Cruise News
Royal Caribbean Savings**
Savings valid for Ocean View & above staterooms
Booking through March 31, 2008
Save $50 per stateroom on the following ship & sail dates:
Majesty of the Seas- 4-Night Bahamas From Miami - 8/11, 8/18, 8/25/2008
Enchantment of the Seas- 5-Night Western Caribbean From Fort Lauderdale - 8/18, 9/6, 9/15/2008
Save $100 per stateroom on the following ship & sail dates:
Adventure of the Seas- 7-Night Southern Caribbean From San Juan - 8/31, 9/14, 10/5/2008
Explorer of the Seas- 9-Night Atlantic Canada & Quebec From Cape Liberty Cruise Port, NJ- 8/28, 10/9/2008
Freedom of the Seas- 7-Night Eastern Caribbean From Miami - 9/7, 9/21, 10/5/2008
Liberty of the Seas- 7-Night Eastern Caribbean From Miami - 9/13, 9/27/2008
Liberty of the Seas- 7-Night Western Caribbean From Miami - 9/6/08
Mariner of the Seas- 7-Night Western Caribbean From Port Canaveral - 9/21, 10/5/2008
Mariner of the Seas- 7-Night Eastern Caribbean From Port Canaveral - 9/28/08
Splendour of the Seas- 7-Night Greek Isles/Dalmatian Coast From Venice - 8/30, 9/27/2008 Splendour of the Seas- 7-Night Greek Isles From Venice - 10/4/2008
Voyager of the Seas- 7-Night Classic Mediterranean From Barcelona - 8/16, 8/23, 8/30, 9/6, 10/4/2008
Save $200 per stateroom on the following ship & sail dates:
Brilliance of the Seas- 12-Night Mediterranean Greek Isles From Barcelona - 8/21/2008
Brilliance of the Seas - 12-Night Mediterranean Venice From Barcelona - 10/20/2008 Legend of the Seas- 13-Night Italy & Croatia From Rome - 8/16, 9/10, 10/5/2008
Navigator of the Seas - 12-Night Eastern Mediterranean From Rome - 9/7/2008
Navigator of the Seas - 10-Night Greece & Turkey From Barcelona - 9/19/2008
Navigator of the Seas - 11-Night Eastern Mediterranean From Barcelona - 9/29/2008
** Term and conditions: Valid for OCEAN VIEW or above staterooms booked between through March 31, 2008 on the itineraries mentioned above. Offer is based on when the stateroom is booked, not deposited or date of final payment. This offer is not transferable. Savings are in U.S. dollars and are not redeemable for cash. This offer is valid for NEW individual bookings only. Offer not applicable to Groups. THE OFFER CANNOT BE USED WITH CERTAIN FARES. This offer cannot be combined with any coupon on the same sailing. Offer is not combinable with any other promotion or offer unless expressly stated therein. Not combinable with any other National Account offer. Subject to availability. Offer can be withdrawn at any time. Singles paying 200% are entitled to full face value. Discount applies on a per stateroom basis, double occupancy. Prices vary by ship and sailing date and space is subject to availability at time of booking. Deposits must be made in order for savings to be applied.
Princess Chef's Table
Princess Cruises plans to implement its nascent Chef's Table experience aboard most of its ships by early this year.
Designed for foodies, the Chef's Table offers an evening that begins with a welcoming of hors d'oeuvres and cocktails in the ship's galley with the executive chef, followed by a multi-course tasting dinner in the main dining room.
The Chef's Table is currently available on Emerald Princess, Crown Princess and Caribbean Princess. Princess' smaller ships, Tahitian Princess, Pacific Princess and Royal Princess, are not included in the initial rollout, but may be at a later date.
The special dinner can be reserved for up to 10 passengers at a cost of $75 per person. Reservations can be made onboard through the ship's DINE telephone line or in person the first day of the cruise at the dining reservations table.
Smoking Ban Expanded
Crystal Cruises is imposing a stricter smoking policy, banning smoking on all stateroom and suite verandas on its two ships beginning in May.
New Cruise Boarding Rules Start Feb. 18
New cruise boarding rules go into effect on Feb. 18. The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) advises that, starting that date, passengers must board at U.S. ports at least one hour prior to the ship's scheduled departure. CLIA also recommends that passengers use any online check-in systems offered by cruise lines to submit their information as soon as possible before arriving at the departure port. Another good idea is arriving into the departure port the night before the sailing date, to avoid any problems with flight delays on the date of departure. If passengers fail to make it to the ship by the hour-before-departure deadline, they may be denied boarding without any refund of their cruise payments.
Note that companies like Royal Caribbean will ask passengers to arrive even earlier for check-ins. For Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Azamara sailings, passengers must complete their online check-ins no later than three days prior to the cruise departure. If they don't, they will be required to complete the process at the pier at least two hours prior to the published sailing time. If passengers are not checked in and onboard the ship at least 90 minutes prior to that time, they will not be permitted to sail.
Another reminder: Starting Jan. 31, cruise passengers can no longer orally declare their citizenship to customs officials. Instead, they must carry proof of citizenship - such as a passport, a birth certificate, or naturalization papers - and a government-issued ID such as a drivers license. However, I recommend that all those who are traveling out of the country on a cruise have their passports. The passport requirements are constantly being revised and you don't want to be denied boarding.
Hotel and Resort News
Wyndham's "Pure Rooms"
Wyndham hotels have started to make environmentally friendly accommodations for guests who suffer from allergies. Pure Rooms, which use a special process to disinfect rooms, are available at 34 hotels nationwide, with Wyndham Hotels being the biggest chain to use to Pure Rooms. "We received favorable comments when we test-marketed the rooms so we decided to roll it out for all our properties, about 10% of the rooms as well as conference rooms," said Faith Taylor, Wyndham's vice president of product development and innovation. Read the entire article Chicago Tribune
Religious Travel
Religius travel has become increasingly popular. Several travel suppliers have put together packages that will take you to places like Lourdes (France), Fatima (Portugal), Knock (Ireland), Israel, and of course, the many sites of Rome and the surrounding area. Read a recent article in USA Today.
Safety Tips for Parents
When you are on vacation with your children, use your camera in your cell phone to take a picture of each of your children each day. This way if you become separated from your child, you will have an exact description of what he or she is wearing that day. Use your digital camera if you don't have a camera on your phone.
Safety While Traveling Abroad
Travel safety tips for travel safety tips from the U.S. State Department.
Airline News
JetBlue will begin offering passengers free e-mail access on one of its airplanes next week.
A new automated baggage screening system at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport can screen 5,000 checked bags each hour. The system will first operate within Northwest Airlines' baggage system, and eventually all carriers at the airport will use it.
United Airlines announced a new checked bag policy for customers who purchase nonrefundable domestic economy tickets. Customers purchasing nonrefundable domestic economy tickets who do not have status in Mileage Plus or Star Alliance may check one bag for free and a second bag for a $25 service fee.
This policy is for travel exclusively within the 50 United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada and applies to tickets purchased on or after February 4, 2008 for travel on or after May 5, 2008. Read more...
I hope you have enjoyed reading this newsletter. The goal of The Travel Bug Vacation Planners is to remove the stress from your vacation planning and allow you to relax, knowing that the details of your trip have been arranged for you.
We also provide concierge service including itinerary planning, show and concert tickets, dinner reservations, sporting events, and private transportation.
Please contact me at 732-747-8187 for your personalized vacation planning.
Happy travels,
Mary McGrath
Your Personal Vacation Planner
The Travel Bug Vacation Planners, LLC
Personal Planning, Lasting Memories
