Lockport, IL September 20, 2004 -- The opulence of the grandest ocean liner ever built can be yours for an entire seven-day Valentine Holiday cruising favorite ports of the Caribbean. Enjoy San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Marteen while you lavish in the luxury of the world's grandest ocean liner. Gourmet cuisine created by celebrity chef Daniel Boulud is served to Singles Travel International guests in the Britannia Dining Room for each of the six sumptuous meals served daily. Or perhaps you prefer one of the seven alternative specialty restaurants. Master Chef Todd English's Mediterranean Restaurant fashions flavors sure to satiate your appetite and your senses. Exotic Asian cuisine awaits at Lotus. Italian specialties of regional cuisine are served at La Piazza. Then take a culinary spin through the British Style Carvery, The Boardwalk Caf, The Golden Lion, which offers traditional pub fare, and finally the King's Court Buffet is sure to please for breakfast and lunch. Rates for this seven-day Valentine Holiday Caribbean Cruise aboard Cunard Lines Queen Mary 2 start at $1,399 plus tax and airfare.* Of course elegance and excitement are what the seasoned traveler has come to expect from Singles Travel International. In fact, Travel and Leisure magazine in its April, 2004 edition named Singles Travel International The choice for singles traveling worldwide. Of the many elegant amenities aboard Cunard's new Queen Mary 2, a spacious stateroom for your comfort is most important. Then, an amazing world at sea provides for your enjoyment. Jacuzzis, sauna and a Fitness Center offer relaxation. Or try the Canyon Ranch SpaClub for exotic treatments. Entertainment abounds! The Royal Court Theater creates brilliantly staged musical productions. The stylish Empire Casino offers Craps, Slots, Blackjack, Roulette and Poker. Stargaze at the first seagoing planetarium. Or celebrate a fantastic voyage in the Veuve Clicquot Champagne Bar, Sir Samuels Wine Bar and G32 Dance Club. Finally, captivate your senses with panoramic views and music at the Commodore Jazz Club. Add to this a full day in port at San Juan, St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands and the incomparable St. Marteen and this Valentine Holiday Cruise can be your cruise of a lifetime!*Rates per person based on double occupancy.Singles Travel InternationalWith over 20 years of experience in travel consulting, Singles Travel International provides worry-free travel that meets the unique needs of solo travelers. Every group is accompanied by at least one Singles Travel International escort who is available 24 hours a day to provide assistance or answer questions. Although a Singles Travel International trip is a terrific way to meet people, travelers can be as involved as they would like in their tour activities, spending their time with the group or relaxing and exploring on their own. Singles Travel International takes the risk out of having to pay a single supplement by offering a roommate guarantee program.Singles Travel International Contact: Tammy Weiler, (877) SOLO-TRIP, (877) 765-6874 or www.singlestravelintl.com .Media Contact: Beth Peterson, (708) 383-5989 or beth@petersonmktg.com .
Saturday, October 3, 2009
'Personal Choice Cruising' Aboard Princess Cruise Lines' Love Boats!
From its modest beginnings in 1965 with a single cruise ship traveling to Mexico, Princess Cruise Lines has grown to become one of the world's premier cruise lines. Its fleet carries more than 800,000 passengers each year to nearly 260 ports-of-call worldwide! Princess Cruise Lines prides itself in striving to evolve to meet the desires of today's cruise vacationers.One of the most recognized lines in the world, Princess Cruise Lines was catapulted into the limelight in 1977 when the cruise ship Pacific Princess was given the starring role in the television show "The Love Boat". This television series was instrumental in introducing the millions of viewers to the "new" concept of vacationing on the seas. Even today when many people think of cruises they think of the "Love Boats".The Princess Cruise Lines fleet has grown considerably from its humble beginnings. The well known "Seawitch" logo is now sported on fifteen magnificent cruise ships with more to come.The Princess Cruise Lines' Grand class includes six cruise ships. With seating for over 2,600 guests, this class features some of the most innovative amenities to be found on cruise ships.When debuted in 1995, the Princess Cruise Lines' Sun class set a new standard in cruise ships' designs. Seating over 1,950 guests, the five vessels offered a host of onboard choices.For a small ship atmosphere coupled with today's modern amenities, the Princess Cruise Lines' Explorer class is the choice. The four cruise ships in this class offer seating for about 670 discerning guests.Princess Cruises is one of the dozen or more lines included in the Carnival Corporation. Offering one of the widest number of destinations, they offer more than 150 itineraries that range from seven to seventy-two days. The fabulous cruise ships travel to all seven continents.Today, Princess Cruise Lines' signature emphasis is on "Personal Choice Cruising". Each vessel in the fleet offers its own version with multiple dining choices, varied entertainment selections and a wide range of activities and amenities. Princess guests can create their own personal vacation experience suited to their special preferences and needs.Want to enhance your Princess Cruise Lines experience? All you have to do is take advantage of the lines' "Adventure Ashore" program which features more than 1,500 port excursions. The company is also expanding its cruise/tour itineraries which offer passengers a seamless vacation package adding a full land tour to their cruise.The Princess Cruise Lines has won numerous awards and accolades. Many cruise magazines have awarded them with titles like "Best Cruise Line", "Clients' Favorite", and "Cruise Line of the Year". The individual ships have won many awards as well. Other winning award categories for Princess include Environmental, Safety, Access, Medical, Onboard Features, Itineraries, Marketing, Website and Reservations.Princess cruises offer wonderful itineraries aboard fabulous ships. But are Princess cruises the right choice for your? With so many cruise lines marketing fantastic cruises and cruise ships, how can you be sure? Are you somewhat confused as to which cruise line may be best for your cruise vacation? If you have any questions or concerns, please drop us a note at info@a1-discount-cruises.com, add "cruise question" in the subject line and we will try to help.Brian A Schmidt is the author and web publisher of a1-discount-cruises.com your #1 source for cruise information, discounts and great deals! Visit http://www.a1-discount-cruises.com to book your fabulous cruise vacation! For more interesting articles visit our Article Map pages.
Top Caribbean Destinations For Cruise Vacations
With hundreds of islands to visit, the Caribbean has been a favorite cruise destination for many years. However, the Caribbean is far more than just one destination. In fact, within the "Caribbean" label, there are literally hundreds of islands and many ports of call from which to choose. Each of the destinations has a different and unique flavor, and many cruises want to show you what they are all about. If you are considering a Caribbean cruise for your vacation, take a look at these top Caribbean destinations for cruise vacations.The BahamasThe Bahamas are among the most popular Caribbean cruise destinations of all. The Bahamas offer an international flavor without being too unfamiliar to English-speaking tourists. While you will need a passport to travel to the Bahamas, once you get there the environment will be comfortably familiar. Many Caribbean cruises anchor at Grand Bahama Island, where visitors can take advantage of shopping at Freeport and the casinos and opulent resorts of Nassau.BermudaBermuda is a pastel confection of an island, famous for its pink sand beaches and pastel colored cottages. It is a favorite port of call and Caribbean cruise destination with several cruise ships a day anchoring at St. George's for memorable shore excursions. Visitors to the island can enjoy a round of golf or take a cruise on a glass bottom boat to view the astounding undersea life around the island.ArubaIf you are looking for nightlife with an international flavor, Aruba is the best place to visit. The little island is one of the more developed in the Caribbean, with top-shelf luxury resorts and flashy nightclubs and casinos. Daytime activities include wind-surfing, snorkeling, scuba diving, and lying around on their beautiful beaches. At night, the resort comes alive with discos and nightclubs for those who want to party all night long.The Cayman IslandsGrand Cayman, the largest of the Cayman Islands, is the best spot in the Caribbean for spectacular scuba diving and snorkeling. Just offshore, the land drops away creating some of the most amazing and awe-inspiring underwater venues in the world. Grand Cayman is a haven for shoppers who will find dozens of duty free shops lining the streets. For those who want to enjoy the underwater world, there are cant-miss shore excursions that include snorkeling, swimming with the sting-rays, or touring around in a glass-bottom boat, so that visitors can enjoy the scenery without getting too wet.The U.S. Virgin IslandsCharlotte Amalie, the major city on St. Thomas, is easily the busiest port of call in the Caribbean. The pretty little town is one of the most developed in the islands, offering wonderful shopping, lovely resorts and excellent restaurants. Charlotte Amalie features nearly 400 duty-free shops, making it the stop of choice for those with serious shopping addictions. While St. Croix is the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands, it is far less developed, and shore excursions to St. Croix often visit historic sites or enjoy eco-tours and bike excursions around the island. The third island, St. John, is the smallest of the three U.S. Virgin Islands, and generally considered the most scenic of all the islands. A large portion of St. John is set aside as the Virgin Islands National Park, making it an ideal destination for hikers and those who love nature.Montego BayPopularized by the catchy song, Montego Bay, Jamaica remains one of the most famous ports of call in the Caribbean. Montego Bay is the second largest city on the island of Jamaica, famed for its white sand beaches and cosmopolitan flair. It offers luxury resorts, world-class restaurants, golf courses and rowdy nightlife that are famed worldwide. One visit to Montego Bay, affectionately called M-Bay in the islands, and you will be singing along with Bobby Bloom in his homage to the hypnotic island town.Trinidad and TobagoThe tiny island nations of Trinidad and Tobago often get short shrift when discussing Caribbean destinations, but they are full of tropical flavor and fun. Trinidad is the home of the steel drum, that quintessentially Caribbean musical instrument with an unmistakably tropical sound. Both Trinidad and Tobago offer long stretches of beautiful beachfront for sports and leisure, as well as tropical rain forests for hiking and sightseeing. Trinidad is famous for its party carnival atmosphere while Tobago is more relaxed and famed for its island nature tours.The cities and islands on the list above are by no means the only destinations for vacation cruises in the Caribbean, but they should definitely be on your short list of ports of call to visit. There are many other islands and cities that your cruise may visit so take time to check over your cruise itinerary and choose shore excursions at the cruise destinations you most enjoy.
Brian Jenkins is a freelance writer who writes about vacationing, often discussing a specific kind trip such as cruise vacations.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Seeking Discount Vacation and Travel Packages? Book Deep Online Travel Discounts Year-Round
Discount Travel and Vacation Packages are abounding in the recession and There are all sorts of deals offering deeply discounted travel packages, vacation packages, cheap airline tickets, and low-priced hotels. You can save a lot of money on your travel destinations worldwide if you know where to book.Online Travel Discounts are allowing people who were unable to fly before to actually take advantage of popular destinations worldwide using travel packages and vacation packages. These online companies are offering deep discounts and if you ever wanted to travel, this is an excellent time. You would think the prices would rise through the roof, but the effect has been completely opposite thanks to the recession. Prices must be slashed in order to get customers to take a trip using vacation packages, discount airfare, cheap hotel prices and cruises. The entire travel industry is fighting desperately for you to use their travel accommodations so that they do not go bankrupt. This is the best time to travel and the best deals are in the form of vacation packages. This is where you will get the most out of your money.What happens is that when not enough people book regularly priced tickets, the airlines, cruise lines and hotels make deals with online companies to offer the tickets at a discount. That is why you may have found that you can get excellent last minute travel deals sometimes. Usually, the closer to the date of travel you are booking your trip, the higher the price is. If you know which sites have these agreements with the companies, you will find the prices to be very affordable on vacation cruises, vacation packages, low airfare, and cheap hotels if you book it right away. One day can make a huge difference!So, save money on a Discount Travel Reservation Site so that you can have more fun spending what you have saved from discount travel arrangements. Take a trip to relax and revitalize yourself while the discount specials are hot!Enjoy your trip!
Merry R, Author
Travel Consultant
Virtually Work
Can Cruising Survive the Credit Crunch?
One of the most obvious changes in the international holiday market of late is the boom in the numbers of cruise passengers. An increasing aversion to flying; the growth in personal wealth from rising property values; a greying population; all are factors that have helped to fill newspapers' travel pages with adverts for cruises.Cruise lines now have about 40 new ships under construction and ready to come into service by 2012. Many of the new ships are bigger and better than anything that has ever floated before. But is the boom about to go bust with this extra capacity arriving just as the worldwide recession has hit travellers' finances and confidence?The biggest operator is Carnival Corporation. Their chairman says soaring fuel and steel costs, combined with a weak dollar, have made it virtually impossible to put together a new ship building project beyond 2012 for any of the corporation's North American cruise brands Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess, and Holland America Line. This gloomy prophecy was made, ironically, at a press conference for the launch of Carnival's latest ship, Carnival Splendor.Carnival's biggest competitor, Royal Caribbean International, appears more optimistic. The company, which includes Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara, has placed orders for the largest, most expensive ships ever to be built. Yet it's hard to imagine that cruise bosses are as positive now as they were when they placed the orders.Judging by the cut-price offers now being made to entice passengers aboard, over-capacity may already be a big issue. It remains to be seen how long the current economic woes will continue and how deep the recession will become. How will cruise passengers react to all the economic bad news? Will those with money to spare stick with their newly acquired enthusiasm for cruising? Or has much of the recent growth been fuelled by credit that's running dry?In mid-2008, the body that represents the leading cruise companies in Britain, the Passenger Shipping Association, forecast around 1.5 million Britons would take a cruise that year. They expect over 2 million British passengers to be cruising by 2012 and point to an increasing number of affluent older people as the key reason for the growth. Those figures may well have to be revised.The sheer number of cruise passengers has been causing problems in some ports with large cruise ships arriving at the same time, swamping the facilities. Cruise visitors to Barcelona have virtually doubled in the past five years. Figures from MedCruise show a rise from 398,948 in 2002 to 789,409 in 2007. Fortunately, Barcelona, the second most popular Mediterranean port after Naples, is much better placed to deal with the growth, being a large city with good port facilities.In contrast, the Venice Port Authority has announced plans for a new cruise ship berth costing 75 million. It is needed to accommodate 1,000 foot monsters such as Genesis, operated by Royal Caribbean, which can carry 6,000 passengers.Ship numbers and sheer ship size, have brought other problems. Local businesses often do not benefit as passengers have less time to roam around thanks to the longer time spent disembarking and re-embarking. In addition many passengers now go on organised pre-booked tours which means less chance of local shopping and fewer meals taken at local restaurants.Over the next year or so these are the type of concerns that cruise operators would probably love to be dealing with. But filling these monster ships in a recession might be a much bigger problem. There could be some real bargains on the market very soon.
Bob Cartwright writes for TravelSavvy Europe - independent city guide for tourists. For more information visit: short breaks in Europe.
The Travel Guide
Make your vacation the best one ever by checking out everything you need in the "Travel Guide." Here you will find hundreds of choices for the exact destination you need. Find out what is hot with reviews on your favorite attractions.Wondering which cruise would be best for you? Look no further you will find it all here at the "Travel Guide." Make use of our forum to find the best airline, car and hotels. Booking is fast and convenient. You can book airline travel, a cruise, your car rental, and even your hotel here at the "Travel Guide." Find out the best restaurants, hotels and cruises with our in depth reviews.Flight search: Find and book your flight here. Book your flights using our convenient "Flight Search." You can find your destination, see what flights are available at the time and day you want, and then book with just a click of your mouse. You can choose your airline, order any special meals you may need and be on your way within minutes.Before you go, don't forget to check your travel insurance! Part of the fun of a vacation is never knowing what to expect, but the unexpected is not always a good thing. Don't risk destroying your holiday by forgetting to get that vital insurance. There are a variety of insurance options available, so pick the one that best suites your particular case. Bear in mind everything you think might happen, and get an insurance that plans for every emergency. Remember, when you buy insurance, you are buying peace of mind, to save you worrying about anything going wrong.Apart from the insurance, you are also going to need transport when you get to your destination. And that means a car, unless you're going on a cruise! Car rental is one of the most annoying parts of vacationing, and you want an easy way to have a car ready and waiting for you when you arrive at your holiday. The best way to do this, of course, is to arrange it online. Just look up the travel guide, and check out the worldwide car rental options.After you have your car arranged, you still need somewhere to stay. guideoftravel.com offers you a large database of hotels in from many different countries, so have a look there and see if you can find one that's right for you. Just be sure you book everything before you leave, you don't want to be stuck with nowhere to stay!If you are looking for a cruise, you might try guideoftravel.com - they can link you to a number of different cruises to different places, ranging from the exotic to the peaceful. Great deals, tips on how to get the best from your cruise, as well as in depth reviews, makes it an excellent resource. Pick and exclusive cruise for yourself, or a more family-oriented one- the choice is yours.Vacations from guideoftravel.com, get the vacation you deserve: We offer vacation tips, great deals and insider reviews. It doesn't matter where you want to go, you can find your perfect vacation here. So let the "Travel Guide" help you make this holiday your best ever. You have saved up all year for your vacation, now is the time to relax and enjoy yourself.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Crystal Cruise Lines Receive Top Cruise Ship Vacations Award
Twelve years ago the Travel and Leisure Magazine created a 'World's Best Award for various categories of the travel industry. The winner of the awards is decided according to the votes by the readers of Travel and Leisure magazine. Every year there are several new winners in different travel categories with one exception - the 'World's Best Large-Cruise Line'Award. Crystal Cruises is the only cruise line, resort ,or hotel to have won this prestigious award each and every year since the award's inception.Thousands of world travelers and subscribers rated cruise lines on cabins, food, service, itineraries/destinations, activities and value. Not only did Crystal Cruise win the award for 2007, but also surpassed it's winning rating for 2006.Crystal Cruises' luxurious, award-winning fleet consists of the 940-guest, 50,000-ton Crystal Symphony and 1,080-guest, 68,000-ton Crystal Serenity, which cruise worldwide on itineraries of seven to 108 days. In the past year, the luxury line completed a stylish and sophisticated redesign of Crystal Symphony.What are the special features that have made Crystal Cruises so outstanding for a cruise ship vacation? Crystal Cruises' President Gregg Michel attributes their success to their extraordinary staff, and the companies attention to detail. Crystal Cruise line have also focused on providing personalized experiences for their travelers ashore with an increased collection of boutique Crystal Adventures(R) and thoroughly customized Crystal Private Adventures throughout the world. Earlier this year, Crystal's spas were singled out for their service, facilities and treatments, while its Creative Learning Institute was given special recognition for its inspirational programs. The line's glamorous casinos, array of evening entertainment and creative culinary venues and menus -- such as the cuisine of master chef, Nobu Matsuhisa -- rate high among those seeking quality choices on their floating luxury resort.Crystal Cruise lines offer superior service, choices, space and quality, for all their passengers. This has proved to be a winning combination for them to win the World's Best Large-Cruise Line' Award for the last twelve years. If you are looking for a dream vacation, then Crystal could be the right choice for you
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