SeaDream Yacht Club's New Brochure For 2012/13

SeaDream Yacht Club has introduced a newly-designed, glossy, 64-page brochure reflecting SeaDream’s yachting lifestyle and featuring the 2012/13 voyage schedule, destination information, pricing and a comprehensive look at the chic, twin, 344ft vessels SeaDream I and II.

The new brochure details SeaDream’s Caribbean, Mediterranean, Amazon, Black Sea and Trans-Atlantic voyages. In 2012, the deluxe line will feature 102 different ports in the Mediterranean, with 17 in Greece alone. SeaDream’s onboard amenities include all gourmet dining, open bar with select premium brands, gratuities, golf simulator, complimentary mountain bikes and a water sports marina with motorised and non-motorised water toys.

Popular Mediterranean itineraries commence in May with the 112-guest, SeaDream I sailing the French & Italian Rivera itinerary, while her twin, SeaDream II starts the summer with sailings in the Greek Islands. 

The 2012/13 brochure also details a number of new voyages. Among them are: the Amazon River, with SeaDream II sailing from Barbados to Iquitos, Peru, round-trip on two 20-night voyages beginning February 13, 2012. SeaDream II returns to the Amazon in 2013 and offers a shorter, 7-night upper-Amazon itinerary sailing Iquitos round-trip. Additionally, the brochure highlights expanded ports of call in Turkey (10 ports) and Croatia (11). This year also includes calls to Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Albania and Russia.

For booking details, be sure to check out this link with the UK's luxury cruise specialists, The Cruise Line Ltd.

BIG Savings (And More!) with Oceania Cruises

Oceania Cruises has savings of up to 56% off cruises on board its mid-sized luxury cruise ships, plus an additional $1,000 on board credit per stateroom, allowing guests to make their cruise as inclusive as they want it to be. All prices are quoted per person, based on two guests sharing an inside stateroom and include all meals, complimentary bottled water and soft drinks.

Check out these examples:

7th September: ‘Jewels of the Aegean’, 12-night cruise Venice to Istanbul from £1,799pp

New ship Marina has a spectacular sailing from Venice with $1,000 onboard credit and a saving of £1,654pp. It cruises through the Aegean Sea via Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Corfu, Patras, Zakynthos and Athens before disembarking in Istanbul.

19th September: `Sands of Time’, 12-night Greek island cruise from £1,199pp

Marina has a spectacular sailing from Istanbul to Athens with $1,000 onboard credit and a saving of £1,264pp. It voyages through Rhodes, Limassol, Haifa, Jerusalem, Crete, Patmos and Volos before disembarking in Athens.

3rd October: ‘Jewels of the Aegean’, 12-night Aegean Sea cruise from £1,999pp

Cruise from Venice to Istanbul through the beautiful Aegean Sea via Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Corfu, Patras, Zakynthos and Athens on mid-sized ship Insignia with a saving of £1,182 per person, plus $1,000 onboard credit per stateroom.

1st October: `Roman Revelations’, 14-night Med cruise from £1,399pp

Cruise from Istanbul to Barcelona via Ephesus, Patmos, Crete, Marmaris, Alanya, Limassol, Haifa, Jerusalem and Valletta on Oceania's Nautica, with $1,000 onboard credit and saving up to £1,467 per person.

For more info, visit www.oceaniacruises.co.uk or contact the UK's leading luxury cruise specialists of The Cruise Line Ltd.

The 'Fairytale Ship' Completes Sea Trials

Costa Favolosa, the new Costa Cruises flagship, has successfully completed her official sea trials. The ship, the 15th in Costa’s fleet, completed her first crossing during which tests were conducted to verify the correct operation of the various systems, equipment and engines.

During the tests at sea, Favolosa was brought up to her maximum speed (more than 23 knots or 40km/h) which was maintained for eight consecutive hours to test the ship’s endurance. There was also a “crash stop”, meaning a complete stop at maximum speed to determine in how many metres the ship comes to a stop during an emergency.

During the test known as the “UMS”, Favolosa sailed for six straight hours only using the automatic energy and propulsion system controls. Finally, with the “blackout” test, the electric power was cut off to check that all ship functions automatically returned to normal when the power was restored.

After completing her trials, the ship returned to the shipyard in Marghera, Italy, to complete the fitting-out of the interiors prior to being placed into active service. Costa Favolosa will be ready for delivery on June 30, while the naming ceremony will take place two days later in Trieste.

Costa Favolosa - The Fairytale Ship

As her name suggests (Favola is Italian for “fairytale”), Favolosa is a veritable “fairytale ship”, a “contemporary enchanted castle” with a perfect combination of fabulous atmosphere and state-of-the-art hi-tech fun. The main innovations on board include:

Six new veranda suites with their own Jacuzzis

A new entertainment area for teenagers with 4D Cinema, PlayStation World, and a bar with ice-cream, drinks and popcorn

A new children’s open-air Aqua Park water playground with its own pirate galleon

The Samsara Spa, one of the largest and most exclusive wellness centres ever built on a cruise ship

A large central lido extending over two decks, with a sliding glass roof and giant movie screen

A Grand Prix driving simulator

A golf simulator

In addition, the shipboard gym will offer all the latest state-of-the-art Technogym equipment, including machines with Internet access, so you can surf the Internet while guests work out.

The brand new pool area will be particularly large and inviting, with 1,000sq m of space dedicated to relaxation and entertainment, 160 sun loungers and whirlpool tubs and an invigorating waterfall.

Costa Favolosa is set to make her debut on a three-day vernissage cruise departing from Venice on July 4, and calling at Dubrovnik (Croatia) and Koper (Slovenia). This will be followed by her grand inaugural cruise on July 7, an 11-day itinerary taking in Greece, Turkey and Croatia with stopovers in Bari, Izmir, Istanbul, Mykonos, Athens, Olympia and Dubrovnik. Throughout the summer, Favolosa will be offering seven-day cruises from Venice and Bari to Olympia, Izmir, Istanbul and Dubrovnik

For more info, visit www.costacruises.com or The Cruise Line

Costa Pacifica and Mediterranea To Sail New Routes This Autumn

Costa Pacifica (above) will return to Israel and Costa Mediterranean will cruise to Lisbon/Casablanca the Canary Islands and Western Mediterranean instead of the Eastern Med this autumn as Costa Cruises announces new routes for the duo.

Costa has reinstated calls to the Israel ports of Ashdod and Haifa on Costa Pacifica itineraries, where they were previously removed. On seven cruises, from September 12 to November 17, Costa's clients will once again be able to experience the unique charm of Israel.

Also during autumn 2011, instead of the previously scheduled Eastern Mediterranean cruises to Greece & Turkey, Costa Mediterranea will cruise to Lisbon and Casablanca, the Canary Islands, or Western Mediterranean, in order to meet the growing demand for these destinations.

From the beginning of October to mid November, five Greece and Turkey cruises will be replaced with three Lisbon and Casablanca and two Canary Islands cruises. Two mini-cruises, sailing November 21 and 26, will be added between the Canary Islands programme and the positioning cruise to Abu Dhabi, where Mediterranea will be deployed during winter 2011/12.

For more info, visit www.costacruises.co.uk or specialist cruise agents The Cruise Line Ltd on 0800 008 6677.

Black Sea Circumnavigation

By guest blogger Steve Newman

In 2011, Zegrahm Expeditions will return to the Black Sea and offer one of the most comprehensive itineraries available to travellers. Their Circumnavigation of the Black Sea visits all six countries that rim this legendary sea - Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria - with the voyage characterised by striking landscapes, stunning historical monuments and the friendly people you meet along the way.

September 13-27, 2011 & September 25-October 9, 2011; aboard the deluxe 110-passenger Clipper Odyssey; a highlight of the journey is a private tour of the Odessa Opera House. Closed and under renovation for seven years, it is now open to the public and a truly grand experience once again.

That's just one of 15 extraordinary days spent exploring the Black Sea. In the company of cultural experts and historians, travellers wander through the ruins of Greco-Roman sites, exquisitely tiled Ottoman mosques, Byzantine basilicas and monasteries adorned in colourful mosaics and charming red-roofed villages laced with cobblestone lanes.

Throughout the journey, Zegrahm guests will also enjoy local dining traditions, discover vibrant bazaars and sample regional wines.

Learn more about the Circumnavigation of the Black Sea on http://www.zeco.com/ or contact the adventure cruise specialists of The Cruise Line Ltd.

Cruise and snooze, anyone?

Cruise-and-stay holidays are becoming big business. I know, because Thomson Holidays told me so this week in their latest press release:

Cruise and Stay – The Best of Both Worlds

Thomson Celebration’s New Home Port Increases Cruise and Stay Options

In the past decade. the number of British cruisers has increased by over one million per year, and cruise holidays now account for one in 10 package holiday bookings, according to the 2009 PSA review. When comfort and experiences compete with value for money in the holiday decision making process, Brits are searching for ever more ways to make the most of the holiday budget. That’s why the UK ’s second largest cruise line, Thomson Cruises, has introduced Turkey into its ‘cruise and stay’ programme.

This combination of time at sea with time at a beach resort sees Thomson Cruises not only offer great value on their cruise ships, but to go one better. Teaming a week of cruising around the Med, the Aegean or even the Caribbean on a Thomson cruise ship with a week in a stunning beach resort, quite often on an all-inclusive basis, allows customers to budget for a two-week holiday and get so much more.

For the first time, Thomson Cruises has positioned Thomson Celebration in Marmaris, Turkey. Itineraries sail around the Aegean towards the islands of Mykonos and Santorini as well as the historical ports of Canakkale and Istanbul . The ship being based in Turkey means passengers are able to opt to extend the holiday to two weeks and stay at a selection of 3T to 5T hotels in the beautiful resorts of Olu Deniz, Marmaris or Sarigerme from just £1,171 per person*.

With the rise in people seeking experiences above and beyond traditional ‘bucket and spade’ holidays, Thomson Cruises on board offering of West End-style entertainment, fantastic service from attentive and friendly crew (at no extra charge) and great dining options combine with a fabulous array of destinations to create the very best of both worlds.

OK, I'm definitely prepared to buy into the good-value nature of the cruise-and-stay idea (especially with Thomson's patent charter holiday approach), but unless you do the week's 'stay' part of the holiday first, do you see this being anything other than a 'cruise-and-snooze' on the sybaritic beaches of the Med (or Caribbean)?

To be honest, if I'm going to go away for a full 2-week spell (which, admittedly, is highly unlikely these days; where 'highly' translates to about a 150% chance!), I would much rather opt for a full 2-week cruise which includes some relaxing sea days (and only one set of transfers, packing and unpacking) but still affords the ever-changing scenario that cruising provides par excellence.

But maybe I'm wrong. Is cruise-and-stay the wave of the future; am I in the minority; or am I just wrong? Answers on a postcard, please.....!