Cruise Notes From Mary - June 10, 2011

Cruise Notes from Mary
Mary Engram, CTA/MCC Travel Consultant
June 10, 2011


Holland America's Maasdam renovated
Holland America Line's 1,258-passenger Maasdam has completed a multimillion-dollar renovation under its Signature of Excellence program. Maasdam is HAL's fifth ship to receive the enhancements. Upgrades already have been made to the Veendam, Statendam, Rotterdam and Ryndam. The Maasdam refit added 29 lanai staterooms, plus 16 staterooms near the spa were converted into spa staterooms. The ship also received new stateroom furnishings, bathroom upgrades and Canaletto, a complimentary Italian restaurant. The Mix lounge area with three bars (Martinis, Champagne and Spirits & Ales) replaces the Maasdam's piano bar and casino bar

Legend of the Seas to resume Japan calls this summer
Royal Caribbean International's Legend of the Seas will resume port calls to Japan, starting with its seven-night July 30 sailing from Hong Kong to Tianjin, China. Calls will be made in Okinawa and Fukuoka. Legend of the Seas is the cruise line's only ship dedicated to the Far East year-round. Most guests are from the region. The line noted that the Chinese government lifted its travel ban to Japan earlier this month, after the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that hit the island nation on March 11

With the Chinese market booming, Royal Caribbean adds big ship
Royal Caribbean International demonstrated its confidence in the Chinese market on Wednesday, announcing that the 3,114-passenger Voyager of the Seas will reposition to Shanghai in June 2012. The Voyager and the Legend of the Seas will both serve the Chinese market. The 2,076-passenger Legend will return to Shanghai in March 2012 for its fourth season. The Voyager will come to Shanghai from Europe and offer four- to 10-night sailings to ports in Japan and Korea throughout summer 2012. The ship will depart for Sydney in October. Royal Caribbean said it plans to offer a wider variety of tailored onboard products next year to Chinese guests, including more Chinese language services, authentic Chinese food and “culturally appropriate” recreational activities and duty-free items.

Azamara Club Cruises Offers Upgrades, ChoiceAir Credits, Savings
Azamara Club Cruises is offering complimentary stateroom upgrades, ChoiceAir credits and savings on combined voyages on departures from October through December. In addition, single-occupancy fares have been reduced to 125 percent.
Up-market travelers can enjoy a complimentary upgrade to a Club Veranda stateroom when they book an Ocean-view stateroom aboard one of 16 autumn voyages aboard Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest. Additionally, Azamara is offering ChoiceAir credits of $500 per guest with a new booking in a Club Ocean-view, Club Veranda and Club Continent Suite stateroom. Travelers making a new booking in the higher category Club Ocean Suites and Club World Owner’s Suites receive $1,000 ChoiceAir credit per guest.
Additionally, travelers who book two or more consecutive voyages will get double Extended Voyages savings of $600 per stateroom, per voyage, for eight-night or shorter itineraries and $800 savings per stateroom, per voyage, for nine-night or longer itineraries.
The offers are valid for all new U.S. and Canadian individual bookings with departures from October through December, excluding Azamara Journey’s Oct. 25 and Nov. 8 voyages. Bookings must be named, deposited and created between June 1 and July 31. The code “SEN5” must be used at time of booking. Offers are subject to availability

Carnival to sail short Canada cruises from Boston and NYC
Carnival Cruise Lines will operate a series of short Canada cruises from Boston and New York in the summer of 2012. The 2,974-passenger Carnival Glory will sail four- and five-day cruises from June 10 to July 26 from Boston, and from Aug. 1 to Sept. 3 from New York. The four-day cruises will visit Saint John, New Brunswick, and five-day sailings will call in Saint John and Halifax, Nova Scotia. There will be one seven-day cruise departing June 3 that will call in the two Canadian cities plus Portland, Maine.

Princess Cruises Offers Sought-After Zumba® Classes FleetwideZumba® Fitness, the exhilarating dance-fitness program that blends red-hot international music and contagious choreography, is rolling out to the entire Princess Cruises fleet. Since December, passengers on many Princess ships have been joining in the hip-shaking fun with complimentary classes taught by licensed Zumba instructors. The classes quickly became among the most popular activities on board, and now additional staff members will complete the official training to become licensed Zumba instructors as the program expands fleetwide

Norwegian Epic to Offer Dual Embarkation Ports in Western Med
Norwegian Cruise Line will offer a second embarkation port to the Norwegian Epic’s seven-day Western Mediterranean cruises from April 29 through Oct. 17, 2012. Guests can board the cruise in either Barcelona or in Civitavecchia, the port for Rome. The cruise that starts in Civitavecchia will call on Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy; Nice (Villefranche), France; Provence (Marseille), France; and Barcelona. The cruises from Rome are now open for booking with balcony staterooms starting at $1,299 per person, double occupancy

Crystal Cruises Launches New “Private Adventure Option”
Crystal Cruises is introducing a private shore excursion alternative for guests. Crystal’s new “Private Adventure Option” lets guests take already-organized excursions for small groups.
Beginning this August/September, parties of two, four or six can opt for a personal guide and private vehicle to tour Ephesus, Pompeii or the city of Barcelona, for example, on a shore-side itinerary crafted by Crystal’s land programs team and its worldwide tour operators.

Launching Aug. 14 and Sept. 13 on Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony, respectively, the Private Adventure Option can be pre-reserved at least one week prior to embarkation by emailing crystaladventures@crystalcruises.com. Prices will be at least 25 percent more than group tour fares, but vary depending on excursion length, vehicle size, guide costs and sites visited

Delta and United Continental raise bag fees
Delta and United Continental have upped their baggage fees for checking a second bag on transatlantic flights. The first checked bag on both airlines remains free of charge, but checking a second bag on United Continental now costs $70. Delta now charges $60 for a second bag if checked online and $75 if checked at the airport. The fee previously had been $50 for both carriers for a second checked bag to Europe. Delta no longer will carry second checked bags free of charge on flights to Mexico and Central America. The fee is now $30. Delta also has done away with its discount of $2 or $3 for domestic customers who checked bags online. The fees remain at $25 for the first bag and $35 for the second, whether checked in online or at the airport.

Kids Sail Free to the Mexican Riviera

Great news! Kids 17 and under sail FREE* when traveling with two full-fare Guests in the same verandah stateroom in Categories 4A-6A on most Mexican Riviera sailings Oct. 30 - Dec. 18, 2011. Government Taxes and Fees not included.
Thought for the Month
If money and time weren't issues, where and how would you cruise?

Love and Hugs

Mary Engram,
Your Personal Travel Consultant
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