A note from the publisher:

Dear Guests,

We are constantly searching the globe for interesting opportunities on sea and land for your enjoyment.

Hope you enjoy this list of some of the most fascinating shore excursions we have ever seen. Contact a CruiseCompete member agent for more details.

Warmest Regards,
Heidi Allison-Shane
Publisher

From fighter jets to Arctic Circle reindeer to Aboriginal paintings, when your sense of adventure peaks and cost is no concern, the cruise industry offers plenty of unique – shore excursions guaranteed never to be forgotten:

1. Exploring the Italian countryside by air (balloon)
Location: Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy
Duration: Approximately 5 1/2 hours
Price: $1,695 and up, per adult

Azamara guests looking for a unique vantage point of the Chianti countryside can climb aboard a hot air balloon for a truly memorable experience high above rolling countryside. No two rides are the same, with air currents directing the trip. This excursion includes a gourmet dinner at Villa La Massa and your return trip to Livorno.

2. Piloting the Alaskan bush
Location: Ketchikan, Alaska
Duration: Approximately 3 hours
Price: $2,984 and up

The untouched beauty of Alaska comes into full view aboard a private floatplane tour, identical to ones flown by Alaska’s famed bush pilots. NCL, Norwegian Cruise Line guests will soar through Misty Fjords National Monument, encompassing 2.3 million acres of wilderness, featuring soaring cliffs and peaceful lakes, not to mention abundant wildlife, including whales and bears.

3. Viewing Venice in a moonlit gondola
Location: Venice
Duration: Approximately 2 hours
Price: $799 per person; $999 per couple

There’s no better way to explore Venice than by traversing its famed canals, especially under the moonlight. Windstar guests board their gondolas near St. Mark’s Square. Combine Italian champagne with the serenade of two violinists and your boat ride becomes a truly unforgettable, incredibly romantic, affair.

4. Pushing the envelope in a MiG fighter jet
Location: Moscow
Duration: One night
Price: $38,695

Adrenaline junkies will surely get a fix of a lifetime by climbing aboard a MiG fighter jet at Sormovo Airbase for a thrilling flight at two times the speed of sound over Russia’s landscape. This adventure is not for the faint of heart, so a brief physical exam is required before you climb aboard. Crystal Cruises combines this exclusive ride with a full-day of sightseeing in Moscow and brief visit to historic Nizhny Novgorod.

5. Driving a sports car of one’s dreams

Location: Monte Carlo to Venice
Duration: Approximately 7 hours
Price: $3,922

The dream of driving a Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati can become a reality during an exhilarating sightseeing tour of Monaco in one of these exotic Italian sports cars. The vehicle will be waiting for you at the pier near where the Crystal Cruises ship moors. There is nothing quite like touring Monte Carlo’s twisting roads and scenery at breakneck speeds – although guests are encouraged to abide by local speed limits.

6. Jetting to Lapland and the Arctic Circle – Take your Children on This One
Location: Baltic
Duration: Approximately 9 hours
Price: $8,174

The legend of Santa Claus comes full circle for guests visiting the Arctic Circle during a full-day adventure to Finland’s Lapland. Guests are transported by private jet to Lapland. A special riverboat tour is combined with a visit to an authentic reindeer farm – complete with Lappish food, cultural demonstrations and sightseeing of this remote northern land. Tourists also have the chance to explore Santa Claus Village, located on the Arctic Circle, and meet the real Santa compliments of Crystal Cruises.

7. Mingling with the jet-set at the Monaco Grand Prix
Location: Monaco
Duration: 3 days
Price: $2,400

The renowned Grand Prix in Monaco provides the perfect setting for Windstar guests to mingle with the world’s most glamorous jet-set – and view one of the most difficult and prestigious racing spectacles anywhere. In addition to the event, you will enjoy a private reception at the Rainier Private Auto Collection Museum, featuring 100 of the most famous automobiles ever built from manufacturers across the globe.

Travelers of all ages and fitness levels can now join the Wii revolution aboard Norwegian and Princess cruise ships. Nintendo of America has teamed with both cruise lines to bring the popular Wii Fit experience to passengers. A variety of active video game contests and tournaments aboard the ships showcase one’s athletic skill in four categories, including yoga, aerobics, strength training and balance. The events are led by crew members specially trained by Nintendo this spring. Wii Fit contests are being held in a variety of locations onboard, including ship atriums, poolside (on giant screens where available) and other public places.

Ultra luxury spa staterooms make debut on Holland America’s ms Eurodam

Luxury reaches new heights on the ms Eurodam, Holland America’s latest ship, with 56 spa staterooms located on the two highest decks. In addition to being located close to the ship’s renowned Greenhouse Spa and Salon, the rooms feature their own spa ambiance with organic cotton bathrobes and slippers, a Burmese teak mat for baths and showers, an invigorating showerhead, body buff Loofah Mitt and aroma therapy bath salts. The spa staterooms also feature an iPod docking station, yoga mat, a pedometer for use aboard the ship, fitness DVD, mini bar stocked with specialty waters, cut fruit and a spa concierge to book treatments. Rooms are decorated with soft earth-tone hues and bright, fresh green accents and a water feature provides a natural, soothing ambient background sound. The nightly turn-down service includes organic chocolate truffles, orchids and special Belgian chocolates fused with herbs known for their calming and relaxing benefits. Guests staying in the spa staterooms can order exclusive Greenhouse Spa packages in advance. These include Body of Indulgence with a hot stone massage and facial bamboo massage; Skin Renewal with facial rejuvenation acupuncture and marine facial; His Sanctuary with grooming treatment, shave and deep tissue massage; and Bliss for Two couple’s cabana massages.

More penthouses being added to the already posh Crystal Serenity

With more upscale cruisers looking for penthouse accommodations, Crystal Cruises is responding by remodeling the Crystal Serenity in November by adding eight new such suites. While many cruise ships are adding more rooms into limited space, the Serenity construction project will actually the ship’s guest capacity.

The 403 square-foot penthouses feature personal butler service, a large private verandah, sizeable living area, complimentary bar stocked with wine and liquor, Jacuzzi tub and separate shower, walk-in closet, flat screen television, DVD and CD player, Riedel glassware and complimentary pressing. Penthouse guests also can enjoy 24-hour in-stateroom dining from the Crystal dining room, or they can order-in from the ship’s specialty restaurants during dining hours.

After the dry dock conversion, the Serenity penthouses increase to 72, as well as 32 penthouse suites and four lavish 1,345 square-foot Crystal penthouses. Four of the new penthouses will connect with penthouse suites.

Private villas on Norwegian Gem offer plenty of private space for families and others

Norwegian Cruise Lines has taken cabin envy to a whole new level with the introduction of 4,390 square-foot Garden Villa staterooms aboard the new NCL Gem cruise ship. Each villa has three bedrooms and bathrooms, a living and dining room, whirlpool, wet bar and steam room. A shared courtyard and pool is surrounded by luxurious patio furniture and lush, potted plants. The villas are being targeted toward multi-generational families, reunion groups and friends who want to cruise together and share private space. NCL’s new Freestyle 2.0 program aboard the ship allows guests to dine at any of the 10 restaurants aboard the ship whenever. Guests can book dinner reservations or just show up. Television screens around the ship tell one where tables are available.

New ResortCompete.com Site for All-Inclusives Going Strong

All-inclusive resorts have a natural appeal for cruises who like the all-inclusive nature of cruising, but are ready to try something different. ResortCompete provides detailed information about individual resorts, and provides the same competitive quotes from sellers to help you get the best deal. Check it out today at: ResortCompete.com

If your ideal cruise vacation actually involves a set of golf clubs, now is the chance to tee it up at sea and play at some of the most picturesque and challenging golf links found anywhere in the world.

In addition to personalized on-board professional golf instruction and the chance to meet tour pros, a number of cruise lines offer special land excursions to unforgettable golf destinations throughout the Caribbean, South Pacific, Mediterranean and Mexico.

Ultra-luxury Silversea Cruises has expanded its popular “Silver Links” golf program to 12 cruises in 2008. Golfers can perfect their swing on 35 world-class courses in 16 countries and islands. The golfing excursions, arranged and escorted by a ship’s golf professional, range in price from course to course and include transfers, pull or power-drive carts (where available) and all green and caddy fees.

The following is but a sampling of the Silver Links voyages and golf courses to be played by cruisers this year:

Silver Shadow departs May 16 on a 15-day Panama Canal crossing from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles, with golf excursions to La Iguana at Los Suenos (Puntarenas); Tres Vidas Golf Club (Acapulco); and El Tigre Golf Club (Puerto Vallarta).

Silver Whisper leaves July 19 on a 7-day Mediterranean sailing from Rome to Monte Carlo; golfers can play at Golf Park Mallorca (Palma de Mallorca); PGA at Catalunya Golf Club (Barcelona); Servannes Golf Club (Sete); and Sainte Maxime Golf Club (St. Tropez).

Silver Whisper departs Aug. 16 on a 7-day Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona to Rome, with golf excursions to Cannes Mougins Golf Club (Menton); Cosmopolitan Golf Club (Livorno); and the Monte Carlo Golf Club.

Silver Shadow leaves Sept. 17 on an 11-day Mexican Riviera voyage from Los Angeles to Costa Rica, with rounds at Cabo del Sol Desert Course (Cabo San Lucas); El Tigre Golf Club (Puerto Vallarta); Club de Golf Marina Ixtapa (Zihuatanejo); and Tres Vidas Golf Club (Acapulco).

Silver Shadow departs Dec. 3 on a 9-day Caribbean sailing from Fort Lauderdale to Barbados; golfers can play at Antigua’s Cedar Valley Golf Club, the St. Lucia Golf & Country Club and Sandy Lane Country Club in Barbados.

Silver Whisper takes a 15-day holiday cruise to the South Pacific, leaving Dec. 20 from Sydney to Auckland. Tee times are set at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Royal Hobart Golf Club, St. Clair golf Club (Dunedin), Clearwater Golf Club (Christchurch), Paraparaumu Golf Club (Wellington), Cape Kidnappers Golf Club (Napier), Kauri Cliffs Golf Club (Bay of Islands) and the Tauranga Golf Club.

Crystal Cruises also has expanded its golf-themed cruises for 2008. Guests can tee off on three 11- and 12-day golf fests, teeing off in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands and the maritime coast of Canada and New England. PGA pros will join Crystal guests at such courses as the Monte Carlo Club, situated high above the French Riviera; Spain’s El Saler Golf Course; and Lisbon’s Penha Longa Golf Course at the foot of the Sintra Mountain Range. In addition to championship golf ashore and onboard events, golfers can compete in one-in-one competitions for a chance to win a free cruise.

Norwegian Cruise Line has launched a new Golf Bermuda program, giving its golf-loving guests more opportunities to hit the links in Bermuda, where there are more courses per square mile than anywhere else in the world. Golf Bermuda has excursions for every level of golfer at the island’s most popular and scenic courses:

Ocean View Golf Course, just outside of Hamilton, is rated “four stars” by Golf Digest.

The challenging 6,100-yard Belmont Hills Golf Club was designed by famed course designer Algie M. Pulley, Jr.

Mid Ocean Golf Club, located in scenic Tucker Town, has challenged the biggest names in golf today.

Port Royal Golf Course, operated by the Bermuda government for more than 40 years, offers some of the most challenging holes on the island.

Tucker’s Point Golf Club, ranked by Travel + Leisure Golf as one of the top golf resorts in the Caribbean.

St. George’s Golf Course, featuring ocean views at every hole.

Riddell’s Bay Golf Club, Bermuda’s oldest golf course and described by locals as a “must play”.