Travel
[We publish on this page articles and notes which may help our readers in making their plans for travel at home and abroad. They are written by correspondents who have visited the places described. We shall be glad to answer questions arising out of the Travel articles published in our columns. Inquiries should be addressed to the Travel Manager, The SPECTATOR, 99 Gower Street, W .C.1.1
Winter Cruising
habit of wintering abroad, which in this country has, since the War, gradually advanced from an adventure almost to an instinct, keeps the nose of fashion severely on the grindstone.
This year, however, the voice of duty and personal economic considerations alike forbid it. Patriotism and a depreciated currency will combine to keep at home many who would have otherwise spent the season abroad. Whilst sym- pathizing with foreign hotels, we welcome a situation which will undoubtedly prove a valuable asset to the hotel industry of this country.
There will, however, of necessity be some whom choice or constitution will prevent from staying at home. For them there is the alternative of a sea cruise. Many of the foremost British companies are arranging voyages to suit all purses and time tables ; and by supporting them British people will be doing it valuable work in assisting the shipping industry. All dues will be paid to a British firm in this country : and such expenses as will be incurred on excursions and the like at foreign ports of call will in all probability not exceed what would have been spent on foreign goods at home.
For those who do not wish to spend Christmas in England, perhaps one of the most attractive will be the cruise arranged by the Blue Star Line. 'The Arandora Star ' will leave Southampton on Friday, December 18th, visiting Gibraltar (which incidentally is by no means as unattractive as Mr.
Evelyn Waugh and Baron Baedeker would conspire to persuade us), Barcelona, Naples, Spezia (interesting as perhaps- the finest example of a -modern naval port), Genoa, Monaco, Palma, Tangier and Lisbon ; and arriving back at Southampton on Thursday, January 7th. The whole trip only takes nineteen days and fares are from £38.
A cruise of similar length and cost is on the programme of the Royal Mail Line. ' The Atlantis ' leaves Southampton on December 18th and visits Lisbon, Tangier, Naples (Christmas will be spent in the bay of Capri), Villefranche (whence pass- engers can make a predatory raid on the casinos of Nice and Monte Carlo), Ajaccio, Barcelona, Algiers and Malaga.
For those who wish to be away from England longer, The Canadian Pacific have arranged a cruise round the world which lasts five months. ' The Empress of Britain ' leaves South- ampton on November 21st, and visits amongst other places New York, Madeira, Monaco (where the boat can be joined on December 16th at a saving of over £40), Naples, Athens, Haifa, Bombay, Singapore, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Havana, New York a second time and arrives back at South- ampton on April 15th. Christmas will be spent in the Holy Land ; and fares, which include all shore excursions, range from 376 guineas to several thousands of pounds.
For those who do not wish to leave this country until after Christmas but wish to be away some time, the cruise of the Cunarder ' Franconia ' will prove attractive. ' The Fran- conia ' needs no introduction as a cruising vessel (her cuisine is especially renowned). She departs from the marine equiva-
lent of the beaten track in visiting, as well as some thirty other places, Saigon, Samarang, Miyajima, and Cristobal, and returns to Plymouth and Havre on June 5th. Fares are from £375, and passengers will in the first instance join the vessel at Monaco on January 22nd, having travelled from London by train de luxe on the previous day.
Another Cunarder, the ' Laconia,' leaves Liverpool on January 22nd, calling at Plymouth the next day, and cruises for forty-six days, visiting the West Indies, Cape Verde Islands, and Western Africa.
The Canadian Pacific have arranged a similar and very attractive cruise, starting from Southampton on January 22nd, and returning on March. 8th. Both voyages can be done for under £100.
For those who wish to compress the maximum of contrasting experience into the minimum of time, The White Star Line's Mediterranean cruises will probably be unsurpassed. The first of them, which starts at Liverpool on February 0th, lasts nineteen days, fares being from £30. Those who con- template wintering in India or Egypt will find their needs met by the arrangements of the Bibby and P. & 0. Lines ; while the Union Castle's special province is South Africa. The Pacific Steam Navigation Company's new luxury vessel Reim del Pacifico ' leaves Liverpool for South America on Jatindry ,19th.
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