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Greetings, Cruise Fans, and welcome to the January 24 edition of the 7 Seas Cruise News. Pat has been under the weather, but he's back to 100% now, so no more delays answering your questions and quote requests. They sure have weird germies down here in Florida. Nothing serious and nothing that lasts too long, but frequent and icky little illnesses. Pat wants me to tell you about groups in this edition. It only takes 8 cabins to make up a group and the payoff can be large. Most cruise agencies don't tell you about this, but if you have 8 cabins, one passenger will sail for only taxes and port charges. Most cruise agencies will simply take that freebie for themselves, but not Pat. He believes it's your group, so it's your freebie. When you put a group together, it's your choice - pass along the savings to everyone in your group or use it for yourself. If your family is spread out around the country-or several countries-forming a group and cruising together is a perfect family reunion. We've done several of these with our four girls, aunts and uncles, sons-in-law, granddaughters, and various friends of the various children. By passing the group savings along, everyone wins. Another nice thing about groups is that Pat usually gets some points which he can spend on your group. Would you like a group photo? a cocktail party? a bottle of wine or chocolate-dipped strawberries in each cabin? He'll discuss the choices with you and help you decide. Of course, groups don't have to be families. Clubs, home owners' groups, church groups, alumni associations-even hobby clubs can enjoy cruising together. Meeting rooms are available, usually without a charge. There is state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment and you need only pay for the technician in order to use it. Your charitable group can use a cruise as a fund-raiser, too. Give Pat a call for more information or ideas. The toll-free number is 1- 866-424-1090. You can drop him a line at cruiseplanners7seascruises@msn.com , too. And remember, you are always welcome at our website: www.7seascruises.com. And now, some cruise news... Carnival Cruise Lines' SuperLiners Sensation, Holiday, and Ecstasy will each undergo extensive multi-million-dollar renovations following their charter to the U.S. government for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Following the charters, the vessels will resume four- and five-day service this spring, with the Sensation launching a brand new schedule from Port Canaveral, Fla., March 23, the Holiday returning to Mobile, Ala., year-round March 27, and the Ecstasy returning to Galveston, Texas, year-round April 8, 2006. Following its new program from Port Canaveral, the Sensation will return to New Orleans to resume year-round four- and five-day cruises Oct. 26, 2006. Highlighting the Holiday's extensive 20-day refurbishment, which will take place in Freeport, The Bahamas, will be a totally redesigned lobby area with new seating, and new carpeting and tile work throughout, providing a more comfortable and relaxing atmosphere. In addition to a host of cosmetic enhancements throughout the vessel, a new nine-hole miniature golf course will be added to Verandah Deck, providing guests of all ages with a fun outdoor diversion. The refurbishments of the 2,052- passenger Ecstasy and Sensation, which will take place in Mobile, Ala., will include new nine-hole miniature golf courses and new 1,600-square-foot Children's World play areas, part of the ongoing expansion of the line's top-rated "Camp Carnival" program. The Ecstasy and Sensation will also house new art galleries and 1,200-square-foot conference rooms. All of the Ecstasy's 1,026 cabins, including 54 suites, will be completely refurbished, while new lighting, flooring, wall coverings and dessert stations will be added to the Panorama Bar & Grill poolside restaurant. The ship's gift shop will be renovated, as well. The Sensation's 12,000-square-foot Spa Carnival facility will also be renovated and a poolside stage will be relocated to a covered area on Lido Deck, providing guests with more space for sunning and relaxing. Suites on the Sensation will also be refurbished to include an entirely new d?©cor and completely remodeled bathrooms. Queen Mary 2 is currently en route to Rio de Janeiro, after a delayed departure from Fort Lauderdale where one of the ship's four propulsion pods was taken out of service. As a consequence, it was unfortunately necessary to cancel the ship's calls at St. Kitts, Barbados and Salvador, as well as shorten the call in Rio de Janeiro. Following the Rio call, we now anticipate being able to visit all of our originally published ports of call, however with shortened stays in Montevideo and in Acapulco. Once again, we sincerely apologize for any disappointment of our guests caused by these itinerary changes. The way most news-reporting outlets tell it, some passengers are threatening to protes by not getting off the ship when it arrives in Rio on Thursday. Passengers met with the Captain and aired their dissatisfaction with Cunard's 50% refund offer for those sailing only from the U.S. to Rio. There feelings were that a 50% refund was insufficient for people who, in essence, got a one-way boat trip to Rio-without a single port call. Some people ask why passengers weren't informed that three ports would be skipped and allowed to disembark in Ft. Lauderdale. Turns out that couldn't happen. The Jones Act requires that foreign-flagged vessels that sail from and to U.S. ports must call at at least one international destination. Those who boarded in New York, therefore, could not get off in Florida without putting the ship in violation of the law and subjecting it to huge fines. What is it with these NCL ships and big waves? The Norwegian Spirit hit rough seas the first week of January, with waves approaching 50-feet and winds of about 75 miles per hour. There were reports of broken windows in some cabins and flooding in others. There were no reports of injured passengers. NCL arranged free cruises for those in damaged cabins. The Spirit proved to be an extremely seaworthy vessel. Few people even reported being seasick! Royal Caribbean's forthcoming Freedom of the Seas, the largest ship in the world, won't be an orphan for much longer. For the first time ever, Royal Caribbean is letting the average cruiser decide who will christen their newest ship through a Web- based poll, the second phase of a nationwide search. The contest is a new -- and unusual -- twist on an old tradition: Most of the time, cruise line execs simply choose a godmother, generally from the ranks of royalty or Hollywood ( past Royal Caribbean godmothers include Her Majesty Queen Sonja of Norway and Whoopi Goldberg) . Royal Caribbean chose the upcoming launch of this innovative, highly anticipated ship as an opportunity to instead honor an everyday person who has demonstrated exceptional courage, determination, inspiration and dedication. The three finalists for the honor are: Katherine Louise Calder, from Portland, Oregon, a foster parent to over 400 children in the last 27 years, acting as a "level three" special needs foster care provider and adoption advocate in her area; Ieta Kimbrough, from Indianapolis, Indiana, who survived homelessness and domestic violence as a young mother, and founded The House of Refuge in 2001 to provide support for victims of domestic violence in Indiana; and Robyn Raphael, from Roseville, California, who lost her five year-old son to neuroblastoma in 1998, and founded the Keaton Raphael Memorial to assist children and their families in the fight against pediatric cancer. The winner, who will be announced live from the Torino Winter Olympics in February, will preside over the inaugural ceremonies at the ship's official debut in May and can cruise once a year on any Royal Caribbean ship free of charge with a guest -- for the rest of her life! Freedom of the Seas, weighing in at 160,000 tons and carrying 3, 634 passengers, will debuts in May. Remember to give Pat a call this week! It's time to talk spring and summer vacation cruises - and if you want a ship like the new Freedom of the Seas, don't hesitate. This behemoth is going to be very, very popular this summer! Until next week, think of each day as a pleasure cruise. Do what you must. And enjoy what you do! Smooth sailing, Teri |
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February06, 2006 - 7 Seas Cruise News >> |
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