SEE Vietnam by sea on a cruise from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City this September.
The 11-night cruises, aboard the 128-passenger Clipper Odyssey, are offered Sept. 1, 9 and 27. The first two focus on the culture and antiquities of Vietnam. The Sept. 27 sailing revisits the United States' presence in the region during the Vietnam War and the experience of Americans who served there.
"Unlike most cruises, which only call at Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, these cruises call at a number of ports along the coast of Vietnam," said Ann Bonar of Joan Irvine Travel.
Participants spend one night in Hanoi before embarking at Haiphong. Then the ship travels to Halong Bay, the Gulf of Tonkin, the South China Sea and up the Saigon River.
They visit Cat Ba Island and the ports of Vinh, Hue, Da Nang, Qui Nhon and Nha Trang, disembarking in Ho Chi Minh City.
Cost: $4,339 per person, double occupancy ($500 single surcharge) for Sept. 1 and 9 sailings; from $2,891 per person, double occupancy ($500 single surcharge) for the Sept. 27 veterans' cruise, including hotel and ship accommodations, meals, shore excursions, port charges and tips. International airfare is not included.
Contact: Joan Irvine Travel, Newport Beach; (949) 548-3481.
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SCANDINAVIA
From Iceland to Sweden
CRUISE from the glaciers of Iceland to the fiords of Sweden aboard Orient Lines Marco Polo.
The 13-day trip begins Aug. 1 with two days of touring Reykjavik, Iceland. Then the 826-passenger ship sails to the ports of Akureyri and Seysdisfjordur in Iceland. The ship visits Torshavn on the Faroe Islands; Bergen and Kristiansand in Norway; Aalborg, Denmark; and Stockholm.
Cost: $2,599 to $5,899 per person, double occupancy, including hotel and ship accommodations, meals and some excursions. International airfare is not included.
Contact: Maupintour, Las Vegas; (800) 572-1709, www.orientlines.com.
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CALIFORNIA
Spa time in wine country
EAT, drink and relax with spa treatments in Napa and Sonoma counties on a three-day trip designed for women, although men are allowed too.
Participants on the trip, which starts Aug. 3, will attend wine tastings and cooking demonstrations held by local vintners and chefs, attend receptions, take walks with a personal trainer and dine with food and wine experts.
Spa treatments, such as massage, reflexology and foot rub and facials, are available for $115 each.
