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

Royal Caribean's New North-East Programme

Royal Caribbean International has announced new 2012 Canada, New England and Bermuda sailings. The new programme includes more shorter sailings, new itineraries and longer port calls in Bermuda, providing holiday-makers with more choices from the region than ever before.

Enchantment of the Seas’ summer programme will debut an entirely new programme of six-night Bermuda and eight-night Bermuda & North-East itineraries, sailing from the ship’s year-round home-port of Baltimore. Explorer of the Seas will begin a new seven-night round-trip itinerary in September and October from Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey, featuring three days in Bermuda, as well as five and nine-night Bermuda and Caribbean itineraries in the spring and summer. Jewel of the Seas will offer sailings from Boston on a round-trip, seven-night Canada itinerary. Bookings for these cruises are now open.

Enchantment's six-night Bermuda itineraries will call at Kings Wharf, Bermuda, for three days, while the eight-night Bermuda & North-East sailing will overnight in Bermuda and also call at Boston and Newport, Rhode Island. Explorer will maintain five-night Bermuda and nine-night Bermuda and Caribbean round-trip itineraries from Cape Liberty during the spring and summer months. A special 10-night Bermuda and Caribbean sailing on August 30 will add St. Thomas as a port of call. In September and October, Explorer will then repeat seven-night Bermuda itineraries, featuring three days in Bermuda. The nine and 10-night Bermuda & Caribbean itineraries will open for sale later this month.

Jewel of the Seas (above) will continue to operate its popular series of seven-night Canada round-trip itineraries from Boston, with calls at Portland and Bar Harbor; St. John, New Brunswick; and Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Children and adults alike can bounce to their hearts’ delight on Enchantment's bungee trampoline or race to the top of the iconic rock-climbing wall. Voyager-class Explorer features an ice-skating rink, full-size basketball court, in-line skating track and the Royal Promenade, which spans almost the entire length of the ship, lined with boutiques, restaurants, bars and lounges. Jewel has a 10-storey glass Centrum, offering views of the unfolding coastline, and self-levelling billiard tables. On every ship, guests enjoy the cruise line’s award-winning entertainment and innovative amenities that are exclusive to Royal Caribbean. Younger guests can join the complimentary Adventure Ocean kids and teen programme, with activities from 9am until late.

For more information, visit http://www.royalcaribbean.co.uk/ or contact specialist cruise agents The Cruise Line Ltd.

Cruise-and-Stay In Style with Crystal

Guests joining Crystal’s Alaska and New England & Canada voyages can choose to extend their stay and enjoy a stylish city break either pre or post-cruise thanks to the launch of two fabulous new land packages.

These packages, which showcase the best of San Francisco and New York and offer fantastic value for money, feature private transfers, luxurious hotel accommodation, guided tours and access to an exclusive concierge service

New York: available pre or post-cruise on New England & Canada voyages between New York and Montreal, this three-night land package costs from £594 per person and includes:

· Three nights at the new five-star luxury boutique property, the Mondrian Soho

· A Broadway Artist Encounter at hotel then tickets to a show with the best seats in the house

· A Designer Shopping Experience in the Garment District

· A behind-the-scenes look at Christies Auction House – a private tour with afternoon tea

· Use of an exclusive concierge service

San Francisco - Available pre-or post-cruise on Alaska voyages round-trip from San Francisco, this three-night land package costs from £431 per person and includes:

· Three nights at the five-star boutique The Clift

· A half-day city tour followed by a trip to Alcatraz Island

· A full day wine-tasting tour to Sonoma and Napa Valley

· A romantic Champagne dinner

· Use of an exclusive concierge service

For reservations, visit Crystal Cruises at www.crystalcruises.co.uk or contact the luxury cruise specialists of The Cruise Line.

Titan Escorted River Cruises

By guest blogger Steve Newman

Titan HiTours, the escorted tours specialist, has unveiled its first brochure totally dedicated to escorted river cruises. This constitutes the company's widest ever choice of escorted river cruises and features an enticing range of upmarket options on some of the world's grandest and most scenic waterways, including the Nile, the Danube and the mighty Yangtze, as well as 10 brand new itineraries.

Every Titan holiday is guaranteed to offer great value for money, and the company's river cruise selection is no exception. Prices include flights, meals, a fantastic array of shore-based excursions and even door-to-door transfers from customers' own homes to their nearest airport.

This VIP Home Departure Service is available for all passengers living in mainland England, Scotland and Wales (plus Northern Ireland, the Isle of Wight, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man), meaning that Titan guests can enjoy complete convenience and peace of mind no matter where they live in the United Kingdom. In addition, early-booking discounts are available on several cruises, providing even better value for money for those reserving their holidays in good time.

The Escorted River Cruises brochure features holiday options as far afield as Canada, China, Russia and Egypt, the Volga, Nile, Yangtze and St Lawrence Rivers, leading in at £995 per person for the 8-day Egypt's Timeless Riches itinerary. Departures are available in all but the hottest months of the year, with the price including flights, transfers, full-board accommodation, sightseeing tours as detailed in the itinerary, port taxes and the VIP Home Departure Service.

For more details, look up http://www.titanhitours.co.uk/

Bales Wordlwide new brochure.

By guest blogger Steve Newman

2011 is a milestone year for Bales Worldwide, marking 50 years since the luxury operator took its very first group tour to the Holy Land. Bales is celebrating these five decades of worldwide touring with the launch of the new Escorted Small Groups and Tailor Made Holidays Brochure for 2011/12.

The new programme covers 50 destinations throughout Asia, Africa, the Orient, Latin America, Egypt and Arabia, India and Canada & Alaska, with a dedicated online brochure for Australasia. There are a few countries making a welcome return including Sri Lanka and Myanmar, plus the programme introduces a series of new tours and suggested journeys - from an adventurous journey across Tibet, or mountain biking and trekking in Peru's Sacred Valley, to exploring China's tropical Hainan Island.

To mark the 50th anniversary of escorted touring, the new programme sees the launch of the Bales Heritage collection, giving travellers a taste of some of Bales' most iconic escorted tours from the impressive back catalogue featuring unusual and unique travel itineraries to Jordan, India and Egypt with more destinations to follow.

In addition to countless tailor-made travel ideas and suggested itineraries, there are a total of 54 escorted and small group journeys with prices starting at just £1095 for the 11-day 'Wonders of Ancient Egypt' tour, consisting of three nights in Cairo followed by a week's Nile cruise.

For more details, visit http://www.balesworldwide.com/.