Posts from — March 2010

By Frans Hansen, President, The Cruise Web.

Patrons of New York City’s famous Tavern on the Green restaurant may have read this month that the city just won a legal battle to use the rights to this famous name when it plans to re-open the refurbished venue in Central Park this year.

It was several years ago at Tavern on the Green that I first realized how much some people love shows.  After putting our names on page one hundred and something of the guest list, my ex-wife and I were shuffled up the stairs to a tiny window-less waiting loft with bar, that seemed to be holding upwards of 50 guests. Descriptions aside, it was quite a charming experience.  Overtaken by the infectious spirit of the place, we starting speaking with the delightful couple seated on our laps … excuse me … I meant to say “seated at the table next to us.” [Read more →]

The Cruise Web hosted its first ever Gold Medal Event this past February to help celebrate the recent winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The event took place online as past passengers of The Cruise Web were invited to nominate their favorite Cruise Web employee for a “gold medal” of service.  Employees were nominated by their past passengers as a sign of appreciation for the hard work they had done for the nominating past passenger.

The nomination period ran from February 18th through March 17th and The Cruise Web employees accrued over 330 nominations.  After the nominations were tallied, the winners were announced at the monthly team meeting on Tuesday, March 23. [Read more →]

Just in, there’s been a new delivery at The Cruise Web.  Karolina Shenton, The Cruise Web’s Marketing and Operations Manager, and her husband just had their first baby!  Little Sophie Shenton arrived on January 16th at 6:33pm, weighing 7lbs 1oz, and measuring in at 19 ¾ inches!  We’re pleased to report that the new parents couldn’t be happier!

To give baby Sophie a warm welcome, each Cruise Web team member signed a piece of fabric that was sewn into a beautiful baby quilt by none other than the Cruise Web’s own Linda Iseli.  We can’t wait until this little one gets her sea legs!

By: The Cruise Web, Inc.

During a recent Seminar at Sea onboard Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas attended by myself and several fellow agents, I was lucky enough find out just how much time, money, and sheer sweat goes into the large-scale production shows on a cruise. By coincidence, on the first day of our cruise one of the agents from my office ran into an old friend of his, Drake DeLucca. They had gone to performing arts school together, and Drake just happened to be one of the stars of the show on our cruise! Because of Drake and Royal Caribbean’s generosity, we all had a very revealing view of what happens behind-the-scenes to put on a production costing millions of dollars.

In the main theater we toured the lighting and sound booth, which was worthy of any venue on Broadway. We also saw the entire backstage area, including props, costumes, ropes and harnesses for the “In The Air” show where the actors are flying 20 feet over the audiences’ heads, even the trapdoor areas under the stage where the actors just ‘disappear’ during a number.   Liberty of the Seas (and many of her sister ships) also has the “On Air” Club which is a fantastic area dedicated solely to karaoke. Imagine being shown how to work the computers for the singers, and singing onstage with a professional – it was such a memorable experience and we are all so indebted to Drake for his generosity and taking so much of his personal time to show us a little taste of his life on a cruise stage. [Read more →]

By: The Cruise Web, Inc.

Everyone knows that there is plenty of food on a cruise. Most people think of food for the body only.  But let’s look at food for the brain.  There is plenty of that on a cruise, too.

You always mean to set aside time to learn something new, but it’s hard to do with a full schedule.  A cruise is actually a good time to learn something new.  Do you have a lot of pictures you’ve downloaded to your computer and don’t know what to do with them?  There are classes on how to organize your pictures and how to edit them.  Want to learn something new on the computer?  There are classes for all levels of use.

Have you wanted to learn to play bridge?  There are classes for that.  You can take pottery classes, jewelry making classes and all types of arts and crafts lessons.  Do you like the towel animals in your cabin?  There are sometimes classes to learn how to make them. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Holland America Line.

Captain Keith Colburn of Discovery Channel’s Emmy-nominated “Deadliest Catch” series is scheduled to sail as part of the guest-enrichment program on the June 18, 2010, Alaskan Explorer Voyage aboard Holland America Line’s ms Zaandam.

The seven-day cruise sails round-trip from Seattle, and calls at Glacier Bay, Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan, Alaska, and Victoria, B.C., Canada.

During his cruise, Colburn will share his expertise on how to select, crack and clean fresh crab, while Holland America Line’s executive chef demonstrates different ways to prepare and serve this delectable Alaska seafood favorite. Colburn is one of more than 65 celebrated chefs and wine experts scheduled to sail in 2010 and share their expertise in the line’s Culinary Arts Center, presented by Food & Wine magazine. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Carnival Cruise Lines.

Sixthman and Carnival Cruise Lines have teamed up to present a new vacation experience called Perfecto at Sea, an unparalleled floating electronic music festival hosted by legendary DJ and producer Paul Oakenfold. This cruise will take place aboard the 2,052-passenger Carnival Inspiration Sept. 30 – Oct 4, 2010.

Perfecto at Sea is a four-day journey that will span the shores of Tampa to beautiful Grand Cayman. Synonymous with high-caliber nightlife, Oakenfold’s Perfecto experience will feature the epic sounds that he’s become known for, but rather than the traditional club or festival experience, the beats will hail from under the stars as guests cruise the Caribbean. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line.

Norwegian Cruise Line announced that Norwegian Epic, its most innovative Freestyle Cruising ship to date, will feature the largest spa facility and fitness center at sea, totaling more than 31,000 square feet. The ship’s luxurious Mandara Spa will feature 24 treatment rooms, two private couple’s villas, two exotic steam Rasul rooms, a DIY Scrub Experience, Hydrotherapy Courtyard & Thermal Suite, full-service salon, fitness center and barber shop.

In another first for the line, Norwegian Epic features 39 spa suites, deluxe balcony and balcony staterooms, which are accessed via private key-card and offer complimentary access to the enclave surrounding Norwegian Epic’s luxurious Hydrotherapy Courtyard & Thermal Suite and state-of-the-art fitness center. For an added indulgence, eight spa suites each feature an in-room whirlpool. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Celebrity Cruises.

Conventional wisdom advises the use of special eye protection when viewing an eclipse. But none of that was necessary for the thousands of individuals who lined the banks of Germany’s River Ems on March 11th to see Celebrity Eclipse embark on a fascinating adventure in cruising.

The third of five in Celebrity Cruises’ stylish, $3.7-billion Solstice Class fleet, Celebrity Eclipse made her first departure from the innovative Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, to embark on what is very likely to be the most challenging ride of her life: an event known as the “conveyance.”

At the tightest points along the way, there are as few as two feet between each side of the 1,040-foot-long, 121-foot-wide Celebrity Eclipse and the locks. The depth of the river and the draft of the ship allow for mere inches – or less – beneath the ship. These factors and others led Celebrity Cruises and Meyer Werft to essentially create a science all their own, carefully monitoring the position of the moon and tidal conditions to identify the precise moment when the depth of the river is ideal for the ship to set sail from the shipyard. [Read more →]

Courtesy of The Yachts of Seabourn.

The Yachts of Seabourn has announced that Seabourn Quest will be the name given to its newest vessel. Poised to become the third of three new ultra-luxury yachts launched by the award-winning, small-ship cruise line in as many years, Seabourn Quest will debut in June 2011.

Seabourn Quest will be the third iteration of the sleek and widely admired design that first appeared on Seabourn Odyssey in June 2009. Indeed, Odyssey has been hailed as a “game-changer for the luxury segment.” The second sister ship, Seabourn Sojourn, will debut next June in Greenwich, England, and is already selling strongly for its maiden year. Together, the three new vessels represent a capacity increase of over 200 percent for the line in a three-year period – underlining the company’s confidence in a burgeoning demand for top-shelf cruising options in the leisure travel market. At 32,000 GRT and carrying just 450 guests each, the three new Seabourn yachts are the smallest cruising vessels being built by any major cruise company, in keeping with the line’s strategy of offering travelers highly personalized service in a relaxed, sociable and luxurious atmosphere.

[Read more →]