Step Up the Gangplank to Choose Your ’87 Sea

It’s no longer enough to call your travel agent and say, “I want to take a cruise.”

In 1987 you should be ready to specify whether you want a large, medium-size or small ship; which of the seven seas, inland waterways and continents you desire; whether you might enjoy an adventure cruise or a deluxe champagne-and-caviar experience; whether you want to party in a floating casino and all-night disco with big-name entertainers or get slim and intellectual with a full-fledged spa and enrichment lecturers.

And whether you’re looking for an active or a passive vacation.

As more and more young cruise passengers--singles, couples and families--appear on the scene, along with the active and fitness-conscious of all ages, shipboard life becomes a case of doing rather than watching.

The days of the steamer rug and the sedate musical tea are fading into oblivion. The last two ships we sailed on ran out of snorkeling gear long before the demand was satisfied, and scuba excursions were booked to capacity.

At the same time there were afternoons when hardly anyone showed up for jackpot bingo, and a rum party sailing on a thatched-roof “leaky tiki” was canceled due to lack of interest.

Wide Variety

This isn’t to say that you can’t find an old-fashioned lie-back-and-relax cruise anymore, but rather that now you can book a great many cruises that offer more than the standard shipboard activities and traditional ports of call.

This variety is especially noticeable on smaller ships. If you’re looking for something all-American, for instance, check the Great American Odyssey aboard Clipper Cruise Line’s 100-passenger Nantucket Clipper, called by one traveler “the domestic equivalent of a world cruise.”

These 29-day, 22-port voyages between Fort Lauderdale and Boston travel the sheltered Intracoastal Waterway from one historic American city to the next, carrying lecturers in American history and heritage.

Departures are set for April 4, May 1 and May 30; fares for the all-outside cabins range from $6,080 to $7,680 per person double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from most major gateways. Call (800) 325-0010 for a brochure.

The most adventuresome expedition ships can take you from the frozen reaches of the Arctic to the dazzling icebergs of the Antarctic and anywhere in between to places you can scarcely imagine.

You could visit aboriginal districts never before open to visitors on the first cruise into Australia’s remote and wild Kimberley area aboard Salen Lindblad’s 32-passenger Motive Explorer; call (800) 223-5688 for information. Or make the first cruise call at the Laccadive Islands in the Arabian Sea aboard Society Expeditions’ World Discoverer on an Oriental Passage from Burma to the Suez Canal. Call (800) 426-7794 for details.

Another appealing trend is a cruise with a train journey option. The Astor, making its debut in England in February, offers inaugural cruise passengers a free journey aboard the Venice Simplon Orient Express from Italy back to London.

Rail and Sail

Bermuda Star spring sailings from New Orleans through April 10 offer passengers a rail-and-sail package as low as $795 per person that includes round-trip Amtrak coach transportation from Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Kansas City and St. Louis, as well as a seven-day cruise to Cancun, Cozumel and Key West.

In Alaska, Holland America Westours is introducing the McKinley Explorer for 1987, restored luxury domed rail cars (some from Santa Fe’s El Capitan service) with formal dining area for Anchorage-Denali-Fairbanks land excursions added to some cruise itineraries.

One recent arrival on the cruise scene takes its name from a train, the Orient Express (formerly the Silja Star), which began making weekly cruises from Venice to Greece and Turkey as an extension of the Venice Simplon Orient Express journey.

Passenger reviews from the ship’s first season are mixed, but we can report that it is leased for the winter by a Caribbean water-going Club Med-type operation called Club Sea. Its first sailing, after an initial postponement, was scheduled for Dec. 27, the last we heard.

What about 1987 ports of call? Alaska will be looking to pack ‘em in again, but without the bonus of Expo this time around. About 26 cruise ships plus the popular Alaska ferries will be plying the cool waters of the Inside Passage this summer, calling at every port between Ketchikan and Dutch Harbor, including Anchorage.

With so many ships committed to a full season, your travel agent should be able to get you an early booking discount on some Alaska sailings.

The Mexican Riviera continues to do well on short cruises, but for longer itineraries, repeat passengers want to see some new ports of call; perhaps the new Baja California tourism developments at Puerto Escondido and Loreto from the government’s Fonatur tourism company will fill the bill when they’re ready for visitors.

Outlook Favorable

Traffic to the Mediterranean should improve somewhat over last year’s dismal showing (barring any new terrorist incidents) in spite of the weakened dollar, because many American travelers accustomed to going to Europe every year or two have an itch that Alaska and Hawaii can’t satisfy. Again, some early shopping around might result in bargain fares.

The busy Caribbean is thriving year-round, with a bigger variety of ships and island ports than ever. This year, more vessels will be starting out on seven-day cruises from the deep Caribbean--San Juan, Martinique, Antigua, Jamaica and Barbados--eliminating the day or two at sea that it takes Florida-based ships to get to the popular islands. Imaginative new itineraries and fresh ports of call such as Mayreau (in St. Vincent and the Grenadines) and Labadee (in Haiti) also brighten 1987 Caribbean cruises.

The Pacific and Orient have been especially hot. In Australia and New Zealand, ships already chartered for the America’s Cup races will cruise around the area a bit after the big event before heading home via Japan, Hawaii or the South Pacific.

Princess Cruises’ Royal Princess and Island Princess, Royal’s Golden Odyssey and the Royal Viking Star are among the vessels that will be positioned in the Pacific in the spring.

Finally, we’re happy to note that the U.S. Public Health Service has reinstated ship sanitation inspections, beginning Jan. 1, for all ships that call frequently or occasionally at an American port. The retrenchment is due, the announcement states, “to interest and concern from consumers, state and local health officials and the media, as well as Congress, which issued a directive to CDC (Centers for Disease Control) to resume its cruise ship sanitation inspection activities.”

This proves once again that consumers can wield tremendous power on issues when they get concerned.