More Than the World 02/13/02

      Radisson Seven Seas Cruises is offering some extra perks to its guests of the Seven Seas Navigator's World Cruise. On segments four and five of the 105-night World Cruise, passengers will receive a complimentary three-night pre-cruise extension with an African safari offered before the 14-night Cape Town to Rio voyage on April 7, 2002, or an Iguazu Falls tour prior to the 14-night April 21, Rio to Ft. Lauderdale cruise. Free Economy Air is included, with low-cost roundtrip Business Class upgrades available for $999 (April 7) and $499 (April 21) per person. Per person prices for the 14-night April 7 voyage begin at $8,275, while rates for the 14-night April 21 voyage begin at $4,571.

     The line also is offering extra savings to those who opt to combine both 14-night sailings for an April 7, 28-night journey from Cape Town to Ft. Lauderdale. In addition to the pre-cruise three-night safari in South Africa, guests will receive free Business Class air to South Africa from any of 83 gateways and a $500 per couple shipboard credit. For either of the voyages, guests who book and deposit on the same day will receive a $200 per couple shipboard credit. Prices for the voyage start at $10,525 per person.

     Special onboard guests include, Ted Koppel, anchor/managing editor of ABC News' Nightline; Dick Thornburgh, two-term Pennsylvania governor and attorney general under Presidents Bush and Reagan; and Larry Hagman, star of Dallas and "Master" in I Dream of Jeannie, will mingle with guests and discuss highlights of their eventful careers. Call your travel agent or 800-285-1835 or visit www.rssc.com.

Extend Your Stay 2/12/02

     Holland America Line is offering new pre-cruise land tours to guests who book the Amsterdam’s 2002 Alaska cruises. The tours range from one to four nights and visit Seattle and Western Washington, with some options to Portland, Oregon or into Eastern Washington.

     All of the land packages start with an overnight stay at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Seattle and include a tour of the Seattle area. Seven pre-cruise options range from one to four-night packages and cost from $195 to $625 per person/double occupancy.

     Options include a one-night “Seattle and Tillicum Village” tour; a two-night “Seattle Classic with Mt. Rainier”; a three-night “Seattle/Mt. St. Helens/Mt. Rainier” option; a three-night “Seattle and Olympic Loop”; a three-night “Seattle and Cascade Loop” excursion; and a four night “Seattle and Columbia Gorge” package.

     The tours return guests to Seattle to board the Amsterdam for their seven-day cruise to Alaska. Sailings begin on May 18, 2002, and will visit Juneau, Hubbard Glacier, Sitka, Ketchikan, and Victoria. Call your travel agent or 1-877-724-5425 or visit www.hollandamerica.com.

Kicking The Habit At Sea 2/8/02

     When Carnival introduced the smoke-free Paradise, the line’s executives mildly dismissed speculation that a week-long cruise on the ship would provide a great way for people to quit smoking. The rigid no-tobacco policy onboard Paradise – even having smoking materials in your stateroom can get you kicked off the ship – might be too much for people struggling to “kick the habit,” they suggested.

     Now, however, Carnival Cruise Lines, the American Lung Association of Connecticut (ALAC) and Manchester Community College have teamed up to offer a series of "Quit Smoking Caribbean Cruises" aboard the Paradise. The key here is that the seven-day cruises are incorporated into ALAC's comprehensive seven-session Freedom From Smoking program.

     The program comprises three Paradise sailings from Miami – on September 15, October 13 and December 1, 2002 – will feature on-board smoking-cessation clinics and seminars conducted by the ALAC's trained experts. The clinics utilize positive behavior modification strategies to help smokers develop their own "quitting plan," adjust to recovery symptoms, manage stress through proven relaxation techniques and fight the urge to resume smoking.

     Prior to taking the cruise, participants must enroll in the Freedom From Smoking program and attend the first and second sessions in their geographic areas to lay the groundwork for quitting smoking. Sessions three and four – when smokers actually stop smoking – will be held during the Paradise cruise. The remaining sessions take place following the voyage to reinforce long-term maintenance and behavior modification strategies.

     Smokers who want to kick the habit while they’re kicking up their heels on a Caribbean cruise can book the cruise and the quit-smoking program through their travel agents.

Seabourn Bubbly 2/7/02

     A chilled bottle of Piper Heidsieck champagne in their suites has traditionally greeted those lucky souls setting sail on the Seabourn Pride, Seabourn Spirit and Seabourn Legend. Starting in June, Seabourn Cruise Line will extend that custom, offering complimentary bubbly from the famous French champagne maker to its guests throughout their cruises.

     The line’s new alliance with Heidsieck & Co., which has supplied champagne to royalty throughout Europe since 1785, brings a regal flair to the line’s already supremely luxurious cruises. It also marks the latest in a series of refinements the line has implemented to enhance the Yachts of Seabourn experience.

     Seabourn introduced complimentary fine wines and spirits, exclusive shoreside experiences and free mini-massages on deck throughout its fleet last year. Further refinements announced for 2002 include menus created by renowned chef Charlie Palmer and Seabourn's “Pure Pampering” program, featuring bathing and well-being products by Molton Brown, London.

Price Tide Rising Again 2/6/02

     After a winter of incredible bargains, cruise prices have begun to rise again as cruise lines set booking records in the first weeks of 2002. A sampling of lines’ “Wave Season” business by Cruise Lines International Association found several posting record reservation volumes in January, and most have responded with higher fares.

     Cruise prices were already starting to inch up in late 2001, but the January boom has helped accelerate the rise to the point that advertised entry-level rates for some popular itineraries have been leaping $100 per person or more per week. A case in point: an Alaska cruise advertised on a cruise discount web site for $694 on January 16 appeared on the same web site a week later at the new price of $833.

     There are, of course, those who are still betting that the bargains will return after the pent-up demand subsides, but right now there’s no indication that is likely to happen. The one certainty, however, remains that the big winners sailing in 2002 will be the people who booked their cruise vacations last October.

All Over Greece 2/5/02

     FAR&WIDE is offering rates beginning at $1,999 on its “Hellenic Classic” departures in Greece. The package includes three-nights in Athens, five days touring the sites of Argolis, Olympia, Delphi, and Meteora, a four-day cruise to the Greek Islands and Turkey on a Royal Olympic Cruises ship, and round-trip airfare from New York. The cruise will visit Mykonos, Patmos, Rhodes, Santorini and Piraeus.

     The offer applies to departures from April through October 2002 that are booked and deposited by February 28.

     Call your travel agent or 1-800-272-7600 or visit www.farandwide.com.

Play That Funky Music, Crystal 2/4/02

    As part of its onboard enrichment programming Crystal Cruises has set five musically-themed cruises in four different destinations from April through October 2002. A roster of entertainers and music professionals aboard Crystal Harmony and Crystal Symphony will perform a variety of musical styles, including classical, jazz and blues, Big Band and '70s pop. Guest speakers and screenings of relevant films and documentaries will also be a highlight of the cruises.

     Classical Music will be the focus of the Crystal Symphony’s 16-day Panama Canal cruise from Los Angeles to Ft. Lauderdale, departing April 27. Philharmonia Virtuosi, the resident Classical Music Orchestra of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, will perform works conducted by Musical Director and Conductor Richard Kapp. Kapp also will give a series of lectures on the history of classical music. Director and choreographer Kevin Carlisle also will be on board to share his production experience of more than 500 television series, specials and stage productions. Prices begin at $4,455.

     Soloists and Chamber Orchestras from The Juilliard School of Music will offer full evening concerts, matinee recitals, and tea-time performances on the Crystal Harmony’s 12-day Alaska sailing, round-trip San Francisco, departing on September 2. Fares begin at $2,975.

    An 11-day Jazz & Blues cruise from Acapulco to New Orleans on the Crystal Harmony will depart on October 16. Tom Hook and the Terrier Brothers will perform concerts and dance sets of jazz and the blues while the ship cruises to New Orleans. Vocalist and pianist Yve Evans also will perform her one-woman shows. Each evening, the ship’s nightclub will be transformed into a jazz venue. Jazz-related films and documentaries, and guest speakers will explore the roots of this music. Rates begin at $2,820.

     The Crystal Symphony’s nine-day Big Band, trans-Atlantic crossing will sail from Ft. Lauderdale to London on May 13. This sailing will feature The Glenn Miller Orchestra. Big Band vocalist Beryl Davis, who toured with the original Glenn Miller Orchestra and Django Reinhardt and Les Brown, also will be aboard. Fares begin at $2,310.

     The Crystal Harmony will host a 70’s theme cruise, sailing from San Francisco to Acapulco, on October 8. The eight-day cruise will feature a to-be-announced '70s-era artist or group to get revelers into the groove with the decade's top dance hits. On one night, the main show lounge will be transformed into "Studio 54." Prices start at $1,995.

     All rates are per person/double occupancy. Call your travel agents or 1-800-820-6663 or visit www.crystalcruises.com.

Alaska Cruises Discounted 2/02/02

     Princess Cruises has expanded its "Double Early Booking Discount" promotion for Alaska cruises and cruisetours until February 14, 2002. The previous deadline was January 31.

     Discounted fares are available on all Gulf of Alaska cruises and for select dates on all of the company's 56 cruisetour options. Cruise fares begin at $799 per person/double occupancy for a seven-day Alaska voyage and $1,499 for an 11-day cruisetour.

     Call your travel agent number or 1-800-421-1700 or visit www.princess.com.

Attention: Beatles Fans  2/1/02

     Radisson Seven Seas Cruises is hosting a “Tribute to Beatles” cruise onboard the Seven Seas Mariner’s seven-night cruise from Lisbon to Southampton departing on June 13, 2002.

     Joe Johnson, host of the nationally syndicated radio show “Beatle Brunch” (which airs every Sunday) will be aboard, along with other Beatles experts. Joe and his associates will host a Beatles night in the nightclub, along with events such as Beatles Trivia and look-alike contests, with special prizes. During the cruise there will be performances by Revolution, a renowned Beatles tribute band.

     An exclusive Beatles post-cruise tour also has been arranged for guests as follows:

     June 20: Disembark in Southampton and fly to Manchester then transfer to Liverpool and the Marriott Hotel. The evening offers a live musical event at the Cavern Club, followed by a traditional English pub dinner.

     June 21: Magical Mystery Tour of the famous sights of the Beatles’ Liverpool. Visit Sir Paul McCartney’s private art exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery. Travel First Class to London by train and transfer to the Langham Hilton Hotel for a two-night stay.

     June 22: Take a Beatles sites-of-London bus tour, including the Abbey Road Studios.

     June 23: Depart for home.

     Fares start at $3,595 per guest/double occupancy. Call your travel agent or 1-800-285-1835 or visit www.rssc.com

Double Upgrades on Carnival

     As part of Carnival Cruise Lines' 30th anniversary celebration, the line is now offering complimentary "double upgrades" on a variety of 2002 departures.

     The new promotion is available on a range of two- to 17-day sailings departing May 1 through December 17, 2002, including voyages to the Caribbean, Bahamas, Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, Panama Canal, New England and Canada.  To be eligible for the special upgrade, bookings must be made between now and February 17, 2002, and guests must request fare code CPU5 making the reservation.

     The "double upgrade" promotion is capacity controlled and applies to new individual bookings for cabin categories 4A and higher. Upgrades are available within specific stateroom accommodation types (i.e. interior to interior, ocean view to ocean view, balcony to balcony, etc.).  Upgrades limited to balcony staterooms on Carnival Spirit, Carnival Pride and Carnival Legend.  Certain other restrictions apply.

     Call your travel or 1-800-327-9501 or visit www.carnival.com.

World Cruise Revealed

     Crystal Cruises will set sail for its eighth annual World Cruise in winter 2003, visiting 37 ports of call in 15 countries. With the Crystal Symphony cruise, the line will introduce two firsts – a departure from Ft. Lauderdale, Crystals first East Coast embarkation for a World Cruise – and a visit to Antarctica. Circumnavigation of South America and Australia is also new for the 104-day journey.

     "Each year our goal is to create the luxury cruise experience of a lifetime," says Gregg L. Michel, president, Crystal Cruises. "We also appreciate - perhaps more so than ever - that many of our guests value the convenience of domestic embarkation and disembarkation ports."

     Crystal Symphony's itinerary features four maiden calls, including the island of Huahine in the Society Islands of French Polynesia, the Australian ports of Launceston and Exmouth in the provinces of Tasmania and Western Australia, and Porto Belo, Brazil.

     Other ports of call include St. John and St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Fortaleza and Rio,Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Puerto Madryn, Ushuaia, Port Stanley, Punta Arenas, Puerto Montt, Valparaiso, Easter Island, Adamstown, Papeete, Mooréa, Bora Bora, Nuku'alofa, Auckland, Christchurch, Tasmania, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Cairns and Sydney, Nouméa, Lautoka, Honolulu and Lahaina.

     The line also has developed excursions, including land and overland adventures.

     Fares for the full 2003 World Cruise start at $41,455 per person, double occupancy, and include round-trip First or Business Class air transportation (depending on stateroom category) from a Crystal Cruises North American air gateway city, private car airport/ship/home transfers, pre-paid gratuities, $1,000 shipboard spending credit, pre-cruise overnight hotel accommodations and overnight programs and exclusive events in Buenos Aires and Sydney.

     Shorter cruise segments also are available.

     Call your travel agent or 1-800-820-6663 or visit www.crystalcruises.com.

New Princess Cruises
 

     Princess Cruises has revised its 2002/2003 Exotics program, featuring a new Australia/New Zealand itinerary and South America cruisetour.

    The Regal Princess will embark on a series of cruises throughout the South Pacific, Asia and Australia/New Zealand, beginning with a 10-day repositioning cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii, followed by a 22-day Pacific Islands cruise that visits important WWII battle sites. The ship will explore Asia with a 12-day cruise between Osaka and Beijing, and a 16-day cruise between Beijing and Bangkok. Both sailings can be combined with Princess' China cruisetours that include visits the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, the Terra Cotta Warriors, the Yangtze River and Hong Kong.

     Regal Princess also will offer a series of cruises on a new 12-day Australia/New Zealand itinerary, which can be combined with one of five cruisetour offerings to spots, such as the Great Barrier Reef, Ayers Rock, Alice Springs and the Port Douglas, Dunk Island and Silky Oaks resorts. The ship also offers an 18-day Australia/Asia cruise now including Ho Chi Minh City and Darwin. In addition, a 19-day Australia/Asia cruise combines Bali and Singapore with the Australian cities of Perth and Albany. The vessel will finish the season with a 30-day Bangkok to Rome sailing departing April 8, 2003.

     In Hawaii, the Dawn Princess offers nine- and 10-day cruises, and in the South Pacific it offers a 12-day Tahiti/Hawaii sailing featuring an overnight stay in Tahiti; while the Sun Princess offers two 15-day cruises to the Hawaiian Islands from Los Angeles.

    The Royal Princess will return to South America for 2002/2003, beginning with a revised Ft. Lauderdale to Santiago sailing on December 26. The 16-day voyage will now visit Aruba, Cartagena, the Panama Canal, Quito, Lima (overnight), Pisco, Arica and La Serena. Royal Princess will then offer a series of 14-day Cape Horn/Strait of Magellan cruises between Santiago and Buenos Aires; and for the first time, the line has added its first South America cruisetour option in conjunction with this voyage. The Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls land option features four days in Argentina.

     The Royal Princess will end the season with a South America/Andes itinerary sailing on April 17, 2003, between Santiago and Ft. Lauderdale, and features shore tours to Machu Picchu and the Nazca lines.

     Early booking fares for Exotic sailings begin at $1,595 per person/double occupancy. Call your travel agent or 1-800-PRINCESS or visit www.princesscruises.com.

No Star in Kona
    

     Norwegian Cruise Line has announced an itinerary change for the Hawaii-based Norwegian Star. Instead of visiting the scheduled call at Kona, the ship will visit Hilo through March 21, 2002.

On its original itinerary, passengers had to take tenders to Kilo because docking isn’t feasible at the port. According to NCL, weather conditions and lack of shore tenders were taking away from passenger shore time. Colin Veitch, NCL’s president and CEO, said that the pier in Kona can only handle two tenders at a time, each with a passenger capacity of 90. In addition, shore tenders with a higher guest capacity were supposed to be delivered to the line when the Norwegian Star first began operating the itinerary, but have not yet been provided.

“The result is that disembarkation is taking too long and some passengers are not getting as much time on shore as they expected,” said Veitch told CruiseReports. “We expect the new shore tender support to be in place by the spring.”

On the new itinerary, the ship will be docked at the pier in Hilo from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., with a back-onboard-time of 12:30 p.m. This allows passengers the ability to walk onto the island and spend five and a half hours onshore. In Kona, the ship began to tender passengers at about 7:30 a.m. and ended tender service around 1 p.m., which allowed for less than four and a half hours ashore.

“Hilo offers us the opportunity to dock at the Big Island of Hawaii instead of tendering to it, which allows passengers to spend more time on the Big Island and more time overall experiencing the beautiful Hawaiian Islands,” said Veitch. “We would expect passengers to have about 25 percent more time ashore on the Big Island when we call at Hilo,” he told CruiseReports.

Is there a chance that this new call at Hilo will become a permanent move for the Norwegian Star?

“The change is to get us through the winter months,” Veitch told CruiseReports. “We will take a look beyond the end of March as we have more experience of Hilo and consider the likely weather and sea patterns in the spring and summer.”

Guests who pre-booked Kona shore excursions will be moved to similar tours, where possible. In cases where a similar tour isn’t available, they will have first preference to other tours in Hilo.

Elite Status

      Crown Blue Line – the self-skippered cabin cruiser company offering vacations on the canals and waterways of France, Holland, Ireland, Germany, Italy and Scotland – has introduced new boat models for 2002. 

      The brand new “Elite” models are available in the company’s top-of-the-line Crown Class-boat category and offer the most up-to-date improvements in design and comfort.  Elite models include the Cirrus, Clipper, Consul, Countess, Crusader, Royal Classique, Classique, ClassiqueS and Grand Classique boats. 

      Rates for Elite models begin at $1,125 per boat charter, depending on boat size and itinerary.  Call your travel agent or 1-888-355-9491 or visit www.crownblueline.com.

Clipper Adds More

    Last December, Clipper Cruise Line introduced a series of seven-night cruises visiting the coastlines of Belize, Guatemala and Honduras through February 2002, aboard the Nantucket Clipper. Due to popular demand, the line has announced that it also will offer the cruises in 2003!

       The Nantucket Clipper will operate seven “The Rain Forests and Mayan Temples of Belize and Honduras” cruises from January 11, 2003 through February 22, from Belize City to Puerto Cortes and the reverse route. The ship will visit Cayos Cochinos, Roatan Island, Punta Sal Peninsula, Santo Tomas de Castilla (optional excursion to Tikal), Monkey River Town and Dangriga.

Rates for the cruises begin at $2,895 per person/double occupancy, including airfare.

Sails in the South Pacific


        Sails of a Windstar Cruises' ship that is.  The line has announced that after an four-and-a-half-year absence in Tahiti, the Wind Song will now return to the islands of the South Pacific in May of 2002 with 34 cruises.

        The 148-passenger sailing yacht will begin her South Pacific journey on May 1, 2002 with a 14-day repositioning cruise from Auckland, New Zealand to Papeete, Tahiti. The ship will cross the International Date Line and stop at Rarotonga, Aitutaki, and Atiu in the Cook Islands.  The season then will kick off with a 10-day "Tahiti Reunion" cruise sailing round-trip from Papeete on May 14, with stops at Rangiroa, Arutua, Huahine, Raiatea, Bora Bora, Moorea, and Tahiti.

        The Wind Song will then begin operating seven-day cruises through the end of 2002. Passengers will board in Papeete on Friday afternoon and spend a week visiting Tahiti, Raiatea, Huahine, Bora Bora and Moorea.

        "We anticipate that these cruises will fill up quickly," said Tom Russell, vice president of marketing and sales for Windstar Cruises. "Many of our past guests have been eagerly awaiting our return to Tahiti and her islands."

        An early booking rate is being offered on all Tahiti cruises booked by April 30, 2002. Cruise-only rates include cruise fare and port
charges and taxes. Air-inclusive rates include round-trip airfare.  All rates are listed per person based on double occupancy, including port charges and taxes.

        The South Pacific repositioning rates start at $3,595; the "Tahiti Reunion" prices begin at $3,895 for cruise-only and $4,595 for air-inclusive; and fares for the seven-day Tahiti cruises begin at $2,695 for cruise-only and $3,295 for air-inclusive.

        Call your travel agent or 1-800-258-7245 or visit www.windstarcruises.com.

back to the top

Ahoy, Mystery Novel Buffs 1/18/02

            Four of Alaska’s most well-know mystery writers will join World Explorer’s 14-night Alaska cruise aboard the Universe Explorer, departing May 14, 2002. 

Guests include Dana Stabenow, author of “The Singing of the Dead” and a contributor to “Alaska Magazine”; Sue Henry, 27-year Alaska-resident and author of nine mystery novels, including “Murder on the Iditarod Trail” and “Death Takes Passage” – which is set on an Inside Passage cruise (woo, spooky!); and John Straley, a part-time private investigator and author of a mystery novel series featuring Cecil Younger, a Sitka-based investigator.  Father Brad Reynolds, S.J. also will be onboard the vessel.  In addition to publishing four books, his work has appeared in “National Geographic,” “American Scholar,” and the “Anchorage Daily News” among other publications.

            The writers will host panel discussions, book signings and writing workshops.

            The Universe Explorer will depart from Vancouver and visit Ketchikan, Sitka, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, Valdez, Seward, Juneau, Wrangell and Victoria.  Rates begin at $1,995 per person, with second person half off.  Call your travel agent or 1-800-854-3835 or visit www.wecruise.com.

back to the top