in-1 Universal Adapter Kit
➡︎ US to Japan Adapter
➡︎ 10000mAh Portable Charger with Built-In Cables
➡︎ Surge Protector Outlet Splitter
Ask a question or send fan mail.
Support the show
👉🏻 Press that FOLLOW button so you never miss an episode, released every other Wednesday.
Need help planning your trip? Check out our RESOURCES, whether you're looking to understand which cruise to book, which travel insurance is best, or how to organize your luggage with our packing lists: https://sometimessailing.com/resources/
▶️ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @sometimes-sailing
📩 Sign up for our newsletter.
🌏 SometimesSailing.com has even more planning tips, firsthand experiences, & advice.
📱 Have questions or topic suggestions? Contact us.
©2026 Small Ship Cruise Talk. All rights reserved. May contain affiliate links. Some trips and experiences have been hosted. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions are our own.
Surprising someone with a cruise takes more than just booking the trip; the reveal is where the magic happens. We're walking you through 17 creative ways to announce a cruise, from low-effort tricks you can pull off in an afternoon to elaborate reveals that turn into an adventure of their own.
We cover memory books, jewelry ideas, scavenger hunts, custom puzzles, countdown calendars, and even a special call from Disney that is perfect for children and kids at heart.
Some ideas stand on their own while others build on each other. We also share a family story of our own, including how a last-minute "whisked away" trip turned into a proposal.
Whether you want something you can pull together tonight or a surprise that takes days or weeks of planning, there's an idea for you. Grab our free downloadable PDF with all 17 ideas, plus links to everything we mention below:
✨ Get the FREE DOWNLOADABLE PDF with all 17 ideas on this page: https://sometimessailing.com/surprise-cruise-reveal-ideas/ ✨
Ask a question or send fan mail.
Support the show
👉🏻 Press that FOLLOW button so you never miss an episode, released every other Wednesday.
Need help planning your trip? Check out our RESOURCES, whether you're looking to understand which cruise to book, which travel insurance is best, or how to organize your luggage with our packing lists: https://sometimessailing.com/resources/
▶️ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @sometimes-sailing
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🌏 SometimesSailing.com has even more planning tips, firsthand experiences, & advice.
📱 Have questions or topic suggestions? Contact us.
©2026 Small Ship Cruise Talk. All rights reserved. May contain affiliate links. Some trips and experiences have been hosted. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions are our own.
The coastal drive we planned before and after our Maine Windjammer Cruise was worth the trip! We're breaking down our full pre- and post-cruise road trip, from flying into Portland (including the vital tip about booking travel that could make or break your flights) to the small towns, slow drives, great food, and memorable museums along the coast.
We're covering the full pre- and post-cruise itinerary, including the convenient and delightful hotels where we stayed along the coast and what slow travel in Maine actually looks like, from what to pack to where to eat along the way.
This one's built for planning: we'll walk through how much drive time to budget between towns, rental car tips, and the easy-to-miss logistics like return-time cutoffs and why a buffer day on each end of your cruise makes the whole trip less stressful.
Join us as we take you through:
Read the article on our site *with photos* of everywhere we went and stayed: https://sometimessailing.com/7-day-road-trip-along-maines-coast/
Hotels we stayed in:
More helpful info from this episode:
Find out more about our Maine Windjammer Cruise experience on Grace Bailey: https://pod.link/1802110861/episode/QnV6enNwcm91dC0xOTQ2NjI5NA
Ask a question or send fan mail.
Support the show
👉🏻 Press that FOLLOW button so you never miss an episode, released every other Wednesday.
Need help planning your trip? Check out our RESOURCES, whether you're looking to understand which cruise to book, which travel insurance is best, or how to organize your luggage with our packing lists: https://sometimessailing.com/resources/
▶️ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @sometimes-sailing
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🌏 SometimesSailing.com has even more planning tips, firsthand experiences, & advice.
📱 Have questions or topic suggestions? Contact us.
©2026 Small Ship Cruise Talk. All rights reserved. May contain affiliate links. Some trips and experiences have been hosted. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions are our own.
We spent three nights aboard Grace Bailey, a historic schooner in the Maine Windjammer fleet, and we're breaking down everything you need to know for consideration before booking your trip.
From the small cabin to the beach lobster bake (s'mores included), we share what daily life actually looks like on a 19th-century sailing ship with no Wi-Fi, no fixed itinerary, and the ship's cat, named Fiji, who steals the show.
Join us to learn about the accommodations, food, and the realities of sleeping below deck crew traffic — plus what to pack, how the honor-system doors work, and why carabiners became our best friend on board. We also get into the cost, from the per-person price to the Maine resident discount, and explain why Grace Bailey's "Captain's Choice" itinerary means no two cruises look the same.
If you've never considered a Maine Windjammer cruise, or didn't know they existed, this episode will help you decide if slow, unplugged sailing is for you.
Helpful resources from this episode:
Listen to our additional Maine Windjammer Cruise episodes:
Ask a question or send fan mail.
Support the show
👉🏻 Press that FOLLOW button so you never miss an episode, released every other Wednesday.
Need help planning your trip? Check out our RESOURCES, whether you're looking to understand which cruise to book, which travel insurance is best, or how to organize your luggage with our packing lists: https://sometimessailing.com/resources/
▶️ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @sometimes-sailing
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🌏 SometimesSailing.com has even more planning tips, firsthand experiences, & advice.
📱 Have questions or topic suggestions? Contact us.
©2026 Small Ship Cruise Talk. All rights reserved. May contain affiliate links. Some trips and experiences have been hosted. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions are our own.
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