Cruise prices are at all time attractive levels with a four-night Caribbean cruise going for $239 including port charges on Carnival's Fascination. For a longer vacation at sea, Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas leaves from New Orleans for the Caribbean for seven days from $399 or Princess' seven-night sailings from $399. You can't beat those prices for a shipboard travel adventure which includes all a vacationer can ask for. Or how about a 7-nighter from San Juan including airfare from New York aboard Celebrity's Galaxy? Your travel advisor has details and reservations.
Prefer a smaller ship? The 684-guest Oceana presents a more intimate 12-day luxury cruise vacation aboard its European-staffed Regatta. Its 2004 sailing dates, Miami to Miami, stops from Tortola (British Virgin Isles) to La Romana in the Dominican Republic. You can sail on Carnival's three and four-day cruises to the Caribbean from Miami's Port Canaveral starting at $249. How about a seven-night southern Caribbean sailing from San Juan on the Norwegian Sky from $399? Norwegian also features seven-night cruises from New York City piers to Nassau, Great Stirrup City, Miami and Port Canaveral from $599. Low, low all-inclusive, pampered vacations, and your travel agent can offer you additional choices for your languid holidays at sea.
Landlubbers: Tired of our ongoing snow, ice, wind chill factors and below-freezing temperatures? How about warming the family up at Disney World? Its special values include Value Resorts from $79 per night per room, Moderate Resorts from $114 and Deluxe Resorts from $189 per night. Contact your travel counselor for information and reservations.
The festive annual Carnaval de Quebec celebrates 50 years of its annual winter carnival, the world's largest, from Jan. 3 to Feb. 15. Join in its famous night parades, legendary canoe race, dog sled, and sleigh and snowmobile rides. View the spectacular snow sculptures, the impressive Ice Palace and Quebec's Plains of Abraham turned into a huge playground for the whole family for ice fishing, snow rafting, join a great soccer game, eat taffy on snow, jump into a snow bath and listen to shows featuring Quebec music. From St. Christie's Village, a site especially designed for children, to a multitude of athletic, cultural and participation-based activities, Quebec's Bonhomme Carnaval attracts close to one million participants every year. For details and reservations, call (866) CARNAVAL.
The much-talked-about launching of the Queen Mary 2, the longest, tallest, widest, largest, most expensive ship ever built, and touted for its seagoing splendor, has left Southampton, England with a full passenger count, sailing in all its glory for 14 days of luxurious cruising for its winter home in Fort Lauderdale, stopping on its maiden Atlantic crossing at Madera, the Canary Islands, Barbados and St. Thomas. Its winter season will be spent sailing the Caribbean and in April, will return to transatlantic voyages from New York. Want to join a splendid sailing? Contact your travel counselor or call (800) CUNARD or visit www.cunard.com.
Congratulations to Radisson Seven Seas Paul Gauguin and the Seven Seas Navigator for being ranked #1 and #2 ships in the world by the prestigious Condé Nast Traveler's 2003 "World's Best Readers Choice Award." This, from responses from more than 32,000 Condé Nast readers.
The first full week of April, designated as Virginia's Garden Week, invites visitors with a once-a-year passport to the state's private treasures beyond the doors of its finest homes, spanning four centuries, from the mid 17th to the early 21st, on more than 30 tours across the state. Featured will be from magnificent country estates and oceanfront villas to historic James River plantations and Victorian farmhouses. Information can be had from www.VAGardenweek.org or by calling (803) 644-7776.
Excellent rates are available for a winner getaway to Budapest. From $589 per person for double room accommodations for six days including airfare from New York on SAS, daily full buffet breakfasts, city tour, 7-day local transportation card for metro, March 21, 2004. Check with your travel advisor or call (800) 601-4343 or visit web site www.continentaljourneys.com.
Hong Kong, long a favorite with tourists from the world over, suffered during the spring months with a sudden drop in its popular tourist appeal, with the advent of SARS. During the month of May it suffered a 40 percent drop in arrivals from the year earlier. The World Health Organization lifted its advisory against travel to Hong Kong and declared in July that there were no new cases discovered anywhere in the world for at least 20 days. But the city's tourist industry is still feeling the thrust of low tourism and its many hotels are now offering special rates; also the Hong Kong dollar is pegged at 78 to the U.S. dollar, helping to hold down prices. In its favor too, is Hong Kong's low, low rates of violent crime, among the world's lowest. The beautiful city, with its myriad attractions, invites tourists from everywhere to enjoy its fascinating sightseeing, wonderful restaurants, friendly people and its famed shopping opportunities. Your travel agent has Hong Kong information or call its tourist office (212) 421-3382.
Princess Cruises' new Coral Princess debuts its brand new "Scholarship@ Sea" program with a variety of enrichment courses designed to take full advantage of its spectacular new technical capabilities. Included are: cooking, visual arts, computer skills, finance and the first in the industry: pottery, with a full kitchen set and an onboard pottery studio and kiln. Passengers can choose from approximately 20 courses per voyage (six per day) from four core subject areas: Culinary Arts, Visual Creative Arts, Photography and Computer Technology, all free of charge. For details, call (800) PRINCESS or visit www.princess.com.
