A Variety of Spiritual Makeover Cruises

You never need a reason to go on a cruise – there are too many of them – but here’s a new one to add to your long list.

Can luxury travel give you a spiritual makeover? asks Variety Cruises.

Yes, that’s the idea behind Variety Cruises’ experiential travel trend. Harnessing the emotion of powerful experiences in exotic locales, the journey becomes a traveler’s personal quest to happiness, self-actualization, and building connections to loved ones and the world, it says.

Find out for yourselves as Variety Cruises set the course for experiential travel, spanning Greece, West Africa and the Red Sea.

DJENNÉ, MALI – RESTORING THE GRANDE MOSQUE
THE CRUISE: The new Rivers of West Africa cruise sets sail on December 2010, exploring lush vegetation and cultural beauty by way of the Saloun and Gambia rivers. Land tours to Mali and Timbuktu are available.
EXPERIENCE: Land tours journey to Djenné, Mali, home of the mud brick Grand Mosque, the largest in the world. Every February through April, the village of Djenné restores the mosque in a festival filled with food, music and community. Passengers can take part in this unique event, and in turn become part of the mosque’s extensive history.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – LIVE THE NEW TESTAMENT
THE CRUISE: The new Kings & Pharaohs cruise, embarking December 2010, will explore the Red Sea and gateway ports that preserve ancient history. Pre and post-cruise land tours are available between Suez, Egypt and Aqaba, Jordan.
EXPERIENCE: Enter Jerusalem during your land tour, home to powerful religious and historical wonders. Explore places significant in the New Testament, including Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, the room of the Last Supper and the little town of Bethlehem. Passengers are enveloped in the physical manifestation of faith and can literally walk in Jesus’ footsteps.

CRETE, GREECE – THE LABYRINTHS OF KNOSSOS
THE CRUISE: The Classical Greece cruise, sailing now through October 2010, traverses the Aegean Islands, Crete and continental Greece. Embarking from Marina Zea in Athens, this eight-day cruise makes stops in Mykonos, Santorini, and Crete.
EXPERIENCE: Knossos, the labyrinth palace preserved from the Bronze Age, awaits in Crete. Home to Greece’s enduring legend of Theseus and the Minotaur, it features more than 1,000 interlocking rooms. Wander through the maze-like passages, following Prince Theseus’ path toward the ferocious Minotaur, who lurked at the palace’s center.

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