ON-BOARD REPORT: American Orient Express

Seasickness? Not on This Cruise

To anyone who'd taken a luxury cruise before, it was like deja vu all over again:

• The night before departure in a four-star hotel, with dinner and breakfast included, followed by a deluxe morning tour of the city of embarkation prior to boarding.
• Arrival in one's cabin to find personal luggage already there.
• A mighty blast of the deep-throated horn as the behemoth — more than three football fields long — slowly glides away from the terminal.
• Tuxedoed waiters serving attractive and creative gourmet meals in several dining salons.
• Neatly uniformed stewards, always polishing and tidying, who place chocolates on pillows.
• Post-breakfast land tours aboard deluxe coaches led by well-qualified local guides, and included lunches on land at the best restaurant in each visited city.
• The customary library, 24-hour purser's desk, piano bar, series of experts' theme lectures, daily mini-newspaper under the door, logo shop, lots of loyal repeat cruisers, and past-passengers club.

The smooth ride is punctuated occasionally by a bit of swaying or a bump or two, but even those prone to seasickness are confident they'll be fine this time. Especially when they look out their cabin windows and notice the waves. Because they're amber waves. Of grain. And their cabin is part of a meticulously restored vintage rail car of the American Orient Express, sailing along the inspiring parklands, scenic shorelines, lofty mountains, and great cities of America.

Now in its seventh year, American Orient Express is a private company whose private train operates through almost all parts of the nation. Its equipment consists of vintage cars from the streamliner era of the 1940s and 1950s, thoroughly reconditioned. The cars operated daily on fabled trains like the 20^th Century Limited, the Santa Fe Chiefs, the Cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles, and the California Zephyr.

As part of the upgrade to American Orient Express standards, each sleeper car was outfitted with modern air conditioning, heating, lighting, electrical outlets, sound systems, toilets, showers, sinks with hot and cold water, glazing, emergency exits, carpeting, berths, and sofas. The four dining and lounge cars on each train and the round-ended observation car at the rear were brought up to speed with the addition of mahogany furnishings, leather and brass lamps and accents, inlaid paneling, custom chairs and tables, refreshment bars, marble counter tops, baby grand pianos, exactingly painted ceiling murals, modern kitchens, and royal-quality china, crystal, silverware, and linens.

There are four crew cars at the front of the train: two sleepers, a lounge/diner, and a laundry car that keeps the towels fluffy and the sheets crisp.

The train's capacity is about 100 passengers, so the quintet of dining/lounge/observation cars is more than adequate for out-of-cabin activity. The seating capacity in the dining cars just about equals the passenger count, so there's almost never any wait for a table. The galley renovation, together with a collection of experienced and talented chefs, has resulted in food of cruise-ship quality and variety. Samples of regional cuisine are offered on each trip — like fresh salmon and halibut in the Northwest and Cajun in the South — along with a full palette of meat, fish, poultry, and vegetarian selections. Complimentary wines are included with each dinner. The four dining and lounge cars are strategically located at the center of the train, so no sleeper is more than four cars away. Before and after dinner, passengers congregate and easily meet each other in the two lounge/bar cars adjoining the dining cars.

Accommodations come in four types: vintage Pullman, parlor suites, single sleepers, and presidential suites that have a private shower. For other travelers, a shower is on each car and can be reserved. Each cabin has sofa-style seating for day use. A crew complement of 32 results in a generous 3-to-1 passenger-crew ratio and translates into a high standard of maintenance.

Passengers are typically from all over the U. S. and often are affiliated with a travel group. On a recent trip across the country, groups from Brown University, the Audubon Society, the Smithsonian, and Friends of the National Parks joined independent travelers. A number of trips are built around themes. They feature authorities on theme subjects. Examples: the Civil War, the Antebellum South, and National Parks. Events produced by special-interest groups are open to all, so cultural enrichment is in the air for those choosing to inhale.

Passengers come from all walks of life: business, education, government, transportation, media, law, medicine, science, and more. Acquaintance-making is continuous. The interaction with interesting new people and exposure to new insights is a highlight of the trip for most passengers, they say. All ages are typically represented, from the 40s to the 70s. Up to a third of the passengers on many trips travel singly. A growing percentage are repeaters, a good testament to any high-end carrier — land, sea, or air.

The train plies some of the most scenic territory in the U. S. and Canada year-round, concentrating on national parks. Its 2001 schedule consists of seven- and 10-day trips including:

• Washington - New Orleans, with local touring at Washington, Richmond, Charleston, Savannah, and Mobile.
• Los Angeles - Washington, with local touring at Los Angeles, Grand Canyon National Park, Santa Fe, San Antonio, New Orleans, Savannah, and Charleston.
• Los Angeles - Seattle, with local touring at Los Angeles, Hearst Castle, San Francisco, Napa Valley, and Portland.
• Seattle - Salt Lake City, with local touring at Seattle, Bigfork, Montana; Glacier National Park; Great Falls, Montana; Grand Teton National Park; and Yellowstone National Park.
• Salt Lake City - Denver, with local touring at Salt Lake City, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Colorado National Monument.
• Salt Lake City - Phoenix, with local touring at Salt Lake City, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, and Grand Canyon National Park.
• Vancouver - Montreal, with local touring at Vancouver, Jasper National Park, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, and Ottawa.

Early-booking rates range from about $370 per day for vintage Pullman accommodations to about $640 per person per day for presidential suites. Rates include three meals per day, first-class local sightseeing and excursions, premium pre-departure hotel, premium hotels enroute when stopovers are necessary, soft drinks, bottled water, dinner wines, and lectures. Bottled water is provided on off-train tours.

American Orient Express' unusual attention to detail is evident early in the travel experience. In documents that arrive weeks before departure, passengers are provided with a list of historic temperature highs and lows and average rainfall statistics in each city to be visited. There's also a suggested reading list in the packet to make passengers' trips more meaningful.

How the American Orient Express notion was conceived and later neatly packaged is probably the company's most often-asked question. It's a tale that executive vice president Peter A. Boese likes to tell.

A great deal of travel research preceded AOE's rollout, Boese begins. It was obvious to him and his AOE colleagues that travel on commercial carriers in the U. S. had become largely homogeneous — and intellectually dull. There was little in the way of personal stimulus or enrichment to be gained en route. That was in spite of the fact that the development of America was a great story that unfolded in full color literally before travelers' eyes. It seemed waiting to be told.

Studying high-end carriers in other parts of the world, AOE found a big difference. Luxury Seabourn Cruises, for example, was showing Americans the glories of Rome and the wonders of Greece in an enriching, historic context. On land, top-tier tour firm Abercrombie & Kent — Boese's former employer — was continuing to enjoy decades of success and passenger praise doing the same thing. In short, Americans could visit the world in luxury and comfort and return oohing and aahing, enriched with notions of history, new understandings, and vivid cultural immersion. They could do that by buying a single all-inclusive travel-food-attractions package and not have to worry about surprise expenses or easy access to the most interesting sites. But they couldn't find a way to do that in their own country in similar high style and ultimate comfort. AOE detected a void. It decided to fill it. With an antidote to U. S. travel sameness.

Its approach was to recreate as faithfully as possible — and improve upon — the apogee of American travel comfort and luxury, the great streamliner era of the 1930s through 1950s. That was a $15 million undertaking. Then it would add top-flight software to the hardware: the best kind of dining, authorities aboard to speak, theme trips visiting the most meaningful locations, geographical selections based on best weather at each time of the year, a maximum serving of cultural enrichment, and old-fashioned comfort and American hospitality.

Comfort, style, cultural enrichment, historical perspective, and a bundled single-price package covering travel/fine dining/tour admissions/learning were to be AOE's key words.

Build it and will they come? In AOE's case, yes. The passenger count has increased during each year of operation. Next year's count will be 5000, double the 1999 total.

A measure of how popular the AOE concept has become is that more than 70 people were left on a waiting list during a recent trans-Canada trip. As a consequence, reservations are now typically made six months or more in advance, says Boese.

To meet those challenges and opportunities, the company has major growth plans. In 2002, it will acquire a second train, this one with domed lounge cars. It is scheduled to be deployed on trips to Mexico's Copper Canyon that start and end in the U. S. Canyon mavens label Copper Canyon even more spectacular than Grand Canyon. In the colorful fall season, the train will travel through New England and Canada, literally inside a thousand-mile cocoon of golds, flaming reds, and ambers that form the season's spectacular foliage. Because the larger cabins with showers en suite are most in demand, a number of single accommodations will be removed and combined into deluxe suites, says Boese. That will make it easier for more passengers to get the space they prefer. As part of the equipment addition, the original train will receive its first dome lounge car.

As on most cruises, passengers are asked to fill out an evaluation form just before disembarkation. Boese figures AOE is doing something right judging by a form he received from a veteran traveler recently. The passenger summed it up with: "This was the most educational, comfortable, scenic, and appetizing 55-mile-an-hour cruise we've ever taken."

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Further information: American Orient Express' Web site is www.AmericanOrientExpress.com. Its 2002 brochure is available at 877 854 3545.

ON-BOARD REPORT: Statendam

You wouldn't expect to hear splendid classical music wafting from a grand piano in a ship's long-closed dining room near midnight. But if you did, and you were on Holland America's Statendam, you might have wandered over to see what was going on. There in that cavernous, silent, two-level space that had been bustling with 700 diners and servers a few hours earlier, you might be surprised to discover the source of that rich, grand sound: a bright, multi-talented, crisply-uniformed young bus-boy finding simple relaxation after a hectic four hours of serving up to 40 passengers.

That's pretty typical of the ship's uniformly smart, well-mannered, well-groomed, and likable Philippine and Indonesian staff. They show up in many unexpected places during a Statendam cruise, helping to make passengers' experiences memorable: in an era where self-service has become the rule on most ships, they personally deliver after-dinner mints into the hands of departing dinner guests; they personally assemble trays with cutlery and linens and proficiently hand them to Lido diners at the beginning of the food line; they personally staff dessert displays and cheerfully dispense the goodies; they man automatic coffee/tea machines and personally serve the beverages; they personally provide popcorn to moviegoers (on many newer ships there is no motion picture theater); they personally prepare and serve omelets and pastas while chatting up the guests; they're up at poolside demonstrating one-on-one how favorite dishes are cooked, the many ways that the dining room's linen napkins are folded, how to carve vegetables; and more.

Then, after working hours, they enthusiastically produce a well-polished talent show for passengers and they're on stage by the hundreds in a day-before-departure thank-you-and-good-bye gathering.

Many of those personal touches have become uncommon on most ships and thus tend to create a closer-than-usual bond between passengers and staff on the Statendam. That may be why — on a typical Statendam cruise — more than 50 percent of the passengers are repeaters. They're recognized with a reception on each cruise.

Some of those uncommon touches extend to the configuration and decor of passenger cabins. One well-planned touch is the placement of a supplemental panel of light switches so that they can be reached from bed. Upon retiring and awakening, a passenger need only touch the backboard to extinguish lights or brighten the room. Individual reading lamps are placed so they won't disturb others. The usual doorside light panel is also there. Another design plus can be found in many closets. Hinged panels can rest either vertically against a wall or horizontally. In the former position, the closet is used to hang clothes; in the latter arrangement, it becomes a space for shelves. Cabins are finished with light-toned woods and walls, and are highlighted with light fabrics and furnishings.

In-cabin television carries movie, cable news, and sports channels 24 hours a day. It's used also to re-broadcast lectures and shows and to preview port tours. It shows a continuous view from the bridge.

Entertainment is presented in several locations nightly. A big, dual-level showroom houses major productions of professional quality and considerable complexity. Several auxiliary showrooms present dance music, disco music, string concerts, soloists, comedians, and more. A piano bar concentrates on old favorites.

An abundance of food is served in an abundance of places: a main dining room that seats more than 600, a Lido, a poolside grill, an alternative-dining Pinnacle Grill, a pizzeria, an ice cream bar, a dessert section. Early breakfast, breakfast, buffet breakfast, lunch, a taco bar, a pasta bar, a pizza bar, an ice cream bar, a sandwich bar, burgers and hot dogs, lunch, buffet lunch, afternoon snacks, formal dinner, casual dinner, alternative dinner, and late night snacks assure that there's something available to be eaten almost all day and all night. The main dining room offers a wide selection of appetizers, salads, soups, main courses, and desserts each night. Often soft violins or piano music accompany dinner from a balcony music pod. The alternative dining room offers premium menus.

To work off all that food, a first-rate health club is provided in a spacious top-of-the-ship salon. Its equipment includes most of the popular workout gear. Professional instruction is offered. Hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms, massage, and spa treatments are part of the complex.

Glass is used generously throughout the ship. It surrounds three sides of the health club, three sides of a large bar/lounge, and three sides of the two-story main dining room. Floor-to-ceiling glass covers two sides of the Lido dining room and two sides of the high-end alternative Pinnacle Grill. It's above sun-seekers on the sliding swimming pool dome, too. And it allows floor-to-ceiling views of an extensive series of stores in the shopping gallery.

Also generously in view in the Statendam's tasteful, Continual-style public areas are rich woods, carpeting, art, and brass highlights... continuously, it seems to passengers, being cleaned and polished by an army of caretakers.

Tours are a main ingredient of cruise travel. On the Statendam, experienced tour personnel explain each port before arrival. Using lectures and in-cabin video, they inform from both a historic and tourist perspective. Passengers are encouraged to ask questions and then choose the tours that most interest them.

Two publications are delivered to each stateroom daily. Each morning, a New York Times digest keeps passengers aware of goings-on in the world; each evening, a daily program chronicles the next day's scheduled events, ports, entertainment offerings, TV choices, dining and bar hours, and other events and services of interest. Typically, each day's program lists more than three dozen choices.

Holland America has for decades had a "No Tipping Required" policy. In practice, that means that most passengers tip voluntarily, just as they would elsewhere. But staff is not allowed to offer guidance about sums and tip envelopes are not distributed unless requested.

ON-BOARD REPORT: Crown Princess

Designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, best known for designing Paris' Pompidou center, the Crown Princess has a distinctive, rounded dolphin-shape profile. The Crown Princess, along with its sister ship, the Regal Princess, kicked off Princess Cruises' "Grand Class" line of ships when it was christened in 1990. A decade later, the ship still has a clean, sleek, modern look and a comfortable feel.

For passengers who can't stand the Las Vegas atmosphere or the crowds of today's 2,700-passenger mega-ships but still want more amenities than small ships can offer, the Crown Princess is an excellent compromise. It has some of the lavish features of huge new ships, including a pool with a waterfall and a swim-up bar, a million-dollar art collection in its three-story glass and brass atrium, a pizzeria, a wine and caviar bar, and a shopping gallery. But because it "only" has 1,590 passengers (double occupancy), the Crown Princess rarely feels crowded. It's easy to find some privacy on a ship that's nearly three football fields long, with 11 passenger decks. The spacious public rooms have a classical, elegant feel to them, far from the gaudiness of many of today's cruise ships.

With its Italian crew and kitchen room staff, any review of the Crown Princess focuses heavily on dining. Princess takes mealtime very seriously. A visit to the Crown Court dining room might mean creamy, steaming linguine made fresh at of your table (you can smell the garlic sautéing from your seat), a tangy Caesar salad also made fresh while you wait, a creative selection of appetizers and soups, a wide variety of entrees ranging from Osso Bucco to Cioppino, and too many rich desserts for your own good. And that's just lunch!

Dinner is typically a two-hour, seven-course event with entrees like Maine lobster, filet mignon, and New Zealand spring lamb. Desserts range from chocolate soufflé to crème brulee to baked Alaska. But, always, there's pasta, the heart and soul of the cuisine.

For those who need nourishment in between meals, there's a pizzeria that serves flaky, thin-cruise Italian-style pizza. There's also Café Cabana, the more casual alternative restaurant. If you can't bear to leave the pool, there's an outdoor grill supplying hot dogs, hamburgers and the like. There's Le Bistro, which serves late-night fare ranging from steak and fries to grilled salmon to - you guessed it - fresh pasta. If you just have to have a cappuccino and croissant in the morning, you can stop by La Patisserie. Or in the evening, you may want to spend some time in the wine and caviar bar.

Still hungry? There's always 24-hour room service with a surprisingly extensive menu of soups, salads, sandwiches and much more.

When passengers finally get tired of eating, there are lots of other things to do on the Crown Princess. Two reasonably sized pools (one with an in-pool bar and waterfall) and two whirlpools adorn the Lido deck, and another two whirlpools are located one deck below in the back of the ship, boasting an incredible view of the sea. For those attempting to stay in shape (at least somewhat), there's a fitness center on the lowest passenger deck that has the usual assortment of weights, treadmills, and exercise bikes. But many passengers opt for walking or jogging around the ship on track atop the Sun deck.

Crown Princess also offers a youth center with video, games and more at the back of the Sun deck. While their children are playing games in the youth center, parents may want to do some gaming themselves in the casino located at the very front of the top deck. The casino is surrounded by a comfortable lounge known as "The Dome," offering 180-degree views of the sea ahead. Most of the ship's other lounges are located on the Promenade deck, which is also home to the Crown Court dining room. Passengers looking for entertainment head to the two-story International Show Lounge, which offers twice-nightly shows that range from nightclub acts to cabaret-style entertainment. First-run movies are shown one floor down in the Princess Theatre, as well as on television in the staterooms.

A typical day on the Crown Princess might begin with morning stretches and a brisk walk on the Sun deck at 9 a.m., followed by bingo at 10, an art auction at 10:30, trivia contests at 11, a putting contest at noon, port lectures at 1 p.m., wine tasting at 2:30, a classical music presentation at 4, cocktails in "The Dome" watching the sun set at 5:30, a cabaret show at 8:15, and dancing in one of the lounges till midnight. All of the above, of course, must be sandwiched (no pun intended) around a half dozen meals and snacks if you so choose. Or, you may want to simply plop down in a lounge chair by the pool with a good book and work on your tan all day, interrupted only by a tropical drink and a grilled cheeseburger from the outdoor café. For those looking for live music and entertainment in the evenings, there's more than enough, from the six lounges to the nightly production in the International Show Lounge.

When passengers return to their cabins each night, they'll find them more than adequate by cruise standards. Cabins on the Crown Princess are comfortable and well laid out. They range from 190 square feet for standard inside or outside rooms to 366 feet for mini-suites and 558 feet for suites. Nearly one of every four staterooms has a balcony, making the cruise experience all the better. Standard outside staterooms enjoy large, oval picture windows much bigger than the typical porthole. Most staterooms have beds that can be arranged in either twin or queen-size configurations. Each room has a hair dryer, a safe, television, mini-bar, and full-length mirrors. There's a desk and small sitting area in the rooms, and a closet that's surprisingly roomy. Bathrooms have a clean, modern design. While far from spacious, they're more than adequate - as is the shower, which also features showerheads that can switch from standard to water-massage. For those fortunate enough to have a mini-suite they can enjoy a private bedroom with a queen-size bed, a comfortable sitting room area and private balcony for entertaining, two TVs, a walk-in closet, and a bath with both tub and shower. Besides being larger, the suites also boast a bath with two sinks and a sitting room with a sofa bed.

Whether passengers have a suite or a standard room, their stateroom will be comfortable enough to promise a good night's rest so that they'll be ready for another day of sunbathing, entertainment, and, of course, eating!

ON-BOARD REPORT: Enchanted Isle

Fleet:	Commodore Cruise Line
Size:	725 passengers, 23,400 tons, 350 crew, nine passenger decks, 617 feet long, three elevators
Accommodations:	There are 11 categories of cabins, with 289 outside and 72 inside staterooms. Nine suites. Category for category, Enchanted Isle's cabins rank among the largest afloat
Itineraries:	Regular seven-day Caribbean cruises from New Orleans to Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, Playa del Carmen, and Cozumel. Special cruises several times each year to Honduras and to Key West, stopping at popular ports
Year completed:	1958. Built in the U.S.
Other Commodore ships:	Enchanted Capri, Universe Explorer

History: The Enchanted Isle at one time was one of the largest passenger ships in the world. It was completed in 1958 as the ocean liner Argentina of Moore-McCormick Line. Subsequently, it became the Veendam of Holland America Line in 1971, the Monarch Star of Monarch Cruise Line in 1976, the Veendam again in 1978, the Bermuda Star of Bermuda Star Line in 1984, and the Enchanted Isle of Commodore in 1990. It sailed the world during those decades before being refurbished in 1994 and 1997 by Commodore. It thus has perhaps the richest maritime pedigree in contemporary cruise service, a positive to many cruise buffs.

Southern Hospitality: The ship makes the most of its year-';round New Orleans terminus. Southern food items like muffaletta sandwiches, pecan pie, crab cakes, gumbo, and sweet potato pie are sprinkled through the menu; pre- or post-cruise stays in New Orleans are packaged attractively; special nights with music, dinners, and midnight buffets feature Mardi Gras and Southern themes on each cruise; much of the passenger complement — a noticeably courteous group — is from the South, and is made to feel quite welcome and at home.

Ship's architecture: Traditional lines and classic marine architecture mark the Enchanted Isle. Modern enough to have stabilizers and bow thrusters, it also has the sleek, tapered exterior appearance of famous transatlantic vessels... which it once was. Inside, its cabins are generally larger than those in comparable categories of today's ships. The engines are virtually silent and vibration-free.

Operating in a warm climate year-';round, the Enchanted Isle makes maximum use of its outdoor and outdoor-adjacent facilities. Typically, it offers barbecue steak dinners, dances, and parties outside at night during each cruise. During the day, there is plenty of outdoor activity around a pool, bar, and top-side indoor-outdoor bistro buffet.

Food events consist of bistro or dining room breakfasts, bistro or dining room lunches, poolside hamburgers, mid-afternoon poolside snacks, dining room dinners and themed midnight buffets.

Each night a wide selection of appetizers, soups, salads, pasta entrees, and desserts are on the dinner menu. Imaginative four-course vegetarian dinners and a light cuisine selection are also offered every evening.

After-dinner entertainment options are wide. Spotlighted in different public rooms are likely to be a dance music orchestra, karaoke, disco, piano, and rock; performances by singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and talented passengers; and full scale revues. Daytime diversions include movies, cooking demonstrations, wine-and-cheese tastings, bingo, fitness activities, port lectures, massage, parties, horseracing games, magic shows, art auctions, TV trivia games, bridge, and more.

At each port, a wide array of excursions is offered Many are water-oriented. Perhaps the most popular port is the one where the ship's cruise starts and ends, New Orleans. The ship docks at Riverwalk, a quarter-mile-long shopping mall-hotel-restaurant-condo-cruiseship complex at the foot of New Orleans' famous main street, Canal Street. The city's top attractions — including the French Quarter, downtown, beignets, streetcars, major hotels, the river, fine restaurants — are all just steps away. Harrah's huge casino is just across the street.

Because of the ship's manageable size, it's common for passengers to be able to see and interact with the chef, hotel manager, captain, and other staff. And when passengers meet other travelers they'd like to see again, chances are they will. In an era of ever-bigger and newer ships, the traditional civilities of smaller and older liners still provide warm memories for Enchanted Isle voyagers.

With rates somewhat less than those of other ships and its warm-weather itinerary, the Enchanted Isle attracts a generally younger group of passengers.

ON-BOARD REPORT: Disney Wonder

Fleet:	Disney Cruise Line, Celebration, Florida
Size:	2400 passengers, 83,000 tons, 915 crew, 11 passenger decks, 964 feet long
Itineraries:	Year-'round from Port Canaveral to private island of Castaway Cay, Nassau, and Freeport in the Bahamas. Seven-day vacation package consists of 3 or 4 days aboard ship and 4 or 3 days at nearby Disney World Resort.
Year completed:	1999

Longer than three football fields, the brand new 1999-model Disney Wonder comes equipped with more new ideas than a three-year-old trying to delay nap time.

Take, for example, its whistle: instead of the single-note shattering blast emitted by all other ships except its twin, the 1998 Disney Magic, what came out of the Disney Wonder was a whimsical, familiar refrain: the first seven notes of "When You Wish Upon a Star."

Innovation shines everywhere. Among the design and programming innovations that will grab your attention on the Disney Wonder are:

Bathrooms consisting of two private rooms. One has a toilet and basin, the other a tub-shower and basin. Lustrous silver and wood accents give each a cheerful brightness and rich feel. Silver-plated basins are deep enough to allow hands to be washed comfortably. Spouts reach out far enough to allow whole hands to fit underneath. Mirrors are set back far enough to allow tooth-brushing without head-bumping into the wall ahead. Tub floors have huge safety bumps that adults as well as kids will like, the better not to slip.

Especially large staterooms. Each bathroom comes with a stateroom that's about 25 percent larger than the industry average. About three-quarters of the 875 rooms have ocean views and about half of the outside rooms have verandahs. An innovation in most rooms is a sofa that converts into a bed in less than two seconds! Linens and blankets are strapped to the back of the sofa's backrest. When it's bed time, voila, a simple flick of the backrest reveals a full length twin bed! A fourth bed in some cabins is hidden in the ceiling by day and descends by night. Hair dryers, safes, voice mail phone, TV, and separate living and bedroom areas divided by a privacy curtain haven't been forgotten.

Children's clubs and programs all day and almost all night. Parents are given beepers. Whenever a parent is needed, he or she can be fetched. Programs are designed for each age group from toddlers to teens and are alluring, attractive, and fun. Up to 50 counselors are aboard to run them. Little kids go to Disney's Oceaneer Club, a play space where they can run, climb, explore, and enjoy three dozen activities. Pre-teens have Disney's Oceaneer Lab, featuring high-tech fun including electronic games, interactive computer activities, and marine biology instruction. Teens have a trendy coffee-bar place called Common Grounds to meet other teens, dance, participate in ESPN sports challenges and ice-breaking "411" conversations, and "hang." When the ship arrives at the private island of Castaway Cay, each group has its own activities separate from adults, if they wish. Baby-sitting is available at night. Almost a whole deck is devoted to youngsters. Character appearances by Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, etc., take place in many settings as if by magic.

Plenty of adult-only space. For some adults, a vacation means a partial vacation from kids. For them, there are adult-only spaces that perhaps no other ship can match — almost a whole deck for adults, too. Route 66 is an adult-only evening entertainment "district," with three themed night clubs set in a street atmosphere. Rock, a comedy club, and a piano-bar cabaret are all there. For adult dining, there's a fine 138-seat Northern Italian restaurant, Palo, with outstanding views and impressive architecture. One of the three pools is reserved for adults. The 9000 square foot spa is as exotic as they come, offering a range of treatments in 11 private rooms, softly-lighted grottos, mint-scented tropical mist showers under blue lights, passion fruit essence rain showers, aromatic steam chambers, aquajet water massages, and a Cybex fitness center. Even the private island offers adults privacy, with a beach of their own and elevated, ocean-view massage huts.

Inventive dining choices. Disney Wonder has three impressive main dining rooms. Each has a unique theme: the tropics, grand elegance, and Wonderal Disney. They have corresponding names: Parrot Cay, Lumiere's, and Animator's Palate. Guests don't have to make the hard choice of which to dine in, because they rotate from room to room each evening. Their table number and waiter travel with them. For breakfasts, lunches, and snacks, there are numerous other venues, including a busy 626-seat Topsider Café lido, ESPN Skybox where sports on TV is available in a stadium-like setting, Scoops for ice cream, Pinocchio's Pizzeria, and Pluto's Dog House.

Quiet. No, the fun isn't quiet; the ship is. Its engine doesn't vibrate, whine, or sputter. It provides one of the quietest (and therefore smoothest, depending on the sea's cooperation) rides afloat.

Shows. A grand show palace, the 977-seat Walt Disney Theatre, is the setting for live Broadway-style productions. First run movies and classic Disney films are shown daily in the 268-seat Buena Vista Theatre. Each night there's a different live show, often inspired by Disney masterpieces like "Aladdin," "The Lion King," "Peter Pan," and others. Currently a swashbuckling hero-and-princess adventure and a bedtime-story show about the power of dreams play, with a cast of up to 26 actors. All the famous Disney verve and spectacular production is there.

Private island. The ship stops at Castaway Cay, a private island in the Bahamas. In contrast to other private islands reachable only via tenders, Disney spent many millions to build a permanent concrete landing dock, so passengers simply disembark onto the island. Once there, they find several beaches, tropical flora, snorkeling, swimming, biking, volleyball, hiking, paddle rafting, water sliding, sailing, a monumental barbecue, shops, bars, adult massage huts, and hundreds of shaded beach chairs. Music from a party band wafts over the activities.

The format for a Disney Wonder cruise consists of three days at Disney World and four days at sea or vice versa. One card key admits guests both to their hotel rooms and their cabins. Round trip transportation is provided between home city and Orlando and between airport, hotel, and ship. Prices depend on cabin categories and resort categories. Seven-day packages start at $799 per adult and range up to $1914 for deluxe accommodations. Children's pricing starts at $399.

Oh, yes, there's a big Disney Store aboard.

ON-BOARD REPORT: CostaVictoria

Fleet:	Costa Cruises, a unit of Carnival Cruise Lines, Miami
Size:	1950 passengers, 76,000 tons, 800 crew, 10 passenger decks, 824 feet long, 12 elevators
Accommodations:	Standard inside and ocean-view cabins are 150 square feet. A limited number of larger suites and mini-suites are available. No balconies.
Itineraries:	Fall, Winter, Spring: Alternating Eastern and Western Caribbean seven-night trips from Fort Lauderdale, calling in such ports as Catalina Island (Costa's private beach), St. Thomas, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman. Summer-Fall: Mediterranean, Greek Isles, Turkey, Italy, Spain, France. Transatlantic repositioning cruises are conducted between seasons between Genoa and Fort Lauderdale.
Year completed:	1996
Other Costa ships:	CostaRomantica, CostaClassica, CostaAllegra, CostaRiviera, CostaMarina, CostaAtlantica

A CostaVictoria cruise has a certain flavor. Not only can you sense it; you can whiff it. It's the pasta-pizza-polenta-bruschetta-gelato-garlic-and-basil cruise. It's the spaghetti alla putanesca-penne primavera-fettuccine al salmone-veal scaloppini dining rooms. It's the striking, clean, color-accented Italian design and widely international roster of passengers.

An on-board review of the CostaVictoria must start with its food and the many inviting places to partake of it.

In addition to the expected poolside fragrance of suntan oil, there's definitely something else in the air. To the appetite-whetting satisfaction of virtually all of the ship's roster of vacationers, the aroma of fresh garlic sizzling in olive oil and basil wafts daily. It originates at an outdoor exhibition cooking station, presided over by master Italian chefs. Each day they create a different pasta underneath a strikingly stylish sail-like canopy that shades almost 400 passengers seated at bright yellow and blue tables. Even the combination salt-and-pepper and olive oil-vinegar dispensers atop each table are strikingly stylish: they're eye-catching, Italian-designed, shiny white-and-lucite dispensers that allow diners to top off their flavors exactly to taste.

While the outdoor Terrazza café is used for daytime informal dining, it's only one of many food venues. There are two formal dining rooms, four indoor buffet stations, a pizzeria, a poolside snack bar grill, and various indoor and outdoor locations for late-evening buffets. An international dining room staff serves Italian, Continental, and American seafood, meat, poultry and vegetarian dishes at all lunch and evening meals. For passengers who can't get enough of the food simply by eating it, there are Italian cooking demonstrations and kitchen tours.

Mealtime is almost any time: early breakfast, dining room breakfast, buffet breakfast, outdoor deck breakfast, late-morning croissants, dining room lunch, buffet lunch, outdoor deck lunch, poolside lunch and snacks, dessert and sandwiches at tea time, dinner, midnight buffet, and pizzeria. It all starts with a buffet served as passengers board the ship.

For those who believe an antidote to all that food is necessary, there are three swimming pools (one indoor), four Jacuzzis, an extensive spa, a jogging track, fitness center, and tennis/basketball/volleyball court.

Design is the next feature that most marks the CostaVictoria. It's modern Italian. Large surfaces of clean, cool white marble and smooth, polished woods give the ship a smart, contemporary Italian feel. Most hallways are lined with matching royal blue carpets and walls. Vivid silver and bright red accents are everywhere. Four keyhole-shaped glass elevators glide up and down an airy, seven-level atrium. There are a dozen elevators in all, at the forward, center, and rear, so waits and walks are minimal. The atrium is surrounded on several levels by irregularly-shaped overlooks that form a part of comfortable mini-lounges with sofas and cocktail tables. Stateroom windows aren't rectangular or small portholes: they're giant circles. Promenade-deck walkers don't meet gales of wind: the U-shapes at the forward and rear are thoughtfully sheltered.

Staterooms have beds that can be arranged in either twin or double configurations. Each has a hair dryer, a safe, television, mini-bar, and full-length mirrors. Bathrooms feature contemporary, Italian-designed chrome fixtures at the wash basin and in the shower. A unique, sort-of water-spout at the basin allows ample space to wash hands and brush teeth without bumping into the wall ahead. And there's something new in the shower: a built-in shampoo dispenser. The result: no need for all those little shampoo bottles. Arc-shaped towel holders in the bathroom are gently curved to match the contours of the wall. And space-saving sliding doors make bathrooms and adjacent stateroom areas both fully usable.

There are a dozen lounges and bars, several of which are outdoors. Some are designed to offer sea and atrium views. Each has a theme, ranging between intimate and grand-scale.

Among other public rooms are a two-deck Festival Show Lounge featuring shows and musical revues at night and a wide roster of activities by day, a shopping galleria and market, a floor-to-ceiling-windowed card room, library, beauty shop, large casino, conference center, and children's corner. The showroom has a big-screen TV which shows live images of each production so that every seat is a good seat. The Italian names for lounges and public rooms get passengers in the appropriate mood quickly: Sinfonia, Fantasia, Bolero, La Tavernetta, Capriccio, Bellavista, Sirena, Portobello, etc.

CostaVictoria is among the few cruise ships to have a separate, dedicated chapel.

Its navigation bridge is particularly spacious and well equipped. Sight lines for the officers allow clear views not only forward, backward, left, and right — but novel transparent floors on the flying bridges allow previously impossible views straight down!

In keeping with the ship's international orientation, announcements are made in five languages and a talented cruise staff is multi-lingual. There is even a "cruise director" fluent in and responsible for each of the major guest languages. In-stateroom television follows the same theme: it carries movies and home-country live satellite news feeds in English, Italian, Spanish, German, and French. Many on-board activities are also carried on the ship's TV system. Daily newsletters and programs are published in those languages, too. Whatever language they use, passengers will feel comfortable aboard the CostaVictoria. After all, how often do they find a captain who greets them in five languages?

Theme evenings are common. They're likely to range the gamut from Caribbean to Italian to a final highly-acclaimed Roman Bacchanal with toga dress. Those evenings — as well as all other cruise events — are well recorded: the ship's photographers take an average of 18,000 pictures weekly.

ON-BOARD REPORT: Seabourn Pride

Fleet:	Seabourn Cruise Line, a unit of Cunard Line Limited, Miami
Size:	204 passengers, 10,000 tons, 150 crew, 6 passenger decks, 439 feet long
Accommodations:	All suites. All are 277 square feet, except for 10 larger premium suites.
Itineraries:	Winter: South America and Panama Canal. Spring: transatlantic, western Mediterranean. Summer: northern Europe, Baltic. Fall: transatlantic, New York-Canada., eastern seaboard, Caribbean.
Year completed:	1998
Other Seabourn ships:	Seabourn Spirit, Seabourn Sun, Seabourn Legend

If good things come in small packages, could a 439-foot long floating "package" qualify? Ask passengers of Seabourn Cruise Line's Seabourn Pride. The agreement would be virtually unanimous and unanimously positive. Pride's luxury qualifications, they would say, become obvious long before departure. That's when their travel documents arrive in a handsome gift-wrapped package containing a genuine leather travel wallet and bronze-trimmed leather baggage tags. In an unexpected discovery, they find that their names are already imprinted on the tags.

Later, when they arrive aboard and are shown to their suites, they find accommodations that are large, light, and roomy, highlighted by huge sun-receiving windows. On this luxury ship, even the simple task of pulling the window shade down has been addressed: Seabourn Pride has pampering motorized window drapes controlled by a pushbutton to eliminate that chore. The opulence doesn't stop there.

Each cabin has a bedroom and an equal-sized parlor, walk-in closet with a light that turns on automatically when the door is opened, twin basins in a marble bathroom, a video cassette recorder for movies from a large self-service video library, a safe, refrigerator, and hair dryer. Cabins are all outside and are a generous 277 square feet. A stock of complimentary soft drinks and beverages that were selected before departure awaits arriving guests. So do thick bathrobes. And personalized stationery. And a coffee-table-quality atlas of the world. And an umbrella. And a large nautical-style barometer and clock on the wall.

Just when passengers feel that whoever was in charge of furnishing their suites thought of everything, they're likely to hear a chime at the door. A stewardess is there, bearing a selection of exotic luxury soaps — from Hermes, Bronnley, and Smith & Vandiver, among others, some tucked in keepsake oval tins imprinted with floral paintings on the top — to assure that their trip is as pleasantly fragrant as possible. The Pride obviously strives to appeal to ALL the senses.

Venturing outside their cabin, passengers enter a world of tasteful and accommodating public rooms on many decks. Most of them are situated a short distance from a glass-canopied central butterfly stairway that brings brilliant natural light all the way from the top of the ship to every deck. Among the public rooms: a health club with sauna, steam room, spa treatment facilities, and beauty salon; a petite casino; compact library and boutique; a spacious forward-facing view lounge atop the ship, where tea is served daily; two well-equipped show lounges on separate decks at the rear; a business center with computer available for passenger use; and a tour office. There's even a glass bottom lounge, where passengers can view colorful fish when sailing through clear waters.

Entertainment and activity choices cover a wider spectrum than many passengers would expect on a small ship. Typically there are well-attended classical piano recitals, musical quartets for both lounge visitors and dancing, professional night-club acts, favorite-song concerts, local talent from foreign ports, audience games, master bridge instruction, ping pong instruction, aerobics instruction, and board-game instruction, among other offerings. Before-dinner cocktail piano music and before- and after-show music is presented nightly. Occasional movies are shown in the lounge, while a large library of video movies is available for the video recorder that's in each cabin. Tours of the galley are offered with scores of the most popular foods on display and hospitably available to sample. A cooking demonstration by the popular chef is a big draw and is likely to reveal culinary secrets. The selection of port tours is typically as wide as it is on megaships.

In addition, a very versatile cruise staff performs a series of theme entertainment events. They can include evenings dedicated to Country, jazz, rock, cabaret, Broadway, and other favorites.

Enrichment lecturers are scheduled on almost all Pride departures. They are often well-known authorities in a wide range of fields, personalities the caliber of Walter Cronkite, Dr. C. Everett Koop, Chef Martin Yan, Edward Asner, Captain Loren MacIntyre, and Hoover Institution scholars. Because acquaintance comes easy on a 195-passenger ship and informal face-to-face conversation blooms when everybody knows everybody, it's very likely that passengers who wish to learn a topic better or get to know a lecturer socially will find no difficulty in pursuing their goals.

Food venues are abundant. They vary as the day progresses. In the morning, breakfast selections are offered in an indoor-outdoor Veranda café, the formal dining room, a lounge, and via room service, which is open 24 hours a day. Lunch consists of buffets outdoors and a formal lunch in the Restaurant dining room

Afternoon tea, often served to a musical accompaniment, is held in the forward lounge atop the ship, where views in every direction are served along with cinnamon rice pudding with vanilla sauce, apple strudels, smoked salmon sandwiches, chocolate mousse, and other daily-changing delicacies.

Then, at dinner, choices expand. There's formal dress-up dining in the lavish Restaurant dining room on several nights of each cruise. There are no mandated dinner schedules and tables here; passengers sit down when they wish and with whom they wish. Varieties of appetizers, soups, and salads precede dinners that usually feature fresh fish, top quality beef, poultry, vegetarian, and specialty offerings. The appearance standards in the Restaurant are so strict that guests regularly see waiters pressing creases out of table cloths with hot irons before diners arrive. For passengers who prefer less structure and more casual attire, there's the Veranda atop the ship, which offers bistro and theme dinners during an open two-hour period of the passenger's choosing. Up there there are pizza, pasta, fish, steak, veal, chicken, and vegetarian specialties, together with starters and desserts. On warm nights, there's likely to be a profuse barbecue banquet outside.

A very thoughtful touch precedes each dinner. Early every morning a copy of that evening's menu is delivered to each suite. Thus, passengers have plenty of time to choose what they'd like and, if necessary, channel their mid-day choices for maximum dinner enjoyment.

Another thoughtful touch: there are rarely any annoying waits in lines. From boarding through the debarkation process, passengers are virtually always able to do what they want without delay, without number tags, without color-coded credentials.

Drinks are available from four bars/lounges on three decks and at poolside. Complementing the pool are three whirlpools.

The staff is Norwegian, European, and American-Canadian, uniformly bright and personable. First-time passengers are dumbfounded and mightily impressed when, beginning on the first night of their cruise, they're addressed by name by dozens of staff members they've never seen before. On the larger ships that most guests had traveled on earlier, they had tended to be simply part of the unnamed masses and were used to that status. The secret behind Pride's accomplishment: photos taken at the pre-departure lifeboat drill are posted in crew quarters, together with names (each life vest is imprinted with a cabin number, so the appropriate name can be chosen), and the able crew quickly memorizes names and faces.

Alcoholic and soft drinks are complimentary throughout the cruise, throughout the day, throughout the ship. No tipping is allowed. Passengers unused to a no-tipping policy quickly discover that without the expectation of a reward complicating the exchange between passenger and crew member, service is provided very professionally and sincerely.

ON-BOARD REPORT: Norwegian Wind

Fleet:	Norwegian Cruise Line, Miami
Size:	1748 passengers, 50,760 tons, 614 crew, 10 passenger decks, 754 feet long
Itineraries:	Winter: seven-day Western Caribbean cruises from Miami; Summer: seven-day Alaska cruises from Vancouver. Spring and fall: re-positioning cruises through the Panama Canal and along the Pacific Coast.
Year completed:	1993. Stretched in 1998 with the addition of a 9760-ton, 130-foot mid-section containing 502 berths
Other NCL ships:	Norwegian Crown, Norwegian Dream, Norwegian Dynasty, Norwegian Majesty, Norwegian Sea, Norwegian Sky, Norwegian Star, Leeward, The Norway

There are two ways to create a brand new cruise ship. The traditional approach is to build one from scratch, usually investing more than two years and more than $300 million.

The other way literally takes only a few weeks! And, in Norwegian Wind's instance, it cost "only" $69 million. The method is known as "stretching." It allows a ship to remain in revenue service while a new center section is fabricated. Then, when the new unit is complete, the ship sails to the shipyard, in Norwegian Wind's case the Lloyd Werft yard in Bremerhaven, Germany. It's sliced in two in only a week or so. Then, the three sections are joined and re-fitted during the next several weeks. In the meantime, a complete upgrade of the front and back sections proceeds so that the ship will have a unified new patina. Then, in about two months, Voila! a new ship emerges.

Norwegian Wind is the result. To match the ship's newness, it was christened with a new name; the liner was formerly the Windward. "This stem to stern renovation essentially transformed the Norwegian Wind into an entirely 'new' ship," said Hans E. Golteus, NCL's president and chief operating officer.

If you take a cruise on the new Norwegian Wind, you'll notice a number of interesting twists.

Take dining facilities, for example. They're very decentralized. Instead of the single large dining room that most ships have, the Wind has three mid-sized rooms, each with window-lined walls allowing sea views. Each is tiered for optimal viewing, with two of them extending over two decks. There's also an alternative specialty restaurant, Le Bistro, available at no additional charge. The dining rooms are unusually spacious, because they're built to accommodate 1072 passengers at each seating, while the maximum expected number of diners would be half the ship's capacity, or about 874. That flexibility also means that a larger percentage of passengers can be granted their choice of early or late seating.

In place of a large lido restaurant that most ships have, the Norwegian Wind has a 146-seat sports bar that features a dozen-set television wall and oodles of sports memorabilia, a 120-seat outdoor café/pizzeria, and a 148-seat coffee-bar/lounge.

Inside those four dining rooms, menus have been fashioned that feature both traditional cruise fare as well as new regional dishes, daily vegetarian and pasta entrees, low-fat foods, and tableside presentations. There's also a daily children's menu. Lavish midnight buffets — the most popular of which is a "chocoholic" buffet that features a humongous array of chocolate delicacies — rotate among dining rooms. Many breakfasts and lunches are open seating, allowing passengers to sample all of the dining rooms during their cruise.

A second feature that differentiates the Norwegian Wind from most Caribbean cruise ships is its roster of theme cruises. Most Caribbean liners concentrate on sun and shopping to lure travelers. But in addition to those two proven passenger-pleasers, the Norwegian Wind also hosts occasional on-board theme cruises. This year's big one is a Rock Oldies trip. Photo and autograph sessions, star interviews, and question-and-answer meets will be held with some of the best-known performers of the '50s and'60s. In addition, three Sports Afloat cruises will be devoted to volleyball, baseball, and motor sports. They also feature autograph sessions, coach chalk talks, sports trivia contests, and prize giveaways. Fitness cruises are also regularly scheduled on NCL ships.

A third distinguishing characteristic of Norwegian Wind is its attention to children. Full days of supervised activities meet the interests of youngsters of four age groups: 3 - 5, 6 - 8, 9 - 12, and 13 - 17. Sports, arts, crafts, children's menus, a video arcade, and ship tours are part of the curriculum.

Finally, during the Alaska season in the summer, Norwegian Wind offers a very intense nature education program led by experienced naturalists. The comfortable setting is the forward-facing view lounge atop the ship.

The Norwegian Wind enjoys an international clientele. It prints menus and a daily newsletter in English, French, Spanish, German, and Portuguese. Its crew is also international. Passengers tend to be active as well: on summer Alaska trips, kayak and bike offerings sell out quickly.

Outdoors, there are two pools and twin Jacuzzis, a well-used basketball/volleyball court, a golf driving net, ping pong, jogging track, and a café/pizzeria.

The ship's lengthening provided extra space for many of its public rooms and for 12 new 385 square foot Owners Suites. A 158-slot casino is now 5000 square feet, a 174-seat disco has been created, a 2400-square foot health club now has additional massage rooms and equipment, a shop complex has been doubled in size, a new 3230 square foot entrance lobby and reception area with a 24-hour reception desk has been created, a 148-seat coffee bar/lounge/library/card room wing with curved walls and quiet niches was fashioned, and a new multi-purpose conference center was installed. The major new item was the 452-seat, bay-windowed Four Seasons dining room.

Entertainment-wise, the Norwegian Wind offers elaborately-produced live entertainment each night. Theater-goers can expect to see Broadway-quality shows with spectacular costuming, sets, and special effects.

There is no movie theater on the Wind. Movies are available all day and all night on in-cabin television, which also has channels for CNN, reruns of on-board lectures, shore excursion information, views from the bridge, and navigation information.

Cabins have hair dryers and easy-to-use, voice-prompt wake-up systems.

A heavily promoted art auction, fitness activities, afternoon tea, bingo, and retail specials occupy part of each day.

ON-BOARD REPORT: GRANDEUR OF THE SEAS

Fleet	Royal Caribbean International
Size:	1950 passengers, 74,000 tons, 760 crew, 11 passenger decks, 916 feet long
Itineraries:	Grandeur of the Seas sails year-'round seven-day cruises each Saturday from Miami to the Eastern Caribbean. It calls at each of Royal Caribbean's two popular private resorts, Labadee and CocoCay, as well as San Juan and St.Thomas. It spends a day at each stop, scheduling parties, lunches, entertainment, sunning, sports, and water activities.
Year completed	1996

Spaces.

Grand spaces. Soaring spaces. Dramatic spaces. Light 'n spacious "Wow-look-at-that!" spaces.

Grandeur of the Seas is all about spectacular spaces. After their trip is over, many passengers will reminisce about their visit aboard the new Grandeur of the Seas by recalling first its series of vast, inviting public spaces.

When arriving passengers board, they find themselves at the base of the most impressive public space of all, the Centrum. Highlighted by white marble, glass elevators, curving staircases, and light entering from all sides and the ceiling, this expansive atrium links eight decks and serves as the ship's direction-finding focal point. Lounges, fountains, a grand piano, a champagne terrace, purser's desk, 2000-volume library, cardroom and other points of passenger interest surround the Centrum. Glass-and-brass balustrades on each level allow for one of this ship's unique pastime possibilities: unlimited gazing from an unlimited array overlooks.

The second busiest and biggest open space is the Great Gatsby Dining Room. Seating 1171 passengers, it spans two decks and features enormous 20-foot high picture window walls, a ceremonial staircase, a waterfall that incorporates glowing onyx panels as the backdrop for a marble piano platform, greenery, and scalloped balconies. Because of its unique architecture, some of the dining room's upper level floors do not extend to the glass walls, allowing light and air to circulate freely throughout the room.

An indoor-outdoor multi-level Windjammer Cafe seats 790 people at breakfast, lunch, and afternoon and evening snack times. Its indoor forward section overlooks the sea on three sides and is cradled by a semicircular glass wall that rises in levels inward and upward. At the top is a massive, sloping glass skylight that completes the infusion of air and light from all directions. Traditional and vegetarian/healthy fare are always available both here and in the dining room. The outdoor portion melds into the main pool and sunning area.

A space that can take your breath away if you exercise there -- and even if you don't -- is the Solarium. Situated almost at the top of the ship on the same deck as the two outdoor swimming pools, six whirlpools, sunning areas, and Windjammer Cafe is an indoor Moorish-themed pool-spa and health club. Qualifying it as one of Grandeur's classic "spaces" is its 4500 square foot Crystal Canopy, the largest glass roof afloat. During inclement weather it covers a pool, elevated travertine whirlpools, a pizza-and-burger buffet, overstuffed lounges, a bar, and expansive leisure-time areas. Again, light from all directions makes this space a cheerful, inviting place. Just aft of the Solarium, a two-deck high spa contains hair salons, a 35-person aerobics area, treadmills, step machines, cycles, incline benches, strength equipment, saunas, steam baths, and massage.

Finally, the hallmark open space of each Royal Caribbean ship is its Viking Crown Lounge. On Legend of the Seas, it's a 250-seat observatory by day and nightclub by night. It overlooks daytime activity on the decks and the sea below from an air conditioned and sofa filled comfort cocoon. Light streams in from all sides.

There are still other major spaces aboard -- the 870-seat Palladium Theater on two decks forward, the 575-person South Pacific Lounge aft, a conference center capable of receiving live video from company headquarters back home, separate tots-kids-teens clubs with all-day activity programs, a 7200 square foot shopping mall, bars, lounges, and a 282-capacity Casino Royale with 178 slots, blackjack, stud poker, roulette, and craps. It's entered via a raised glass floor with a "sunken treasure" art feature that sparkles with jewels and gold coins. The showroom features lavish revues backed up by the latest in sound-sight-lighting techniques and equipment. The jogging track and the promenade deck are each in their own places, so runners won't bump into walkers; and walkers will find the most spacious promenade deck they've ever run (or walked) across, because life jackets and rescue equipment are suspended from above rather than stacked on the deck.

The remaining spaces are primarily cabins -- 975 of them. Of the 576 outside staterooms, 212 have balconies; the remainder have picture windows. There are no more "Please make up the cabin" or "Please don't disturb" signs; they've been replaced with neat message cards that are inserted in cabin doors' "cardkey" slots. Cabin TV provides a 24-hour cartoon channel as well as movies, news, navigation information, and entertainment. Nine elevators allow vertical circulation through the 11 passenger decks.

On a ship as large as Grandeur of the Seas, wayfinding -- the term used for learning to find your way around -- is critically important. Grandeur passes the wayfinding test with flying colors through two innovative ideas: 1) The Centrum provides a visual waypoint or landmark visible from almost everywhere; once there, passengers can often see exactly where they want to go; and 2) Freestanding pedestal directories are located in central lobbies; these lighted, three-dimensional ship-replica sculptures graphically present passengers with directional information. Big as it is, getting lost won't be easy on the Grandeur.

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