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| << October19, 2004 - 7 Seas Cruise News |
November01, 2004 - 7 Seas Cruise News >> |
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Greetings Cruise Fans, Welcome to another edition of the 7 Seas Cruise News. Thanks for keeping Pat busy for the last few days. It's good for him! We have a lot of news to cover tonight, so I will make the "commercial" brief: Call your friend (and mine) Pat Crane for any cruise you're interested in. You can reach him practically anytime toll-free at 1- 866-424-1090. You can email him at cruiseplanners7seascruises@msn. com, or you can visit the website anytime www. 7seascruises.com Following the recent wave of hurricanes that blasted the Caribbean, there has been some major cleaning up to do. Here is the current status of the repairs??¦ BAHAMAS The Islands Of The Bahamas once again showed their resilience after weathering Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne. Within days, most of the destination witnessed the arrival of cruise ships, welcomed international flights and saw vacationers enjoying the beach, golf courses and even dolphin encounters. With more than 700 islands, only two suffered significant damage: Grand Bahama Island and Abaco. Even the resorts and smaller properties on those islands have returned to business or have announced when they will re-open. Nassau/Paradise Island (Central Bahamas), the nation's number one tourist destination experienced minimal cosmetic damage from Hurricane Frances and no impact from Hurricane Jeanne. Grand Bahama Island (Northern Bahamas) - impacted by both hurricanes - continues to rebound in preparation for the winter season. The Out Islands which include Exuma, Harbour Island, Eleuthera, Long Island, Cat Island, Andros, Bimini and the Berry Islands were minimally affected by Hurricane Frances and unaffected by Hurricane Jeanne. Most properties, if not traditionally closed for the fall season, continue to accept reservations. Initial assessments of Abaco indicate that several properties such as the Abaco Beach Resort are open for business while full reports and opening dates for others are pending. CAYMAN ISLANDS The public and private sector of the tourism industry are working together to re-build and re-open the three Cayman Islands for business as soon as possible. Cayman Brac and Little Cayman suffered relatively less damage to the tourism infrastructure and the reconstruction efforts there are already underway. As far as Grand Cayman tourism is concerned, together the Government and private sector are working aggressively to facilitate the reconstruction of the tourism industry, acknowledging the destructiveness of Hurricane Ivan will take months to repair for some operators. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC The Dominican Republic keeps welcoming tourism, despite the major storms that have affected the Caribbean in September. The country's international airports are fully operational and 90% of its hotel rooms are accepting international guests. Tropical Storm Jeanne (Sept. 16) primarily affected the eastern coastline, with road accesses to some tourism zones also suffering. Authorities have acted promptly to restore the services affected by the flooding, especially the bridge over Chav??n River. Despite Tropical Storm Jeanne having initially affected some 5,000 hotel rooms in the East Coast of the country, another 15,000 continued fully operational. Even with these rooms out of service, the Dominican Republic, with its 56,378 hotel rooms, has the largest lodging inventory in the Caribbean. GRENADA As you are aware, Grenada was the first island in the Caribbean to suffer devastation caused by Hurricane Ivan, enduring a direct hit by this ferocious Category 4 storm, with the eye passing directly over the capital city of St. George's and the southern side of the island. Grenada suffered severe damage. Hurricane Ivan claimed the lives of 29 Grenadians, damaged 90 percent of the homes, as well as public buildings and schools, and brought domestic power supplies, telecommunication systems and other infrastructure to a grinding halt. It was the first major hurricane the island has seen since Hurricane Janet back in 1955, which didn't cause nearly as much destruction and hardship. Most of the major roads in Grenada have been cleared of debris and are again open to traffic. Security, which initially had been tested by widespread looting, is now firmly in place, as the dusk to dawn curfew, which was in effect, has been lifted in five parishes. Every effort is being made to ensure that food supplies and other necessities reach all Grenadians. The National Emergency Relief Organization is now decentralizing the distribution to every parish and so far over 60,000 people have received food and tarpaulins. From the tourism perspective, while it will take some time to fully recover, there is progress being made. Even the cruise sector is seeing real progress. The port is now operational and several cruise lines returned to the port in October. JAMAICA While some damage was unfortunately sustained by private homes and farmland, the tourism sector fared remarkably well, with minimal damage only in certain areas. Four out of six of our resort areas were virtually unharmed. Specifically, the impact was felt most around Negril and on the South Coast, resulting in some property closures that are ongoing until power can be fully restored. Meanwhile, ports are welcoming cruise ship arrivals and all air service is running on schedule. From Royal Caribbean comes word that the cruise line is rolling out a $3.95 per-person service charge for the Johnny Rockets restaurants on its five Voyager-class ships. A spokesman said the charge was tested this spring and summer on the Mariner of the Seas and the Navigator of the Seas and helped the line to better manage guest volume in the restaurant. Pat and I ate there on our cruise last month. We felt $3.95 was a bargain. I had a #12 (a great burger) and a Diet Coke. Pat had a chili cheese dog and a chocolate milkshake (the best!). They brought us fries and onion rings. And Pat had a sundae for dessert. A major meal for $8! Disney Cruise Line put the finishing touches on a renovation of the Disney Wonder that adds venues similar to year-old additions on the Disney Magic. One of the new spaces is a teen hangout called Aloft, which is hidden in the ship's nonworking smokestack and replaces the ESPN sports bar. (The space is called the Stack on the Disney Magic). Disney also added a Cove Cafe eatery and a Diversions sports and karaoke bar, which are for adults. The Ryndam will be "rededicated" Wednesday as the first Holland America Line vessel to incorporate the line's new Signature of Excellence features onboard. Madeleine Arison, the ship's original godmother and the wife of Carnival Corp. CEO Micky Arison, will rededicate the ship during a ceremony in San Diego. The Ryndam was christened to the fleet by Mrs. Arison in 1994. The Signature of Excellence enhancements have been started on all ships, but the Ryndam will be the first to have all of the new goodies, such as a Culinary Arts Cafe. The fleetwide rollout should be completed by the end of 2006. The Ryndam includes a new Culinary Arts Center-- a state-of-the-art demonstration kitchen where guests, seated theater-style, watch and learn from guest chefs or the onboard culinary professionals. Guests enjoy a close-up view of the cooking action as the sessions are shown live on large overhead plasma screens. The demonstrations are also broadcast so other passengers can watch from the comfort of their staterooms. The chefs focus on regional dishes and culinary traditions of the destination where the ship is cruising. In addition to the free demonstrations, guests can participate in hands-on cooking classes for $39 per person. Up to 16 guests can join each class and learn firsthand how to prepare gourmet regional dishes. The one-hour classes also will include a 10% discount for the Pinnacle Grill. NCL has announced that on August 10, 2005, Norwegian Jewel will sail a 13-day Mediterranean Treasures cruise visiting some of the Med's most beautiful ports, including, Lisbon, Livorno ( Florence/Pisa), Rome, Cannes and Barcelona, and Almeria, Spain. On August 23rd, she will offer a 12- day Baltic Capitals cruise sailing to the region's most pristine destinations, including Oslo, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Berlin and two days in St. Petersburg. Finally, on September 4th, Norwegian Jewel will head across the Atlantic to New York, on a 10-day Path of the Vikings cruise, visits along the way in Cobh, Ireland, Reykjavik, Iceland, St. John's, Newfoundland and Newport, Rhode Island. Also included in this file are the Norwegian Jewel's 11-day Canada/New England sailings, starting September 18th and the 7-day Eastern Caribbean/Ex. Western Caribbean voyages starting Sunday, November 6th. Cunard Line's RMS Queen Mary 2 has been awarded a maritime Oscar from Berlitz in their 2005 guide to Ocean Cruising & Cruise Ships. The famous liner's Queens and Princess grill accommodations were awarded five stars ranking Queen Mary 2 seventh out of more than 260 ships and besting the luxury vessels of Silversea, Crystal and Radisson Seven Seas. Queen Mary 2, which began service in January 2004, is the only ship in the world offering regularly scheduled transatlantic crossings between Europe and North America. The world's largest, longest, tallest, widest and most expensive ($800 million) liner offers accommodations for 2,620 passengers in degrees of style and comfort ranging from pampered elegance to almost unimaginable luxury. In fact, passengers who occupy the award- winning Grill accommodations, with butler service and all the other requisite trimmings of finery, enjoy consummate luxury. What other ship in the history of ocean travel has offered the option of a 9,000- square foot, bi-level living space with five bedrooms, 10 marble bathrooms, private balconies and exercise rooms? What other ship, since the heyday of the French Line a half century ago, has offered a bar devoted to the finest Champagne? And the world's first planetarium at sea with virtual- reality rides through the galaxies? See? Lots of exciting things to think about this week. And perhaps to plan, price and sail away? If so, call Pat! And until next week, I wish you all ??¦ Smooth seas and gentle ocean breezes, Teri |
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| << October19, 2004 - 7 Seas Cruise News |
November01, 2004 - 7 Seas Cruise News >> |
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