Swan Hellenic has sailed the classic seas of antiquity (mainly the Mediterranean, Aegean, Adriatic and Red seas) for 50 years. Its brainy onboard lectures (everything from ancient town planning to the life of contemporary Athenian women) set a high standard, but at a rather moderate cost. While rates for lower-end cabins can run $300 a person per day, they include extensive full-day shore excursions, round-trip air between London and a Mediterranean port and all gratuities. Now, for trips next winter (some of them starting or ending in New York or New Orleans), the elimination of airfare from London has reduced average starting prices to $250 a day per person, again including shore excursions (worth up to $100), and with no need to tip. That remarkable rate for sailing with renowned scholars is offered starting Dec. 20, 2003 (15 days from Barbados to New Orleans on a “Caribbean Rhythm & Jazz” cruise, from $3,086), and continuing every two weeks until a final 15-day cruise from March 27 to April 10, 2004 ($4,180), up the Eastern Seaboard from the Bahamas and Port Everglades, Fla., to New York City. Even on the last, rather prosaic itinerary, the lecture staff will include at least four eminent historians.
You’ll be on a two-year-old ship that has no casino, the largest library afloat (4,000 titles), a kind of English-country-home decor, and the sort of “like-minded people” (Swan Hellenic’s language) attracted by such features. Reserve or get further information at 877-219-4239 or swanhellenic.com.
Are there alternatives to Swan Hellenic? Apart from the many sky-high (usually $600 a day) alumni cruises led by a single eminent professor of your alma mater and conducted on small, yacht like ships, there really aren’t. The closest equivalents are the Cunard ships, whose transatlantic crossings in particular always include weighty lectures by celebrity authors. Starting April 16, 2004, the new and eagerly awaited Queen Mary 2 (the largest passenger ship ever built) will commence its six-day voyages across the ocean, and activities will include foreign-language courses, acting classes with Shakespearean thespians and lectures in archeology. Figure on as little as $250 per person per day for the Queen Mary 2 (which includes a free transatlantic flight back), and get further information from 800-5-CUNARD or cunard.com.
And then there are the two ships–the Regatta and the Insignia–of the new Oceania Cruises, formed by a former vice president of the now defunct Renaissance Cruises; it starts service in European waters on July 5, 2003, using almost-new Renaissance ships. Carrying only 680 passengers apiece, those liners have always catered to serious people, and the new line promises a special focus on discussions led by specialists in topics ranging from oceanography to literature. Best of all are Oceania’s moderate prices of $200 a day per person for balconied ocean-view cabins and $150 for inside staterooms. Call 800-531-5658 for catalogs; call any travel agent to book.
