The Sun-Sentinel is reporting that nearly 3,000 passengers and crew were forced to evacuate the Carnival Sensation in Port Canaveral due to a false bomb threat. Officials from the US Coast Guard and Brevard FL County Sheriff’s Office searched the ship for two hours before declaring the threat a hoax.
Based on a time line of the incident gathered from several sources, the bomb threat was received by the US Coast Guard shortly before 3PM with the ship evacuated not long afterwards. The sweep of the Sensation was completed around 5PM and the ship left on it’s scheduled itinerary around 8PM.
A golfer’s dream come true, Silversea’s 2007 Silver Links program offers golf enthusiasts the chance to combine their love of luxury travel with their passion for golf on 15 diverse itineraries aboard Silver Shadow and Silver Whisper, featuring over 45 challenging courses in more than 25 countries and islands throughout Europe, the Caribbean and Mexico.
On each of these voyages rich in golf destinations, guests will also have the opportunity to improve their game aboard ship with the help of the line’s onboard PGA-classed golf professional, who will organize complimentary lessons, contests and clinics.
In addition, the Silver Links voyages offer optional golfing excursions arranged and escorted by the ship’s golf pro.  From the gently rolling fairways at the elegant Fairmont Pierre Marques Golf Club on Acapulco’s Revocadero Beach, to the hairpin turns and swirling mountain winds of Montego Bay’s White Witch Golf Club, to the ancient dunes and pine groves at Zeebrugge’s Royal Zoute Golf Club, guests will have a chance to perfect their game at some of the world’s most challenging and revered courses.
The escorted, optional golfing excursions vary in price from course to course and include all transfers to and from the select golf courses, pull or power-drive carts, green and any applicable caddy fees.  Should guests choose to leave their clubs at home, the finest Nike clubs, shoes and golf essentials are available for rental, demo or purchase.  Golf clubs can be rented for as little as $45.
Golfers have the option to further improve their game aboard ship with private swing analysis utilizing the most advanced V1 digital coaching system, the same system selected by PGA.com as their preferred instructional technology. The cost for private swing analysis is $30.
We have a sampling of the golf excursions available when you click on “more” or call us at 888-286-9827 for additional information. (Read on…)
Ultra-luxury Silversea Cruises announced it is launching a new spa concept throughout its four-ship fleet, starting with Silver Shadow. The new spa brand, known as The Spa at Silversea, will replace the line’s existing Mandara Spas and feature new treatments and ceremonies designed to offer a more personalized and holistic spa experience that focuses on the guest’s individual needs and lifestyle.
Recently unveiled aboard Silver Shadow’s World Cruise, The Spa displays a stylish and welcoming ambience with a refurbished décor of new artwork and contemporary furnishings set in an elegant color palette of pure white and silver with subtle hints of color dispersed throughout the facility. The new spa concept will be implemented aboard Silver Wind in July, and will be expanded to the line’s other two ships, Silver Cloud and Silver Whisper, in the following months.
 Click “more” to earn about what Silversea is now offering their passengers. Call us at 888-286-9827 for more information about Silversea Cruises or to book onboard.
 When Emerald Princess sets sail for the first time this spring, she’ll offer “foodies” a unique treat: a rare opportunity to be welcomed into the inner sanctum of the ship’s galley by the executive chef for pre-dinner cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, followed by a specially prepared multi-course tasting dinner in the dining room.
While many passengers are able to enjoy a tour of the ship’s galley during the quiet off-hours, the new Chef’s Table offering will give a select group of gourmands the opportunity to visit the galley at its most busy time – during dinner – and treated to a full evening of memorable sights, tastes and conversation. After the Maitre d’ personally escorts the passengers to the galley and introduces them to the executive chef, the group will enjoy French champagne with appetizers. The chef will preview the details of the menu he created for them that evening, and the group will be welcomed to their special table in the dining room.
The multi-course menu will be specially created at the chef’s choice, and will not be offered anywhere else on the ship. The fare might include anything from a focus on regional cuisine to a showcase of indigenous ingredients from a recent port. Each course will be accompanied by a detailed explanation of special features, preparation methods, and tasting suggestions. Red and white wine, selected by the Maitre d’ to complement the meal, is included in the evening.
During the dessert course, the chef will rejoin the group at their private table to participate in a lively discussion about the evening’s meal, answer any questions the guests may have, and share culinary secrets that have been perfected through the chef’s many years of experience at sea and on land. On average, Princess’ chefs have been honing their culinary arts skills both shipside and shoreside for at least 25 years, and all chefs are also members of the prestigious international Chaîne des Rôtisseurs gastronomic society.
Additionally, each couple at the Chef’s Table will receive a personalized autographed copy of Princess’ best-selling cookbook, Courses, A Culinary Journey, which has sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide and is now available on amazon.com. Guests will also enjoy a complimentary photo taken at the private table with the chef.
The Chef’s Table experience can be reserved by up to 10 passengers on select nights during the sailing, at a cost of $75 per person. After its debut on Emerald Princess, Chef’s Table will be gradually introduced on all Princess ships fleet wide.
The 113,000-ton Emerald Princess, a sister ship to the line’s Crown Princess, will make its debut April 11 and offer an inaugural summer season of cruising in the Greek Isles and Mediterranean. The ship will feature the many design innovations introduced aboard Crown Princess last year including a dramatic piazza-style atrium with casual dining venues and an adults-only retreat called The Sanctuary.
MSC Cruises continues its era of expansion with the announcement that the Company is exercising its option to build a fourth “Musica†class Panamax ship, MSC Magnifica, thereby increasing the Company’s fleet to 12 ships within the next three years. Since 2003 MSC Cruises is taking delivery of one vessel a year. This makes MSC Cruises today the Company with the newest fleet and the highest balcony ratio in the world.
The announcement was made today by MSC Cruises CEO Pierfrancesco Vago and by Aker Yards France CEO Mr Jacques Hardelay. “Since launching its massive expansion program in 2003, MSC Cruises has become the leading European cruise company and the fastest-growing cruise line in the world. This announcement demonstrates the Company commitment to be a dominant force in the international cruise market. The best of Italian design, innovative technology and engineering, the spacious public areas and the large number of staterooms with balconies make the ‘MSC Musica class’ ships ideally suited for the requirements of the worldwide cruise market while reconfirming the uniqueness of the MSC Cruises’ product,†says Pierfrancesco Vago, CEO of MSC Cruises. Also adding: ‘In only three years MSC Cruises has successfully designed three prototype vessels together with Aker Yards. This is quite unique in the industry, proving the professionalism of our young MSC Cruises team’.
“MSC Magnifica signifies another important step toward MSC Cruises’ leadership in the cruise industry with a product and service tailored for our guests’ desires,†says Richard E. Sasso, president and CEO of MSC Cruises (USA).
The 89,600-ton vessel will join sister ships MSC Musica, MSC Orchestra (which debuts in May 2007) and MSC Poesia (scheduled to arrive in 2008). The Company will also take delivery of the largest two post-Panamax new vessels ever built by a European ship owner, MSC Fantasia and MSC Serenata to be delivered in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Like its sister ships, the new build will feature cutting edge technology and innovative design. The ship will carry 2,500 passengers and have more than 242,000 square feet of public area; 85 percent of the staterooms will be outside accommodations and 65 percent of the total number of staterooms will have balconies.
MSC Cruises has a long-standing relationship with Aker Yards: the shipyard has produced five vessels in the line’s current fleet – MSC Lirica, MSC Armonia, MSC Sinfonia, MSC Opera and MSC Musica – and MSC Cruises is in the process of taking delivery of four other ships from Aker Yards – MSC Orchestra, MSC Poesia, MSC Fantasia and MSC Serenata.
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