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Greetings, Cruise Fans, Welcome to the April 30th edition of the 7 Seas Cruise News. Tonight we have a couple of industry tidbits, but first a few words from your man in the cruise business, Pat Crane, Mr. Discount! Pat wants to remind everyone that when you get a 7 Seas Cruise price, it is THE price you pay. We have no booking fees, ticket fees, mailing fees, research fees, or any other silly ways to inflate your price. Pat gets his price from the cruise lines (and he earns the lowest cruise rates based on volume), then he cuts his commission to give you the best possible price. Okay, sometimes he can't cut commission-but that's because a couple of the cruise lines tell him he can't. Otherwise, he cuts every commission to give you the biggest break. And we like to offer service, too. Pat is by the phone virtually morning to night, seven days a week. And when he gets to leave town, he forwards the office phone to his cell phone. This is important in case you have a problem or need the answer to a question. He wants to be accessible! So, call him. The toll-free number is 1-866-424- 1090. You can write him at cruiseplanners7seascruises@msn.com or stop by the website at www.7seascruises.com. And now, to get you in the cruising spirit (and aren't we all??) here's a little cruise news... The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye, senior United States Senator from Hawai`i, will give the keynote address and officially name NCL America's newest U.S.-flag ship at her christening on May 20th in Los Angeles, California. Pride of Hawai`i is the third in a series of U.S.-flag cruise ships sailing under the NCL America brand and built for the Hawai`i market in furtherance of the "Hawai`i Cruise Ship Initiative," legislation sponsored by Senator Inouye and passed by the United States Congress in February 2003. At just over 93,500 gross registered tons, carrying more than 2,400 passengers, and costing over half a billion dollars, Pride of Hawai`i is by far the largest and most expensive U.S. flagged passenger ship ever built. It will employ a crew of over 1000, bringing the total seagoing workforce of NCL's U. S. flagged fleet to approximately 4000, making NCL America the largest private employer of American seafarers in the world. The economic impact of the three ship fleet has been estimated by PriceWaterhouse Coopers to be nearly $830 million a year and an additional 20,000 jobs, including over a quarter of that impact occurring in other parts of the U.S. outside of Hawai`i. Holland America Line' ms Maasdam emerged from drydock in Freeport, Bahamas on April 26, becoming the last ship in the fleet to receive major enhancements in the company's $225 million Signature of Excellence initiative. Physical ship upgrades included the addition of the Exploration Caf? - powered by the New York Times, Culinary Arts Center presented by Food & Wine Magazine, refurbished Crow's Nest observation lounge, and an expanded Greenhouse Spa and Salon. This fall, Signature of Excellence will be completed when the ms Oosterdam receives its Culinary Arts Center. The Maasdam is Holland America Line's 12th ship to receive the Signature of Excellence enhancements. The ms Ryndam, ms Prinsendam, ms Zaandam, ms Rotterdam, ms Westerdam, ms Statendam, ms Amsterdam, ms Volendam, ms Zuiderdam, and ms Veendam have been transformed by Signature of Excellence enhancements. The ms Noordam was delivered with Signature of Excellence enhancements in place when it entered service in February 2006. The Oosterdam, which already features Signature of Excellence soft good and service enhancements, will go into drydock to receive its Culinary Arts Center in September 2006. The Culinary Arts Center presented by Food & Wine Magazine, where more than 60 celebrated chefs and culinary experts per year will provide cooking demonstrations and intimate classes in the new state-of-the-art onboard show kitchen. Guests in the audience can get an up-close view of the cooking action on large, plasma screens, while other guests also may watch these events from the comfort of their staterooms. The Maasdam also has all new cabin amenities such as plush Euro- top Mariner's Dream Beds, flat screen TVs, DVD players and deluxe waffle/terry cloth robes. Other items featured in staterooms are magnifying make-up mirrors with halo lighting, massage shower heads, professional hair dryers, and complimentary fruit basket. Younger cruisers now enjoy supervised, age-specific activities in a more comprehensive Youth Program and expanded Club HALŪ designed for kids ages 3 to 12. The younger ones can enjoy creative activities at art tables, watch big-screen television and play on a fun slide. Older kids, ages 8 to 12, have an area featuring arcade games, air hockey, foosball, Karaoke, Internet access and Sony Playstations. The previously enlarged Youth Center has been upgraded to include Signature of Excellence amenities that provide a full youth program for toddlers, tweens and teens. Offering the most voyages of any cruise line across the Gulf of Alaska, Princess will deploy a record five vessels on its signature route in 2007. Joining the Gulf fleet for the first time will be the intimate Pacific Princess, adding a new level of options to a season that features five ships ranging in size from 670 to 2,670 passengers. Princess ships will sail on a total of 85 Gulf of Alaska departures on two different seven-night itineraries. Diamond Princess, Sapphire Princess, Coral Princess and Island Princess return for another season of "Voyage of the Glaciers" cruises between Vancouver and Whittier, while Pacific Princess joins the lineup with alternating seven-night northbound and southbound itineraries, featuring new mid-week departures. The 2,670-passenger Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess will be deployed on 35 voyages that depart on Saturdays from Vancouver or Whittier and feature calls at Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway with daylight cruising of Glacier Bay and the 16 glaciers of College Fjord. In addition, the 1,970-passenger Coral Princess and Island Princess will offer 36 departures of the same itinerary, sailing on Mondays. For the first time, Princess will offer Wednesday departures across the Gulf. The 670-passenger Pacific Princess will offer 14 sailings with port calls at Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway and daylight cruising of Glacier Bay and College Fjord on southbound routes. On northbound sailings, the passengers will enjoy a new itinerary calling at the same ports and featuring three spectacular glacier viewing opportunities -- cruising through Tracy Arm Fjord, Hubbard Glacier and College Fjord. Gulf of Alaska passengers can choose from a variety of three- to nine-night land packages to create a comprehensive 10- to 16- night land/ sea vacation in the heart of "The Great Land." Two popular deluxe escorted tours will feature additional capacity in 2007 due to customer demand. All Princess Alaska tours offer at least two nights at either of the two Denali- area Princess wilderness lodges, ensuring that travelers enjoy more time among the wilderness and wildlife they came to see. Passengers can travel directly to their Princess lodge from the ship with Princess' exclusive Direct to the Wilderness rail service. This unique service features trains waiting right at the Whittier cruise ship dock to offer passengers the only same-day luxury rail service between the ship and Denali Park. Princess' Alaska cruisetours include accommodation at the line's five exclusive wilderness lodges, with scenic riverside settings in some of the "Great Land's" most desirable locations. The recently expanded Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge and Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge house Denali- area visitors, while the company's Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge and Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge are set, respectively, among the dramatic beauty of the Kenai Peninsula and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. The Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge also offers quality accommodations in the heart of Alaska's interior with views of the Chena River. Picked your next cruise yet? Call Pat for a price, or just call him for some great vacation ideas. And, dear cruise friends, that's about it for tonight. Pat and I enjoyed a free weekend at the Ritz Carlton at beautiful Amelia Island and that was a long 6- hour drive home! So, until next week, smooth sailing, Teri |
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| << April25, 2006 - 7 Seas Cruise News |
May08, 2006 - 7 Seas Cruise News >> |
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