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 aboard cruise ships visiting Alaska this year can experience more than just glacier tours, whale watching, dog sledding and other traditional port excursions. The cruise lines are offering a variety of unique ways to explore the magnificent landscape of the 49th state, including underwater snorkeling and high in the air via zip lines. Holland America and Royal Caribbean, for example, invites guests in Sitka, Ketchikan and other locales to don wetsuits and explore the usually unseen underwater wilderness with snorkeling gear. Princess, Regent Seven Seas and Celebrity offer special Alpine zip line and Alaskan rainforest eco-tours high above the ground. Other excursion highlights include Regent’s “Advanced Volcano Hike” on the remote Kruzof Island, Princess’ Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s tour and Norwegian Cruise Line’s gold mining excursion.

Disney takes “Toy Story” from big screen to high seas

Buzz Lightyear, Woody and friends from the beloved Disney Toy Story movie are taking their adventures to the seas in a new musical production aboard the Disney Wonder cruise ship. This is the first time the popular Disney-Pixar big screen classic has been adapted for the stage. Preserving the humor and heart of the original film, Toy Story-The Musical explores the true meaning of friendship as Buzz Lightyear and Woody transform from jealous adversaries to best friends with an unbreakable bond. The show’s elaborate costumes capture the vibrant colors and playfulness of the animated characters. Guests of all ages will delight in an original collection of show tunes that retell the story in a fun and energizing way during their cruise vacation.

Smoke out on Celebrity ships starts this fall

Starting October 1 2008, Celebrity Cruises will begin enforcing a new policy that promised to provide a breath of fresh air on its voyages. In addition to banning smoking in staterooms and verandas, the new rules will reduce the number of public areas available for guests to smoke onboard. Celebrity expects the new policy to be welcomed, considering surveys indicate 90 percent of its guests are non-smokers. Designated indoor areas where guests can smoke cigarettes under the new policy include portions of one lounge per ship and a slot machine area in each boat’s casino. Outdoor smoking is allowed in select areas on pool decks and sundecks, as well as one outdoor bar on each vessel. Violations to Celebrity’s new smoking policy may result in a $250 cleaning fee charged to the guest’s onboard account and may also be addressed through the line’s guest conduct policy.

New Carnival Splendor built to entertain kids of all ages

Oh, what we would all give to be young again. Living up to its reputation, Carnival has taken the idea of having fun to a new level for kids of all ages on the new 113,000-ton, 3,000-passenger Carnival Splendor, set to debut this summer. The cruise ship features supervised youth programs and activities for specific age groups – Camp Carnival (ages 2-11), Circle C (ages 12-14) and Club O2 (ages 15-17), plus a massive 5,500 square-foot children’s play area divided into separate sections and featuring toys, games, computers, gaming consoles, plasma televisions and a dance floor. If that is not enough, one deck above will be a children’s water park with various water toys and attractions. The water park complements the Fun Ship’s four swimming pools and Carnival’s signature 214-foot long Twister waterslide. At mealtime, kids can order off of special children’s menus in the main dining rooms, enjoy 24-hour pizza and ice cream at the poolside restaurant and eat with the youth staff each day. The children’s turn-down service features fresh baked cookies at bedtime. In addition, Carnival’s popular Fountain Fun Card provided unlimited soft drinks for a special one-time fee.

Did you know Carnival Cruise Lines expects to host 600,000 kids this year – the most in the industry?

Families are particularly attracted to the line’s youth-oriented programming, which was recently expanded with the introduction of Circle C, an on-board program exclusively for 12-14 year-olds. It complements Carnival’s other youth programs, including Camp Carnival for younger kids and Club O2 for 15-17 year-olds. A number of ships have already been retrofitted with Circle C facilities, including the Carnival Legend, Pride, Victory and Valor. By the end of this year, the Carnival Imagination, Inspiration, Liberty, Fantasy, Paradise and Glory will be updated, with the rest of the fleet retrofitted by 2010.

To help celebrate the launch of Circle C, Carnival is offering especially attractive rates for families, just in time for the summer travel season. On select cruises, prices for the third and fourth guests in a stateroom start at $199 per person on three-day cruises and $329 per person on seven-day voyages.

The focal point of Circle C activities are custom-designed clubs, providing this age group with a place to call their own on-board. Each features a dance floor, high-tech sound and lighting, monster plasma TVs with movies and music videos, touch-screen jukeboxes with the latest music hits and video gaming centers with 20-inch plasma screens. Other Circle C program activities include basketball, volleyball and water games, as well as late-night movies and nighttime pool parties.

Soar Over Italy’s Breathtaking Landscapes on a Crystal Cruise

With guests clamoring for one-of-a-kind shore experiences, Crystal Cruises is expanding its Crystal Adventures in Italy program with a number of truly unique excursion opportunities. This year, guests can skip sea travel and take to the air on a number of special helicopter adventures, enabling them to soar high over the Amalfi Coast, Mount Etna, the Dolomites and vast portions of the Italian countryside. The high-flying trips are available on 16 Mediterranean itineraries aboard the Crystal Serenity and Symphony cruise ships.

Available from Rome, Venice, Taormina and Sorrento, the sky adventures include:

Mount Etna by Helicopter

In addition to majestic views of Europe’s largest volcano, guests visit picturesque Taormina, with plenty of time for exploring.

Majestic Dolomites by Helicopter

Aerial sites include Venice, Treviso, the Piave River, Longarone, Mount Civetta and Belluna, as well as lunch on land in Cortina d’ Ampezzo.

Etruscan Landscapes by Helicopter

Taking off from Tarquinia, travelers fly over Lake Bracciano, Lake Vico and Rome. They also make a special visit to Civita, dating back to 3,000 B.C.

Aerial of Amalfi Coast to Capri

Flying over the Dolomitic Cliffs, Positano, Mount Vesuvius, Pompeii and Naples, guests dine at Capri’s Grand Hotel Quisisana, a favorite spot of the local elite and celebrities.

New Cruise Travel Survey IDs Most Popular Destinations

A new survey of North American cruise travel trends based on actual 2007 bookings is out and the findings are revealing.

According to the data, the most popular short-itinerary trips (1-5 days) were five-day voyages to the Western Caribbean. Four-day trips to the Bahamas came in a distant second. The top mid-length cruise itinerary (6-8 days) was seven days in Alaska, followed closely by the Western Caribbean. The most popular long cruises (9 days or more) were dominated by 12-day Mediterranean voyages, with ten-day Southern Caribbean cruises coming in second.

St. Thomas remains the most popular Caribbean island and port of call. Grand Cayman came in second and St. Maarten/St. Martin jumped to the third spot ahead of Cozumel. Rome captured the top spot among Mediterranean ports, with Venice and Barcelona rounding out the top three. The most-visited European ports (non-Mediterranean) included St. Petersburg, London and Copenhagen. The top recommended Mediterranean shore excursions included private, guided tours of the Vatican; city tours of Rome; and tours of the ruins of Pompeii and Ephesus.

The grass really will be greener on a cruise vacation aboard the Celebrity Solstice, scheduled for launch this December. Something is sprouting on the luxury cruise ship’s top deck: real, growing grass! The turf is the highlight of the ship’s breakthrough “Lawn Club” – an industry-first carefully developed by the cruise line in conjunction with University of Florida landscape architects and irrigation specialists. Guests visiting the half-acre Club will be invited to enjoy bocce ball and croquet, practice their putting and picnic, among other leisures. In addition, The Patio on the Lawn will offer sitting areas with casual country club charm and a special coffee car service – plus the new Hot Glass Show, presented in collaboration with The Corning Museum of Glass. The area also features the Sunset Bar, enhanced by the natural grass of The Lawn Club and featuring stunning breathtaking views as the Solstice crisscrosses the Caribbean Sea.

Princess Alaska cruises expands land excursions

Recognizing an Alaska cruise is an once-in-a-lifetime adventure for so many travelers; Princess Cruises continually expands its Adventures Ashore program with new and exhilarating excursions each year. 2008 is no exception, with 37 new tour options available to cruisers. Some of the most intriguing include:

· An exclusive, private whale-watching encounter in Juneau in groups of 10 people or less;

· A five-course Alaskan feast served in a private club dining room overlooking the Ketchikan harbor;

· A family-oriented Bear Creek zipline eco-adventure through the Alaskan rainforest;

· Bering Sea crab fisherman’s tour including the chance to sail aboard a modified commercial fishing vessel featured on the Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch show.

· A walking tour of Skagway, guided by one of the madams of the Red Onion Saloon who takes guests back to the gold-rush era and once-infamous red-light district.

· A cruise through ice-berg laced waters to visit the Columbia glacier, the state’s largest tidewater ice field at 435 square miles – plus wildlife viewing, including whales, harbor seals, sea otters, sea lions and a variety of birds.

· A sea kayaking adventure on Resurrection Bay, one of the area’s premiere destinations, featuring Kenai Fjords National Park and up-close visits with sea otters, eagles, porpoises, leaping salmon and sea birds.

A total of eight Princess ships will be cruising the scenic waters of Alaska this year, with a combined 136 departures. All of the 2008 Gulf of Alaska cruises include a visit to Glacier Bay. Princess will take more people to visit this ice and sea spectacle than any other cruise line this year.