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Side Trip

Briefs and news of note for the traveler.

By Times staff and wires
Published February 11, 2007

SET SAIL ON A THEMED CRUISE

Now through the end of March is the time to book cruises to make sure you'll get your first choice of dates, itineraries and cabins. Here are some themed cruises to consider:

- A charter trip on the Queen Mary 2, above, for a weeklong gay and lesbian trans-Atlantic cruise, scheduled for a May 29 departure. Details at www.rsvpvacations.com. Prices start at $1,595 per person, double occupancy.

- A cruise to ports in Greece and Turkey will visit markets, wineries, offbeat cafes and restaurants. The July 6-13 cruise will be aboard the Silver Cloud, a Silversea Cruise Lines ship. Tickets start at $4,406, not including air fare to Istanbul, Turkey, and home from Athens.

- Experience the "nonstop beauty buffet" on the "Get Away and Get Gorgeous" cruise to the Caribbean, departing March 25 from Fort Lauderdale. The seven-night trip, on a Carnival ship, features makeup maven Laura Geller, who has a line of cosmetics. Details at www.lauragellercruise.com. Prices begin at $900, double occupancy, plus $258 in surcharges.

Travel rebound yet to come

Travel to the United States still hasn't recovered from the drop after 9/11, with trouble getting visas cited as one major problem.

In 2000, the United States was the destination for 7.5 percent of all international travelers. After the terrorist attacks, tourism plummeted. Four years later, 6 percent of international visits were to the United States, according to the Commerce Department.

Lawmakers and travel executives are working on strategies to boost international tourism, which contributes $1.3-trillion and 7.3-million jobs to the U.S. economy, according to the Travel Industry Association.

Dining on the beach

Dress for dinner? Actually, you can go in a bathing suit at the beachfront restaurants highlighted in the February issue of Conde Nast Traveler.

The magazine's picks for the best places to dine on the beach in the Caribbean include:

- Karibuni Restaurant, Ilet Pinel, St. Martin, grilled entrees, lunch only, $16-$33.

- Fish Pot Restaurant, Shermans, Barbados, lunch and dinner, $13-$35, including curried chicken and crab salad. (Coverups required for your bathing suit at this one.)

- La Plage Restaurant, Plage de St. Jean, St. Barts, lunch and dinner, $20-$55, described as the type of meal you'd "expect on the Cote d'Azur."

- Il Tempio, Fitts Village, Barbados, lunch and dinner, $14-$46, Italian cuisine.

- Snack Zen, Shell Beach, St. Barts, sandwiches, lunch only, $9-$12.

- Chill Out, Long Bay, Jamaica, lunch and dinner, $5-$27, "unabashedly Jamaican" food, like fish with rice and peas.

For a list of all 24 beachfront restaurants highlighted in the magazine, visit www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/ and click on "The (Nearly) Naked Lunch (and Dinner)."

No trans fats on Crystal

The trans fat movement has hit the high seas. Crystal Cruises banned hydrogenated vegetable oils from its culinary offerings in January. Earlier, Royal Caribbean said it would begin eliminating trans fats from its menus starting March 1 and that its fleet would be trans fat-free by the end of the year.

Historically known for those all-you-can-eat buffets, with everything from hamburgers to herring, cruise ships say they are now catering to a more health-conscious clientele. "We have a well-educated, upscale customer who wants more healthy choices on the menu," said Mimi Weisband, a spokeswoman for Crystal Cruises.

Crystal Cruises also plans to introduce an "oil sommelier," who will offer diners a selection of infused, specialty oils to flavor their meal (A bit of rosemary oil with your lamb chop, madame?) Thankfully, for those who still like a bit of fat, Crystal Cruises is not banning butter.

New Bahamas resort planned

Construction is scheduled to begin this year on a five-hotel, 3,550-room resort on Nassau's Cable Beach. The $1.6-billion resort will include a 95,000-square-foot casino and an 18-hole golf course on 1,000 acres. The resort, to be called Baha Mar, will open in 2010.

Compiled with information from the Associated Press, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.

[Last modified February 9, 2007, 10:03:53]