2006 June | The Mail Buoy

New blog for the Sea Socks Cruise Are you looking for more information the Sea Socks Cruise? Wouldn't it be nice if all the details were in one place? Well, now they are: Go here and find the latest information on the cruise and announcements. In addition, once you register to join the cruise, you will be invited to post on the blog too. Look forward to seeing you all on the first sock knitting cruise!

Posted in General News,Royal Caribbean International,Site Information — by Patricia on 06/20/06 (2) comments

Windstar Cruises special 14 day voyages

~ Casual Elegance ~~ Just 308 Guests ~ ~ Open Seating Dining ~ ~ Five Star Service ~ ~ Gourmet Cuisine ~~ Enchanting Places ~

Save on Wind Surf 14 day Voyages from only $2,999pp:
October 15 Rome to Rome roundtrip visiting: (click here for itinerary) October 22 Nice to Barcelona visiting: (click here for itinerary) October 29 Rome to Lisbon visiting: (click here for itinerary)
7 day Wind Surf from just $1,999pp*
Barcelona to Lisbon	September 10	(map)

Rome to Nice	October 1 & 15*	(map)

Nice to Rome	October 8 & 22*	(map)

Rome to Barcelona	October 29*	(map)

Barcelona to Lisbon	November 5*	(map)


	For Immediate Reservations Call Cruise Planners 1-800-258-7245 To learn more about these itineraries, visit www.mycruiseplanner.net

View our 3D e-brochures

Posted in Windstar Cruises — by Michael on 06/19/06 (0) Comments

Kid’s Sail Free on MSC Holiday Sailing

MSC Cruises’ special “Kids Sail Free” offer lets you take the entire family to the Caribbean during the upcoming holiday season without breaking the bank. Youngsters ages 12 and under sharing a stateroom with two full-fare paying adults sail free on MSC Lirica’s Dec. 18 11-night roundtrip sailing from Fort Lauderdale. Cruise-only prices start at $1,250 per person (double occupancy). With a limited number of staterooms available in conjunction with the “Kids Sail Free” offer, this holiday sailing is expected to fill up quickly. The itinerary features some of the most beautiful spots in the Caribbean, including Santa Marta, Cartagena, Cristobal, Puerto Limon, Roatan Island and Grand Cayman. In addition to beautiful beaches and fascinating cultural experiences, shore excursions are available to visit such historic sights as the Panama Canal, adding a unique educational component to the trip. And through it all guests can enjoy the “Beautiful. Passionate. Italian”’ experience as only MSC Cruises can present it. The entire family can enjoy a vacation with a truly Italian flavor while visiting some of the Caribbean’s most memorable destinations. The adults can relax knowing that, while they are working out in the gym, being pampered in the spa or swimming on deck, the youngsters are enjoying themselves, too, participating in activities and facilities designed especially for them under the watchful eye of trained counselors. Since accommodations, onboard meals (featuring authentic Italian dishes, international delights and a children’s menu featuring younger-set favorites such as hamburgers, hot dogs and pizza) and European-style entertainment on the ship is included, Mom and Dad will know the bulk of their vacation’s cost before setting sail.

Posted in MSC Cruises — by Michael on 06/19/06 (0) Comments

Regent Announces That Drinks Are on The House

Regent Seven Seas® will ring in 2007 with good cheer - literally toasting its guests with a new inclusive liquor policy. Topping off its already acclaimed dining options and personalized service, the recently re-branded luxury cruise line will offer select complimentary wine and spirits at all bars and restaurants fleet wide on every sailing. "Luxury Goes Exploring®" in 2007 with worldwide cruises from seven to 111 nights in length - reaching 21 new ports of call from Kotor (Montenegro) to Yasawa (Fiji). "As part of our re-branding to Regent in March, we're instituting an inclusive liquor policy across the fleet for all 2007 cruises," said Mark Conroy, president of Regent. "Our World Cruises already have this inclusive liquor policy, and our guests have told us how much they like it. In fact, we've noticed how the policy has contributed to the air of conviviality aboard, with more people getting out of their suites socializing. It's this open, intimate spirit of camaraderie we wish to foster on all Regent voyages." While most aspects of Regent Seven Seas' re-branding will be in place in 2006, final touches will be applied in 2007 with the updating of staterooms/suites (including installation of flat screen TVs) and an expanded roster of personalized Regent Travel ConciergeSM offerings. Luxury Goes Exploring New Ports of Call Recipient of the 2005 Cruise Critic "Cruise Innovation Award" for being "the luxury line with the most innovative, path-finding itineraries," Regent Seven Seas will continue its trailblazing ways in 2007 with the addition of 21 new ports of call in Asia, Africa, the South Pacific, Europe, the Caribbean/Mexico and South America. The 700-guest all-balcony suite Seven Seas Voyager® will depart Ft. Lauderdale January 9 on a roundtrip six-segment, 111-night World Cruise - Regent's most extensive ever. The cruise line will return to southern and eastern Africa for the first time since 2003, calling at Walvis Bay, Cape Town, Richards Bay, Maputo (Mozambique), Mombasa, Mahe (Seychelles), and Male (Maldives). And, among the almost four-dozen destinations reached, four will be maiden calls at Maputo (Mozambique), Maura (Brunei), Colombo (Sri Lanka) and Valencia (Spain - for America's Cup), in addition to a series of complimentary shore side events, including a game drive through Amboseli in the shadow of the mighty Mt. Kilimanjaro. Following this extended voyage, the ship will head to Europe for a summer in the Baltic and fall in the Mediterranean with new calls at Falmouth (England), Kos (Greece), Korcula (Croatia) and Golfo di Porto (Corsica) (the latter two are also new calls for the Seven Seas Navigator®). Other Seven Seas Voyager highlights will be a 14-night Norway cruise to the North Cape and Spitzbergen, hosted by Captain Dag Dvergastein, including a call to his hometown of Nevlunghaven, Norway. And, due to the popularity of longer cruises, Regent will launch new 42- and 44-night Grand Europe voyages in May and October, each calling at 33 ports. The 700-guest all-balcony suite Seven Seas Mariner® will begin the year with a four-segment, 59-night roundtrip Ft. Lauderdale "Circle South America" voyage reaching 31 ports in 16 countries with a first time call at Laguna San Rafael (Chile), and the personal insights of famed ocean explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau, who will sail the Amazon. In the spring of 2007, the ship will sail the Caribbean, then head to the West Coast of the U.S. with a turnaround in San Francisco. She will then enjoy a season of seven-night Gulf of Alaska sailings before a westward departure September 12 for an eight-segment, 107-night "Grand Asia Pacific" journey returning to Burma after an interval of several years, and calling for the first time in Yokohama (Japan), Ko Samui (Thailand) and Pusan (South Korea), with Osaka (Japan) to be used as a turnaround port. The 490-guest all-suite (90% with private balconies) Seven Seas Navigator will spend the first four months of 2007 sailing a series of Caribbean cruises from Ft. Lauderdale. New next year, the vessel will be deployed exclusively in the Mediterranean from April through early November where she make maiden calls at Cartagena (Spain), Kotor (Montenegro) and Koper (Slovenia). When the three ships sail the Caribbean in the winter and fall of 2007, they will add Cayo Levantado (Dominican Republic) to their itineraries, and the Seven Seas Mariner will also reach Chiapas (Mexico). The 330-guest all-ocean view (more than 50% with private balconies) Paul Gauguin, which makes her home sailing French Polynesia year-round, will offer guests a selection of seven-, 10, 11-, and 14-night voyages roundtrip from Papeete, Tahiti, calling at the Society, Tuamotu, Marquesas, Cook and Austral Islands. New for 2007 will be four 14-night sailings calling at Nuku Alofa (Tonga), Vanua Levu, Lautoka and Yasawa (Fiji). You can find out more about cruising with Regent Seven Seas Cruises by visiting Cruise Planners or call us at 888-286-9827.

Posted in Regent Seven Seas Cruises — by Michael on 06/17/06 (0) Comments

Holland America Enjoying Partnership With Food & Wine for Culinary Cruises

Holland America Line continues its successful on-board culinary program through 2006 and 2007 in conjunction with Food & Wine magazine. The multi-year partnership provides guests on select Holland America Line cruises an opportunity to experience demonstrations and seminars conducted by top chefs, wine experts and leading cookbook authors affiliated with Food & Wine. The partnership developed in response to consumers’ increasing interest in learning about fine wines and international cuisine. The initiative is part of the line’s Culinary Arts Center program, which is offered on every sailing. As a part of the line’s $225 million Signature of Excellence initiative, Holland America Line has spent more than $13 million to create and install the Culinary Arts Center facilities. The Culinary Arts Centers are now in place on all but one of the fleet of 13 premium cruising vessels including the new 1,918-passenger ms Noordam; the remaining ship ms Oosterdam will be completed in October of 2006. Resembling the elaborate show kitchens used by celebrity chefs on television cooking programs, each Culinary Arts Center features an innovative theater-style venue. The state-of-the-art “show kitchen at sea” has two large plasma video screens to display overhead and close-up video views of the food preparation, and a large cooking display counter where guests can learn new cooking techniques and dishes. Culinary demonstrations are filmed and aired on the in-stateroom televisions. You can read more about Holland America Line's Culinary Art Centers by clicking on "more," there's even a schedule of upcoming celebrity chef's who will be sailing throughout the rest of the year. We've got pictures of the Culinary Arts Center onboard the ms Zaandam over in the photo gallery. Find out more about cruising with Holland America by visiting Cruise Planners, or call us at 888-286-9827. The Culinary Arts Center presented by Food & Wine magazine brings the pages of the epicurean magazine alive on dozens of sailings of the world’s leading premium cruise line. The program debuted in Fall of 2005. “This collaboration has been a total success and we could not be more pleased. The dynamic partnership with Food & Wine magazine demonstrates how travelers love the opportunity to hone and enrich their epicurean knowledge and skills,” said Richard D. Meadows, CTC, Holland America Line’s senior vice president, marketing and sales. “Our guests learn from and mingle with acclaimed culinary experts, these are rare experiences found exclusively on Holland America Line.” "Our enthusiasm continues to grow with the myriad possibilities of this partnership," said Julie McGowan, Food & Wine's senior vice president/publisher. "By pairing Holland America Line's stellar reputation and worldwide itineraries with Food & Wine's expertise and celebration of the epicurean lifestyle, we attract the most dynamic, sought-after talents in the world of food and wine." Guests learn tricks-of-the-trade from top professionals and can try their hand at preparing dishes and tasting wines representative of specific ports-of-call. Food & Wine also designs and provides recipe cards and wine-tasting notes that guests can take home along with copies of the magazine. Other opportunities include book signings, question-and-answer sessions, market tours in ports of call, specially designed on-board menus and more. Food & Wine provides chefs, wine experts and cookbook authors who appear in the magazine’s pages as well as those featured at the publication’s premier culinary events, specifically the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado held each June. The following culinary experts are scheduled to sail in the latter half of 2006:

Cat Cora, host and producer of The Cat Cora Show and frequent guest and host on various Food Network shows, sails June 23^rd aboard ms Zaandam to Alaska.
Jim Coleman, chef, Normandy Farm and host of Flavors of America, sailing on the June 25th Alaska sailing aboard the ms Veendam.
Nick Stellino, chef, author and host of public television’s Nick Stellino’s Family Kitchen, sailing on the July 9th Alaska cruise aboard the ms Westerdam.
Ari Nieminen, Executive Chef, Water's Edge; former Chef at FireBird, on the ms Maasdam’s Transatlantic cruise July 10th.
Clay Conley, Chef, Azul at Mandarin Oriental sails aboard ms Volendam in Alaska on July 19th.
Gerald Dawes, expert in Spanish food, wine and culture, sailing on the July 20th Western Mediterranean cruise aboard Noordam.
Jean-Francis & Alessandra Quaglia, chefs/proprietors, Provence Mediterranean Grill and Provence Marinaside, sailing on the July 22nd Alaska cruise aboard the ms Zuiderdam.
Akira Oshima, Executive Chef, Hotel Okura cruising aboard the Ryndam in Alaska on July 23^rd.
John Howie, Chef at Seastar Restaurant cruising aboard Noordam in the Mediterranean on July 30^th.
Mark Fiorentino, chef boulanger, Daniel, sailing on the August 11^th Baltic cruise aboard the ms Amsterdam.
James Boyce, chef, Studio at Montage Resort & Spa, sailing on the August 14^th Europe cruise aboard the ms Prinsendam.
Dean Fearing of the Mansion on Turtle Creek sails to Canada/New England August 19^th aboard Maasdam.
Aaron Sanchez, chef, Paladar, and regular on TV Food Network, sailing aboard the August 27^th Alaska cruise aboard Westerdam.
Charles Dale, founder, Range and Rustique, sailing on the September 18^th Western Mediterranean cruise aboard Noordam.
John Besh, executive chef, Restaurant August, sailing on the September 28^th Alaska cruise aboard the ms Veendam.
James Mazzio, executive chef, The Studio of Long Grove, sailing on the September 30^th Panama Canal cruise aboard Zuiderdam.
Sharon Kramis and Julie Kramis Hearne, mother-daughter duo and authors, The Cast Iron Skillet, sailing on the October 11^th Canada/New England cruise aboard Amsterdam.
Ernie Pino, Culinary Instructor, cruises in the Mediterranean on ms Rotterdam Oct. 22^nd.
Marcus Samuelsson, chef/owner, Aquavit and Riingo, sailing on the October 22^nd Mexico cruise aboard the ms Zaandam.
Anthony Giglio, wine and spirits expert, sailing on the November 25th Caribbean cruise aboard the ms Noordam.

Culinary experts for 2007 cruises will be announced in the next few months. In addition to the program with Food & Wine magazine, Holland America Line offers culinary demonstrations, wine tasting and hands-on cooking classes in its Culinary Arts Center program aboard every sailing. These include culinary demonstrations by the line’s own executive chefs and culinary staff as well as regional and specialty chefs from the ports visited on Mexico, Alaska, Europe and Asia/Pacific cruises.

Posted in Holland America Line — by Michael on 06/17/06 (0) Comments

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