Friday, April 23, 2010

The Suite Life!

Suites range from deluxe to “over the top” in terms of size and amenities. Here are some reasons why there should be a suite in your cruising future.

Room Size and Configurations
Size does matter and there’s more of it in a suite. Some people claim, “We don’t spend a lot of time in our cabin”. But imagine relaxing in your private enclave complete with private balcony, butler and ultra-plush furnishings!

Suite size can range from spacious to outrageous – As an example on Regent Seven Seas’ all-suite, all- balcony Seven Sean Mariner accommodations run from 301 sq. ft for a Deluxe Suite to 1204 sq. ft. for a Master Suite not including the private balcony.

On NCL’s Norwegian Jewel, Norwegian Star and Norwegian Dawn there are 10 penthouse suites that share a private courtyard, complete with swimming pool, Jacuzzi and a small gym. These are only eclipsed by NCL’s signature Garden Villas with over 5000 square feet of indoor and outdoor living area including 3 bedrooms!

Imagine cruising down the picturesque rivers of Europe on a Uniworld river boat suite featuring a sitting area with a sofa and two chairs, three floor-to-ceiling windows and an extra-spacious bathroom.

Suite accommodations on cruise ships rival the amenities of world-class hotels. For example Oceania Cruises suites offer sumptuously comfortable twin or queen sized “comfort beds”, a large living area, an intimate area for private in-suite dining, a refrigerated mini bar and ample closet space.

Enhanced Services
Luxury lines such as Regent Seven Seas and Crystal Cruises provide Butler and Concierge Service to their top categories. In addition many of the contemporary and premium cruise lines such as Holland America, Celebrity and NCL offer similar services.

Be decadent in one of Crystal Cruises Penthouse Suites by dining in your bathrobe and slippers. Choose from a full selection of delectable dishes from the In-Suite Dining menu, order from the evening's menu in the Crystal Dining Room, or request whatever your heart desires and the Crystal chefs will do their best to fulfill your wishes.

Princess recently upgraded their suite guest amenities to include afternoon tea and complimentary internet access, dry cleaning, laundry and shoe polishing.

Holland America’s Guests who book the Penthouse or Deluxe Verandah Suites have access to the private Neptune Lounge. This lounge features a private place to relax, socialize with other suite guests and enjoy personalized service for making reservations for shore excursions, spa services, car rentals, the exclusive Pinnacle Grill restaurant and more.

Suite guests on most lines also receive expedited cruise embarkation and early disembarkation.

Indulge your “suite” tooth – ask your Cruise Specialist today to show you just how affordable a cruising in a luxury suite can be.

SeaLuxe by CruiseOne is the only thing you’ll need to plan your next family cruise vacation; offering most major cruise lines, the very best direct prices along with excellent personal service, all at no additional cost to the traveler. Contact Kathy & Eric Freer, your Local Independent Cruise Specialists at (321) 735-0202 or toll free at (888)882-5793, or via the web at www.SeaLuxe.com/kfreer for more information.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Cruise in Luxury

You deserve the best. You deserve the services of a Luxury Cruise Specialist, with in-depth knowledge of the many nuances that make up the luxury cruise lines. Luxury cruise ships feature amenities and services above and beyond the already exceptional offerings of premium class cruise lines. Gourmet dining, unique ports and shore excursions, fascinating enrichment programs, personalized services - all are part of luxury cruising. Let our luxury cruise experts show just how affordable luxury cruising can be.

SeaLuxe by CruiseOne is the only thing you’ll need to plan your next family cruise vacation; offering most major cruise lines, the very best direct prices along with excellent personal service, all at no additional cost to the traveler. Contact Kathy & Eric Freer, your Local Independent Cruise Specialists at (321) 735-0202 or toll free at (888)882-5793, or via the web at www.SeaLuxe.com/kfreer for more information.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Luxury ... Old and New






The new ship launches began with Seabourn Odyssey in June of 2009; followed by Silver Spirit, which began service in December 2009; and will end with Seabourn Sojourn, sister to Odyssey, to be launched this summer.

The 450 passenger Odyssey, and its sister Sojourn, are totally new concepts for the Yachts of Seabourn, which has operated three smaller vessels, in the 200 passenger range, for more than two decades.

Seabourn’s new vessels offer a lot that will please long time Seabourn cruisers, along with much to impress those new to luxury lines.

In essence, Seabourn Odyssey is where South Beach meets Palm Beach. The Restaurant, for example, would not look out of place in South Beach’s trendy hotels while the Colonnade (restaurant) could pass muster in any of the plush Palm Beach country clubs. Quite simply, Seabourn Odyssey marries the best of South Florida’ trendiest beach resorts with one of America’s poshest cities.

Toward the end of 2009, Silversea Cruises floated out its largest ship ever. The 540 passenger Silver Spirit brought a few things to the luxury cruise sector that no other ship of its size has brought before – stateroom televisions hidden behind mirrors and controlled by a single remote; six restaurants (luxury line, Crystal Cruises, has more, but its ships are larger); service enhancements, including luggage cleaning, complementary laundry and dry cleaning, and two free hours of worldwide phone and internet use.

In the meantime, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Crystal Cruises have been sprucing up their fleets with multi-million dollar upgrades.

One of the things that is most appealing about luxury cruises is the value that they offer. Sure, luxury cruises cost more on the front end, but you will seldom have to dig into your pocket or purse once on board. All luxury lines, with the exception of Crystal, include alcohol and gratuities, and Regent even went as far as to include shore excursions as part of its cruise fare.

Moreover, luxury cruises typically offer a better quality dining experience than you will find on larger, contemporary and premium vessels. It is probably wise to sit down and do the math to calculate just what you will be spending on a daily basis. You may be surprised to learn that with their larger staterooms and suites, more-inclusive offerings, and upscale experience, luxury lines often come out on top with regard to value when compared to premium lines.

Luxury cruise lines are also working harder to create an even better experience on board, and their new ships provide the additional amenities to facilitate that. The new Seabourn ships, for example, features four dining venues. Silver Spirit features six. There are also more al fresco dining venues on the new luxury ships. Plus the new Seabourn ships and the new Silversea ship offer a more casual and relaxed dining experience on the pool decks.

Another excellent luxury line is SeaDream Yacht Club. Carrying around 100 passengers each, SeaDream’s two vessels offer a top-notch experience on vessels that are remarkably more than two decades old.

For an even more intimate experience there is the French line, Compagnie du Ponant Yacht Cruises with very distinctive vessels in its fleet, ranging from the 64 passengers sailing yacht, Le Ponant to two new yachts, Le Boreal (2010) and L’Austral (2011).

It’s hard to go wrong when booking a luxury cruise, whether you set your course on a classic vessel or a new one.

SeaLuxe by CruiseOne is the only thing you’ll need to plan your next cruise vacation; offering most major cruise lines, the very best direct prices along with excellent personal service, all at no additional cost to the traveler. Contact Kathy & Eric Freer, your Local Independent Cruise Specialists at (321) 735-0202 or toll free at (888)882-5793, or via the web at www.SeaLuxe.com/kfreer for more information.

Photo courtesy of Silversea Cruises