• Tools:
• Save |
• Print |
• E-mail |
• Most Popular |

Time to book your cruise

Adjust font size:

NEW YORK (AP) -- It's wave season, when many vacationers book their cruises for later in the year. Wave season runs through the end of March and is a good time to reserve if you want to make sure you'll get your first choice of dates, itineraries and cabins.

But sometimes a themed trip or the ship's amenities or ambiance is what makes the cruise appealing, rather than the ports of call or the scenery.

This year's cruise offerings include a charter trip on the Queen Mary 2 for a weeklong gay and lesbian trans-Atlantic cruise, scheduled for a May 29 departure. Details at http://rsvpvacations.com. Prices start at $1,595 per person, double occupancy.

How about a trip with culinary theme? Tony Princiotta, manager and wine buyer of the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills, is scheduled to lead a trip to ports in Greece and Turkey to visit markets, wineries, offbeat cafes and restaurants. The July 6-13 cruise will take place aboard the Silver Cloud, a Silversea Cruise Lines ship. Tickets start at $4,406, not including airfare to Istanbul, Turkey, and home from Athens. http://www.silversea.com/

Holland America Line has Culinary Arts Centers aboard each of its cruise ships that resemble show kitchens used on TV cooking programs. Guests can see demonstrations and take part in tastings and classes on every Holland America sailing. The centers include theaters with large plasma video screens to show the food preparation close up; certain cruises also offer demonstrations, classes and cookbook signings by celebrity or guest chefs, some arranged through a partnership with Food & Wine magazine. http://www.hollandamerica.com/

For those concerned about a healthy diet, Crystal Cruises says it has banned trans fats from all food served on board. The luxury line's ships are the Crystal Symphony and the Crystal Serenity; details at http://www.crystalcruises.com.

Considering a makeover? You can combine a cruise with what's being billed as a "nonstop beauty buffet" on the "Get Away and Get Gorgeous" cruise, departing March 25 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for the Caribbean. The trip, on a Carnival ship, features a makeup maven, Laura Geller, who has a line of cosmetics. Details at http://www.lauragellercruise.com. Prices begin at $900, double occupancy, plus $258 in surcharges.

Finally, if you're too old to cruise with your parents but think you're too young for the typical cruise crowd, the Web site Concierge.com recommends several cruise lines for 20- and 30-somethings, including Windjammer ships, known for a casual, party-like atmosphere; Galapagos Vision catamaran trips in the Ecuadorean islands; Star Cruise line trips to Asian ports in Hong Kong, Singapore and many other places; and the SeaDream Yacht Club, which offers 21st century amenities like rentable iPods, laptops and flat-screen TVs along with old-world luxuries like caviar and champagne. Concierge.com is the online home of Conde Nast Traveler magazine.

Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.

---

• China: 7,600 feared dead in quake
• Obama ahead in superdelegate race
• Nobel winner: Prize a 'disaster'
• 'Sex and the City' mania hits London
• Daily Snapshot

• Irish PM to quit over payments scandal
• NATO chief: Afghan troop increase likely
• Militants hunted as calm retuns to Basra
• Pressure on Bush to skip Olympics
• BA sending misplaced T5 baggage to Milan

• Recruiting suicide bombers (2:50)
• London was lucky (2:36)
• Cars in London rigged as bombs (3:48)
• Second explosives-packed car foun (2:32)
• Soviet culture returns (3:47)