It was one of those unexpected and priceless travel moments you always hope for but so rarely enjoy. An early morning sun sparkling on the blue Adriatic as our ship passed through a gap in the long bank of the litorale which protects Venice from the sea. I had imagined that we would dock somewhere on the outskirts of the city, at an isolated berth reserved for cruise ships, but instead the GTS Millennium made an elegant and very tight left turn and sailed into the Canale di San Marco.		By Paul Stanway

So there we are, still dressed in our bathrobes and enjoying a coffee on the verandah of our stateroom — and suddenly we find ourselves cruising through the centre of one of the world’s most beautiful and unique cities. I grab my camera just in time to record Saint Mark’s Square gliding by, with the entrance to the Grand Canal and its traffic jam of gondolas coming up rapidly.

Below us, tourists who have made an early start to their day of exploration stop taking photos of St. Mark’s Basilica and instead start snapping away at us, awed by the sight of the 965-foot-long, 11-storey-high ship making a graceful promenade through St. Mark’s Basin and into the Giudecca Canal.

Now that, folks, is a grand entrance and a perfect introduction to Venice — La Serenissima. And all before breakfast!

This sort of experience is, no doubt, why cruising has developed into the fastest growing segment of the huge $3.7 trillion U.S. global travel industry. There are cruises for every taste and every budget, and the North American appetite for them appears to know no bounds. But this trip had to be special, to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. I was looking for something different, but what exactly? From the enormous selection now available, how do you find a cruise to suit your budget and lifestyle, or the perfect cruise to mark a special occasion?

Classic Cruising
Anthony Webber is president of Edmonton-based Caribbean Cruise Lines (Canada) Ltd., which over the past decade has claimed the title as the world’s number one online golf cruise agency. He suggested a 12-night, “Classical Mediterranean” cruise aboard the Millennium, a new 5-star ship launched by Celebrity Cruises in the summer of 2000 (hence the name).

It seems we weren’t the only people looking for something a little different. With the market for cruising becoming more experienced, more affluent and a little older, Webber says the industry is responding with more variety than ever before.

“Typically, people cut their teeth on Caribbean cruises, which account for about 60 per cent of the market,” says Webber, a former Pan Am airline executive who has been in the golf cruise business since 1988. “The number two destination would probably be Alaska, with the Mediterranean number three.”

The more people cruise, the more they want: “The market seems insatiable, and the result is more ships, more cruises and an almost infinite variety of destinations and activities,” explains Webber.

Cruising the Mediterranean had an inescapable logic to it. Since ancient times it’s been the high road of European culture, with successive civilizations relying on the sea for trade and colonization. Sure, you can drive from Rome to Naples, to Venice and Athens, even to Istanbul, or you could fly. But there’s something unique about approaching these cities from the sea like countless generations of traders and sailors. Even for the seasoned European traveller, it puts the continent into a new perspective.

And that’s before you even consider the convenience of touring Europe by cruise ship. No crowded airports, no days on the road fighting traffic congestion and cutthroat European driving habits. No packing and repacking after every stop. You check in once and from then on the ship is a floating hotel, a place of refuge. While you have a leisurely dinner, a cocktail or two and perhaps take in a show before getting a good night’s sleep, you are magically transported to your next port of call.

“The more people travel, the less they like the hassles and inconveniences,” says Webber. “Cruising eliminates a lot of that. You’re moving, but you’re not constantly on the move — and the amount of activity is up to you. Combine that with the level of service and pampering provided, and It’s not surprising cruising is addictive.”

My wife and I took Webber’s advice and opted for Celebrity’s 12-night “Classical Mediterranean” cruise aboard the Millennium. Celebrity has a great reputation among regular cruisers and we weren’t disappointed. The voyage provided five-star service and great food from Barcelona to Istanbul, with stops in Villefranche (a delightful resort town on the French Riviera between Monte Carlo and Nice), Rome, Naples, Venice (two days), Katakolon (for tours of nearby Olympia, Greece), Athens, and Kusadasi (for tours of ancient Ephesus, Turkey).

It’s a modern version of the 19th century “Grand Tour” of European cities, without the organizational headaches. Your toughest decision will be whether to eat ashore or aboard ship - and in a port like Venice you’d be silly not to sample the food and ambiance of a great city.

For those with experience cruising the Caribbean, Europe demands a little adjustment. Montego Bay and Castries are not Rome and Athens — which is a good thing in many ways because these larger cities can comfortably swallow up boatloads of tourists without seeming as if they might burst. But there is so much to see that it’s best to accept that you can’t do it in a day, or even two. The ship’s shore excursion desk will keep you going from 8 a.m. until the ship leaves port, if that’s what you would like, but unless you’re planning to take another vacation when you get home you are well advised to pick a few must-see highlights and remember you’re there to relax.

Or maybe to golf?
If you’re looking for a different cruise experience and you’re an avid golfer, Webber says working a little golf into your cruise is the hottest new cruise vacation idea. Although the combination of cruising and golfing is anything but new to Caribbean Cruise Lines, which organized its first cruise and golf vacation almost 15 years ago.

“If you give it some thought, it’s a natural,” says Webber. “It’s a combination of the world’s number one industry, travel and leisure, with the world’s fastest-growing sport. You have all the luxury and convenience of a cruise, and all your golfing is pre-booked and pre-arranged. The ship becomes your clubhouse.”

Caribbean Cruise Lines (Canada) Ltd. began offering golf cruises in 1988, after the company organized a cruise for members of a Florida golf club and found it had an instant hit on its hands. Since then it has pioneered its way to a position as the travel industry’s acknowledged leader in this specialist market in North America. Webber’s company has a relationship with the major cruise lines and can arrange a round of golf in most ports of call.

On our Med cruise, for example, you can enjoy 18 holes at the par 72 El Prat course in Barcelona before the ship sails. This lovely coastal course, which has played host to the Spanish Open and Amateur championships, is dotted with umbrella pines and has breathtaking views of the ocean. On the French Riviera you can golf the Sainte-Maxime course in St. Tropez, set on a plateau above the town with the Esterel Mountains as a backdrop, or rub shoulders with the rich and famous at the prestigious Monte Carlo Golf and Country Club.

As you might expect, Italy offers some memorable golf experiences. A number of cruise ships call at the port of Livorno for shore excursions to Florence and Pisa, but you can also take the opportunity to golf the Circolo course at Ugolino. Set in the heart of Tuscan wine country, Circolo is one of Italy’s most venerable and famous courses. There’s not a sand trap in sight, but the hilly terrain and ferocious rough make for a challenging and memorable experience. Take lots of balls.

Caribbean Cruise Lines Web site is a useful tool if you’re planning a cruise. It’s Canada’s leading discount cruise database, complete with customer cruise reviews and a search engine which allows registered guests to search for specific destinations and dates (and receive e-mail on cruises and deals as they become available). If you want to combine your cruise with some golf, the company launched the <golfahoy.com> Web site in 1998 and it has rapidly become the number one golf/cruise site on Yahoo, with more than half a million visits a month.

“The Web site’s success surprised even us,” says Webber, adding that the company’s online availability 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, is attractive to Canadians and Americans living overseas who want to deal with a North American agency. He sees the worldwide demand for golf cruises going nowhere but up. “Golf cruise revenues accounted for about $72 million (U.S.) in 2000, but the golf cruise industry is expected to grow to $215 million (U.S.) annually by 2005.”

Caribbean Cruise Lines offers a mind-boggling range of golf cruises from companies including Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Silversea. Destinations range from the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Caribbean, the British Isles, Hawaii, the Mexican Riviera, Australia and New Zealand, to Scandinavia, Canada and New England. If you can get there on a cruise ship and there’s a golf course in the vicinity, Webber’s company likely knows who to call for a tee time.

Not all Webber’s golf packages are expensive, but he says the biggest demand is from private golf club members who can afford to combine their passion for golf with their love of cruising. For more than a decade his company’s most popular holiday has been a 10-day southern Caribbean golf and spa cruise which has an “Early Birdie” price tag of $4,777 per person. That includes round-trip airfare from most North American gateway cities, two nights and two rounds of golf at the luxurious El Conquistador Resort in Puerto Rico, a deluxe ocean-view stateroom with verandah, and golf on five different Caribbean islands (including transfers, green fees and cart rentals).

And the courses? In the U.S. Virgin Islands it’s the Carambola Golf Club: a Golf Magazine gold medal winner designed by Robert Trent-Jones Sr. On St. Lucia there’s a choice between the Cap Estate Golf Club or a challenging nine-hole course at the Sandals Resort. In Barbados it’s the Sandy Lane Golf Club or, new for 2002, there’s the reconstructed Barbados Golf Club — the island’s first championship course, already approved for a PGA Senior Tour event. Antigua offers the rugged Cedar Valley Golf Club, while the final course, in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, is the famously tough Mahogany Run.

And if you feel the need to tune up your game, Caribbean Cruise Lines has a Golf Academy at Sea, with on-board clinics and seminars hosted by a PGA pro. “The Golf Academy is aimed at everyone, including the beginner,” says Webber. “It’s been tremendously popular, and something we will be developing in the near future.”

Since 1998 Webber’s company has also developed a relationship with Silversea Cruises, an up-market cruise line with smaller ships and a level of pampering which would satisfy royalty. Silversea’s exotic itineraries feature some of the most prestigious golf courses in the world, including the Walton Heath Golf Club outside London, the Raffles Golf Club in Singapore, Ko’Olina Golf Club in Hawaii and Valderrama in Malaga, Spain.

The traditional Caribbean cruise will, no doubt, continue to dominate the North American market, but there’s a growing number of people looking for something different — whether it be a new destination, like the Mediterranean, or the opportunity to combine cruising with a passion for golf.

“The combinations are endless,” says Webber. “And I think it’s that variety which satisfies the desire to experience something a little different, something unique.”

Paul Stanway is the former Editor in Chief of the Edmonton Sun and a former foreign correspondent and a journalist in Canada and Europe for more than three decades.

Caribbean Cruise Lines, now called GolfAhoyCruisePlanners  Reservations Centre may be contacted toll free in North America at: 1-877-415-5442, from elsewhere in the world at: 01-780-415-5442, online 7-days-a-week, 24-hours-a-day at www.GolfAhoyCruisePlanners.com