DATE: Sunday, July 6, 1997                  TAG: 9707040074

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E3   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: TRAVELWISE

SOURCE: STEPHEN HARRIMAN

                                            LENGTH:  121 lines

SHIP TO DOCK HERE FOR CRUISE TO NOWHERE

A CRUISE SHIP will make a rare appearance in Norfolk harbor in September to board passengers for a overnight cruise-to-nowhere, a casino-and-party voyage. It's a weekend getaway with a twist.

The Regal Empress, a lovely old ship that once sailed from Hampton Roads to Europe, will arrive at the dock at Nauticus about noon Sept. 27, sail out into the Atlantic at 4 p.m. and return at 8 a.m. the next day.

The ship is stopping off here on a repositioning cruise. In the summer it sails out of New York on cruises to New England and Canada, to Bermuda and to the Bahamas. In the winter it sails out of Tampa, primarily to Cozumen, Mexico.

Vann Travel Inc. of Virginia Beach is the sponsoring agency, although passage on the cruise can be booked through other area travel agencies.

Carolyn Sibley of Vann Travel, who is the cruise coordinator, said the ship's top two cabin categories, both suites, and the two lowest-price categories already are sold out. Approximately half of the ship's 425 cabins still are available.

Cost for the cruise, depending on cabin category, range from $140 to $190 per person, based on double occupancy. The fare includes dinner (two seatings), a midnight buffet and breakfast. Cost for a third or fourth person in a cabin is $65. Additional per-person charges are $39 for port, government and customs charges and $8.50 for gratuities.

Sibley said a few cabins that accommodate three and four people still are available.

Overnight parking will be available at the city garage across from Nauticus for $7 and at Harbor Park for $5. Trolley transportation will be available from Harbor Park to Nauticus.

``People always want to know about the food on a cruise,'' Sibley said. ``This ship's dining room is a member of the Chaine des Rotisseurs, the world's oldest and foremost gourmet society.''

The 22,000-ton ship was built in 1953 as a two-class ocean liner for the Greek Line and named Olympia. From 1971 to 1983 she was laid up, a victim of the overall cruise malaise brought on by the success of trans-Atlantic jets. After a major refit she became the Caribe I for Commodore Cruise Lines. She became the Empress when she was taken over by Regal Cruises in 1993.

For more details on the ship, I suggest you consult ``Fielding's Guide to Worldwide Cruises'' by Shirley Slater and Harry Basch. I have seen Harry and Shirley, a husband-and-wife team, at work. They know their ships, and they tell it like it is.

They write: ``You get more than you pay for on this line, partly because of the lovely old ship itself, graceful and beautiful in many areas like the library and Mermaid Bar, plus the warm and friendly crew. . . . . It's not a fancy cruise, and it isn't meant to be.''

For information or reservations, contact Vann Travel at (757) 464-9262. The agency is open from 1-6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10-2 on Saturdays. Payment may be made by personal check or major credit card and is due in full at the time of reservation. HONEYMOON PLANNER

The Romantic Ventures department of Atlas Travel Service will hold a Honeymoon Traveler's Open House party from 5-9 p.m. Thursday at its office at 1270 Diamond Springs Road, Suite 105, in Virginia Beach. Info: (757) 464-1212. GOING EVERYWHERE

If you're planning to go anywhere by air, book your flight as early as possible. U.S. air carriers already have boarded millions more passengers this year than last, when a record 581.2 million passengers flew.

Through this May, the latest month for which totals are available, Delta Air Lines alone has boarded almost 3.5 million more passengers than during the comparable period last year; at its current pace, the carrier will board more than 100 million passengers by the end of the year. Over the same five months United Airlines has flown 1.2 million more passengers than it did last year, American Airlines 922,512 more and Northwest Airlines 800,000 more. GOING UNDER

Eurostar passenger train service through the Channel Tunnel has increased from 14 to 17 daily round-trips between Paris and London, according to Rail Europe, which books Eurostar travel. On Fridays, 19 trips are now available. With the repair of damage from a fire last November, the scheduled time for the London-Paris trip has returned to three hours. Also, London-Brussels service has been increased to eight daily trips, up from seven. Info: (800) 387-6782 or on the Internet at www.raileurope.com. YOUR MONEY'S WORTH

Swissair's Swisspak offers an Air plus Land Best Buy package: From $999 per person double occupancy includes air, six nights' accommodations, breakfast and six days' car rental with unlimited mileage. Good through Oct. 31. Info: A local travel agency or (800) 688-7947.

Grand Circle Travel can fix up those 50 and older with a month in Malta for less than $70 a day; there are even free single supplements on special dates. Info: (800) 248-3737.

Budget-minded computer users can find a wealth of hosteling information at their fingertips via the new Web site of Hostelling International-American Youth Hostels. The site provides a virtual guide to each hostel's locale, with tourist information as well as hotel rates and locations. The address: www.hiayh.org. LOOKING FOR IDEAS?

``The Most Scenic Drives in America,'' published by The Reader's Digest Association ($30) is filled with the nitty-gritty on what the book jacket justifiably calls ``120 spectacular road trips.'' The book takes you to places like the Big Sur and Montana's Flathead Indian Country, and, through maps and gorgeous color photographs, shows you what to see and where to see it.

Reader's Digest also published a revised edition of ``Our National Parks'' (also $30) this month. This beautifully illustrated guide deals with 52 parks, providing maps and a lot of information. RIBBET . . . RIBBET

Arkansas is not only the home of President Clinton - it's the home of the Frog Fantasies museum in Eureka Springs. More than 6,000 ceramic, fabric, bronze, crystal, plastic, jeweled and wooden creatures line walls and glass cases inside a century-old building. Info: (501) 253-7227. GOTCHA

OK, do you pronounce it, Ca-RIB-be-an or Carib-BE-an? Travel Weekly posed the question to a native of Tobago, who replied, ``We usually pronounce it `West Indies.' '' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

REGAL CRUISES

About half of The Regal Empress' cabins are still available for a

one-day cruise from Norfolk out to sea in September.

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