IN BRIEF.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

Take the tall ship to gentle giants

Alaska travelers who want to have a more intimate natural experience than those afforded by the behemoth cruise ships might want to consider a tall-ship cruise with Maple Leaf Adventures.

On these much smaller craft, the whales often approach so close that you can literally feel the damp of their breath.

Other memorable experiences might include soaking in the hot springs of Baranof Island or chipping off a 10,000-year-old hunk of iceberg to plop into your cocktail.

Passengers are welcome to help raise the ship's five huge sails and take a turn at the wheel.

Maple Leaf Adventures is offering Alaska excursions June 1-12 and June 14-25, priced at about $3,500. Information: www.mapleleafadventures.com; [phone].

BURBANK TO BIG APPLE: JetBlue Airways will be providing nonstop, coast-to-coast flights from Bob Hope Airport in Burbank to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

Three daily flights will begin May 24 and a fourth flight will be added July 15, the company said.

``Burbank has been waiting for nonstop service to New York for 75 years,'' said David Neeleman, chief executive officer of JetBlue. Charles Lombardo, president of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, said the new flights would be a boon for the city's entertainment industry.

Introductory fares from Burbank to New York City will cost $99 each way.

CONTROVERSIAL RETREAT: On the principle that a beautiful spot should not be prohibited to others simply because the top Nazis once enjoyed it, the InterContinental chain opened a luxurious hotel and spa March 1 in Berchtesgaden, an idyllic town in the Bavarian Alps.

Built by the Bavarian state government where Goering had his house, just over a rise from Hitler's, the hotel offers a view of the mountains, swimming pools and a full health and fitness center.

A couple hundred yards from the hotel is a Documentation Center, with a permanent exhibit on the history of the area, including the Nazis' appropriation of Obersalzberg.

And there is the famous Eagle's Nest, the house high up on a mountain that was given to Hitler as a birthday present by his admirers. It is now a restaurant.

The hotel, (49-8652) 97550, www.ichotelsgroup.com, is geared to the high-end luxury vacationer, with room rates from about $250 to more than $2,000. Berchtesgaden is a two-hour drive from Munich's airport.

CABLE HIKE: San Francisco officials are considering a proposal to jack up the price on the city's historic cable cars from $3 to $5 a ride - the most expensive local transit fare in the country.

The board that oversees public transportation in the city has voted to raise the price of parking, bus rides and the cable cars.

The proposal still must be approved by Mayor Gavin Newsom and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to go into effect. But tourists are already angry, saying the proposal is an attempt to gouge visitors.

``Cable cars are one of the charms of San Francisco,'' Kofi Adzaku, a visitor from Arkansas, told the San Francico Chronicle. ``At $5, it won't be charming anymore.''

A LEG UP ON TICKETS: Soccer's World Cup finals don't begin until June 9, 2006, but it's not too early to try to get tickets. The first phase of sales - 812,000 tickets - will be through a drawing from applications received by March 31.

At $1.33 to the euro, prices begin at $46.50 for the cheapest seats for first-round matches and go to $800 for the final in Berlin, where the cup will finally be hoisted.

The first drawing will be on April 15, but there will be four more sales periods. The only credit card accepted is MasterCard.

To enter the drawing, go to www.fifaworldcup.com or request a form by mail: 2006 FIFA World Cup Ticketing Center, Re: 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, 60583 Frankfurt am Main.

Americans can register at www.ussoccerfan.com for a chance to buy tickets should the U.S. qualify.

SECONDS FOR ITALY: When it comes to culinary chauvinism, Italians take the cake. A robust 89 percent prefer their country's fare to any other kind of cuisine, according to a recent survey carried out by British pollster MORI.

The poll reports what Europeans like and don't like to eat, questioning about 5,500 people in Britain, Spain, France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. More tidbits:

--Italian grub is preferred by 42 percent of all those questioned in the six countries, followed by Chinese food and then French cuisine.

--Only 21 percent of Londoners prefer English fare.

--A lowly 1 percent of Britons and Germans - major sources of tourists and expatriate retirees for Spain - say Spanish food is their favorite.

NO MORE HUDDLED MASSES: Circle Line has begun an online reservation system for visitors to buy ferry tickets and reserve tour passes for visiting the Statue of Liberty.

Customers who use the service, at www.statuereservations.com, pick up their tickets and passes at the Circle Line booths in Battery Park in Manhattan or Liberty State Park in Jersey City, the departure points for the ferries.

Reservations are required for two National Park Service tours on Liberty Island, including the Observatory Tour, which features an elevator ride to the top of the pedestal for a view inside the statue through a glass ceiling.

Tickets for these tours are free, but must be reserved for a specific hour and date with Circle Line.

ARIZONA IN BLOOM: The heavy rains that have been causing problems in Southern California have brought Arizona 5-foot weeds, gigantic potholes and a bumper crop of desert wildflowers.

The water is obviously welcome in the Sonoran Desert, where the reservoir is full, the long-dry Salt River is actually flowing through Phoenix and the wildflowers are already spectacular. By April, expect fields of color.

You'll see desert marigold and red fairyduster on the hilly drive to Boyce Thompson Arboretum (information on the Web at arboretum.ag.arizona.edu), east of Phoenix. Drive north from Phoenix along I-17 for another show, or stay urban and head to Papago Park and the Desert Botanical Garden.

CHERRY REFRESHMENT: The forecast for Washington's famed cherry trees is official: Their blossoms should peak April 4-9, smack in the middle of the annual cherry blossom festival, scheduled for March 26-April 10.

This year's festival includes more than 90 events. Among the most anticipated is the Cherry Blossom Parade, which is scheduled for April 9 on Constitution Ave. Mickey Mouse will be the grand marshal.

For details, visit the National Cherry Blossom Festival, www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org.