Norwegian Cruise Line Introduces All-Inclusive Packages On 2015 Cruises

Norwegian Cruise Line UK now has a “Norwegians Get It All and a Whole Lot More” promotion, an All-Inclusive Package for guests sailing in 2015 and booking between now and 30 October 2014. Including speciality drinks, speciality dining, service charges, internet, and more. This new package will add a value of more than £1,238  per stateroom on a 7-night cruise. 

The package will be available on cruises of three to 14 nights taking guests to  the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Alaska, Canada & New England, the Panama Canal and South America between 4 January and 27 December 2015. The package is also bookable with Norwegian’s European programme which includes Eastern and Western Mediterranean, Baltic and Northern Europe and Canary Island itineraries.

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New Offers From Oceania

                              

We love it when some really tempting new 'latest offers' roll into our Inbox - and here is a great example, courtesy of Oceania Cruises.

Take your pick from this selection of three specially-priced stylish voyages:

August 6: 10-night Mediterranean cruise, now £1319pp
Take the family on an educational voyage during the school holidays, spending three full days (2 nights) in Haifa, and an itinerary that starts in Athens and also visits Crete, Limassol, Rhodes, Kusadasi (for the great site of Ephesus), arriving into Istanbul, for a final day in the city. Oceania's ‘Sacred Sanctuaries’ cruise on board luxury 1,250-guest Riviera now costs from £1,319 (was £3,040), saving £1721pp, plus a $300 per stateroom on board credit.

August 22: 21-night `Ultimate Panama Canal’, now £3,039pp

Oceania's magnificent sailing from San Francisco to New York visits Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, the Panama Canal and the Caribbean before reaching the Big Apple, and now has a £1,724pp saving off the lead-in fare of £3,039pp, plus $300 on board credit per stateroom and free internet throughout the sailing. The cruise is on board the 650-guest mid-sized luxury ship Regatta.

October 6: Autumn Colours, now £2,039pp
Oceania is offering $300 per stateroom onboard credit and a whopping saving of £2,173pp off its 12-night `Colours, Coasts and Coves’ sailing from New York to Montreal on board Regatta, taking in all the magnificent autumn foliage of Canada and New England as well as a series of enchanting ports of call.

All prices includes return flights, all meals, no supplement for speciality dining restaurants and complimentary bottled water and soft drinks.

For bookings, follow this link to The Cruise Line, the UK's luxury cruising specialists.

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New From Holland America

Yes, it is 'brochure season' in the wide World of Cruising - and here is the latest news from Holland America Line, following hot on the heels of Silversea's latest new-brochure launch:

The new 2013-14 Worldwide Cruise Holidays brochure from Holland America Line offers more than 125 exciting itineraries between December 2012 and April 2014. The brochure covers destinations including Alaska, the Amazon, Asia Pacific, Canada & New England, the Caribbean, Europe, Hawaii, Mexico, the Panama Canal and South America.

In preparation for the launch of its 2013 programme, HAL recently introduced “Early Advantage”, a programme encouraging guests to book early and enjoy lower fares, free upgrades and “worry-free” deposit terms whereby they can make changes to their booking without penalty, prior to the balance due date.

Destinations covered in the new brochure include:

Ex-UK Cruising

Continuing Holland America’s popular ex-UK programme, for the third year, the MS Ryndam will cruise an extended series of 10 round-trip cruises from Dover from May until August 2013, providing British guests with the perfect “premium” no-fly product. The Ryndam will offer six 7-night Fjords cruises; two 14-night Baltic cruises; and two unique 14-night “Voyage of the Midnight Sun” Fjords and North Cape cruises, which sail as far as Honningsvag within the Arctic Circle.

Early Advantage fares for these cruises currently start from just £699 per person for a 7-night cruise, featuring a free upgrade from Inside to Oceanview stateroom.

Europe

HAL features seven ships in Europe for summer 2013. The Eurodam, Prinsendam, Ryndam and Rotterdam will offer primarily Northern Europe and Baltic cruises, while the Noordam and the Nieuw Amsterdam will cruise 7-12-night Mediterranean itineraries from Rome (Civitavecchia), Barcelona, Venice, Piraeus and Istanbul. For the first time, the Veendam will cruise Holland America’s annual 35-night “Voyage of the Vikings” cruise from Boston, which combines a scenic circle around Iceland with calls in Newfoundland, Greenland and Eire. In the autumn, Prinsendam will offer Eastern Mediterranean, Holy Land and Black Sea cruises from Barcelona, Civitavecchia and Piraeus.

Grand World Voyage & Grand Voyages

In 2013, Holland America Line will celebrate 55 years of world cruising. The 115-night Grand World Voyage sets off from Fort Lauderdale on January 5, 2013, on flagship Amsterdam, and combines experiences that range from mystic Machu Picchu to Walvis Bay in Namibia; Vietnam’s paddy fields to Hong Kong’s high rise towers; St Lucia’s twin volcanoes to Easter Island’s mysterious stone figures. Prices start from £13,049 per person with sectors from 24 to 51 nights available from £2,959pp.

For bookings, follow this link to The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK's cruise experts.

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Crystal's New 'Private Adventure' Shore Excursions

Do you love to see legendary sites, but dislike group tours? Renowned for unique and creative land tours that complement its luxury cruise experience, Crystal Cruises is introducing a private shore excursion alternative for individualistic adventurers. Crystal’s new “Private Adventure Option” enables guests to take already-organised group excursions – in a more intimate fashion.

Beginning this August/September, parties of two, four or six can opt for a personal guide and private vehicle to tour Ephesus, Pompeii or the city of Barcelona, for example – on a shore-side itinerary already carefully crafted by Crystal’s Land Programmes team and its worldwide tour operators.

Crystal’s Vice President for International Sales & Marketing, Philip Ordever, says he was inspired to create the programme by his own holiday: “While I heard how much guests appreciated the ‘creative content’ of our Crystal Adventures, some said they would love to take the same tour by themselves to make it even more personal,.

“At Crystal, we are committed to giving our guests choices. Being able to really personalise your experience is the hallmark of a perfect luxury holiday.”

For several years, Crystal has offered guests a “Crystal Private Adventure” programme, which offers customised land itineraries for individuals, their families and friends. The new “Private Adventure Option” is similar, but follows established excursions in a private way. If guests prefer to modify their “Private Adventure Option” or expand the group, the trip would then become a custom “Crystal Private Adventure.”

Launching on August 14 on Crystal Serenity and September 13 on Crystal Symphony, the Private Adventure Option can be pre-reserved at least one week prior to embarkation by emailing crystaladventures@crystalcruises.com. Prices will be at least 25% more than group tour fares, but vary depending on excursion length, vehicle size, guide costs and sites visited.

This autumn/winter, Crystal's two ships will cruise the Mediterranean, New England/Canada, Panama Canal, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Pacific Coast and Hawaii. Crystal’s huge Autumn Fare Sale offers savings up to £5,078 per couple.

For more info, visit www.crystalcruises.co.uk or contact the luxury cruise specialists of The Cruise Line Ltd

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

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Time To Repeal The Jones Act

World of Cruising editor Simon Veness writes:

A story on loss of business at the port of Los Angeles today started me thinking - if this huge sea-going destination on the US West Coast is struggling to stay busy, isn't it time to look at the root cause why?

Because it seems increasingly clear that the archaic Jones Act of 1920 is now a serious millstone around the necks of the US cruise industry, and something urgently needs to be done about, for the sake of the cruise lines AND their passengers.

The Jones Act was originally designed to prevent unfair foreign-flagged competition for ships carrying the stars and stripes by insisting that only US-flagged vessels can operate solely in US waters (i.e. without having to visit a foreign port).

This was vital for the 1920s and 30s when American vessels were commonplace, and even has relevance today in the sections of the Act that relate to accident and disability benefits for America seamen.

But what it is also doing is squeezing business away from US ports; making it hard for cruise lines to put together some really meaningful itineraries; and making passengers pay more in various places. It is so anti-competitive to the cruise business it beggars belief.

And, at a time when the cruise liens are shying away from Mexican ports over safety concerns, it means places like Los Angeles will find themselves increasingly out in the cold.

Put simply, the Jones Act forbids foreign-flagged cruise lines (i.e. all of them these days!) from having itineraries that visit just US ports, hence it stops round-Hawaii cruises (requiring ships make a long haul to add Mexico or a South Pacific port to their route), West Coast voyaging, and trips that take in purely the eastern seaboard.

These are areas all rich in cruise possibility, yet they are denied to the cruise lines and their passengers by an Act that could never possibly foresee a situation where American lines (i.e. nearly all of them!) have foreign-flagged ships that are prevented from offering all-American cruises.

It is so patently daft in this day and age - and so dangerous for US interests and jobs, as evidenced by Los Angeles - that you have to wonder why something isn't being done about it. Does the industry not have an effective polotical lobby? Are there other interests working against them (hard to imagine, but possible)? Are people asleep at the wheel over the possibilities?

It is an issue that demands attention in the cruise world of today - and I'll be very keen to see if anyone picks up the cry on cruising's behalf. Because there are great possibilities going begging here.

I'd love to see a cruise that takes in purely the Carolinas and Florida; New England; California; or Hawaii (apart from the one exception of NCL's lone American-flagged ship).

And it's about time others did, too.

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

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