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August09, 2004 - 7 Seas Cruise News >> |
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Hello, Cruise Fans! Welcome to another edition of the 7 Seas Cruise News. We are pleased to welcome our new subscribers. We hope you find some interesting reading and some inspiring cruise opportunities in these pages. As usual, this newsletter is brought to you by my dear husband, Pat Crane, the owner of 7 Seas Cruises, and the one name you need to know to get the very best price on any cruise you'd like to take! Today, Pat asked me to share with you some really terrific prices he found today. Please note that all of these prices include all taxes and port charges! There's still time to get to Europe this fall. Holland America's Noordam offers a 14-day Western European cruise Sept. 10 from Copenhagen to Rome, just $1090 per person, double occupancy! The Westerdam sails Sept. 13 from Rome to Lisbon on a 12-day Mediterranean itinerary. This one is just $ 1280 per person, double occupancy! Closer to home, how about Holland America's Veendam, 7-day Glacier Discovery Aug. 22, from Vancouver to Seward or the Statendam, 7-day Glacier Discovery on Aug. 29 from Vancouver to Seward-your choice just $640 per person, double occupancy! Again, all taxes and port charges included! No booking fees or other silliness with Pat, either. Which brings me to a sad story. One of Pat's clients decided to accompany a friend on a cruise. Pat's client bought from him, no problem. Unfortunately, her friend decided that Travelocity would be a better value and booked there. Not only was that price $60 higher than Pat's but there was also a $30 additional booking fee! And to make matters worse, although the cruise line acknowledges the booking, Travelocity keeps insisting her credit card did not go through and therefore insists that she is not booked. Pat is doing what he can to sort this out for her, but??¦as his client said, "Well, if she had just booked with Pat none of this would have happened." Pat says " thanks for the vote of confidence." Ok, more great prices on holiday cruises that include both Christmas and New Year's!??¦ A 10-night Caribbean cruise, Dec. 24, aboard Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas, just $1144 per person, double occupancy including all taxes and port charges. Or 9 nights aboard the Splendor of the Seas sailing Dec. 24, as little as $1250 per person, taxes and port charges included. If any of these appeal to you, call Pat toll-free at 1-866-424-1090 or send him an email at cruiseplanners7seascruises@msn.com Remember, you are always welcome at the website, www.7seascruises. com, but don't believe those prices you see. Those are provided by the cruise lines, and they may give you a vague idea of the price, but Pat's price will almost always be lower, and sometimes much lower! Just keep it in mind. Did you know that, nationally, about 2.3 million passengers climbed aboard cruise lines during the first quarter 2004? This was up 13.6 percent from the same time the previous year, reported the U.S. Department of Transportation. While the standard departure ports remain popular, alternate ports are emerging for people who don't want to deal with flying to board a plane. New York, Jacksonville, Houston and Norfolk didn't offer departures during the first quarter 2003, but this year, the ports are among the top 15 in the country. In other news??¦MSC Cruises purchased the European Stars, a 1, 500-passenger ship that was operated by the former Festival Cruises, for about $270 million. The ship is to be renamed the Sinfonia and will start service in the Mediterranean in March. The European Stars is a sister ship to the European Vision, which MSC Cruises bought at auction in April and renamed the Armonia. Costa Cruises newest ship, the Costa Magica, sailed into the open seas for the first time July 19 in its first series of sea trials. The 2,720-passenger Magica is to be delivered in November. As a part of Clipper Cruise Line's 'Close-To-Home Cruising' schedule in December, the 102-passenger Nantucket Clipper will operate two new Florida itineraries, one focusing on golf and the other on family activities. The Florida Golf Cruise will take players to four of the state's most recognized courses, with onboard workshops by tour professional Billy Kratzer and excursions for non- golfers as well. Clipper's inaugural Florida Family Cruise will offer visits to attractions like Walt Disney World, the Everglades and the Kennedy Space Center, plus cities along the Gold Coast and Florida Keys. Astronaut Jon McBride, veteran of two space shuttle missions, will be aboard. Rates for the Florida Golf Cruise, departing on Dec. 5 and 12, are not inexpensive at $2,720 per person, double occupancy, but the cost includes 18-hole golf events at the Grand Cypress Golf Resort's New Course and Disney's Magnolia Course in Orlando; the Key West Golf Club; and Doral's 'Blue Monster' in Miami - with reserved tee times, greens fees, cart rentals and transfers. Non-golfers will receive an $ 850 discount off the per-person rate. Pride of America, delivering on June 6, 2005, from Lloyd Werft, will enter year-round service from Honolulu on July 23 with seven-day roundtrip itineraries from Honolulu plus the option of three- and four-day cruises between Maui and Honolulu. In addition, Pride of Aloha will introduce a Maui embarkation/disembarkation option, providing a seven-day roundtrip cruise from Maui as well as the current seven-day roundtrip from Honolulu. Pride of America's seven-day cruises from Honolulu will feature a day in Hilo, Hawaii; two days in Kahului, Maui; a day in Kona, Hawaii; and two days in Nawiliwili, Kauai. Its three-day cruises will embark in Honolulu every Saturday and include one day in Hilo, Hawaii and two days in Kahului, Maui, disembarking there every Tuesday. The four-day cruises will embark in Kahului, Maui every Tuesday and include one day in Kona, Hawaii; two days in Nawiliwili, Kauai; and disembark Saturday in Honolulu. Pride of Aloha's new seven-day roundtrip Maui cruise begins on June 4, 2005, embarking in Kahului every Saturday and featuring one day in Honolulu; two days in Nawiliwili, Kauai; one day in Hilo, Hawaii; one day in Kona, Hawaii; and one day and an overnight in Kahului, Maui before disembarking on Saturday. This roundtrip Maui cruise will run in parallel with the ship's roundtrip Honolulu cruise. Maui passengers will embark and disembark on Saturdays, while Honolulu passengers will embark and disembark on Sundays. In 2005, NCL's third Hawaii-based ship, Norwegian Wind, will continue 10- and 11-day Fanning Island routes from Honolulu. Norwegian Wind sails under the Norwegian Cruise Line brand. Enchantment of the Seas is getting a s-t-r-e-t-c-h! A 73-foot midsection built by Kvaerner Masa- Yards will be inserted into the ship at the Keppel Verolme Shipyard in Rotterdam, increasing the vessel's overall length to 990 feet and its tonnage from 74,140 to 80,700 tons. The new midsection will add 151 staterooms, as well as a number of indoor and outdoor public areas. The additional space and extensive renovations will accommodate new public areas onboard Enchantment of the Seas, including a new specialty restaurant, Royal Caribbean's hallmark Boleros Latin lounge and Latte'tudes coffee shop, where guests can enjoy Seattle's Best Coffee?® and Ben & Jerry's?® ice cream. In addition, existing spaces will be extensively reconditioned. The ship's pool deck, main dining room, shopping area, casino, jogging track, fitness facility, day spa and art gallery are among several areas to be expanded and revitalized. Enchantment of the Seas will be out of service from early May until early July 2005. Launched in 1997, the ship currently sails a rotating schedule of four- and five-night cruises from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to ports in the Western Caribbean. Following the lengthening, Enchantment of the Seas will sail a special series of cruises from three ports in the Northeast throughout the summer and fall before returning to Fort Lauderdale. She will offer itineraries of varying lengths to New England and Canada from Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne. Readers of Travel & Leisure magazine have determined their favorite cruise lines. And they are??¦ Top 10 Small-Ship Cruise Lines 1. Silversea Cruises 2. Seabourn Cruise Line 3. SeaDream Yacht Club 4. Windstar Cruises 5. Lindblad Expeditions 6. Viking River Cruises 7. Star Clippers Cruises 8. Peter Deilmann Cruises 9. Clipper Cruise Line 10. Cruise West Top 10 Large-ship Cruise Lines 1. Crystal Cruises 2. Radisson Seven Seas Cruises 3. Oceania Cruises 4. Disney Cruise Line 5. Celebrity Cruises 6. Holland America Line 7. Princess Cruises 8. Cunard Line 9. Royal Caribbean International 10. Orient Lines Pat's question of the week: What does it cost to get married on a cruise? Pat's answer: It varies, of course, depending on how many people are involved, but for a small wedding party-8 people or less-Celebrity offers an onboard wedding from $800 and on on-shore wedding for as little as $900. On- shore weddings can be performed at Aruba, Baltimore, Barbados, Bermuda, Cabo San Lucas, Catalina Island, Cozumel, Casa de Campo (Dominican Republic), Fort Lauderdale, Grand Cayman, Jacksonville, Juneau, Ketchikan, Key West, Los Angeles, Maui, New York, Ocho Rios (Jamaica), San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan, Seattle, Saint Maarten, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, Santorini (Greece), Tampa or Vancouver. On-board weddings include a local officiant, bridal bouquet and boutonniere, wedding cake to serve 8, a bottle of Celebrity champagne and a decorative certificate of marriage. A valid license must be obtained from the local jurisdiction where the wedding will be performed. The bridal couple must be booked on the cruise. Weddings attended by more than 8 people require a reception which means additional costs. A reception can be as simple as cake and champagne or can include hors d'oeuvres, an open bar, lavish flowers-anything you wish (and are willing to pay for). Weddings must be booked in advance, so you can't just decide while you're under the spell of the sea. IF you should decide, however, it is a great excuse to sail again! If you'd like to know more, call Pat and he'll help you with the planning. (He is really quite romantic and just loves this kind of thing, but don't let on that I told you!) And on that tender note, I will close for this week. Until next week, smooth sailing! Teri |
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August09, 2004 - 7 Seas Cruise News >> |
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