Mosman Cruise Centre has a new look website

Our website has been around for about 6 years so we recently decided it was time to update it. Today the new look went live! and we are very excited about it as it is a great way to tell cruisers and travellers about new deals - as well as to add interesting and useful content. Yes we can add deals to this blog but who wants to read a string of specials? Your travel agent does that for you - we get dozens a day! With our new site we can choose the best and put them up for you to read and explore at your leisure.
So take a look at the site - sign up for our newsletter - and do let me know what you think of it! You can email me at martin@travelchoice.com.au

Silverseas - Prince Albert and the Silver Spirit

What do travel agents do in the evening? Well many work way past closing time putting together itineraries for clients and wouldbe-clients - most are working harder at the moment than ever before - some go home - and some go to events like last night's promotion by Silverseas for travel agents, held at Sydney's classy Establishment.
These are events where suppliers sell to travel agents, so they can sell to you - the customer. Last night Silverseas treated us all to champagne and canapes while they informed about the Prince Albert's (pictured) upcoming season in the Arctic - and her successes in the Antarctic - and their new ship, Silver Spirit which will make her first voyage in December from Barcelona to Lisbon. There are no plans for the Silver Spirit to come to Australasia - she will divide her trips between the Mediterranean and the Americas. Those who love Silverseas will no doubt want to experience the new beauty while she is new.
Meanwhile the Prince Albert has become very popular with those who want to see Antarctica in style. She departs from Ushuaia in our summer months then moves to Norway and the north for the northern summer.
Currently Silverseas are offering discounts on Alaskan cruises aboard Silver Shadow.
Silverseas cruises include all meals, all drinks and gratuities and prices on theese 10 day cruises start at $4497pp twin-share. These cruises start on August 1 - departing until September. This beautiful picture of an Arctic fox is here because I think it's a beautiful creature ... what a treat to catch a glimpse of such an animal!
Contact us - travel@travelchoice.com.au if you'd like more info

Keeping track of your travel itinerary

So you've mislaid your travel itinerary - or you want to check something but you don't have it with you? There is a great service that those of you who book through a travel agent such as the Mosman Cruise Centre and Travel Choice can use if you have your PC or mobile handy. We use a system called Sabre as our booking system and Sabre has a website called Virtually There that allows travellers to 'pinpoint' their travel details. Using this website you can:

• check the status of your flights
• book ground transport, travel extras or travel protection
• find out what's happening in the city you are visiting - weather, city guides, maps
• check out past and present trips
• email your itinerary to friends or colleagues
• register for flight notifications.

All you need is your reservation code. Check it out once you've booked. I think it's brilliant.

Looking for ice and polar bears - or a Pacific experience

At this time of year I know many Aussie cruisers are looking to Alaska! From May to September ships cruise the icy waters of North America - Canada and Alaska. One of the most interesting itineraries for the adventurous is offered by Cruise West who take their passengers deep into the Inside Passage, sailing around the Glacier Bay National Park and Perserve (if you need to know where this is use Google maps!). These cruises offer passengers a chance to learn from a National Park ranger and passengers will discover the flora and culture of the area, watch for wildlife and the crack of the glaciers as they calve into the ocean.
Cruise West sailings are on 18 May, 24 July, 29 July, 26 August and 2 September - and they are currently offering big savings - so send us an email if you would like to find out more.

If travelling the South Pacific is more your thing Holland America's Amsterdam is sailing from Los Angeles to Sydney visiting Tahiti, Cook Islands and Vanuatu. It's a 33-night voyage and the package departs from Sydney on 29 September, 2009 for Los Angeles. So you have the pleasure of cruising back to your home port and arriving truly relaxed, after your South Pacific sojourn.
I've added a photo from my trip to Tahiti in 2007, just to whet your appetite.
We're here to tell you more so just email us travel@travelchoice.com.au for more information.

Blogging along

Sometimes it can be difficult to find something to write about when all the news seems to be depressing... so this afternoon I informed myself by reading some of the blogs from cruise directors and others - they are all on the Reading list.
One of the most interesting is Cruise Diva - she is certainly up to date on all the news and if you want to keep up to date she does it all for you - as she says. She has just announced a blog by Royal Caribbean so I've added it to my reading list.
Royal Caribbean have a ship being built known as Project Genesis which will no doubt be the first to have a park in the middle - modelled on New York's Central Park. More than 25o staterooms will overlook the park which will be on Deck 8 of the 16 deck ship. The park will be used for street performances and other activities. Novel idea and one I will look forward to hearing more about.
This is just a quick blog as I must get back to my reading... will update you more soon.
By the way my honeymooners headed off to Mexico and by now will be enjoying themselves hugely I am sure as businesses open again and the country gets back to normal.
If you want to find out about a cruise do drop me an email - travel@travelchoice.com.au anytime. If I don't have the answer I'll find it for you

Swine flu, the honeymooner's dilemma - and what the cruise ships are doing

Today the Australian government's Smart traveller website has reissued their travel advice asking Australians planning a trip to Mexico to 'reconsider' because of outbreaks of a new virus dubbed Swine flu. For my honeymoon couple who leave next week - and in fact anyone else who has booked and paid for their trip to Mexico this poses a huge dilemma.
If they cancel their holiday/honeymoon they will lose money according to the cancellation conditions of each service they have paid for. The closer to the departure date, the higher the cancellation fees! Many airline tickets are non-refundable after purchase, although in these situations airlines will often be lenient in their application. Those who have booked through travel agents may do better than those who have booked online when it comes to airlines and cancellations or postponements.
If the Department of Foreign Affairs, which runs the Smart traveller website, upgrades its travel warning to 'do not travel' then those who wish to cancel or postpone will fare! better.
This is where it can pay to have a travel agent going in to bat for you - and where having the best possible travel insurance can make all the difference between salvaging what you can from your trip, or losing everything.
We can speak to our specialists, the in-bound service providers (travel jargon for those who arrange travel in their own country) to sound out what is happening. Where tickets have been issued and hotel bookings pre-paid your travel agent can ascertain whether insurance coverage is going to safeguard the cost of cancelling.
If DFAT did issue a 'do not travel' advice and essential services are suspended then travellers will be prevented from using the services and should have a claim. When travellers make their own decision not to go the cancellations are classed as voluntary and there will be no basis for a claim.
My honeymoon couple have been to see their GP, packed their bags and will be heading off to Mexico - unless the directive changes in the next couple of days. I will be here if they need travel assistance.
Still on swine flu, but checking out the cruises, you may have noticed from the blogs that I follow, that Princess cruises has modified all itineraries on ships going to Mexico, to skip Mexican ports and either visit another port or spend extra time at sea.