They decided on an adventure before settling down - a land excursion across Asia, a journey then fashionable among European hippies.

Crewed barges usually include food service, sometimes with wine tastings, and crew members may serve as tour guides for land excursions.

To help pick up the slack, travel agents have increased their sales of cruises and land excursions, package tours and hotel rooms.

Food, land excursions, food, more excursions, drinks, food, lecture... Yet it was never dull, each landing offering some new insight.

Most mornings, there was a land excursion, departing between 8:30 and 10.

Any advice for land excursions while sailing on Hurtigruten ships from Bergen and around the North Cape and back?

To do that the consultant asks questions about the passenger's likes and dislikes, the number of people traveling together, their desires for cabin configuration, shipboard activities and land excursions.

Olivia inspects each ship and itinerary, sending staff members to visit ports and try out land excursions before booking any charter.

There are optional land excursions to see desert plants or hike.

Yet of course the ship could not be deserted . . . and the land excursion should not take long.