Gary C Buchanan discovers it's no longer only the rich and famous who can take to the high seas on the world's finest cruise ships

IN 1835 a curious sample advertisement appeared in the first issue of the Shetland Journal. Under the heading ``To Tourists'', it proposed an imaginary cruise from Stromness, around Iceland and the Faroe Islands, and continued by suggesting the pleasures of cruising under the Spanish sun in winter. So it is said that the journal's founder, Arthur Anderson, invented the concept of cruising. Just two years later, Anderson, along with his partner Brodie McGhie Willcox, founded the Peninsular Steam Navigation Company (later to become P&O).

More than 160 years later, cruising is the fastest-growing sector of the travel industry. The Passenger Shipping Association has reported that approximately 422,000 cruise bookings are anticipated this year, representing an increase of 20% on last year's figure, and a substantial growth of more than 49% on 1994 - truly cruising is the flavour of the month - every month.

To highlight this trend, the travel industry, in association with the Passenger Shipping Association and its cruise line members, recently launched Cruise Month '96. Travel agencies are currently involved in a nationwide campaign to boost customer awareness and endorse the value-added nature of cruising.

All over Europe, shipyards are working flat out to build new ships. Last Thursday, Carnival Cruise Line launched the 101,000-ton Carnival Destiny. Fourteen decks high and almost 900ft long, this is now the world's largest cruise ship.

Without doubt, 1996 has been the year of the super-cruisers. Royal Caribbean Cruise Line launched its 69,000-ton Splendour of the Seas in March, Celebrity Cruises introduced the 70,000-ton Century last November and will launch the 73,000-ton Galaxy at the end of next month, Costa Cruises' latest addition, the 74,000-ton Costa Victoria, entered service in July, and Princes Cruises launched its 77,000-ton Sun Princess last December. Not to be overshadowed by Carnival, Princes Cruises is building the 2600-passenger, 104,000-ton, 15-deck Grand Princess which is due to enter service in early 1998. To put these tonnages into perspective, the ``Pride of the Clyde'' - QE2,-weighs in at 70,327-tons.

Few Scottish cruisers will ever see these ships - unless they opt for a Caribbean fly-cruise. Due to overcapacity in that part of the world, these week-long, warm-water sojourns offer great value, with fully-inclusive packages often costing less than a similar-duration cruise from Southampton.

If you enjoy being in the company of up to 2000 American cruisers hell-bent on having a great time then you could be in heaven, but if your idea of a cruise takes the more traditional approach, or the prospect of an eight-hour flight to Florida fills you with more apprehension than anticipation, then consider setting sail from more familiar shores.

The very best in cruising can be found on board Crystal Cruises' delightful duo, Crystal Harmony and Crystal Symphony, which make up the largest five-star plus rated fleet in the world. In July next year, Crystal Harmony will visit Leith, Invergordon and Lerwick during a 12-day Northern Lights cruise. There will also be nine Mediterranean cruises and three Baltic cruises. These 940-passenger ships offer one of the best cruising experiences available on the high seas today and the high level of repeat passengers is testimony to this relatively new cruise line's successful formula.

A similar experience of ultra-deluxe cruising can be found on the only Fielding's Guide to Cruising six-star rated ships in the world - Silver Cloud and Silver Wind. With a capacity of just 296 guests, you can be sure any cruise on board Silversea's all-inclusive ships are just about as intimate and interesting as anything money can buy. During 1996, the cruise line showed a commitment to Scotland by giving a Scottish flavour to an eight-night cruise on board the Silver Cloud visiting the Norwegian fiords, en route to Copenhagen to Leith.

The Glasgow-based chef-proprietor of Yes restaurant, Ferrier Richardson, prepared two excellent meals for the 240 guests on board - 28 of whom hailed from Scottish shores. Next year Silver Cloud will visit Invergordon, Lerwick, Leith, Greenock, and Kirkwall during its Norwegian and Baltic itineraries. Silver Wing will be sailing extnesively throughout the Mediterranean.

Greenock will also welcome the QE2 on July 15 next year as part of a spectacular cruise to Iceland, Spitzbergen, and the North Cape. This, the most famous ship in the world, has also scheduled several new cruises for 1997. There are two extended 21-night and 19-night cruises from Southampton to the Caribbean, returning to Southampton, four Mediterranean/Atlantic Islands cruises and two cruises through the awe-inspiring Panama Canal.

Also new in 1997 are 24 transatlantic crossings where sailing time has been extended by a day to give a more leisurely six day line-voyage from New York to Southampton or vice-versa. These can be combined with a one-way flight by Concorde, giving you the chance to experience the world's utlimate conveyances, or flights by Boeings direct from Glasgow. Following her refit in the A & P shipyard in Southampton next month, this last vestige of a great tradition of Atlantic Queens will be ship-shape and in regal fashion to enter the next millennium.

P & O Cruises' 1997 programme features Annniversary Cruises and Honeymoon Cruises - both of which offer a collection of extra benefits for those wanting to commemorate or celebrate that romantic date in style. For those new to cruising, there are a selection of Newcomers Cruises, offering a special package of extras to ensure a first cruise is an occasion to remember.

Canberra, affectionately and justifiably known for very many years as Britain's favourite cruise ship, will end her long and distinguished career on September 30 next year. Following her return from the World Cruise, Canberra will undertake a final Caribbean cruise, three Canary Island cruises, a North Cape Cruise and five Mediterranean cruises before her 20-night Farewell cruise to the Eastern Mediterranean.

P & O's newest addition to its fleet, founded so many years ago by Arthur Anderson, is Oriana - indeed the ship's most sophisticated cocktail bar is named after the line's founder.

In 1997 Oriana will set sail from Southampton on a series of no fewer than 20 cruises, ranging from four to 23 nights. Specialist cruise agents such as Connoisseur Travel in Edinburgh and Sibbald Travel's cruise department have full details of the added-value deals for Scottish passengers on all P & O sailings.

If you don't fancy the prospect of travelling too far to join your ship, then CTC Cruise Lines, Southern Cross may be the answer. On June 13 and 28 there are two cruises departing from Leith, the first visiting Scandinavian Capitals, the second to the Baltic Capitals and St Petersburg. The following month there are two more sailings dedicated to the Scottish cruiser. Departing from Greenock, there is a 14-night cruise to Madeira, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Casablanca, Gibraltar, Cadiz, and Lisbon, before returning to Greenock on July 27, when the next cruise departs for a 15-night medley around the Mediterranean, calling at Vigo, Praia da Rocha, Palma, Mahon, Ajaccio, Gibraltar, Lisbon, and Oporto. These cruises are always sell-outs, reflecting not just the low-cost experience, but the convenience of embarking in a Scottish port.

The ever-popular Black Prince is about to have a long-awaited twin sister. The Black Watch (formerly Royal Cruise Line's Star Odyssey) will start the year off with a spectacular 64-night Around Africa cruise which can be divided into four sectors, ranging from 15 to 21 days. This new vessel, along with her popular sister will use the new cruise terminal at Dover as her home port. The Black Watch will call at Invergordon and Lerwick during her summer season of extensive Norwegian Fiord and Northern Capitals cruises. The Black Watch will spend a brief time cruising in northern waters, but will be concentrating on sailing around the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands.

Two other ships to use the new cruise terminal at Dover are Cunard's unsung heroes - Royal Viking Sun and Vistafjord. In June the classically elegant Vistafjord will depart Dover and visit Rosyth during its Land of the Midnight Sun cruise, while the highest-rated ship in the world (according to the definitive Berlitz Guide to Cruising) - the Royal Viking Sun wil visit Rosyth en route from Copenhagen during its Circle Britain cruise in August. Both these five-star ships will be spending part of their summer in northern climes before heading for the Mediterranean.

State-of-the-art, twin-hulled Radisson Diamond and the immensely popular Song of Flower will both be visiting Scottish ports in 1997. The curious-shaped, but very stable, Radisson Diamond will set sail from Malaga on June 22 and visit the Isle of Skye, Kirkwall, and Rosyth during her 12-night Voyage to Ancient Britain cruise. She will visit Scotland again in August during her Dover to Lisbon cruise. In August, the Song of Flower will depart London and visit Rosyth, Kirkwall and Skye before arriving in Lisbon as part of her British Isles and Great Wines cruise.

For those who want to enjoy the beauty of Scotland from the comfort of the Skye Deck, the Hebridean Princess is a ship without equal. March through to October, this 2112-ton vessel, accommodating just 50 passengers in a ``country house at sea'' atmosphere, sails the Western Isles, visiting not just the Inner and Outer Hebrides, but Orkney, Shetland, and even remote St Kilda.

There is no more relaxing, yet more invigorating way of enjoying Scotland's natural beauty than from the untamed, undisturbed, vantage-point of the sea. So whether it's your first cruise or fiftieth, the southern seas or northern isles, a floating leviathan or boutique bateau, there is a cruise ship for everyone.

To help the first-time cruiser and to point old sea dogs in the right direction, the Passenger Shipping Association has produced a booklet, Choose to Cruise, designed to familiarise Britons with the wide range of cruising holidays open to them. It answers some of the commonly asked questions and includes real-life case histories for first-time cruisers. Copies are available, free of charge, from: The Passenger Shipping Association, Walmar House, 288-300 Regent Street, London W1N 5HE.

The most frequent response to the question - What would you do if you won a lottery jackpot? - is: Take a world cruise. For those lucky few, you can look forward to around 100 days of detachment, of languor and indolence as you slowly and sedately circumnavigate the globe. If your six numbers are not selected, yet you still yearn to reach parts of the globe other ships cannot reach, don't despair, cruise companies offer exciting short sectors of their round the world odysseys.

World cruise passengers are a special breed. They make themselves at home on their ship - which, after all, is to be their abode for quite a while. They spend the first few days settling in, perhaps adding a clothes rack here, and extra chair there. They bring their favourite coffee mugs to the breakfast buffet, borrow a bestseller from the library and reserve a chair on the Promenade Deck. Friendships are renewed and photographs of grandchildren compared. For the first-time world cruiser, aspirations of a romantic whirl with film stars and society debutantes are soon dispelled. The image of continual card games and cardigan-clad old dears tottering from deck to deck is more true to life than unscrupulous playboys preying on Palm Beach widows.

But times are indeed a-changing and a new breed of passengers discovering the vicissitudes of world cruising. A more youthful cadre of voyagers is embarking on the great ships to enjoy a warm-weather segment of a monumental circumnavigation, while those of us back home shiver and struggle to work in a Scotland gripped by winter.

Next year sees the 75th anniverary of world cruising. In November 1922, Cunard's Laconia set sail from New York to circumnavigate the globe and the tradition of the world cruise was born. In 1997, no fewer than six quality ships will be sailing around the world.

In the tradition of the Laconia, the QE2 will sail from Southampton on December 15 this year for a 117-night Bridge Across the Oceans World Cruise. Forty-three ports in four months in the company of 1500 fellow travellers and one thousand attentive crew.

Cunard's Royal Viking Sun will set sail on a 102-night Wonders of the World cruise, departing San Francisco on January 6, visiting destinations where virtually no other cruise ship has ventured; places such as Ko Samui in Thailand.

World cruising is not the sole prerogative of Cunard Line. P & O's Canberra will commence her final season with a 92-night World Cruise sailing from Southampton on January 6. The latest, swishest addition to the P & O fleet, Oriana, will depart Southampton one day later on her 90-night World Cruise. Heading westbound, she will visit many popular ports before calling at Durban and Cape Town, prior to re-creating a line-voyage between the Cape and Southampton, arriving home one day after Canberra on April 8.

Another famous ship will make her final voyage around the world next year. The flagship of Holland America Line, the Rotterdam, which entered service two years before Canberra, will make her 29th epic 103-night final world voyage in January. This gracious ship has been well maintained and has a timeless Art Deco feel as well as lots of wood panelling and works of art. Sailing westbound, Rotterdam will spend five days visiting New Zealand and another eight days exploring Australia. The most modern, most luxurious, most sybaritic vessel to voyage around the world in 1997 will be Crystal Symphony. Little known in Britain apart from withn the cognoscenti of cruising, Crystal Cruises offers the epitome of stylish sea travel.

World cruising doesn't come cheap, but then the best things in life never do! By taking a shorter sector, and escaping the rigours of winter as you bask in the sun on Boat Deck, you can avoid the necessity of remortgaging your house.

Cruise consultants such as Paul Mundy Cruising on 0171-734 4404 not only have a special World Cruise brochure, they also have specially negotiated fares and a whole range of add-ons and bonuses. Seventy-five years on, cruising is no longer the sole domain of the rich and famous.