<>
New Restaurant Opens at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge Princess CruisesWild Alaska seafood takes the spotlight at Princess' new King Salmon restaurant opening today at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. The new dining experience, which was developed after extensive customer research, focuses on the state's iconic wild salmon, plus other Alaskan seafood -- such as the area's prized halibut and succulent king crab legs. Designed to offer a memorable dining experience with an Alaskan atmosphere, the 250-seat restaurant adds a distinctive new dining option to the resort property, located at the gateway to Denali National Park and Preserve. Diners at King Salmon will feast on a variety of types of salmon - such as king, silver or sockeye - with a varying daily catch featuring dishes such as Fresh Bristol Bay Sockeye Salmon Gilled with Lemon-Dill Butter Sauce or Potato Chip Crusted Sockeye Salmon with Herb Tomato Salad. Salmon salads, pastas and burgers are also featured as are other local seafood, such as Alaskan Bristol Bay King Crab Legs and Asiago Crusted Alaskan Halibut "Scaloppini." Additional menu options such as prime rib, the lodge's signature "brick" chicken, and Alaskan gourmet salads round out the menus. Guests can compliment their meal with suggested pairings from the restaurant's extensive wine list. Click on "more" to learn about Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge.  Several Princess Alaska cruise tours visit Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, call us at 888-286-9827 for more information about Princess' Alaska cruise tours. Located in a dramatic riverfront setting, the new restaurant's décor combines the lodge's rugged wilderness surroundings with a variety of authentic Alaskan design elements, including wood-burning stoves, a fireplace and local artwork. King Salmon will be open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge is a featured property on Princess' extensive Alaska cruisetour lineup. These three- to nine-night land packages combine with a seven-day "Voyage of the Glaciers" Gulf of Alaska cruise to create a comprehensive 10- to 16-night land/sea vacation in the heart of "The Great Land." All Princess Alaska cruisetours offer at least two nights in the Denali area, and many offer the line's exclusive Direct to the Wilderness rail service to take passengers straight to the lodge from the cruise pier in Whittier. The lodge is located just one mile from the entrance to Denali National Park. Situated along the scenic Nenana River, Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge offers 661 rooms plus a wide range of activities and modern comforts on the edge of the wilderness. The most modern property in the area, the lodge features a variety of dining options, hot tubs, gift shops, exercise facilities and a spectacular outdoor viewing terrace. Guests can easily explore the park and enjoy a wide range of local excursion options, including helicopter flightseeing, natural history tours, rafting and horseback riding.
Posted in Princess Cruises — by Michael on 05/16/07 (0) Comments


Celebrity Panama Canal and West Coast Itineraries Open for Booking Celebrity Cruises From luaus to loons, Celebrity Cruises’ most recent slate of itinerary openings offers unforgettable experiences sure to please nature lovers, wine enthusiasts, and cruise aficionados. Yesterday, the top-rated line opened 2008 bookings for its Alaska, Hawaii, Pacific Northwest and Panama Canal seasons as well as for some of its 2009 sailings. Click "more" for the details on next year's sailings, and don't forget to call us at 888-286-9827 to book one of these great itineraries. Alaska
  • Celebrity Infinity will bookend her Alaska season with “Ultimate Alaska” itineraries. The first is an 11-night itinerary northbound from San Francisco, California, on April 28, 2008, arriving in Vancouver, British Columbia on May 9. The second is southbound out of Vancouver on September 19, 2008, with a 14-night itinerary that arrives in San Francisco on October 3. Both sailings feature ports of call in Alaska and British Columbia; the southbound trip includes stops in Washington and Oregon.
  • Celebrity Millennium will kick off her 2008 Alaska season with a 14-night “Ultimate Alaska” itinerary, sailing roundtrip from San Francisco on May 5. On May 19, Celebrity Millennium will sail an 11-night West Coast and Alaska cruise from San Francisco to Vancouver. The end of Celebrity Millennium’s Alaska season features another 14-night “Ultimate Alaska” sailing on September 22 from Vancouver to San Diego, California.
  • Celebrity Mercury will sail a 14-night “Golden Gate to Alaska” cruise from San Francisco to Vancouver on April 27.
  • Between May and September, Celebrity Infinity will sail a series of seven-night Hubbard Glacier itineraries roundtrip from Seattle, Washington. Celebrity Millennium will alternate between seven-night northbound and southbound sailings between Seward, Alaska and Vancouver. During the same months, Celebrity Mercury will sail a series of seven-night Hubbard Glacier itineraries roundtrip from Vancouver before an eight-night trip from Vancouver to Seattle on September 14.
  • Celebrity Millennium’s May 30 northbound sailing will be the vessel’s first sailing of the season that offers the line’s Alaska cruisetour packages.
  • Beginning May 11, cruisetour packages are available for all of Celebrity Mercury’s 2008 sailings roundtrip from Vancouver, including the opportunity to explore the Canadian Rockies or Whistler either before or after an Alaska Hubbard Glacier cruise. With the 2008 season, the line is introducing a Frasier Discovery tour offered exclusively in conjunction with Celebrity Mercury’s sailings. During this tour, guests will travel through the unique northern interior of British Columbia, and includes stops at Calgary, Banff, Jasper, Quesnell, Whistler, and Vancouver. California/Pacific Northwest
    • Before the Alaska season, Celebrity Mercury will sail three seven-night and one eight-night Pacific Coastal cruises roundtrip from San Francisco beginning March 29, 2008, with stops in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. The eight-night itinerary also visits Monterey, California.
    • At the end of the 2008 Alaska season, Celebrity Mercury will offer a series of three- and four-night Pacific Northwest sailings roundtrip out of Seattle. •
    • On October 13, Celebrity Mercury will sail a nine-night wine cruise from Vancouver to San Diego, featuring stops in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California, including an overnight stay in San Francisco.
    • On September 19, Celebrity Millennium will present a three-night British Columbia cruise roundtrip from Vancouver.
    Hawaii
    • On March 16, 2008, Celebrity Mercury will sail a 12-night Hawaii northbound cruise from Honolulu, Hawaii to Ensenada, Mexico, featuring overnight stays in both Honolulu and Kailua Kona, Hawaii.
    • On October 6, 2008, Celebrity Millennium will sail an 11-night Hawaii southbound cruise from Ensenada to Honolulu, featuring overnight stays in Lahaina and Honolulu.
    • On October 22, November 6, and December 19, 2008, and on February 28 and March 15, 2009, Celebrity Mercury will sail 15-night Hawaii itineraries roundtrip out of San Diego. The November sailing features an evening sail around Mount Kilauea, and the October and December sailings include an overnight stay in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii.
    Panama Canal
    • On April 13, 2008, Celebrity Infinity will sail a 15-night Panama Canal cruise from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to San Francisco, with stops in Jamaica, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico.
    • On April 20, 2008, Celebrity Millennium will sail a 15-night Panama Canal cruise from Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco.
    • Celebrity Infinity will sail a 16-night Panama Canal cruise from San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on October 3, 2008. Celebrity Infinity will also sail two 14-night Panama Canal cruises from Fort Lauderdale to San Diego on October 19, 2008, and March 29, 2009, and a 13-night Panama Canal cruise from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale on November 2.
    • Celebrity Mercury will sail a 14-night eastbound Panama Canal itinerary from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale on November 21, 2008, and return west on another 14-night sailing between the same cities on December 5. In 2009, Celebrity Mercury will sail transcanal sailings between Fort Lauderdale and San Diego on January 3, January 17, January 31, February 14 and March 30.
Posted in Celebrity Cruises — by Michael on 05/16/07 (0) Comments


Cruise Lines Agree to Stronger Protections of Olympic National Marine Sanctuary The cruise industry, the Port of Seattle and the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) have agreed to strengthen existing protections for the marine waters of the Pacific Northwest by prohibiting all cruise ship wastewater discharges within the entire Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. "The Port of Seattle applauds the Northwest Cruise Ship Association (NWCA), for working with the Port and Ecology to address concerns about the environmental impact of increased cruise traffic at the Port," said Port of Seattle Commission President John Creighton. "The cruise industry has shown leadership in the maritime industry by reducing air emissions through the use of shorepower and low sulfur fuels," Creighton said. "Installing state-of-the-art wastewater treatment systems and agreeing to not discharge within the marine sanctuary is another strong step in the right direction." A memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the NWCA, the Port and Ecology in 2004 established protections that prevent discharges of untreated wastewater and biosolids in state waters. Wastewater treated with advanced on-board treatment systems can be discharged in state waters with approval from Ecology. Advanced treatment systems treat wastewater to standards equal to or greater than shore-based municipal treatment plants that discharge in state waters. The agreement also established a program that allows Ecology inspectors to board ships, look at log books and examine wastewater treatment equipment. "Ecology is pleased that these Seattle-based ships have committed to extending the MOU beyond Washington Waters," said Jeannie Summerhays, Ecology's Northwest Region Director. "Including the entire sanctuary recognizes the important marine resources protected there." "The cruise lines are committed to maintaining very high environmental standards in Washington waters and in the neighboring jurisdictions of British Columbia and Alaska," said John Hansen, President of NWCA. "The MOU is a very important instrument for setting, and maintaining, those standards." The Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary encompasses 3,310 square miles off of Washington State's Olympic Peninsula, extending 135 miles along the Washington Coast from about Cape Flattery to the mouth of the Copalis River.
Posted in General News — by Michael on 05/16/07 (0) Comments


Update on Empress of The North Majestic America Line has reported that passengers aboard Empress of the North when it ran aground in Southeast Alaska early Monday morning arrived in Seattle and are now en route home, with assistance from the company. Several passengers opted to remain in Alaska to continue with pre-arranged travel plans. “We are continuing to meet the needs of our guests,” said Majestic America Line’s president, David Giersdorf. “At the same time, we are actively working to identify the cause of this incident, and will take appropriate action once all the facts are known.” Passengers who were aboard Empress of the North on this sailing will have their travel costs paid for by the company, and will receive a complimentary cruise in the future so they can complete their travel plans. "Empress of the North is one of the highest rated small cruise ships in the world. She delivers an exceptional experience to our guests, particularly the stellar service provided to guests by our crew members,” Giersdorf said. Giersdorf said reports from those aboard Empress of the North were complimentary of the crew’s handling of the situation, as well as the assistance rendered by the U.S. Coast Guard and other vessels that were in the area when the incident occurred. "We are grateful to the other parties involved – including the U.S. Coast Guard, other vessels that were in the area, and the Alaska Marine Highway System -- who assisted in the safe transfer of guests from the Empress to Juneau. The cooperation and support from all parties was exemplary,” Giersdorf said. The company is currently conducting an assessment of damage while the vessel remains in Juneau. Once a full inspection is completed, Majestic America Line will finalize a repair plan and timeline, and communicate the date on which Empress of the North will return to service.
Posted in Majestic America Line — by Michael on 05/15/07 (0) Comments


Tommy Dorsey Orchestra to Swing Crystal Cruises Across the Atlantic Crystal SerenityFans of Big Band music and ballroom dancing can swing to the live riffs of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra on a trans-Atlantic Big Band & Ballroom Dance theme cruise aboard Crystal Serenity this fall. Led by the inimitable Buddy Morrow, the orchestra returns for its fourth cruise with Crystal to perform tunes of the 40s, from swing and Dixieland to jazz, rhythm and blues, and set the beat for ballroom dance competitions. Throughout the cruise, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra will perform nightly sets as well as host Big Band Afternoon Teatime. Guests will enjoy classic Big Band movies such as The Glenn Miller Story, afternoon dances, trivia contests, swing lessons and more. Extra Ambassador Hosts, skilled in all forms of ballroom dancing, will be aboard to serve as dance partners. Two-time Grammy Award-winner Loren Schoenberg, a noted jazz historian, conductor, museum curator and Big Band saxophonist, will share anecdotal tales about big moments in Big Band history. His lectures range from Big Band theory and the evolution of jazz to stories about the lives and talents of Louis Armstrong and naturally, the fabulous Dorsey brothers. Traveling from Lisbon, Portugal to Miami, Florida, November 9-19, 2007, the 10-day itinerary includes Crystal's only calls to The Azores and Bermuda (for an overnight) this year. Fares begin at $2,995 per person, double occupancy. In Big Band history, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra is recognized as one of the best all-around dance bands, especially renowned for its ballads. Today, the orchestra's repertoire embraces not only the classics of the original Dorsey Orchestra, but also the spectrum of popular music from Dixieland, rhythm and blues, progressive jazz and contemporary.
Posted in Crystal Cruises — by Michael on 05/15/07 1 comment


« Newer Articles — Older Articles »

Terminal Locator

Search for a Cruise



Recent Posts

Subscribe