SEATTLE — Carl and Linda Magni love to travel but hate to unpack.
The Prescott, Ariz., couple also dread the hassle of airport security and dislike the difficulty of finding restaurants in unfamiliar cities. So instead, while traveling to far-flung destinations most people only dream of, the retirees spend leisurely days playing ping pong and shuffleboard and relaxing with longtime friends.
Over the years, Carl, 65, and Linda, 58, have given up their vacation home and other travel plans in favor of cruises that can last months.
They are in good company. As the travel industry continues to rebound from its downturn after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, cruise lines are seeing increased demand for a luxurious and pricey niche: trips that run anywhere from two weeks to several months.
For 2006, Holland America plans a 20% increase in cruises longer than 12 days. And in 2007, demand is forcing the cruise line, a Seattle-based division of Carnival Corp. & PLC, to switch to a larger, 1,380-person capacity ship for its around-the-world cruise. The company had scaled down to a smaller ship after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Silversea Cruises Ltd., which specializes in high-end luxury cruises, recently launched trips lasting 34 to 123 days and plans its first around-the-world cruise in 2007. At Cunard Lines, also a Carnival subsidiary, demand for world cruises is so great that the company plans two simultaneous trips in 2007.
Crystal Cruises Inc. spokeswoman Mimi Weisband said her company, a unit of the Japanese company Nippon Yusen Kaisha, is seeing a record number of bookings for its forthcoming 106-day world cruise.
Cruise lines say a key attraction of long cruises is that they allow people to visit plenty of far-flung destinations -- such as Antarctica and Easter Island -- without dealing with airport security and other hassles typical of getting to such remote areas.
While some people revel in using native currency, finding local accommodations and sampling unfamiliar foods, a key selling point for long cruises is the ability to see an exotic locale and get back to the ship in time to shower in your room and eat a steak dinner.
Some passengers are what Holland America spokeswoman Mary Schimmelman dubs "destination collectors" -- seasoned travelers who are eager to get to places that might be hard to reach without a boat. For that reason, cruise lines often vie for increasingly far-flung ports of call, like Safaga, Egypt; Lautoka, Fiji; or the Galapagos. The itineraries change often, since many long-cruise passengers are repeat customers.
