Land Cruisers Ship Companies Stay Afloat By Offering Far-Flung Excursions Ashore

Lately, there seem to be a lot of oxymorons in cruising. Cruises are being combined with journeys that, by their very nature, seem a paradox to ocean-going travel.

These are not simply shore excursions, but imaginative extended itineraries that proffer landlocked venues. For example, you can combine a Princess cruise with an overland tour of the Canadian Rockies. In other regions, cruises can be coupled with rail adventures or bicycle trips. When linked to a cruise, these novel combinations give passengers vastly different experiences within a single vacation.

For now, the majority of such mergers focus on Alaska, a state so huge that cruisers there often feel a voyage alone doesn’t afford the chance to experience the state in a meaningful up-close-and-personal way. But it’s just as likely that as cruise lines and travel companies attempt to broaden your vacation horizons, unique cruise/land combinations will become the wave of the future everywhere.

Here are just some of the choices:

Clipper Cruise Line, the St. Louis-based small-ship adventure operator, earlier this year launched a cruise/rail combination “From Santa Fe to San Francisco Bay.” The package includes a five-day journey on a private luxury train, the American Orient Express, which is chartered exclusively for the journey. The train travels through the Southwest, then passengers enjoy a six-day cruise aboard the 138-passenger Yorktown Clipper as it explores the waterways of northern California.

The rail portion might delight anyone who mourns the passing of the great railroad era. Rail cars from the streamliner days of the 1940s and ‘50s have been rebuilt and restored to their former elegance, complete with mahogany and brass appointments.

En route, a pianist performs nightly on a baby grand in the club car, and dining carriages serve prepared-to-order gourmet meals. The train’s sleeping compartments have large picture windows as well as a private lavatory and washbasin.

The train ride begins in Santa Fe. Passengers travel to the Grand Canyon and stop at Wupatki National Monument. This Hopi Indian name, meaning “tall house,” describes the multistory pueblo ruins that were mysteriously abandoned in the 13th century. The train continues up the California coast to Oakland, where passengers board the ship to cruise to Sausalito, the Sacramento Delta, Napa Valley wine country and San Francisco. Eastbound departures follow the same itinerary in reverse.

The ship, with all-outside cabins and single-seating family-style dining, is one of the homiest expedition vessels afloat. Its American staff and crew (and top-flight lecturers) are largely credited for giving this ship its thoroughly informal and unregimented atmosphere.

Rates begin at $3,040 and include the rail excursion. (In 1997, autumn departures are Oct. 25, 30 and Nov. 4. Clipper also combines a rail trip with a Pacific Northwest cruise on four departures next year from Seattle on Sept. 17, 22, 27 and Oct. 2.) For more information, call 1-800-325-0010.

World Explorer Cruises has initiated “Bike and Cruise” in conjunction with two-week Alaska cruises on its 739-passenger Universe Explorer. Cycling buffs can savor escorted 12- to 50-mile bicycle tours in eight Alaska ports - including Skagway, Sitka and Ketchikan. The $495 pedaling package is additional to cruise fares, which start at $2,295. The bike-tour price includes bike rentals, meals during the bike rides and a train ride in Skagway. Considering the cumulative cost for regular excursions on an Alaska cruise, this unique venture seems worth it. Space is limited to 35 cyclists per cruise, so sign up early. For more information, call 1-800-854-3835.

Alaskan Bicycle Adventures, an independent company, offers six- and eight-day bicycle itineraries from several Alaska cities. If your cruise concludes in, say, Anchorage, you can build your own bike-and-cruise vacation. The most popular itinerary is an intensive eight-day route, covering between 50 and 70 miles a day. From Anchorage, travel first by rail to the region of Denali, then by van to Fairbanks. Over the next five days, cycle through pristine landscapes from Fairbanks to Valdez on paved roads with hardly any traffic. The $2,195 cost includes all lodging, bikes, meals, tips and a day-cruise across Prince William Sound. A less-intensive itinerary, for $1,795, covers 30 miles a day and includes canoeing, river rafting and a day of hiking. For more information, call 1-800-770-7242.

How about a week on a luxury liner, coupled with a week tooling around the heart of Alaska in a recreational vehicle? Holland America Line has teamed with Alaska Highway Cruises to offer road trips in fully furnished RVs (1994 Fleetwood Jamboree Searchers) either before or after your cruise. Twelve trip options, including a few customized itineraries, leave you flexible enough to discover Alaska’s diversity, albeit they leave the driving to you. But details are taken care of: Alaska Highway Cruises even prearranges campsites to alleviate your having to worry about reservations in Alaska’s crowded midsummer. There is a 24-hour 800 number to call for road service, and you can stow your cruise suitcases in AHC’s office while you’re on the road. Prices, from $2,095 for 10 nights, include the cruise, RV, campground sites and transfers. For more information, call Alaska Highway Cruises at 1-800-323-5757.

And here’s a tip for anyone planning to link a drive in the family car with an Alaska cruise from Vancouver next summer: Overnight at Vancouver’s Plaza 500 Hotel prior to your cruise and you can leave your car there free of charge during the cruise’s duration. The hotel rate ($65 Canadian per person, double occupancy) includes the one-night hotel stay, parking for the length of your cruise and transfers to - and from - the cruise terminal. For more information, call 1-800-473-1811.

Princess Tours offers “Canadian Rockies Cruise Tours,” a number of variable-length overland trips combined with seven-day Alaska cruises aboard Princess Cruises’ ships. Although none of these overland journeys is exclusively aboard trains, several itineraries include one or two nights on a train - from Jasper to Kamloops, for example; destinations such as Lake Louise and Banff are visited mainly by motorcoach. Cruise/tours start at $2,700. For more information, call Princess Tours at 1-800-426-0442.

If you plan a Panama Canal transit on the QE2 in January, you can combine your cruise with Amtrak train travel from any Amtrak city in the United States to the ship’s Fort Lauderdale departure point, then back home again from Los Angeles at the conclusion of the cruise. The QE2 departs Fort Lauderdale Jan. 6, sailing to Mexico, Colombia, through the canal to Acapulco, and arriving in L.A. on Jan. 17.

The rail portion is aboard Amtrak’s Ocean Liner Express in Pullman sleeping cars. All meals, wines and spirits are included. Fares start at $2,195 and include the 15-day cruise/rail trip and an overnight stay in Fort Lauderdale. For more information, call Train Holidays at 1-800-543-2846.