MILLENNIUM VOYAGES; LONG OR SHORT, EXOTIC OR EASY, NEW YEAR'S CRUISES ARE IN EXTREME DEMAND.

Byline: Eric Noland Travel Editor

The sea is a vast expanse of inky blackness at this hour well before sunrise.

You really don't want to be here, standing on the deck of a ship, gazing east. As a result of the merry-making last night - well, a few hours ago - your skull feels as if anchor chains have been dragged through your temples. But when you booked this cruise nearly two years ago, you promised yourself you'd do this.

You vowed you'd be here at this moment to greet the first dawn of the year 2000. Here in the South Pacific, hugging the international date line, to be one of the first on the planet to greet this dawn.

Legions of travelers share this compulsion to do something extraordinary on New Year's Eve 1999, whether it's a stay at an exotic resort or a visit to a city known for extreme revelry.

The celebrants probably don't want to hear that this millennium mania is a lot of wasted energy, since the new century and the new millennium don't technically begin until New Year's Day 2001. (There was never a year zero A.D., so the first decade was 10 full years, the first century 100 full years, the second millennium 2,000 full years.)

But why spoil their fun? If they want to go bonkers over the novelty of a year beginning with the numeral 2, why not get out of the way and let them do so?

``People want to do something monumental,'' said Christie Wiancko of Travel Professionals International in Lake Oswego, Ore.

And in most cases, apparently, that means passage on an ocean-going ship. ``It looks like cruises are going to be the most popular (of all the so-called millennium travel options),'' said Mary Papenfuss, managing editor of the Consumer Reports Travel Letter.

Cruise lines got wise to the fever long ago. Most began accepting deposits more than a year ago, without specifying what the final rates would be. Some of those rates came in at double normal, according to several agents who specialize in booking cruise travel.

That caused some prospective passengers to back out of their cruise plans when refund deadlines arrived late in 1998, but not many. And space for New Year's cruises is not expected to be available much longer.

``Bookings were going very, very well for a while, but then people seemed to balk at the prices. And now the prices are going down,'' said Elaine Ackerman, a Yonkers, N.Y., travel agent and former chairwoman of the American Society of Travel Agents' cruise committee.

Gloria Jacaruso of the Royal Caribbean line said: ``We had a fallout rate, obviously. At one point, we had enough deposits in place to fill our ships three times over. But they were $200 refundable deposits. There's not much commitment there. (The crush) could have represented multiple bookings.''

Bev Zukow of First Travel of California in Villa Park, said cancellations were ``the exception'' for her office's clients. ``Most of the people knew it would be a lot of money,'' she added. ``They realize it's going to be something special, an extravaganza.''

And interest remains strong. Several travel agents said they anticipate most cruises will be booked solid by the end of February, even given the steep freight.

``Folks need only to look to the travel industry on the whole to realize that every travel supplier out there has raised rates for the millennium celebration,'' said Jennifer de la Cruz, spokeswoman for Carnival. ``It's a standard supply-and-demand dynamic.''

That's one way to look at it. Here's another:

``We're telling the buyer to beware,'' said Papenfuss of the Consumer Reports Travel Letter. ``We have a huge warning that it is a great opportunity for gougers.''

Because of the extreme demand, cruise lines are in position to write all the rules.

In many cases, travelers have plunked down deposits without being able to get specific cabin assignments or even firm details on itinerary and New Year's entertainment. Also, payment schedules are more exacting. Rather than making an advance deposit and then paying the balance a couple of months before you sail - common conditions for cruises - payments for most New Year's cruises have been divided into major installments, with some final balances due as early as June.

``There are still cruises out there, but you're going to have to pay for them,'' said Zukow, the Villa Park travel agent who specializes in cruise bookings. ``This is not going to be a situation where you find a deal. There are no deals out there. . . . There are always all kinds of discounts and upgrades, but this time everybody is paying full - what we would call in airline travel full coach. The consumer isn't used to this.''

Thus far, the shorter cruises - seven days' duration or so - have been snapped up the quickest. Destination doesn't seem to be of particular concern to many passengers, travel professionals say. The Caribbean, Mexico, the Panama Canal? No matter. People just want to be out on the water somewhere.

Understandably, the cruise lines are being swamped with inquiries about what kind of bash the passengers will get for their buck, but details are still pretty sketchy in most cases. Cruise entertainment generally isn't planned and booked this far in advance. But the lines insist they'll be making as big a splash as possible.

``There is a premium on this event, for all the cruise lines,'' said Dale DiBello of Silversea, a small-ship luxury line. ``It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.''

``We've been asking our entertainment people (for details). We should know more in February,'' said Erik Elvejord of Holland America. ``It will be interesting to see what they do, because obviously you have to do something a little bit different than the typical New Year's Eve party. We might fly a special guest in to the ship. Or maybe let everybody steer that night.'' After a brief pause, he added, ``I guess that might be a bad idea on that kind of a night.''

Royal Caribbean boasts that its Vision of the Seas will be the first cruise ship into and out of the Panama Canal in 2000. In the Caribbean itself, the line plans to have seven of its ships converge on its resort in Haiti and five other ships meet at its private island, Coco Cay. Massive fireworks displays are planned for both locations.

Another popular destination for those willing to pay for longer cruises is the South Pacific, where the more accomplished celebrants will be able to enjoy New Year's Eve twice. It's as simple as positioning the ship just west of the international date line (around Fiji or Tonga, for example) and staging a New Year's party, then promptly sailing east, and crossing the date line, where it will be Dec. 31 all over again.

Also in the South Pacific, cruise lines undoubtedly will argue over who saw daylight first.

Antarctica cruises will be able to build a strong case, but that is a land of six months night, six months daylight, said Stephen Edberg, an astronomer at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. What do you do, sail to where you can see the first vestiges of light in the east and declare Jan. 1 to have arrived?

For a true sunrise - and the first of 2000 - a ship would have to sail to the southeast of New Zealand, Edberg said, and take up a position at about 67-1/2 degrees south latitude.

Yes, for the determined reveler, that will be the place to be.

Just be certain to set the alarm.

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