Joan Rattner Heilman
Joan Rattner Heilman, an inveterate traveler and seasoned journalist based in Mamaroneck, New York, is author of more than a dozen books. She specializes in 50-plus travel.
If your dream of heaven is to spend a week or so at sea mingling with people like you — fellow dog fanciers, serious bird-watchers, jazz lovers, vegetarians, history buffs — you can find a cruise that’s made for you. You can even take your needles and knit your way to exotic places, take your clubs and play golf at every port or listen to Elvis sing night and day.
How it works: Sometimes the entire ship is organized around “your” theme and everyone on board may participate, but usually a special-interest group books a number of staterooms and arranges its own programs and activities, leaving the rest of the passengers to their own devices. Consider the following possibilities for sailing with kindred spirits…
This annual eight-day Caribbean cruise out of Fort Lauderdale aboard Carnival Cruise Lines’ Miracle is for serious dog people who spend their days on board listening to notable speakers on the canine circuit and attending seminars on such subjects as dog body language, training, pet first aid and maximizing your puppy’s learning potential.
You’ll meet and mingle with K9 experts and talk dogs with fellow passengers. There’s a dog show on each cruise featuring photos only (the real thing is not invited to come along). This year’s trip — March 30 to April 7 — is sponsored by the Lancaster [Pennsylvania] Kennel Club.
Cost of cruise and the onboard events ranges from $999 to $2,499 per person, double occupancy, depending on your cabin category.
Information: Contact AllCruising.com (800-979-8687, www.allcruising.com).
You can play golf on world-class courses using the cruise ship as your home base. Example: Norwegian Cruise Lines’ seven-day excursions on the Pride of Aloha, a 2,400-passenger ship that makes many round-trips a year out of Honolulu to four Hawaiian islands. Choose a golf package and, instead of other shore excursions, you can play 18 holes on championship courses with breathtaking views and challenging layouts on Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii.
Included in the fee for the golf program is transportation to and from each course, a shared golf cart, greens fees and advance tee time bookings. There’s a golf pro shop on board where you may rent clubs and shoes, if you don’t want to take your own.
Cost varies by season and cabin category. On the June 1 to June 7, 2008, sailing, it ranges from $1,159 per person for an inside stateroom to $3,599 for a penthouse. In addition, you pay for whichever golfing package you choose. Prices depend on the number and locations of the golf courses, starting at $99 to play at Puakea Golf course on Kauai ranging to $350 at the Challenge at Manele on Maui.
Information: 800-327-7030, www.ncl.com.
This week aboard a luxury cruise ship starts at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and visits several Caribbean ports. You’ll have the opportunity to study with some of the world’s leading alternative-health professionals, macrobiotic healers, shiatsu massage practitioners, yoga and Pilates exercise instructors, and vegan and macrobiotic chefs.
Instructors teach yoga, Pilates and meditation classes on deck, while experts give seminars and workshops on the benefits of vegetarian eating, “breath work” for stress relief and vitality and alternative methods of healing. You’re invited to attend natural-foods cooking classes for both beginners and more experienced cooks and learn healing and relaxation with massage. Your meals will be prepared by the group’s chefs and bakers, made only with organic foods. In between, there are parties and special events, such as lectures on macrobiotics, and shore excursions, entertainment nightly, as well as spa, pools and other onboard facilities.
The cost of the cruise, March 30 to April 6, 2008, starts at $1,195 per person, double occupancy. An annual event, the next holistic cruise is planned for March 1 to March 9, 2009.
Information: 828-749-9537, www.atasteofhealth.org.
Gather up your yarns and needles and get yourself aboard the Isaac H. Evans, one of 12 tall ships that sail off the coast of Maine. Built in 1886, the historic wooden two-masted former oyster schooner, retrofitted to carry 22 passengers, sails out of Rockland on a four-day voyage for dedicated knitters every June and September. You’ll sail past lighthouses and lobster boats, across bays and through narrow channels, and drop anchor in snug harbors every night. Meanwhile, you may take a turn at the wheel or help raise the sails, eat down-home meals and, of course, knit. An experienced knitting instructor provides informal help. Bring your own yarn and needles or choose from a stash on board. Nonknitting companions can do their own thing.
Cost is $660 per person. Other offerings from the Maine Windjammer Association include cruises for birders, hikers, painters and wine enthusiasts.
Information: 800-807-9463, www.sailmainecoast.com.
There will only be you and a couple of thousand other Elvis fans aboard Carnival’s Fantasy August 28 to September 1 on this full-ship charter that sails out of New Orleans and stops at Cozumel, Mexico. Everything’s Elvis for the four days and nights on board. The over-the-top program is orchestrated and hosted by Jerry Schilling, Elvis’s longtime confidante, and Joe Guercio, his musical director in Memphis.
Essentially one big rock concert, the program features four Vegas-style live shows featuring artists who performed with Elvis, such as the TCB Band, the Imperials and Ronnie McDowell. Other performers, such as Ruby Wilson and “rockabilly” stars the Dempseys, also perform.
Sunday brings a Gospel Hour and an Elvis Tribute Contest with prizes for the best Elvis impersonators. There are also question-and-answer sessions and autograph sessions with the artists.
Cost ranges from $599 to $2,539 per person, double occupancy, depending on cabin category.
Information: 800-704-3034, www.theelviscruise.com.
