Carnival Cruise Lines to Feature Acrobats on New 130,000-Ton Dream

 

Carnival Cruise Lines

 

Carnival Cruise Lines is planning a new entertainment program for its newest and largest “Fun Ship,” the 130,000-ton Carnival Dream.

 

 In addition to three production revues, Carnival Dream will offer solo singers, comedians, live bands and “Fun Force,” an acrobatic team that will perform throughout the ship.

 

“The increased size of the Carnival Dream provides us with an expansive canvas to create some truly unique and innovative entertainment options that are sure to leave audiences amazed,” said Roger Blum, Carnival’s vice president of cruise programming.

 

The first production show, titled “Dancin’ in the Street,” combines a gritty, urban feel with special effects such as neon lighting and video projection technology. The show features break-dancing numbers, acrobatic Chinese pole routines and a trampoline segment.

 

The second show, “Get Ready,” takes a musical look at various professions through the Motown era, R&B hits and elaborate production numbers.

 

 The third show, “Xtreme Country,” salutes country and western music.
Carnival Dream will offer other entertainment venues. The new Ocean Plaza will feature a different entertainment options throughout the day and night.

 

The ship will also feature comedy revues and Seaside Theatre, a massive LED screen on Lido Deck that will display movies, concerts, sporting events and other programming. Other options include solo singers along the Dream Street promenade, a dedicated karaoke lounge, Sam’s piano bar, steel drum and Calypso bands on Lido Deck and live bands playing everything from rock to country to disco.

 
Carnival Dream is slated to debut Sept. 21 with the first of three 12-day “Grand Mediterranean” cruises operating round-trip from Rome, followed by a 16-day trans-Atlantic crossing from Rome to New York Oct. 27 to Nov12.

 

From New York, Carnival Dream will operate two eight-day Bahamas/Florida cruises departing Nov. 15 and Nov. 23, and then reposition to Port Canaveral for a one-time nine-day Caribbean cruise departing Dec. 3.

 

 Carnival Dream will then launch year-round seven-day service from Port Canaveral on Dec. 12 offering weeklong voyages to the Eastern and Western Caribbean.

MSC Cruises Rewards Europe Cruisers with Caribbean Credit

 

MSC Cruise Line

MSC Cruises is offering guests who book a European 2009 sailing by May 31 a shipboard credit of up to $200 per stateroom that can be used on select Caribbean 2009-10 itineraries of MSC Poesia.

 

 U.S. and Canadian guests booking a European 2009 cruise will receive a $100 shipboard credit per person (or a maximum of $200 per stateroom). The shipboard credit can be used on the majority of MSC Poesia 2009-10 Caribbean sailings.

 

 MSC Poesia will arrive in Fort Lauderdale Nov. 10 after a 17-night trans-Atlantic journey from Venice.

 

The shipboard credit can be used on the following Caribbean itineraries:

 

five-night sailings departing Nov. 10, Nov. 15 and Jan. 3;10-night itineraries beginning Nov. 20; seven-night itineraries Jan. 16 through April 10; and a three-night Bahamas cruise departing April 24.

 

MSC Poesia features 1,275 staterooms, of which 80 percent are outside and 65 percent have a balcony. The ship has two pools, four hot tubs, a 13,000-square-foot spa, and four restaurants including a sushi bar.

 

As with all MSC Cruises, kids 17 and younger sail free when sharing a stateroom with two full-fare-paying adults.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line Announces Family Deals for Summer

Cruise Royal Caribbean

 

Royal Caribbean International launched new deals for family vacations in the Caribbean this summer, offering savings up to $200 per stateroom on select sailings and onboard credits for select categories.

 

The savings is $50 per person, up to $200 per stateroom, for 31 seven- and nine-night summer Caribbean sailings.

 

 Those booking an outside stateroom with balcony also will receive $100 onboard credit per stateroom or $150 per stateroom for junior suite or higher category accommodations.

 

These offers apply to new bookings made by June 30 and are subject to availability.

Crystal Cruise Lines Schedules British Isles Golf Cruise

Cruise Crystal Luxury

Crystal Cruises has added four golf courses to the Crystal Symphony’s Aug. 23 “Experiences of Discovery Golf” cruise through the British Isles.

 

In addition to Scotland’s Gleneagles King’s Course and Northern Ireland’s Royal Belfast Golf Club, the new clubs include Carden Park Golf Club in Liverpool, Mount Juliet in Waterford, Druid’s Glen in Dublin, and Gleneagles Queen’s Golf Course in Edinburgh.

 

Golfers can play in virtually every port while non-golfers will find dozens of optional shore excursions in Edinburgh, Belfast, Liverpool, Dublin, Waterford and Guernsey on the 11-day itinerary round-trip from London.

 

Onboard, guests can get tips and instruction from PGA winner Billy Casper and John Clark, a PGA pro who operates Crystal’s golf program, featuring TaylorMade equipment.

 

The golf program includes a VIP golfers welcome cocktail reception; welcome kits including scheduled golf events, balls and tees, logo apparel and course layouts, pars and hole lengths; friendly competition, including a hole-in-one contest awarding the winner a complimentary cruise; transport to and from each course accompanied by a Crystal escort or pro; 45-minute warm-up and pre-round refreshments, as well as post-round cocktails; and complimentary storage and cleaning of clubs and shoes after play.

 

 Guests can choose to ship their clubs with Luggage Concierge. Fares start at $5,390 per person, double occupancy, plus a $1,000-per-person “All Inclusive-As You Wish” spending credit.

 

Reduced upgrade airfares are also available. Golf excursions start at $338 per person.

SeaDream Yacht Club Offers Savings on Extended Med Cruises

SeaDream Luxury Cruises

 

 
SeaDream Yacht Club is offering up to 57 percent off on back-to-back Mediterranean voyages of 14 or more days from July 11 to Oct. 3.

 

The voyages are on the SeaDream I and II from Rome to Istanbul, Venice to Istanbul, Monte Carlo to Athens, Athens to Seville and Alexandria to Barcelona.

 

Fares include ocean-view accommodations, onboard meals, wine with lunch and dinner, open bar with select premium brands, gratuities, use of water toys from the yacht’s marina, use of mountain bikes and golf simulator, and SeaDream’s Champagne and Caviar Splash. Some restrictions apply.

Silversea Cruise Line Schedules Seven Music Theme Cruises

Silversea Luxury Cruises

 
Silversea Cruises is offering seven music theme sailings this year in the British Isles and the Mediterranean.

 

 The London Festival Opera will perform a gala opera evening, a show entitled “A Night at the Opera,” and during a gourmet Italian dinner.

 

The London Festival Opera will be onboard the nine-day May 28 Silver Wind cruise from Monte Carlo to Athens and again on the 10-day July 28 voyage from Monte Carlo to Rome. Silver Sailing fares start at $5,147.

 
“Cole Porter — He’s the Top” musical theater will be brought to life by singer/pianist Bobby Nesbitt and lecturer/social historian David Garrard Lowe during the Aug. 1 seven-day Silver Whisper cruise from Venice to Rome.

 

“An Evening with Noel Coward” is scheduled for the Aug. 8 seven-day Silver Whisper voyage from Rome to Monte Carlo. Silver Sailing fares start at $3,497.

 
Loston Harris, who performed as a member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, blends traditional jazz riffs, gospel and blues. He has appeared in the PBS special “Portraits in Blue” with fellow pianist and bandleader Marcus Roberts. This singer/pianist will be showcased aboard the Aug. 22 seven-day Silver Whisper voyage from Barcelona to Rome; fares start at $4,197.

 
Singer, songwriter and actress Michelle Phillips will tell the story of the Mamas and the Papas with film and music clips aboard the 10-day Oct. 30 voyage of Silver Wind from Rome to Athens; fares start at $4,897.

 

A “Tribute to the Beatles” program will be presented by Joe Johnson, host of the “Beatles Brunch” radio show, during the 10-day Aug. 26 Silver Cloud roundtrip from London to London. Fares start at $7,486.

 

Also scheduled to appear are the Bootleg Beatles tribute band. Tony Bramwell, author of “Magical Mystery Tours: My Life with the Beatles,” will also join the program to share tales from his days as the Beatles’ personal assistant. All fares are per person, based on double occupancy, for a Vista Suite and do not include port charges and handling fees that can range from $175 to $275 per person on these sailings.

NCL Unveils Wave Hull Design for Norwegian Epic

Cruise Zanza Blue

 
Norwegian Cruise Line unveiled the hull design for the 4,200-passenger Norwegian Epic, scheduled for delivery in May 2010.

 

The company will begin taking reservations for Norwegian Epic’s 2010-11 inaugural season on May 21 with a special preview day for past guests on May 20.

 

 Norwegian Epic’s hull artwork, designed by the company’s internal marketing team, is painted on both sides with free-form rolling waves that run through a color spectrum of lime, aqua, red and purple dotted by silver circles.

 

Norwegian Epic’s hull design is a departure from the rest of the line’s signature hull artwork, which typically is inspired by the ship’s name or the destination the ship sails from.

 

Instead, the hull artwork on Norwegian Epic takes on the characteristics of the ship’s interior features — a modern and sleek design and color palette that is seen in everything from the curved design of the New Wave staterooms to the more contemporary design of the ship’s public areas.

 

Norwegian Epic is scheduled to sail year-round to the Eastern and Western Caribbean from Miami, beginning in summer 2010.

 

The ship’s Western Caribbean itinerary calls in Costa Maya, Mexico; Roatán, Honduras; and Cozumel, Mexico.

 

Norwegian Epic’s Eastern Caribbean itinerary includes calls in St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Nassau.

Celebrity Cruise Line to Base Solstice Year-Round in Caribbean

Celebrity Solstice

 
Celebrity Cruises’ new Celebrity Solstice will sail year-round in the Caribbean in 2010.

 

“The extraordinary response from our guests to Celebrity Solstice has created a corresponding demand for the ship to sail year-round in the Caribbean, and we’re thrilled to meet that demand,” said Celebrity President and CEO Dan Hanrahan.

 

The Solstice will sail alternating seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale in summer months and seven-night Eastern Caribbean itineraries from the same port in the winter.

 

 This deployment marks the first time since 2004 that Celebrity has offered a year-round seven-night sailing in the Caribbean.

 

 Celebrity Solstice will be one of two Celebrity vessels sailing continuously in the region; Celebrity Century, as previously announced, will operate four- and five-night sailings from the Port of Miami.

 
The shift of Solstice to the Caribbean year-round led to a corresponding transition in Celebrity’s European itinerary lineup for 2010-11.

 

 The new Celebrity Equinox will offer the 10- and 11-night Mediterranean sailings from Rome, previously planned for Celebrity Solstice.

 

The 12-night voyages previously announced for Celebrity Equinox between Barcelona and Venice in 2010 have been discontinued.

 

The European sailings previously announced for Celebrity Eclipse — which debuts in 2010 — and Celebrity Constellation remain unchanged.

 

Celebrity representatives are contacting guests with bookings affected by the European deployment transition with Celebrity Solstice and Celebrity Equinox in 2010-11.

 Six Celebrity ships — in addition to the Celebrity Solstice — will sail in the Caribbean on a seasonal basis in 2010-11, for a total of 155 sailings with visits to 43 ports.

 

Celebrity Constellation will operate 14-night Exotic Southern Caribbean cruises roundtrip on Saturdays from Fort Lauderdale.

 

Celebrity Eclipse, the third in the Solstice Class making its debut in April 2010, will present alternating seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises roundtrip from Miami.

 

Celebrity Equinox, the second Solstice-class ship launching this July, will offer 10- and 11-night Ultimate Caribbean cruises roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale.

 

Celebrity Mercury will present a second season of nine-night Bahamas and 12-night Eastern Caribbean sailings departing Mondays and Saturdays from Baltimore from October 2010 through February 2011, followed by 10- and 11-night Western and Eastern Caribbean cruises departing Mondays and Fridays from Charleston from March through April 2011.

 

Celebrity Millennium will reprise 10- and 11-night Southern Caribbean cruises from San Juan on Mondays and Fridays from October 11, 2010 through April 8, 2011.

 

 Celebrity Summit will continue seven-night Southern Caribbean cruises roundtrip from San Juan on Saturdays.

 

Bookings open May 6 for the new year-round Caribbean cruises on Solstice, as well the seasonal Caribbean itinerary lineup.

Royal Caribbean International to Launch Two-Day Sale

 

Cruise Royal Caribbean

 
Royal Caribbean International will hold its largest sale of the year on May 5 and May 6.

 

 During the “Two-Day Wow Sale,” deposits will be reduced by 50 percent. In addition, the line is providing up to a $200 onboard credit for those who book a qualifying cruise or cruise-tour departing on or after Aug. 1.

 

 The credit is $50 for a three- to five-night cruise, $100 for six- to nine-cruises and $200 for sailings of 10 nights or longer.

Reduced deposit is $50, $125 and $225, respectively.