The New Dalmatian Cruising Adventure

Nathan

Words by Emma Wilson

Sally practically threw herself at me as she rushed on deck. “Crikey – just made it – both on board and booking this cruise” she blurted. In the next few days, we bonded over coffee on the gorgeous upper deck of the Agape Rose. She told me that she had only just managed to book the last cabin six months ago and warned that she was always late!

It’s easy to see why this cruise is a hit. It starts in Trogir on a Saturday, thereby avoiding the packed port of Split. Trogir is a beautiful walled city under UNESCO protection and is just a short cruise from Split. Soon after departure, Matija, our charming cruise manager explained the choice of excursions. The island of Vis had long been a mystery for me so I immediately signed up for that.

The Agape Rose is the newest vessel cruising the Dalmatian coast and islands. It launched in late May and is small enough to be able to dock in hidden, tiny coves. Elegant yet unfussy with 18 air conditioned spacious cabins, proper en suite bathrooms and with a maximum of 38 guests, comfort was assured. Lunch was usually a fresh Mediterranean affair served buffet style.

As Croatia’s Dalmatian coast and islands are now one of the most popular holiday spots in Europe, a casual cruise like mine (preferably experienced in May, June, September or October) is the best way to see more destination and fewer crowds.

Our first stop was the Krka National Park. A boardwalk led us through woods and past glittering waterfalls where we swam under the sparkling cascades. That evening we docked at Sibenik and I noticed anxious expressions among my fellow travellers as the less attractive side of Communist architecture glided into view. Parts of the waterfront have not received the makeover as other places have, but to me, these glimpses of the past are part of “the difference”. The old town of Sibenik is exquisite with narrow streets, stone churches and the UNESCO listed 10th Century Cathedral of St James with its 71 sculptures.

Next day Split beckoned and since it wasn’t Saturday, we docked right opposite the entrance to Diocletian’s Palace. I’m sure it is no accident that the Roman Emperor chose this beautiful spot for his retirement home. Both the old town and the palace are also now under UNESCO protection.

On the island of Hvar, we wandered across the honey coloured square, home to Europe’s oldest public theatre (1612) and then past St Stephen’s cathedral. On Brac we stopped at Pusisca to visit one of the few remaining stonemasonry schools in Europe. The island of Korcula and her herring bone pattern streets came next and on Mljet we heard tales of the nymph Calypso who captured Odysseus and held him there for seven years.

Vis was the highlight for me. An island and town of the same name, which due to its strategic military zone status was off limits to visitors from the end of World War Two until 1989. My tour took in tunnels, gun emplacements, rocket launch sites, barracks for 5,000 soldiers and the old grass runway airfield (built by the RAF and where returning British veterans still play cricket). The former tiny airport building is now a wine bar and the sign says, “wine bar – aerodrom”. Wow.

On our last day, we headed for the forever famous, albeit a little overcrowded, Dubrovnik. She is still lovely though despite the crowds and I still managed to walk the mighty two-kilometre-long ramparts.

As we passed the Elafiti islands I reflected on our time at sea; including our wonderful swimming stops and dolphin sightings! I had coffee with our captain who shared some secrets about this coast. Now, where’s my 2018 diary? My new friend Sally might want to come and do it all over again.

Example package

Return flights from London (ask about others)
Return airport / port transfers
7 nights on the Agape Rose
Welcome drink and snack
Half Board (breakfast daily, 4 lunches & 3 dinners)
Complimentary daily tea & coffee
Complimentary daily fresh fruit
Complimentary afternoon snack
Cruise Manager
Free Wi/Fi on board

Call us on 01543 258631 to book.

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Great cruise, boat, taxi, hotel, meal (and more!) arrangements in Athens and Corfu. Oliver has this amazing ability to know what we would enjoy, which is why I've already booked my next trip with RB! To the Carribbean we go in November!! 🥳 Thanks Oliver and the entire team at RB!

Zain Qazi

‘As usual, Sam at RB Collection arranged our recent Iceland/Scotland cruise with attention to every possible detail. He remembered what had worked for us previously and used that knowledge to enhance our experience. No question was too much trouble for either Sam or his colleague Clare. We would not consider anyone else for our holiday arrangements; RB Collection are truly superb!’

Hilary Carroll

Wonderful way to book a wonderful holiday. Such a personalised & attentive approach to helping us find the perfect family holiday! Couldn’t recommend more!!!

Pandora Bahrami

They found us the perfect hotel for our London stay. Exactly the right balance of perfect location, incredible breakfast and they really listened to what we wanted. I even had access to one of London best gyms included in the stay!

Katie May Medley

RB Collections are a wonderful family run firm who welcome you into the family from the first holiday you book with them. My special thanks go to Clare who always ensures my booking runs smoothly and takes the stress out of the process of decisions by ‘knowing’ and implementing my preferences using information she has ascertained from previous bookings. I don’t have to remember…..Clare does it for me.

Janet Goodwin

Having just returned from a fantastic long weekend at Disneyland Paris, we had to leave a review for Sam and the team at RB Collection. They removed all the stress from organising the trip and ensured everything was in place for a truly memorable trip for all the family. We can’t thank them enough and we will certainly be back for future holidays. Our experience has been 10/10 👍🏻

Mike Boyden

Just returned home from a wonderful holiday in Madeira arranged by Sam from RB Collection. Every detail from flights, hotel, transfers, recommended restaurants and "must to do's" was excellent and all documents arrived by post in good time for checking before departing on our holiday. Due to the weather, our journey was delayed by two days. However after contacting RB on the emergency number in the holiday package, all was sorted by the team - an upgraded hotel room at the same hotel, flight, transfers, taking away all the stress from ourselves and allowing us to enjoy our extra two days. One cannot put a price on a phone call and text messages when something unfortunate happens and you feel vulnerable. On our return, the excellent service has continued by Sam and colleagues who are now dealing with the necessary correspondence with the airline company. My husband and I and children at home who were concerned when we were stranded, cannot thank the team at RB enough for their support and professionalism and we are looking forward to many more holidays using the company. Tom & Janet

Tom&Janet Marks

We came to RB Collection with an idea of some of the places we wanted to visit in Rajasthan, India - and they made it all happen, expertly and efficiently. Oliver and Clare were a pleasure to deal with, sorting every aspect and adding their own ideas to really enhance this wonderful trip. They checked in while we were away to make sure everything was going well (which it was) and I knew they'd be on hand if we needed anything. Thank you!

David Page

The purpose of this review isn't to confirm that our holiday was a 5 star experience (which it was, by the way) but it's a review to say that RB Collection's involvement in planning, booking and safety netting our holiday experiences has been truly 5 stars. Are people bothered if my wife and I had a great holiday - I suspect no...... Are people interested in the company that was instrumental in creating 5 star holidays - I suspect yes ......and so it's RB Collection's skills and involvement that get this 5 star rating. As a family we have booked our own holidays almost exclusively by ourselves for 35 years - until a year ago when we used RB Collection's services for the first time to book a holiday to the Ice Hotel in Sweden. We chose to book through them because we had no experience or knowledge of the Ice Hotel and their exclusive Ice Hotel Website was great. Their involvement made all the difference - in particular their personal commitment to making things work and since the first contact, they have been getting to know our travel "needs, wants and likes" more by each contact. Our next holiday was a Silversea Cruise - one that we could easily have booked ourselves, but RB's influence allowed us to save a significant (4 figure!) sum. Reason alone to recommend! Our third and most recent booking with RB was a safari which could not have been a better holiday experience. The reasons for this are as follows: 1. Up until raising the possibility, I knew nothing about safaris i.e. where to go / at what time of year / for how long etc. Within 72 hours of a discussion of a suggestion by me for a Tanzania trip (based on a google AI search), I was infinitely far better informed and after weighing up possibilities, we opted for a Kenyan trip to Amboselli and the Masai Mara. What a brilliant decision! 2. Whilst the travel options were perfect for our particular needs, RB's involvement to seamlessly arrange the multiple transfers on our journey came to the fore. This was particularly evident on coming back from Zanzibar (beach unwind) to Nairobi International, which would have presented a significant challenge had we opted for self booking, due to the (multiple) security & immigration stages. (Yes, of course - we would have negotiated the stages - we're grown ups - we can look after ourselves, but oh my. the loss of wasted heartbeats would have been significant!) Turns out that what was arranged for us was faster than "fast track" and I certainly became aware of lots of people looking enviously towards us and our safari representative as we whizzed by! 3. Photography is an important aspect of our holidays. Good photographic subjects / scenes are our means of ensuring that we're seeing good stuff, which - IMHO - is a main focus of a holiday. Our safari guides had been well briefed about my photography wishes and from the get-go, they discussed what we were looking for from our holiday and so every day we had a mutually planned itinerary for the wildlife that never disappointed. Our guides had been particularly selected from the briefing given by RB pre-travel to the safari people. In a nutshell, RB have changed our attitude to holidays and their associated experiences. In our time with them, we have undertaken holidays that we have never done before and we are now definitely thinking differently about what to do in the future. Add to this, the reassurance and safety net that travel agency booking confers and I think that RB Collection definitely deserves a 5 star review. By the way - we live distant to their location - all of our dealings have been by telephone and email so don't think you need to be locals to use their services.

Colin Scott

A big shout out for RB Collection ….they have done it again !!!! Made our World touring a pleasure AGAIN ….having done the cruising in various parts of the world …the Canada trip…..the India & Nepal trip…& just recently the Hongkong Australia New Zealand trip…it’s like being transported on a Dreamliner !every attention to detail from getting to the airport arriving at the destinations & being picked up & taken to the various types of accomadation ….Thanks Team RB & especially to Sam for this last one 🌴☀️😎

Linda Taylor

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