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| << May02, 2003 - 7 Seas Cruise News |
May26, 2003 - 7 Seas Cruise News >> |
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Hi again, cruise fans! Welcome to another edition of 7 Seas Cruise News. I took last Sunday off to celebrate Mother's Day ('though I didn't get to see any of my chickens that day), so this week I have two weeks of news for you. But first, a hearty welcome to all of our new subscribers. Consider yourself piped aboard! Pat asked me to tell you about some great prices on the Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas in June (as low as $729 for a 7-night from Galveston). For those interested in Alaska, there is still time to choose your cruise. And, if you'd like to sail the Vision of the Seas on 7/6, rates are as low as $599 inside or $799 outside. Celebrity has announced some amazing $300 airfares (from lots of cities) for those interested in a 10- or 11-day Hawaii cruise this fall. Call Pat for details on these-or any other cruises. You can reach him toll-free at 1-866-424-1090, or drop him an e-mail at cruiseplanners7seascruises@msn.com. And remember, the Website is always open. Visit us at www.7seascruises.com A big thanks to Ron K. of Hot Springs, Arkansas for sharing his memories of the Northern Ranger cruise up the Labrador coast. Sounds like a wonderful adventure! If any of you have favorite cruises you'd like to share with me, please write me in care of Pat. Ron K. and I would be interested in hearing about trips to some of the more "out of the way" corners of our planet. But, let's hear about your favorites wherever they are! Pat says he has received a number of questions about which ships and cruise lines are best for families, in terms of children's programs, etc. Well, obviously Disney (but it is SO expensive!). Just as good are Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Just about as good are NCL and Princess and Celebrity. If you're traveling with children, forget the likes of Crystal. The kids will be bored silly. Stick with the big mass market cruise lines and everyone will have a great time! Even teens like the Carnival and Royal Caribbean ships because there is so much to do and teens are divided realistically by age, so the 16+ crowd are not forced to mingle with the pre-teen and young-teen crowd. And now, some news??¦ Carnival Cruise Lines will inaugurate "Fun Ship" cruising from Jacksonville, Fla., when the new 2,124-passenger Carnival Miracle debuts with a series of three-, five- and six- day cruises from the Florida port in March 2004. Following the Carnival Miracle sailings, Carnival will launch Jacksonville's first year- round cruise program with four- and five-day voyages aboard the 1,452-passenger Holiday in Oct. 2004. The Holiday, which currently sails from New Orleans, will be replaced by a larger vessel at that port. The 46,052-ton Holiday will become the first cruise ship sails on an inaugural six-day western Caribbean cruise to Cozumel, Calica and Freeport on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2004. Following this special one-time sailing, the Holiday will launch a year-round program of four-day Bahamas and five-day western Caribbean cruises beginning with a five-day voyage departing Oct. 23, 2004. Four-day weekend cruises depart Thursdays, calling at Freeport and Nassau, while five-day cruises departing Mondays and Saturdays call at Key West and Nassau. NCL announced that its new U.S.-flagged ships will fall under another brand name--NCL America. The NCL America brand will include two ships sailing all-inter- island voyages (no trips to a foreign flagged nation like Kiribati's Fanning Island are necessary with the American flag). The first is known internally as PA1 . It began construction under U.S. Lines' ambitious Project America and NCL bought the uncompleted vessel when the other line went out of business. An official name will be announced later. PA 1 begins service in July 2004 with seven night inter-island itineraries out of its Honolulu homeport. The existing Norwegian Sky has been designated the second "NCL America" ship. Norwegian Sky will, when the time comes, be reflagged as an American ship and will hire an all-U.S. crew. Its itineraries will consist of three- and four- day inter-island voyages from Honolulu, beginning in October 2004. As it stands right now, American citizens won't need passports for these vessels. In the meantime, two more ships in the NCL fleet will also serve the Hawaiian market, but, as foreign flagged vessels, they'll be required to make the journey to Fanning Island, so you'll need a passport to sail them. Norwegian Wind will return to Hawaii in May 2004, offering 10- and 11-day trips on a year- round basis. Norwegian Star, which has been sailing 7-day Hawaiian itineraries, will continue offering the same, although it will reposition to Alaska for the summer of 2004. Baltimore is catching on as a cruise port and this year has lured Celebrity, NCL and Carnival. Carnival Miracle, that line's newest, will be positioned in Baltimore on a seasonal basis, sailing a total of 14 weeklong trips to Key West and the Bahamas. Carnival Miracle will sail out of Baltimore from April 25 - May 30 and then again from September 5 - October 24. Ports featured will be Key West, as well as Nassau and Freeport, in the Bahamas. P&O's newest spin-off cruise line--the ultra- casual "Ocean Village"-- launched with an inaugural out of Palma de Mallorca. The Ocean Village "cruise line" at this point consists of just one ship, formerly P&O's Arcadia. The concept is different. The 1,600-passenger 63, 500-ton Ocean Village, which will sail Mediterranean itineraries in warm weather months and in the Caribbean during cold ones, is the "cruise for people who don't do cruises, " according to a company statement. The ship is geared for British travelers who don't have many "freestyle" cruise options, claims it offers "dress down holidays." The former Arcadia underwent a few changes en route to its transformation to Ocean Village; the ship got a new bistro, a panoramic view gym and extra on-deck eating options. More news of idiots at sea. Four passengers sailing aboard a Norwegian Sea cruise late last month found their trip cut short when they were placed under arrest for possession of drugs. According to the U.S. Attorney's office in St. Thomas, a "routine search" of the ship, then docked at Havensight, uncovered the drugs. In the first instance, passengers Christopher Brown and Nadine Willis admitted to owning a suitcase found with "54 flat taped wrapped packages and one brick like package" -- and which was field tested and proven to contain 30.78 kilograms of cocaine. They admitted that they body-carried the narcotics onto the cruise ship while in Curacao. On the same day -- in the same port of call -- two other passengers were found to be in possession of drugs. Venris Clarke and Melissa Peak had "53 flat taped wrapped packages and six brick like packages." Also field-tested, it was revealed that they had body-carried on board nearly 30 kilograms of cocaine. Peak admitted that she would be paid $10,000 to body carry narcotics off the Norwegian Sea when the ship arrived in Bermuda. In all four cases, the penalty for their drug offenses is a minimum mandatory sentence of ten years to life imprisonment, a $4 million fine and a five year period of supervised release. The ex-passengers have been remanded to custody in St. Thomas until they receive a pre-trial detention hearing. Carnival Conquest, which has spent the spring cruising from a temporary homeport in Gulfport, Mississippi because of a power line safety issue in New Orleans, is headed back to the Big Easy on a year-round basis. Entergy, the company responsible for raising power lines so that Conquest could safely sail under them has said it will begin the work of burying the lines under the river in June. The power lines will be raised about 23 1/2 feet initially so that they are at least 217 feet above the mean high water stage -- that's four feet more than the minimum. Conquest itself measures 207 feet high. Guess that's it for this week. For those of you who followed our Georgia off-and-on-and off again move, thanks for your good wishes, but the move is officially cancelled now. Health and economic reality have changed our minds. Thanks for all of your good wishes. We will keep everyone informed, but for now at least, we are Back Home Again in Indiana-just in time for race flags and parades and all the hoopla that is May in Indiana! Until next week, smooth sailing! Teri |
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| << May02, 2003 - 7 Seas Cruise News |
May26, 2003 - 7 Seas Cruise News >> |
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