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Visit www.cruiselinehistory.com or www.cruisingthepast.com to examine the history of cruise lines, cruise ships and steamships.
Articles, pictures and video clips provide anecdotes of some of the great liners and include “Celebrities at Sea” and “Ships in the Movies.” There also are reviews of current cruise lines and new ships, with candid recommendations by the website editors.
Norwegian Cruise Line (866/234-7350, www.ncl.com) now has a hotline for their guests to call if they are aware of a flight delay before arriving at the airport en route to their cruise.
If the guests are already at the airport, they should rebook through the airline, specifying they are meeting a cruise ship, then call the hotline to alert NCL of the changed itinerary.
The hotline is 800/456-7179 (toll-free) within the U.S. and Canada or 305/468-2029 internationally. The hotline can assist in rebooking hotel packages.
Until March 31, 2009, Blue Lagoon Cruises (2222 Foothill Blvd., Ste. E–175, La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011; 877/252 3454, www.bluelagooncruises.com) is offering family rates on Fiji cruises.
Excluding airfare and beverages but including meals and activities, two adults and up to three children under 15 can book two cabins for F$2,170-$3,470 (US$1,450-$2,320) for a 3-day/2-night cruise or for F$6,635-$7,935 (US$4,434-$5,304) for a 7-day/6-night cruise.
Adventures by Disney’s (phone 877/728-7282 in U.S. or 714/520-5100 outside U.S. or visit www.abd.disney.go.com) 10-day/9-night “Australia Family Vacation” includes Mossman Gorge and rainforest, the Great Barrier Reef, Ayers Rock, Taronga Zoo and Sydney.
Optional activities include the rainforest canopy sky-rail, a sheep station visit, an Outback camel ride and jet-boating in Sydney Harbour.
Land-only rates run US$4,299-$4,499 adult and $3,869-$4,049 child under 12, with discounts given for booking early.
Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ 16-day “From Travemuende to Tromsoe” cruise, aboard the 164-passenger MS Bremen, June 29-July 15, 2009, sails up the Norwegian coast and circumnavigates Spitsbergen, home to polar bears.
Shore excursions (for an extra charge) include a water-plane ride in Bergen over fjords and a glacier, a cog railway train trip into the mountains to Flöyfjellet and a kayak trip in Geirangerfjord.
Prices run $6,930-$14,700 per person, double occupancy. Contact Hapag-Lloyd Cruises (Commack, NY; 877/445-7447, www.hl-cruises.com).
Adventure Life Voyages (Missoula, MT; 800/344-6118, www.alvoyages.com), an eco-based adventure travel company, is offering 11-day/10-night Antarctic expedition cruises aboard the Antarctic Dream through February 2009. The 78-passenger vessel provides passengers hands-on access to wildlife, glaciers and icebergs typically unreachable by larger ships.
Embarking and debarking in Ushuaia, passengers will visit the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. Pricing starts at $6,450 per person, double, plus a fuel surcharge of $400 per person.
The 352-passenger Spirit of Adventure will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth with cruises to Central and South America in 2009, among them the 18-night “High Andes & Galápagos Adventure,” Feb. 21-March 10, 2009.
Following Darwin’s path, passengers will sail from Valparaiso, Chile, to Peru and Ecuador before joining a 3-night cruise aboard MV Galapagos Explorer II in the Galápagos Islands. From £4,354 (near $8,693) per person.
Norway’s heritage will be the focus of a year-long program entitled “Year of Cultural Heritage in 2009.” It will include exhibitions, cultural tours, monument collections and school projects. The website www.kulturminneaaret2009.no/english will present a cultural monument of the week and an article of the month.
A nearly 1½-hour audiovisual presentation on a 40-foot screen, “Paris Story,” tells the history of Paris from its beginnings as a Roman settlement to a modern, world-class city. Headphones allow listening in English. The center includes a 3-D, interactive model of the city plus plasma screens on special topics.
Open every day of the year; showtimes hourly, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. €10 ($13.50) adult, €6 child (6-18). Paris Story (11 Bis rue Scribe, 70009 Paris, France; phone 33 1 42 66 62 06, fax 66 62 16, www.paris-story.com), behind the Opera.
It’s In The Bag (888/261-8211, www.tagsforbags.com) sells a luggage strap that can be permanently attached to soft-sided luggage. You have it sewn into a seam.
The 2-inch straps come in red, yellow or black and fit any piece of luggage, from carry-ons to 30-inch Pullmans. You can have the straps printed with your name or a message or get one that has “Not Yours…Wrong One…Mine” embroidered on it.
The strap costs $19.99 for a plain color or $29.99, printed, with a shipping fee of $7.50 for up to three straps.