From Tees To Greens, Cruises Give Travelers Their Fill

Some of the world’s legendary golf courses are now the featured shore excursions on several cruises. On Seabourn Cruise Lines, passengers will be able to golf at the Monte Carlo Country Club, the Old Course at St. Andrews and even the Song Be Golf Club in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

And all year long, passengers on American Hawaii Cruises can play golf at the Wailea Golf Club on Maui and the Waikoloa Beach Golf Course on the Big Island.

Among the golf-oriented cruises:

Wide World of Golf, a golf-tour operator based in Carmel, Calif., and Seabourn Cruise Line offer a “Golf School at Sea” program on eight cruises in 1997. The program includes the full services of a PGA teaching pro, multiple private lessons, an on-board driving range, custom club fitting, greens fees, carts, caddies and transfers. The teaching program is in conjunction with Seabourn’s Signature Golf Program, which includes scheduled rounds of golf during cruise stops in Hawaii, California, the British Isles, the Mediterranean and New Zealand. The golf cruises range from five to 16 days, with fares ranging from $2,900 to $13,950 per person. The Golf School package is included in the cost when the passenger signs up for a golf cruise. Passengers who just want to take the lessons can sign up for $200 to $275, depending on the cruise. For more information, call 1-800-214-4653.

American Hawaii Cruises offers a “Tee Off in Paradise” golf package on all its 1997 cruises. The package includes carts and greens fees for three rounds of golf. Golfing passengers will be able to play one of two Jack Nicklaus-designed courses at the Kauai Lagoons Resort, a choice of three courses at Maui’s Wailea Golf Club and a choice of two courses at the Waikoloa Beach Resort on the Big Island of Hawaii. The golf packages start at $2,019 per person. For more information, see a travel agent.

Special Expeditions, an adventure-oriented cruise line, will visit 12 of the world’s top golf courses, including the Royal Dornoch in Scotland and Ireland’s Royal Portrush, the only course outside of Britain to host a British Open, and Ballybunion during a cruise of Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. The cruise is from Aug. 16-31 on the Caledonia Star, which carries 101 passengers. The golf/ cruise packages are $7,980 (for golf every day), $7,370 (for golf every other day); non-golfer fares are $6,490. For more information, call 1-800-762-0003.