By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent

Ever go by a school in the Caribbean, see some cute kids and wonder if there was any way to maybe help them out in some way? Now you can.

The Sandals Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Sandals Resorts, is asking guests to lend a hand when they're on vacation through a "voluntourism" literacy program aimed at improving listening, reading and comprehension skills of local Caribbean children.

Available to all guests at Sandals Resorts, Beaches Resorts or Grand Pineapple Beach Resorts, the "Reading Road Trip" program is a two-hour adventure that takes guests into the community to one of the foundation's participating adopted schools in Saint Lucia, Antigua, the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos or Jamaica, to engage small groups of kids in active reading strategies.

The cost is $20 per guest, which covers round-trip transportation and all supplies. Children ages eight to 12 can participate at no costs and all minors must be accompanied by an adult. Volunteers are encouraged to bring along a favorite new or used book (in good shape) to donate to the library of the school they visit.

For information on the Sandals Foundation and its programs, visit www.sandalsfoundation.org

By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent

Daily ferry service from Boston's Long Wharf to the Boston Harbor Islands has resumed for the summer season. For $15 per adult ticket, visitors can ferry to Georges and Spectacle islands via seven round-trip rides a day, to hang out on the beach, have a picnic or hike nature trails. Service starts at 9:30 a.m., with a total of seven different departures throughout the day, 75 minutes apart. The last return trip arrives at Long Wharf in downtown Boston at 5:55 p.m.

Boats depart from Boston's Long Wharft North, next to the Long Wharf Marriott, adjacent to Christopher Columbus Park. Nearest T station is the Aquarium stop. For more information, visit www.bostonharborislands.org

Photo of picnickers on Georges Island by Jessey Dearing for The Boston Globe

By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent

The White Barn Inn in Kennebunk, Maine, hosts some of New York's hottest chefs during its sixth annual Guest Chef Series this spring. White Barn's Grand Chef Relais and Chateaux Jonathan Cartwright joins culinary forces with Little owl's Joey Campanaro March 23-25, Recette's Jesse Schenker April 20-22 and Gramercy Tavern's Howard Kalachnikoff May 4-6. In addition to hosting the chefs, the White Barn Inn Restaurant, one of three restaurants in the country maintaining an AAA Five Diamond rating for 20 or more straight years, offers a package starting at $649 a night, in which guests can learn from the chefs during a hands-on cooking class and private culinary demonstration. Guests mingle with chefs at a welcome reception and get rooms for the duration of the weekend, which also includes daily breakfast, afternoon tea, and a nine-course tasting menu dinner for two at the restaurant. For more information, visit www.whitebarninn.com/kennebunkport-maine-restaurants/package04/

By Stephen Jermanok, Globe Correspondent

A couple of weeks ago in Puerto Vallarta, I took a fast zodiac boat ride with the family across glorious Banderas Bay. Led by the outfitter Vallarta Adventures, we landed on the docks of the seaside village of Quimixto. We walked on cobblestone streets past the sleeping chihuahas and soon made our way to a pack of horses that were waiting to take us up the mountainous hillside. We got out of the saddle, only to find a hidden waterfall where we swam in the cool waters. After horseback riding, we snorkeled with a slew of angelfish and then had a delicious lunch on a quiet beach farther south in Pizotita. Our guide, Poncho, made a helluva margarita for the adults, while the kids were served coconut juice. Life was bliss and we laughed when Poncho said “Where are all the bandits in their big sombreros and guns blazing?” It was so peaceful here that my daughter wandered over to a hammock and took a nap.

The next day, a busload of passengers from a Celebrity cruise ship were on the outskirts of Puerto Vallarta, on their way to a nature hike, when they were robbed at gunpoint by a bandit. I was stunned. I had just spent the past two days in Puerto Vallarta, walked the Malecon, the broad boardwalk down by the ocean, had an excellent meal of authentic Mexican fare at Old Town’s Margarita Grill, and felt perfectly safe my entire stay in the region. But then the robbery happened. This being Mexico, which already faces a huge media blitz about crime and their drug cartels, it can only add salt to the wound. Yet, let’s be realistic. There’s crime in every city in America, so why wouldn’t a city of over 400,000 people like Puerto Vallarta face some adversity. I feel horrible for the people on that bus who were robbed of their cameras, money, and cell phones. Hopefully, the robbery was an anomaly and the city can go back to doing what it does best, making guacamole tableside with homemade salsa. For that dish alone, I wouldn’t hesitate to return.

By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent

Seafarers and landlubbers alike have a pair of contests they can enter to win a cruise or a year's worth of lodging. Crystal Cruise has launched its "Crystal Love Stories" Facebook contest, offering Crystal Society members the shot at a free cruise for two valued up to $15,000.

Until April 16, Crystal's past and present guests can submit an essay of 100-500 words about their experience with Crystal Cruises. Go to the Facebook page, "like" it, fill out the form and then submit your essay. Facebook users will read and vote on the best story, with the top two vote getters getting a shot in the final five. A panel of Crystal judges will select the remaining three finalists and the grand prize winner. All five finalists get $500 in shipboard credits.

For additional contest details, visit Crystal Cruises’ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/crystalcruises?sk=app_308815379161864&app_data={"wfrefid":"8e8ef5133fa0"}

Land travelers can win a full year of free night stays at any of the nearly 350 inns and B&Bs in a contest run by the Select Registry Distinguished Inns of North America. To enter, you must register with the Select Registry Golden Quill Loyalty program at www.SelectRegistry.com/GoldenQuill. After that, each qualified Golden Quill nights throughout 2012 counts as an additional entry. Select Registry’s Vacation Of A Lifetime Contest is open to travelers in the United States and Canada. The promotion ends midnight on the last day of 2012.

One grand prize winner gets a free night's lodging at each of the inns throughout North America for a year. Three first-place winners get a $500 gift certificate good at all properties, and five second-place winners get a $250 gift certificate. For information, visit http://www.selectregistry.com/Vacation-of-a-Lifetime.asp

By Paul S. Makishima, Globe Staff

For all you New England cruise fans, the season kicks off today with a Boston port of call visit by the ocean liner Princess Danae, and will switch into full gear in late May when Hub-based ships will begin shoving off from the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal to Bermuda and destinations around the region and Canada. This is a big year for the Boston terminal as it marks its 25th anniversary as a port for cruises. In 1986, it saw just 13 ship visits; this year will see 106. Cast off.

Photo of Princess Danae from Classic International Cruises website

By Paul S. Makishima, Globe Staff

In case you need more evidence that Americans are tipping those scales a bit harder the US Coast Guard is cutting the number of passengers allowed on passenger vessels. Since the 1960s the Coast Guard assumed a standard weight of 160 pounds for an average boat passenger in making safety rules for commercial vessel operators, according to a report in the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

But given that these days an estimated 34 percent of adults over 20 are overweight the Coast Guard has opted, far safety's sake, to assume that the average passenger is a bit heavier than back in the day. "People weigh significantly more now," Coast Guard spokeswoman Lisa Novak told the newspaper. "The average weight per person has increased to 185 pounds."

The new rules will kick in Dec. 1. Basically what this means is that a boat with a 16,000-pound capacity, which formerly could have carried 100 passengers, will only be allowed to ferry 86 people. The limits won't affect personal boaters but will affect vessels that require an annual Coast Guard inspection like ferries, sightseeing or excursion boats.

By Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe Correspondent

Two dozen award-winning and best-selling authors will gather for a ‘‘Murder at Sea’’ Caribbean cruise in October. The seven-day adventure, aboard Royal Caribbean’s new 16-story Allure of the Seas, hosts authors Don Winslow, Robert Ward, Stephen Hunter, Joanne Fluke, Lisa Jackson, and others. The festival includes panel discussions, author lunches and dinners, book signings, and an interactive whodunit with a professional theatrical troupe. The cruise departs Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Oct. 16 and stops at Philipsburg, capital of St. Martin; Nassau, capital of the Bahamas; and St. Thomas before returning Oct. 23. Rates start at $1,349 per person, based on availability and double occupancy.

888-518-7571, ext. 201, www.hightidecruises.com

By Patricia Borns, Globe Correspondent

As you enter the village of Laborie, a mural painted by Jonathan Guy-Gladding announces your arrival with lyrical beauty. Gladding, an artist whose work shows in the Caribbean as well as Europe and the United States, fell in love with Laborie as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1999, and continues to call it his muse and second home.

Last year on a winter getaway, I too fell in love with Laborie. Unlike the resorts in St. Lucia’s north, the village on the south coast has an old West Indies soul. Although the predominately fishing and farming community sees few tourists, the traditions Gladding celebrates in his mural can now be seen on a community-led heritage tour called “The Laborie Experience” created with the help of another Peace Corps volunteer, Diane Gunvalson.

On my visit, I saw children at the pan school rehearse, watched men weaving strips of bamboo into fish pots, met Mr. Bram who harvests sea moss, and Mr. Ives, a self-taught musician who’s a local cultural icon. (In the mural, Ives and his friends are playing the violin, electric base, shak-shak, banjo, tanbou, and maracas.)

FULL ENTRY

 

Explore Norway's fiords for 12 days on a Hurtigruten cruise for the price of a seven-day voyage. This special, which must be booked by Sept. 30, applies to Norwegian Coastal Voyage cruises departing Oct. 5-Dec. 31. The journey takes you to 34 ports along Norway's 1,250-mile west coast, from the charming Hanseatic port of Bergen to the town of Kirkenes near the Russian border. You'll visit Trondheim, one of the country's oldest cities; Tromso, the largest European town above the Arctic Circle; the Lofoten archipelago; and Alesund, which was destroyed by fire in 1904 and completely rebuilt in the Art Nouveau style. Prices range from $1,533-$2,140. Solo travelers are not charged single supplement fees, and AARP members receive an onboard cabin credit of up to $100.

800-323-7436, www.hurtigruten.us

Photo: Hurtigruten

Posted by Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe correspondent 

Want to escape summer's heat, take a vacation, and control costs? Book a cruise aboard a Maine windjammer. Cool breezes, brine-scented air, crying seagulls, the whoosh of wind in the sails, and the creaks of a wooden boat make it easy to forget the mainland heat. The dozen member vessels of the Maine Windjammer Association sail the waters of Penobscot Bay and beyond during three- to seven-day all-inclusive cruises: One price covers onboard accommodations, food, and fun.

Most of the windjammers in the Maine fleet are historic ships. While most cabins aren't plush, they're cozy and do the job. You'll fall asleep to water lapping against the hull; and awaken to sea gulls crying. Windjammer cooks pride themselves on their culinary skills. Expect hearty all-you-can-eat meals: soups and chowders, scrumptious salads, sandwiches, big breakfasts, and fabulous dinners -- and always at least one lobster bake.

And here's the best part: The best sailing days of summer are ahead, with cruises offered through early October. Go now  to escape the heat; later to enjoy the foliage.

Giving cruise lovers a sailing-eye view, CruiseMates’ editor Paul Motter is offering a unique perspective on the Norwegian Epic, the newest cruise ship from Norwegian Cruise Line, when it sails Thursday June 24 on its first seven-day cruise, from Southampton, England, to New York City. Cruise-expert Motter, editor of CruiseMates.com and a travel columnist for FoxBusiness, will file updates to CruiseMates.com about the journey.

Motter said the new cruise ship brings a number of innovations to the mode of travel, particularly with entertainment. Headliners include Blue Man Group and comedy troupes from Chicago’s Second City. In a press release, Motter asks: “Will the shows on Norwegian Epic elevate cruise ship entertainment to levels never seen before, or can the cruise ship environment bring even exceptional shows like Blue Man Group down to the traditionally mediocre level of cruise ship entertainment?”

Motter said the Epic is the first cruise ship where onboard entertainment alone is reason to choose a specific ship, and that “the diversity of the entertainment actually rivals a Las Vegas hotel,” adding that whether the delivery lives up to the hype “remains to be seen.”

And that’s his job, to see and judge it, and pass that info along to potential cruise takers via CruiseMates.com. Motter will be staying in the studio stateroom complex, the first cruise ship cabins designed for single cruisers, connecting 128 staterooms to a common corridor and shared living space which he said makes it effective for singles to meet and mingle.

Motter may be reached aboard the ship at editor@cruisemates.com starting June 24.

Posted by Paul E. Kandarian, Globe correspondent

Photo of Norwegian Epic courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line

 

Celebrate Elvis Presley's 75th birthday year aboard the Carnival Fascination cruise from Jacksonville, Fla., to Nassau, Bahamas, Nov. 4-8. The Elvis Cruise features entertainment by tribute artists and original members of Presley's TCB Band. Hear personal stories by Larry Geller, Presley's stylist, and by Diane McBain and Warren Berlinger, who appeared with Elvis in "Spinout.''

 Historians Roy Turner and Jim Palmer will screen their documentary, "Homecoming: Tupelo Welcomes Elvis Home,'' and members of Cirque du Soleil's creative team will show video clips and share stories about the Viva ELVIS production at Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Prices start at $599. 877-749-8462, www.theelviscruise.com

Photo of tribute artist Ted Torres: Will Byington

Posted by Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe correspondent

 

 

Crystal Cruises launches two Black Sea voyages from Venice to Istanbul this year, with maiden stops in Sevastopol, Ukraine. The 12-day cruises depart on July 19 and Aug. 24 and visit ports in Bulgaria, Turkey, and Katakolon, Greece, known as the birthplace of the Olympics. The trips include talks by distinguished speakers on art, architecture, science, world affairs, and culture. The special fares start at $6,470 per person, based on double occupancy, and include $1,000 in shipboard credits per cruise-goer and free air transportation from more than 20 North American gateways. 888-799-4625, www.crystalcruises.com

Photo courtesy of Crystal Cruises

Posted by Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe correspondent

Hear accounts of bloody betrayal, catastrophic shipwrecks, gruesome executions, and of course, terrifying encounters with ghosts and specters, as you sail the dark waters of Boston Harbor on Boston's Ghost Cruise. Sail to the actual sites and listen to tales told by a professional troupe --18th century privateers and sailors, fishwives and doxies who bring the legends and folklore of Boston to life. Cruise leaves and returns to Long Wharf. The five remaining cruises run on Oct. 30 and 31. Adults pay $32 and children 12 and younger pay $25 in advance. Call 781-784-7469.

Photo courtesy Boston Ghost Cruise

America's marketing kings appear to believe that we just can't get enough of cougars. Television, for instance, is chock full. Saturday Night Live has a regularly running bit called "The Cougar Den'' about a fictional talk show, hosted by a group middle-aged women on the prowl; last spring TV Land brought us the reality show "The Cougar''; and this season we get ABC's "Cougar Town,'' and CBS's "Accidentally on Purpose.''

Now, Carnival Cruises, Singles Travel Company, and Society of Single Professionals bring you the first International Cougar Cruise on Dec. 4-7, departing from San Diego and headed to Ensenada, Mexico. The voyage will take place aboard Carnival’s Fun Ship Elation, and rates begin at $125 per person, double-occupancy, plus port charges and government fees.

Besides all the regular shipboard amenities, passengers who sign up through the Single Travel Company will get invitations to a series of shipboard parties. And the guest of honor will be Miss Cougar America, Gloria Navarro, 42, of Redwood City, Calif.
Here's to you, coo, coo, ca-choo.

Amid a general travel industry slump, Vacationoutlet.com is springing a one-day sale on a five-night cruise departing Oct. 22 from Boston to Bermuda aboard Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas.

What kinds of discounts? Interior rooms, formerly priced at $599, will be sold for $549; oceanviews will go for $649, down from $699; balcony accommodations for $799, instead of $879.

Actually, this deal gets even a bit better, as the travel website was already offering discounts of as much as $100, depending on the price level of the room. And, according to David Crooks, a company spokesman, those reductions can be used with the sale prices -- which means, say, in the case of a oceanview room, an additional $50 off the $649 sale price, bringing the fare down $599.

This sale started at midnight and will continue till midnight tonight. Crooks says there are also free upgrades available.

While the discounts are pretty good, this cruise represents an especially good deal for travelers in the area as they can board from here, avoiding airfares to your point of departure.

I've said it before but it remains true: If you can afford to travel this year there are some pretty good opportunities around.

You? A pop star? Of course you can do it. It's all in the equipment, right? Do you really think Britney can sing?

Costa Cruises knows you want to try so it has outfitted its newest ship, the Costa Pacifica, with what it is calling the industry’s first onboard recording studio for passengers.

For about $50 an hour, passengers can sift through a library of 400 songs, then hit the sound booth and record up to three tunes. At the end of the cruise, you get a CD of your efforts.

Sounds like it'll just be recorded karaoke? Costa says that the studio comes with high-tech equipment and a sound engineer, which promises to give you every advantage enjoyed by those pop stars you love to trash. You know. The ones who, unlike you, can't sing.

Starting June 1, the federal government is tightening ID rules for US citizens re-entering the country from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.
Till now, if you were coming back into the country from those places by land or sea you only needed to show proof of identity and US citizenship so a driver's license and birth certificate would do it. If you were flying in you basically needed a passport.
After June 1, all will need a passport, passport card, or other approved ID (here's where you can find a list).
Right now, the government says it takes about four to six weeks to process a full passport application or two to three weeks if you're willing to pay for expedited service. Applications for passport cards, which are cheaper but can only be used for land or sea travel to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean region, and Bermuda but not for international air travel (If you're interested, I wrote about the difference last year), take about four to six weeks.
If you still have a little time before your trip and are a Patriots fan, the team is sponsoring a special night on June 4 from 4-8 p.m. at which travelers can apply for a passport at Gillette Stadium’s Fidelity Investments Clubhouse. The event is free. The team is sponsoring the event to promote its Oct. 25 exhibition game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium in London. If fact, everyone who shows up to apply for a passport will become eligible to win two free tickets to the game.

AP file photo

As I've been saying for a while, if you can afford to go on vacation this year there are great deals out there on flights and hotels . And that goes for cruises, too.

For months press releases flogging cruise deals have been drifting in over the transom and as we got deeper into spring the deals have been getting better and better. Johanna Jainchill, who covers cruising for Travel Weekly and is writing USA Today's Cruise Log this week, quotes Norwegian Cruise Lines CEO Kevin Sheehan, say prices are “ridiculously low”. Some examples:

CruiseOne is offering a seven-night Holland American Line cruise from Seward, Alaska starting at $349.

America's Vacation Center (AVC) is advertising seven-night Alaska cruises starting at $399 on both Holland and Princess Cruises, and a seven-night Celebrity cruise out of Seward on June 5 that starts at $449 - with a free coupon book for onboard spending.

Vicki Freed, Royal Caribbean’s senior vice president of sales, said Royal’s seven-night Alaska cruise on the Radiance of the Seas, starting at $499 in July, would cost “more than double” a year ago.

I'm not a big cruise guy but if you are and can still get your hands on a little scratch start shopping.

It sounds like I’m on a rocketship blasting off for the stars. But the XS1 is a water-bound sleek, 75-foot long, 18-foot wide, $1-million houseboat that chugs along at a top speed of eight mph. That’s fine, because when you’re on the extraordinarily picturesque waters of Lake Mead, you want to go slow and easy.
I’d come late last summer to check out houseboating – my first-ever such experience – and in particular Forever Resorts million-dollar baby, which comes spread over three floors and includes six private staterooms, two and a half baths, a seven-person hot tub and all the scenic splendor you can handle on this gigantic lake formed by Hoover Dam.
Forever Resorts is all over the west, including here at Callville Bay Resort and Marina, a clean and serene Lake Mead port that’s about a 40-minute drive from the cacophony of Las Vegas. The company’s new daily rate pricing is in effect at its 12 marinas in Arizona, Nevada, California, Texas and Missouri, ranging from $436 to $2,114 for its fleet of 250 boats, even the high end not that daunting when you load up a boat and divvy up the cost accordingly.
The beauty of houseboating is that you can put in anywhere on the lake’s shore, and with Lake Mead’s 550 miles of shoreline, it’s not hard to find a spot. You beach the craft, drive a few stakes start barbecuing steaks; the boats come with gas-grills and fully equipped kitchens. From here, available water sports include water skiing, bombing across the lake in high-flying and quad-burning personal watercrafts, or just chilling by fishing.

FULL ENTRY

Harvey Robbins’s 17th annual Doo-Wop and Rock ’n’ Roll Boston-to-Bermuda cruise will be May 22-29, aboard the Norwegian Spirit, sailing from Boston to Bermuda. There will be three concerts during the week, and performers will include singers from the Jive Five, the Midnighters, the Tune Weavers, and the Interludes. Private parties and meet-and-greet sessions with the singers are included. Rates start at $836 per person.
For bookings that include the shows, call 978-256-6472 or 800-772-0847.
Posted by Richard P. Carpenter, Globe correspondent
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With Norwegian Cruise Line’s Freestyle Resolution promotion, families who book a cruise through March 15 on many NCL sailings can take their children along at rates beginning at $99 each. (Among summer departures is the seven-day Boston-Bermuda cruise aboard the Norwegian Spirit, starting at $599.) Families will also get up to a $250 credit for shore excursions, specialty dinners, spa treatments, casino play, and other activities.
Posted by Richard P. Carpenter, Globe correspondent

An April 14 six-night sailing of the Queen Mary 2 from New York to Southampton, England, begins at $815 for an inside cabin (or even less for those who acted after receiving a mailing from Cunard). Remember that a cruise fare includes meals and entertainment, along with a host of amenities — not that there won’t be ample opportunity to spend more once onboard. For more information check the line's website or call 800-728-6273.
Posted by Richard P. Carpenter, Globe Correspondent

CruiseCompete seeks to find the best deal at no cost to the traveler. After creating an account, you can anonymously request quotes on sailings you are interested in. Independent travel agents will respond with their best offers, and the website e-mails you when each new quote is available. You then pick which agent or agents to phone or e-mail for more information or to book.
By Richard P. Carpenter, Globe correspondent