Consider signing up for Royal Olympic Cruises' "Great Rivers of South America" program this spring. The live music aboard will be provided by an accomplished pianist, a coloratura soprano and a vibrant tenor. Separately, you can attend lecturds offered by three learned A's--an archeologist, an astronomer and an ambassador. All this, plus 19 days afloat, in a package starting at the special rate of just $1,695 per person (which includes port charges, yet!).
Royal Olympic had such a huge response to its first offering in this program, that it has scheduled this additional sailing, departing from Houston on March 24, 2003 and from Ft. Lauderdale on March 26, 2003. You'll cruise both the Amazon and the less-traveled Orinoco, the longest waterways on the South American continent, winding through the world's most extensive tropical rainforests. Along the way you will visit Caribbean islands such as Virgin Gorda, Barbados, Trinidad and St. Thomas. On the continent itself, you'll see the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, Puerto Ordaz in Venezuela, Devils' Island in French Guiana, Boca da Valeria, Manaus and Santarem (all in Brazil), and cross the Equator.
Royal Olympics is introducing its Seafaring Gourmet program en route, with guest chef Arlyn Hackett from San Diego, who has his own radio program and a TV series. You'll be aboard the Olympia Voyager, which carries 836 passengers, a "human-sized ship," in contrast to some of the mammoth hotel-like hulks now afloat.
The archeologist is Justin Jennings, who specializes in the Inca Empire, and the astronomer is Kurt Riegel, former head of the National Astronomy Centers program at the National Science Foundation. The (former) ambassador is Edward Marks, now on the editorial board of two publications, the Foreign Service Journal and American Diplomacy.
For more information or to book, contact your travel agent or Royal Olympic Cruises at 800/872-6400 or at their Web site, www.royalolympiccruises.com.