Trophy ports - Cruise Views

Cruise Travel, Nov-Dec, 2003 by M. T. Schwartzman

Do you "collect" exotic ports? Do you like to travel off the beaten path? Do you revel in "discovering" places no one else has heard of? Then join the club.

Cruise lines are keenly aware of "port collectors" and design itineraries especially for us. Long the domain of expedition and luxury lines, "destination cruising" (as it's known in the business) is becoming increasingly affordable, accessible, and mainstream.

Trophy ports can be found anywhere. While many are located halfway around the world, others are surprisingly close. But distance is not the true measure of a trophy port: It doesn't matter where they are located; all that counts is whether they satisfy the explorer within you.

In the salad days of my cruise career, I began selecting trips based on their destination. First I traveled to the Amazon with Royal Viking Line. Here I began my collection with Manaus, a city in the middle of the rain forest, a thousand miles upriver. Manaus, I like to say, is the Manhattan of the Amazon. Populated by a million people, it is the point where civilization and the wilderness meet, creating something in between.

Next I went to India with Pearl Cruises. Here I found Cochin. Located on the southwest tip of the Subcontinent, facing the Indian Ocean, Cochin is one of the world's great melting pots of culture, where people of multiple religions and ethnic backgrounds have lived peaceably for centuries. Once the province of the Portuguese, then the Dutch, and later the British, its influences range from Oriental to Judeo-Christian--King Solomon is said to have paid a visit here in 1,000 B.C.

Sometimes, trophy ports are discovered quite by accident. I was on Royal Olympic Cruises' perennial "Maya Equinox" cruise when I added San Pedro Sula to my collection. Our call was in the nearby port facility of Puerto Cones, which served as a launching point for excursions to the nearby Mayan ruins. However, I decided to opt for an alternative city tour in order to see a more modern side of Central America.

San Pedro Sula turned out to be a bustling, clean, and prosperous city--the second largest, I learned, in Honduras. Our tour guide was exceptional, explaining the economic and political changes that had swept over Honduras since democracy took root. The city itself was quite charming, featuring wide, tree-lined boulevards. Familiar sights included American fast-food chains like Burger King and KFC. It was truly an enlightening experience.

Without a doubt, though, the best port in my collection is Archangel, a sub Arctic Russian city just inland from the White Sea. I traveled here in 1999 aboard the Finnish expedition vessel Kristina Regina. Archangel was an interesting town--colorful and historical. In many ways, it looked a lot like a smaller and forgotten St. Petersburg. Its naval museum was top-notch, public parks were plentiful, and its beach and waterfront promenade were an unexpected surprise in this sub-Arctic climate.

But it wasn't until after our tour that I realized Archangel's significance. As we untied from the pier, I decided to go up ondeck and watch us leave. After all, I figured, I'll probably never be back in Archangel, and I wanted to take one last look as we pulled away. As I stood at the rail, something in the back of my mind seemed familiar. "Archangel," I kept saying to myself, "Archangel."

Then it hit me: New Archangel, the Russian name for what today we call Sitka in Alaska. When I returned home, I called the Sitka Historical Society. I told them my story, and asked if there was any connection. "Yes," they answered, "as a matter of fact, Alexander Baronov, the founder of Sitka, grew up outside Archangel." So I believe I can safely say I'm one of the few people in the world who has been to Archangel and New Archangel!

Of course, the best part of collecting trophy ports is sharing them with your friends. People always ask, "What's the most interesting place you've been to?" Or sometimes they ask, "What's your favorite ship?" To that I reply, "I don't have a favorite ship, but I do have a favorite place."

So what's your favorite trophy port? Drop us a line--we'd like to know.