THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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NEW YORK - Shakespeare at sea? Poker cruise? Antiques on board?

Cruises can be found with programming on all these themes and more. Some themed cruises offer lectures by experts, some offer performances, others offer hands-on activities from crafts to dance to seminars in photography.

A new website called ThemeCruiseFinder.com can help you locate a cruise themed on whatever interests you. There are cruises dedicated to golf, cruises about religion, and cruises featuring performances and concerts from rock and the blues to country and gospel.

While some cruisers prefer general-interest trips where the focus is on a destination, others enjoy meeting people with similar interests or spending their time on board learning about a subject that interests them rather than relaxing.

The ThemeCruiseFinder.com site lists more than 570 cruises, searchable by type of cruise. They include a seven-day Dec. 6 "Ultimate Wine Cruise" to the Mexican Riviera, a 10-day Oct. 1 cruise in the "Footsteps of Apostle Paul" to the Mediterranean, and a 10-day Dec. 9 Caribbean cruise in which the Royal Astronomical Society will offer on deck "star parties," lectures about the universe, and programs in the planetarium of the Queen Mary 2.