Posts from — April 2009

Frans Hansen, founder and president of The Cruise Web, proudly displayed his new touch-screen smartphone around the office this month. With access to synchronized business emails, contacts, calendar, and tasks, plus 3G Web speeds and personal features like the built in camera, Hansen claims to further pad his “hi-tech” lead over his technology-savvy young children.

Hansen’s only challenge is the sporadic thumb key gaff on the touch-screen keyboard.  However, Hansen claims to have a plan, “I’m sending my thumbs on a spa cruise, to slim down and tone up.  When they return with their improved dexterity, there will be no stopping me.”
The thumbs, themselves, could not be reached by voice, but they did provide this joint email statement — “We can#t wait for our fiirsf vacatiien alone. It’s goin9 to bee a lblast!”

The multitude of entertainment and spa options at sea does make choosing a cruise for his thumbs a little more difficult, though, admits Hansen.  “I want the best for them and I will miss them,” laments Hansen, “but I don’t want my thumbs having too much fun without me”.  To ensure that his thumbs come back toned but also rested and rejuvenated, Hansen says he will likely pick a smaller and more intimate ship for his thumbs’ retreat.

By Frans Hansen, President, The Cruise Web.

“Best Vacation Ever”, was ringing in my ears.  My two beautiful and amazing six and eight years old boys (yes, I am admittedly biased) were singing the infamous SpongeBob SquarePants tune, from the Nickelodeon cartoon, at the top of their lungs, taking some artistic license with the words. While this song has never made my top downloads, it was glorious music to my ears.

Months earlier, I had a dilemma on my hand. I had promised to take three generations of my family on an Alaska vacation, and I wanted it to be an outstanding experience for every single person.  Leaning towards first satisfying my mother, the most discriminating in our group (don’t worry, Mom, I still love you), I secured space on the luxurious and comfortable all-suite, all-balcony, Regent Seven Seas Mariner, for a 7-day cruise from Seward to Vancouver.  [Read more →]

By Andy G., Cruise Consultant, The Cruise Web

An old friend called me over the weekend. “Andy, Lisa and I have decided to take a cruise. Can you get us on one?” Jim asked. “Of course.” I replied, “Are you taking the kids?” … “No, this is our vacation. We need some time off. Her parents are keeping the boys. Just find us a good one, not one like Geoff took.”

As a cruise consultant, I hear this kind of thing from time to time. And though Jim has not given me much information yet, he is off to a good start in finding the perfect cruise for Lisa and himself.

You see, a mutual friend of ours, Geoff, took a cruise for his honeymoon about ten years ago, before I was in this business. He and his bride enjoyed seeing Alaska, but the cruise was not what he had hoped or expected. In Geoff’s words, “We were the youngest on the ship by about 50 years.” [Read more →]

Explorations Book Club Debuts on Holland America Line
Courtesy of Holland America Line

An enriching new book club program will debut on Holland America Line’s sailings of 14 days or more starting in May 2009. As part of the cruise line’s ongoing Signature of Excellence initiative, the Explorations Book Club will launch with the popular novel “Like Water for Chocolate” on the Panama Canal ms Veendam sailing. Book club gatherings will be implemented on select sailings of 14 days or more starting in the fall, with a different novel selected for each itinerary.

Lively book discussions will be hosted by the on-board librarian in the Explorations Café powered by the New York Times. Guests interested in joining the discussion will have time to read the selected book as the chosen title will be posted online prior to each sailing.

The on-board librarian will plan and facilitate two to three discussions for each book. Books chosen will relate to the sailing destination whether by author or topic. For example, books under consideration are “In a Sunburned Country” by Bill Bryson for Australia itineraries or “Saving Fish from Drowning: A Novel by Amy Tan” for Asia cruises.

On Veendam this May, guests traveling through the Panama Canal and along the Mexican coast can enrich their travels with the fiction novel “Like Water for Chocolate” by Mexican Novelist Laura Esquivel. Originally published in Spanish as “Como agua para chocolate,” the book has been translated into thirty languages with more than three million copies in print worldwide.

Courtesy of Royal Caribbean

Cruisetours offer the best of land and sea vacations by combining your Alaska, Europe, Australia/New Zealand, Asia and South America cruise with an exciting land tour adventure. And as anyone who’s traveled before knows, coastal areas are beautiful, but some of the most interesting cities and sights are often inland.
 
On a cruisetour, you’re able to see everything – fabulous ports of call along the coast, and magnificent cities and sights located inland.

All of Royal Caribbean’s Alaska, Europe, Australia/New Zealand, Asia and South America cruisetours are 100% escorted by expert Tour Guides and have been designed to maximize your time spent sightseeing on many of the inclusive tours, as well as give you the opportunity to explore on your own. And in most cases, you can decide to take the land tour portion either before or after your cruise.

But the bigger decision will be where to take your adventure. Royal Caribbean offers twenty-one cruisetour packages to Alaska, two cruisetour packages to the Canadian Rockies – two to the premier resort town of Whistler – four cruisetour packages to Europe, two cruisetour packages to Asia, three cruisetour packages to Australia/New Zealand and two cruisetour packages to South America.

In addition to your cruise vacation, the land portion of the cruisetour includes accommodations in some of the finest hotels in Alaska, 4 and 5 star hotel properties in Europe, Australia/New Zealand, Asia and South America; as well as many inclusive activities such as city tours, a visit to Denali National Park in Alaska, Quicksilver catamaran tour to the Great Barrier in Australia, a day exploring the Terracotta Warriors in China, and a zodiac ride through the Iguazu Falls in Argentina, just to name a few.

If you want the best of both worlds – a fantastic cruise vacation and a land tour adventure – a Royal Caribbean cruisetour is just what you’re looking for.

Torn between going on a cruise and visiting a family destination in Orlando?
 
Now you can do both!

Book a 7 or 10/11-Night vacation adventure. Combine a 3/4-Night Bahamas or 7-Night Caribbean cruise out of Port Canaveral with a 3- or 4-Night stay at Universal Orlando Resort for the ultimate family vacation.

You get the best of both land and sea with these packages which means you’ll have that much more time to spend together and so many more memories to share!

What’s included?

• All transfers throughout your trip
• Admission to both Universal Studios’ and Universal’s Islands of Adventure’ for up to one week
• FREE admission to select live entertainment venues at Universal CityWalk
• FREE Universal ExpressSM ride access to SKIP THE REGULAR LINES at both Universal theme parks, when you stay at an on-site hotel at Universal Orlando.

Why should you book?

• Cheaper than booking the two separately
• Easy to book, we take care of everything!
• Packages can be customized to fit your needs

 

Courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) revealed another industry first to debut on its next generation of Freestyle Cruising ship, Norwegian Epic, which will include an expansive Aqua Park with the only tube slide and largest bowl slide at sea — The Epic Plunge. The line also unveiled seven decks of Freestyle Family Fun with highlights including a 33-foot high, 64-foot wide extreme rock climbing wall and the first ever rappelling wall at sea; the most bowling lanes at sea with six in two venues; a mixed-use sports deck with the ability for guests to engage in eight different athletic activities; as well as three separate kids’ and teen activity areas and the first squash court at sea. In addition, Norwegian revealed the next generation of Freestyle Dining with 14 restaurant choices – the most at sea – and 18 bars and lounges. [Read more →]

Celebrity Equinox, one of the newest ships to sail in Europe, meets “Ancient Empires” on 13-night voyages from August 18 through October 23, 2009, roundtrip from Rome (Civitavecchia), with visits to Naples/Capri; Athens (Piraeus) and Rhodes, Greece; Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey; Haifa and Ashdod, Israel, and Alexandria, Egypt. Celebrity Equinox also will present a 10-night “Best of Europe” itinerary departing from Southampton, England, August 8, 2009, with visits to Paris (Le Havre) and Cherbourg, France; Barcelona, Cartagena and Vigo, Spain; Lisbon, Portugal; Gibraltar, U.K.; and Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy.

With 10 extraordinary dining venues; a half-acre Lawn Club with real, growing grass; live glassblowing shows; hip nightclubs; distinctive entertainment, and an overall style and design that countless press have described as “dazzling,” “breathtaking” and “stunning,” Celebrity Equinox offers enough that guests could be tempted to never get off the ship.