The Most Popular San Francisco Cruise Liner

Clipper Cruise Line offers wine cruises on San Francisco Bay, northern California, and the Napa Valley. A number of cruise lines offer wine river cruises in Europe. Wine cruises in Germany include the Rhine, Rhone and Moselle Rivers. There is also a Danube cruise and wine trips on the Seine. KD River Tours, now part of Viking River Cruises, offers tours of the rivers in Europe, Russia and China.

For passenger reviews you can check out websites such as www.cruisecritic.com and www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-22-2006-103205.asp and for independent wine reviews tied to cruises check out www.wineintro.com.

Cruises from Portland

The American West Steamboat Company offers November and December wine and food cruises from Portland, Oregon. The Empress of the North holds 235 passengers and the Queen of the West holds 150. Both are shallow-draft sternwheelers that recapture the romance of 1800s paddlewheel cruising.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises has a series of wine seminars on its seven-day Mediterranean cruise in October. The Paul Gauguin holds 320 passengers and was built in 1998. Its 160 cabins are all outside, with half having private balconies. It has a library with books and videos about the art, history, geography and culture of the islands and the life and work of Paul Gaugin. There is original Gaugin art on board as well as historic photos and papers about the regions visited. The Seven Seas Navigator was built in 1999 and holds 490 passengers in 206 cabins, all outside, with 90 per cent having balconies.

Italiana Crociere offers cruises featuring Italian food and wine around the islands off Italy. It has six-day/seven-night cruises in spring and autumn around the Tuscan Islands, Elba, Giglio and Giannutri. Summer cruises are around the Sicilian Islands. Culinary cruises are $2,500 a week per person, including wine and other drinks.

So, whether you choose a San Francisco cruise, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, or something else, prepare to relax, to learn and to enjoy fine wine and cuisine.