King Penguins 

How far have you come with checking off your personal list of the 1,000 places to visit before you die? If you are working on your ultimate “bucket list” and are not worried about the cost, check out the following new excursion to the windiest, coldest and least populated continent on the planet.

Crystal Cruises is offering what no doubt is one of the most expensive shore excursions ever conceived: A $9,774 per person, double occupancy overnight tour to Antarctica.

Billed as a cruise industry first, the outing is available to only six passengers visiting Ushuaia, Argentina on a 19-day Crystal Symphony Christmas/New Year voyage that begins Dec. 20 in Buenos Aires. 

The Extreme Overnight Adventure in Antarctica will include a trek through remote villages and a petrified arctic forest once covered by glaciers, to scientific research bases, and a visit to the breeding grounds of three species of penguins as well as the home of elephant and fur seals.

Participants in the two-day excursion will leave the ship in Ushuaia and travel by plane to King George Island just off the coast of mainland Antarctica. From there, depending on weather conditions, they will visit the Chilean Eduardo Frei Antarctic Base and the Uruguayan Base Artigas; take a snow coach trip to King George’s Collins Glacier and ride a zodiac boat to a penguin breeding ground on nearby Ardley Island.

Passengers on the excursion will spend the night at the Chilean Antarctic Institute on King George Island, and the trip also will include a helicopter ride to a humpback whale sanctuary and a visit to a King penguin colony. Passengers will rejoin the ship in Punta Arenas, Chile. 

At $9,774 per person, the shore excursion may cost more than your 19-day cruise. Prices for the voyage, which ends in Valparaiso, Chile and also include calls in Montevideo, Uruguay; Puerto Madryn, Argentina; Port Stanley, Falkland Islands; and Puerto Montt, Chile, start at $8,995 per person, double occupancy. For terms and conditions, contact a travel agent, call 888-799-4625, or visit crystalcruises.com.

Other luxury cruise line news:

Canyon Ranch is taking over the spas, beauty salons and fitness centers aboard Regent Seven Seas all-suite cruise ships. The luxury line has announced Canyon Ranch SpaClubs will be installed on all three of its ships by late December. Regent spas currently are operated by Carita of Paris.

The first Regent cruises featuring the new Canyon Ranch facilities will be the Dec. 18 departure of the line’s Seven Seas Voyager, the Dec. 20 departure of the Seven Seas Mariner, and the Dec. 28 departure of the Seven Seas Navigator.

Regent also says it will begin serving a full range of Canyon Ranch’s Spa Cuisine at mealtimes starting in the spring. The healthy-focused menu items will be available at breakfast, lunch and dinner in each of the ships’ main dining rooms; for breakfast and lunch in the ships’ casual dining venues; at the Pool Grill, and on the 24-hour Room Service menu for in-suite dining.

In addition, the line says Canyon Ranch-certified fitness instructors will conduct daily group and private fitness, yoga and tai chi classes for passengers. On select voyages Canyon Ranch healthy living experts will offer on-board presentations and workshops addressing lifestyle change and stress management.

Regent’s sister company, Oceania Cruises, is in the midst of debuting Canyon Ranch spas across its fleet. Canyon Ranch also has operated a SpaClub aboard Cunard’s flagship, the Queen Mary 2, since it set sail in 2004. For more information about Regent Cruises contact a travel agent or log on www.a-regentcruises.com.

The Grande Dame of New Hampshire’s White Mountains, the Mount Washington Hotel, will have some Texas-based managers overseeing its operation beginning the first of September. The historic, 107-year-old grand hotel will become the third property in New England affiliated with the Omni Hotels chain, joining Boston’s Parker House and the Omni New Haven in Connecticut in the company’s northeast portfolio.

CNL Lifestyle Properties will retain ownership of the NH facilities and plans to invest an additional $10 million in future renovations, including additional guest rooms, plus food and beverage venues and public areas. This past January they opened a $25 million 25,000-square-foot state-of-the-art spa, a 20,000-square-foot conference center, an outdoor swimming pool complex in the new Presidential wing. Other recent improvements include the restoration of the 18-hole Mount Washington Golf Course — owned and operated by Crosland/Celebration Associates — based on the original 1915 Donald Ross design.

Located in Bretton Woods, at the base of Mount Washington, the highest peak in the northeast, the resort is home to 365 guest rooms in three lodging facilities — The Mount Washington Hotel, the Bretton Arms Inn and The Lodge.  A natural haven for visitors, it offers an array of seasonal activities. During the winter months, guests can enjoy skiing and snowboarding at nationally acclaimed Bretton Woods ski area, as well as sleigh rides, dog-sledding, ice skating, snowshoeing and ice climbing. In the summer, guests can enjoy two championship golf courses, tennis, horseback riding, hiking, and fly fishing on the Ammonoosuc River. The resort is also home to the world-class Bretton Woods Canopy Tour, featuring a one-of-a-kind zip line adventure from treetop to treetop through the ancient forest of Rosebrook Canyon. The resort is surrounded by nearly 800,000 acres of the White Mountain National Forest.

The Mount Washington, one of the grandest of the grand hotels, was built in northern New Hampshire at the turn of the 20th century. Joseph Stickney, a coal and railroad magnate bought 10,000 acres with a commanding view of the mountain and hired Charles Alling Gifford, a prominent New York architect, who in turn hired 250 Italian craftsmen. Ground was broken in 1900 and construction was completed two years later. The latest design and construction methods were used. Innovative and complicated heating and plumbing systems were installed. To this day, the hotel has its own private telephone system and post office. From a distance the distinctive red roof gives it an Alpine feel. They built what was then — and may still be — the largest wooden structure in New England, opulent but sturdy, with a Spanish Renaissance Revival exterior, a then-rare steel infrastructure, and the impressive French Renaissance-style Great Hall with its Tiffany stained-glass windows and intricate plaster moldings.

On July 28, 1902, the front doors were opened to the public with a staff of no less than 350. The most luxurious hotel of its day, The Mount Washington catered to wealthy guests from Boston, New York and Philadelphia. As many as 50 trains a day stopped at Bretton Woods’ three railroad stations. One of these stations, Fabyan’s, is now one of the Resort’s dining establishments.

The Hotel has been host to countless celebrities, including Thomas Edison, Babe Ruth and three U.S. Presidents. Babe Ruth’s golf locker, imported china, hand-colored postcards and playing cards and a 1917 travel guide, genteel mementos of an elegant legacy, are still displayed.

The sparkling white and red-roofed hotel with its 900 foot grand veranda was the setting for the historic Bretton Woods Monetary Conference in 1944. Delegates from 44 nations convened, establishing the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, setting the gold standard at $35 an ounce and designating the United States dollar as the backbone of international exchange. The signing of the formal documents took place in the Gold Room, located off the lobby and now preserved as an historic site.

In 1955, the Hotel was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Morris J. Fleisher of Philadelphia, who operated the Hotel for 15 seasons until its sale in 1969 to Mount Washington Development Company. This company developed the popular Bretton Woods Ski Area and reacquired many out-parcels, thus consolidating the original Stickney Estate.

Bretton Woods Corporation acquired the property in 1975. Under its ownership, The Mount Washington Hotel was listed in the National Register of Historic Places and 6,400 acres of woodlands were sold to the United States government for inclusion in the White Mountain National Forest.

In 1986, the United States Department of the Interior recognized the 200-room pearl white structure’s historical and architectural significance with a National Historic Landmark designation. The 1896 Bretton Arms Inn, a Victorian inn located on the hotel grounds, was also awarded National Historic Landmark status as part of the designation given the main building.

In 1991, a new chapter in the resort’s history began as a group of New Hampshire businessmen joined forces to purchase it and the surrounding property to ensure its place in the 21st century. Extensive renovation and restoration efforts in the 1990s revived the hotel’s rich Victorian atmosphere. Upon entry you will step back 100 years! Huge stone fireplaces and a grand lobby will mark a period in time not found in many places today. It takes you back to the days when a vacation meant enjoying your companions, nature and place. Subsequent purchases of the resort’s two golf courses, surrounding development land and the Bretton Woods ski area, successfully reunited all original resort properties. The Mount Washington Hotel opened for its “first winter” season ever, beginning Thanksgiving Day, 1999.

The Bugle, a daily newsletter, lists each day’s events. Options vary season to season and often include special interest themes, including a pyrotechnics class offered over the 4th of July with an opportunity to see a world class fireworks show being set up. The resort’s display is said to rival any big city. The resort also offers many special event weekends such as Murder Mystery and Gourmet Dining but the best event may just be relaxing and doing nothing at all. No matter how one spends the day, many guests’ nights end in The Cave. The Cave is the one of the hotel’s lounges and has a great history. It was built into the basement during prohibition times and retains a “let the good times roll” ambience.

The Mount Washington Hotel — 800-314-1752; — www.mountwashingtonresort.com — 310 Mount Washington Hotel Road, Bretton Woods, NH 03575, is on Route 302, about 17 miles east of Exit 36 off  Interstate 93 at the northern end of  Crawford Notch, 6 miles east of the village of  Twin Mountain. The hotel was featured in an episode of the television series “Ghost Hunters,” when it was searched by the TAPS paranormal investigation team in 2008.
 

  Wyland painting on the Ruby Princess

Princess Cruises has brought a new meaning to a “swim with the dolphins” experience, now instead of just being a shore excursion offered in certain parts of the world, passengers onboard the Ruby Princess get to dive in with a special painting of the sea mammals by marine life artist Wyland.

As the Ruby Princess approached Venice Wednesday afternoon, passengers were treated to a special live art event as the famed Whaling Wall mural artist painted an unusual canvas – the bottom of the ship’s Neptune Pool.
 
Known worldwide for his unique works featuring sea animals, Wyland was aboard the ship for special art events and meet and greet with passengers. Painting the ship’s pool was not on his original agenda. Captain Tony Draper suggested the idea to the artist after watching ship crew members painting the Princess “seawitch” logo on the bottom of the ship’s other main pool.
 
A first for the cruise line, Wyland agreed to paint the mother dolphin and her baby as a way to increase awareness of his conservation message. Passengers were invited to follow along with a live top-deck event hosted by the ship’s cruise director, including live video of the painting in progress on the ship’s Movies Under the Stars screen. The artist finished his work just prior to the ship’s arrival into the Venice canal system.
 
Marine life artist Robert Wyland (born. 1956 in Detroit), known simply as Wyland, is an accomplished painter, sculptor, photographer, writer and SCUBA diver.  His non-profit Wyland Foundation has supported numerous conservation programs since 1993, including the monumental Whaling Wall mural project – and epic series of more than 100 life-size marine life murals that spans 14 countries on four continents and is viewed by an estimated 1 billion people every year.

Wyland painted five of his wall murals in New England: “Whales off the Coast of Maine,” in Portland on June 7, 1993; “Isles of Shoals Humpbacks,” in Portsmouth, N.H. on June 14, 1993; “Stellwagen Bank,” 33 Traveler St. (across from the Boston Herald’s back door), on June 21, 1993; “Finback Whales,” in Providence, R.I., on June 28, 1993 and “The Great Sperm Whales,” 124 Captain’s Walk and State Street, New London, Conn., on July 12, 1993. Unfortunately two of the murals, Boston’s and Providence’s, are now extinct and the painting in Portsmouth is deteriorating; however, a group of concerned citizens in New Hampshire is trying to raise funds to save the wall. The Connecticut mural was repainted in 2007.

Wyland has earned the distinction as one of America’s most unique creative influences, and a leading advocate for marine resource conservation. He is listed in Who’s Who in American Art, the Guinness Book of World Records, and many other national and international publications, the multi-faceted artist has even hosted several series for television, including, “Wyland’s Ocean World” on the Discovery Channel’s Animal Planet Network. Today, he is considered one of the most influential artists of the 21st Century, with artwork in museums, corporate collections, and private homes in more than 100 countries for more information log on www.wyland.com/.

Wyland and Princess Cruises have a long-time association.  Many Princess ships incorporate his sculptures in the swimming pool areas, and are featured in his latest book “100 Whaling Walls.”  His artwork is also featured in the ships’ onboard art galleries.

Ruby Princess is currently sailing on 12-day Grand Mediterranean voyages between Barcelona and Venice, with calls at Monte Carlo, Florence/Pisa, Rome, Naples/Capri, Mykonos, Istanbul, Kusadasi, and Athens.
 
Photos of Wyland at work are available at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/princesscruises/sets/72157621962996169/. Additional information about Princess Cruises is available through a travel agent, by calling 1-800-princess, or by logging on the company’s website at www.princess.com. Princess can also be found on: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PrincessCruises; Twitter:http://twitter.com/PrincessCruises and Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/princesscruises/

Staying close to home for vacations and exploration is a perfect way to reunite the family and experience the awe and excitement of discovery as the next generation tries new adventures for the first time. Such was the case with the Burke/Merhalski clan during a brief vacation in Bethlehem, New Hampshire recently.

We made a family excursion to Clark’s Trading Post, on Route 3 in Lincoln; a stop Ginny remembers visiting with her parents 50 years ago and where we enjoyed taking our daughters 20 plus years ago while exploring the White Mountains. Ginny remembers it as little more than a parking-lot stage outside a large gift/souvenir shop when she was a child but how it has expanded into a first-class day of entertainment.

The Clarks advertise they are celebrating over 80 years of gold standard entertainment including 60 years of bear shows that feature unmuzzled and unleashed North American Black Bears. During the show, the affection between the bears and their trainers, young members of the Clark family, was very apparent. Our girls only remembered seeing a bear performing on a platform high over head and not much else. Now that Missy has her own two little ones to impress, the theme park is so much nicer. A visit to Clark’s Trading Post today offers a wide range of shows, attractions, shops and museums that will keep young and old busy and entertained all day long before one gets close to the largest gift shop in northern NH. Ginny was impressed by the wide range of fun souvenirs as well as high quality, unusual gifts.

Though getting an early start with a three-year-old and an eight-month old baby, that is packing extra clothes, diapers, wipes, snacks, strollers, hats, sunscreen, etc., etc., can be a tiring, hours-long chore in and by itself; it was all worth it to witness 3-year old Ryan’s heightened enthusiasm as he talked about our family adventure.

A visit to the trading post and park nowadays includes the bear shows, a train ride, a show performed by the legendary Wolfman, who guards his “mine” beside the White Mountain Central Railroad track, and new this year the Yandong Chinese Acrobatic Troupe circus act. Other attractions included the ¼ scale Old Man of the Mt. Climbing Tower as well as a toddler climbing wall; Merlin’s Mystical Mansion; Americana Museum & 1884 Pemigewasset Hook & Ladder  Fire Station; Tuttle’s Rustic House; The Clark Museum, The Florence Murray Museum, Avery’s Garage as well as the following specialty shops: the Main Street Candle Shop, The Maple Cabin, Liberty Press printing shop, Kilburn’s Photo Parlor, the Whistle Stop Snack Bar, Pullman’s Pizza & Subs shop and The Peppermint Saloon Ice Cream Parlor.

Ryan, Ginny and son-in-law Steve’s favorite stop by far was the Old Mill Pond Water Blaster/Bumper Boats and it is up for debate on whether mother-in-law or son-in-law won the water spray battle. It was obvious that the honeymoon was over and their son/our grandson loved every second while being in the middle of the family feud/competition. It was a warm, sunny day so it was refreshing to get thoroughly soaked during the battle which we most definitely did.

General admission includes access to all shows, rides, attractions, displays and museums. 2009 rates are children under 3 — free; children 3 to 5 — $7; ages 6 to 64 — $17 and seniors 65 and up — $15. For more information, log on www.clarkstradingpost.com.  We had a fun-filled, full day’s entertainment for a reasonable price.

The following day we headed in another direction for a culinary experience we have been wanting to do for years, a visit to Polly’s Pancake Pallor at Hildex Maple Sugar Farm, Sugar Hill, NH to experience the world renowned “stone-ground whole wheat, buckwheat, and cornmeal pancakes, served with country sausage or cob-smoked bacon, and a tray of maple toppings in pewter pots - fancy grade syrup, granulated maple sugar, and thick maple spread. What a treat! We all agreed it was just too delicious. We are truly thankful that we don’t live nearby since we would be unable to resist weekly or more often visits. Polly’s exceeded our expectations. It was that fabulous.

The building which houses “Polly’s Pancake Parlor” was built about 1830. It was originally used as a carriage shed and was later used for storage of firewood. During the 30s Polly and Wilfred (Sugar Bill) Dexter converted the building to a small, quaint tea room (capacity - 24 people). When they started serving in 1938 they offered pancakes, waffles and French toast - “All you can eat for 50 cents.” The idea was to stimulate sales of their maple products.

Polly and Will’s daughter married Roger Aldrich in 1949 and in that year took over the management of “Polly’s Pancake Parlor.” Wilfred Dexter passed away in 1960 and in 1964 Polly followed him. Since that time Nancy and Roger have gradually expanded the operation from three months to six months and the dining room size has been increased three times. Nancy and Roger’s daughter, Kathie and her husband, Dennis Cote are now very actively assisting on a full-time basis with the management and production which assures their long list of friends and customers that there will be family continuity for many years to come.

The original menu has been greatly enlarged to include buckwheat, cornmeal, oatmeal buttermilk and whole wheat pancakes and waffles which are varied by combining them with blueberries, walnuts, coconut, or chocolate chips, along daily pancake specials such as gingerbread! They serve country style patty sausage and smoked bacon and smoked ham made right in N.H. at the North Country Smokehouse. For more information abaaout Polly’s menu log on www.pollyspancakeparlor.com.

The 122,000-ton, 2,850-passenger Celebrity Equinox, the second ship in Celebrity Cruises’ innovative Solstice class recently debuted in Southampton after being constructed at Germany’s Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg. It is currently on a 10-night “Best of Europe” itinerary calling in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Gibraltar en route to Rome. Prior to coming to the U.S., the ship will sail a series of 13- and 14-night “Ancient Empires” cruises from Rome, featuring two new ports of call: Haifa and Ashdod, Israel. These voyages also include an overnight stay in Egypt’s Alexandria.

As a sister ship to Celebrity Solstice, which was launched November 2008, Equinox brings back everything everyone raved about for the company’s first-in-class vessel. Equinox is just as beautiful as its predecessor, featuring the same contemporary, chic-yet-classy style. You won’t feel crowded on this ship, which offers a clustered setup (entertainment forward, restaurants aft with revenue venues (casino and shops) mid-ship that allows for excellent passenger flow and easy navigation.

Equinox also boasts all of the same interesting onboard features of her eight-month old twin sister. These include The Lawn Club, a dedicated area on the top deck of the ship that features real, growing grass, where passengers can play croquet or golf; the Hot Glass Show, the first glass-blowing studio at sea; large, standard staterooms, 85 percent of which will be outfitted with verandahs; Quasar, a mod-futuristic disco; and a selection of 10 restaurants, covering all genres from French to Asian-fusion.

In fact, there’s really not that much different between the twins, aside from some decor and color changes. A few things to look out for: The big white “X” on the fleet’s funnels, a notable omission on Celebrity Solstice, has returned on Equinox.

The Equinox features many interesting paintings, photos, sculptures, and other objects d’art from the former Celebrity Galaxy, which has now been transferred to TUI cruises (also in the Royal Caribbean family). Celebrity removed the art from Galaxy prior to the ship leaving the U.S. fleet and had the collection in storage.

Although there is plenty of shopping, the Art Gallery on Equinox is notable in that Park West Galleries, the company that runs art auctions on most cruise ships, doesn’t run it. Millenia Fine Art, an Orlando, Florida-based company, is taking a much lower-key approach. They do onboard auctions only at the request of the cruise line. Otherwise, the gallery is open for viewing, like a museum, and there is no pressure to buy anything.

For fine art, it is hard to beat an original piece of art glass or crystal by the glass blowers of the Corning Museum. Corning Glass is already well known in America for Corningware, but many people do not realize the Corning Museum is one of the finest glass museums in the world. Corning Glass is also the home of Steuben Crystal, a company that features original works of art in crystal by different artists. The Corning Museum “Hot Glass Show” is held a few times each day on “The Lawn.” The gift shop also has original pieces of glass artwork for sale.

One of the ship’s major extravagances is shopping with 18 outlets for “retail therapy” onboard. There are gift shops exclusively for women and for men, jewelry shops, dress shops, souvenir shops and kiosks. One does not generally go on a cruise ship to shop, but these stores are certain to tempt the male and female shopaholics onboard. There is more shopping onboard than almost any other ship; 18 different boutiques and shops, including the “Boutique C” jewelry shop. It is open by appointment only and features the “Equinox Diamond,” the unique 86- faceted star shaped diamond that comes as a single stone, in rings, necklaces or earrings. You can order an Equinox diamond to be custom cut for you. A recently sold 1.1-carat sample, color-F and clarity VS-1, had a price tag of “only” $25,000. There are two different shopping areas; the “Galleria Boutiques” offers more indulgent goods such as jewelry and a shop just for men with exclusive watches. “Shops on the Boulevard” features impulse buys such as Celebrity logo-wear, kitchen accessories, snack items and spirits.

Celebrity Tastings, a bar space near the retail area that hosts samplings of wines and other libations, is back — but now it will be part of Liquid Chefs, featuring high-end cocktails and muddled drinks with unusual ingredients like liquid nitrogen from about $8.

Some restaurants have taken on a slightly different look in hue and design. New Vice President of Food & Beverage, Jacques Van Staden is now in charge of creating the menus for each of the 10 different dining destinations onboard Equinox and all other Celebrity ships as well.

In the entertainment department, the 1,100-seat Equinox Theater, a two-deck venue with a forward thrust proscenium stage and extensive balcony seating, will feature three shows: Equinox Show, an aerial performance similar to her sister’s show; Lime Light, a Broadway-style show that’s the counterpart to Ghost Light on Solstice and Remix, which will feature non-Broadway tunes.

After a trans-Atlantic voyage to Fort Lauderdale, Celebrity Equinox will sail alternating 10- and 11-night “Ultimate Caribbean” voyages. Ports of call include Grand Cayman, Cartagena, Colon, St. Kitts, Barbados and St. Maarten. For more information, call your travel agent; call 1-800-437-3111 or log on www.celebritycruises.com.