Recommend April 2013 - (Page 34)

cruise Right: Candles restaurant on board a Windstar vessel. Below: Royal Clipper sailing in the Caribbean. set sail Recommend clients go island-hopping throughout the world on board a sailboat or yacht. deserae del campo Picture this: The sails are raised and billowing in the wind, and the only sound is the ocean lapping the side of the ship in a rhythm that can easily lull anyone to sleep. Or this: The purr from the engines of a gliding mega-yacht docking into harbors, coves and exotic portsof-call where behemoth cruise ships dare not venture. What you’re picturing is what’s in vogue for the well-heeled traveler—a more experiential cruise vacation that is ideal for the client who is done with long waits at the buffet line and tired of walking up and down Deck 9 searching for the spa or the gaming room so they can drop off the kids. The key to cruising on a mega-yacht or sailboat is access. What the big ships can’t do, these ships can; so it’s easier to hop around the Greek Islands or snorkel and kayak right off the boat—and a plus is sharing this space with a minimal number of passengers (sometimes even less than 100). The world is full of islands, some big, some small; some found in the Caribbean, some sprinkled around Asia and the Mediterranean. Here we highlight some notable cruise lines that tour the islands of the world, in style. vive la france Compagnie du Ponant, the French cruise line founded in the late-1980s based in Marseille, France, is all about cruising the globe in French sophistication. The line’s sleek mega-yachts and 3-mast sailing ship seep with international ﬂair: French cuisine prepared by French chefs; interior spaces and sizable accommodations de34 april 2013 34-36 CR Barefoot.indd 34 signed by French designers; a bilingual staff (ﬂuent in French and English); and spa treatments with the French beauty brands Carita and Sothys. The company is celebrating its 25th anniversary with the debut of its third mega-yacht in July, Le Soleal, a 132-stateroom ship venturing into the Arctic with excursions to Iceland, Greenland and the Northwest Passage. The ﬂeet also includes Le Ponant, a 3-mast sailing yacht with 32 staterooms, and Le Boreal and L’Austral, both mega-yachts with 132 staterooms. “We can take guests to islands around the world, as well as tiny coves; places they might never have seen or never heard of that are very remote and can only be accessible by a yacht,” says Terri Haas, chief commercial ofﬁcer for Compagnie du Ponant. These elegant yachts do take passengers to locales wherever there is water. According to Haas, they offer 3- to 21-night tours throughout the Arctic, Russia, Asia, the Caribbean, South America, the Baltic, the Greek Islands…the list of destinations goes on and on. But something about Compagnie’s 9-day Osaka-Hong Kong tour ($3,800 pp dbl, all-inclusive) aboard Le Soleal caught our eye. It takes passengers from Osaka to Kagoshima, Japan before heading to Naha, the capital city of Okinawa Island. The megayacht then cruises to Keelung, Taiwan and ﬁnally Hong Kong, China. Haas says the demographic is between the ages of 45 to 65 years old; very active, interested in land activities, and venturing off the ship to discover tiny islands or destinations. A family-friendly cruise operator, Compagnie sells connecting staterooms, and offers children’s menus. The Ponant Kids Club, which is free for one child (8-12 years old) sharing a cabin with two adults, keeps the young travelers busy with games, piano lessons, tea parties, and a host of other activities. classic clippers When sailing on one of Star Clippers’ classic clipper ships, forget the Broadway-style shows; announcements made over the loudspeaker; and boarding a bus with hundreds of other passengers on an excursion to swim with stingrays or dolphins. recommend.com 3/21/13 6:58 AM http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend April 2013

Editor's Notes
The Islands of Tahiti
Hotel Desk: Song Saa Private Island, Cambodia
Tour Talk: Islands in the Sun
A Med Escape: Greek Isles & Cyprus
Set Sail
The Seychelles' Private Island Resorts
Portrait of Israel
Booking 2 on the Isles: Easter Island & Galapagos
Island-Hopping in Mexico: Cozumel, Isla Holbox & Isla Mujeres
The Pulse of Poipu, Hawaii
Florida's Islands: Amelia, Captiva & Sanibel
The Real Caribbean: Grenada & Martinique

Recommend April 2013