Crown Resumes Routes 08/06/03


     Norwegian Crown hasn’t even started sailing for Norwegian Cruise Line yet, and the line has already announced that the former Orient Lines vessel (Crown Odyssey) will repeat its 2003 itineraries next year.

     The ship, which will officially join NCL’s fleet in September with a series of Canada/New England cruises form Baltimore, will resume the itineraries in the fall 2004. The 1,104-guest ship will sail a series of 11- and 12-day fall foliage cruises between September 13 and October 17, 2004, departing from Baltimore.

     The ship also will continue the company’s South America journeys in 2004 and 2005, with a series of 14-day sailings between Buenos Aires and Valparaiso. Norwegian Crown will offer five 14-day Chilean Fjords/Strait of Magellan voyages from December 28, 2003 to February 8, 2004. The series resumes on December 19, 2004 when the ship launches the first of six 14-day South America departures through February 27, 2005.

Pay Up Now 08/05/03

     Guests booking vacations on Princess Cruises will have less time to make their deposits, due to a new policy that took effect today. Princess has revised its option period from seven days to 24 hours for all cruise and cruisetour bookings less than four months from departure. The new policy shortens the period between the time the booking is confirmed and the initial deposit is due.

     Bookings made over four months prior to departure will have a new three-day option to secure a reservation. The new policy applies to all cruise lengths, and deposit amounts remain the same. In keeping with Princess’ current practices, very late bookings less than two weeks prior to departure require full payment at the time of reservation.

Kudos and Bits 08/04/03


      Kudos to Silversea Cruises! The line has broken its single-day booking record. On July 21, Silversea set a new record with the highest booking day in its history. According to the line, the single-day record follows a twelve-week period where the line has been seeing average weekly reservations increase by over 40% compared to the same period last year.

      "With the recent announcement of our new 2004 itineraries, featuring inaugural calls to Alaska and Japan, we expect our reservations call volume to remain exceptionally high over the next several months,” said Bill Leiber, Silversea's Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing. “And with the special events and programs that we're planning to roll out to celebrate our 10th anniversary in 2004, we're looking forward to seeing these very impressive booking trends continue throughout next year."

     Speaking of which, the line will sail in Alaska next summer for the first time ever. The Silver Shadow is slated to sail 11 cruises ranging in length from seven to 14 days, with first-time departure ports such as Vancouver and Seattle. The ship also will sail from San Francisco and Anchorage, with calls at Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka and Skagway.

     Silver Shadow will make inaugural calls to 10 new cities in Japan in April and May as well as introduce five new itineraries in Australia and New Zealand during January and February.

Vodka & Caviar Anyone? 8/01/03


     Radisson Seven Seas Cruises’ Seven Seas Navigator will host four wine and cuisine cruises this August and September during its seven-night New York to Bermuda cruises. Guest chefs from the Big Apple will host interactive cooking classes, and there will also be wine, vodka, and caviar tastings onboard.

     On August 27, chef Tim Kelley of Zoë will serve up dishes such as spicy lobster lo mein. On September 3, Christian Albin, executive chef of New York’s Four Seasons Restaurant, will present the restaurant’s most popular dishes. Julian Niccolini, owner of the Four Seasons, also will be onboard to conduct tastings of Domaine Chandon wines.

     The September 10 voyage focuses on domestic vodka and caviar, with a tasting hosted by Mats Engstrom, owner of Tsar Nicoulai Caviar and Ansley Coale of Hangar One Vodka. On September 17, Kurt Gutenbrunner, chef and owner of Wallsé, a New York Austrian eatery, will show guests how to prepare wiener schnitzel served with tangy-sweet lingonberries. Celebrity guest lecturer Marshall Loeb, former editor in chief of Money, Fortune and the Columbia Journalism Review will speak on economics and personal finance. J.P. “Gus” Godsey will join Loeb to discuss retirement planning.

     During the cruises, the Seven Seas Navigator will visit Hamilton, St. George and Norfolk. Fares start at $2,695 per person/double occupancy and include a complimentary two-night pre-cruise hotel stay at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and a choice of one Broadway show ticket; and a free tour to Colonial Williamsburg from Norfolk.

     Call your travel agent or 1-800-285-1835 or visit www.rssc.com.

Viking Charts New Routes 7/31/03


     Viking River Cruises is introducing three new itineraries to its 2004 sailing roster along the Rhine, Danube and Dnieper Rivers.

     An updated “Eastern European Odyssey” sails Budapest-Black Sea-Vienna (or reverse). The 14-night journey sails through Eastern Europe with stops in Vienna, Constanta, Bucharest, Belgrade and along the Black Sea’s coast.

     Also new for the line is a 10-night “Treasures of the Rhine” route between Antwerp and Basel on the recently acquired Viking Sky. The cruise sails on the Rhine with visits to Brugge, Amsterdam, Cologne and Heidelberg.

     Viking River Cruises has added “In the Footsteps of the Cossacks,” as well -- a newly available itinerary for American passengers, sailing round-trip from Kiev through Ukraine. The itinerary sails along the Dnieper River and stops at Nova Kachovka, Odessa, Sevastopol, Kherson, and Zaporozhve.

Boiler Plan Burned 7/30/03

     Norwegian Cruise Line has not made a decision yet as to which shipyard will repair the Norway’s boiler room, but the line has made clear that the ship will not return to service until at least spring 2004 – and even that time frame is an estimate.

     The ship, which suffered major damage in the boiler room after one of its boilers exploded in late May, is currently laid up at Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven, Germany, until a final decision has been made on which yard will get the bid.

     According to NCL, it’s not the work around the damaged boiler that will cause the ship’s repairs to be delayed later than its originally slated return of October 5 -- it’s the new replacement boiler itself that is causing it. The delivery of the boiler is estimated to be between seven to 12 months. Marine boilers are manufactured by specialized companies and then delivered to a shipyard for installation. NCL noted that in the case of the Norway, the detailed specification and bidding process has revealed that no boilermaker is able to meet the slated repair deadline initially indicated to NCL by the shipyards.

     Consequently, NCL has taken the ship off sale until a definite return date for the Norway is determined. All passengers currently booked and deposited on the Norway will receive a full refund and an offer of a $50 onboard credit per person to switch their cruise to other NCL ships by September 30, 2003.

     The line has set up a designated number for Norway questions: 1-800-625-5672.

Princess Rules Caribbean 7/29/03

     Princess Cruises is planning to top the list of Caribbean departures next year, with six ships sailing 152 cruises on 16 routes, marking the line’s most expansive Caribbean season to date. The line also will follow the latest industry trend by homeporting one of its largest vessels in Galveston for the first time.

     From November 13, 2004 through April 9, 2005, Grand Princess will sail seven-day western Caribbean cruises round-trip from the Texas port to Belize, Costa Maya, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.

     The Caribbean Princess, Star Princess, Golden Princess, Dawn Princess and Sun Princess also will ply Caribbean waters next season. Caribbean Princess will sail an eastern Caribbean itinerary round-trip from Ft. Lauderdale to St. Thomas, St. Maarten and Princess Cays. Star Princess will sail in the Caribbean for the first time with alternating seven-day eastern and western routes departing from Ft. Lauderdale. Eastern sailings call at San Juan, St. Thomas, Tortola and Princess Cays, while the western itinerary includes visits Princess Cays, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios and Cozumel.

     The Golden Princess will be based in San Juan next year and will sail alternating seven-day southern Caribbean itineraries. The first route will call at Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Antigua, while the second one will St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Grenada, Caracas and Aruba.

     The Dawn Princess and Sun Princess will offer the line’s longer Caribbean sailings, with new 10-day cruises from Ft. Lauderdale. Dawn Princess is slated to sail two itineraries. The first is a western Caribbean cruise to Princess Cays, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman and Cozumel; and the second is a southern Caribbean itinerary that visits Curaçao, Isla Margarita, Barbados, Dominica, St. Thomas and Princess Cays. Sun Princess has a schedule of alternating eastern Caribbean sailings. The first route will visit St. Vincent, Grenada, St. Lucia, Martinique, St. Thomas and Princess Cays; and the second one will call at Princess Cays, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Barbados and Antigua.

Holidays on Sale 7/26/03

     Holiday cruises are on sale now!

     Vacationers who book Delta Queen Steamboat Company’s “Old-Fashioned Southern Holidays” cruises by August 1, will be able to choose either 2-for-1 fares, or free airfare and half off companion’s fare on select sailings. The six- and seven-night holiday sailings depart from Thanksgiving week through New Year’s aboard the Delta Queen, Mississippi Queen and American Queen.

    Free airfare and savings of up to $1,882 on second guest fares are available on the November 21 sailing of the Delta Queen, round-trip from New Orleans; the November 23 departure of the American Queen, from New Orleans to Memphis; the December 1 cruise of the Delta Queen, from New Orleans to Galveston; and the December 20 departure of the Delta Queen, round-trip from New Orleans.

     Two-for-one rates with savings of up to $3,764 are available on the Mississippi Queen’s holiday sailings departing on November 23, from Memphis to New Orleans, and the December 21 sailing round-trip from New Orleans.

     Holiday sailings have réveillon dinners, treats created from old Southern recipes, holiday sing-alongs and caroling, and ornament-making, and bonfires on the riverbank.

     According to Cruise West, Christmas and New Year’s festivities on its ships are celebrated according to local Latin customs during cruises to Mexico’s Sea of Cortés.

     Those who book the line’s holiday cruises departing from Cabo San Lucas on December 20 and from La Paz on December 27 and pay in full three months in advance will receive a $300 per couple. The discount also applies to Costa Rica/Panama holiday cruises departing Los Sueños, Costa Rica, December 20 and Colón, Panama on December 29.

    Fares for the seven-night Sea of Cortés voyages aboard the Spirit of Endeavour start at $2,249 per person. Rates for the nine-night Costa Rica and Panama cruises aboard the Pacific Explorer start at $3,045per person.

Yoga Cruise 7/25/03


     According to a recent Yoga Journal study, 15 million people now practice yoga, an increase of 28.5 percent from the year prior. Wow!

     So why not pair the popular practice with cruise?

     Yoga enthusiasts will have the best of both worlds on a seven-day Caribbean cruise aboard Costa Cruises’ CostaAtlantica departing round-trip from Ft. Lauderdale on March 7, 2004.

     The cruise -- which will sail to San Juan, St. Thomas, Dominican Republic and Nassau – is being hosted by Yoga Journal magazine and will have more than 20 of the world’s renowned yoga teachers onboard, including Baron Baptiste, Seane Corne, and Rodney Yee.

     “Yoga practitioners of all levels will be able to study yoga with the world’s finest teachers while enjoying the beauty of the eastern Caribbean,” said John Abbott, CEO of Yoga Journal.

     The sailing will have yoga classes, workshops and seminars, as well as performances by Drala and Tripsichore, London’s acclaimed yoga theater troupe.

Med. Cruises For Less 07/24/03


     First European Cruises is offering savings on seven-night Mediterranean cruises aboard the European Vision and European Stars during October and November.

     The European Vision sails round-trip from Venice from October 5 through November 16, to Dubrovnik, Bari, Corfu, Santorini, Rhodes and Piraeus. European Stars departs from Barcelona from October 3 through November 28, and sails to Marseilles, Genoa, Naples, Messina, Tunis and Palma.

     Prices start at $770 per person, double occupancy. The line also is offering reduced rates on round-trip air to the departure cities, with fares beginning at $725 for Venice, and from $800 for Barcelona.

Wine’n and Dine’n 7/23/03

     Windstar Cruises has launched a “Romance Under Sail” program and dedicated website -- www.romanceundersail.com -- to help guests plan a romantic getaway customized to their needs.

     The interactive web site allows guests to plan their trip with special romance packages that include an extensive menu of wines and champagnes, intimate couples shore excursions, scuba diving adventures, spa treatments and in-suite amenities and services.

     “By definition, a Windstar cruise is a romantic getaway, and Romance Under
Sail was designed to take the guess work out of planning the perfect vacation with someone special, be it a honeymoon, anniversary or birthday,” said Tom Russell, vice president, marketing and sales for Windstar Cruises.

     The site has a romance registry and a romance coordinator, and also lets visitors check out the different packages available as well as look for cruises by destination. There’s also a “gift ideas” section, listing prices of fresh flower arrangements, chocolates, jellybeans, casino chips, photo albums, cocktail packages and more.

American Travel to Europe is Climbing 7/22/03


  Travel to Europe by Americans increased during the past off-peak fall and winter season, despite the drop in spring traffic attributed to the war in Iraq, according to the latest U.S. government figures and the European Travel Commission.
    
U.S.-citizen trips totaled 5.13 million for the off-peak months (October 2002-April 2003), or 7.5 percent more than the previous 2001-2002 off-peak season, but it’s still not as high as the record 6.34 million trips taken in the 2000-2001 off-peak season, according to the ETC. Traffic dropped 11.2 percent and 11.7 percent in March and April respectively, according to data just issued by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce’s Office of Travel and Tourism Industries.

     “While the recovery is slow, we appear to be heading in the right direction,” said Rob Franklin U.S. chairman of the ETC.

Bundles of Savings 7/21/03


     Crystal Cruises is offering couples savings of up to 50 percent off, an additional $1,000 bonus savings and up to 50 percent off a cruises this fall to guests who book before July 31, 2003. And for singles – the line has waived its single supplement on Crystal Symphony’s first South America voyage, a 17-day Fort Lauderdale to Buenos Aires sailing departing October 19, with calls in St. John, St. Thomas, Fortaleza, and Rio de Janeiro.

     Other voyages include a 13-day, November 6 Buenos Aires to Valparaiso sailing, with calls in Montevideo, Uruguay; Puerto Madryn, Argentina; Punta Arenas and Puerto Montt, Chile; a 14-day, November 20 Valparaiso to Buenos Aires sailing with calls in Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, Ushuaia, Argentina; Port Stanley, Falkland Islands and Montevideo; and a 17-day December 5 Buenos Aires to Fort Lauderdale voyage with calls in Rio de Janeiro, Recife, Fortaleza, Barbados and St. Kitts. Fares start from $4,450.