Cruise

by Larry Taylor, Fullerton, CA

I’d like to commend Discovery World Cruises (1800 SE 10th Ave., Ste. 205, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316; phone 866/623-2689 or visit www.discoveryworldcruises.com) for their excellent attention to passenger safety and comfort during our January ’04 Antarctica cruise aboard the MV Discovery, especially on the Zodiac excursions.

We took an eastern Mediterranean cruise aboard the Azur, Oct. 29-Nov. 8, ’03. It was booked through White Travel Service (127 Park Rd., West Hartford, CT 06119; phone 860/233-2648). The price of $3,006, for my wife and myself, included airfare from New York’s JFK to Venice, Italy, with port charges and taxes added.

My husband and I enjoyed a tour of Costa Rica and Panama, Nov. 6-15, ’03, with Cruise West (2401 Fourth Ave., Ste. 700, Seattle, WA 98121; phone 800/426-7702 or visit www.cruisewest.com).

The first air cruise to Antarctica

Clutching our tickets, passports and visas (at — gasp! — $100 each), my husband and I inched into the Aeroflot line. It was Sept. 5, ’03, and we were bound for Moscow from San Francisco.

In 1934, Queen Mary of England christened the ship that bore her name. This 81,000-ton ship was the biggest and fastest ship of its day and celebrated its maiden voyage in May 1936. The jewel of Cunard’s merchant fleet and the quintessence of grandeur, it represented the finest in ship travel.

The passenger freighter Aranui 3 is the best way to see the lush, raw beauty of the remote French Polynesian islands of the Tuamotu Archipelago and the Marquesas. I sailed on the Dec. 13, ’03, voyage out of Papeete, Tahiti. With cabin space on board for only 200 passengers, the friendly Polynesian crew made us feel like family. Their pride in the Aranui 3 was immediately evident.

We were due to sail on the Olympia Explorer round trip from San Francisco to Hawaii on Jan. 5, ’04. In December, before Christmas, our travel agent phoned to say they did not believe the ship would sail due to bankruptcy of the ship owners, a subsidiary of Royal Olympia Cruises.

On Jan. 8, a representative of Royal Olympia phoned and profusely apologized for ruining our trip. He assured us that the full amount we paid would be put back in our credit account before the end of the month. A week later we had our money.

On our way to St. Barts and ultimately Manaus, Brazil, aboard the Olympia Voyager in December ’03, our eagerly awaited “Grand Amazon Cruise” was aborted — a great disappointment to most of the passengers (and we never used our Brazilian visas).

When the company that owned the ship went bankrupt, we were diverted from St. Barts and stranded for 12 days in the outer harbor at St. Thomas. Since St. Thomas has never been one of my favorite places, these were very long, boring days.