Plenty to see, even close to home

Craving a vacation at sea but unwilling to fly to a port, Jay and Shelly Schwartz hopped a taxi from their home in Maryland and within an hour were boarding the Galaxy in Baltimore, Celebrity Cruises’ new departure point for 10- and 11-night Caribbean sailings.

On that same ship were Carol and Bruce Janniff of Seattle. For years they had wanted to tour Washington, D.C., and Baltimore’s revitalized Inner Harbor, but they also hankered for a do-nothing cruise. A travel agent paired the experiences, booking them on the Galaxy cruise last summer sandwiched between one night at a Baltimore harbor hotel and a few nights in Washington near museums and monuments.

“It was a fun combination,” Carol Janniff said. “We probably otherwise would have just taken a cruise to Alaska from Seattle, since it would have been more convenient, but the opportunity to do two kinds of vacations to places we had never been was irresistible.”

Call it “homeland cruising,” as one line has done, or “anchors not-so-far away.” By any name, the trend toward more cruisers like the Schwartzes and Janniffs is growing this year. Blame fears of terrorism and war that have travelers sticking close to home and cruise lines repositioning ships to what are perceived as safer routes. Or blame the sluggish economy, which has budget-minded travelers skipping expensive, far-flung destinations and departing from ports nearby.

As a result, cruise lines are trying to boost passenger loads by home-porting ships closer to metropolitan areas. More than 20 North American cities will be departure ports, luring locals as well as the broader “drive market” -- anyone within a day’s car ride. Lines are practically falling all over themselves to grab berths in places such as Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, New Orleans, Boston, Philadelphia and New York. Sailings out of the traditional Florida ports of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Port Canaveral will have more departures than before too.

Among the advantages for drive-market cruisers: saving money on airfare and avoiding flight delays and other airport hassles. A bonus for Southern Californians who want to cruise in the Caribbean: You can avoid the long flight to Florida in favor of a shorter trip to Houston or to Galveston (50 miles southeast). A glut of new ships and the resulting slashing of fares make the options even more appealing.

The Cruise Line International Assn., a consortium of about two dozen lines serving North America, estimates that as many as 8 million Americans will take a cruise this year. That’s up from an estimated 7.4 million in 2002 and 1.4 million in 1980, the first year the association compiled statistics.

Like the Janniffs, some of these travelers are exploring port cities before or after the cruise. Packages may include a choice of hotels plus transfers and guided tours.

“We’ve found hotel packages work especially well for cruises of five days and under, where you can explore the area and take the cruise all within the space of a one-week vacation,” said Jennifer de la Cruz, spokeswoman for Carnival Cruise Lines. Her company will have 18 North American embarkation ports this year -- a record for Carnival -- and 50 departures from New York alone.

At least 10 cruise lines are sailing out of Manhattan this year to the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Bermuda, New England and Canada. New, faster ships make possible round-trip voyages to the Caribbean and the Bahamas that can call at three or four ports in just seven or eight days.

Passengers on Holland America Line’s New England and Canada cruises aboard the Rotterdam and Prinsendam can book a four-day, three-night guided tour that starts with dinner at Central Park’s Tavern on the Green and a night in New York. That is followed by a trip to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a drive through Massachusetts’ Berkshire mountains and along Lake Champlain to Montreal, where travelers board the ship for the cruise back to New York. The same ships leave out of Boston too and sail to Montreal, where passengers can disembark for a four-day, three-night motor coach journey back to Beantown. Participants tour Montreal, see New Hampshire’s gorgeous mountains and, back in Boston, join a guided walk along the Freedom Trail.

In Seattle, Norwegian Cruise Line -- the company that dubbed its U.S.-based program Homeland Cruising -- offers two-night packages in conjunction with six-night Alaska and British Columbia cruises aboard the Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Sky. The package, which can be taken before or after the sailing, includes hotel, all-day excursion to Mt. Rainier and a tour with Ride the Ducks of Seattle, a company that shuttles passengers on amphibious World War II landing craft to Lake Union, Pike Place Market and other landmarks.

Also out of Seattle, Princess Cruises offers eight-day, seven-night bus tours around the Canadian Rockies, including Lake Louise, Banff and Jasper. The package is sold with seven-night Inside Passage cruises on the Star Princess and Diamond Princess.

Home-port options with Silversea’s new Personalized Voyages program are among the industry’s most imaginative and user friendly. Passengers on the line’s four all-inclusive luxury liners can embark at any port along a route worldwide, then disembark wherever they like. Twenty percent of the cabins are reserved for Personalized Voyagers passengers, who pay a nightly rate. They must book ahead, cruise for at least five days and arrange their own transportation to the ship. Guests also must have at least one non-American port on their itinerary to comply with U.S. laws.

Competing with hotels

“The Personalized Cruising program works great for honeymooners who might be getting married on a Sunday and want to meet the ship in say, San Juan, on Tuesday, even if the cruise originally embarked from Barbados on Thursday,” Silversea spokesman Brad Ball said.

“We’ve always considered our competition to be as much luxury hotels and resorts as cruises, so this makes us truly equal to a five-star hotel experience. A Ritz-Carlton doesn’t tell you when you can check in or out.”

Similarly, NCL’s Norwegian Dawn will permit passengers to board its seven-night New York-Bahamas cruises when the ship calls at Port Canaveral, even though the cruises start and finish in New York.

“That round-trip Port Canaveral option allows families to spend a few days at one of the Orlando theme parks before or after the cruise,” spokesman Andy Stuart said.

Those who want to explore the historic inland waterways of the eastern U.S. might look at the innovative weeklong journeys of American Cruise Lines’ four-deck, 49-passenger American Glory and American Eagle.

The line, based in Connecticut, offers eight interesting itineraries, including cruises out of Baltimore that visit Chesapeake Bay and Colonial Williamsburg, Va.; cruises out of New London, Conn., that call at Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket in Massachusetts and Block Island and Newport in Rhode Island; and antebellum South cruises between Charleston, S.C., and Jacksonville, Fla.

All the new options in U.S.-port departures come with general warnings:

* New departure ports may still be getting their sea legs. They can be understaffed, particularly with porters and baggage handlers -- a nightmare situation for passengers on big ships. Avoid the crowding by arriving later in the boarding process; never go at the beginning. Disembark as late as possible, especially if you’re not catching a flight. Those color-coded departure times the ship issues restrict how early, not how late, you can get off.

* Cruise lines sometimes deploy older, less comfortable ships to experimental or less trafficked ports. These ships may have smaller spa and gym facilities, lack dedicated children’s pools and play areas, and have fewer balconies -- or none at all. Older ships also may be slower than newer ones, reducing the number of ports that they can reach.

* Technical or logistical problems may force sudden repositioning. Low-hanging power lines over the Mississippi River caused concern months ago about ships departing from New Orleans. If the river rises too high, a large ship might have to reposition itself and depart from an alernative port. That hasn’t been the case so far this season, thanks to modest snowfall in the Midwest. But conditions can change, so check with your line regularly.

* Prices of cruises aimed at the drive market can be unpredictable. Tradition held that you got the best bargain through early booking discounts, but that’s not necessarily true anymore. With so many passengers booking closer to sailing dates, cruise lines may slash fares to fill cabins a few weeks before departure. Passengers who booked far in advance could lose out. Even if you buy your ticket early, keep tracking prices. If you see a big difference, try to negotiate a cabin upgrade. You may even get a partial refund or shipboard credit, especially if you’re a regular customer.

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A whole fleet of ships shoving off from the U.S.

U.S. DEPARTURES:

Home ports: Below is a sampling of home ports with new or expanded cruises around North America. Because of space limitations, not all departures are listed, nor are Florida’s ports of Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Port Canaveral. California ports are detailed on the facing page. The list does include San Juan, Puerto Rico. Though it’s a long flight for Californians, San Juan has advantages over Florida. Among them: Passengers can avoid rough seas and bad weather they might encounter on the first and last days of Florida-based winter cruises. All dates and itineraries are subject to change. For more information, call a travel agent.

THE WEST:

Honolulu: Carnival Cruise Lines -- Carnival Spirit leaves May 2 on a 12-night Hawaiian cruise that ends in Vancouver, Canada, and departs Oct. 6 on a 12-night Hawaiian cruise that ends in Ensenada, Mexico.

Celebrity Cruises -- Infinity leaves on 10-night cruises to Ensenada on April 3 and Nov. 27 and a similar 11-night cruise Oct. 8. A 10-night cruise to Vancouver departs May 20.

Norwegian Cruise Line -- Norwegian Star sails on seven-night interisland cruises year-round. Norwegian Wind takes 10- and 11-night interisland cruises on March 3, 14 and 24 and April 4 and 14; a 10-night cruise to Vancouver departs April 25.

Princess Cruises -- Dawn Princess leaves April 14 for a 12-night cruise to Papeete, Tahiti, and May 8 for a nine-night trip to Vancouver.

Royal Caribbean International -- Legend of the Seas’ 11-night cruises to Ensenada depart March 17, April 7 and 28 and Oct. 1; its 11-night Hawaiian cruise to Vancouver leaves May 19; and its 17-night cruise to Auckland, New Zealand, departs Dec. 18. Vision of the Seas’ 11-night cruise to Vancouver departs May 28.

Seattle: Holland America Line -- Amsterdam embarks on seven-night Alaska cruises May 3-Sept. 20.

Norwegian Cruise Line -- Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Sky take seven-night Alaska and Canada cruises departing May 11-Sept. 13.

Princess Cruises -- Star Princess leaves for seven-night Inside Passage cruises in Alaska May 17-Sept. 13.

THE EAST:

Baltimore: Carnival Cruise Lines -- Carnival Legend’s six-night cruises to Bermuda depart April 29 and Oct. 28.

Celebrity Cruises -- Galaxy’s 10- and 11-night Caribbean cruises depart March 17-Nov. 24 with two exceptions: Sept. 1 and 22 departures for an 11-night fall foliage tour through New England and Canada.

Norwegian Cruise Line -- Crown Odyssey’s 11-night Canada and New England cruises depart Sept. 15-Oct. 18.

Boston: Holland America Line -- Rotterdam’s seven-night New England-Canada cruise to Montreal departs June 28. A 10-night version of the same trip on Prinsendam departs Oct. 2. This cruise is actually the first leg of a 77-night Voyage of the Americas cruise that, after returning from Canada, moves south to the Caribbean, west through the Panama Canal to Polynesia, northeast to Hawaii and east to San Diego.

Norwegian Cruise Line -- Norwegian Dream’s 10-night Canada and New England cruises depart Sept. 22 and Oct. 2 and 12. Norwegian Majesty sails on seven-night Bermuda cruises departing weekly May 4-Oct. 19.

Royal Caribbean International -- Grandeur of the Seas’ seven- to 10-night cruises to New England and Canada depart Sept. 14-Oct. 21.

New York: Carnival Cruise Lines -- Carnival Legend’s eight-night Caribbean cruises depart May 13-Oct. 12. Carnival Pride’s seven-night Bermuda cruises depart July 16-Aug. 27. Carnival Victory’s four- to seven-night cruises to New England and Canada leave June 23-Sept. 27.

Celebrity Cruises -- Horizon’s seven-night Bermuda cruises depart April 26-Aug. 23. Zenith’s seven-night Bermuda cruises leave April 26-Oct. 18.

Costa Cruises -- Costa Romantica sails a 10-night New England and Canada cruise to Montreal on Oct. 2 and a 14-night Caribbean cruise to Fort Lauderdale departing Oct. 22.

Crystal Cruises -- Crystal Symphony embarks on 11-night New England cruises to Montreal on Sept. 4 and 26.

Holland America Line -- Rotterdam’s 12-night southern Caribbean cruise departs May 11, and its 12-night New England-and-Canada cruise to Montreal leaves May 23; a 10-night version of the Montreal trip departs Sept. 17 and Oct. 7.

Norwegian Cruise Line -- Norwegian Sea’s seven- and eight-night New England cruises depart May 10-31. Norwegian Dawn’s seven-night cruises to the Bahamas and Florida leave May 18-Oct. 19. Norwegian Sea’s seven-night Bermuda cruises are set for June 8-Sept. 21.

Princess Cruises -- Golden Princess takes four- or seven-night Canada and New England cruises departing Sept. 21-Oct. 19. Regal Princess sails similar 10-night cruises to Montreal on Sept. 4 and 24 and Oct. 14.

Radisson Seven Seas Cruises -- Navigator’s seven-night Bermuda cruises run May through September; its 10-night fall foliage cruises to Montreal depart Sept. 24-Oct. 19.

Royal Caribbean International -- Nordic Empress leaves on seven-night Bermuda cruises May 4-Oct. 12.

Silversea Cruises -- Silver Whisper departs on a nine-night New England and Canada cruise to Montreal on Sept. 20; passengers also can embark in Newport, R.I.; Boston; or Bar Harbor, Maine. The ship’s seven-night Bermuda round trip departs Oct. 9. Its 10-night cruise to Nassau departs Oct. 16 and includes overnight stays in Philadelphia and Baltimore and stops in Norfolk, Va.; Charleston, S.C.; Savannah, Ga.; and Amelia Island, Fla.

Philadelphia: Carnival Cruise Lines -- Carnival Legend’s six-night cruises to Bermuda depart May 6 and Oct. 21.

Celebrity Cruises -- Horizon’s seven-night Bermuda cruises leave Aug. 31-Oct. 12.

Norwegian Cruise Line -- Norwegian Sea offers six- and seven-night Bermuda cruises Sept. 29-Oct. 19.

THE SOUTH:

Charleston, S.C.: Carnival Cruise Lines -- Carnival Victory’s five-night Bahamas cruises depart June 2 and Oct. 20.

Celebrity Cruises -- Galaxy’s nine-and 11-night Caribbean cruises have departures through March 7.

Galveston, Texas: Carnival Cruise Lines -- Celebration sails on four- and five-night western Caribbean cruises year round. Jubilee does the same through Sept. 15, then switches to a seven-night cruise to San Juan, Puerto Rico, departing Sept. 20. Elation will begin its season of seven-night western Caribbean cruises starting Sept. 28.

Royal Caribbean International -- Rhapsody of the Seas’ seven-night Caribbean cruises run year-round. Splendour of the Seas’ 10- and 11-night Caribbean and Panama Canal cruises depart through April 28.

Houston: Norwegian Cruise Line -- Norwegian Sea’s western Caribbean cruises start Nov. 8.

Royal Olympia Cruises -- Olympia Voyager departs on a nine-night Caribbean cruise March 15.

New Orleans: Carnival Cruise Lines -- Carnival Conquest sails on seven-night Caribbean cruises year-round. Holiday does similar four- and five-night sailings year-round.

Crystal Cruises -- Crystal Harmony’s 11-night Panama Canal cruise to Costa Rica departs Nov. 18; the round trip is 22 nights. Crystal Harmony’s 12- and 14-night Caribbean cruises depart Dec. 10 and 22.

Norwegian Cruise Line -- Norwegian Dream sails the western Caribbean on seven-night voyages departing Nov. 2-March 7.

Royal Caribbean International -- Grandeur of the Seas’ seven-night Caribbean cruises depart through April 26 and resume Nov. 15.

Norfolk, Va.: Carnival Cruise Lines -- Carnival Victory’s six-night Bahamas cruises depart June 8 and Oct. 5 and 11.

Palm Beach, Fla.: Radisson Seven Seas Cruises -- Navigator’s 10-night cruise to Tampa, Fla., and the western Caribbean departs Nov. 8.

Silversea Cruises -- The Silver Whisper’s 14-night transoceanic cruise to Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands departs April 16. The ship stops April 19 in San Juan, where passengers may embark.

Tampa, Fla.: Carnival Cruise Lines -- Inspiration’s seven-night and Sensation’s four- and five-night cruises, all in the Caribbean, run year-round.

Celebrity Cruises -- Horizon’s seven-night western Caribbean cruises depart through April 6 and resume Oct. 31.

Holland America Line -- Veendam’s seven-night western Caribbean sailings depart March 1 and 29, April 12, Oct. 25, Nov. 8 and 22 and Dec. 6. Noordam’s 14-night cruises to the southern Caribbean depart March 2, 16 and 30 and Dec. 7.

Royal Caribbean International -- Nordic Empress leaves on seven-night cruises to the Caribbean through April 12, resuming Nov. 8.

PUERTO RICO:

San Juan: Carnival Cruise Lines -- Carnival Destiny offers seven-night southern Caribbean cruises year-round. Jubilee will do the same starting Sept. 27.

Celebrity Cruises -- Constellation’s seven-night Caribbean cruises run through April 19 and resume Nov. 8. Galaxy will run seven- or eight-night Caribbean cruises with departures Dec. 18-March 19, 2004.

Norwegian Cruise Line -- Norwegian Sky’s seven-night southern Caribbean cruises depart through April and resume in November.

Princess Cruises -- Dawn Princess’ seven-night Caribbean cruises depart Oct. 12-April 11, 2004.

Radisson Seven Seas Cruises -- Radisson Diamond’s four- and five-night Caribbean cruises depart March 4-April 12, then resume in November.

Royal Caribbean International -- Adventure of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas sail on seven-night Caribbean cruises year-round.

Silversea Cruises -- Silver Cloud’s nine-night cruise to Barbados departs March 18.

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Judi Dash writes the Gear & Gadgets column for the Travel section.