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August16, 2004 - 7 Seas Cruise News >> |
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Greetings, Cruise Fans! Welcome to another edition of 7 Seas Cruise News, brought to you by Pat Crane, proprietor of 7 Seas Cruises and a great guy to know when you're thinking about taking a cruise. In my opinion, you can save yourself a lot of trouble if you just call Pat when you're in the market for a cruise-and just skip cost comparisons. Pat WILL get you the best price. Period. It's what's he's in business for. Should you need proof, we learned this week that there are agents out there who are promising " guaranteed" upgrades in order to persuade clients to book. This isn't true. There are no guaranteed upgrades before booking except with rare coupons. What this agent is doing in reality is getting a price on a higher category and offering that as if it were an upgrade. The client is paying for that upper category! Now, there really are such things as upgrades! With the exception of Princess Cruises, who will offer upgrades after booking to guests with assigned cabin numbers when space is available, most cruise lines do not upgrade clients who have purchased specific cabins. Pat has had a great deal of success selling "guarantees," such as "guaranteed inside" or "guaranteed ocean-view" or "guaranteed balcony." When you opt for a guarantee, you are guaranteed that, at a minimum, you will be assigned the lowest category of inside, ocean-view or balcony-whichever you wish. What can, and often does happen however, is that when all of those lowest price cabins are gone, you will be upgraded- often upgraded by several categories-at no additional cost. Unfortunately, you will rarely be moved from an inside to an ocean-view cabin or from an ocean-view to a balcony (or a balcony to a suite) . But for those of us who like a little something for nothing, it's a great way to get a more valuable cabin! Ok then, just a reminder: Call Pat at 1-866-424- 1090 toll-free anytime. Or send him an email at cruiseplanners7seascruises@msn.com or just drop by the website and look around. But remember, the prices you see at www.7seascruises.com are not Pat' s prices! They are provided by the cruise lines and they give an indication of the price, but Pat's price will be LOWER! Now, some news??¦ Windstar Cruises sets its sails on a new tropical itinerary in 2005 with voyages to the Mayan Riviera of Mexico, Belize and Honduras. The voyages on a luxurious, five-masted motor sailing yacht promise to be the ultimate in escaping "180 Degrees From Ordinary" as guests experience a spectacular combination of island scenery, soft adventure excursions, water sports -- including some of the finest snorkeling and diving in the world -- and explorations of the great ruins of the Mayan civilization. The Wind Surf, which accommodates 308 passengers, will conduct eleven cruises to the Mayan Riviera from January 16 to April 3, 2005. Each voyage will be a seven-day, roundtrip journey from the island of Cozumel, Mexico, with calls at the Honduran Bay Islands of Isla de Utila and West End (Roatan Island); stops on the Honduran mainland at Puerto Cortez and Omoa; a visit to Belize City, Belize; and a stop at Costa Maya, Mexico before returning to Cozumel. Trained naturalists will be on board every voyage to interpret and help guests discover the vast array of flora and fauna of the region. Every cruise will feature a full range of diving excursions led by PADI-certified divers. With day-long stops in most ports, the opportunities for diving promise to be nothing short of sensational. Guests can dive into crystal- clear waters that boast hundreds of feet of visibility and some of the best reef and wall diving in the world. Excursions visit world-class diving destinations in Cozumel and Belize along with the Honduran Bay Islands of Utila and Roatan, which sit alongside the second largest coral reef system in the world. Highlights include a close-up encounter with friendly Caribbean reef sharks and dolphins in Roatan, diving amongst whale sharks and turtles off Utila and a visit to Blue Hole out of Belize City-- a dive site made famous by Jacques Cousteau. For guests interested in learning how to dive, a Discover Scuba Diving program is available. Snorkelers can enjoy brilliant reefs packed with colorful fish, and paddlers can take one of the ship's kayaks out for a tour of turquoise waters. At the Chinchorro Reef outside of Costa Maya, for example, snorkelers can explore the placid waters of a 30-mile long coral atoll with water depths of just ten to twenty feet. All equipment for snorkeling and paddling is provided complimentary by the ship. After a dive, a paddle or a swim, guests return to the luxurious appointments of the yacht and the attentive service of an expert staff, with world- class cuisine and beautifully decorated cabins that make the Wind Surf the most lavishly appointed " live-aboard" at sea. Two pools, two Jacuzzis and open deck space with comfortable new lounge chairs invite guests to relax and make the Wind Surf their own private yacht. Holland America Line announced that its 2005 deployment schedule includes more than a dozen extended voyages (12 days and longer) that will allow guests to visit exotic international locales including the Amazon, Australia, Asia, the Baltics and Africa from North American homeports. The schedule features 13 international cruises ranging from 12 to 116 days that sail round-trip from North America. One example of a Holland America Line extended voyage is an itinerary in which guests depart on the ms Veendam in Vancouver and sail south to Costa Rica, then through the Panama Canal, and up the Amazon River before disembarking in Tampa, Florida. The entire trip takes 34 days. This cruise departs on September 25, 2005. Other exciting extended voyage itineraries that depart from and return to a North American homeport include: a 35-day "Transatlantic" voyage on the ms Maasdam departing from Boston on July 16, 2005, with Canadian, North Atlantic and European destinations including New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Holland, France, England and Ireland on this Atlantic crossing. The Maasdam will return to Boston on August 20. A 62- day "Orient Explorer," departs from Seattle on October 6, 2005 on the ms Amsterdam. This Pacific Rim adventure visits 20 ports beginning in the Aleutian Islands and Russia's Far East before heading south to Japan and South Korea. The Amsterdam then visits Indonesia and sails around Australia before heading back east across the Pacific to San Diego. This unique voyage features extended stays in multiple ports including: Yokohama (Tokyo), Japan; Singapore; Xingang, People' s Republic of China; and Hong Kong. The extended stay at the busy port city of Xingang provides two full days so guests may travel to Beijing and take in the rich legacies including the Forbidden City, the Ming Tombs and the serpentine Great Wall before returning to the ship. On the homeward leg of the voyage, guests will visit Sydney and the "Paris of the Pacific," Noume'a, New Caledonia; then stop at Christmas Island and Hawaii before returning to San Diego on December 7. The 26-day "Amazon River Explorer," which departs Ft. Lauderdale on the ms Prinsendam on November 24, 2005. On this journey, guests will cross the equator and sail back in time during a full week of remote cruising on the Amazon River. In addition, guests will visit the black sand beaches of St. Kitts; stop at Holland America' s exclusive private island, Half Moon Cay; and take in the sites of Barbados, Guadeloupe, Grenada and Devil's Island in French Guiana. This cruise on the Prinsendam returns to Ft. Lauderdale on December 20. Some of Norwegian Cruise Line's agents related customer confusion about the $10 per day service fee added to passenger accounts on the Pride of Aloha. The fee is not adjustable, unlike the automatically added gratuities on other vessels. The topic of the service fee emerged again (and repeatedly) at a news conference and bottom line: the fee is not a tip. It goes into NCL America's general revenue stream and helps cover the higher cost of employing US seafarers.Above and beyond the fee, there is no tipping required or recommended on the U.S. flag vessels. On Pride of Aloha, the US crew are paid a good salary guaranteed by collective bargaining that gives them a very good wage, overtime and medical benefits. Rank and file crew are represented by the Seafarers International Union, while officers belong to the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association. Peter Deilmann Cruises will introduce weekly cruises on the Seine River offering the first sailings to originate in Paris and Rouen on March 26, 2005. The cruise line is moving one of its two French-based vessels -- the five-star Cezanne -- to the Seine from the Rh??ne. Rh??ne River cruises between Lyon and Arles will continue on the four- star, 140-passenger Princesse de Provence. The 100- passenger Cezanne will sail two itineraries on the Seine. Sixteen of the sailings will be round-trip from Paris and the other 18 will depart alternately from Paris and Rouen. The cruises will offer overnight stays on the ship in both Paris and Rouen and will visit Versailles from the port of Le Pecq, Honfleur from Le Havre, the small town of Caudebec- en-Caux and Giverney from the port of Vernon. The Rouen-to-Paris itinerary will feature two nights on board ship in Paris. The cruises will have departures through Nov. 12. Accommodations on the five-star Cezanne will be the largest on the Seine with 50 beautifully furnished twin and queen cabins of 162 square feet and 178 square feet respectively. Cabins on the upper deck offer full-length windows while those on the lower deck have three porthole windows. Each is equipped with built-in closet, desk, audio entertainment center and color TV. Bathrooms with showers are well designed and outfitted with terry robes, hair dryers and other amenities. The Cezanne has many more crew, one for every 2.5 passengers, than Deilmann's competition. Santangelo claims that this ratio allows the cruise line to focus on food and service. In addition to the spacious lounge, the vessel has a bar, library, gift shop, beauty salon, laundry, safe deposit boxes and an infirmary with a qualified doctor on board. The sundeck is equipped with comfortable deck chairs and blankets. P&O Cruises has released details of the refit of the Pacific Sun which will begin year-round cruising from Sydney on October 20. A child-free sunbathing deck, oyster and sushi bar, queen-size beds, New Orleans-style piano bar, art auctions and two big new party nights are some of the innovations to debut this October on the biggest cruise liner ever based in Australia, Pacific Sun.P& O Cruises has released details of the $35 million refit of the 47,000-ton ship, which will begin year- round cruising from Sydney on October 20. Succeeding the popular Pacific Sky, which will move to her new year-round base in Brisbane, the 1900- passenger Pacific Sun will offer Australians a complete, floating holiday resort, with innovations never before seen on a locally-based cruise ship. Strong demand has been reported for Silversea Cruises' two 2005 cruises to Beirut, Lebanon, Syria and Libya. This demand has prompted the luxury line to add a third Beirut cruise to its lineup. The added 15-day voyage, on May 26, begins in Istanbul and calls in Kusadasi, Turkey; Rhodes, Greece; Tartous, Syria; Beirut; Alexandria, Egypt; Benghazi and Tripoli, Libya; Valetta, Malta; and Liparti and Rome, Italy. Pretty ambitious itineraries, and possibly a bit scary. But for those who have already seen so much of the world-and many cruisers have-these itineraries offer exciting, fresh horizons! Princess is in the Caribbean next winter with new 14-day itineraries, a new port call -- the island of Bonaire -- and six ships: the Caribbean Princess, the Grand Princess, the Star Princess and the Golden Princess will sail seven-day itineraries; the Sun Princess will offer alternating 10-day itineraries and the Sea Princess will introduce 14- day itineraries. The former Rotterdam arrived at Gibraltar on July 11 to begin a year-long refit before, in spring 2005, being towed to the port of Rotterdam, where the 38, 000-tonner will be finally outfitted as a museum, hotel & conference center. She'll be permanently berthed in the Maashaven, quite close to the former Holland America Line headquarters & terminal at the Wilhelminakade. The 748-foot liner, flagship of the Holland America fleet until 1997, was built in 1958-59 by the local Rotterdam Dry Dock Company, now one of the owners of the beloved ship. In the winter 2005-06, Princess will once again offer both roundtrip sailings to the Panama Canal, as well as full canal-transit voyages with three ships: Coral Princess, Regal Princess and Sun Princess. Among the 28 seasonal sailings, Regal Princess will introduce a new 21-day roundtrip sailing from San Diego. This new option will give West Coast passengers a longer itinerary than most canal voyages and port calls at unusual places, such as San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua and Puerto Quetzal in Guatemala, as well as a unique overnight in the Canal. Coral Princess will again offer roundtrip Panama Canal sailings from the East Coast from Fort Lauderdale NCL's newest ship purpose-built for Freestyle Cruising sets sail in 2005 and is now available for booking. Norwegian Jewel will offer a series of alternating eastern and exotic western Caribbean itineraries from Miami. Here are just a few Norwegian Jewel's outstanding features.... Ten restaurants including passenger favorites such as Cagney's Steak House, Blue Lagoon and NCL's signature restaurant, Le Bistro. New 'Bar Central' concept... featuring a martini bar, a champagne and wine bar and a beer and whisky pub all connected, but with three distinct personalities. Staterooms are modeled after those found aboard Norwegian Star and Norwegian Dawn and include the addition of 10 penthouse suites sharing a private courtyard, complete with swimming pool, Jacuzzi and a small gym. A large number of staterooms in most categories can interconnect, making Norwegian Jewel ideal for families of any sort, shape or size. The latest in relaxation and fitness is the state-of- the-art Bora Bora Health Spa. The Splashdown Kid's Club, Sapphire Kid's Pool and Underground Teen's Club make Norwegian Jewel particularly family- friendly. That's the news for this week! Until next week, smooth sailing! Teri |
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August16, 2004 - 7 Seas Cruise News >> |
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