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by Don Wall What is it about taking a cruise that has captured the collective imagâ€" ination of the travelling public with such astonishing speed in the past few years? Gathered to celebrate the opening of Ontario‘s first Cruise Ship Centers office recently were (back row from left) Michael Drever, President, Janet Johnson, Oakyville manager; José Dias and Linda Pirnak, sales consultants; (front row) Patricia Dallow, sales; Bill Courian, Regional Director; and Dianne Neubauer, sales. The cruise holiday has always been around, glamourized in movies and television and sold as the ultiâ€" mate dreamy, romantic vacation by generations of travel agents. Forget romance and glamour. The reason cruise vacations have increased so dramatically in sales volume in the past five years, includâ€" ing 29 per cent among Canadians in the last year, is simple â€" it‘s a matter of dollars and cents. "It‘s the best value vacation, an allâ€"inclusive value," remarked Michael Drever, president of the rapidly growing Cruise Ship Centers chain, during a recent visit to the chain‘s first Ontario office, located in downtown Oakville. "You‘ve got fiveâ€"star dining, fiveâ€"star accommoâ€" dation, entertainment. You‘re taken care of from the word go. It‘s a safe vacation. And it‘s stressâ€"free â€" you‘re not packing and unpacking throughout the trip." Drever, only 31, must be considâ€" ered a leading authority on the rise of the cruising business. His fiveâ€"yearâ€" old Vancouverâ€"based company has shot up from a single office to the current 22 â€" 21 in western Canada, and, since November, the first eastern outpost, at 125 Lakeshore Road East Cost, comfort are keys to growth of cruise industry Panama Canal \‘f/ 7 Deep Cruise the Escorted by Virginia Stairsâ€"Rogers For further information please call Rogers Travel 827â€"9430 * Canadian at Par FREE Air * 7 Portsâ€"5 Star Ship ADVERTISING FEATURE Unbeatable Price 11â€"Day Cruise March 14, 1994 in Oakville. Growth has averaged 60 per cent since the establishment of Cruise Ship Centers in 1988, and plans are to open another 40 offices in Ontario within 3 years. The Oakville office occupies 1,000 square feet of floor space out front with another 1,000 hidden from view at the back; the extra offices will serve as the Cruise Ship Centers‘ Customer Service and Corporate Support Centres. The manager of the Oakville office is Janet Johnson. Guaranteed Outside Cabins from Prominent FIEEYZY, Upper Oakville e Tl‘avel Shopping Centre Guaranteed Inside Cabins from "It‘s not so much that we‘re miraâ€" 7 Night Western Caribbean Cruise Roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale with visits to Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Cancun 7 Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale with visits to Puerto Plata, St. Thomas, San Juan and Nassau Includes roundtrip airfare from Toronto Montreal $1299 $1559 cle workers, we just very serviceâ€"oriâ€" ented in a growing industy," Drever commented about the rise of his comâ€" pany. "Our focus is to offer the best value in cruising and service. We offer personalized knowledge, and our sales reps take extensive sales training and product knowledge proâ€" grams." More and more travellers are cruising these days simply because the vacation has become so affordâ€" able, Drever points out. He says that with rising real estate costs and propâ€" Cdn pp And as more people began taking cruises and reporting back to their friends, the pyschological barriers to cruising began to fall, says Drever. "People used to think that you‘d get seasick, you were confined, there were only old people on the ship and erty taxes over the past 10 years, the cost of a landâ€"based vacation has almost doubled. The oceans of the world have not be subjected to those pressures and so cruises have stayed about the same in price, Drever reports. cruise centers éboard the Royal Princess Acapulco to San: Juan; featuring Costa Rica St. Thomas ise only. Pp. dbl. occup. US dollars. Rund trip air transport is available for an additional $699 fifi%{:@m Toronto. All applicable, taxes extra. Subject to availability. faresâ€"Sâ€"tarzuigâ€"at $1,370* Treat your sweetheart this Valentine‘s with ONTARIO REGISTRATION NUMBER 4208195 Wfl’fivfl/u Grise lfeation Wér 125 Lakeshore Rd., E. Downtown Oakville «338â€"8083 1â€"800â€"267â€"3188 Franchises available throughout Ontario It‘s more than a cruise, it‘s the Love Boat® the lifestyle was too regimented," he noted. "Then people starting going on them and they came back and said they didn‘t get seasick, they weren‘t confined, there weren‘t only old peoâ€" ple and it wasn‘t too regimented." The Oakville Cruise Ship Centéts office plans to offer a variety of pubâ€" lic education programs to generate interest in cruising vacations. The next presentation will be Feb. 8 at the Cruise Ship Centers‘ office, with Helene Poirier of Holland America line discussing cruises to Alaska. T R A N § C A N A L