Themed voyages, from a 'Mardi Gras Mambo' to the 14th annual Caribbean nude tour, are spicing up the seas over the next few months, WALLACE IMMEN writes

By WALLACE IMMEN
Wednesday, November 5, 2003 - Page T3

When the snow starts to fly, many Canadians head south simply for sunny skies, warm water and waving palm trees. But for those who want escapes to match their tastes, cruise lines have been working overtime to come up with themed events to spice up voyages over the next few months.

Want to take personalized golf lessons from a pro on deck, and then tee off from a cliff overlooking the Caribbean?

Or how about live jazz, gospel or do-wop with your pina colada?

Perhaps you want to spend a week sailing in the nude, or watching the Northern Lights play across the sky?

All of these options -- and many more -- await.

Yoga with a view

Twenty top yoga instructors will lead classes and seminars on deck aboard the Costa Atlantica during a week-long "Yoga Journal" cruise and conference, starting from San Juan on March 7.

Baron Baptiste, Cyndi Lee and Rodney Yee are the highlight guests.

Music, music, music

Various "Rock and Roll Legends" are performing on a five-day Carnival Cruises voyage aboard Imagination from Miami to the Cayman Islands and Jamaica starting Nov. 29. Acts include Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge, the Classics, the Tokens, and Eddie Holman, as well as the "legends of do-wop," the Crests.

The annual Canadian Jazz Cruise, featuring Guido Basso, Rob McConnell and Ranee Lee, starts Nov. 6 on a 10-day Panama Canal trip aboard the Island Princess.

Three musical events are planned on the Seven Seas Navigator in the Caribbean. The 1950s rhythm and blues group the Platters return to the spotlight on a Feb. 7 cruise. The Fab Four is the theme March 13, with special Beatles parties, concerts by sound-alikes and host Joe Johnson of the nationally syndicated Beatles Brunch radio show. Mamma Mia! star Karen Mason and Mary Rogers, daughter of songwriter Richard Rogers, will appear on the April 19 Broadway themes feature.

Louisiana now and then

Harry Connick Sr., who knows his Sinatra just as well as his famous son, and zydeco master Terrence Simien star on a Royal Caribbean cruise from New Orleans Dec. 13, celebrating the bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase. Celebrities will re-enact the 1803 ceremony in which France sold a huge tract of land to the newly independent United States. The cruise stops in Cozumel, the Cayman Islands and Costa Maya, with prices for a week starting at $539 a person (all amounts in U.S. dollars).

A classic Carnival cruise

The Carnival in Brazil cruise on Celebrity Cruises' Infinity leaves Feb. 15 from Buenos Aires with stops in Uruguay and the towns of Buzios and Porto Belo in Brazil, before becoming a floating hotel for the famous pre-Lenten party. Prices start at $2,170 a person.

For singles

The Celebrity Mercury is the place for singles to mingle on New Year's Eve on an adults-only cruise that starts Dec. 29 and runs for 10 days. The trip, organized by Singles Travel International, includes parties with complimentary drinks, dancing and sport instruction, and "late-night adult-themed comedy acts." Prices start at $1,499 a person.

For foursomes

The Silver Whisper will have a full-time golf pro on board its Caribbean and South American cruises this winter to offer complimentary clinics in a special classroom on the ship, and to escort excursions to golf courses. Those include a new Bill Phillips-designed cliff-top course in Caldera, Costa Rica, with spectacular views of the ocean.

Take the family

The huge fleets of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Carnival, Holland America and Norwegian Cruise Line are all gearing up for special family activities on the Christmas, New Year and spring break holiday weeks. Ships have large, dedicated facilities and trained activities leaders for kids as young as three and as old as 17, giving parents time to themselves.

Adults and kids are promised day-long activities and guaranteed sightings of Mickey Mouse on every one of the three-to-seven-night cruises of Disney Cruise Line from Port Canaveral, Fla., to the Bahamas and Caribbean. Seven-night cruises start at $829 a person.

Eat and drink

Seven Seas Navigator's March 26 cruise from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale spotlights Napa Valley cuisine, with cooking demonstrations by notable chefs and wine tastings. Four other cruises by sister ship Seven Seas Voyager are offering cordon bleu cooking workshops.

Eat my dust

NASCAR champ Rusty Wallace is the host of a week-long cruise for racing fans on the Carnival Victory that starts from Miami on Dec. 7. Features of the annual event include question and answer and autograph sessions, complimentary pit passes and a goody bag of racing merchandise. Prices start at $579 a person. Bookings must be made with the code CPRW.

The play's the thing

The inaugural cruises of the Queen Mary 2, beginning in January, offer workshops and lessons given by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, allowing guests to not only see rehearsals for performances of West End and Broadway productions on the ship, but to study acting skills with them. The ship sails to the Caribbean from New York as well as Fort Lauderdale through the winter.

Floating film fest

An eight-day salute to the films of the award-winning Kanin family -- including Michael Kanin, Garson Kanin and his wife, Ruth Gordon -- tops the bill on the Nov. 6 transatlantic crossing of the new Crystal Serenity. Screenings include Woman of the Year, Harold and Maude, Adam's Rib and Friendly Fire. Featured speakers include Josh Kanin, a professor of cinema in California, and writer-producer Paul Barber. Prices start at $3,970 a person.

Pack light

Nude cruising may be a specialty market, but there are enough bare-bottom passengers to fill big ships. The five-masted sailing ship Royal Clipper is the vessel for this year's 14th annual Caribbean nude tour. It leaves from Barbados on Feb. 21 and will end up in St. Martin on Feb. 28, but the itinerary is flexible because the organizers say they will be looking for uninhabited (and uninhibited) places to go ashore. Prices are from $1,675 a person.

For a complete change of pace (if not season), a 12-day theme cruise on the MS Nordlys leaving Bergen, Norway, becomes a floating performance venue and hotel for the Northern Lights Festival in the town of Tromso. The second and third weeks of January at the location 500 kilometres above the Arctic Circle should afford many opportunities in one of the best places in the world to see the aurora borealis.

Performances by Chetham's School of Music from England and Bergen's Grieg Academy and Opera are included. Prices start at $1,291 a person.