Sept 9 Cruise Notes from Mary

Cruise Notes from Mary
Mary Engram, CTA/MCC Travel Consultant
September 9, 2011

Happy Friday Everyone

People mover at Miami's airport set to open
The MIA Mover, an elevated train opening Sept. 9 at Miami Airport, will transport passengers between the airport and the rental-car center. The MIA Mover, which can carry 3,000 passengers per hour, will replace shuttle-bus service between the airport and the rental-car center. Travelers renting a car will take moving walkways on the terminal’s third level to the MIA Mover’s airport station and board one of eight train cars to the rental car facility.

Royal Caribbean’s 2012 Asia cruises deployment schedule for Voyager of the Seas
The ship’s inaugural Asia season will start on May 26, 2012, in Singapore, followed by sailings from Shanghai (Baoshan) and Tianjin in China.

Voyager of the Seas will offer vacationers a wide range of short cruises – three-, four-, five- seven- and eight-night itineraries in Asia – to longer, 14- to 18-night cruises in the South Pacific to New Zealand and Australia.
Voyager of the Seas will start its Asia 2012 season with a sailing from Singapore, followed by itineraries out of Shanghai (Baoshan) and Tianjin, to ports including Fukuoka and Kobe in Japan, and Busan and Jeju in Korea until October. Voyager of the Seas will begin 14-night sailings from Sydney, Australia on Nov. 24, 2012, to ports in Australia and New Zealand, while itineraries in early 2013 will include stops in Tasmania and the South Pacific.

Cruises will include the seven-night “Pearls of the Orient” and “Jewels of Asia” sailings, calling at various destinations in Japan and South Korea. Vacationers also can choose a repositioning cruise aboard Voyager of the Seas from Singapore to Fremantle, Australia, departing October 22, 2012, and returning on March 9, 2013. Voyager of the Seas will reposition to begin its winter season from Sydney on November 5, 2012.

Royal Caribbean Set to Charter Legend of the Seas to Chinese Group
Royal Caribbean will charter Legend of the Seas to the Xiamen municipal government and China World Cruises (CWC) for four months in 2012. During the four-month charter, Royal Caribbean will operate and market 21 three- to eight-night sailings from Xiamen, as well as Shanghai, Tianjin and Hong Kong, to ports of call in Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan and Korea. The inaugural five-night charter sailing will depart from Hong Kong on March 20, while the first departure of guests from Xiamen will be on March 26.

NORWEGIAN UNVEILS MORE PROJECT BREAKAWAY STATEROOMS
Norwegian Cruise Line announces the balance of stateroom designs for Project Breakaway. Each of the 144,017 gross ton vessels will have approximately 4,000 passenger berths including Studio, Spa Balcony, Spa Mini-Suite, Oceanview, Family Mini-Suite, and Inside staterooms.

The ships will have 59 Studios on each ship which are specifically designed and priced for the solo traveler. These rooms also have private keycard access to the Studio complex and exclusive two-story Studio Lounge with a bar.

The ships will also have 28 Spa Baclony and 20 Spa Mini-Suite staterooms featuring tranquil spa décor and have easy access to the adjacent spa and fitness center, as well as complimentary access to the Thermal Spa Suite during operating hours.

The Family Mini-Suites will feature all the attributes of the Mini-Suite and are located in close proximity to the children's facilities, making it convenient and easy for families.

Each Ship will have 158 Oceanview staterooms. There are approximately 42 Family Oceanviews that sleep up to five guests and have a bathroom similar to the Mini-Suite and a modern double sink, bath tub and a second wardrobe for added storage.

There will be 449 Inside staterooms that feature two lower beds that can be converted to a queen-size bed. Many are connecting and sleep up to four guests. They are located on various decks throughout the ship and some are adjacent to the children's facilities.

Passenger Services Act (PSA) – Incorrectly referred to as the ‘Jones Act”
Many times guests want to link back-to-back cruises and may wonder why this is prohibited in some cases. Here is some interesting information about a law that restricts the combination of some cruises. Please note that the "Jones Act" governs cargo, not passengers.

The Passenger Services Act (often inaccurately/incorrectly referred to as the "Jones Act") prohibits ships of non-U.S. registry from embarking and disembarking passengers at two different U.S. ports. Such travel would constitute point-to-point transportation between two U.S. ports, a practice prohibited on foreign flagged vessels.

An exception to this general rule allows passengers to be transported between two U.S. ports if the cruise itinerary includes a port call at a "distant foreign port". Distant foreign ports do NOT include Canada, Mexico, Central America, Bermuda and most Caribbean islands. South America and the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) do qualify as distant foreign ports.


Deals of the Week

Celebrity Cruises - Experience Modern Luxury with Exclusive Extras
Book an Oceanview stateroom or above between September 12 – 18, 2011 on one of many select 2011 and 2012 Celebrity Cruises® voyages and receive up to $100 Onboard Credit plus an Onboard Value booklet with $350 of onboard savings, compliments of your Virtuoso® travel advisor. Plus, suite guests enjoy a complimentary bottle of wine on select sailings!

BONUS OFFER: Book a Veranda or above stateroom between September 12 - 18 on any 2011 sailing and enjoy complimentary specialty dining for two!

Specialty dining for two is available for veranda staterooms and above on any sail date in Q4 2011. The specialty dining credit will be available to guests once onboard. Credit cannot be used to pre-book specialty dining reservations prior to boarding the ship. Onboard Credit offer is in U.S. dollars and is not redeemable for cash. This offer is not transferable. Offers are only valid for new individual (FIT) bookings, made September 12 - 18, 2011 and are not combinable with any other offers, excluding Reduced Deposit. All unrestricted and select restricted promos (Reduced Air AR**, Resident RES, Seniors SRS, Military, Police & Firefighter, Outside special or gty, Balcony special or gty) can be combined with this program offer. Offers cannot be applied to deep discount promos, off-tariff price promos, or agency phone # driven promos. Offers also cannot be combined with other offers or promotions. OFFERS DO NOT APPLY TO INSIDE STATEROOMS. Offer is applicable to Ocean View staterooms and above. Singles paying 200% are entitled to full face value. Bottle of wine is applicable only to suite bookings and will be combined with the featured onboard credit offer. No redemption form is needed. Onboard Credits will be applied by Celebrity Cruises to those applicable bookings prior to sailing. Onboard Value Booklets will be mailed to agency for distribution prior to sailing. ©2011 Celebrity Cruises Inc. Ships registry: Malta and Ecuador. Fares, schedules, Virtuoso exclusives, events and amenities are subject to availability and blackout dates and may change without notice. Restrictions may apply. See your Virtuoso travel advisor for more details and applicable restrictions. Virtuoso is not responsible for any errors in pricing. The trademarks VIRTUOSO, the Globe Swirl Logo and SPECIALISTS IN THE ART OF TRAVEL are registered trademarks of Virtuoso, Ltd. Virtuoso, Ltd. has a U.S. copyright registration for the Globe Swirl Logo, ©2000. All rights reserved. Virtuoso CST#2069091-50 351184 09/11

Island Princess - Pacific Coastal - 4-day - September 21, 2011
Inside from $199 – Outside from $299 - Balcony from $449 – Mini-Suite from $549

Sapphire Princess - Mexican Riviera - 7-day - November 19, 2011
Inside from – Outside from $599 – Balcony from $649 – Mini-Suite from $899 -

January 15-22, 2012 – Smooth Jazz Cruise 2012 ... Everyone Will Be There – 95% sold out
David Sanborn Marcus Miller Jonathan Butler
Gerald Albright Candy Dulfer Boney James
Alonzo Bodden Larry Braggs Rick Braun
Brian Culbertson Eric Darius DW3
Jeff Golub Euge Groove Rahsaan Patterson
Patrice Rushen Joe Sample Brian Simpson
Kirk Whalum Peter White Ellis Hall
Chance Howard Tom Braxton Andre Berry
Randy Jacobs Nate Phillips Ron Reinhardt
Dwight Sills Patches Stewart Jay Williams
Ramon Yslas Selina Albright Jodie Butler
Randy Butler Dane Butcher Pat Prescott

Thought for the Month
I recently returned from a trip to Alaska. Although I’ve done two previous cruises, this was my first trip that included Fairbanks, Alaska. I hope this little story explains why I love to travel.

Our flight out of Fairbanks did not leave until 10:20 pm so we had the whole day without a car to explore the city. We decided to do the Riverboat Discovery tour which I highly recommend. As we were walking through the village, we heard someone behind us say “I’m trying to catch up with this lovely couple” and that chance meeting shaped our experience in Fairbanks. We introduced each other and before I knew it, 4 enjoyable hours had flown by. During this time, I learned the following:

• They had been married for over 45 years
• They had lived in Fairbanks for over 40 years
• They came to Fairbanks when the husband got a job on the Alaska pipeline
• They had a garden that the moose liked to raid, although the wife did not like to cook
• Although the wife had a larger fish mounted on the wall, the husband actually won money for the fish he had mounted
• They took us to the North Pole and Salmon Bake for dinner (yes we got in the car with a couple who showed us their guns and let Bill hold a bow and arrow used to hunt caribou.

Although we only knew this lovely couple for less than 5 hours, we had a wonderful time with them and our visit was the highlight of our trip to Alaska. You can SEE every destination in the world, but you can not EXPIERENCE the destination until you meet the people..

Wishing you a great weekend

Love and Hugs

Mary Engram
Your Personal Travel Consultant
Like my Facebook Fan Page at http://www.facebook.com/MaryEngramTravelConsultant