Carnival Freedom to Operate Year-Round from Fort Lauderdale

Carnival Freedom to Operate Year-Round from Fort Lauderdale
Published on Modern Agent: June 9, 2008

Carnival Cruise Lines’ 2,974-passenger Carnival Freedom, which was originally scheduled to operate only seasonally from Fort Lauderdale, will now operate the program year-round starting in November. The ship had been scheduled to return to the Mediterranean in 2009. Carnival Freedom’s year-round schedule from Fort Lauderdale begins Nov. 22 with six-day cruises departing Sundays and visiting Key West, Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios, while eight-day voyages departing Saturdays alternate to the Eastern and Western Caribbean. The eight-day Eastern Caribbean voyages visit five ports: San Juan, St. Thomas/St. John, Antigua, Tortola/Virgin Gorda and Nassau. Western Caribbean cruises include Cozumel, Mexico; Limon, Costa Rica; and Colon, Panama. Lynn Torrent, Carnival’s senior vice president of sales and guest services, said that while the plan had been for Carnival Freedom to return to Europe next year, the strong performance of the line’s Caribbean fleet made the new deployment a compelling choice. Both of the eight-day cruises offer visits to ports that are usually available only on cruises of 10 days or longer. In addition, these cruises depart on Saturdays and return on Sundays, which allow them to fit into the traditional one-week vacation pattern.

Contact Amy at A Room With A View - Cruise & Travel to make your reservation today! 800-571-3159 or amy@aroomwithaviewtravel.com

Costa Maya Port to Reopen Earlier than Planned

Costa Maya Port to Reopen Earlier than Planned
Published on modern agent: January 17, 2008

Following damaged caused by Hurricane Dean in August 2007, the Port of Costa Maya announced that the reconstruction of berthing spaces one and two is now 58 percent completed. This means both positions will be ready to receive cruise ships by summer 2008. This is about three months earlier than expected. The third position is also under reconstruction but will be finished soon after. There will not be tendering before the reopening as the port owners are focusing their efforts on the Port’s reconstruction and speedy recovery. Negotiations with the cruise lines are successfully underway. Many cruise lines will be returning to Costa Maya. Final details on the new schedule of calls to the Port are expected by the beginning of February.

To book a cruise that sails to Costa Maya, contact A Room With A View - Cruise & Travel
800-571-3159
amy@aroomwithaviewtravel.com

Puerto Vallarta’s Villa Premiere Unveils Golf Promotion

Puerto Vallarta’s Villa Premiere Unveils Golf Promotion
Published on modernagent: September 7, 2007

Villa Premiere & Spa, the 83-room retreat in Puerto Vallarta is offering the Tee it Up package. Included are: a three-night stay in an oceanfront room with a Jacuzzi; one green fee at each Vista Villarta Golf Club, Marina Vallarta Golf Club and El Tigre Country Club; one 50-minute massage; all meals and drinks and a welcome glass of champagne. The ‘Tee it Up’ Package is based on single occupancy and is priced at $465 USD valid for travel from Aug. 1 through Oct. 31, 2007. Package pricing for 2008 is $455 USD valid for travel from Jan. 1 through April 1, 2008. Rates include accommodations, chilled towels and champagne upon check-in, a relaxing five-minute anti-stress massage on neck and hands at check-in, special in room hotel amenities, complimentary use of gym, yoga lessons, reflexology lessons, meditation workshops and access to the sauna and steam room at Villa Premiere Spa.

To make your reservation, contact A Room With A View!

Fall Sale at Karisma Hotels Riviera Maya

Karisma Hotels Riviera Maya Sets Fall Sale
Published on: August 14, 2007

Karisma Hotels & Resorts announced a fall sale at three of its Riviera Maya, Mexico properties: Azul Beach Hotel, El Dorado Seaside Suites & El Dorado Royale, a Spa Resort. The “Fall Into Autumn” promotion is available from Aug. 15 to Oct. 31, 2007. Guests staying at Azul Beach Hotel between Aug. 15 and Oct. 31, 2007, receive a 35 percent fall discount. Rates begin at $140 per person, per night from Aug. 15 to Sept. 30, 2007. Rates begin at $147 per person, per night from Oct. 1 to 31, 2007. Guests staying at El Dorado Seaside Suites or El Dorado Royale between Aug. 15 and Oct. 31, 2007, receive a 30 percent Fall Discount. Rates begin at $133.33 per person, per night between Aug. 15 and Sept. 30, 2007. Rates begin at $140 per person, per night between Oct. 1 and 31, 2007. A three-night minimum stay is required.

Contact A Room With A View to make your reservation.

Free Wedding Deal at Cancun’s Le Blanc Resort

Cancun’s Le Blanc Resort Debuts Free Wedding Deal
Published on: August 14, 2007

Le Blanc Spa Resort, located in Cancun, is offering a complimentary Vow Renewal package for its 2007-2008 season. Included are the wedding location; all document arrangements; the services of a minister; a small cake; white folding chairs; dinner reservations at select restaurants for up to 25 guests; the Le Blanc honeymoon package; special breakfast in bed the morning after the wedding; fruit platter and a bottle of sparkling wine upon arrival; the use of an aisle runner; and the services of a wedding coordinator and witnesses, if required.

Le Blanc Spa Resort also offers guests the free civil wedding package, Mexique, Caraibe and Signature wedding packages for an additional cost. Some of the amenities included in these packages are spa treatments, flowers, wedding cake and photo and video packages. The vow renewal package must be reserved at least 14 days in advance and a wedding coordinator will be at hand to handle every detail of the ceremony and reception, as well as dinner reservations for the wedding party at select restaurants. For an additional charge, guests are welcome to add signature items to their ceremony such as photographers, florists, décor companies, audio visual companies and entertainers that are available through the Le Blanc Wedding Department.

Contact A Room With A View for more information or to make your reservation.

Tee Time at Mexico Hotels

Travel Impressions Debuts “Tee Time” at Mexico Hotels
Published on: August 8, 2007

Travel Impressions is offering special incentives for golf enthusiasts with its new Tee Time promotion available at participating resorts in Mexico. As part of this travel special, clients can benefit from one or more of the following (depending on hotel selected): free night, free rounds of golf, free golf equipment rental, free golf swing analysis, $50 savings at pro shops and complimentary “19th hole” meal for two. Through the Tee Time promotion, clients can choose six-day/five-night packages featuring hotel accommodations, roundtrip airport/hotel transfers and hotel tax and service charges.

Clients who choose the following properties located in Los Cabos, Mexico will receive a Fourth Night Free when booking a five-night package in conjunction with the Tee Time promotion. Rates quoted are per person, based on double occupancy, for five nights: Villa del Palmar Beach Resort & Spa Cabo San Lucas – from $449; Villa del Arco Beach Resort & Grand Spa – from $619; Villa La Estancia Beach Resort & Spa –from $725. The Tee Time promotion is valid on all bookings made now through Aug. 31, 2007 for travel through Dec. 15, 2007. Offers are valid in select room categories, and minimum night stays and restrictions apply.

Call Amy at A Room With A View to make your “Tee Time!”

Travel To Mexico

THE HILTON LOS CABOS Beach & Golf Resort added several free amenities to its poolside services. Guests lounging by the pool will be able to request fresh fruit kabobs in the morning, cool themselves with chilled aromatherapy hand towels or chilled Evian spray bottles midday or quench their thirst with frozen iced treats in the early evening. Guests also can rent an iPod and check out books and magazines, also for free. The amenities are available from the resort’s poolside concierge.

PALACE RESORTS launched new wedding packages, including a free wedding package at select resorts and a Blessing of the Mayan Gods package at the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort in Cancun and the Aventura Spa Palace in the Riviera Maya. The latter costs $1,000 and includes a beach ceremony that embraces local Mayan traditions. Meanwhile, the free wedding package is available to couples who stay at the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort in Cancun, Aventura Spa Palace in the Riviera Maya, Playacar Palace in Playa del Carmen and Vallarta Palace in Nuevo Vallarta. Features of the free wedding package include the marriage license and certificate, justice of the peace and a wedding location, among other things.

UNITED VACATIONS launched a Sizzling Summer Savings promotion, offering up to 40% off air-hotel packages purchased by July 15. The promotion is in effect for travel through Dec. 15. A sample package to Cancun from Denver costs $949 per person, double (down from $1,499), for seven nights at the all-inclusive Gran Caribe Real Cancun. All packages include roundtrip air fare on United Airlines and hotel accommodations.

THE CASAMAGNA MARRIOTT PUERTO VALLARTA Resort and Spa is extending its Passport to Paradise promotion through Dec. 15. Under the promotion, guests who present a new passport showing Puerto Vallarta as the first port of entry in Mexico will receive a $100 resort credit. The promotion is valid when guests stay a minimum of five nights.

Contact Amy at A Room With A View, to make reservations for any of these resorts.

Mexico’s Grand Velas Resorts Sets Golf Package

Mexico’s Grand Velas Resorts Sets Golf Package
Published on: May 3, 2007

Grand Velas All Suites & Spa Resort, in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, is offering the Family Golf package including one tee time per person, per night at the Jack Nicklaus or Tom Weiskopf 18-hole par 72 championship golf course, one free golf round for kids under 17 years of age accompanied by an adult and accommodations in an ocean-view Master or Parlor Suite. Valid May 1 through Dec. 21, 2007, the package also includes a daily Grand Velas Spa Ritual for each adult and all of Grand Velas luxe services and amenities including a la carte dining at five restaurants, premium liquor brands, around-the-clock room service, mini bar snacks, beverages, daily activities and more. The rate is $534 per adult, per night and $75 per child, per night for kids between the ages 2 and 12 years of age. Taxes and service charges are included in the package. Additional golf rounds costs $174 per person.

Contact Amy at A Room With A View to make your reservation.

RCCL Sets 2008-2009 Caribbean Itineraries

Royal Caribbean Sets 2008-2009 Caribbean Itineraries
Published on: April 26, 2007

Royal Caribbean International’s 160,000-ton Independence of the Seas in November 2008 will become the world’s largest cruise ship to make a transatlantic passenger voyage. Having completed its inaugural summer and fall seasons in Europe, Independence will head to the balmy waters of the Caribbean for the winter. Independence will be joined by three more Royal Caribbean ships offering 14 more six- to 13-night Caribbean itineraries starting in November 2008 that visit 24 ports.

“Independence of the Seas will make her U.S. debut at the end of 2008, bringing together all three Freedom-class ships in the Caribbean,” said Lisa Bauer, senior vice president-sales for Royal Caribbean. “With four more ships in the wintertime to supplement seven ships already deployed year-round in the region, travelers will have the most options to sail on a Royal Caribbean cruise from a port close to them.”

Independence of the Seas will sail from Southampton, U.K. on the 13-night transatlantic voyage to Fort Lauderdale, calling at Vigo, Spain; Madeira (Funchal), Portugal; and Philipsburg, St. Maarten. Once sailing from Fort Lauderdale, Independence will alternate eight-night Eastern Caribbean cruises departing on Saturdays and a six-night Western Caribbean departing on Sundays. Other seasonal Caribbean itineraries are offered by Jewel of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas. Jewel will sail roundtrip from Miami on 10- and 11-night voyages to the Panama Canal. Voyager of the Seas returns to Galveston to offer two seven-night roundtrip itineraries through the Western Caribbean. On a Mexico-focused itinerary, ports of call include Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Progreso, Mexico; and Roatan, Honduras. The second itinerary includes an additional day at sea and calls at Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Montego Bay. Serenade of the Seas will offer seven-night Southern Caribbean roundtrips to St. Thomas; St. Maarten; St. Johns, Antigua; Castries, St. Lucia; and Bridgetown, Barbados.

Get Out There…and call Amy at A Room With A View to make your reservation!

Celebrity Cruises Opens 2008 Bookings

Celebrity Cruises Opens 2008 Bookings
Published on: April 16, 2007

Celebrity Cruises has opened 2008 bookings for its Alaska, Hawaii, Pacific Northwest and Panama Canal seasons as well as for some 2009 sailings. The Celebrity Infinity will bookend her Alaska season with “Ultimate Alaska” itineraries. The first is an 11-night itinerary northbound from San Francisco on April 28, 2008, arriving in Vancouver on May 9. The second is southbound out of Vancouver on Sept. 19, 2008, with a 14-night itinerary that arrives in San Francisco on Oct. 3. Both sailings feature ports of call in Alaska and British Columbia; the southbound trip includes stops in Washington and Oregon.

The Celebrity Millennium will kick off its 2008 Alaska season with a 14-night “Ultimate Alaska” itinerary, sailing roundtrip from San Francisco on May 5. On May 19, Celebrity Millennium will sail an 11-night West Coast and Alaska cruise from San Francisco to Vancouver. The Millennium offers another 14-night “Ultimate Alaska” sailing on Sept. 22 from Vancouver to San Diego. The Celebrity Mercury will sail a 14-night “Golden Gate to Alaska” cruise from San Francisco to Vancouver on April 27. Between May and September, Celebrity Infinity will sail seven-night Hubbard Glacier itineraries roundtrip from Seattle. Celebrity Millennium will alternate between seven-night northbound and southbound sailings between Seward and Vancouver. During the same months, Celebrity Mercury will sail seven-night Hubbard Glacier itineraries roundtrip from Vancouver before an eight-night trip from Vancouver to Seattle on Sept. 14. Before the Alaska season, Celebrity Mercury will sail three seven-night and one eight-night Pacific Coastal cruises roundtrip from San Francisco beginning March 29, 2008, with stops in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. The eight-night itinerary also visits Monterey, Calif.

At the end of the 2008 Alaska season, Celebrity Mercury will offer three- and four-night Pacific Northwest sailings roundtrip out of Seattle. On Oct. 13, Celebrity Mercury will sail a nine-night wine cruise from Vancouver to San Diego, featuring stops in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California, including an overnight stay in San Francisco. On Sept. 19, the Millennium will present a three-night British Columbia cruise roundtrip from Vancouver. On March 16, 2008, Celebrity Mercury will sail a 12-night Hawaii cruise from Honolulu to Ensenada, featuring overnight stays in both Honolulu and Kailua Kona, Hawaii. On Oct. 6, 2008, the Millennium will sail an 11-night Hawaii cruise from Ensenada to Honolulu, featuring overnight stays in Lahaina and Honolulu. On Oct. 22, Nov. 6, and Dec. 19, 2008, and on Feb. 28 and March 15, 2009, Celebrity Mercury will sail 15-night Hawaii itineraries roundtrip out of San Diego. The November sailing features an evening sail around Mount Kilauea, and the October and December sailings include an overnight in Lahaina, Maui. On April 13, 2008, Celebrity Infinity will sail a 15-night Panama Canal cruise from Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco, with stops in Jamaica, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico. On April 20, 2008, Celebrity Millennium will sail a 15-night Panama Canal cruise from Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco. Celebrity Infinity will sail a 16-night Panama Canal cruise from San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale on Oct. 3, 2008. Celebrity Infinity will also sail two 14-night Panama Canal cruises from Fort Lauderdale to San Diego on Oct. 19, 2008, and March 29, 2009, and a 13-night Panama Canal cruise from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 2. Celebrity Mercury will sail a 14-night Panama Canal itinerary from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 21, 2008, and return west on another 14-night sailing between the same cities on Dec. 5. In 2009, Celebrity Mercury will sail transcanal sailings between Fort Lauderdale and San Diego on Jan. 3, Jan. 17, Jan. 31, Feb. 14 and March 30.

To be treated like a Celebrity on your next cruise, give Amy at A Room With A View a call!”