Cruise News

CRUISE NEWS

ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD. TRANSFERS ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL SHIP TO PULLMANTUR; REPLACES SHIP SERVING PORT CANAVERAL

“Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announced recently that Royal Caribbean International’s Sovereign of the Seas will be reassigned to the company’s Pullmantur fleet, and the Los Angeles-based Monarch of the Seas will assume Sovereign of the Seas’ sailings out of Port Canaveral. These changes will take place in October and November 2008.

“We are fortunate that our mix of brands allows us the flexibility and opportunity to expand in key strategic markets and to diversify in existing ones,” said Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Adam Goldstein. “We thank our partners at the ports of Los Angeles, Ensenada, Catalina and San Diego for our outstanding and ongoing relationship. We look forward to providing our Monarch of the Seas guests with exceptional vacations as we visit those locations through next fall.”

Sovereign of the Seas’ last scheduled sailing for Royal Caribbean International will be on October 31, 2008. Two subsequent cruises, scheduled for November 3 and 7, will be canceled, and guests booked on those cruises will receive a full refund and an onboard credit for rebooking an earlier Sovereign of the Seas sailing during 2008 (excluding holidays). All rebookings must be made by December 31, 2007. All guests currently booked on Sovereign of the Seas on or after November 10, 2008, will be re-accommodated onboard Monarch of the Seas.
Monarch of the Seas will make its last regularly scheduled sailing out of Los Angeles on October 13, 2008. All guests currently booked on a subsequent sailing will receive a full refund and an onboard credit for rebooking a three-, four- or five-night Caribbean sailing, or a seven-night Mexican Riviera sailing, onboard Royal Caribbean International in 2008 (excluding holidays). All rebookings must be made by December 31, 2007.

On October 17, 2008, Monarch of the Seas will reposition to the East Coast when it departs Los Angeles on a 16-night Panama Canal cruise to Miami. The ship will then undergo a scheduled, weeklong dry-dock before welcoming its first Port Canaveral guests for three and four-night Bahamas sailings starting November 10, 2008.

Royal Caribbean International has established a special help desk to assist its guests and travel agents impacted by these changes. The toll free phone number is (888) 281-9344.

CARNIVAL SENIOR CRUISE DIRECTOR’S BLOG BREAKS ONE-DAY READERSHIP RECORD; ACHIEVES HIGHEST-EVER RANKING AMONG WORDPRESS’ ONE MILLION-PLUS BLOGS

The blog hosted by Carnival Cruise Lines’ Senior Cruise Director John Heald continues to achieve new milestones.

On August 25, Heald’s blog held the number one position for a period of time, before ending the day ranked number three, based on readership volume among the one-million-plus blogs of Wordpress, a leading blog-hosting service. That day’s blog, which featured a preview of sister company Cunard Line’s new Queen Victoria, also set a personal one-day readership record of more than 11,400 visitors.

The dramatic rise in readership is just the latest milestone achieved by Heald’s highly popular blog, which was originally launched as part of the micro-site for the Carnival Freedom but has now has taken on a life of its own. The blog can be accessed both via Carnival’s web site (www.carnival.com) and its corporate parent site (www.carnivalcorp.com).

Since its debut in March, Heald’s blog has attracted more than 600,000 visitors, who enjoy his often-colorful stories about the Carnival Freedom’s inaugural European season, while he serves as senior cruise director with his wife Heidi, the ship’s assistant cruise director and frequent contributor to the blog.

For additional information on the Carnival Freedom or any other “Fun Ship” in the Carnival fleet, contact any travel agent, call (800) CARNIVAL or visit carnival.com.

CRUISE WEST’S 2008 VOYAGES IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC UNVEILED

The small-ship cruise line, Cruise West, is offering early booking savings of up to $800 on three distinct voyages of discovery in the South Pacific in 2008. Guests who book their trips by June 15, 2007, will save $600 per person on the cruise, plus an additional $200 if payment is made in full by this same date. Guests who book by September 7, 2007, will save $300 per person, and an additional $100 if payment is made in full by this date.

In January through March, Cruise West’s, Cruise flagship, the 120-guest Spirit of Oceanus, will journey through the pristine beauty, tiny atolls, remote villages and untouched treasures of the islands of the South Pacific. Cruise West’s up-close, casual and personal style of small-ship cruising provides the opportunity to explore remote ports and islands that larger ships cannot access, and to leave each destination with only footprints behind.

2008 South Pacific Itineraries

            The precious gems of Polynesia and Melanesia are explored on Cruise West’s aptly named Pearls of Polynesia itinerary. This 12-night sailing between Fiji and Papeete visits Beqa, Fiji, to watch a traditional firewalking ceremony; the Cook Islands including Atiu, “The Land of the Birds,” which is not visited by many other tourists; and Tonga to meet with local villagers, participate in a kava ceremony and snorkel in the pristine waters. Pearls of Polynesia travels on January 23 and February 26, 2008, priced as low as $5,049 per person with the maximum early booking savings. Standard pricing starts at $5,849 per person, based on double occupancy.

            Naturalists will be in paradise on the 11-night Island Sanctuaries itinerary, which visits the remote oases of French Polynesia. On this round trip journey from Papeete, guests will snorkel in Rangiroa, the second largest atoll in the world; visit a local pearl farm in Takapoto; and travel through the Marquesas Islands to meet with villagers and explore the plush terrain. This itinerary sails on February 2 and 12, 2008, and is priced as low as $3,749 per person with the maximum early booking savings. Standard pricing starts at $4,549 per person, based on double occupancy. Post-cruise extension to the remote Easter Island is available on February 2 departure only.

            The 16-night Legends of the Pacific sailing explores the islands of Micronesia, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, traveling between Guam and Fiji. The Spirit of Oceanus will bring guests to areas seldom visited by other travelers, on an insider’s expedition of native villages, World War II sites and tiny islands. Highlights include snorkeling at Tonoas Island, the center for the Japanese Navy during WWII; meeting with native villagers throughout the islands and enjoying performances of their traditional dance and song; and visiting the tropical forest of Pohnpei Island which is home to 40 species of birds, reptiles and deer. This itinerary will sail on January 7 and March 11, 2008, and is priced as low as $5,999 per person with the maximum early booking savings. Standard pricing starts at $6,799 per person, based on double occupancy.

            Cruise West’s Spirit of Oceanus is the line’s most spacious and luxurious ship. Each suite offers a sliding door, picture window or porthole. Other amenities distinct to this ship include a walk-in closet or wardrobe, a large marble bathroom and a lounge area. Two lounges and an open-seating dining room provide a casual atmosphere for guests to interact with one another, the crew, Exploration Leaders and guest speakers. Inflatable excursion craft are used for almost every port of call in the South Pacific. Six suite-types are offered onboard, in addition to the elegantly appointed and spacious Owner’s Suite located on the ship’s Sun Deck.

For more information, call (800) 296-8307 or visit www.cruisewest.com.