The Yachts of Seabourn has announced an exciting selection of special shoreside experiences planned to entertain and enlighten the privileged guests aboard Seabourn Odyssey’s inaugural world cruise. The ultra luxury, 450-guest Seabourn Odyssey will launch in June 2009, with its maiden world cruise visiting 42 ports between Ft. Lauderdale and Athens in a voyage of 108 days from January 5 to April 24, 2010.
Full World Odyssey guests are invited to stay overnight and attend a gala Bon Voyage Ball at the St. Regis hotel in Fort Lauderdale the night before departure. Then there will be five complimentary events reserved solely for guests who book the full world cruise. Those guests embarking in Los Angeles for 92 days will enjoy four of them. An additional seven ports will feature complimentary Exclusively Seabourn shoreside experiences to which all guests on board will be invited, regardless of the length of their voyages.
Where will Odyssey’s world cruise shoreside experiences take you? • The full world cruise events begin on January 18, 2010, with a spectacular catamaran cruise from tiny Cabo San Lucas, at the tip of Baja California, to seek some of the six species of whales which gather each year in the Sea of Cortez. Sailing on a comfortable catamaran, guests will pass the famed natural formation of Los Arcos, the secluded golden sands of Lover’s Beach, the resident colony of sea lions, and beyond. A naturalist guide will impart details of sea and land life, and answer questions as guests toast the starkly beautiful and biologically rich environment of the Baja Peninsula.
• On February 6, full world cruise guests will be greeted by the haunting tones of a conch-shell salute and fragrant tiare flower leis as they stroll a candlelit path into a tropical garden at Papeete, Tahiti. There, under a canopy of South Pacific stars, they will enjoy an evening of cocktails, lilting Tahitian music and a sumptuous feast capped by a rousing performance of traditional Polynesian song and dance.
• In Sydney, Australia on February 24, a private sunset dinner cruise of scenic Sydney Harbor will end alongside the city’s iconic Opera House, where guests will be escorted inside to enjoy the featured performance, before returning by the same boat to Seabourn Odyssey.
• Hong Kong will be the site of the next world cruise event on March 15. The waterside Aberdeen Marina Club will be transformed into a colorful Chinese bazaar with craftsmen’s booths, traditional fortune-tellers and calligraphers, a Chinese musical ensemble and a spectacular Lion Dance. In addition to a buffet of delectable Chinese specialties fit for an emperor, the kaleidoscopic evening will include exhibitions of Chinese Opera “face-changing,” kung fu martial arts and acrobatics.
• The dramatic climax of the world cruise exclusive events will unfold in a colorful setting on the island of Phuket on March 29. Greeted by a Thai long drum troupe, Seabourn guests will enter a Phuket Thai cultural village to be regaled by women in traditional Thai costumes, gaily decorated elephants, and exhibitions of classical Thai dance, traditional boxing, floral decorations and elaborate fruit and vegetable carving. There will be demonstrations of Thai cooking, puppet carving, rubber tapping, and even chances to ride in an ox-cart or atop a decorated elephant.
Celebrity Solstice – just added another first to its series of exceptional offerings: a 10-sided diamond cut for the first time, and available exclusively on Celebrity Solstice. Aptly named the Solstice Diamond, the patented gem’s 86 facets create a visible, distinguishing star pattern even more sparkling than the familiar 58-facet brilliant-cut diamond.
Sourced from conflict-free stones mined in Canada, the Solstice Diamond was created by UK-based Harding Brothers, who will manage the retail shops onboard. Mounted in hand-created settings and in varying sizes for rings, pendants and earrings, no two pieces will be alike.
The diamonds will be available in Celebrity Solstice’s luxurious “Boutique C,” one of 18 shops spanning three decks and 6,500 square feet onboard the ship.
We’ve got more details about the shopping options on Celebrity Solstice when you click on “more” below.
We didn’t have any big reveals this week but we did have quite a bit of news.
Crystal is the first line to bring the Kinesis Fitness system to sea, and Cruise West is expanding their 2008/2009 South America cruise season.
Norwegian Gem is plays host to TLC’s What Not to Wear, and Seabourne celebrates not one but two keel layings. Carnival has their own unique plans for the naming of Carnival Splendor.
Legend of The Seas is headed to Asia full time next year, and the Norwegian Dawn gets to do some search and rescue.
Two lines are sued over Alaska Ocean Ranger access and a federal Ocean Ranger bill has been introduced in Congress.
Finally SOLAS fire code amendments when into effect on July 1.
This week have a little norovirus chat, in specific what it’s like to make a sailing that is dealing with a norovirus outbreak.
We’ve just added a new feature to the site – Carnival’s FunShip Island.
FunShip Island is a first-of-its-kind online destination where you can explore, play and experience a “Fun Ship” cruise from the convenience of your computer. FunShip Island provides a comprehensive, visual overview of the various aspects of the Carnival cruise experience, offering an immersive world where you can play in a virtual casino, experience the line’s iconic Twister waterslide, embark on a Rhino 4×4 Jeep ride, and tour the “Camp Carnival” play area, among other experiences. In addition you can also tour Carnival’s various stateroom categories to preview their desired accommodations.
While it’s not quite the same as going on a Carnival Cruise the site is a way for you to get an idea of what to expect when you’re on a Carnival Cruise. When you’re done exploring the site and decide that you’re ready to book, you can search the various itineraries Carnival offers and then contact us through FunShip Island to book your cruise.
Twin blue-white flames in the noonday sun signaled the simultaneous welding of coins Tuesday onto two steel keel blocks that will become the sleek hulls of two new, ultra luxury cruising yachts in 2010 and 2011.
The ceremony, which was officiated by Seabourn’s president & CEO Pamela C. Conover and Marco Bisagno, president of T. Mariotti S.p.A., marks the beginning of the next stage in a three-vessel expansion project that will increase Seabourn’s capacity of luxury cruising accommodations by over 217 percent in the next three years.
The first of the three hulls, which will become Seabourn Odyssey, was delivered to Mariotti’s shipyard in Genoa, Italy at the end of May, where it will be finished and fitted out over the next year, prior to delivery in June of 2009. It will represent the first newly built capacity in the ultra luxury end of the cruise industry in over six years. Carrying just 450 guests, it will be especially notable for its intimate size, which embodies Seabourn’s commitment to yacht-style vessels at a time when most other brands are engaged in building ever-larger ships. The new yacht promises to further embellish Seabourn’s peerless reputation for superb onboard experiences with an unmatched ratio of space per guest, encompassing a wide range of sumptuous ocean-view suites measuring from 295 to over 1,600 square feet, 90 percent of which will boast private verandas. Additional features include five inviting dining alternatives, an innovative concierge lounge called Seabourn Square and an indoor/outdoor spa facility of over 11,400 square feet, spread over two decks.
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