Caribbean cruise royal scandinavia

Sail ho!

My first deepwater vessel sailed from San Francisco's Fort Mason. The ticket was free, courtesy of my grateful government. It was in 1950 and the ship was the General Pope, a troop transport, bound for Korea.

The skipper was in no hurry. The ship took 28 days to cross the Pacific. There Was no cruise director: No Broadway shows. No bingo at 4 o'clock. No midnight buffet.

Deck space was tight. You had to wrestle your buddies for a place to sit in the open air.

Officers above the rank of Colonel may have had private quarters, but there were no cabins for the troops. No staterooms. No suites. And no privacy. Sleeping accommodations were cots that were stacked six high.

What the ship did have was saltwater showers. And saltwater soap. Saltwater soap is rougher than sandpaper and will. strip you like a peeled apple. Communal toilets were always awash in a foot of water.

Best thing about the voyage was the food. Of all the services, the navy puts out the best groceries.

That was no summer cruise, yet after I survived the military's idea of cruising I grew fond of ships that carry paid passengers. And I've been lucky enough to have sailed on some splendid vessels.

The first commercial ship I boarded was P&O's Arcadia. P&O was called "The Exiles Line," as it brought British colonials home to Mother England from the pine-and-palm outposts of Empire. The SS Arcadia was full of Australians and was on its way to London. I strolled up the gangway in San Francisco with my wife and infant son and enough luggage for a 4-year whaling voyage.

We cruised Mexico's coast, watched the butterflies flutter above the decks through the Panama Canal and jumped ship in Trinidad.

After that I was hooked. Now, whenever I hear a ship's thundering whistle, I get goose bumps. I get the urge to run away to sea if I hear the rattling drop of an anchor chain in a yacht harbor.

I have fond memories of ships that are no longer in service. Stately ships that were chopped up in the breakers' yards and sold for scrap. Melted down to make Toyotas or razor blades. You may be driving a car fashioned from some of the steel from those ships. Or shaving with it.

ITN readers may remember the Spirit of London that cruised to Mexico and Alaska from the U.S. West Coast. The food was English. Not bad, yet people had the notion that the English don't know what to do in a kitchen. Princess Cruises took over. Put Italians in the galley and all the passengers cheered up.

I've sailed on Royal Cruise Line's Golden Odyssey in both the eastern and western Med. On Pearl of Scandinavia in Southeast Asia. On all the Royal Viking Line ships, Star, Sea and Sky, in Asia, Northern

What did you think

of your latest foreign tour, cruise or flight? Type a note to ITN, 2120 28th St. Sacramento, CA 95818 Europe and South America. The SS Santa Maria, a Delta Lines freighter that sailed completely around South America, was a very special treat. I've sailed in Captain Cook's wake in Hawaii on the Independence and through Tahiti's "Islands Under the Winds" on what was the French ship LibertY. I've walked the teak decks of the Azure Seas in Alaska and the Emerald Seas in the Caribbean.

All gone now.

Which cruise did I like best? That's impossible to answer. I liked them all.

Returning to the isles of Tahiti, where I misspent my youth, I sailed on the M/S Paul Gauguin and had the time of my life. I've had great fun on the "Fun Ships" of Carnival and I've been treated to the most expensive French wines on Seabourn ships.

I've crossed the Atlantic twice, once on Holland America's Noordam from Le Havre to Tampa with the Azores in between. I was exposed to sybaritic luxury on another positioning voyage on Silversea's Silver Whisper from Barcelona to the Caribbean with port calls in Spain, Morocco and the Canary Islands before the voyage ended in the rum and sugar island of Barbados.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) is.the official "voice, of the cruise industry. They promote "Cruising as The Best Vacation." And I think they're right.'Unpack once and relax. There's a new town outside your porthole just about every morning. The cruise ship is your transportation, and your accommodations. The entertainment is free and the food ranges from good to excellent. Ship's galleys will feed you around the clock, and when a voyage ends your clothes may be tighter than the skin on a radish.

CLIA is now promoting short cruises of three and four days as a nice way to introduce people to the shipboard experience. Brace any seaworthy travel agent and ask. Give it a try. Take a cruise. You're a wonderful person and you deserve it.