MIAMI --
Attention, shoppers: No need to wander the streets of Florence
alone, searching for the perfect Italian leather shoes while your
platinum card burns a hole in your designer handbag.
At least, not if
youre in Florence courtesy of a Seabourn cruise. The line
introduced shopping-focused shore excursions, which include a
private car and a personal shopper as a guide.
This is not a
tour for folks seeking out souvenirs but for Seabourns
well-traveled clientele who wish to visit shops, boutiques and
ateliers of the finest local designers, craftsmen and
artists.
In Florence, for
example, the personal shopper can call ahead to Ferragamo and have
preselected sizes waiting.
A taxi is fine if
you know exactly what you want and where to get it, said Deborah
Natansohn, Seabourns president.
But we thought it
would be nice to introduce our guests to a local shopping maven who
can help them make the most of their time and direct them to the
best things the place has to offer.
Shopping
excursions are available in Cannes and Nice, France; Monaco;
Athens; Istanbul, Turkey; Copenhagen, Denmark; Bangkok; Hong Kong;
and St. Petersburg, Russia. More are planned.
Half-day tours
start at $295, depending on the location.
Want to shop till
you drop? Full-day tours, including lunch at a local restaurant, go
as high as $895.
To contact
the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail to Rebecca Tobin
at [email protected].