Planes, trains and automobiles are so pre-Labor Day. When’s the last time you hopped a ship instead? Just lean back in that squeaky chaise lounge of yours and watch the world float by — and hey, you just might find yourself sharing a Mai Tai and an ocean view with your favorite Miracle Met (or at least whichever one has a lot of free time on his hands). Here, four cruises to book over the next few months.
COVER YOUR BASES
Favorite baseball team in the tank? Forget ’em, the lazy bums. Instead, hop on one of MSC Cruises’ “baseball greats” Caribbean outings — on various dates between November and May — where Frank Howard might challenge you to an umbrella drink-chugging contest at a port stop in San Juan, or maybe Art Shamsky plays beach volleyball with you in the Caymans. Is that Bill Russell going for thirds at the buffet table? MSC’s Divina ship is hosting all the fan fun, roundtrip it from Miami. (Starting at $499, from 6 to 7 nights, msccruisesusa.com)
SILENT NIGHT, HULL-Y NIGHT
Oktoberfest has nothing on Christmas in Germany, where the jolly Teutons take things way, way up a notch in the form of Christmas markets. Giant trees, blinding lights, an omnipresent eau de gingerbread smell, ne’er an empty stein — get a taste of all that Kris Kringle cray cray by river cruise, down the Rhine, Main or Danube. Crown Cruise Vacations will hook you up with the right operator (Viking River Cruises, AmaWaterways among them). These run from late-Nov. through the end of the year, so book ASAP. (Starting at $2,700 for a 7-night cruise, crowncruisevacations.com)
BOTTOM’S UP
It’s the end of the world as we know it — and you can feel fine, aboard Stella Australis or Via Australis, both of which are spending the next couple of months semi-circling the remote, icy paradise that is Patagonia. Life-list check-offs include Magellanic penguins, Tierra del Fuego and glaciers aplenty; two Darwin-themed cruises set sail in December. (Starting at $1,771, from 3 to 4 nights, australis.com)
ASIAN PERSUASION
Some say Myanmar. Others say Burma. Just don’t say no to one of luxe-liner Silversea’s three upcoming sailings to the burgeoning Southeast Asian hot spot (Dec. 21 on Silver Wind, Feb. 13 on Silver Shadow, and March 19 on Silver Whisper). You’ll stop in pagoda-happy Yangon, as well as Malaysian pirates den, Langkawi, and beachy Phuket. Set sail from Singapore. (Starting at $7,650 for 14- and 17-day cruises, silversea.com)