The Re-Positioning Cruise to End All Re-Positioning Cruises: 21 Days from Europe, Including 9 Consecutive Days at Sea

"I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky," wrote poet John Masefield, and if you, too, are in love with that vast expanse of water, you'll want to know about a remarkable 21-day cruise on a luxury ship for only about $140 a day. It's a marathon voyage on the 700-passenger Azamara Journey, an upscale ship of luxury class (one of the original vessels of Renaissance Cruises) able to stop in ports too small for the standard large cruiseships, and that offers an elegant sailing experience including free wine with lunch and dinner (and every other upscale touch).

[image error] Photo Caption: The harbor at Monaco. Jean Cardia/Frommers.com Community

The departure: October 4, The itinerary: Rome to Livorno (Italy) to Monte Carlo (Monaco) to Villefranche-sur-Mer (France) to Barcelona (for two nights), then one day at sea, then Motril (Spain), Cadiz (Spain), the Strait of Gibraltar, Cadiz (Spain), Lisbon, Portugal (for two nights), then nine full days at sea crossing the South Atlantic, before a next-day arrival in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Twenty-one days in all.

In addition to accommodations in a verandah stateroom, you'll receive round-trip air from New York to Rome and from San Juan to New York (add-on from South Florida $99), and overnight in a four-star Rome hotel before the cruise on October 3. You also receive transfers from airport to hotel and hotel to port in Rome, and from port to airport in San Juan -- as well as free gratuities aboard the deluxe ship.

The total price: $2,999 per person ($142 a day), plus $259 in cruise and air taxes. For an Azamara Club Cruise (now owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises), this is an extraordinary price and a unique travel opportunity.

If you're intrigued, you can obtain more information, or book, through the cruise discounter called Travel Themes And Dreams (tel. 877/870-7447; www.travelthemesanddreams.com ).