American Canadian Caribbean Line (ACCL) is offering passengers a chance to kayak on two cruises along the coast of Maine on the 96-passenger Grande Caribe in August. The “Sea Lodge Adventures” program costs $429 (in addition to the cruise fare), and includes use of the kayaks for all seven days of the cruise, for as many as three hours per day. Only 12 kayaks will be available per cruise, “but if there is more of a demand, we will accommodate it,” said Marketing Director Maria Prezioso. The cruises, which sail from Portland, call at Bath, Rockland, Bar Harbor, Castine, Belfast, and Port Clyde, also offer bicycle rentals ($15 for four hours) for all seven days.
ACCL, whose passengers’ average in their mid-60s, “are in great physical condition,” according to Prezioso, who pointed out that “60 is now the new 50,” and that the company’s older passengers have been requesting more active excursions. “We are going to be offering these in 2010 on our Central America cruises in January and March as well,” she said.
ACCL’s three ships are also being renovated at the line’s shipyard (Blount Boats) for a “more nautical and homey décor,” Prezioso said. Work on the 66-passenger Niagara Prince has already been completed, and the Grande Caribe is near completion. The 98-passenger Grand Mariner will be renovated in spring 2010.
ACCL sails on the Great Lakes, in New England and the Canadian Maritimes, Central America, and the Caribbean. This winter, ACCL will be returning to the Bahamas with the Grande Caribe, offering two, 11-night cruises from Nassau, after her Belize/Barrier Reef/ Guatemala program.
