One of travel`s best-kept secrets may be the affordability of floating through Europe, thanks to the abundance of cruise liners sailing from British and Continental ports with prices pegged to local currencies rather than U.S. dollars.
Now on sale through travel agents in London and other parts of Europe are four-night-and-longer voyages at prices as low as $35 a person a night. If you`re ready to part with, say, $150 a night, on more than a few vessels you almost get the moon: not a ballroom-sized suite with full-time slaves, of course, but (as on the P&O Line`s handsome Canberra) a top-of-the-line outside single or double cabin.
Because these are sums that turn the calendar back about 20 years, they won`t go entirely unnoticed, despite of dearth of U.S. promotion efforts.
In Britain alone, 82 cruises are being offered through Sept. 28, with destinations including the Norwegian fjords, Scandinavia and Russia; Portugal, Spain and Morocco; ports around the British Isles; and the Italian and French Rivieras.
Sight-seeing Europe by sea almost qualifies as a revolutionary notion, in that most American visitors in the last several decades have been accustomed to thinking in terms of rental cars, trains or tour buses. The sea routes, though, can be especially attractive to travelers who want a taste of this and that without the usual grind of packing and unpacking, lifting and toting.
Obviously, the lowest-priced cruise cabins won`t do much for luxury-lovers. Also, many of the ships based in Europe are here because they`d flunk out in competition with the newer, more spruced-up liners fighting for supremacy in the U.S. market.
Nonetheless, some genuine opportunities are waiting to be discovered by serious shoppers who understand the trade-offs, especially travelers with thin wallets who might have given up all hope of sampling the sea. For example:
Thirteen nights of sailing along the French and Italian Rivieras, entertainment and food included, at prices starting at about $63 a night. Well, that`s what`s promised by the P&O liner Canberra, though the bottom rate does apply to four-person inside cabins without private bathrooms. Never mind. If you`re tied to a tight budget and want to try a different way of stretching it, the Canberra`s cheapie cabins constitute an option worth pondering.
Naturally, those with access to a fatter piggy bank could treat themselves to better quarters, while still spending less than $100 a night. Inexpensive ”standby” rates (about a third of normal fares) might be of special interest to anyone flexible enough to show up dockside given 21 days` advance notice of confirmation. And if rivieras don`t seem sirenish enough, similar prices apply to voyages around Yugoslavia and Greece, Portugal and its Atlantic islands, Cyprus and the Holy Land.
CTC Lines operates the USSR-owned and staffed ships Mikhail Lermontov, Leonid Brezhnev and Taras Shevchenko, all three of which, at today`s exchange rates, check in at startingly low prices for cruises to highly appealing places.
Cheapest is a six-night voyage from Britain to France and Guernsey at about $35 a night, with seven nights to Copenhagen, Oslo and Hamburg at about the same price; seven nights to the Norwegian fjords from about $44 a night. Other voyages include 10 nights to the Baltic capitals and Russia with return by air for about $48 a night, 12 nights to Portugal, Spain and North Africa from about $44 a night.
These are ”economy ships” in more than price, of course. By comparison to the looks, style and food of most liners marketed in the U.S., they`re rather basic–rusty, even dusty. Yet they do have swimming pools, movie theaters, gyms, shops, nightclubs and discos, and a fairly young lot of passengers. In sum, if you`re ready to take fewer frills for fewer bucks, sailing with the Soviets is certainly a buy.
The Vacation Liners` Vacationer does have eye appeal. And for casual, ultra-economical cruising and an arresting itinerary, it would be hard to beat this nicely appointed converted cargo ship. Staffed by friendly Dutch officers and Moroccan stewards, the Vacationer will do seven-night sailings between Portugal, Spain and Morocco from May 20 through Sept. 30. Figure about $50 to $55 a night.
Since the ship spends the major part of each voyage tied up at its various ports, shore visits are the principal entertainment. Indeed, that makes the Vacationer a truly practical way to travel for anyone keen on sight- seeing in this absorbing part of the world. There is a piano-equipped bar-lounge, plus a swimming pool and sundeck. Essentially, though, this is a cozy little cruiser that stresses informality and do-it-yourself fun in the sun.
One of the last liners regularly crossing the Atlantic, Polish Ocean Lines` Stefan Batory this year has one-way London-Montreal rates that start at about $397.
Passengers also can go from London to Gdynia, Poland, stopping at Rotterdam, at fares starting at about $123 one way. There are monthly sailings and since the Stefan Batory is an old, Olde World-style liner–around long enough to have made many friends–it tends to fill up its cabins more quickly than many other ships do.
As usual, Swan Hellenic will be shepherding culturally inclined, mostly British passengers on its 13-night fly-cruises aboard the ship Orpheus. At various times it will sail to Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Yugoslavia, Israel, Bulgaria, Russia, Italy, Spain, North Africa and Romania.
The Orpheus itself is only adequate, but the big attraction is the operator`s reputation for providing outstanding lectures on the history of each place it visits. Combine that with prices that this year start at about $66 a night, and lots of Americans might well get the urge to go.
Many other ships and sailings that in light of currency movements have special appeal this year. (Even the extraordinarily expensive Sea Goddess is significantly less dear when booked at British prices.) The trick thus becomes finding a U.S. travel agent who can make booking and payment arrangements that take advantage of prices quoted in British pounds, French francs or what have you. Many haven`t developed channels; some don`t want the responsibility of selling what they don`t know, and worry that you might blame them if the trip disappoints.
On your own, though, you can try writing to or calling a London agency. Thomas Cook and American Express are two of the better-known names; many British magazines and Sunday newspapers contain advertisements from others who sell the cruises mentioned here and more. The agencies can send brochures; you can send money or credit card charge permission.
In the airline business, this sort of moving with the rise and fall of currencies is called ”cross-border ticketing.” For bargain-hunters who don`t mind the effort it takes to profit on a cruise, it might just be called
”Whoopee!”
