The Cruise Cafe

Welcome to Cruise Cafe. The great new place to find out the latest in the cruise business. Whether it be the latest specials, great new itineraries or information on cruise ships or cruise lines. Feel free to add comments on your experiences too. You can always find out more at www.CruiseCafe.com or by calling us at 1-800-788-2545. For the latest specials, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CruiseDepot.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Royal Caribbean Details Some 2013 European Itineraries

Royal Caribbean International has announced that Liberty of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas will be among the cruise line’s ships in 2013 to deliver the culture, history, delectable cuisine and hard-to-resist retail opportunities that Europe has to offer.

This latest deployment opening offers 121 sailings on 25 itineraries that call at 30 beautiful ports. When added to already announced Independence of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas’ deployment from Southampton, U.K., Royal Caribbean’s 2013 Europe vacation offerings already feature five of the world’s largest and most innovative cruise ships, sailing to the must-see destinations that make a most exciting and enriching Europe vacation. Royal Caribbean’s 2013 Europe cruises and Cruisetours for these five ships are open for booking and additional deployments in the region will be announced in April.

As the only ship in Europe to offer the DreamWorks Experience, as well as featuring the first-run Madagascar 3 in 3-D, Liberty of the Seas will delight guests with onboard entertainment featuring the lovable and irreverent characters from DreamWorks Animation’s popular films.

Guests can catch DreamWorks Animation’s films in 3-D in the ship’s onboard 3-D theater. Shrek and Fiona, Alex the lion, Po the Dragon Warrior, and many more characters also join in daily to greet guests; offer photo opportunities; and lead themed-activities with kids and young-at-heart guests.

Vacationers also can choose a Royal Caribbean Europe Cruisetour to experience the not-to-be-missed destinations that lie inland in Spain and Italy. Royal Caribbean Cruisetours combine a sailing aboard one of the cruise line’s innovative ships with a land tour itinerary, escorted by a regional Adventure Specialist that brings guests to the best attractions to see, at the right time to see them, and get the most of their Europe vacation.

Guests stay in premium hotels; and enjoy a stress-free experience where Royal Caribbean makes all the arrangements including transportation, activities and select meals. Vacationers can choose a five-night Venice, Florence & Rome Cruisetour, which features tours of the must-see attractions in the three cities followed by a sailing aboard Navigator of the Seas, or a four-night Madrid & Barcelona Cruisetour, which is coupled with a sailing aboard Serenade of the Seas.

Sailing roundtrip from its homeport of Barcelona from April through October 2013, Liberty of the Seas will begin with a series of five-night, Western Mediterranean cruises with calls in France and Italy. Liberty of the Seas will then sail every Sunday on seven-night Western Mediterranean itineraries, which call at exciting ports on the French and Italian rivieras, including Provence (Toulon) and Nice (Villefranche), France; and Italy’s Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Rome (Civitavecchia), and Naples. Furthermore, vacationers can choose to embark on a seven-night cruise aboard Liberty of the Seas at Provence (Toulon) or Naples. Called interporting, the option offers guests the flexibility to board a cruise at secondary embarkation ports. In turn, guests are required to sail the itinerary roundtrip back to their respective port of embarkation and enjoy the full cruise experience.

Among the Voyager class of ships which first introduced onboard amenities that catered to an active cruise vacation, Navigator of the Seas will sail seven-night roundtrip itineraries from Rome (Civitavecchia) and in the Eastern Mediterranean. Ports of call include Sicily (Messina), Italy; Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey; and Athens (Pireus) and Chania (Souda), Crete, in Greece. Vacationers also can choose to embark their seven-night Eastern Mediterranean cruise roundtrip from Sicily.

Serenade of the Seas offers vacationers a choice of 12-night Mediterranean Greek Isles and Mediterranean Venice itineraries, both sailing round trip from Barcelona. Vacationers can choose among several variations, but nearly all Mediterranean Greek Isles itineraries feature calls in Cannes, France; Italian cities of Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Rome (Civitavecchia), and Naples (Salerno); and Greek ports of Athens (Piraeus) and Santorini; and Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey. The Mediterranean Venice itinerary also offers several variations, but all feature an overnight call in Venice, as well as calls in Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Rome (Civitavecchia), Naples, and Ravenna, Italy, and a call at either Cannes, France, or Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Princess Cruises to Enter Japanese Market

One of the world’s leading cruise line brands, Princess Cruises, is launching an 87-day program featuring a total of nine cruises on seven different itineraries operating April through July of next year from both Yokohama and Kobe. The cruises will be from nine to 12 days in length.

The unique itineraries have been customized for the Japanese vacation market, and will launch with the most significant national holiday of Golden Week, a nine-day cruise on April 27, 2013 which includes two days in Hakata during the renowned Dontaku Festival.

Approximately 18,000 passengers are expected to be carried during this first season of cruising in Japan.

Highlights of other itineraries include overnight stays at cities with popular annual festivals, destinations known for their natural hot springs, northern ports of Japan and foreign ports in Korea and Taiwan, among others.