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| << October27, 2003 - 7 Seas Cruise News |
November04, 2003 - 7 Seas Cruise News >> |
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Greetings, Cruise Fans, Welcome to another edition of the 7 Seas Cruise News. A hearty welcome to all of our new subscribers. Please let us know what you'd like to see more of in YOUR weekly cruise newsletter and I'll do my best to deliver! Pat is still blushing from the lovely compliments he received this week. It seems that some new clients weren't aware of Pat's cruise pricing policies-a discounted price, complete with all taxes and port charges and without any silly booking fees, document fees or mailing charges. Well, these people were shocked to find out that Pat's price is a total price-and they heaped buckets and bunches of praise on him for being such a square dealer. Yes, that's our boy! People are also delighted to learn what most of you already know-if you book with Pat and the price of your cruise goes down, he'll get the lower price for you. Again, most agents don't or won't, but Pat happily will! We had a good question come in this week, too. Phyllis from Kansas City asked, "What's the story on group bookings? Aren't there some free cabins available?" Well, Phyllis, there are. Most group bookings require 16 passengers in double occupancy cabins (8 cabins)-and the 16th travels for free (plus port charges and taxes, of course). The "free" passage is offered in the same category that most of your cabins are booked in, so if everyone is in a balcony, so is the free passenger. Same with insides or outsides. Even suites. Pat can also book people into pre-existing groups and although you won't get a "free" passage, you also don't need a big group. When he can put you in a group, you become eligible for other group amenities-like free champagne or photo credits, or even sometimes on-board credits you can use for shore excursions or gift shop purchases. And now, some recent cruise news??¦ Antarctica Landing Expedition Gives Passengers the Opportunity to Visit Important Research Station Passengers on Princess' upcoming first ever Antarctic sailing will be able to add another unique experience to their adventure to the planet's most remote continent. Now, after their four days of cruising through the scenic islands and wildlife areas of the Antarctic Peninsula, passengers can choose to add an exclusive shore excursion that will fly them to visit one of Antarctic's oldest and most important research stations. The new " Antarctica Landing Expedition," which departs from the Chilean port of Punta Arenas, will first be offered for passengers on Royal Princess' December 19 Antarctica/South America cruise. The tour will subsequently be available to passengers on Royal Princess' Cape Horn/Strait of Magellan cruises in January and February 2004. The exciting 12- hour excursion takes passengers soaring over Tierra del Fuego on a flight to Villa Las Estrellas Research Station in Antarctica. Here, guests will have approximately four hours to enjoy an unforgettable encounter with the landscape and wildlife of Earth's harshest continent. The visit includes a tour of the center, one of the continent's oldest and most important meteorological stations. Passengers will also trek to view the area's wildlife reserves and glaciers, plus visit a colony of sea lions and, weather permitting, hike along the beach to Ardley Island. Wildlife in the area and surrounding waters include baleen and killer whales, Weddel and Antarctic seals and Papua and Adelie penguins. Royal Princess' 24- day South Atlantic/Antarctica/South America cruise travels between Cape Town and Santiago, taking in some of the least-visited areas in the Atlantic and Southern Oceans along the way -- with four days of cruising among the islands and channels of the southernmost continent. The itinerary begins with an overnight in Cape Town on December 19, followed by a cruise around the Cape of Good Hope. In the South Atlantic, the ship will call at Tristan da Cunha, an intriguing outpost that is home to fewer than 300 inhabitants. Royal Princess will then sail among the islands and channels surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula, including Elephant Island, named for its abundance of elephant seals; Esperanza Station, Deception Island, Intercurrence Island and Sigma Island (subject to weather and ice conditions). The ship turns north to call at Port Stanley on the Falkland Islands, then on to Cape Horn and Ushuaia in Argentina. Other calls, as the ship heads north along the Chilean coast to Santiago, include cruising the Beagle Channel, Punta Arenas (the departure point for the new excursion) Puerto Montt, and cruising Seno Eyre Fjord. Limited space is still available Princess' 24-day Antarctica/South America voyage, with fares starting at $3,578. The new Antarctica Landing Expedition shore excursion is available for $1,599 per person. New Costa Ship to Debut Costa Fortuna will enter service in mid- November 2003 and will be the first large passenger ship to emerge from the shipyards in Sestri Ponente since the Michelangelo in 1965 - the same yard that built the legendary "Rex" ( 1932), "Andrea Doria" (1951), "Cristoforo Colombo" (1953), " Federico C" (1957) and " Leonardo da Vinci" ( 1958). Costa Fortuna is 105,000 gross tonnage. Her maximum capacity is 3,400 passengers, including 2,716 in lower berths. The new vessel has a total of 1,358 cabins of which 857 oceanview (63%), including 64 suites, 458 with a large balcony and 335 with a porthole. The ship offers guests a stunning array of facilities for relaxation and entertainment: 11 bars, 4 restaurants, a theatre on three floors, 3 swimming pools, casino, disco and ballroom.The Costa Fortuna is dedicated to the legendary Italian liners that provided regular passenger services between Italy and the Americas. The public areas on the ship bear the names and the years of entry into service of some of the most famous and elegant Italian ocean liners. For example, the ship's theatre, which extends over three decks, is named after the Rex launched in 1932, two of the restaurants are called "Ristorante Raffaello 1965" and " Ristorante Michelangelo 1965", while the main bar is the "Gran Bar Conte di Savoia 1932". These historic passenger ships provided inspiration for the American architect Joe Farcus in the styling and design of Costa Fortuna's public areas. In addition, there will be scale models of some of these transatlantic liners on board. A 6-metre version of the Michelangelo will be exhibited at the entrance to the restaurant of the same name, while a 3-metre model of the Rex built in 1932 will grace the theatre. Other memorabilia from the legendary Italian liners includes copies of posters and advertisements from the time - mainly the 1920s and 1930s - which will be displayed in some of the public areas. For more recent history, on the other hand, just glance up at the ceiling of the main lobby, called "Atrio Costa", where you will be able to admire 26 two-to-three metre models of all the ships that have been members at one time or another of the Costa fleet: a tribute to the first (and still the leading) Italian cruise company. The passenger decks of Costa Fortuna are named after some of the European and American ports where Costa's liners used to make stopovers. Costa Fortuna is one of two sister ships commissioned by Costa Crociere from Fincantieri, entailing an outlay of approximately one billion euros. Costa Magica, sister ship of the Costa Fortuna, is also currently under construction at the Sestri Ponente shipyards and will enter into service at the end of 2004. Pat took me to task last week when I was describing Warnemunde, Germany. As he correctly pointed out, the reason for the ship' s port call there is to allow passengers to take a train trip to Berlin. Sorry about that! For many of our fellow passengers on the Oosterdam, I'm sure this was a highlight of the entire voyage. Actually, I didn't hear anyone rave about the Berlin trip. Some said they were glad they had the opportunity to visit the city, but it is a lengthy train ride and since it was Sunday, a lot of the attractions were closed for the day. Still, if you want to see Berlin, this is your opportunity. Next stop on our voyage was the amazing port of Tallinn, Estonia. Fairytale roof tops and cobblestone streets and wonderful people, only recently emerged from behind the Iron Curtain and finding their way in the western world-these are the highlights of the walled city of Tallinn. Highlights for us were a half-day cab adventure through the city and area with the husband of an English teacher. His near-perfect English was ideal for us! The Estonians, it turns out, sing like the Welsh (and those from Naples). They hold a giant sing-in every year with thousands of voices raised and singing groups from throughout Estonia participating. We saw the facility designed for it, as well as a number of Soviet-era buildings that have been converted to friendly uses-like an Olympic barracks transformed into a sea-front resort hotel. Sadly, it still is a utilitarian green! In Tallinn, we loved the apothecary-in business continuously since 1400 and still dispensing medicines-and several fascinating antique stores, where we bought some Soviet medals, including Mother's Medals, and Pat got a Soviet Major's hat. They had German WWII antiques, too. Fascinating! I still wish I'd bought the beautiful copper tea samovar I saw in one of the shops. Well, I guess that's why you go back, isn't it? Sidewalk cafes abound. So do reasonably priced handmade sweaters and other charming souvenirs. Don't miss the churches-which are delightful inside and out. Guess that's it for this week. If you'd like to talk about a cruise, give Pat a call. The toll-free number all over the U.S. is 1-866- 424-1090, or you can write him at cruiseplanners7seascruises@msn.com and you are always welcome to browse at the website: www. 7seascruises.com Until next week, may gentle breezes follow you wherever you go. Teri |
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| << October27, 2003 - 7 Seas Cruise News |
November04, 2003 - 7 Seas Cruise News >> |
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