Cultural cruising in the Mediterranean

AITO Travel Company of the Year Martin Randall Travel announces the launch of its five Mediterranean cruises in 2009. Following the enthusiastic response to the inaugural cruises in 2008, the company are repeating this year’s cruises, and introducing two new itineraries: The Matisse Cruise and Ancient Greek Philosophy.

The calibre, content and style are unlikely to be replicated or achieved by any other cruise operator. The cruises are designed for people with intellectual curiosity and an interest in history and the arts, and who want to travel in comfort and in congenial company.

Not only to look but to see, not only to learn but to understand, not merely to enjoy but to be moved, enlightened, thrilled: that is what we plan for participants on these cruises.

The Matisse Cruise (15–24 April 2009; also 24 April–4 May 2010)
Beginning in Málaga, where Picasso was born, and ending in Nice, where Matisse died, the cruise visits around twenty-five collections of modern art as well as sites and scenes that inspired some of the greatest art of the twentieth century. A superb team of biographers and art historians - including Hilary Spurling and Professor Christopher Green - accompanies this cruise of extraordinary riches. The number of passengers on board Le Diamant is restricted to 180, which reduces overcrowding at museums and fosters a more cohesive and intimate ambience on board.

Prices start from £2,650 per person based on double occupancy and include onboard accommodation, scheduled flights from London to Málaga to meet the ship and return flight from Nice to London, all meals (with the exception of three independent lunches), wine, soda or bottled water with lunch and dinner, all excursions and visits, all coach transportation, lectures onboard, all tips and all taxes.

In Pursuit of Caravaggio (20 September–2 October 2009)
Following in Caravaggio’s footsteps, this unique and moving study of the artist’s life and work also surveys Magna Graecia, the territory of the Ancient Greeks in Italy. Vulcanology is a third theme as, travelling along the south west coast of Italy to Sicily and Malta, the cruise passes Europe’s three only active volcanoes. Three private concerts of music spanning the baroque era are performed in historic buildings.

Prices start at £2,990 per person based on double occupancy and include onboard accommodation, flights from and back to the UK, nearly all meals, wine, soda or bottled water with lunch and dinner, excursions and visits, coach transportation, lectures onboard, concert performances, all tips and all taxes.

The Romans in Africa (2–13 October 2009)
The cruise focuses on the great ruined cities of Tunisia and Libya, ruins as magnificent as anywhere in the Roman world yet which receive only a fraction of the number of visitors as elsewhere. The remains of Carthaginian, Greek, Roman and Byzantine archaeology and architecture are also explored, as well as Arab, Berber and Islamic heritage. Music and drama takes place in Roman theatres, including Purcell's Dido and Aeneas in the theatre of Sabratha.

Prices start at £2,690 per person based on double occupancy and include onboard accommodation, flights from and back to the UK, nearly all meals, wine, soda or bottled water with lunch and dinner, excursions and visits, coach transportation, lectures onboard, concert and other performances, all tips and all taxes.

Classical Civilizations of the Aegean (13–25 October 2009)
A chronological survey of Graeco-Roman civilizations – Minoan, Mycenaean, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine – the cruise includes many of the world’s most spectacular and beautiful archaeological sites and museums. Naval history is a subsidiary theme, focusing particularly on the Ancient and Napoleonic eras. The Fitzwilliam Quartet, one of Britain’s finest string quartets performs both on the ship and ashore.

Prices start at £2,990 per person based on double occupancy and include onboard accommodation, flights from and back to the UK, nearly all meals, wine, soda or bottled water with lunch and dinner, excursions and visits, coach transportation, lectures onboard, concert performances, all tips and all taxes.

Ancient Greek Philosophy (25 October–5 November 2009)
An introductory course for the intelligent layperson on Greek philosophy and its relevance today, putting ancient thought in the context of places where the great philosophers, scientists and physicians lived and practised. Medical and classical history also make up a significant strand and, as a foil to the intellectual content of the cruise, there are optional guided walks through lovely countryside. As the ideal Dionysian complement to the cerebral, Apollonian aspects, there are also talks on the recent renaissance of Greek wine-making. The distinguished lecturers meet the high standards of all MRT tour and cruise lecturers.

Prices start at £2,620 per person based on double occupancy and include onboard accommodation, flights from and back to the UK, nearly all meals, wine, soda or bottled water with lunch and dinner, excursions and visits, coach transportation, lectures onboard, all tips and all taxes.

Policies and Style:
• No dumbing down: a return to high-brow cruising
• The finest lecturers
• Small ship and a reduced capacity, engenders greater intimacy and allows greater access
• Voyages with a purpose
• Original itineraries, meticulously planned
• Exceptional special events
• Treating passengers as adults
• No casino, no cabaret, no disco
• All-inclusive prices, no surcharges, no discounts

For more information, log on to Martinrandall.com.