Drive a little and you can sail a lot on cruises
By Times Staff
Published March 26, 2006
With the end of winter, cruise lines that based dozens of ships at Florida ports for the past several months will begin to re-position most of those vessels. They will be sent to home ports along the Eastern seaboard as far north as New York City, around the Gulf of Mexico to Texas, to the Pacific Northwest for cruising in Alaskan waters and to European shores.
The ships will return to Florida ports late next fall. A few cruise ships also will return then to New Orleans, when repairs are completed to ports damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
Meanwhile, the following lines will continue to sail from Florida ports or from San Juan. For detailed information, contact the cruise lines or a travel agent.
A word of advice: Itineraries can change on short notice, usually because of inclement weather. The hurricane season begins June 1 and lasts through November. Changes in the itinerary are announced to the passengers and, if possible, another port of call will be substituted. Otherwise, the ship will spend more time at sea during storms.
The fine print on a cruise ticket notes that "acts of God," such as severe weather, override a passenger's right to an automatic refund because of such schedule changes. At their discretion, the cruise lines may offer discounts on future sailings; partial refunds are provided more rarely.
AMERICAN CRUISE LINES, 741 Boston Post Road, Suite 200, Guilford, CT 06437. Toll-free 1-800-814-6880; www.americancruise lines.com.
American Eagle, Glory and Spirit (49 to 100 passenger capacity ships) sail from Jacksonville to Charleston, S.C., or Baltimore through May 27 on seven-night Antebellum South or East Coast Inland Passage cruises. Ships return Nov. 11 and Nov. 18 for Okeechobee and Southern Waterways and Great Rivers of Florida cruises.
AMERICAN CANADIAN CARIBBEAN LINE, 461 Water St., P.O. Box 368, Warren, RI 02885. Toll-free 1-800-556-7450; www.accl-smallships.com.
The Grande Mariner and Grande Caribe, both 100-passenger vessels, sail from Jacksonville to Charleston, S.C., and from Stuart to Warren, R.I., on seven-night Colonial Intracoastal Waterway and Intracoastal Waterway cruises April 12, April 16 and May 1. Niagara Prince (78 passengers) sails from Jacksonville to St. Petersburg on May 3 and from St. Petersburg to New Orleans on May 12. "Bow landings" enable direct disembarkation onto shore.
CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES, 3655 NW 87th Ave., Miami, FL 33178-2428. Toll-free 1-800-227-6482; www.carnival.com.
Fifteen Carnival ships sail from Florida ports or from San Juan; two of these, the Inspiration (2,052 passengers) and the Carnival Miracle (2,124 passengers), sail from Tampa on five- to seven-day western Caribbean cruises with stops in Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Costa Maya. Others sail from Miami, Port Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale or Jacksonville on varied-length Bahamas, western, southern or eastern Caribbean cruises with stops in Mexico. Liberty will sail a trans-Atlantic voyage April 23 from Fort Lauderdale to Rome. Ship passenger capacities range from 1,486 (Celebration) to 2,974 (Carnival Valor, Carnival Liberty and Carnival Glory ).
CELEBRITY CRUISES, 1050 Caribbean Way, Miami, FL 33132. Toll-free 1-800-437-3111; www.celebrity.com.
Four of Celebrity's ships sail from Fort Lauderdale or Miami on eastern and western Caribbean cruises until their trans-Atlantic and Panama Canal positionings in April. The ships range from smaller 1,375 passenger ships like the Zenith (due to sail from Tampa starting Nov. 17) to 1,950-passenger ships like the Infinity and Millennium. Port stops include Aruba, Fuerte Amador (Panama), Cabo San Lucas and Acapulco (Mexico), Puntarenas (Costa Rica), Ocho Rios, Key West and Nassau. Trans-Atlantic voyages to Barcelona are offered April 16 and April 30; Panama Canal positioning to San Francisco occurs April 2.
COSTA CRUISE LINE, 200 S Park Road, Suite 200, Hollywood, FL 33021. Toll-free 1-800-332-6782 (brochures) or 1-800-462-6782 (reservations); www.costacruises.com.
The Costa Mediterranea (2,114 passengers) and Costa Magica (2,720 passengers) both sail from Fort Lauderdale on five- to seven-night eastern and western Caribbean cruises with stops in Key West, Ocho Rios, Roatan (Honduras) and Cozumel, through April. Costa Magica sails a Nassau and Bermuda cruise April 21 and a trans-Atlantic voyage to Copenhagen May 5. Trans-Atlantic sailing for the Costa Mediterranea is April 16 to Malaga (Spain) and Savona (Italy).
CRUISE WEST, 2301 Fifth Ave., Suite 401, Seattle WA 98121-1856. Toll-free 1-888-851-8133; cruisewest.com.
The Nantucket Clipper (102 passengers) sails from Jacksonville on eight-day Antebellum South cruises along the Intracoastal Waterway to Charleston, S.C., with stops in Savannah, Ga., and Brunswick, Ga. (for Jekyll Island). Cruise dates are April 10 and April 24.
CRYSTAL CRUISES, 2049 Century Park E, Suite 1400, Los Angeles, CA 90067. Toll-free 1-888-799-4625; www.crystalcruises.com.
The trans-Atlantic voyage from Miami to Lisbon on April 29 for the Crystal Symphony (940 passengers) is the only area cruise until it returns in November
DISCOVERY CRUISE LINE, 1775 NW 70th Ave., Miami, FL 33126. Toll-free 1-800-937-4477; www.discoverycruiseline.com.
Daily, one-day cruise and resort packages from Port Everglades to Grand Bahama are available on the Discovery Sun (1,210 passengers). Discovery also offers U.S. military personnel one free cruise to be used before 2007.
DISNEY CRUISE LINE, P.O. Box 10210, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830. Toll-free 1-888-325-2500; www.disneycruise.com.
Seven-night western Caribbean sailings on the Magic from Port Canaveral to Key West, Cayman Islands, Cozumel and Castaway Cay (Disney's private island in the Bahamas), alternate with seven-night eastern Caribbean sailings to St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Castaway Cay. Disney's Wonder sails on three- to four-night Bahamas cruises from Port Canaveral. Both Disney ships carry 2,700 passengers.
HOLLAND AMERICA LINE, 300 Elliott Ave. W, Seattle, WA 98119. Toll-free 1-800-426-0327 or 1-877-724-5425 for videos or brochures; www.hollandamerica.com.
Of Holland America's seven ships that sail from Florida or San Juan, two, the Veendam and the Ryndam (both 1,258 passengers), sail from Tampa throughout the Caribbean, with stops including San Juan, Isla de Margarita (Venezuela), Barbados, Grenada and Montego Bay. They depart April 22 for Vancouver and April 16 for San Diego positionings. The remaining ships (capacities range from 793 to 1,848 passengers) sail the Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale, and Prinsendam sails a South American course April 26. There are Panama Canal positioning cruises to San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver in April for the Volendam, Westerdam, Zaandam, Zuiderdam.
IMPERIAL MAJESTY CRUISE LINE, 4161 NW Fifth St., Suite 200, Plantation, FL 33317-2158. Toll-free 1-800-394-3865; www.imperialmajesty.com.
Every-other-day, two-night cruises sail year-round from Port Everglades to Nassau/Paradise Island in the Bahamas on the 1,190-passenger Regal Empress.
MSC CRUISES, 6750 N Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309. Toll-free 1-800-666-9333; www.msccruises.com.
MSC's 1,590-passenger capacity Lirica sails from Fort Lauderdale to the eastern Caribbean with stops in San Juan, St. Maarten, Barbados and Grenada on Friday and April 22. It also travels to the western Caribbean and South and Central America on April 11 with stops in Ocho Rios, Cartagena (Venezuela), Cristobal (Panama), Puerto Limon (Costa Rica) and the Roatan Islands (Honduras). The ship departs for season with a 17-night trans-Atlantic trip to Barcelona, Malaga and Genoa on May 3.
NEKTON DIVING CRUISES, 520 SE 32nd St., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316. Toll-free 1-800-899-6753; www.nektoncruises.com.
The Nekton Pilot (32 passengers) alternates a weeklong Cay Sal Bank diving cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Grand Bahama - featuring diving in South Tuna Alley, Victory Reef and Cat Cay - with a Northwest Bahamas weeklong cruise to Gingerbread Grounds and Indian Cay Reef beginning May 20 through Sept 9.
NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE, 7665 Corporate Center Drive, Miami, FL 33126. Toll-free 1-800-327-7030; www.ncl.com.
Sailing from Miami, the Norwegian Jewel (2,376 passengers) and the Norwegian Sun (2,002 passengers) alternate eastern and western seven-day Caribbean cruises; ports include Roatan (Honduras), Ocho Rios, Costa Maya (Mexico), Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas, Antigua, Belize City and San Juan. The Jewel's positioning cruise to Barcelona April 30 stops in Azores, Rome, Villefranche. The Norwegian Sun also makes a one-day "Dinner and Dance" cruise from Miami on April 22 before positioning to San Francisco April 23 with stops in Puntarenas (Costa Rica), Huatulco (Mexico). Both ships return in fall.
PRINCESS CRUISES, 24305 Town Center Drive, Santa Clarita, CA 91355. Toll-free 1-800-774-6237; www.princess.com.
Seven of Princess' ships sail from Florida (all but one from Fort Lauderdale), with most departing the area in April or May on positioning cruises to London, Cork, Paris, Oslo and Copenhagen as well as through the Panama Canal to Seattle and Vancouver. Caribbean Princess cruises the eastern and western Caribbean on seven-night voyages year-round; ports include St. Maarten, Ocho Rios, Cozumel and Princess Cays in the Bahamas. The Golden Princess sails the eastern Caribbean from San Juan as part of April 29's positioning trip to New York; and the Regal Princess sails April 7 on an Amazon cruise to Manaus (Brazil), with stops in Devil's Island (French Guiana) and Trinidad. Ship capacities range from the Regal at 1,590 passengers to Caribbean Princess at 3,100.
REGENT SEVEN SEAS CRUISES (formerly Radisson Seven Seas Cruises), 1000 Corporate Drive, Suite 500, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334. Toll-free 1-800-285-1835; www.rssc.com.
Area sailings before the ships leave the area include an April 3 Panama Canal and Le Cordon Bleu Workshop cruise from Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco by the 700-passenger all-suites, all-balcony ship, Seven Seas Mariner. Stops include Key West, Puntarenas (Costa Rica), Acapulco, Cabo San Lucas and Los Angeles. The Seven Seas Navigator (490 passengers) departs Fort Lauderdale on April 7 for an 11-night cruise to Savannah, Ga., Charleston, S.C., and Bermuda. On April 21 a trans-Atlantic trip takes it to Funchal (Madeira). The Seven Seas Voyager (700 passengers), also an all-suites, all-balcony ship, sails from Fort Lauderdale to Funchal (Madeira) on April 28, also a Le Cordon Bleu culinary and Big Band-themed cruise.
ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL, 1050 Caribbean Way, Miami, FL 33132. Toll-free 1-800-722-5045 or 1-800-327-6700; www.royalcaribbean.com.
The Grandeur of the Seas (1,959 passengers) and the Legend of the Seas (1,800 passengers) sail from Tampa on western Caribbean cruises through April, making a total of 15 Royal Caribbean International ships that sail from Florida or San Juan. The Legend's April 15 voyage to Southampton in the United Kingdom includes Bermuda and Azores stops. Ships range in capacity from 1,602 (Empress of the Seas) to 3,114 (Adventure, Explorer, Mariner and Navigator of the Seas), sailing throughout the Caribbean, Panama Canal and on three- to four-night Bahamas cruises, with stops including Ocho Rios, Belize, Hispanola, San Juan, Antigua and St. Lucia. Other trans-Atlantic destinations (in April and May) include Barcelona and Harwich (England).
SEABOURN CRUISE LINE, 6100 Blue Lagoon Drive, Suite 400, Miami, FL 33126; Toll-free 1-800-929-9391; www.seabourn.com.
The only area sailing will be April 23 as Seabourn Legend (an all-suite ship with 208-passenger capacity) makes a 12-day trans-Atlantic voyage from Fort Lauderdale to Lisbon, with a stop in Ponta Delgada (Azores).
SILVERSEA CRUISES, 110 E Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301. Toll-free 1-800-722-9955 or 1-800-774-9996; www.silversea.com.
The Silver Whisper (382 passengers) sets sail from San Juan on April 5 and April 13 on eastern Caribbean cruises, including stops in St. Kitts, Grenada, St. Bart's and Virgin Gorda (British Virgin Islands). A trans-Atlantic positioning trip from San Juan to Canary Islands and Spain sets sail April 20.
Quick trips
A number of half-day and day "cruises to nowhere" are offered from Florida ports. The vessels typically sail far enough from shore to allow them to open their casinos. Here's a sampling:
n SunCruz Casino offers five-hour cruises that depart from the Madeira Beach side of John's Pass (as Treasure Island Casino Cruz), (727) 895-3325, and from Port Canaveral, Key Largo, Daytona Beach and Jacksonville (as Oceans Casino Cruises). Call toll-free 1-800-474-3423; www.suncruzcasino.com.
n Palm Beach Princess of Palm Beach Casino Line sails from Riviera Beach (port of Palm Beach) on five-hour cruises daily. Call toll-free 1-800-841-7447; www.pbcasino.com.
n Ambassador II of Sterling Casino Lines sails twice daily from Port Canaveral. Call toll-free 1-800-765-5711; www.sterlingcasinolines.com.
n SeaEscape sails from Port Everglades daily. Call toll-free 1-800-327-2005 or 1-877-732-3722; www.seaescape.com.
n Party Line Cruise Co. operates the Cloud X three-hour ferry and gaming ship to Freeport, Bahamas, from Riviera Beach (port of Palm Beach) Thursday through Monday. Call toll-free 1-866-463-3779; www.cloudx.com.
- Compiled by PEGGY ANDERS of the St. Petersburg Times