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Carnival Cruise Line’s Launches Wild Winners Tournament
2008-01-22 03:05:00
If you have a little gambling in your blood, and you like to cruise, then Carnival Cruise Line s may have just the vacation for you. The world’s largest cruise operator is teaming with the Ocean Players Club, a casino rewards program for guests sailing aboard the World’s Leading Cruise Lines, to host its 2008 “Wild Winners â€� Tournament, comprised of a series of slot, blackjack and poker tournaments. Anyone can enter, and it promises to be a wild time for all. It also doesn’thurt that the prize pool is over $25,000. Come on board and get your share. Read on to see which ships are hosting the tournaments.

Carnival Cruise Line?s Launches Wild Winners Tournament
2008-01-22 03:05:00
If you have a little gambling in your blood, and you like to cruise, then Carnival Cruise Line s may have just the vacation for you. The world?s largest cruise operator is teaming with the Ocean Players Club, a casino rewards program for guests sailing aboard the World?s Leading Cruise Lines, to host its 2008 ?Wild Winners ? Tournament, comprised of a series of slot, blackjack and poker tournaments. Anyone can enter, and it promises to be a wild time for all. It also doesn’thurt that the prize pool is over $25,000. Come on board and get your share. Read on to see which ships are hosting the tournaments.

Carnival Cruise Line Sets Awards Record for 2007
2008-01-21 02:40:00
Carnival Cruise Line s wasn’t standing on its laurels as the world?s largest cruise operator in 2007 alone as it made history by winning a record number of awards during the past year, especially in the final weeks of 2007 with several additional accolades from a variety of esteemed organizations. Just a few weeks ago, I wrote about Carnival receiving a number of awards from Porthole Magazine, but now they have taken it one step further. They have been recognized by at least a half dozen more cruise and travel organizations in one form or another as the best at what they do in a number of different categories.
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Carnival Cruise Line Sets Awards Record for 2007
2008-01-21 02:40:00
Carnival Cruise Line s wasn’t standing on its laurels as the world’s largest cruise operator in 2007 alone as it made history by winning a record number of awards during the past year, especially in the final weeks of 2007 with several additional accolades from a variety of esteemed organizations. Just a few weeks ago, I wrote about Carnival receiving a number of awards from Porthole Magazine, but now they have taken it one step further. They have been recognized by at least a half dozen more cruise and travel organizations in one form or another as the best at what they do in a number of different categories.
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Regent Seven Seas Cruises to Feature Deepak Chopra
2008-01-19 13:08:00
With more and more cruisers becoming health conscious these days, and more active, fitness seeking Americans getting out on cruises, more than ever maintaining personal health and fitness in today’s fast-paced world requires innovative strategies from the experts. The world’s #1 small-ship operator by readers of Condé Nast Traveler, Regent Seven Seas Cruises , will provide guests with a means to achieve physical and mental well-being with a June Alaska voyage featuring celebrated doctor, spiritualist and life-extension guru Dr. Deepak Chopra , who will host “Grow Younger, Live Longer” aboard 700-guest, all-suite, all-balcony Seven Seas Mariner®.
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Regent Seven Seas Cruises to Feature Deepak Chopra
2008-01-19 13:08:00
With more and more cruisers becoming health conscious these days, and more active, fitness seeking Americans getting out on cruises, more than ever maintaining personal health and fitness in today’s fast-paced world requires innovative strategies from the experts. The world’s #1 small-ship operator by readers of Condé Nast Traveler, Regent Seven Seas Cruises , will provide guests with a means to achieve physical and mental well-being with a June Alaska voyage featuring celebrated doctor, spiritualist and life-extension guru Dr. Deepak Chopra , who will host “Grow Younger, Live Longer” aboard 700-guest, all-suite, all-balcony Seven Seas Mariner®.
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Holland America Cruises to Feature Regional Cuisine
2008-01-18 12:46:00
Holland America Line has recognized that one of the highlights of traveling to a new destination can be the local cuisine. On their cruise ships, they are taking the dining experience in a new direction. Cruisers sailing aboard Holland America Line?s premium cruise ships in 2008 will savor new menus reflecting their ship?s current itinerary. Master Chef Rudi Sodamin has incorporated flavors, techniques and recipes from around the world on new menus fleetwide. Whether it’s coconut scallops in the Caribbean and Spanish tapas in the Mediterranean to chicken mole in Mexico, you’ll feel more involved with the local culture when you dine. The itineraries in the Caribbean and Mexico will be the first to experiment with the new concept.
More About: Regional , Feature , Cruises , Cuisine

Crystal Cruises Teams With Pocket MD for Mobile Health Records
2008-01-17 14:57:00
Crystal Cruises had added a new service that allows you to take your medical records with you on a cruise, thus enabling you to get emergency treatment without delays obtaining your personal medical records. Crystal Cruises is now partnering with PocketMD, a confidential HIPAA-compliant (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) service that uses exclusive, state-of-the-art technology to store your medical information on a pocket-sized CD.
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Princess Cruises Challenges Dinner Impossible On The Sapphire Princess
2008-01-16 22:39:00
Chef Robert Irvine is always up for a challenge, and Princess Cruises is always ready to oblige the most demanding cruisers. In one of his first challenges for the third season of Food Network’s , popular series “Dinner : Impossible ,” Chef Irvine accepted an Alaska size challenge by Sapphire Princess’ culinary team, the results of which will be revealed Wednesday, January 16 at 10 pm ET/PT. Viewers can tune in to see if the noted chef was successful with his surprise challenge to cook for the 2,900 passengers who were aboard the ship during an Alaska cruise this past summer. Tune in tonight and see what happens.

U.S. Government Updates Cruise Travel Requirements
2008-01-15 13:46:00
The Cruise Lines Internatiional Association sent it’s membership an update yesterday on the newest changes to traveling on cruises, and out of the country. There are several changes that the U.S. government will be implementing in the coming months that will impact cruisers who will be sailing in the coming months. If you do plan to travel, please review the following information and make sure you comply before your trip. Keep in mind lead times for obtaining certain forms of identification and travel documentation.
More About: Government , Travel , Updates

Princess Cruises Adds New Shore Excursions in Alaska
2008-01-15 03:14:00
Princess Cruises is adding 37 new shore excursions to their Alaska 2008 programs,, and have made these tours available in Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Valdez, Seward, Kodiak, and on the Connoisseur Route Tours. Some of the new highlights include whale watching, a five-course Alaska feast, and the art of glass making and promise to make your Alaska trip one to remember for a long time to come. On a Princess Alaska cruise these are just some of the unique “Great Land” experiences available through the line’s shore excursion program in 2008. There are always surprises. On my last trip to Alaska, while eating lunch at a salmon bake, we had the pleasure of seeing a bear cub who had wandered in, and climbed a tree next to the diner and was sitting on the metal roof. Had to be careful though, as Mom had to be close by. The cub was scared off before we had a chance to see the bigger version.
More About: Princess , Shore , Princess Cruises

Crystal Cruises Adds Culinary Tours To Wine And Food Cruise
2008-01-13 19:45:00
The Crystal Serenity’s May 2008 Wine and Food cruise has recently announced the addition of an unprecedented number of wine and food-themed excursions and onboard presentations by the culinary world’s biggest names. The 12-day voyage from London to Rome offers 18 epicurian Crystal Adventures in the French wine country, Portugal, Spain and the French Riviera, including a much anticipated two-day overnight call in Bordeaux. As an added bonus, Master Chef André Soltner and Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein are making themselves available for a number of special occasions onboard the cruise. If you can’t get away for the full 12 day cruise, then you can experience 2 new six-day segments of the cruise. Crystal has something for just about everyone on this special journey.
More About: Tours , Cruises

Silversea Cruises Releases 2009 Voyage Itineraries
2008-01-13 02:31:00
Ultra-luxury Silversea Cruises , owners of four award winning, all suite cruise ships, has announced its 2009 cruise schedule and has opened all of them for reservations. The company’s ships will be visiting over 320 different ports in 108 countries on cruises that will sail from 7 to 92 days on over 140 itineraries. Any cruiser can obtain a complete day-by-day itinerary for any ship and sail date at www.silversea.com.
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Princess Cruises Makes Movie History with SenArt Films
2008-01-11 11:52:00
Princess Cruises will become a promotional partner of SenArt Films when its makes history in the movie industry by presenting onboard screenings of a new motion picture before its release to the public. Princess Cruises and SenArt Films Releasing will partner for unprecedented sneak previews of the upcoming dramatic comedy “Bonneville”, with its star loaded cast. Princess Cruises Senior Vice President Jan Swartz, and SenArt Films Releasing founder, Robert May made the anouncement on Wednesday, and the film will debut on the Princess fleet in February.
More About: Movie , History , Princess

Royal Caribbean Cruise Guests Are Invited To Dance
2008-01-11 01:07:00
Royal Caribbean International is inviting its cruisers to experience the “Dancing With The Stars feeling on the Explorer of the Seas. Two time champion Cheryl Burke of the TV show Dancing With the Stars is teaming up with Louis van Amstel, the Emmy-nominated choreographer for the ABC-TV show to enable guests on board to compete in some of the more popular dance disciplines like the Rumba, Samba, Cha-Cha, Waltz or Swing. From there they can dance into the spotlight in “Invitation to Dance ,” the cruise line’s newest production show featuring guests as stars aboard Explorer of the Seas. “Invitation to Dance” transports the world of professional ballroom dancing to the high seas as only Royal Caribbean can do. I guess “Get out there” now refers to the dance floor.
More About: Guests , Royal , Cruise

Oceania Cruises Nautica Visits Austalia
2008-01-10 01:55:00
Oceania Cruises ? Nautica arrived in Australia today culminating a 45 day cruise from Rome to Sydney. The cruise ship is here to begin her inaugural season of sailings to Australia and New Zealand. While here for a brief two day stay in Sydney, she will paly home to hundreds of top-producing Australian travel agents and media as the ship and the line?s award-winning product are showcased Down Under for the very first time. Oceania expects Australia to supplement an already well rounded global inventory of itineraries.
More About: Oceania

Windstar Gives You Cannes Film Festival and Grand Prix Together
2008-01-08 23:01:00
Feel like you want to belong with the rich and famous? Now you have the opportunity to witness all the glamour and excitement that is the Cannes Film Festival , and while you’re there, take in the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix during Windstar Cruises? one of a kind, 8-day cruise aboard the elegant, 312-guest msy Wind Surf departing May 18, 2008, from Nice, France. All the movie stars and world class race car drivers you can handle in one week, plus the romantic, unforgettable coast of the French Riviera and the land of princes and princesses. The last time I was there, courtesy of one of my cruise line partners for an inaugural, I could feel the excitement in the air everywhere I went, and it wasn’t during this famous week. I can only imagine the electricity that fills the air during these two events. Things we only read about in the tabloids will come to life before your eyes. Two highlights on the “Things to do before I die” list.
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Carnival Changing the Branding of Fun Ship Cruising
2008-01-08 02:01:00
Carnival Cruise Lines will debut new 30 second TV ad spots as part of their multi-million-dollar advertising makeover which give the world’s biggest cruise line a modern new approach into the company?s various advertising, marketing and collateral materials. Utilizing rock music, multi-generational appeal, travel agent learning/marketing kits, televison, newspapers and trade publications, Carnival is attempting to get the word out as quickly as possible to as many people as possible. Carnival has long been the front runner in the cruise industry, and this appears to be their answer to the new mega campaigns by Royal Caribbean/Celebrity and NCL.
More About: Carnival , Branding , Changing , Ship , Carnival Cruise Line

Regent Seven Seas Cruises Takes Adventure to a New Level
2008-01-06 15:00:00
Regent Seven Seas Cruises wants to maintain its ranking as the “#1 Small-Ship Cruise Line” in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2007 Readers’ Choice Awards poll, and will do so on its 2008/2009 cruise itineraries by offering some of the most unusual means of land travel on earth today. These pre- and post-cruise land programs bring to you the best of land, air and sea transportation in the form of helicopters, ballons, racing yachts, rafting and elephants! Showing why they are always cutting edge in cruise travel experiences, read on to see what Regent Seven Seas Cruises has in store for even the most adventuresome travelers.
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Alaska Cruises On Sale At Princess
2008-01-05 13:58:00
Princess Cruises is making it much easier to see our 50th state this year. As you read in my blog a few days back, Princess was recently voted the best cruise line in Alaska in the Travel Weekly Readers’ Choice Awards. Well, now Princess Cruises has launched a special Alaska Wilderness Sale , which will offer significant savings for travel to “the Great Land.” With wave season just around the corner, Princess is attempting to woo early cruise researchers with special pricing, offering discounts on Princess cruisetours that combines the best of the state by land and sea. Now you not only can see our most beautiful state first hand, but you can save money doing it. Princess Cruises has long been a leader in Alaska, and a major contributor to keeping Alaska pristine and unspoiled for many generations to come. Take advantage of these great specials if you are planning an Alaska cruise this year. Most everyone I have spoken to who has returned from Alaska having j...
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Crystal Cruises Adds Three New Golf Adventures and Competition
2008-01-04 15:51:00
After experiencing some very positive results from its 2007 Golf cruises, the leading luxury cruise specialist Crystal Cruises has expanded the number of Golf Theme Cruises for 2008. By adding three 11- and 12-day Golf Cruises, Crystal cruisers will be able to tee off and perfect their swings in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, and the maritime coast of Canada and New England. If the thrill of playiong golf at these three new golf courses isn’t enough, golfers can compete in Hole-in-One competitions for a chance to win a free Crystal cruise.
More About: Competition , Adventures

Hurtigruten Cancels Fram Cruise After Bumping Glacier
2008-01-03 16:02:00
Hurtigruten Cruise s has announced that the MS Fram is cruising to Ushuaia, Argentina, due to an engine problem causing the ship to drift into a glacier front at Brown Bluff on December 28th, and suffer damage to one of the lifeboats (see photo to left). According to reports from the ship, no passengers incurred any injuries and the ship suffered no other damage. The ship was able to restart its engines quickly and made its way to Chilean base Frei at King Georges Island for inspection. After receiving the inspection report, Hurtigruten officials decided to send the ship back to Ushuaia. It will arrive there today.
More About: Hurtigruten , Glacier

Princess Cruises Introduces Chef?s Table Fleetwide On Larger Ships
2008-01-03 02:18:00
Due to the early positive feedback aboard the Emerald Princess in 2007, Princess Cruises ’ Chef ’s Table , the exclusive dining experience will now be introduced across most of the line’s fleet. Princess is paving the way of exclusive interaction with the ship’s executive chef, and seeing and being a part of the onboard preparation experience while relaxing and tasting and smelling the delights being served onboard the Princess ships. Princess also involves the Maitre d’ in the process, and culminates the evening with the excutive chef and the participants at their table for discussion and feedback. This is a can’t-miss for years to come.
More About: Ships

Viking River Cruises Proving Most Popular In Travel Weekly
2008-01-01 15:24:00
Viking River Cruises has been voted as the best river cruise line in the world by the travel agents polled in Travel Weekly . The is the second consecutive win for Viking River Cruises, and reinforces that travel agents receive good feedback, and a lack of complaints, from cruisers who travel on river cruises. River cruising is quickly becoming the most popular form of cruising now, and Viking River , Amadeus Waterways, and Uniworld are the top three players in the market.
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Crystal Cruises 2008 World Cruise Offers A Wealth of Knowledge
2007-12-31 22:25:00
Crystal Cruises has solved the problem question of “What am I going to do today?” Crystal Cruises’ 108-day 2008 World Cruise is offering an expanded curriculum of “how to” lectures and instruction on everything from money management and memoir writing to photography and the science of sleep. And talk about a line up of celebrity hosts, entertainers and lecturers, Crystal offers best-selling biographer and former chief foreign affairs correspondent for Time magazine, Chris Ogden; economist Jane Bryant Quinn, named one of 25 of the World Almanac’s most influential women in America; nine-time Tony Award-winner Tommy Tune and his Manhattan Rhythm Kings; and Academy Award-winning actress and History of the World, Part I star Cloris Leachman to headline the entertainment and more than 200 classes on board Crystal Cruises’ 14th annual World Cruise from Los Angeles to London departing January 19, 2008.
More About: Wealth , Crystal , Knowledge

Holland America Is Still The Best Overall Cruise Value
2007-12-30 21:11:00
Holland America Line has once again been named as the Best Overall Cruise Value, making it 16 years in a row for the premium level cruise line. The award was given by World Ocean & Cruise Liner Society (WOCLS) members, who by most standards would be considered cruise experts as they all have cruised at least twice a year. That’s more than some travel agents who sell cruises on a regular basis. This award is justification that the new Signature of Excellemce program is garnering worldwide acceptance among veteran cruisers. The program is an excellent example of top of the line amenties at value driven pricing. Holland America remains competitive in all aspects of the cruise market.
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Disney Cruise Line Introduces New Caribbean Cruises
2007-12-29 14:16:00
Disney Cruise Line is expanding their product offerings in the Caribbean to St. Croix and Tortola. Disney made the announcement earlier this month that they would have two new eastern Caribbean itineraries for 2009. I’m sure Disney is just making sure future and past cruise guests will have something new to look forward to, much the same as they do in their parks from time to time. Disney has always taken pride in giving guests more choices for vacation entertainment, and now offer the beautiful islands of the Caribbean and with special offerings for 2008 and 2009.
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Cunard Line Brings 3 Cruising Queens To New York
2007-12-28 13:24:00
Get your cameras and home video equipment ready for one of the most historic days in maritime cruising. For the first time ever, and Cunard says at this point the only time, Cunard is bringing its three classic cruise Queens to New York City at the same time. Queen Elizabeth 2, soon to be headed to Dubai, the flagship of the fleet, Queen Mary 2, and the newly christened Queen Victoria will all be departing New York harbor on January 13, 2008. The regal fleet is scheduled to depart at 6:30 p.m. Queen Mary 2 will depart from her home port, Brooklyn Cruise Terminal while QE2 will depart from Pier 92 and Queen Victoria will depart from Pier 88 both at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. Then, the three Queens will rendezvous and sail past the Statue of Liberty during a spectacular fireworks celebration at approximately 7:00 p.m.
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Holland America Line Offers Great Cruise Itineraries and Savings for 2008
2007-12-27 23:40:00
If you plan on taking advantage of a great Holland America special for 2008, you may want to get on the phone to your favorite travel agent today. Not only will you be rewarded with one of the fiest cruises you will ever take, but cruisers who book Holland America Line through the end of February will be rewarded with exceptional savings on select sailings across all Holland America Line cruise destinations. With the View and Verandah promotion, clients can upgrade from an inside stateroom to an outside for as little as $100 depending on the sailing.
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Cruise West Casual Cruising Just Got Some Upgrades
2007-12-26 23:22:00
Cruise West recently added balconies and an art program to one of its cruise ships, and casual cruising just took a step upward. Don’t worry though, you can still kick back, and enjoy the scenery and the educational experience that is their hallmark. Cruise West , the leader in small-ship cruising, has completed the refurbishments and upgrades of the 138-guest Spirit of Yorktown. Four Balcony-category cabins were created that include private teak-floored balconies with enough room for a café table and chairs for two. Numerous additional upgrades include redecoration and renovation of public corridors, lobby areas, and the panoramic Observation Lounge, the ship?s Living Room. The combined cost of all renovations is more than $2 million.
More About: Upgrades , Cruise , Casual