American travelers vote for their top cruise ships

Top cruise line for large ships according to Conde Nast magazine Traveler’s readers in 2008 is Celebrity Cruises. Celebrity was considered tops in ambience/décor, food/restuarants, service/staff and standard/comfort of cabins. P&O Cruises was top for child-friendliness and Royal Caribbean International topped the list for nightlife/entertainment.

Top three Cruise lines were
1. Celebrity Cruises
2. Crystal Cruises
3 . Royal Caribbean International

Of the small ship lines, Traveler’s readers considered Windstar Cruises to be the best for itinerary/variety of destinations and child-friendliness. Silversea was considered to have the best food/restuarants and Seabourn (The Yachts of Seabourn) line was tops for environmental friendliness.

Top three small ship cruise lines were:
1. Windstar
2. Silversea Cruises
3. Star Cruises

Find out more about the poll.
Our new photo gallery is a quick tour of the Celebrity Mercury - photos taken by me when it was docked in Sydney in February last year.
A quick scan through this blog will show you when some of the ships from these lines have visited Australian ports.
The current Celebrity ship plying Australian ports is the Celebrity Millenium which is cruising around the South Pacific and New Zealand - if you would like info on this ship please contact me - martin@travelchoice.com.au

In your harbour 28 January to 4 Feb

28 January
Pacific Dawn will arrive and depart Sydney same day
Millenium will sail into Melbourne and leave same day
29 January
Diamond Princess will visit Sydney and leave for New Zealand on the same day
30 January
Volendam will arrive in Burnie, Tasmania and sail again the same day
31 January
Volendam will arrive and depart Melbourne
Pacific Sun will visit Brisbane for the day
Millenium will arrive into Sydney and depart again
1 February
Dawn Princess will visit Sydney for the day
Nautica will arrive in Hobart and leave that evening
2 February
Volendam will sail into Sydney and leave at 18:30
Diamond Princess will visit Hobart for the day
Athena will visit Adelaide and leave that afternoon
Lots happening - and new cruise deals coming through every day. Want to find out more about any cruise? I'm happy to help - my email is martin@travelchoice.com.au

Cruise the Med for a week

Costa Cruises has two special offers going at the moment for 7 night cruises on the Mediterranean in May, September and October this year.
Costa Serenas' Ancient Treasures cruises will be departing May 24 and 31, September 24and 27 and October 11 from Venice. She will visit Bari in Italy on the first day out, then take you to Olympia in Greece, Ismir in Turkey, Istanbul, a day at sea before Dubrovnik and back to Venice.
Costa Mediterranea will take 10 nights and departs just once on 12 October. She will sail from Savona in Italy to Naples. From there she goes to Messina followed by a day at sea before reaching Athens. Next port is Limassol in Cyprus, then Marmaris, Turkey, Santorini, Greece, Katakolon, Greece and a day at sea before returning to Savona.
Fares start at $970 for the Costa Serena's cruises and $1230 for the Costa Mediterraneana.
These Earlybird fares have just been released – but if you are interested contact me and I will check out availability for you – of course making sure you get the best deal for your money.
I'm at the agency between 9 and 5 so you can call me on 02 9968 1600 – or email martin@travelchoice.com.au.
[NOTE: The Holland-America Volendam Sydney-Singapore cruise - see earlier post below - is now fully booked. Sorry to disappoint so many enquirers, cruise holidays have become very popular.]

Ships coming and going

Bit quieter this week in the ports of Australia - they're all at sea! It's not until 24th that the first ship returns. Though the little known Black Prince will leave Adelaide on 23rd.
Our picture shows Pacific Dawn leaving Sydney last week - she'll be back on 28th.
24th January
Pacific Venus will leave Darwin having arrived the day before
Pacific Sun will arrive in Brisbane and leave same day
Sun Princess will arrive in Melbourne and leave the same day
Athena will arrive in Fremantle and leave the same day
25th January
Diamond Princess will arrive in Hobart and depart same day.
27th January
Diamond Princess sails into Melbourne leaving again at 5.
Athena comes back to Fremantle and leaves again
Rhapsody of the Seas will arrive in Sydney and depart the following day
Bookmark this blog to keep up to date with ships around Oz - or contact me - martin@travelchoice.com.au if you have a specific inquiry.

55% saving on Volendam cruise from Singapore to Sydney in March - but be quick!

It's an 18 night package on the luxurious Volendam, a Holland America ship that is currently sailing in the Pacific and Australian waters - this is an amazing offer!
This cruise leaves Sydney on 19 March - well actually you overnight in Sydney and sail the next day. This is a fabulous opportunity to enjoy Sydney, a chance to book a performance at the Sydney Opera House - and walk back to your accommodation afterwards! or to eat at one of Sydney's top restaurants.
Volendam departs Sydney on 20 March at midnight and sails towards the Whitsundays, arriving at Fitzalan in the Whitsundays on 23rd, and Cairns the next day. Sailing through the beautiful Whitsundays is always a special experience and the Volendam makes a leisurely trip to Lizard Island, the Ribbon Reef Region and the blue, blue waters of Torres Strait before reading Darwin on 28th March.
From here you will visit Komodo Island in Indonesia - the home of the Komodo Dragon, the world's heaviest and largest lizards - they average 2 to 3 metres in length and 79 kilos in weight.
Padang, Bali and Semarang in Java are the other Indonesian ports of call before arriving in Singapore on 4th April.
Accommodation in Singapore is at the Concorde Hotel for 2 nights. Many of us visit Singapore as a stopover but with 2 nights this is a great opportunity to do a day tour of parts of Singapore that you would usually not see.
You will arrive back in Sydney on 6th April.
As well as the cruise and accommodation your trip includes all meals, entertainment and activities on board, cruise taxes, NDAs and air taxes and surcharges, transfers and a one-way economy fare with Qantas from Singapore to Australia (upgrades are available, of course).
Prices start at $2,909, so if you are interested be quick. You can phone me on 2 9968 1600 - or email martin@travelchoice.com.au

Rhapsody of the Seas

The first feature we are shown on Rhapsody of the Seas are the floor to ceiling windows and canopies on the 10th and 11th floors. Branded by the Royal Caribbean International Cruise line as one of their Vision ships - this is why. What better place to take a photo of the Sydney Opera House or The Sydney Harbour Bridge than on a towering ship docked at Sydney's Circular Quay's International Terminal.
Today I joined a group of other travel agents on a tour of this ship. These tours give travel agents a first hand look at the cabins and suites and all the facilities.
The day began with grey clouds frowning over the Harbour Bridge but by mid-morning the sky was smiling and the sun was shining. The city looked as if it had been polished for the ship's visit.
Our tour of the Rhapsody of the Seas, which carries 1998 passengers, is 78,000 tonnes, was built in 1997 and re-furbished in 2007 took us to:

• a rock climbing wall,
• one of the biggest dance floors I have seen on a ship in the Shall We Dance ballroom,
• a theatre that seats 870 and is the focus of evening entertainment by visiting performers and the ship's own production company,
• a child focussed centre with a kids room, a video games room and an over-14s 'night club'
• a large casino,
• a large Day Spa with an Eqyptian theme and a hairdressing salon with big windows to the sea,
• a fitness centre that also looks out to sea
• four flexible conference rooms.

We were also invited to view all the suites from the luxurious Royal Suite with its white grand piano, marble bar and huge sitting room to the interior staterooms with all the comforts
of an elegant hotel room. In between there are Family Suites, Ocean View Staterooms, Balcony Staterooms - all offering TV, telephone, private bathrooms and room service.
Our visit included lunch on board in the Edelweiss restaurant. Meal options include fine dining, casual dining and buffet-style restaurants, a pizza paarlour and an ice cream bar.
There are 21 ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet - this is just one of them.
Tomorrow the Rhapsody sails for New Zealand. Later this year she will once circumnavigate Australia - one of the most popular cruises.
If you would like to find out more about this ship's itineraries - or others in the Royal Caribbean's fleet - please contact me... I'd love to tell you more.
See the Gallery of photos of the Rhapsody of the Seas
martin@travelchoice.com.au

Ships in your port

Bit late this week - at this time of year the ports are so busy with cruise ships. Today I have spent 5 hours on a ship's visit on board Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas . This is what travel agents do in order to check out the ships without actually sailing on them and it gives them an opportunity to look at the different types of cabins and the facilities on board. More about that to come in the posting on Rhapsody of the Seas.
If you were watching on
11 January
Rhapsody of the Seas sailed in and out of Hobart
12 January
Nautica sailed in and out of Hobart and Sun Princess arrived and left Melbourne.
13 January - today
Rhapsody of the Seas is in Sydney until tomorrow 14 January - she sails at 6pm.
Silver Whisper has sailed into Hobart and will sail again late today.
15 January
Silver Whisper sails into Melbourne leaving the same day
17 January
Silver Whisper will arrive in Sydney, stay overnight and sail for Hong Kong next day
Pacific Sun will arrive and depart Brisbane
18 January
Pacific Dawn sails into Sydney leaving the same day
19 January
Dawn Princess will arrive in Sydney and leave again.

Cruise Greenland, Iceland and Norway or take a break in South East Asia

Take a week to gather your thoughts before you get into 2009 and join Legend of the Seas which is cruising out of Singapore visiting Phuket, Thailand, Langkawi, Malaysia and back to Singapore starting at the end of this month (Jan.2009)!!

For $1,899.00* you can escape and enjoy the luxury of this Royal Caribbean ship. Included is a return economy airfarewith Singapore Airlines from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Adelaide, accommodation at the Novotel Clarke Quay Singapore and 4 nights onboard.
Interested? If you can't make the Jan 23 cruising, the ship leaves Singapore again on 27 January - and then again in November and December 2009.
Please email me, martin@travelchoice.com.au and I will send you more info.

Maybe you prefer to plan ahead. Have you always wanted to explore the fjords of Norway or are you fascinated by Greenland or Iceland? The Oriana (pictured) is cruising from Southampton on 29 June this year, cruising first to Ireland, then on to Greenland, Iceland and Norway, before returning on 17 July.
The 19 night cruise package includes return economy airfares with Singapore Airlines from Melbourne, Brisbane or Perth and one night's accommodation in the Crowne Plaza, St Pauls, London with English breakfast... Fares start at $7929*. I'm happy to give you more info, just email me - martin@travelchoice.com.au.
*Conditions apply.

Sailings for week 5 to 10 January 2009

Ports are busy at this time of year as ships come and go for their Pacific seasons - all these ships are staying in the Southern Hemisphere. Ships visiting Australian ports this week are:
5 January
Celebrity Millenium, Volendam and Diamond Princess sailed into and from Sydney
Nautica arrived in Brisbane and left the same day
6 January
Rhapsody of the Seas arrives and departs Sydney for New Zealand
7 January
Nautica arrives in Sydney and stays overnight, sailing the next day (photo of Nautica taken at Circular Quay on 7 Jan.)
Volendam arrives in Melbourne and departs the same day
8 January
Pacific Dawn arrives in Sydney
Rhapsody of the Seas arrives in Melbourne and leaves same day, Celebrity Millenium arrives and stays overnight
9 January
Dawn Princess returns to Sydney and leaves same day
Fremantle will welcome Athena which departs same day
10 January
Pacific Sun visits Brisbane for the day
Nautica will visit Melbourne and leave the same day
Do email me - martin@travelchoice.com.au if you would like information on any of these ships and their itineraries. Or you can call Sydney time between 9 and 5 - 2 9968 1600.