NEW YORK -- With the new millennium inching ever closer, space can
still be found aboard several cruise vessels.
Following is a sampling of what some lines are offering for the
Christmas and New Year's holiday season. All rates are priced per
person, double.
Commodore Cruise Line is offering two itineraries: a 10-night
cruise aboard the Universe Explorer, departing Dec. 29 from Miami
and a seven-night voyage aboard the Enchanted Isle departing Dec.
26 from New Orleans.The Universe Explorer calls at San Juan; St. Croix; Antigua; St.
Maarten; St. Thomas, and Nassau, Bahamas. Rates are from
$1,298.
The Enchanted Isle calls at Playa del Carmen and Cozumel,
Mexico; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Fares
begin at $1,148.
Commodore Cruise Line
Phone: (800) 237-5361
Cruise West is offering two options for celebrating the next
millennium.The first option is a four-night California Wine Country cruise
sailing from San Francisco on Dec. 29 aboard the Spirit of '98.
Fares begin at $1,795.
Departing Dec. 29 from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the Spirit of
Endeavor sails a seven-night Sea of Cortes voyage. New Year's Eve
is spent in La Paz, Mexico. Fares are from $3,545.
Cruise West
Phone: (800) 426-7702
Carnival Cruise Lines announced its entertainment lineup aboard
14 scheduled millennium cruises. The lineups include David Brenner,
Alan King, John Davidson, Richard Jeni, Shirley Jones and Florence
Henderson.Millennium voyages range from five to 14 nights and will sail to
the Caribbean, Mexico, the Panama Canal and South and Central
America. Fares start at $1,649.
Carnival Cruise Lines
Phone: (800) 327-9501
Costa Cruises is offering sailings aboard the CostaRiviera, the
CostaRomantica and the CostaVictoria.The CostaRiviera is featuring a 12-night Holy Lands itinerary
departing Dec. 28 from Savona, Italy. Port calls include Naples,
Italy; Piraeus, Rhodes and Katakolon, Greece; Limassol, Cyprus;
Haifa and Ashdod, Israel, and Port Said and Alexandria, Egypt.
Rates start at $3,099.
An 11-night Christmas and New Year's voyage sets sail Dec. 22
from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., aboard the CostaRomantica. Port calls
include Key West, Fla.; Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, Mexico; Ocho
Rios, Jamaica; Tortola, and St. Thomas and St. John, V.I.
Cruise-only rates start at $2,794.
The CostaVictoria departs Dec. 26 from Fort Lauderdale en route
to destinations in Key West, Fla.; Playa del Carmen and Cozumel,
Mexico; Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.
Cruise-only fares begin at $2,884.
Costa Cruises
Phone: (800) GO-COSTA
Royal Olympic Cruises' Stella Solaris is offering a 14-night
Amazon Rain Forest itinerary. The cruise sails from Fort Lauderdale
to Manaus, Brazil, and features a 1,000-mile voyage into the Amazon
jungle.The Stella Solaris will call on St. Lucia, Grenada, Barbados,
Tobago and St. Thomas. The cruise-only fare is from $3,056.
Royal Olympic Cruises
Phone: (800) 872-6400
Cunard Line and Seabourn are offering itineraries aboard the
Queen Elizabeth 2, Caronia (formerly Vistafjord), Seabourn Sun
(formerly Royal Viking Sun), Seabourn Goddess II (formerly Sea
Goddess II) and Seabourn Pride, Spirit and Legend.The QE2 will depart New York on Dec. 18 for a Caribbean journey.
Port calls include Miami; Cozumel, Mexico; Puerto Limon, Costa
Rica; Cartagena, Colombia; Oranjestad, Aruba; St. George's and
Bridgetown, Barbados, and Philipsburg, St. Maarten. Fares are from
$6,080 and cover port and handling charges and gratuities.
The land-and-sea itinerary offered aboard the Seabourn Spirit
includes a 12-night cruise to Singapore followed by a three-night
stay at the Four Seasons Hotel there.
The cruise departs Dec. 17 and includes port calls in Male,
Maldives; Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Penang, Malaysia. Fares start at
$10,990.
Cunard
Phone: (800) 5-CUNARD
Seabourn
Phone: (800) 929-9595
Radisson Seven Seas Cruises is sailing into the new millennium
with programs aboard the Paul Gauguin, Song of Flower and Seven
Seas Navigator. The 18-night voyage aboard the Seven Seas Navigator
sails from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles on Dec. 19.The Navigator will be one of the last vessels to traverse the
Panama Canal before the transfer of the canal to Panama on Jan. 1.
Rates begin at $11,995.
The Paul Gauguin departs Dec. 23 from Papeete, Tahiti on a
16-night voyage through Polynesia. The itinerary will take
passengers from Tahiti to the Marquesas Islands and the Society
Islands. Fares start at $8,295.
The Song of Flower will depart Darwin, Australia, on Dec. 18 for
a 24-night journey Down Under. The itinerary features a three-night
gala in Sydney before embarking on the cruise around Australia and
New Zealand.
Ports of call include New Caledonia and Norfolk, Australia, and
Wellington, New Zealand. Rates start at $12,995.
Radisson Seven Seas Cruises
Phone: (800) 285-1835
First European Cruises will sail millennium voyages aboard the
Azur and the Mistral.The Azur departs Dec. 26 from Genoa, Italy, en route to a
13-night journey to ports in the Mediterranean Sea. New Year's Eve
is spent in Rhodes. Fares range from $1,500 to $2,300.
The Mistral departs Dec. 29 from Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe, for
a 10-night Caribbean itinerary. New Year's Eve will be spent in
Grenada. Rates are from $3,049.
First European Cruises
Phone: (888) 983-8767
Silversea Cruises combined four millennium voyages to form the
Millennium Silver Odyssey, departing Mumbai, India, on Nov. 22
aboard the Silver Wind. Rates for the 61-night voyage begin at
$52,595.Clients can opt for shorter cruises, including a 32-night
voyage, priced from $35,991; a 31-night itinerary, priced from
$35,138; a 16-night voyage, priced from $30,585, and a 15-night
itinerary, priced from $28,685. The cruises are available on the
Silver Wind and the Silver Cloud.
Silversea Cruises
Phone: (800) 722-9955
Orient Lines' Antarctica sailing has limited availability
aboard the Marco Polo. The 14-night cruise departs Buenos Aires,
Argentina, on Dec. 23. Christmas will be celebrated at sea while
New Year's Eve is spent at Port Lockroy, Antarctica. Fares start at
$5,795 with a 25% single supplement.Orient Lines
Phone: (800) 333-7300
Clipper Cruise Line's Yorktown Clipper will sail from Curacao
on Dec. 24 on a 15-night Caribbean journey. The cruise visits
Bonaire; Cumana and Isla de Margarita, Venezuela, and Port of
Spain, Trinidad. New Year's is spent on Tobago. Rates are from
$4,630.Clipper Cruise Line
Phone: (800) 325-0010
Premier Cruise Lines is offering seven-night sailings aboard
the IslandBreeze, the Rembrandt, the SeaBreeze and the Big Red Boat
and an 11-night cruise aboard the OceanBreeze.The seven-night itineraries are priced from $1,999 while the
11-night sailing is priced from $2,299.
The IslandBreeze will sail a European itinerary on Dec. 25; the
Rembrandt, an eastern Caribbean journey on Dec. 26; the SeaBreeze,
a Central American voyage on Dec. 26; the Big Red Boat, a Caribbean
sailing on Dec. 27, and the OceanBreeze, a Caribbean and Central
American itinerary on Dec. 27.
Premier Cruise Lines
Phone: (800) 990-7770
Passengers aboard Bergen Line's Polarlys and Nordlys will greet
the new year at North Cape, Norway, the northernmost point of
mainland Europe.The Polarlys departs Ber-gen, Norway, on Dec. 24 after an
overnight stay in the city. The journey ends with an overnight in
Bergen as well.
Ports of call include Alesund, Trondheim, Kirkenes, Honningsvag
and Svolvaer, Norway. Air-inclusive rates start at $3,220.
The Nordlys sails roundtrip from Bodo, Norway, beginning Dec.
28. Pre- and post-cruise overnight stays in Oslo also are featured.
Additional port calls are Harstad, Tromso, Honningsvag and
Svolvaer. Fares begin at $2,980 with roundtrip air.
Bergen Line
Phone: (800) 323-7436
Princess Cruises is offering nine millennium sailings, of which
all seven-night and one 11-night sailing are sold out. The line
still is accepting reservations.The remaining journeys include a 16-night South America
itinerary aboard the Royal Princess; a 16-night South Pacific
itinerary aboard the Sky Princess, and a 14-night Holy Land
itinerary aboard the Pacific Princess. Fares range from $6,618 to
$8,910.
Princess Cruises
Phone: (800) 774-6237