37 - Sunday, January 31, 1988 -

editerranean cruises a North American comeback

VENICE - Vistafjord sailed out of V

snice with a full com-

plement of 705 passengers for a weeks cruise around Italy.

Nothing unusual about that — the Vistufjord is one of Cunard’s bestsellers, and many passengers have travel agents book a year ahead for their preferred cabins.

The difference on this cruise, last October, was that there were 220 North Americans on board, whereas at the same time in 1986 there were only 50 of them, it be- ing the year of problems in Europe

and apprehension at home. And: Expo 86, we must add‘ with a’

flourish. As a result the majority of last

summer’s cruise programs were:-

perfect for the entire cruise, to Dubrovnik in Yugoslavia, Corfu in

stecred away from the Mediterra-, a a

nean to Northern Europe, the idea

being to put plenty of geography ~

between Libya and bingo at sea.

As a Cunard spokesman said, tourists’ memories are short, and anyway the cruise business con- tinues to grow like wildfire in North America and the Mediterra- nean is perfect for cruising.

The reasons for being there varied: some passengers wanted an

overview of the ports with a view-

to picking - favorites and “then

returning: for longer stays, while.“ others. .were - making . their first © European : trip” and. wanted. the «. company of other passengers and;

the ‘availability’ of shore excur-

‘sions. Some simply liked the ship.

: istafjord, which has Scan: Lis a. cruiser:

muilt in Britain along

Greece, Valletta in Malta, Palermo in Sicily, Porto Cervo in Sardinia and Napk s. Passengers could swim

‘and suntan six days out of seven.

Second biggest group was the

_ British at 194, followed by 179

Germans. To accommodate the large German contingent, the ship operates bilingually during the summer cruise program in Europe. All announcements are given in English first, followed by German. Menus and the ship's program and newspaper are also bilingual. They are distributed according to

“colored stickers on cabin doors —

blue *for English and green for German.

The only language drawback is in the entertainment area; ‘as com- edy* does: not work with two lan-

photo submitted

EVERY DAY isa ‘feast on ‘the cruise ship Vistafjord. Here, cruise ship passengers queue for a Bavarian brunch.

: classic lines. Unlike some vessels which resemble office buildings, ‘the red-funnelled Vistafjord is for romantics who dream of running “away to.sea, the types who read ‘Gavin -Young (Slow Boats to China, Slow Boats Home) as they sit in a’deck lounger with a rug over their. knees, frequently taking faraway looks at the horizon as if

a pirate ship or a U-boat were’

about to appear. Fhe - fall. weather. was almost

guages there is no comedian. In fact, according to cruise director Peter Hagman, a Swiss, no type of talking works. The preferred acts are dance groups and solo routines such as pianists and jugglers.

We had a silent magician. Hagman .said magicians are com- pulsive talkers and good, non-talk- ing ones are hard to find. Now you know. Bilingual bingo appeared quite popular, although most deck games, including the golf instruc-

tion, were in English. Scrabble, however, was available in English and German, the Trivial Pursuit was available in three forms —~ U.S. English, British English and German.

travel talk

David Wishart

Late night entertainment in the elegant nightclub was almost ¢n- tirely in English and featured two accomplished singers — Alexander Butterfield from England and Thelma Nevitt from New York.

There were not, however, many night owls, the clientele being middle-aged and older who retired carly. Most wanted to take it easy and enjoy the food and service.

Meals aboard the Vistafjord were decadently Edwardian. The chef is Austrian as are many of the dining room staff. There is one sit- ting and passengers go for dinner any time between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Breakfast and funch are available at the Lido Cafe beside the aft pool. Afternoon tea is also served here, making it possible to eat practically non-stop all day. Some people: board as passengers and leave as cargo. On the other hand every meal has low-calorie options.

There is another pool inside which is part of the Golden Spa health club, a popular exercise and keep fit program introduced by Cunard after the line bought the Vistafjord and her sister ship Sagafjord from Norwegian American Lines.

The vessel’s reputaiion for ser- vice is no myth. Minor cabin glit- ches were dealt with efficiently,

and one onward travel problem brought out the best in the tour office and the purser’s department.

In another display of class, Cunard refunded in full, the same day and in cash, money for a shore excursion which the line did not consider good value.

It's a good idea to arrive a few days prior to boarding the ship in order to get over jetlag and get the most out of the cruise.

Many passengers stayed at the celebrated Hotel Cipriani in Venice, then boarded the ship after an exotic and outrageously expen-

North Shore News

lake

sive, brief whoosh by water taxi.

The ports of call were well chosen, although few passengers would want to rush back to Palermo, which was grubby and suffering one of its frequent strikes.

Disembarkation at Naples was handled smoothly, and the free bus ride to Naples airport included a tour of the city.

Vistafjord reverted to all-English operation when she crossed the Atlantic for winter cruising. No bi- lingual bingo, but you can’t have everything.

HASTINGS TRAVEL

YOUR TRAVEL CENTRE WITH “SWISS EFFICIENCY”

FOR BUSINESS OR PLEA EASURE

maa w.Hastinas = 7?!

VANCOUVER, 8.C. V6C 1A5

TROPICANA ~ STANDARD *LAS PALMAS - STANDARD. : LOS SABALOS - STANDARD

*HOLIDAY INN - TOWER ROOM

Departures from Vancouver Feb. I~

tate thenernti etter a0 atetaler test ane ate 4 ot mt

@ 1048 Marine Dr. | fGoliger S (across sar the Avalon

serving travellers since 1955

catt: 689-0461

*HOLIDAY INN - OCEANVIEW ...

Puerto Vallarta

*PLAYA DE ORO - GARDENVIEW veseaneens *COSTA VALLARTA |-ONE BEDROOM.

JACK TAR VILLAGE - STANDARD... wal $ 1369 52249

“Hot available for Feb, 5 departures. “lot avadsbe foc Feb 6 departures.

Prices pet person based on double occupancy unless other wre stated.

rat SMALL PRINT AG Warder thytits veg 8 742 DS HO AO as AD Al destenatantes wea Wardan Higets Prices onal departure tate sal iaatile atann ated nay change without notne Bread y avy devon NON date wl travel rat laednnetdiritile ucrupanes eth Catedan daltary Cheek Noy adc plete tess and (end.taars HOLIDAYS DO NOP INCLUD! Hotel tases and anya Heals (unieny aftiremnve Stated) flatiebns and uther perasulerpenvey SORE IGT : rt MMS Ae Ht Noon The Hartree Wadiat Mabitavs dev ran athaed compare at Wanda Canada to

— Personalized — Multilingual Service

VERENA FURRER - Owner -

ZNIGHTS *. H4NIGHTS

589 5699 589° 5699 5699 $889 ” “5729-1059 759 ‘989 ‘779: 1079 929 {1279

28/88. Some dates may be limited.

ath youl faved agent and