International Travel News: The cruising world

Marco Polo lives up to its name

If the world's first travel writer, Marco Polo, was transported by time machine from his native 1304 A.D. (700 years ago!) to the present, what would he do? To me, the answer is clear. He would immediately book a cruise on his namesake vessel.

The globe-girdling M.V. Marco Polo travels to the far ends of the Earth, like the original chap. Even better, it does it in style, with great food, attractive accommodations, air-conditioning and reasonable prices. The original Marco might miss the bugs, bandits and vicious spitting camels of his time, but I doubt it!

The Marco Polo was originally built in East Germany (remember that country?) in 1965 as the "Alexandr Pushkin" for the Soviets. Built as a cruise liner to earn hard currency, she was one of four sister ships whose additional missions were to serve as ice-strengthened troop ships and spy ships, obtaining signals intelligence on Western fleets.

Some travel writers have scoffed at my assertion in ITN (July '95, pg. 48) and elsewhere that the Polo was a spy ship; but I was on the Polo's maiden voyage and I interviewed two crew members left over from the bad old Soviet days. They firmly asserted that "the top deck near the bridge, which is now the area of nicest cabins, was entirely devoted to radio interception gear and computers, whose mission was to eavesdrop on NATO naval vessels."

And they said that "all the cabins were designed with numerous bunk beds, so they could very rapidly convert into troop cabins for carrying Soviet soldiers to hot spots anywhere on Earth."

So there. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Those Soviet soldiers would hardly recognize the refurbished vessel of today. Gerry Herrod of Orient Lines (and now of Discovery World Cruises) picked up the "Pushkin" in 1991 for the bargain-basement price of $25 million. She had been seized by a Singapore yard when the Soviets were unable to pay a minor repair bill with hard currency. Incredible!

Then Herrod spent two years and $75 million to rehabilitate her. She sailed in 1993 on her first voyage and never looked back. The vessel has become a favorite among ITN readers.

I can envision the original Marco Polo and a tough Soviet Spetsnaz sergeant wandering through the ship today. They would be flabbergasted by the elegant Art Deco-style rooms, the antiques from Thailand and Burma (which the original Marco Polo would recognize; he went there as the emissary of the Great Khan), the library, health salon and gym, the showroom with dancing girls and terrific shows and the casino.

Imagine their reaction to the food! I have sailed on the Polo three times (the last cruise, in April '99, was partially "comped"; see Sept. '00, pg. 108), and I have always been impressed by the chefs! abilities to deliver high-quality food in the remotest locations.

The Polo is a lovely vessel with balanced, traditional lines. She is 578 feet long, displaces 20,500 tons and carries 600 to 800 passengers in 425 staterooms. Her traditional design with a deep keel plus cabin decks stepped back from the bow and stern gives her excellent sea-keeping qualities and improves passenger comfort in all cabins. This is quite a contrast to modern design approaches, which often look like shoe boxes with a pencil stuck on the front.

Why does this matter? Well, imagine that shoe box pitching--the bow rising and stern falling, then the reverse--in a high sea. The passenger cabins in the forward and aft cabins will rise and fall through an arc of 30 feet or more. Seasick city. But a traditional design has the cabins bunched like a layer cake closer to the center of the pitching motion, so there is less pitching arc.

By the way, this is why you should always request a cabin near the center of the vessel (measured from both front to back and top to bottom), regardless of design. And remember, stabilizers are great, but they mainly work to reduce rolling (side-to-side motion), not pitching.

Aboard Polo, you have all the benefits of good traditional design and excellent stabilizers. You'll be able to eat to your heart's content.

Destinations are a key reason why we all go cruising, and the Polo has them aplenty. The vessel girdles the globe, seeking out romantic spots that few other cruise ships visit. Some cruise lines have curtailed their foreign travel, focusing on Stateside cruises when, actually, people areas safe or safer in many overseas destinations than in the U.S.

The Marco Polo pioneered cruising to Antarctica and each year makes several cruises WAY down under. This is reportedly one of the prettiest, most amazing places on the planet. Definitely on my "to do" list.

In late 2004 and early 2005, Marco Polo will sail across the Atlantic from Southampton, England, to Barbados (in November), around Cape Horn (in December, the southern summer; how many people can say they've been around that fabled tape?!), then down to Antarctica and on to the beautiful Chilean fjords for several trips in January and February 2005. Next she heads to the fascinating Amazon River in late February and March, then to the Mediterranean in April and May and on to the Baltic and Scandinavia in the summer of 2005.

What's a typical price for a cruise segment on the Marco Polo? On the upcoming voyage to Antarctica departing Dec. 23 from Santiago, Chile, for the Chilean fjords, Cape Hora and the Antarctic Peninsula, returning to Ushuaia, Argentina, the 18 days will cost from $6,325 per person, double occupancy, including port charges but excluding airfare and insurance.

On non-Antarctica segments, per-diem prices are typically 20%-30% lower.

Contact Orient Lines, 7665 Corporate Center Dr., Miami, FL 33126; call 800/333-7300, e-mail info@orientlines.com or visit www. orientlines.com.

Marco Polo began his famous book, "Travels," with the injunction, "Ye kings, princes, nobles, townsfolk and all who wish to know the marvels of this world, have this book read unto you."

If he spoke to us today, he might well say, "All ye who wish to know the marvels of this world, take a cruise on my namesake, the M.V. Marco Polo."