The Maritime Heritage Project ~~ International Harbors Travel

There's nothing afloat, in our opinion, to match Windstar's vessels. They sail the Caribbean, Europe, Greek Isles, Turkey. Since 1986, these masted sailing yachts have filled an upscale niche. They are smaller than the floating cities of traditional cruise ships so are able to visit ports of call inaccessible to huge ships. While Windstar ships have thousands of yards of sail, they are fully equipped with engines and stabilizers to control lean. However, if you're fortunate and conditions are perfect the silence of pure sailing is heavenly.

During a maiden public relations cruise into San Francisco Bay some years ago, I was invited for a lunch sail on Windsong. Nothing yet has topped the few hours aboard one of Windstar's vessels. The ships were remodeled in 2006-2007 with the addition of computer stations, and upgraded accommodations, massage rooms, Balinese sun beds and cooling mist sprayers near the pools and we have seen them elegantly sail into Tahitian waters and in various ports in Mexico and Europe.

Royal Caribbean ranks high on most polls, and they are considered one of the best ships for families. They provide activities for a variety of age groups. Royal Caribbean has play groups for babies 6-18 months that parents can attend with their children, and its new ship, Oasis of the Seas, has a nursery with day and night child care options for children as young as six months old.

That they are wonderful for children does not take away from their pampering of adults; three of their ships—Rhapsody of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas—receive high marks for their relaxing indoor pool retreats. We shared a table in Santorini with a well-traveled couple who name Royal Caribbean as their favorite cruise lines.

Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas will make its official debut in just a couple of weeks. Carrying 5,400 passengers (based on double occupancy), she will be the largest cruise ship afloat. (To me, this large size is not a selling point. Surprisingly, though, the ships manage passengers well and one is generally not aware of just how many other people are on board. Also, if a storm does come through, on a vessel of this size, you probably won't notice it.)

The Oasis of the Seas will call on seven ports during her first year of service, including Fort Lauderdale; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Nassau, Bahamas; Labadee, Haiti; Costa Maya, Mexico; and Cozumel, Mexico. Significant investments were made at each of these ports in order to accommodate the ship (and her sister-ship, Allure of the Seas, debuting in December 2010).

These investments range from $2 million spent to lengthen the pier at Costa Maya to $75 million spent to build the world's largest cruise terminal at Port Everglades (in Fort Lauderdale), a state-of-the-art facility. Other ports are spending millions to dredge harbor approaches to make way for the Oasis, which has a draft of almost 30 feet.

On October 2, 2007 we left San Francisco to fly to Rome and thence to Civitavecchia to board our first cruise on a large vessel. This was a trip of "firsts": Although we had visited more than 20 countries through the years, cruising wasn't then high on our lists. It is now. Our room, E711, was an ocean view double on the Star Princess' Emerald Deck (8th floor -- the ship is 14 stories high).

The room was a disappointment as we were assured by RCI Travel that we would have a large picture window with an unobstructed view of the Mediterranean; we did have a large picture window, but the view was very obstructed by rigging.

Other than that, the room was comfortable, quite roomy, and we had a fantastic time on board and during all shore excursions; however all future cruises will be with a balcony to enable us to escape air conditioning, which is really cooled, recycled, stale air. We were on board two weeks, with stops in France, Italy, Greece and Turkey (which turned out to be a magnificent surprise).

From May through September, Princess also has well-regarded cruises to Alaska from Vancouver with stops in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay National Park (right), College Fjord and Anchorage.

Most cruise lines have a minimum age for children to sail, with ages ranging from three months on Disney ships to 12 years on Viking River Cruises. Some cruise lines, like Oceania, Silversea and Seabourn, allow children onboard but are designed primarily for adults or mature travelers and do not offer child care or programs for kids. As one would expect, Disney Cruise Line offers extensive activities for all age groups, including one of the best programs for infant care, with nurseries that accept babies as young as 12 weeks. (Parents should expect to carry a pager, as attendants do not change diapers!)

Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line's "freestyle cruising" refers to a more casual attitude towards dress codes, dining options and entertainment options. It features departures from New York, Seattle, Baltimore, New Orleans, Boston and Philadelphia, among others . . . meaning you may not have to fly across the country to board.

On its newest ships, NCL is testing a number of amenities such as martini and Champagne bars, interconnecting cabins, onboard bowling alleys and electronic restaurant reservation systems reminiscent of land-based resorts.

A note re "casual attitude towards dress codes:" While we are an informal family, we do think too many people take the "informal" to a dreadful extreme. (We've seen pitiful examples of "casual" attire in some of San Francisco's finest dining rooms; it seems that staff are loathe to turn anyone away, even when a dress code IS in place.)

Norwegian's revolutionary new ship, Norwegian Epic, which is set to launch in July 2010, will host the Blue Man Group on every sailing and will offer Cirque Dreams and Dinner, with a wait staff that includes contortionists, aerialists and circus performers.

Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, U.S. Wireless)
We resisted switching to Kindle because we like the smell and feel of books. However, when travelling, it is difficult to carry 5-6-7 books . . . you know, the novels about the country you are visiting and current bestsellers, along with guidebooks for various areas. It got heavy.

Now that Kindle comes with a leather cover and has more than 360,000 books available, we are giving in. Kindle comes in a Global Wireless and a U.S. Wireless. Prices range from $259 to $489. We think this is a superb gift item. It's on our lists.