Show sets your imagination adrift

It’s cruise week on the Travel Channel, which must have seemed like a natural April promotion when the idea was hatched many weeks ago. But then came the war in Iraq, the elevation of the domestic terror-alert gauge to high, and Tuesday’s resurfacing of the 1985 Achille Lauro tragedy, in which an American tourist was executed by terrorists and thrown off the deck of the Italian luxury liner.

But because the Travel Channel is not likely to turn into the Living Room Vacations Network anytime soon, the programming must soldier on, and tonight at 8 is an hourlong special that may restore confidence in seagoing excursions. “Cruising the Star Princess” takes viewers aboard one of the premier ships of the Pacific, and despite a rather misguided reference early on (“It’s more than twice the size of the Titanic!”), the hourlong program may have you ready to sign on for a trip before it’s over.

The $450-million, 18-deck behemoth, which can accommodate 2,600 passengers with its crew of 1,200, is first-class all the way, and that includes its security measures as well as its amenities.

The itinerary is a seven-day trip along the Mexican Riviera, and between the on-board activities (24-hour casino, multiple pool and workout areas, nine-hole putting green) and the onshore stops (Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas), the excursion looks like the perfect tonic for difficult times.