Crystal Sets Varied Northern European Sensory Adventures

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Feel perfectly-chilled vodka slide down your throat while sitting snugly inside a Scandinavian "ice bar."  Smell fresh-cut grass while swinging your 9-iron across championship golf courses in Ireland.  Hear the Russian Imperial Guard march to symphonic crescendos while welcoming you to the royal Catherine Palace.  Taste homemade goat caramel amongst Norwegian fjords.  View Stockholm by hot-air balloon.  These are but a sampling of the extraordinary sensory adventures travelers can savor as part of Crystal Cruises' Northern European voyage collection beginning this May.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110228/LA55887)

Other shore-side excursions include:    

• Pop culture-related destinations such as Stieg Larsson's Stockholm; the Beatles' Liverpool; Belfast's Titanic shipyard; and St. Andrews University, where Prince William and Kate Middleton met, and the Da Vinci Code's Rosslyn Chapel (Edinburgh).
• Historical journeys related to Vikings in Stockholm, Dublin, and Roskilde (near Copenhagen); genealogical emigration and the Cold War in Hamburg; and life behind Berlin's Iron Curtain.
• Architectural tours spanning the Art Nouveau in Alesund, Norway, to the Modern in Berlin.
• Eco-conscious trips including bird watching in Runde Island (near Alesund) and Shetland (Scotland), kayaking the Finnish Archipelago (Helsinki), or exploring the wind-powered town of Paldiski (near Tallinn, Estonia) by 4x4.
• Adrenalin-fueled adventures like racing rally cars in Estonia; cosmonaut training, including zero gravity weightlessness, near Moscow; and, in Crystal's most over-the-top excursion of 2011, flying a MiG fighter jet over Russia, for $39,300.
• Complimentary "You Care—We Care" voluntourism excursions where guests can "give back" by packing and donating food at the Estonian Food Bank or volunteering at the Rostock Zoological Garden.

Additional opportunities include visits to Royal stomping grounds; private art gallery and museum tours; and culinary expeditions ranging from tasting Irish Whiskey to replicating the Titanic's inaugural menu.  

Following her $25 million makeover, Crystal Serenity will offer 11-day Baltic cruises including St. Petersburg overnights, 14-day North Cape/Arctic Circle voyages, and an 11-day golf-themed British Isles itinerary.

Promotional two-for-one fares start at $6,730/person, including free air from North American gateways (or generous air credit) and $1,000/person "All Inclusive—As You Wish" shipboard credit.  Additional savings are available for Verandah and Penthouse bookings and/or round-trip Stockholm or Copenhagen combination cruise packages.

For more information and Crystal reservations, contact a travel agent, call 888-799-4625 or visit www.crystalcruises.com.

CONTACT:  Mimi Weisband or Susan Wichmann 310-203-4305, [email protected]

VISIT:  Crystal's Media Center

SOURCE Crystal Cruises