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Despite What Arthur Frommer Thinks, Nobu Goes On a Cruise

Arthur Frommer may have dissed cruising this week by stating his horror at "the transformation of the cruise ship to an amusement park," and John Mayer has just disembarked from his ownbooze cruise, but gimmick cruises will soldier on. Who will be next to pack in the fans and pack on the pounds? Leave it to classy Crystal Cruises to appeal to a higher palate by sending celebrity chef Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matushisa out to sea for 12 days and 7 specially-prepared dinners.

For a starting price of $6,640 per person on the Crystal Serenity's July 12 "Byzantine Accolades" sailing, amateur gourmands will be treated to these seven "Omakase," or chef's choice, meals personally prepared by the man himself in his ship-board restaurant Silk Road. Don't forget to haul your Nobu cookbooks aboard either, as Matsuhisa will be signing at sea and giving cooking demonstrations so that when you return to dry land, your sushi skills don't dry up.

Although we don't exactly think of five-star Asian cuisine when we see an itinerary like this one, which hops around Italy, Greece and Turkey, we wouldn't mind not having to worry about the bill as we eat our fill. So long as the sea is calm, we're down with shoveling down the priciest sashimi regardless.

Related Stories:
· Nobu Crystal Cruise Itinerary [Official Site]
· Travel Guru Arthur Frommer: 'I'm horrified by what cruise ships are becoming' [USA Today]
· 'Vom'd the First Night' :: Mayercraft 2 is a Success [Jaunted]
· Cruises Coverage [Jaunted]

[Crystal Serenity Photo: Trondheim Havn; Nobu photo: Daylife/Getty]

Tags: What Recession? / Cruises / Crystal Cruises / Tennis Travel / → All Tags

A Wimbledon Cruise Package For Only $25,299

Do you love cruises and Wimbledon so much that even as the economy continues to tank, you have no qualms about plunking down $25,000 for an extravagant tennis-themed cruise? If this is you, then a new Crystal Cruises packages was made with your kind in mind. (Also, can you pay for our trip too?)

Their latest cruise package extends your vacation with tickets to Wimbledon at the conclusion of its London-Stockholm trip. If you ever wanted to whisper sweet nothings in Rafael Nadal's ear, you probably won't get any closer than this.

After the 11-day cruise, which includes a trip to the Tennis Hall of Fame in Bastad, Sweden, passengers will be flown business class to London, where they'll be put up at the newly renovated Savoy Hotel. They'll get tickets to the women's and men's singles semifinals and finals at Center Court and admission into Fairway Village, where VIPs take their afternoon tea after the matches.

But before you pack your decorous sun-brimmed hat, you should be aware that this sporting sidebar costs more than the cruise itself -- and no, you can't just buy the post-cruise package and show up in Sweden. Cruise packages start at $4,995, but the Wimbledon package will set you back a cool $25,299. So how badly do you want to party with a Williams sister?

Related Stories:
· California to Cruise Ships: Clean Up Your Act [Jaunted]
· Hotel Renovations Update: London Savoy Hotel [HC]
· Boris Becker's Unauthorized Guide to Wimbledon [Jaunted]

[Photo from Wimbledon '07: michelle_magnumm]