Have rising airline costs and and talk of a sluggish economy convinced you to “staycation” (stay at home rather than go on vacation) this year? Well, fugettaboutit! There are trips to be taken, places to go, destinations to see. Truthfully, this has been one of the busier summer’s my business has had.
I find that my clients still want to travel, they are not willing to put their lives on hold. Now, some may be interested in more economical options, but they have funds earmarked for their getaways.

Travel suppliers and companies realize this and there are some good promotions out there right now.
Here’s one that may peak your interest! Sandals is offering a “Fly Free Offer” to fight the staycation trend. Beginning July 18, Sandals is offering a limited-time “Fly Free Promotion” that gives clients who book a minimum three-night stay by Aug. 31 an air credit of up to $550 per person. This is valid at all 12 resorts and air credits do vary per resort. Travel dates from 7/18 - 12/20 (blackout dates do apply.)
There are some additional promotions for longer stays.

For more information or to make your reservation to fight the “staycation blues”, contact
Amy at A Room With A View - Cruise & Travel! 800-571-3159

CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES broke the ceremonial bottle on its 23rd ship, the Carnival Splendor, in an unusual way: by having a diver from the British Royal Navy climb out of the sea with a bottle of British sparkling wine. British celebrity and Splendor godmother Myleene Klass played piano on the Splendor’s lido deck while a naval officer, in wetsuit and flippers, surfaced from the water, climbed a rope and smashed the bubbly against the ship’s hull. Carnival President Gerry Cahill said that Carnival was “catching on” in the U.K., and that this year it has doubled the number of passengers it sourced from the country. The 3,006-passenger, 113,300-ton ship is Carnival’s biggest to date, a slightly larger version of its Conquest-class ships, with a 40,000-square-foot spa and the line’s first seawater-therapy pool. The Splendor will operate Carnival’s first Northern Europe cruises, which officially start from Dover, England, on July 13. - Travel Weekly

To make your reservation on the Carnival Splendor, contact Amy at A Room With A View - Cruise & Travel. 800-571-3159

CELEBRITY CRUISES enhanced its dining program, adding a new brunch offering, 200 new menu selections and upgraded casual dining options. The cruise line said its evening menus offer enough variety so that passengers on a 14-day itinerary would not be presented with the same menu twice. Celebrity’s vice president of food and beverage operations, Jacques Van Staden, said that extensive studies of guest surveys along with food and beverage industry trends led to the changes. The lido cafe/casual dining area on every ship will have expanded culinary selections, a more modern design and upgraded signage and equipment, Celebrity said, and its main dining room will replace its former once-per-cruise midnight gala buffet with a once-per-cruise brunch, saying many passengers don’t want to eat that late. - Travel Weekly

To book your Celebrity Cruise, contact Amy at A Room With A View - Cruise & Travel
800-571-3159

“Wrap Up Your Holidays” with Celebrity Cruises!

Celebrity Cruises on Monday kicked off its “Wrap Up Your Holidays” booking promotion. The promotion offers onboard credits to those who book select Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and President’s Day sailings between July 14 and July 27. The onboard credit is based on the length of the cruise. Those who book a cruise of nine nights or more will receive $200 in onboard credit per stateroom. Those who book a six- to eight-night cruise will receive a $100 credit and those who book five nights or less will receive $50 per stateroom. The 16 sailings included in the promotion range from five to 14 nights on Celebrity Century, Celebrity Constellation, Celebrity Galaxy, Celebrity Infinity, Celebrity Mercury, Celebrity Millennium and Celebrity Summit.

To book your holiday sailing on Celebrity Cruises, contact Amy at A Room With A View - Cruise & Travel. 800-571-3159

Princess Passengers First to Experience Wii Fit Game
Published on Modern Agent: June 25, 2008

Princess Cruises has installed the Nintendo Wii Fit game system, just a month after it made its U.S. debut. Princess is the first cruise line to offer passengers the chance to get their hearts pumping with the new release from Wii. All Princess ships, which have long featured Nintendo Wii systems onboard, have added the Wii Fit balance games, challenging passengers to video game tournaments such as the ski jump, Hula Hoop or soccer. Family competitions will be held onboard, including some on the huge poolside video screens. Youth and teen centers will also offer Wii Fit activities. “We’re very excited to partner with Nintendo to bring the Wii Fit experience to our passengers,” said Jan Swartz, Princess senior vice president. “Our onboard team has just finished training with the experts at Nintendo to ensure that we’re able to offer passengers the best possible experience with this innovative fitness game.”

Wii Fit can track users’ progress, which lets people see how they’ve improved while challenging them to better their scores and stay motivated. The Wii Fit Balance Board is a precisely engineered platform that senses both weight and shifts in movement and balance. It connects wirelessly to the Wii console and serves as the centerpiece for more than 40 activities in areas like yoga, aerobics, strength training and balance. Virtual trainers talk users through the motions and makes suggestions for improvements. On ships equipped with Movies Under the Stars screen, the Wii tournaments are shown on the giant poolside screens, offering a larger-than-life gaming experience. The 300-square-foot screens are featured on Caribbean Princess, Crown Princess, Emerald Princess, Grand Princess, Sea Princess and the upcoming Ruby Princess.

To make your reservation on a Princess Cruise contact Amy at
A Room With A View - Cruise & Travel!
800-571-3159 or amy@aroomwithaviewtravel.com

What does a Coney Island style boardwalk, a Central Park, Ampi(Aqua)theatre, Rising Tide Bar, Loft Suites and Royal Promenade have in common? The exciting new Oasis Of The Seas! Oasis will be launched late 2009 and the anticipation is palpatible with RCCL fans. This ship will definitely be the destination onto itself. If you are new to cruising, would I recommend this ship for your first try? Definitely not! But, for those die-hard RCCL fans and mega ship lovers, this is a dream come true.
The books will open in August and Crown and Anchor members will have an exclusive booking window before the general public.

I could write more about Oasis, but truthfully, it’s probably more exciting to look at the site (watch the video!) www.oasisoftheseas.com

After you’re done checking out Oasis Of The Seas, make sure to contact Amy at A Room With A View - Cruise & Travel to make your reservation! 800-571-3159 or amy@aroomwithaviewtravel.com

NCL’s Norwegian Pearl Receives Environmental Award
Published on Modern Agent: June 4, 2008

Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Pearl recently received the Cruise Ship Environmental Award from the Port of San Francisco. In 2007, Norwegian Sun was honored with the same award. The port’s program annually recognizes cruise ships whose onboard environmental systems help decrease air and water pollution. The three categories evaluated are air emission reduction, wastewater treatment and recycling and disposal programs for solid waste. “It’s an honor for Norwegian Pearl to be recognized by the Port of San Francisco for the environmental standards and practices we have in place to protect the waters on which we sail and earn our livelihood,” said Colin Veitch, NCL president and CEO. “We have shown our commitment to maintaining the highest level of environmental protection standards by using low-sulfur fuels, reducing air emissions, efficiently and effectively treating our wastewater and recycling and disposing properly of solid waste while in port.” “The Port of San Francisco is pleased to acknowledge the officers and crew members of Norwegian Pearl for going above and beyond the existing regulations to preserve and protect the air and water quality of San Francisco Bay and beyond,” said Peter Dailey, maritime director for the Port of San Francisco. “We sincerely appreciate Norwegian Cruise Line’s commitment to safeguarding the environment.”

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

Disney Cruise Line Reduces Deposit on Select Cruises
Published on Modern Agent: June 10, 2008

Disney Cruise Line is offering a reduced deposit offer for any Disney Cruises booked now through June 15, 2008. Clients will pay a 50 percent reduced deposit on any sailings Sept. 1, 2008 to Dec. 30, 2009 for Categories four through 12. Travelers booking a three- to four-night cruise will now pay a $100 deposit, per person as will passengers booking a seven-night land/sea vacation. Clients booking a seven-night Caribbean cruise will now pay a $125 per person deposit.

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

Holland America, Microsoft Introduce Digital Workshops
Published on Modern Agent: June 9, 2008

Holland America Line partnered with Microsoft on new digital workshops that will teach passengers how to “show and tell” their vacation memories online. The Holland America Line Digital Workshop, powered by Microsoft Windows, is available on the Amsterdam and the Oosterdam, and will be offered on the Westerdam in June and the line’s new Eurodam in July. It will be expanded fleetwide within 18 months. The free workshops, led by Microsoft-trained “techsperts,” will show how to take better vacation photos, make movies, edit pictures and create scrapbooks using a variety of Microsoft services. Guests will learn how to share digital memories through email, blogging and social networking.

The program, which has its own dedicated space on each ship, kicks off with a 50-minute session. Called “Just Shoot Me,” the session provides tips and tricks on how to take pictures, and introduces passengers to onboard editing and movie-making resources available on the cruise, including Windows Live Photo Gallery and Windows Movie Maker. The “Just Shoot Me” session will be followed by “jargon-free” interactive sessions, also 50 minutes long, designed for smaller groups to try out the technologies in a hands-on environment.

These workshops include “On the Download,” which instructs on how to move images from a digital camera to a Windows-based personal computer; “Put Your Best Face Forward” on how to crop and color-correct digital photos and create panoramic pictures by stitching photos together using Windows Live Photo Gallery; “Home Away From Home,” which offers instructions on to add music, special effects and titles to videos and publish to a DVD using Windows Movie Maker. Other courses include “Show and Tell,” on how to upload photos to a personal Web page and how to email photos using Windows Live services; “Your 15 Minutes of Fame” on how to turn a vacation journal into a blog by creating a basic Web page and blog entries; and “A Click Ahead,” on how to design a photo card and a basic scrapbook. Guests can choose to attend all or some of the workshops, which will be offered at various times and days throughout each cruise. Multiple workshops will be held every day. In addition, one-on-one coaching, called “Techspert Time,” will also be available for over 20 hours each week.

To make your reservation on a Holland America ship, contact Amy at A Room With A View - Cruise & Travel 800-571-3159 or amy@aroomwithaviewtravel.com

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