Travel

[Until further notice we propose to publish weekly articles and notes which may help our readers in their plans for travel at home and abroad. They will be written by members of the SPECTATOR'S Staff, or correspondents who have visited the places described. Our contributors will be glad to answer queries arising out of their articles. Inquiries should be addressed to : The Travel Manager, The SPECTATOR, 99 Gower Street, London, W.C.1.—Ed. SPECTATOR.]

The Cruise Habit

AMONG the many developments of modern travel, that of the Ocean Cruise is not the least interesting. Only a few years ago the great shipping companies modestly began by taking

one of their larger liners from its accustomed route, and using it temporarily as a pleasure yacht. The number of passengers was wisely limited, and five hundred people had the use of a ship normally accommodating over a thousand.

The idea made headway. A new form of holiday-making appeared, the advantages of which have been quickly recog- nized by a new travelling public.. No private yacht could possibly furnish the accommodation and comfort which a twelve, fifteen, or twenty-thousand-ton steamship affords. The roomy cabins, the deck space available for sports, the novel opportunity of seeing foreign places which the cruise provides, appealed to many who otherwise would have sought holiday centres nearer home.

And so, in a very short time, the Cruise Habit was en- gendered. It is growing. When the other week I saw the Orient Liner ' Otranto ' in Phaleron Bay, I knew I should meet the passengers in Athens. They told me how nearly five hundred English people were about to conclude a most agreeable five weeks' cruise, having touched at many Mediter- ranean beauty spots. I went on board, and at afternoon tea soon caught the atmosphere of the ship from one of the passen- gers (a famous surgeon, as I learnt subsequently) who sat at my table. Obviously he was thoroughly enjoying himself. He was Chairman of the Sports Committee, a Fancy Dress Judge, and held numerous other strange social offices in this cruising community. He was, I gathered, a great favourite on board, and he declared that he had never spent a happier holiday.

Two years previously, in the Oronsay,' I had myself taken a similar cruise, though not quite so long, and in twenty-two days had visited Gibraltar, Tangier, Mallorca, Minorca, Corsica, Naples, Palermo, Syracuse, Algiers, Cadiz, and Seville. Too quickly to grasp what one has seen, may be the comment. But no. Ample time is allowed at each stopping place, and I give thanks to this particular cruise for showing me Mallorca and Minorca. What I saw there urges me to revisit the Balearics at a later time. The speed of these large ships certainly enables much of the world to be seen in a very short space of time, but the consciousness of haste and bustle, so definitely associated with other forms of travel, is entirely absent.

The Cruise Habit will flourish for many reasons. The motor car is one of them. At a time when a single English motor works is completing nearly two thousand new machines weekly, the people of this comparatively small island, when thinking of holidays, may well ask themselves how long it will be before they are forced to go down to the sea in ships I The great edUcational value of the Cruise Habit cannot be overestimated. The possibility of seeing other countries, even for a brief visit, must surely further the cause of inter- national understanding, since it cannot fail to develop a taste for studying foreign languages. Indeed, one of the most in- teresting features of the cruise is provided by the shore excursions. There is no obligation to take the officially arranged programme, but those who are not accustomed to foreign travel will find it advisable to make use of the facilities for visiting places of interest offered by the shipping com- panies, as in this way much time is saved and the service of competent guides assured. -

There are, up-to-date amenities—especially on the larger ships—such as one might find in any first-class hotel in the Principal Western European Capitals. An important personage whose influence almost equals that of the Captain himself, is

the hairdresser, who, with his assistants, is busily occupied throughout the day with appointments with women clients. The upper deck is, as a rule, set apart for numerous deck games. If the Cruise is of fairly long duration, the early days are taken up with games practice by sports enthusiasts. Towards the end of the voyage, there is great activity, and keen compe- tition for the prizes which are usually presented--in due form at a final meeting, presided over by the Commander—by some distinguished passenger. A gymnasium, usually with a quali- fied instructor in attendance, and a swimming bath, have become part of the ordinary equipment.

There is now a wide choice of cruises. Enterprising shipping companies and travel bureaux have apparently explored the globe in order to prepare cruises to appeal to everybody. A brief alphabetical reference is published below, showing the cost and duration of cruises now being arranged.

When I compared notes with a Spectator reader who, with his wife, has just returned from a cruise in the R.M.S.Y. ' Arcadian '—during which from May 17th to June 1st he visited Gibraltar, Tangier, Casablanca, the Canary Islands and Madeira—we agreed that from our personal experience in different ships the life on these cruises is very pleasant. It is not, however, the sort of holiday to be recommended to an invalid. There are generally quiet places to be found in the ship, but the fact is that cruise passengers are mostly in that frame of mind once called by Lamb " the Holiday Rejoicing Spirit."

To those who decide to take a cruise, the following sug- gestions may be of use. In selecting a cabin, a married couple should endeavour to book two berths in a- three-berth cabin, choosing the deck according to the sum set aside for the holiday. Such a cabin is more roomy than one of two berths only. The position, if possible, should be amidships, slightly forward, as the motion of the vessel, particularly on the smaller ships, is more noticeable further aft. A good supply of cash should be taken, or, what is better, travellers' cheques. It is quite possible for two girls to take a cruise together without a chaperone, provided the shore visits are arranged through an agency recommended by the shipping company. In many cases a booking office for shore excursions is to be found in the ship. There are usually few children on board, and while special arrangements are made for the accom- modation of children on some ships, this is not to be found on all. Children, if taken on a cruise, should be old enough to sit up for dinner, which as a rule is served at 7 p.m. The news is received daily by wireless, and messages may be sent through the wireless office on the ship.

It may be added in conclusion, that the cruise affords a good opportunity for lonely people to make new friends. The Cruise Habit has come to stay, and it may safely be prophesied that it will arouse still further the spirit of adventure in the most insular of our island people. C.

[The following details with regard to various cruises have been collected to show their approximate cost and duration.] Anchor Line Summer Cruise by the T.S.S. Assyria,' 20 days, to Spain, Portugal and Canary Islands, from Glasgow on July 12th, returning on August 1st. Minimum fare £32. Calls at Cadiz, Casablanca, Las Palmas, Madeira, Lisbon and Glasgow. By the same line from Glasgow and Liverpool (minimum fare £35), lasting 23 days from August 9th to August 31st, calling Gibraltar, Palma (Majorca), Ajaccio, Monaco, Barcelona, Tangier, Liverpool and

Glasgow. Blue Star Line offer five cruises by the 15,000 tons S.S. Arandora Star ' to Norwegian Fjords, North Cape and Northern Capitals (13 days), minimum fare 20 gns. ; 27 days, to Portugal, Morocco and Sicily on September 7th (minimum 54 gns.), and to Spain, Majorca and Holy Land on October 5th, 27 days at 54 gns. minimum fare.

Canadian Pacific Round the World Cruise from Southampton,

November 14th, without change of steamer. Inclusive fares,from £449. Also Canadian Pacific Cruise from Liverpool to West Indies, South America, South Africa, East Africa and Egypt, January 5th. Inclusive fare from £331.

Cunard Line Cruises and Tours to Norwegian Fjords, by the ' Carinthia' (20,000 tons), from Southampton, August 2nd, returning to Liverpool via Hebrides, August 19th, 17 days, from 30 gns.

Cunard Atlantic- Holidays, 6,000 miles to Canada or U.S.A. and back, from £38 return ocean fare. Winter Sunshine Cruises, 1930,

by the Laconia' (20,000 tons), 'to West Indies, from Liverpool, January 14th, Southampton January 16th, 42 days, from 100 gns. To Mediterranean, from Southampton, March 1st, 25 days, from 50 gns. To Atlantic Isles and North Africa, from Southampton, March 29th, 16 days, from 30 gns. Round-the-Workl Cruise, 1930, by the 20,000 tons world-cruising Cunarder ' Franconia,' from London, January 24th, returning to -Liverpool, June 9th, rates from £430.

Elders and Fyffes' voyages to West Indies. 25 days at minimum fare of £45, and 34 days at £60 minimum. This includeis four weeks on boat—I4 days either way—and week's motor tours, and hotels in Jamaica.

Orient Line. Cruises by 20,000 ton steamers to Norwegian Fjords and the Northern Capitals, sailing every Saturday tintil-the 'end of August. Fare from 20 guineas. Special Autumn Cruise by the Orient Company's new vessel Orontes ' on September 20th for 24 days' cruise to the Mediterranean, visiting Spain, Morocco; Balearic Islands, Italy, Sicily and Greece. Fares from 45 guineas. Tours to Gibraltar, Toulon, Marseilles, Naples, Horne, Florence, Venice, Genoa, falling at either Mentone or Monte Carlo. Minimum cost £54 19s. 6d., including 1st class on sea, railways and hotels. Duration of trip 27 days: The P. and O. Steamship Company's Cruises. to Norway and Norwegian Fjords (July 6th and July 20th), 13 days (minimum fare gns.), to the Mediterranean, 13 days at 22 gas. minimum, and 17 days (July 27th) at 55 gns. minimum and short holiday trips to Tangier of 14 days' duration, minimum cost 20.gns. -

Royal Mail Line Cruises to Norway, including Norwegian Fjords, Leitingrad (for Moscow), &c., froth 12 days' duration, minimum 19 gns., also Summer Mediterranean Cruises, 13 dayg at 20 gns.

Union Castle Line's Holiday Tours of 14 days' duration to Ant- wen), -Rotterdam, and Hamburg, and back. First-class fare £20. Tours to Madeira or Canary Wands-. 'Return fares to Madeira £20 first-class, £15 second-class—to the Canary Islands £20 first-class only. Christmas and New Year Tours to South Africa by Mail steamers from Southampton,: - December 13th and 27th and January 3rd and 24th. Return fares to Capetown, £90 first class £60 second:dais; £30 third-class.

White Stair-Line Ocean Cruise and Tour in U.S.A. and Canada. Duration. 3._vieeks- Return Ocean Rare, from £38. Yeoward Line from Liverpool to Lisbon, Madeira and Canary Islands. Three weeks' tour at 30 gns., and two weeks' tour for 21 guineas.