Posts from — November 2009

Courtesy of Cunard Line.

As part of Cunard’s partnership with the Tribeca Film Festival, the iconic ocean liner company is pleased to welcome acclaimed filmmakers Griffin Dunne and Gary Winick on the 11 November Transatlantic Crossing from Southampton to New York aboard Queen Mary 2. This year, Cunard was recognized as the Official Cruise Line of the Tribeca Film Festival, of which both film industry insiders have been active participants for a number of years. With this sailing, they join a distinguished list of luminaries and tastemakers that have sailed a legendary voyage with Cunard, operator of The Most Famous Ocean Liners in the World. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line announced that Legends in Concert, the original and world’s greatest live tribute show, will be featured for the first time at sea in more than a decade on Norwegian Epic, the company’s largest and most innovative Freestyle Cruruising ship to date, debuting in June 2010. A staple on Las Vegas’ center strip for the past 25 years, Legends in Concert is known as the pioneer of live tribute shows and has assembled the greatest collection of live tribute artists and celebrity look-alikes in the industry. Norwegian Epic also welcomed Howl at the Moon, the world’s greatest rock ‘n roll dueling piano show that encourages audience participation.

“Norwegian Epic has already made headlines with its world-class entertainment offerings, featuring Blue Man Group, Cirque Dreams” and Dinner and The Second City. Now, with the addition of Legends in Concert and Howl at the Moon, we have raised the bar even higher, taking cruise ship entertainment to a whole new level, on par with major entertainment hubs like Las Vegas and New York,” said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line’s chief executive officer. “With their wide range of incredibly talented superstar tribute artists and celebrated entertainers, Legends in Concert will appeal to music fans of all ages, making this a must-see show for our guests. Howl at the Moon gives guests the chance to sing along to music from the “70′s to today in a highly interactive show.”

Legends In Concert
Legends in Concert is a live musical celebration featuring the world’s greatest celebrity tribute artists such as Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Tom Jones, Tina Turner, Madonna, Garth Brooks, Rod Stewart, Cher, Barry White, Tim McGraw and Shania Twain, among many others. Legends in Concert on Norwegian Epic will feature three celebrity tribute performers taking the stage in the Epic Theater for six 45-minute shows over three days during a seven-day cruise. In addition, a cabaret-style show will be performed on three additional nights in the Manhattan Room, the ship’s New York-inspired supper club, providing an unprecedented dining and entertainment experience on Norwegian Epic. The celebrity performers will change every four months, keeping the show fresh and exciting.

Each universally-renowned Legends in Concert performer not only looks and sounds like the star they portray, they transform themselves through hours of practice at their craft. This is accomplished by using their own natural voices and every detail is taken into consideration from choreography, to hair, make-up and mannerisms.

“We are thrilled about this new long-term multi-dimensional partnership with Norwegian and are honored to be invited to perform weekly on board this exceptionally innovative ship, joining the most prolific entertainment line-up ever assembled on the high seas,” said Brian Brigner, chief operating officer for “Legends” producer On Stage Entertainment. “We will have the highest quality tribute acts in the world performing on Norwegian Epic, and they will be joined by the always electrifying Legends singers and dancers, and a rockin’ live band.”

Howl at the Moon
Performing four times per cruise in Headliners, Norwegian Epic’s comedy club, Howl at the Moon is a total entertainment experience where the talented piano players not only entertain the guests; the guests become part of the show. The fun is centered around two baby grand pianos and a full out rock show with Howl’s entertainers playing the best music from 70′s rock to hip-hop for four hours per show. Howl at the Moon, with multiple locations across the United States, encourages people to live out their inner rock star, so guests should be ready to clap, sing, dance and howl.

“We are very excited to bring our high-energy entertainment to the high seas,” said Jimmy Bernstein, Howl at the Moon founder and chief executive officer. “Howl’s mission is to entertain every guest with our ever-evolving rock show and to create a party atmosphere that can be enjoyed by everybody. I cannot wait for Norwegian Epic’s guests to experience what Howl at the Moon is all about!”

Courtesy of Princess Cruises.

Princess Cruises has debuted an innovative array of digital documents designed to transform the way passengers plan for and learn about their upcoming cruise. The all-new electronic format will deliver more information about their cruise than ever before, arriving conveniently by email and right to their computer desktop from the time of booking and continuing through departure.

The timely digital documents include a brand-new email series filled with personalized pre-cruise information, a downloadable Princess Countdown Connection^SM widget that delivers useful and entertaining information to a passenger’s computer, personalized online luggage tags, and customizable shore excursion eBooks. The change from printed information to fully digital documents applies to all North American passengers on voyages departing on or after January 21, 2010. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Seabourn

The over 6,000 luxury travel advisors who make up the prestigious Virtuoso Travel Network selected The Yachts of Seabourn as the Best Small-Ship Cruise Line for the second consecutive year. The 2009 repeat award was presented on August 20 at an awards dinner during the consortium’s annual Travel Mart in Las Vegas.

“This honor from the Virtuoso advisors really does have a special significance for us,” said Pamela C. Conover, Seabourn’s president and CEO, “because it represents the unique relationship we share with our professional partners. In a way, nobody knows our company better than do professionals like the Virtuoso advisors, who recommend us to their clients and put their own reputations on the line along with ours,” she continued. “When they tell us we’re the best, it truly means a lot.”

“We always appreciate and highly respect our advisors’ picks for Virtuoso’s annual Peer-to-Peer awards,” said Virtuoso CEO Matthew Upchurch, CTC. “The Yachts of Seabourn was awarded this top honor for a reason: They deliver innovation and top quality products as evidenced by the new Seabourn Odyssey. The Network shares this high level of excitement as shown by sailings with each more than 100 guests during the inaugural year and maiden world cruise. On behalf of Virtuoso, I congratulate the entire Seabourn team for their achievement.”

Since Seabourn won last year’s Virtuoso award, the company’s fleet of intimate, all-suite vessels have gone on to garner the top spot in the small-ship category in the 2008 Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Poll and to be voted the World’s Best Small Ship Cruise Line in Travel + Leisure’s annual World’s Best Awards. During that same interval, Seabourn launched the 225-suite Seabourn Odyssey, the first new ultra luxury vessel to debut in over six years, which has been hailed as “a game-changer” for the luxury cruising segment. A second new vessel, Seabourn Sojourn, will debut in 2010 and another yet-to-be-named sister in 2011.