Seeing the World on Long Sailings

After a nervous year of staying close to home, the pent-up demand for longer cruises--even traditional world cruises--seems stronger than ever, especially for classic long-voyage vessels such as Cunard’s QE2 and Holland America’s Rotterdam.

Circumnavigations of South America have become popular for their moderate prices, and South Pacific voyages--with their languid, tropical ports--capture the imagination of people who want to get away from winter.

Chandris’ Britanis departed last week on its fifth-annual circuit, a 50-day voyage calling at 16 ports. The sailing has been so successful that the line does not sell segments, perhaps due in part to prices that begin as low as $117 a day per person, double occupancy.

Regency Cruises’ Regent Sea sets out from Los Angeles Oct. 23 on a 51-day sailing around South America with 18 ports of call, two days in Buenos Aires and three days in Rio de Janeiro. Gentlemen hosts, dubbed “Re-gents,” will be on board as dance, dinner or bridge partners. Air fare is included in the fares that are as low as $148 a day per person, double occupancy. Prices for the full cruise range from $7,545 to $15,495; segments from 12 to 35 days are also available.

The Rotterdam will make a 32-day Circle Rio de Janeiro journey from Ft. Lauderdale Jan. 4, calling at various Caribbean ports plus Devil’s Island, Fortaleza, Salvador de Bahia, Recife and Belem. Air fare is included; prices begin at $5,840 per person, double occupancy, for the full cruise, or $3,430 for a 16-day segment.

The Rotterdam will make a 23-day grand tour of the Caribbean, departing New York Nov. 27 for 13 ports. Passengers may also board the ship in Norfolk, Va., or Ft. Lauderdale. Air fare is included in the prices that begin at $3,100 per person, double occupancy, for the 20-day round-trip sailing from Ft. Lauderdale. Optional add-ons for Disney World/Epcot Center in Florida or New York City theater packages are also available.

Sun Line’s 620-passenger flagship Stella Solaris will make its annual 21-day Exotica West sailing from Piraeus, Greece, to Ft. Lauderdale beginning Nov. 29, with 10 ports of call en route. Passengers who make their reservations before Sept. 28 will receive a 35% early booking discount.

Several gala South Pacific journeys set out right after the Christmas holidays. The Crystal Harmony sets sail Jan. 6 from Los Angeles on a 63-day round-trip cruise to Australia, the longest voyage yet for this luxurious new vessel. The full cruise calls in Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, the Cook Islands and the Marquesas, with prices starting at $20,125 per person, double occupancy. Segments begin as low as $4,605 per person, double occupancy, for a 14-day cruise from Los Angeles to Papeete.

Capt. Ola Harsheim designed a 97-day Captain’s Pacific Journey to his favorite ports for the grandly spacious Royal Viking Sun, set to leave from San Francisco Jan. 8. The cruise will visit the South Pacific, New Zealand and Australia, South and East Africa, India, Thailand, Hong Kong, China and Japan. Prices range from $29,560 to $116,374 per person, double occupancy, which includes first-class air fare.

An innovative World Affairs Program, organized and conducted by Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, will include briefings at local embassies and universities at the various ports of call. Noted musical stars will entertain on each segment, beginning with Tony Martin in San Francisco, followed by Neil Sedaka, the McGuire Sisters, Ben Vereen, and Conrad Janis and the Beverly Hills All-Stars.

The Rotterdam will set out from Los Angeles March 23 for a 55-day Grand Circle Orient program that will cross both the Equator and the International Date Line twice. Thirteen exotic ports, including Suva, Guadalcanal, Bali, Beijing and Shanghai are on the route. Fares begin at $9,345 per person, double occupancy.

Cunard’s Vistafjord will repeat its 28-day Polynesian Circle voyage, sailing Feb. 1 from Los Angeles to Papeete and calling at Baja California, Hawaii and the islands of the South Pacific along the way. Two 14-day segments between Los Angeles and Papeete will also be available.

Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam will make a 35-day Grand Circle Pacific cruise, leaving Los Angeles Sept. 27 and calling in Hawaii, Christmas Island, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, the Cook Islands, Society Islands and the Marquesas. Fares start at $6,678 per person, double occupancy.

Cunard’s Sagafjord salutes the explorers on its 1992 World Cruise setting out from Ft. Lauderdale Jan. 6. Included are a circumnavigation of South America, calls in South Africa and East Africa, the islands of the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, Hawaii and the Mexican Riviera. Segments of the 107-day cruise are also available.

As always, Cunard’s QE2 will begin first in New York Jan. 5, then head for Ft. Lauderdale and Los Angeles on its around-the-world cruise. The ship spends 101 days cruising through the Panama Canal to Mexico, then on to Hawaii, the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Europe.