Introducing The Juilliard School Jazz Series

As part of Cunard Insights, The Juilliard School Jazz Series will feature performances, lectures and Q&A sessions with students and faculty from the school's Institute of Jazz Studies onboard select Transatlantic Crossings in 2010. Guests joining QUEEN MARY 2 on these voyages will be treated to the best in classic and contemporary jazz in the regal Royal Court Theatre.

Become part of this extraordinary entertainment experience. Reserve your stateroom on one of the Transatlantic Crossings featured below and enjoy world-class jazz performances whilst sailing aboard the grandest ocean liner at sea.

Jazz Series artists are scheduled for the following Transatlantic Crossings:

15 APRIL:
Brandon Lee - Trumpet
Kris Bowers - Piano
Philip Kuehn - Bass
Aaron Kimmel - Drums

8 AUGUST
Michael Cottone - Trumpet
Andrew Gutauskas - Alto Saxophone

21 MAY
Rodney Jones - Guitar

12 SEPTEMBER
JUILLIARD JAZZ FACULTY ENSEMBLE
Eddie Henderson - Trumpet
Frank Kimbrough - Piano
Ben Wolfe - Bass
Carl Allen - Drums

7 JUNE
James Burton - Trombone

6 JULY
Jeremy Viner - Tenor Saxophone
Chris Burbank - Trumpet

12 OCTOBER
Randall Haywood - Trumpet

For More Information Contact a European Cruise Specialist at Cruising2Europe.com at #1-800-738-8837.

The April 15, 2010 Crossing is a Segment of QUEEN MARY 2's World Voyage.

All entertainment and enrichment programming is subject to change without notice. In the event of such changes in schedule or performers, Cunard will not be liable to compensate guests. Any guest who elects to cancel their voyage will be subject to cancellation charges in accordance with our booking policies. Further information on the entertainment and enrichment programming schedule will be posted on our website, www.cunard.com, as it becomes available.

Ship's registry: Great Britain. ©CUNARD 2010. The CUNARD logo and logotype are registered trademarks of Carnival plc, an English Company trading as Cunard Line Ltd. QUEEN MARY 2 and Cunard Insights are trademarks owned by CUNARD. All rights reserved in the United States and other countries.

ms Veendam Review

ms Veendam Review

(This review is intended for people who want information about the new features of this ship)

Stepping aboard the ms Veendam it feels like a classic Holland America Line ship. You are greeted with friendly smiles from the crew, dressed in stunning bellman-like outfits with little hats. You feel special and excited that you've finally arrived.

The Veendam went through a refurbishment in February 2009. My overall impression was, they did a great job because the ship looks beautiful. It looks like new.

The Retreat
Holland America Line calls this "a private resort-style pool experience offering sophisticated poolside amenities and service".

Located on Navigation Deck at the back of the ship is a brand new area. Instead of a swimming pool, there is a wading pool with deck chairs right in the water. The water is approximately 1 foot deep. This allows sun bathers to enjoy a little water on their feet and a great reflection for a golden brown tan.

All the deck chairs face a large outdoor movie screen, so there's no need to bring a magazine or book. Plus, there is food and drinks nearby if you get the munchies. On the port side of the ship you'll find a brand new pizzeria. On the starboard side a bar and where there aren't deck chairs you'll find outdoor tables and chairs for eating, drinking and chatting with friends.

Just inside on either side of the ship is the Lido Restaurant (buffet). This is my favourite new place on the ship and I think it'll be busy here all day long!

Mix
Holland America Line calls this "an innovative meeting place featuring three specialty venues: Champagne, for mid-day mimosas or anytime celebrations; Martinis, for Grey Goose cocktails and martini flights; and Spirits & Ales for microbrews, single malts and sports updates".

Located next to the casino and adjacent to the shops is the old casino bar and piano bar. Both of these areas where updated and look fabulous...it looks like a brand new area. The casino bar is now a mixture of sports bar and lounge. There are multiple tv's behind the bar and many of the tables in the lounge have tv screens. At the time I was there the tv screens at the tables showed the name of the lounge with funky colours around, but I assume these would also show a sports game. Right next door is the new martini bar with a great red/orange decor. It has comfortable looking seats with a modern feel. A great place to stop to have a drink and chat with friends (if you don’t want to watch the game).

Show Room At Sea
I noticed a nice improvement in Show Room At Sea (the main show lounge). The decor is nicer, the stage is larger, there's a bigger dance floor and not too many pillars (to block your view). I think this room will now be used more often and be more popular.

Staterooms
All the staterooms have been updated; new linens, colour scheme and carpeting. There are even some brand new stateroom categories. I viewed many staterooms while onboard and had a few thoughts I'd like to point out. The first, in my opinion, is to avoid Category BQ staterooms located forward on Verandah Deck 9. These staterooms are small and the verandah's barely hold a table and two chairs...it's tight. The glass door in these staterooms are not sliding, they open like a regular door so it makes getting in and out difficult. For the few extra dollars it costs to upgrade to Categories BB to A, I say spend it, as the staterooms and verandah's are larger.

Another new addition to this ship is the Category CA Lanai Staterooms, located on Lower Promenade Deck 6. These staterooms have an interesting concept; a sliding glass door that opens to the public Promenade. This is great for jumping out of bed and not missing a breaching whale or glaciers if cruising to Alaska or viewing the locks when cruising the Panama Canal. (I don't really see the need for this type of room on a Caribbean cruise). The glass door opens and closes by a button...so watch your fingers and toes because it closes quickly when pressed. There are chairs right outside the door for anyone to enjoy (they are not reserved for the occupants of the stateroom) so be aware. A nice feature is that the window and door are mirrored so no one can see in, even if the light is on.

The suites onboard are well-appointed and spacious. The real perk for suites is the Neptune Lounge, which feels like the den in your house...warm woods, tall arm chairs, coffee table books and a personal concierge.

Another note is the Oceanview Staterooms with porthole windows. There are two porthole windows in each stateroom. They are high in the stateroom, so allow you can look out but only when you're standing up. If you are sitting on the bed or in the chair you can't see out the portholes.

Overall I really liked the colour schemes and decor of the staterooms. They were modern and welcoming plus, all the amenities of a Holland America stateroom.

Directly across from these staterooms are some brand new Category IQ Inside Staterooms; 112, 108 and 102. I also recommend avoid these staterooms. The layout of the stateroom is poor and the worst part is that the door to the hallway opens right at the ends of the bed. So, don't open the door unless you want to put on a show.

Additional Comments
The kids areas on Decks 11 and 12 looks cramped. I know this ship doesn't get 200 kids on a cruise, but I can imagine during the holiday sailings these areas would be packed with kids. I wonder how good this area really is for the kids.

Ship Facts:

Overall I would recommend this cruise ship to adults and seniors.

Written By Denise Blackmore, MCC

Click here to view more information about Holland America Alaska Cruises
Click here to view more information about Holland America Europe Cruises
Click here to view more information about Holland America Mexico Cruises

Celebrity Solstice Murano Restaurant

Celebrity Solstice
MURANO RESTAURANT

A LA CARTE MENU
$30 US Per Person, Reservations Required

Appetizers

Tian of Peekytoe Crab, Smoked Salmon and Avocado Mousse
with Salmon Pearls, Caviar-Dill Crème Fraiche

Escargots Totellini
with a Fricassee of Morels, Pancetta Lardons and
Roasted Garlic-Parsley Foam

Crispy Seared Sweetbreads
Shallots, Capers, Basil Puree, Lemon Zest,
Sun Dried Tomato

Diver Scallop Wellington
Black Truffle Emulsion, Spinach Fondue

Pan Seared 'Palmex' Foie Gras
Heirloom Tomato Confiture, Duck Rillettes in a Feuille de Brick,
Roasted Ginger and Toasted Hazelnuts

Warm Goat Cheese Croustillant
Red and Yellow Sweet Bell Pepers Salad,
Olive and Parsley Pesto

Soups - Salads

Fresh Water Crayfish, Langoustine and Mussel Bisque
Fennel Flan, Chives and Preserved Lemon Salad

Wild Forest Mushroom Cappuccino
and Mushroom Porcini Gelato

Phyllo Baked Anjou Pear and Roquefort Cheese
Lolla Rosso Lettuce, Spicy Pecans and Port Wine Reduction

Bouquet of Mixed Greens, Herbs and Cucumber
Shaved Harts of Palm, Toasted Almonds
with Vanilla-Citrus Vinaigrette

Heirloom Tomato Salad, Buffalo Mozzarella, Apple and Cantaloupe
with Micro Basil, White Balsamic Emulsion

Young Spinach and Frisee Salad
Shallot-Truffle Vinaigrette, Sunnyside Side Egg,
Pork Confit with Brioche Croutons

Caviar
Golden Osetra or Sevruga Caviar with Traditional Condiments
and Buckwheat Blinis
-Market Price-

Entrees

Dover Sole Veronique
Green Grapes au Beurre Noisette

Maine Lobster en Croute
Fennel, White Asparagus, Preserved Tomato

Pan Seared Filet Mignon
Larratte Pommes Puree, Honshimiji Mushrooms, Haricots Verts,
Green Peppercorn and Cognac Cream Sauce

Pan Seared Tubot
Ginger infused Spaghetti Squash, Green Asparagus
and Lemongrass Nage

Shellfish and Saffron Risotto
Jumbo Shrimp, Scallops with Tomato-Fennel Sauce

Crispy Loup De Mar
Roasted Artichoke, Eggplant Caviar, Kalamata Olive Puree,
Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and Balsamic Syrup

Sauteed Muscovy Duck Breast
Confit Spice Duck Leg, Almond Crusted, French Toast,
Raisin-Apple Compote au Jus

Mushroom Crusted Rack of Colorado Lamb
Sweet Pea and Roasted Lamb Jus

Five Spice Crusted Cervana Venison Loin
Celery Root Fondant, Wilted Spinach, Red Cabbage Marmalade
and Lingonberry Sauce

TASTING MENU
$140 US Per Person, Reservations Required
Food and Wine Included

Appetizers

Pan Seared 'Palmex' Foie Gras
Heirloom Tomato Confiture, Duck Rillettes in a Feuille de Brick, Roasted Ginger and Toasted Hazelnuts
with
Leonard Kreusch, Goldtropfchen, Spatlese, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

OR

Diver Scallop Wellington
Black Truffle Emulsion, Spinach Fondue
with
M. Chapoutier, Hermitage Blanc, Chante-Allouette, Rhone Valley

Soup & Salad

Wild Forest Mushroom Cappuccino
and Mushroom Porcini Gelato
with
Domaine Laflaive, Puiligny Montrachet, Burgundy

OR

Young Spinach and Frisee Salad
Shallot-Truffle Vinaigrette, Sunnyside Side Egg, Pork Confit with Brioche Croutons
with
Joseph Drouhin, Charmes Chambertin, Monopole, Burgundy

Fish Course

Shellfish and Saffron Risotto
Jumbo Shrimp, Scallop with Tomato-Fennel Sauce
with
San Quirico, Vernaccia di San Gimigiano, Tuscany
OR

Crispy Loup De Mer
Roasted Artichoke, Eggplant Caviar, Kalamata Olive Puree, Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and Balsamic Syrup
with
Chateau Carbonnieux, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux

Trou Normand
Green Apple Sorbet with Calvados

Meat Course

Five Spice Crusted Cervena Venison Loin
Celery Root Fondant, Wilted Spinach, Red Cabbage Marmalade and Lingonberry Sauce
with
Chiarelo Family Vineyard, Zinfandel, Giana, Napa Valley

OR

Mushroom Crusted Rack of Colorado Lamb
Sweet Pea and Roasted Lamb Jus
with
Meredith-Lagar, Syrah, Mount Veeder

Deserts

Les VI Etoiles du Murano for two
Selection of Petits Desserts
with
Royal Tokaji, Aszu, 5 Puttonyos, Hungary

OR

Valhrona Cocoa Croquant
Salted Caramel, White Coffee Ice Cream
with
Blandy's, 15 year, Madeira, Malmsey

Taken from the December 14, 2008 Cruise

Celebrity Solstice Spa Menu

Celebrity Solstice AquaSpa By Elemis Menu
Taken from the December 14, 2008 Cruise

Standard Is For Sea Days
Value Is For Port Days

Your Experience:

Persian Garden / daily pass...$20
Persian Garden / weekly pass...$99

Your Face - 50 minutes:

Elemis Oxydermy Facial...Standard $169 - Value $152
Elemis Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Facial...Standard $125 - Value $112
Elemis Pro-Collagen Quartz Lift Facial...Standard $145 - Value $132
Elemis Skin Specific Facial...Standard $119 - Value $107
Elemis Skin IQ for Men Facial...Standard $119 - Value $107
Elemis Urban Cleanse For Men Facial...Standard $129 - Value $116

Your Massage:

75 Minutes:
The Herbal Poultice Massage...Standard $195 - Value $176
Thai Table Massage...Standard $175 - Value $157
Elemis Aroma Stone Therapy...Standard $195 - Value $176

50 Minutes:
Elemis Cooling Hot Stone Body-Facial...Standard $159 - Value $143
Bamboo Massage...Standard $159 - Value $143
Elemis Deep Tissue Muscle Massage...Standard $129 - Value $116
Couples Massage...Standard $269 - Value $242
Swedish Massage...Standard $119 - Value $107

100 Minutes:
Elemis Absolute Spa Ritual...Standard $265 - Value $238

Your Body:

50 Minutes:
Lonithermie Cellulite Reduction Program...Standard $159 - Value $143
Body Sculpting Cellulite & Colon Therapy...Standard $125 - Value $112
Lonithermie Cheek Lift...Standard $159 - Value $143
Lonithermie Revitalizing Leg Therapy...Standard $79 - Value $71
Elemis Exotic Lime & Ginger Salt Glow...Standard $155 - Value $140

75 Minutes:
Elemis Aroma Spa Seaweed Massage...Standard $195 - Value $176
Elemis Exotic Lime & Ginger Salt Glow...Standard $199 - Value $179

Your Grooming - Men's Service:

30 Minutes:
Express shave...Standard $45 - Value $41

45 Minutes:
Deep Cleanse Grooming Treatment & Shave...Standard $75 - Value $68

55 Minutes:
Pro-Collagen Grooming Treatment & Shave...Standard $95 - Value $86

Beard Trim...Standard $15 - Value $15
Men's Trim or Restyle and Style Dry...Standard $35 - Value $35
Men's Wet Trim...Standard $25 - Value $25

Your Beauty and Wellness:

First Acupuncture Session...$150
Additional Sessions...$125

Restylane and Perlane Cosmetic Treatments:
Smile Lines, Marionette Lines, Lip Lines, Lip Enhancements...$700+

Botox Cosmetic Treatments:

Frown Lines...$350
Forehead Lines...$400
Crow's Feet...$300

30 Minutes:
GoSMILE Tooth Whitening Treatment...$199

Your Eyes:

Lash and Brow Bar:
Eyelash Enhancements...$39
Brow Sculpting...$35
Brow Tinting...$25
Lash Tinting...$29

Your Hair & Nails:

Salon Favorites:
Elemis Frangipani Conditioning Hair & Scalp Ritual (25 Minutes)...$29
Elemis Exotic Hand Ritual with Manicure (45 Minutes)...$45
Fire and Ice Pedicure (60 Minutes)...$70
Elemis Sole Delight Foot Treatment & Pedicure (55 Minutes)...$65

Hair Styling:

Color Touch Glazing (add-on)...$45
Style Dry or Roller Setting...$35+
Trim or Restyle and Style Dry...$59+
Cleanse, Style Dry and Hair Up...$49+
Hair Up (without cleanse and dry)...$35+

Hair Color:

Semi Permanent Color...$55+
Full Head Color Change...$95+
Regrowth Tinting...$69+
Hi-Lights / Low-Lights...$89+
Partial Hi-Lights (each foil)...$5

Nails:

Fire and Ice Manicure...$50
Traditional Manicure...$29
Traditional Pedicure...$45
Brisa Gel Forever French Enhancements...$85
Brisa Gel Overlays...$65
Brisa Gel Refills...$50
Acrylic Nails Full Set...$85
Acrylic Nails Refiills...$45
Paraffin Wax...$25

Your Fitness:

60 Minutes:
Individual Personal Trainer...$85
Gravity Reformer Personal Training...$85
Kinesis Personal Training...$85

30 Minutes:
Metabolism Test...$35

45 Minutes - Specialized Classes:
Tour de Spin (3 sessions/45 mins each)...$30
Gravity Reformer Class...$30
Tai Chi...$12
Pathway to Yoga...$12
Pilates...$12

Port Specials We Also Offered During The Cruise

DIAMOND PRINCESS - Review

DIAMOND PRINCESS
Sister Ship(s): Sapphire Princess

Destination: Mexican Riviera
Length: 7 Nights

Dining:
I like the choice of dining onboard the Diamond Princess. Here they offer something for both experienced and new cruisers. Traditional Dining can be found in the International Dining Room on Deck 6. The International Dining Room offers two set times for dinner each evening of the cruise: 6:15pm and 8:30pm, where you sit at the same table, with the same people and the same wait staff every night of the cruise.

Personal Choice Dining is an open style offered in four smaller restaurants, each with their own theme. In each of these four restaurants you can find the International Dining Room menu, as well as that restaurants theme dining room menu. The four theme dining rooms are: Pacific Moon (Asian-Fusion), Sterling (steakhouse), Vivaldi (Italian), and Santa Fe (Mexican).

Sabatini’s Trattoria is a specialty restaurant onboard offering Italian cuisine. The Princess Patter describes Sabatini’s as “On Promenade Deck 7, Sabatini’s emerges as a classic trattoria, named after venerable prototype Trattoria Sabatini, a 200-year old institution in Florence, Diamond’s Sabatini’s offers a sensational menu. This unique treat includes a full array of appetizers., a delicious selection of pastas with a variety of sauces, Italian-style entrees from tiger prawns over langoustine to lobster tail and, of course, the same wonderful desserts that Princes passengers have learned to love.�

Sabatini’s is open for lunch (on sea days only) from 11:30am to 2:00pm and every night for dinner from 6:00pm to 11:00pm. The cost is $20 US per person. I found the décor and experience good, however the selection of food was limited. The majority of the menu was seafood and only two main dishes offered that were different (chicken & veal).

Room Service is 24 hours. The room service menu was limited, but I likes that hot food could be ordered in the middle of the night, as the buffet at the Horizon Court is limited at that particular time of day.

The Horizon Court is the buffet on Deck 14. Here they offered a wide selection of food for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks and dinner. In the middle of the night I found the selection to be poor; with only cold sandwiches available.

Bars & Entertainment:
There were two shows offered nightly in the main show lounge. Entertainment throughout the week included “Piano Man� and “Undercover� (Las Vegas-style shows) by the Princess Singers and Dancers, comedians, and specialty dancers. Other gameshow-style entertainment was offered by the Cruise Staff which included “The Weakest One�, “Passenger Feud�, “The Princess Price Is�, “Princess Jeopardy�, “Princess Payramids�, Karaoke, and “Princess Idol�. Plus, on a few certain nights that were theme-parties offered: 50s & 60s Sock Hop, Country Barn Party, On Deck Pool Party, and Line Dance Mania.

Internet Café:
The Internet Café was open 24-hours, however if I visited during the middle of the night I found there was no internet connection. The service was fairly slow, but the pricing was good at only $0.35 per minute. Unfortunately, they had no packages available for purchase.

Sports & Fitness:
The Fitness Center on board is located on Deck 15 forward. I found there was a limited selection of machines to choose from and no area to stretch. There was an aerobics area with one wall of floor-to-ceiling mirrors and one wall of glass to look outside. The following classes were offered: Pure & Simple Stretch, Aerobics, CircuitXpress, Total Body Conditioning, Walk A Mile, Pathway to Yoga*, SpinXpress*, and Pilates*. *These classes have a fee of $10 US per person.

One nice thing I liked about the cardio machines was that each had its own TV with remote. Headphones to listen to the TV could be rented from the spa front desk.

There is a Basketball/Volleyball court, Princess Links mini-golf course, and forward on Deck 16 and 18.

The Lotus Spa and Salon on Deck 15 is open from 8:00am to 10:00pm daily. I recommend taking the spa tour the first afternoon of the cruise (embarkation day) because you are shown the entire spa area and shown many of the treatments. If you are looking for a really good deal at the spa I recommend waiting for the first port day. The ship offers a few packages for guests that book an appointment while the ship is in port. This may mean taking an hour away from shore, but it’s worth it! One thing I liked about this spa is they don’t try to sell you anything during or after your treatment.

Some specials offered during the cruise included:
Spa Taster – 25 minute massage & 25 minutes rehydrating booster facial for $79
Ionithermie – Algae Detox – 55 minutes for $105
Oxygen Lifting Facial – 55 minutes for $89
Muscle Detox Therapy – 80 minutes for $140
Mix & Match Packge – Choose any 3 of the following for $79 or choose any 4 of the following for $99
-Re-Polish (hands & feet), Foot & Ankle Massage, Mini Facial, Scalp Massage (with warm Tahitian Monoi Oil), Conditioning Hair Treatment, Comb Out

Or if you just want some relaxation time, but don’t want to spend a fortune I’d recommend the Thermal Sanctuary Suite. You can by a day pass for $10 or a weekly pass for $70 US per person or $109 per couple. This special room offers heated mosaic lounge chairs, a tropical shower, Aromatic room, mild steam room, sauna, and a mint/fog shower!

Princess Patter:
I found the daily program guide, the Princess Patter, difficult to read. There was no area on it where it showed what restaurants are open and for what times. Plus, it seemed to me like a big advertisement of what to buy, where and when.

Princess Kid’s:
The two main programs and areas for kids included The Fun Zone and Off Limits. Fun Zone was open from 7:00am to 10:00pm daily and Off Limits was open from 7:00pm to 1:00am daily. Plus, from 8:00pm to 5:00pm and 10:00pm to 1:00am kid-sitting was available, but advanced booking is required.

Pools & Hot Tubs:
The pool area wasn’t really large, but I liked the layout of the pool deck. They built the ship with tiered decks on one side of the pool, that way sun and deck chairs can be found almost everywhere. Shade was hard to find.

Stateroom:
We were in Oceanview Stateroom #P217 (Category EE) on the starboard side of the ship. When you walk into the stateroom there is a narrow hallway with open closet area two the right, the bathroom and a full-length mirror on the front of a wardrobe. I liked that there were many hangers in the open-closet area for us to hang our clothes on. The rest of the room had two twin beds (that could be pushed together to make a queen), two small bed-side tables with three drawers, a desk with a large mirror, more drawers, a fridge, and telephone. The window was a very large size and easy to see out of. The TV was in a strange place above the desk in the corner of the room on the same side as the beds, so viewing TV in bed was difficult.

Our stateroom attendant was in the hallway most mornings and evenings when we left the room. Every time we came back from some activities the room it was made up and each night there was chocolate on our pillow.

Boarding & Transfer Tip:
I purchased the transfers with Princess Cruises and was a little shocked to find no representative at the baggage claim area of the airport when I arrived. There were many people on my flight going on the cruise so I immediately walked up to the Information Desk to contact the representative. We had arrived into the Tom Bradley International Arrival section of the airport and were informed that we needed to walk to another terminal in the airport to meet the Princess motorcoach for the transfer. There was about 25 of us and we walked from Tom Bradley to Terminal 4 with all our luggage and then waited for the motorcoach to arrive. The entire time I was walking from one terminal to the other I was thinking how could an older person do this? I am a young, able-bodied person and my arm was a bit sore from my heavy bag so I was ok. But an older person with any luggage could and would have difficulties doing this. I felt the transfer was unorganized and that the motorcoach could and should of picked us up at the Tom Bradley Terminal.

The majority of time onboard Diamond Princess I did not feel as thought I was with 2,800 other passengers. However, during the boarding process I could tell I was getting on a large ship. It took approximately 30 minutes to board and the most inconvient was waiting in line to have everyone’s photo taken.

Announcements:
Announcements on board were made in English. I was surprised that there were usually three announcements made per day on the cruise talking about what to do onboard. As other Premium Cruise Lines do not have any announcements.

Ports of Call:
On this particular cruise we stopped in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. In Puerto Vallarta I enjoyed touring from the ship to the LaHoya area. It is located in the mountains and offers stunning views of the ocean. In Mazatlan I highly recommend shopping. Here were the best deals/prices and it was easiest to barter. There are a few great markets in the Golden Zone, plus many nice hotels and restaurants. In Cabo San Lucas I recommend spending your time in the water or on the beach. Here you’ll find quiet beautiful beaches just 15 minutes from the tender pier. Just make sure you negotiate the taxi price roundtrip and pay half at the beginning and half when they pick you up…you don’t want to be stuck at the beach because there are very few people at certain beaches there.

Written By Denise Blackmore, ACC

View Diamond Princess Mexican Riviera Cruises
View Pictures Of Diamond Princess

View Princess Alaska Cruises
View Princess Tahiti Cruises
View Caribbean Princess Cruise Specials

NORWEGIAN DAWN - Review

NORWEGIAN DAWN
Sister Ship: Norwegian Star

Ship Facts:
The ship was completed December 4th, 2002 at Meyer Weft, Papenburg, Germany. It took two years to build at a cost of $420 million. She sailed her maiden voyage from Europe on December 7th, 2002. The ship’s Godmother actress Kim Cattral christened the ship in New York City on December 16th, 2002. Ms. Cattral is best known for her show “Sex in the City.�

The ship was an amazing construction project. She has the engines to cruise at a speed of 25 knots and has over 810 miles of electric cable and 65 miles of pipe within her hull. There are over 835 exterior windows, and 1,834 interior doors. It took over 1,000 gallons of paint to cover her exterior with another 3,000 gallons for interior surfaces.

She is 965 feet in length and weighs 91,740 Gross Registered Tons. 12 passenger elevators and 10 service elevators transport guest and crew. Over 25,000 light bulbs of various sizes and shapes light the way around the vessel. Over 6,800 Hi-fog sprinklers and 437 fire hydrants provide protections in all spaces.

The ship has 1,112 staterooms on board including the incredible two Garden Villa suites. The multi-room villas offer panoramic views of the ocean. Each villa has a roof top terrace and private Italian garden, featuring open-air dining, Jacuzzi, and totally private sunning areas and relaxation areas. Each villa spans more than 5,350 square feet. These two suites are truly two of the most extravagant suites at sea!

Although the ship is registered in Nassau, Bahamas, the officers, staff, and crew are made up of over 1,100 people from over 65 different countries.

Dining:
I was impressed with the number of dining choices available and the variety of choices.

Room Service is 24 hours. The room service menu was limited, but I felt there was many other dining choices to please my craving’s.

The Garden Café is the buffet on Deck 11, where the pool is located. It serves an Breakfast Buffet from 7:00am to 10:30am, Luncheon Buffet from 12:00pm to 2:30pm, and Afternoon Snack Service from 3:30pm to 4:30pm. In the evening half of the buffet is open for Theme Buffet from 5:30pm to 9:30pm and the other half becomes La Trattoria.

Blue Lagoon is a 24-hour dining restaurant. It feels like a buffet because of the open kitchen, but it is table service. Here you’ll find hot dogs, hamburgers, French fries, chicken wings, Fish & chips, etc. It serves an Early Risers Breakfast from 6:00am to 7:30am. On the wall there is a jut box where you select music and the videos are played. Each time I dined at this restaurant I noticed the staff punching in 10 or more songs in a row of what they wanted to hear, so if someone else wanted to hear something you’d have to wait a while.

The Main Dining Rooms are Venetian, Aqua and Impressions. I was felt that Impressions was the best of all three. It offers beautiful décor with candle-light and comfortable booths with nice artwork on the walls. Breakfast is served in Venetian daily from 7:30am to 9:30am. Lunch is served in either Venetiani or Aqua daily from 12:00pm to 2:00pm. Dinner is served in all three restaurants from 5:30pm to 10:00pm. All three restaurants are open seating, however if you have a large group wanting to dine together or you specifically want a table for two I recommend making reservations earlier in the day.

La Trattoria is an Italian restaurant. It serves dinner from 5:30pm to 10:00pm. It offers many Italian favourites like Carpaccio, Caeser Salad and pastas fresh to order. All courses came quickly and the service was friendly.

Salsa is a Mexican/Spanish restaurant offering tapas. It is open for Dinner from 5:30pm to 10:00pm nightly. Of all the restaurants onboard this restaurant seemed to be the least busy. It offers a nice location in the atrium on Deck 8 with nightly live music overheard and seen from one story below.

Le Bistro is a French restaurant offered onboard all Norwegian Cruise Line ships. It is open for Dinner from 5:30pm to 10:00pm nightly. Reservations are required and can only be made the day before or the day of. There is a cover charge of $15 US per person. Here you dine along side original works of art by Van Gogh, Renior, Matisse and Monet.

Cagney’s Steakhouse is offered nightly on Deck 12. It is open for Dinner from 5:30pm to 10:00pm. Reservations are required and can only be made the day before or the day of. There is a per person cover charge of $20-25 US per person, depending on the main course you choose. Of all the dinners we had this was the best. The selection of meat is excellent, plus there is surf & turf, 24oz porterhouse and a full lobster offered on the menu. Some appetizers offered included Crab Cakes, Lobster Bisque, and Oster Rockefeller Caseroll.

Bamboo is an Asian Fusion restaurant. It offers table service, a Sushi Bar, and a private Teppanyaki room. There is a cover charge of $12.50 US per person to have table service Bamboo. It is open from 5:30pm to 10pm nightly. The Sushi Bar is open two days for lunch and nightly from 5:30pm to 10pm for a cover charge of $10 US per person (all-you-can-eat sushi). Teppanyaki is open nightly and has three seatings; 5:30pm, 7:30pm and 9:30pm. I would recommend booking a reservation for Teppanyaki as the cooks do a great job of entertaining you while you eat! The sushi was good and I found the selection much better than most other ships I’ve cruised on. Plus, they offered raw seafood which other lines do not.

Pearly Kings Pub is located on Deck 7 just off the atrium. It has a pub feel to it and offers many different types of beer, along with other drinks. Daily trivia is offered in this area and Fish & Chips are served between 5:30pm and Midnight. When it’s crowded it can get quite smoky.
Bottles of wine or champagne brought into dining areas to be consumed at meal times are charged a corkage fee of $__ US per bottle. No open liquor bottles are permitted to be brought into the dining areas or public spaces, however I did notice passengers taking a drink from one lounge to another. ??

Bars & Entertainment:
There were two shows offered nightly in the main show lounge. Entertainment throughout the week included “Bollywood�, comedians, specialty dancers, Las Vegas style shows by The Jean Ann Ryan Company Singers and Dancers, as well as live entertainment at the following venues:

The Oasis Poolside on Deck 12 you’ll find Calypso Sounds by Rhythm Explosion (weather permitting).

The Star Bar on Deck 13 is open from 5:30pm to 12:00am nightly. Here you’ll find Piano & Vocals.

In the Grand Atrium on Deck 7 you’ll find Piano & Easy Listening Music daily.

Gatsby’s on Deck 6 is open from 12:00pm to Close. Here you’ll find a Piano Crooner nightly.

The Spinnaker Lounge on Deck 12 is open from 10:00am to Close. Here you’ll find Night Club Music by the Zanzee Band and a DJ.

Dazzles Lounge on Deck 7 is open from 4:00pm to Close. Here you’ll find Latin Flavour with Salsa Beat.

Pearl King’s Pub on Deck 7 is open from 11:00am to Close. Here you’ll find Piano Melodies.

There are a few other lounges/bars onboard without entertainment such as:
Juice Bar on Deck 11 open from 7:30am to Close
Java Café on Deck 7 open from 8:00am to Midnight
Bimini Bar on Deck 14 open from 9:00am to Close
Topsiders on Deck 12 open from 9:00am to Close
Casino Bar on Deck 6 open when the casino is open
Havana Club on Deck 6 open from 12:00pm to Close

Sports & Fitness:
The Fitness Center on board is located on Deck 12 aft. There are many machines to choose from and an area to stretch, which most ships don’t have. Plus, there is an aerobics area with one wall of floor-to-ceiling mirrors and one wall of glass to look outside. I found that distracting.

The gym area is very large with many machines. Most of the machines faced a mirror and there were only windows on either side of the gym so it wasn’t easy to look outside. The aerobics area seemed a little small and crowded when about 10 or more people were in a class.

The Mandara Spa and Salon on Deck 12 is open from 8:00am to 8:00pm daily. I recommend taking the spa tour the first afternoon of the cruise (embarkation day) because you are shown the entire spa area and shown many of the treatments. If you are looking for a really good deal at the spa I recommend waiting for the first port day. The ship offers a few packages for guests that book an appointment while the ship is in port. This may mean taking an hour away from shore, but it’s worth it! One thing I liked about this spa is they don’t try to sell you anything during or after your treatment.

Some specials offered during the cruise included:
Spa Taster – 25 minute massage & 25 minutes rehydrating booster facial for $89
La Therapie Facial for $99
Relax Package – Rehydrating booster facial, foot & ankle massage and hand massage for $79

NCL Kid’s:
Norwegian offers an excellent kid’s program on board the Norwegian Dawn. You’ll find more infants on this ship because NCL offers infants for port charges only. One thing mentioned though is baby-sitting is not offered for those passengers under 2 years of age.

Personal Comments:

Pools & Hot Tubs:
The pool area wasn’t really large, but I liked the layout of the pool deck. They built the ship with tiered decks on one side of the pool, that way sun and deck chairs can be found almost everywhere. Shade was hard to find.

Stateroom:
We were in Category AE Mini-Suite #11532 on the port side of the ship. When you walk into the Mini-Suite there is a narrow hallway with a small table with a mirror, a vase with some flowers, a door to the bathroom and a make-up area with mirrored light. The bathroom I very well layed-out. It has a sink with vanity in the middle of the bathroom with a bathtub/shower combination and a sliding glass door to the right and a toilet area with its own sliding glass door to the left. So you could have more than one person in the bathroom at the same time (not possible on other ships). The rest of the room has twin beds that push together to make a queen, a large sofabed, there is a table with two chairs, a small TV, phone, and bar area with a fridge and safe. The closet is spacious, but located right beside the bed so the doors don’t completely open all the way and once items are hung up its hard to get to the shelves on the side. The table and chair set is small and not easy to use because of the lack of space available for the chairs to be moved out and sat on. The balcony is large and offered two armchairs and a side table. The phone was in the worst location possible. It was underneath the TV cupboard area so each time I used the phone I nearly hit my head. The TV in the room was the smallest I’ve seen on any ship. It was between 10 and 12 inches and was to the left of the bed so it wasn’t easy to view while in bed.

I barely noticed our stateroom attendant which was nice. Everytime we left the room it was made up and each night were was a new animal made up from our towels which was cute.

Boarding Tip:
I wasn’t sure when embarkation was to begin, but part of our group arrived directly from the airport at approximately 11am and boarded right away. We arrived at approximately at 2:30pm and were some of the last people to board. I suggest filling out all paperwork prior to arrival, as many people were stuck filling in their Bahamas immigration form before they could check-in.

Announcements:
Announcements on board were made in English and German (because there was a large group of them onboard). I felt the days the ship was at sea there were a few too many announcements.

Ports of Call:
On this particular cruise we stopped in Nassau, Miami and Port Canaveral. In Nassau I enjoyed going to the Atlantis Hotel on Paradise Island. It has a huge casino, beautiful aquarium and outdoor pools. There is also shopping available here, although I wouldn’t recommend shopping too far from the ship. In Miami there are lots of things to do. I recommend spending the day in South Beach strolling along the beach and shopping. In Port Canaveral the Kennedy Space Center was very popular. It’s not far from where the ship is docked and I was told having lunch under one of the Apollo space ships is a highlight.

Written By Denise Blackmore, ACC

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CONSTELLATION - Review

CONSTELLATION

BRITISH ISLES AND THE BREATHTAKING NORWEGIAN FJORDS

Date of Cruise: July 17, 2004 (14 nights)
Ports of Call: Dover – Le Havre – At sea – Cork – Dublin – Greenock – At sea – Olden – Geiranger – Hellesylt – Bergen – At sea – Copenhagen – At sea – Zeebrugge – Dover

Stateroom:
Our Category 6 Oceanview Stateroom #3011 was located forward on the Plaza Deck (near the Purser’s desk). Since it was very much towards the bow of the ship, it is very quiet and totally undisturbed by the noise from the foyer area.

The cabin is very good sized (170 square feet) with lots of drawers and a large closet. The couch is a twin sofa bed which is not very comfortable for sitting. The shower in the bathroom is quite spacious compared with other ships, and there are lots of storage area. Shampoo and lotion come from dispensers attached to the wall which I found really convenient. Towels and bed linens are 100% Egyptian cotton and bathrobes are available. However, Duvets were not used, only woollen blankets.

Dining:
First sitting is 6 pm and second is 8:30 pm in the Main Dining Room. The service and menu was excellent. Every evening, an area on the buffet deck was sectioned off to provide for casual dining with waiter service. Meals were cooked to order but the menu is limited. There is a charge here of $4 US per person. Other than this, the sushi bar and pasta bar are opened until 10:00 pm. The specialty restaurant Ocean Liners offers fine dining at $30 US per person.

There are no theme nights as far as dining is concerned, but there were themed luncheon buffets (for example: German, Asian & Italian), but as a whole their lunch buffets were not very impressive. Choices were limited and the quality of the food very ordinary. However, they did offer Spa Cuisine (lighter choices) in the Spa area from breakfast to 6 pm which has an excellent selection of healthy and exquisite dishes. The food is cold but a couple of hot dishes could also be ordered.

They have done away with midnight buffets except for one night when they had a chocolate buffet with extravagant carvings. Instead of midnight buffets, they come around the public lounges with trays of snacks and sandwiches, which they call Gourmet Bites. High Tea is served in the Main Dining Room daily in the afternoon.

An amount of $10.50 US per guest, per day is charged to the stateroom for on board gratuities and a 15% service charge is added to all bar bills. If we brought our own wine to the dining room, a corkage fee of $20.00 US is charged. This would encourage more people to buy from the ship instead of bringing their own from shore.

Entertainment:
The Celebrity Theatre is a beautiful 3 storied venue showing 4 large show productions during our 14 day cruise. Other performances included piano recitals, solo vocal singers, jugglers, and a magician. The Celebrity productions were spectacular, especially the acrobatic performance by a Russian couple. In addition to the nightly entertainment, local performers from Belfast and Scotland were invited on board to perform their local cultural dance (for example: Irish tap dancing & the Scottish bag-pipers on the days that we were in port).

The movie theatre seats about 150 people but the movies shown were not recent and were always repeated throughout the cruise. Some enrichment lectures took place in this theatre also.

Onboard Activities:
Their enrichment programs were about self-hypnosis, relationships and digital camera usage with no lectures on the culture, history and current political situation of the countries which we visited. I found this very disappointing and many other passengers felt the same.

Other activities offered onboard included Bingo, dance lessons, cooking demonstrations, wine tasting (with a charge of $10 US), art auctions, and trivia. Visits to the Bridge, the back stage and to the galley were not offered. Announcements were kept to a minimum, only once or twice a day – upon clearance of customs on port days and around noon on sea days when they reiterate the programs for the day.

The Gym is well equipped with a host of classes, but there is a charge of $10 US for yoga and pilates classes. Aerobics and stretching classes are free. The AquaSpa offers an extensive menu of services which seemed to be quite in demand by the passengers. There is a charge of $30 US per day or $99 US for a week to use the Persian Garden which consists of both dry and wet steam baths with an emphasis on aromatherapy and relaxation. The Thallasotherapy and whirlpools in the AquaSpa area are free to use, and because this area is domed and heated, it is very popular on cooler sea days. There is one large sea water swimming pool outdoors that has 4 whirlpools, and a children’s wading pool.

Ports of Call:
We were unable to call at Dublin as scheduled due to the incompletion of the improvement to the infrastructure of the port terminal which was a disappointment to many passengers. We docked at Belfast instead.
In Le Harve, one could take a local train to Rouen (takes about 45 minutes for 24 Euro return) which is a small medieval town where Joan of Arc was burnt.

Greenock is the port in Scotland where an excursion could be taken to Edinburgh to see Edinburgh Castle.

The highlight of the cruise were the Norwegian Fjords and the towns of Gieranger, Bergen and Olden. Gieranger is a small town of 200 inhabitants in the winter and is situated at the end of a fjord. The cruise up to the fjord is spectacular although we did not see any wildlife. Be sure to tell your clients to take a tour up to about 5000 ft. to view the fjord from above.
Bergen is a UNESCO heritage town 600 years old, and the centre of activities is a large fish market in the middle of town.

Olden is well known for its glaciers and one could take a heli-tour to land and walk on a glacier. Unlike the glaciers in Alaska, here the glaciers are not accessible by ship.

In Copenhagen, the best way to see the city is to take one of the canal boat rides which starts in Nyhaven. The trip takes one hour and it goes out to the main harbour as well as into the smaller canals in the city.

The last port of call was Zebrugger in Belgium. The port is very small, and you do not want to take an excursion into Brussels. I'd advise to take a train into Brugge (15 minutes & $4.50 Euro) which is a quaint Medieval town. Again, take a canal boat ride or walk the town which is pedestrian friendly.

Overview:
I picked this cruise because this is a unique itinerary which most cruise lines only offer once a year due perhaps to climatic conditions in Norway (Gieranger can get snow up until June). Having seen the fjords and glaciers in North America, I wanted to experience for myself what Norway has to offer so that I could be in a better position to tell my clients what they could expect if they had done a Baltic cruise and wanted something different. I would definitely recommend this cruise as an alternative to a typical Baltic cruise itinerary.

I loved the ambience of the ship which is elegant and luxurious, but not in an opulent and flashy sort of way. The passengers are well dressed and seemed to be well educated and traveled. At 1870 passengers, the public areas do not seem crowded at any time.

I must commend the ship for providing free shuttle service into town from all of the ports of call. The bus takes you right into the centre of town and return at short intervals, so for those independent passengers who like to see the town on their own, this was a real bonus.

The ship has also improved its disembarkation process in that passengers are now invited to stay in their cabins until it is time for them to go to their designated lounge for disembarkation. The wait is only about 10-15 minutes.

PROS: I would say that the highlights of the cruise was experiencing the magnificent Geiranger Fjords and the land of the midnight sun.

CONS: If anything needed to be improved, I would say that the quality of the food in the buffet could be better, and more educational enrichment lectures could be offered.

Written By Vivienne Cheng

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GALAXY - Review

GALAXY

I travelled on the Galaxy September 10th, 1999. It was a 7 night Inside Passage Cruise to and from Vancouver, BC. The itinerary included cruising the Inside Passage, cruising Hubbard Glacier, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan.

Cruising to Alaska in September is surprisingly one of the better months for weather. In the past three years the weather in Vancouver and Alaska has been sunny. The last two years I have cruised to Alaska in August or September the weather has been great.

Cruising through the Inside Passage I was actually out on deck in my bathing suit and I wasn't cold! It was sunny and many people were out enjoying it...The pools and hot tubs were occupied.

When we stopped in Skagway and Juneau it was cloudy and part of the day it rained. (Rain for one or two days on a 7 day cruise to Alaska is typical) These two ports I decided to sightseeing on my own, instead of taking a shore excursion. I walked around the town shopping and visiting with my friends I met on board the ship.

When we arrived in Ketchikan it was foggy in the morning. This burnt off and the day was gorgeous. Almost, everyone on board told us this was the best weather they've seen in Ketchikan all season.

The ship itself is gorgeous. There are many areas/lounges (inside) where you can sit and look at the views outside. The Main Dining Room has huge floor to ceiling glass windows because its at the back of the ship. This offers a great view.

One of the evenings when we were eating dinner a pod of killer whales swam by the ship. We had a great view from the dining room!

Plus, there was lots of deck space to walk around and look around. This was great when we were cruising Glacier Bay and everyone was outside watching.

The food on board was great. However, I didn't think it was 'Five Star', as they say in their brochures. I thought it was very similar to Princess Cruises, however on the formal nights the food was excellent! I had the best dinner on board the Galaxy than anyother cruise ship one formal evening. I had roast duck...I highly recommend it!

The food in the Oasis Grill was good. It offered Pizza and burgers, etc. The pizza was excellent...the best I've ever had.

The Oasis Cafe offered casual dining for any meal (breakfast, lunch and dinner) which was great. However, the have dinner there you had to make reservations by 2pm that day. One day my friends and I were out sightseeing all day, got back to the ship and were very tried. We didn't feel like dressing up to go to the main dining room. We tried to get into the Oasis Cafe, but couldn't because it was after 2pm (we were told by friends that went that night that the restaurants wasn't even full). So then we looked at the Room Service Menu. There wasn't much selection and the pizza had just ended. So, we ordered something that included Ham, Bread and Cheese...I can't say I enjoyed it...we went to the midnight buffet that night!

The staff on board was great. We went to most of the events (ie. 50's/60's Sock Hop, Country Western Night, etc.) and the Entertainment Staff was great at getting everyone going! The Stratosphere nightclub was very popular. There was a large group of Mexican's on board celebrating their Independence Day so the party lasted all week long. There were some excellent dancers!

The Spa was fabulous. I treated myself to a full body massage which also included a facial. It was so relaxing that I wanted to take a nap afterwards...I don't recommend this just before dinner. The only thing I did not like about it was when she massaged my shoulder blades. That was the first time that anyone had massaged that area on me. It was painful. I would highly recommend taking the tour of the spa area the first day you board. You go through the whole area and they show you what treatments/packages they offer. Its a great way to help you decide on which treatment/package to buy. The women on board who did nails was excellent. I wanted to get my done, but didn't have enough time...Everyone who did loved their nails, they looked great. One of the girls I was travelling needed a new look and decided to let her hairstylist's on board do whatever she thought would look the best. After she was done she looked fabulous!!

Another one of the girls I was travelling with sat in at the children's center one full day to see what the kids could do. At dinner that night she raved about the program. There were some many activities and the supervisors were great.

My overall experience was wonderful. I missed the ship the same day I got off it and I still want to go back now. I will definitely cruise Celebrity again, and if possible the Galaxy too!!!

Written By Denise Blackmore, ACC

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STAR PRINCESS - Review

STAR PRINCESS

I took a 3 night coastal cruise on board the Star Princess from Vancouver, BC to Los Angeles, CA on September 18th. I was expecting the weather to be rough and cold, but was pleasantly surprised it wasn't!

SPA
During the two full days at sea I spent most of my time at the spa. I did the Asian Lotus Ritual, the Ocean Ritual, the Exotic Hand Treatment (manicure), Foot Treatment (pedicure), and a scalp, neck & shoulder massage (I can't remember the name). I really enjoyed all of these treatments and would definitely do the Ocean Ritual again! I would not do the scalp, neck & shoulder massage again. The girl in the salon did this for me and it took me 3 days and 7 shampoos to get the oil out of my hair.

What bothered me was the heavy sales pitch at the end or during each treatment. They made me feel like I was doing bad things to my body and that I needed their products, so I ended up buying two different things. One of which I wanted to return a few hours later and was told the spa has a no-refund policy and that I'd have to contact Elemis directly when I got home. Well I did that and they will only give an 85% refund for the product even though it hasn't been used!

The gym was great...although at certain times during the day (especially around 4pm) it was busy and there wasn't enough equipment for everyone. Most of the classes (yoga, pilates, spinning, etc.) had a charge of $10 US pp.

LAYOUT
The ship itself is beautiful. I found the area on Deck 7 where the photos are displayed to be the busy part of the ship. Its right outside of the Wheelhouse Bar, Sabatini's Restaurant, the Explorer's Lounge and the Vista Lounge. Everynight something was happening at the Explorer's Lounge and it would get loud and fill with people. The most exciting and loudest night was when Karoke was offered in this lounge at 10pm...everyone showed up!

Most of the outside areas are on Deck 14. There is one outdoor pool, one indoor pool and one small pool hidden at the front of the ship by the spa. There were always people in the pools and the hot tubs had people coming and going, but there was always room to join.

DINING
Personal Choice Dining is great! There is one restaurant (Amalfi) that is for traditional dining and two restaurants (Portofino & Capri) for personal choice dining. I found that it was always best to make a reservation in either of personal choice dining rooms because otherwise you could wait up to 20 minutes for a table.

The Horizon Court (buffet) was good. They always had at least one side open with food. The variety of food changed every few hours, but it seemed like the breakfast offered each morning was the same. If it were a longer cruise I probably would have tried one of the dining rooms for some breakfasts.

There was a grill area by the outdoor pool that has pizza, hot dogs, hamburger, vegi burgers, chicken burgers and more. The made to order food was good, but I found the pizza got cold really fast.

Tequilla's restaurant is good. The cost is $8 US per person, but you receive a free lime margarita with dinner. It was good, but if you don't like spicy stuff watch out! The salsa that comes with the taco chips is hot. I found the ceaser salad and tequilla prawns were great!

Sabatini's I couldn't get into. They only take reservations for the day/night of and each time it was full. I heard from other passengers that it was good.

Room service was 24 hours but limited. Breakfast, for example, was only continental. We didn't use it at all.

ENTERTAINMENT
The only show we went to see was Dance. It was great! The rest of the time we would go to the Skywalkers nightclub for entertainment. The DJ was good, offering a selection of music for the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s and took requests. The only disappointment was that it closed at 3am.

DAILY ACTIVITIES
There were a wide variety of daily activities offered, however I found the Princess Patter (guide sheet) hard to read. It seems that I always missed something on the sheet and it never talked about dining areas. There was a separate yellow sheet with all the dining information and we lost it the second day!

STATEROOM
We were booked into a Category F Oceanview Stateroom with fully obstructed view. They should have called it an Inside Stateroom. We looked directly at a lifeboat and could not see anything. No light came in so it really felt like an Inside Stateroom. The layout of the room was good, there was a small sitting area and the closet was big. But the biggest disappointment for me was the bathroom. There was little storage for a make-up bag and toothbrush. But the biggest problem was the shower. It was so small! I'm tall and thin and had a real problem trying to shave. The shower curtain grabs you and I almost slipped twice. They really need to add a foot or more in the shower.

My traveling companions and I really made our own fun on the ship. I think to a certain extent this was more of a party cruise because of its length and therefore the nightclub was busier than usual. And that's why I think its best suited for families. So many of the activities were for them and I think a longer cruise is geared more toward them.

The ship itself it very big and I could feel it. From standing out on deck watching the ship sail away and being able to see people on their balconies below to trying to look at photos on deck 7 and having masses of people trying to walk by.

Written By Denise Blackmore, ACC

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CRYSTAL HARMONY - Review

CRYSTAL HARMONY

This was a cruise I'll never forget! I've cruised 6 or 7 times now...I'm loosing track...and this was, by far, the best cruise I've ever taken. I've never been so relaxed! I have a highly stressful job so this was the perfect vacation for me. I flew down to Sydney 1 week prior to the cruise. It was during the Olympics so that week in Sydney was about going to events and seeing the closing ceremony fire works. Sydney is a beautiful city with lots to see.

We boarded the Crystal Harmony on October 3rd. That first night the ship stayed in Sydney so dinner was open. We had some local friends join us onboard for dinner. We had arranged this ahead of time, so we could thank them for letting us stay with them while we were in Sydney.

October 4th we left Sydney in the late afternoon. I was getting ready for dinner as we sailed out of the harbour (not by choice), so our balcony came in handy to be able to look out and keep the bathrobe on. The weather was fabulous - It was spring for them at this time of year so its not too hot. We went to dinner and met our table mates. It was my birthday so the waitre's, maitre d', etc. came over and sang. I have to admit I prefer the desserts they serve over the cakes they have for special occassions (on any cruise).

October 5th we had our first day at sea. We began to talk about how well the staff was treating us. From day one everyone is genuinely friendly, wants to meet you and get to know you. The food in the lido cafe is great! I highly recommend the made-to-order waffles. WOW! They're really good. Almost everyday we went there for breakfast cause it was better than the dining room.

October 6th we stopped in Melbourne. They had complimentary shuttles from the cruise terminal to downtown. We took that and decided to explore the city on our own. All we did really was shop and go for lunch.

October 7th we had our second day at sea. They offer art auctions, paddle tennis, wine tasting's, etc. The following day we were in Hobart. What a cute little place. It was a Sunday so not very many places were open. We went to a Teddy Bear Fair, had Fish & Chips at the wharf (we can get better at home) and walked around.

Then we began our 3 day at sea journey to New Zealand. It was great! Sleep in, go to the art auction, go to the lunch buffet or the Trident Bar (they serve excellent made-to-order hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches and french fries. Just make sure to ask for your burger well done). Then go to the gym or watch a movie and the day is nearly gone.

Dinners were the best part of the trip. We were extremely lucky because we sat at the Chief Engineers table. Every second night or so he would sit with us. He had many good stories to tell, along with our tablemates. One night our entire table went up to Prego's Restaurant for dinner. If you like Italian food this is the place to eat. WOW! The meals here are incredible. We ended up going to this restaurant twice...although I could have gone everynight.

Then we stopped in Wellington. They don't call it Windy Wellington for nothing! The day started out overcast. By mid-afternoon it was pouring rain and very windy. Crystal made the decision to overnight in Wellington because Christchurch (our next port-of-call) had the worst storm in 40 years. It had millions of dollars of damage to its port. By the next morning Crystal informed us we were traveling straight to Auckland and we'd arrive half a day early.

Arriving into Auckland on a Saturday was great. It was a beautiful sunny day so many locals were sailing in the harbour. (In fact, they had to blow the horn a few times to get people to move out of the way of us) I really enjoyed Auckland. It reminds me of Vancouver. Its a big city with great shopping. Plus, its on the water, is very lush (lots of grass & trees) and has rolling hills. So, we ended up spending 2 nights in Auckland, but I could have spent more time here.

The only things I didn't really like was the entertainment onboard and the age of the ship. I don't think I sat through one show. They weren't as good as what I've seen on other cruise lines. The age of the ship shows a little. For example, in our stateroom there was a stain on the carpet.

Overall the trip was great and I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Written By Denise Blackmore, ACC

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MILLENNIUM - Review

MILLENNIUM

I sailed on the Millennium October 28th, 2001. This was a 7 night Eastern Caribbean Cruise roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale. The ports included San Juan, St. Thomas, Dominican Republic, and Nassau.

First I'll start with the itinerary. It was good. All places allow you to go to the beach and sun tan, if that's what you're looking for. San Juan was interesting and I'd recommend it for shopping. I found a beautiful dress shop (for women) that had good prices. St. Thomas was great too! This is a place to shop for eletronics -the best prices I've seen. Plus, Magen's Bay is a definiate place to stop at. Then we stopped at Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic. It was just like going to a private island. It was a day at the beach. Although there are some shore excursions offered if ou did want to go to the main island and tour. Nassau was ok. I was a bit disappointed. It was dirty and felt unsafe in certain areas.

We had a Category 2C Deluxe with Veranda. It was great! We used the veranda a lot. Opening the door to get fresh air whenever we were in the room and sitting out when we were leaving ports.

The ship itself is beautiful. Very similar to the Infinity, except where the Conservatory is they put a Sports Bar. It doesn't really suit the rest of the ship, but there were people using it. On the Millennium they put the Conservatory right near the nightclub. If you're not specifically looking for it you'll miss it. I recommend stopping to take a look. It offers beautiful silk flowers..I bought some home for X-mas gifts.

The food onboard was great. One day we didn't feel like getting dressed up for dinner (it was an In-Formal night) so we had dinner in our stateroom. They bought the main dining room menu and we had a 5 course meal while watching a movie. It was great!

The Olympic Restaurant is a must! I was on Infinity in May and went to the United States Restaurant. I enjoyed that so much that I told everyone at my dinner table about it. By the end of the week everyone at our table had gone and really enjoyed it! It was the most fabulous dinner I've had. It took about 3 hours and our waitre was excellent. He told us all about the restaurant and even gave us a tour of the wine cellar. We went on the last formal night because I like to miss the Baked Alaska in the main dining room. I had Cheese Souffle, Rack of Lamb and Chocolate Souffle...it was unbelieveable. The cheese souffle just melted in my mouth. The rack of lamb was so rich and cooked perfectly. The chocolate souffle I couldn't even finish because they also gave us a little starter and a cheese tray with crackers, etc. It costs $25 US per person, which sounds like a lot. But its worth every penny!

On Halloween many passengers dressed up. They had a costume contest and everyone had a great time. At the end of the cruise they showed the 'Cruise In Review' video. I loved that! You got to see people you've met, people you've never seen and all the good times that week.

The only bad thing was the DJ in the nightclub. Some nights he was good and some nights all he did was mix stuff...that's not my type of music.

What else can I say!?! It was a great cruise. I'm hooked on Celebrity Cruises (after my third time) and can't wait to go again!

Written By Denise Blackmore, ACC

Additional information about cruises are available through our websites:
www.Cruising2Mexico.com
www.Cruising2Tahiti.com
www.Cruising2Alaska.com

SUN PRINCESS - Review

SUN PRINCESS

I cruised on the Sun Princess August 22nd of 1998. It was a 7 night Voyage of the Glaciers Cruise northbound from Vancouver to Seward (Alaska). This particular ship is gorgeous!

Grand Class Cruising is having "What you want, when you want" and its true...You can eat anytime, 24 hours if you like. It offers 24 hour room service (a good selection of food to order and eat in your stateroom), a 24 hour casual dining restaurant called the Horizon Court (this offers buffets throughout the day and a sit down dinner from about 5pm til 4am), a Pizzeria (offering pizzas made to order, open from 11am til 1 or 2am) and of course the Main Dining Rooms which are open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner at selected times.

The entertainment was great. I enjoyed the big productions they offered like Pirates. I felt no matter where I was on the ship I wasn't cruising with 2000 other people.

The ship offers two Main Dining Rooms, each accommodating 500 people. The Theatre and the Vista Show Lounge only accommodates 500 people as well. After dinner every evening each dining room would be assigned a show/production in either the Theatre or the Vista Show Lounge. The following evening each dining room would then be assigned the show/production they missed the night before. This allows everyone an opportunity to see each show/production and you don't feel crowd!

I really liked the decor of the ship. It was elegant, not flashy or neon. The atrium was gorgeous with glass elevators and the circular staircases. The evening of the Captain's Cocktail Party they held it in the atrium, everyone was dressed up (it was a formal night), having pictures taken, etc. The atmosphere was great, everyone was enjoying themselves (this was the only time that it felt like you were cruising with many others...there were aprox. 1000 people in the atrium that night).

The Stateroom that I had was Category II Inside and was located on the Riviera Deck. It was big (this was because of the layout) and I was thankful for all the closet space it offered for clothes. The bathroom was good, however like most ships the shower was small. Just enough room move around.

Our room stewardess was excellent. I got sick for 2 days of the trip (the Alaska Flu) and was in my stateroom most of that time. The medical center on board was good. The nurses and doctor there were very helpful...even in the middle of the night!

The Horizon Court (24 hour casual restaurant) offers floor to ceiling windows. These windows were great for Glacier Bay. We sat up there eating breakfast, we slept in, and watching the Glaciers. In the public areas they had a Naturalists speaking about the park and what we were viewing.

One area of the ship I spent a fair amount of time was the back of the ship on the Lido Deck. There is a hot tub there that is high enough up for it to offer great views. I spend a few hours there when we where cruising out of Juneau...we watched the Regal Princess leave port and then followed her to Glacier Bay. It was gorgeous with all the lights on the ship and the city of Juneau.

The Spa was nice. They offered a good variety of treatments. Unfortunately, the treatment I scheduled I wasn't able to since I was sick. I had to cancel and they didn't charge me the regular cancellation fee because of my illness.

The gym was nice too. It offered views off the back of the ship, great for Alaska.

Overall I really enjoyed the ship. The food was great...the pasta is excellent (Italian Chef's on board) and the desserts were great! Just thinking about it makes me hungry! The waiter and assistant waiter were great...really enjoyed going to the dining room every night (even though our table mates were unpleased-they complained about everything..the stupidest things).

Of all the cruise ships I have seen (either by cruise or tour) this is my favorite!!

Written By Denise Blackmore, ACC

Additional information about cruises are available through our websites:
www.Cruising2Mexico.com
www.Cruising2Tahiti.com
www.Cruising2Alaska.com

PRIDE OF ALOHA

NCL's PRIDE OF ALOHA

The inaugural sailing of Norwegian Cruise Lines' Pride of Aloha made it the first cruise ship to test the parameters of the U.S. Passenger Services Act that passed through Congress last year to let a U.S. ship with an American crew sail U.S. waters without a foreign port of call.

Freestyle Cruising
And the Pride of Aloha did it with flying colours. "it's an historic event," says Andy Stuart, senior v.p. of marketing and sales. "It's freestyle cruising; it's homeland cruising and it's Hawaii cruising. Hawaii marks three percent of the cruising market. But we're doubling that and by 2007, NCL expects to have three ships in Hawaii and be carrying 500,000 passengers a year to the destination.

Local tourism entities are also enthusiastic about NCL's latest product. "The coming of NCL to Hawaii is going to be big here, and as we are seeing average daily occupancy rates in our hotels going up dramatically statewide, increasing the cruise numbers to the state only adds to what we are able to offer," says Hawaii Convention & Visitors Bureau (HCVB) President and CEO John Monahan.

As an American-flagged operation, the line offers several advantages. First, there is no nedd to waster valuable time cruising to a foreign port to satisfy maritime immigration laws. Secondly, passengers will not need visas or passports or be caught in laborious custom procedures upon returning to home port. Third, with an American flag and crew, national safety and security concerns are less of a problem, and fourth, should a passenger desire to leave the cruise early (even though a full 7-day excursion has been purchased), he or she is free to do so - something not possible with other lines sailing the islands.

"This is all part of our Freestlye Cruising approach," says Stuart. "This is supposed to be a relaxed experience. No seating times, lots of restaurant choices and a free and casual cruise vacation experience all around.

Onboard Amenities
The 2,002 passenger vessel has been refurbished sinces its days as the Norwegian Sky and now has plenty of entertainment and amenities to keep passengers busy. Cabins - 983 in total, 554 with ocean views and 243 with private balconies - are tight but comfortable with plush towels, firm mattresses, bath amenities, regular ice bucket service, turn-down service, a mini-refrigerator, bottled water and TV with some cable network programming.

Between stops in Honolulu, Hilo, Kahului and Nawiliwili, passengers can explore the collections in the Mark Twain Library, have an Elemis aroma stone massage or Hawaiian lomi in the body Waves Spa (operated by Mandara Spa), go online with a ship or personal computer at the WiFi-wired Internet Cafe, smoke a stogie in the dark, wood-paneled interiors of Captain Cook's Cigar Club or watch a show in the Stardust Theatre. The ship offers some 11 bars and lounges, including a karaoke bar and a dance club. For kids there's the video arcade and the Kids korner with counselors and programs.

Two pools and four hot tubs, plus a kiddy pool with waterfall and special toddler's hot tub, help enhance relaxation. Ping pong, a jogging track and fully equipped gym assist the active set. A wedding chapel will seat about 50 guests and the unusualy addition of the Kumu Cultural Center offers a bit of a museum on hawaiian culture and history to the complement the sense of place.

Dining Options
For dining, Pride of Aloha offers two signature dining experiences: the Palace Restaurant and the Crossing Restaurant. This is where you find your lobster tail entrees and your three-mushroom soup.

The "freestyle" element means passengers come when they feel like it and wait for a table if one is not readily availanble (reservations can be made in advance). Dining in these venues, and the Hukilau buffet cafe, is included in the cruise fare.

Three other restaurants give passenger more choice in dishes and atmosphere with the Kahili Restaurant for highend Italian cuisine, Pacific Heights for Pan Asian fare and the Royal Palm Bistri serving nouvelle and classic French cuisine.

The Pride of Aloha is staffed by Americans so language is never a problem. The quiet, subservient nature of the foreign help found on other cruise lines, however, is replaced by loquacious and, at times, less focused assistance familar in American customer service entities.

Additional information about the Pride of Aloha is available through our websites:
www.Cruising2Mexico.com
www.Cruising2Tahiti.com
www.Cruising2Alaska.com

MSC LIRICA - Review

MSC CRUISES

Launched in 2003, the MSC Lirica gleams with impeccable public rooms in pleasant colour schemes of peach, cream, teal and blue. Understated elegance best describes the vessel. Staterooms and suites are well-appointed with all the usual amenities. A very nice touch is a pitcher of iced water, bucket of ice and fresh fruit bowl in every room that is replenished as consumed.

Our itinerary included San Juan, Antigua, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Barts, Tortola and Nassau. While in the Caribbean the passenger mix is 80% North American and 20% European, but when the ship is in Europe the reverse would be true. English, French, German, Italian and Spanish are spoken onboard. Thankfully there are few announcements over the PA, but at shows the Cruise Director would address us in five languages. The ship employs staff fluent in each major language to conduct information talks in separate lounges and guests speaking the same language are seated in the same areas of the dining room.

MSC Cruises does not push bar drinks which is a welcomed relief; although prices are the most reasonable we have ever seen on ships. Gambling is also not big onboard – the casino is small and bingo is only one 15-minute game. There is a $14 per day charge to use the sauna and steam room which we found highly unusual. Nightly shows were excellent and our applause goes to an exceptional quartet of flamenco dancers from Spain. It is evident that English is not the first language of the headline singers, they would have been better off singing in Italian.

We had mixed reviews on the food and service onboard. At the buffet, cutlery and paper napkins are dispensed from metal containers cafeteria-style. There are no trays for your plate and no staff is available to provide assistance. We noticed canned pineapple rings and peach halves in the fresh fruit selection. At breakfast, rectangular hashbrowns are straight out of the frozen package with diagonal grilled marks. Juice is served in small and flimsy plastic cups. Pizza, burgers, hotdogs & fries at the outdoor grill were under heat lamps. The Food & Beverage Manager advised us that the buffet plays second fiddle as guests are encouraged to eat in the main dining room, but MSC Cruises is taking steps to improve the buffet.

The excellent dining room service is enhanced by the camaraderie of the waiters, most of who hail from Sorrento. Dinner is always a festive event with waiters singing and sharing stories. The menu is varied and featured many fish, meats and vegetarian dishes but sometimes have unrecognizable names such as Tyrolean Speck and lack description so we had to ask what they were. A pasta and risotto dish is always available as are vegetarian and healthy choice dishes. Dessert is not a big emphasis as only one cake is offered and the rest is ice cream or sherbet. Meal portions are excessively large, although we were advised that it is the Italian hospitality, we can’t help but see it as being wasteful. A midnight buffet is still offered each night with an impressive gala buffet at the end of the cruise.

MSC Cruises would be suitable for first time cruisers. Experienced cruisers need to be prepared for slightly different food and service standards. All cruisers need to be advised of the international passenger mix and the different languages onboard. MSC Cruises is eager to tap the North American cruiser and they do listen to guests’ suggestions and will be making adjustments to improve the product for the North American cruiser. We look forward to seeing more of MSC in the future!

Pros:
Elegant ship, beautifully appointed with pleasant décor throughout
Spacious staterooms with great amenities
Excellent Caribbean itinerary offering unusual ports with convenient roundtrip Ft. Lauderdale departure
Very reasonable bar prices and no pushy waiters selling drinks

Cons:
Food and service levels need to be brought up to North American standards
Buffet amenities and selection needs improvement
Casino games and bingo very limited
North American guests should be prepared to be among European passengers speaking different languages

Written By Ming Tappin, MCC

More Information & Specials On MSC Cruises!

New 2005 MSC Cruises Europe Information & Specials!

For More Information About A Cruise Visit our Websites:
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Radisson Seven Seas - Seven Seas Mariner

MARINER

An all suite, all balcony ship, the Seven Seas Mariner caters to the most discriminating traveler. At 50,000 tons it only carries 700 guests. Onboard is a country club casual atmosphere which takes the stuffiness and formality out of cruising. Public rooms are pleasantly decorated with contemporary furnishings in classic colours. The bi-level Constellation Theatre offers excellent sightlines and seating is tiered so that every seat has a great view of the stage. A large casino features slot machines and variety of table games, very impressive for this size of ship. A spiral staircase descends to Stars Nightclub which is a dark and cozy spot for drinks and dancing. The Connoisseur Club offers cigar smoking with comfortable leather chairs. The Observation Lounge is perched high on Deck 12 with a bird’s eye view of the surroundings. The Mariner also boasts an elaborate book and video library, card room, and meeting rooms to host small conferences.

The central pool is complemented with 3 whirlpools and large open deck space.
The Clarita spa has a complete range of treatments as well as salon service. A good size fitness center has a large aerobics floor although a little limited on the number of cardio and weight machines. However for a ship this size the gym is seldom busy.

Dining is all open seating which allows ample flexibility for guests, with five different dining venues. The main dining room is Compass Rose Restaurant, neighbouring Latitudes has an African/Asian theme with unique décor and place settings. La Veranda Restaurant and Signatures are both elegant alternate restaurants and the Pool Grill serves casual fare. Complimentary wine is included with dinner as well as all shipboard gratuities. All soft drinks and bottled water are included as well as 2 bottles of premium liquor in each suite.

Suites on the Mariner range from the Deluxe Suite at 252 square feet to the elaborate 2-bedroom Master Suite at 2,002 square feet. Each suite has a sitting area, walk-in closet with bathrobes and slippers, marble bath with tubs and stocked bar, floor-to-ceiling windows and private balcony. Suites at the forward or aft end of the ship have large wraparound balconies. While spacious and well appointed, compared to suites found even on contemporary market ships her age, the Mariner lacks in the creature comforts that today’s travelers may be accustomed to. Televisions in the suites are small and none offered DVD players(all movies are played on VCRs). Though a generous marble bathroom filled with amenities, none had a Jacuzzi tub, not even in the Master Suite, and only the Master Suite bath had double sinks.

Seven Seas Mariner would be perfect for couples looking for a six-star luxury cruise with small number of passengers, yet with casual, country-club atmosphere. Does not cater to families as there are only a limited number of triple suites available but no children’s programs onboard.

Pros:
1. Lots of space for the number of passengers onboard, so never crowded.
2. Lots of dining and entertaining venues for a ship this size.
3. Inclusions of wine at dinner, soft drinks, stock bar and gratuities mean added value.

Cons:
1. Suites lack some of the elements expected in a luxury hotel (eg. DVD players, Jacuzzi tubs, larger TVs).

Written By Ming Tappin, MCC

Additional information about cruises are available through our websites:
www.Cruising2Mexico.com
www.Cruising2Tahiti.com
www.Cruising2Alaska.com
www.Cruising2Europe.com

ZAANDAM

ZAANDAM

In mid July I sailed on Holland America’s Zaandam to Alaska with my husband and his parents. We chose the Zaandam for its intimate size(we did not want a mega ship) and the traditional style of cruising for which Holland America is famous. We were looking for a ship that offered comfortable accommodations, classic décor, good food and service, and quiet shipboard life, all of which we found onboard the Zaandam.

Our oceanview stateroom included the newly upgraded 12� mattress, fluffy bathrobes and plush oversized towels. The bathroom also had a tub which is appreciated as most ships on other lines do not offer a tub unless you are in a balcony or suite category. A fruit bowl was replenished as it was consumed but we were disappointed not to find a fridge. Instead a selection of soft drinks and bottled water were placed on the vanity next to the ice bucket.

The Zaandam exudes classiness with cozy public rooms adorned with antiques and historical artworks, spectacular fresh flower arrangements at every corner, wraparound promenade deck with teak loungers, and quiet corners to chat with friends or watch the passing seas. Food and service in the Rotterdam dining room was superb. Each menu had a wide choice catering to all taste buds. A nice touch is the Indonesian dishes that are offered at a few dinners and lunches, allowing guests to try different flavours. By the second night all of us were sold on the complimentary cappuccinos after dinner and soon our assistant waiter brought them to us without having to ask. We also dined at the Pinnacle Grill which was superb in its sterling beef selection and a variety of seafood and rack of lamb. There is a cover charge of $20 but on the first night it is offered at half price and once more in the middle of the cruise. It is well worth the price for an excellent meal.

Onboard staff is friendly and smiles are everywhere, however many have minimal fluency in English and if anything out of the ordinary was asked for, it often received confused looks and not carried out properly. In 3 different lounges my father in-law ordered a single malt scotch which he asked for water to be brought in a separate glass(so he can add it himself) and all 3 times the scotch arrived in different glassware(once in a sherry glass and once in a tall glass with a straw!). It was clear that they did not understand what he wanted because he did not order a regular scotch on the rocks.

This being an Alaska cruise, daily activities was kept to a minimum so that guests can enjoy the scenery and shore side visits. On sea days as well as in Glacier Bay National Park, naturalists provided commentary on the wildlife and landscape. Each evening after dinner we had a chance to listen to various musicians and danced in the lounges. We noticed however, that if a production show was in progress all other entertainment venues shut down, so it forced guests to watch the shows – which unfortunately were not all that great. The headline singers were not the best we have heard, and the productions seemed very hokey. But Holland America was never known for its entertainment so we were not surprised. The performance that got the best reviews was the Crew Show in which the Indonesian and Filipino crew donned traditional costumes and performed their countries’ song and dance.

One element which we did not expect onboard a Holland America ship was the number of announcements. Especially annoying were the calls to bingo every day. As you are out on deck enjoying the spectacular glaciers or whale watching, the PA comes alive with “The Bingo Cash King� calling you to the latest jackpot game. As well in the afternoons we had to endure the Cruise Director’s announcements on what activities are happening onboard today. We commented in our guest questionnaire to let the daily newspaper do its job rather than filling the air with announcements. Announcements may be more acceptable in the Caribbean or on a more casual party ship but on a classy vessel in the serene landscape of Alaska it just is out of place.

We must praise Holland America for its efforts in keeping guests from catching or spreading the dreadful gastrointestinal germs that have plagued many ships. At embarkation each guest had to pass by a disinfectant dispenser which sanitized your hands. At the start of the buffet line a steward hands out a disinfectant wipe as you collected your tray, and upon returning to the ship from ashore, a disinfectant dispenser is set up at the gangway and a steward ensured you washed your hands before continuing on.

Holland America continues to attract loyal guests who favour the olden days of cruising onboard classic ships. Because of its traditional style, onboard ambiance and décor, it attracts an older clientele which in turn brings about a quieter shipboard life. Nightlife is subdued especially in Alaska as most people are active during the day. So after dinner they go to the show, maybe a couple of dances, and are off to bed by 11pm. So don’t expect the disco to be going on til the wee hours. If you are looking for a quiet relaxing vacation a Holland America cruise will be perfect for you.

Written By Ming Tappin, MCC

Additional information about cruises are available through our websites:
www.Cruising2Mexico.com
www.Cruising2Tahiti.com
www.Cruising2Alaska.com
www.Cruising2Europe.com

NORWEGIAN SUN

NORWEGIAN SUN

We picked Norwegian Cruise Line for our group as it seemed to be good value for a 7 day Inside Passage to Alaska and suited the price range for most people in the group, majority of whom had not cruised before.

Dining
With 9 restaurants onboard, it provides a variety of dining experience ranging from sushi and teppanyaki to French as well as fine Italian cuisine. The Specialty restaurants are Ginza - Teppanyaki & Sushi Bar (Ala Carte pricing). I personally recommend the Teppanyaki and a reservation would be required as it only takes 10 at one sitting.
East Meets West - Asian Fusion cuisine (cover charge of $15).
Il Adagio - Fine Italian cuisine (cover charge of $12.50).
Le Bistro - French cuisine (cover charge of $15; also highly recommended).
For the health and weight conscious guests there is also Pacific Heights Restaurant (no cover charge) which serves light cooking food mainly pasta and a variety of salads.
The main dining rooms are Four Seasons and Seven Seas with equally attentive waitresses and waiters providing excellent service.
Buffet food is served in the Garden Cafe with a wide selection of salads, main courses, and desserts. There are also cooking stations that would provide guests with food cooked to their liking. Available also is the pizza bar, ice-cream bar and tapas bar. Sprinkles ice-cream is free but Hagen Daz may be purchased if required.

Onboard activities
The gymnasium, internet cafes and video arcades are open 24 hours daily. Mandra Spa along with sauna and steam facilities are open from noon till 11:00pm.
There are only 4 hot tubs and I found that this can get crowded quite quickly at busy times and the hot tubs are fairly small. The swimming pools are uncovered and are fine for nice days but can be a bit cool when it is slightly windy. There seem to be sufficient deck chairs on the pool deck for guests.
Other activities include cha-cha dance class (very popular), aerobics (including step and cardiodance), art auction, bingo, bridge play, cooking demonstrations, lecture seminars, karaoke (also popular), movies, scrabble, wine tasting, backgammon, treasure hunts, chocoholic buffet, BBQ parties on pool deck and ping-pong, basketball and volleyball. Children’s activities are extensive and seem to be popular. There is also a party organized for them on the last night of the cruise whereby they have dinner together.

Stateroom
We were in a Mini-Suite Cat.AE with a king-size bed and a sofa bed which converts to queen size bed with privacy curtains. Décor is pleasant with mainly blue and yellow theme. The suite is on Deck 11 at the front of the ship. The balcony has a view of both sides but can be slightly breezy on some days. There are 2 desks, 1 television and fridge, and 4 deck chairs on the balcony.

Amenities in the room include a bottle of champagne, and a bowl of fresh fruits which was replenished daily, coffee/tea making facility and also concierge services. In the bathroom is a walk-in closet, dressing table and chair, bath (with shower), marble top sink, and separate toilet. There are two cotton bathrobes, (not toweling robes) for use and also hairdryer.

For breakfast, the room service menu is slightly limited as there are no cooked food such as omelettes, eggs, pancakes or waffles. The menu consist of muffins, Danish pastries, variety of fresh fruits including fruit compote, yogurt, toasts, and beverages such as tea, coffee, hot chocolate and fruit juices.

Garden Café where the buffet is served can be crowded at peak times and sometimes difficult to get a table. You can however get the food and then walk across to Pacific Heights where it is much quieter (but there is no coffee or tea served here), or sit outside when the weather is nice.

Entertainment
Nightly entertainment is presented mainly by The Jean-Ann Ryan Company in the Stardust Lounge (main theater). On the first night there was only one show at 9:00pm. For the rest of the week there were two shows nightly at 7:30pm and 9:30 pm. As well as the main production, there are comedy game shows throughout the week in Dazzles lounge. Captain’s welcome party was on the first day at sea (Monday night) for an hour with champagne served at the atrium.

What I loved about the cruise is the variety of dining experiences it offered. Freestyle dining whether in the main dining rooms or in the specialty restaurants provide so much choice and the service throughout remain consistent.
What I also like is the option given for disembarkation. You can choose what time you want to leave, be it earlier or later. We picked approximately 10:30am and therefore managed to have a nice leisurely breakfast before leaving.
What could be improved is the emergency lifeboat drill. It was held at 5:00pm (before ship sailed) and went on for slightly longer than necessary, (not so on other ships) and most guests were getting quite uncomfortable at the long procedure involved.

Click Here To View Pictures Of The Ship

Written By Azi North, ACC

Additional information about cruises are available through our websites:
www.Cruising2Mexico.com
www.Cruising2Tahiti.com
www.Cruising2Alaska.com
www.Cruising2Europe.com