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Page 28 THE HERALD Wednesday July 19 1989 Its still possible to find luxury at sea By VINCENT EGAN Travel Columnist Thomson News Service Even in this age of mass travel its still possible to find oldstyle luxury and not necessarily at a prohibitive price The place to look The sea Whatever the degree of luxury that may have prevailed on cruises and ocean crossings between the world wars it is surely surpassed on the great ships of today such as Queen Elizabeth 2 Vistafjord Royal Princess and Star Princess to name only a few out of many Presentday technology air con ditioning of course and stabilizers and the like have allowed modem ships to achieve levels of comfort and luxury that were impossible at any price a couple of generations ago And todays customary option of flying one way has brought sea travel within the grasp of people whose career responsibilities put a strict limit on the length of any one journey Cunard for example has a long established program that provides transatlantic passengers with a oneway ticket on British Airways which itself is a consistent winner when travellers are asked to rank airlines in terms of service with the purchase of a ticket on the ship In some cases the flight may be a supersonic one aboard the lux urious Concorde ANNIVERSARY GALA Cunard is currently taking reser vations for gala transatlantic crossings aboard m July of that it says will recreate the ambience of the Vanity Fair Years that golden age of tran satlantic travel the 1920s and Entertainment for The crossings marking 150th anniver sary will include a concert or chestra performances by members of the Royal Shakespeare Company and Bri tains National Theatre and fashion shows by a royal designer It is expected that retired captains will be aboard and that all passengers v ill be presented with a com memorative piece of crystal Between the crossing from New York and a westbound crossing from Southhampton the 83673ton city at sea will do a sixday circuit of the British Isles She will participate in a naval at Spithead with ships of the Royal Navy and will make calls at the Scottish port of Greenock where early ships were built and at Liverpool the great English port from which Samuel initiated regular transatlantic shipping in 1840 with his wooden paddlesteamer Britannia DICKENS IN A BOX A century and a half ago luxury wasnt a consideration When Charles Dickens crossed the Atlan tic aboard Britannia during 15 days in January of 1842 he was evidently driven to exasperation describing his cabin as an utterly impractical thoroughly hopeless and profoundly preposterous box When Samuel Cunard was runn ing things in those early days he decreed that safety was always to be put first The owner instructed his officers that there was to be no racing rivalry or risktaking and there were no fatalities at sea for the first 35 years of the Cunard fleets operations Besides which will earn- out another unusual voyage star ting Dec through the Panama Canal to- Los Angeles and Honolulu todays Cunard fleet consists of three pairs of twins Vistafjord and Sagafjord Sea God dess and II and Cunard Countess and Cunard With that choice of ships and the broad range of fares aboard each theres something for every budget In S funds fares can exceed 20000 for penthouse suites or go below on a stand- basis and without oneway air fare Whatever the fare and whatever he ship todays seagoing have the freedom of their ship All passengers enjoy the same entertainment use he same spojtsandfitness facilities ton some Cunard ships these are operated by the famous Golden Door Spa breathe the same fresh sea air and con template the same far horizons The basic fare includes all meals of course and virtually everything else except tips shore excursions and alcoholic beverages Taking into account the many extras such as recreational ac tivities and entertainment as well as the generous discounts that many shipping lines offer for early or standby bookings for the se cond person in a cabin and so on then ships fares compare favorably with the cost of a holiday of similar duration at a resort On such ships as Vistafjord operating a series of 14day cruises in Northern European waters this summer and Sagafjord doing weekandahalf voyages between Vancouver and Alaska passengers And bathrobes awaiting them in their staterooms and the Interna tional HeraldTribune outside their door each morning All ships have modern hospital facilities and pharmacies But the medical staffs cant do much about the possibility of overeating by the HERALD MUSIC TRIVIA CONTEST You Could Win A Gill Certificate Valued At 25 00 QUESTION What Group Gathers No Moss ANSWER NAME ADDRESS I Deadline For Entries Monday at Noon Sand Your Entries To the HERALD passengers faced with tempting menus and betweenmeal colla tions although most people dont experience any lasting weight in- And while some wouldbe travellers are reluctant to sail because they fear boredom the fact is that ship passengers can keep as busy as they want to throughout every waking moment Here for example is the pro- Cram for a typical days activities on a voyage of Vistafjord notin cluding mealtimes which are ma jor events in themselves Wakeup exercises on deck at 730 led by the Golden Door Spa staff tournaments in pingpong golfputting and shuffleboard lec tures- on computers in a well equipped computer room invest ment personal motivation bridge and and fashion ballroom dancing lessons by a professional dance team Holy Mass a Jewish Sabbath service and a Masons meeting three current movies and a wideranging entertainment pro gram that includes a dance band an instrumental trio a piano soloist a magician a chorus line operatic singers and several pop vocalists As welt of course passengers could ward off boredom in a gym nasium or swimming pool cocktail lounges or library at the roulette table or slot machines or by lingering over the table at the one- sitting meals On lop everything theres the luxury of anticipating the next full day in a new port or serenely sail ing the sea RE McCALL MENS WEAR WALKING IN STYLE SALE FORMAL WEAR CASUAL WEAR SPORTS WEAR UP TO 50 STOREWIDE SALE IN EFFECT UNTIL JULY31 1989 SIT ATE FOR THE LECTION J Mens Guelph Street centre 8777361 Georgetown continues 20 OFF Selected Paperbacks and Hardcovers Janet and Staff thank you for your patronage over two years you Business Account available for office supplies Sale Ends July look Hook Proprietor 56 Mill St East 532130