The GAP menu now features 41 amenities, including the new Home City Air Credits, Charity Benefits, the Holland America Line cookbook “A Taste of Elegance” and a nonalcoholic cocktail party. Travel agents “spend” earned GAP points to select personalized amenities for their group.

“Ranging from non-profit organizations and family reunions to themed cruises, affinity groups are growing steadily as guests seek more tailored experiences,” said Richard D. Meadows, CTC, executive vice president, marketing, sales and guest programs. “Our extensive Group Amenities Program supports travel professionals and helps … by offering an enhanced and customized cruising experience to their groups.”

With the new Home City Air Credit amenity, guests purchasing Holland America Line Home City Air will receive a credit of $50 per person for economy-class tickets and a credit of $75 per person for business class. Guests purchasing alternative transportation will receive a shipboard credit of $25 per person. The credit is available for 2011 group bookings of five staterooms or more.

Available immediately for qualifying groups booked in 2010 and 2011, the new Charity Benefits amenity will make a donation to the group’s charity of choice on their behalf. Groups sailing on four- to 11-day itineraries will donate $50 per stateroom, while groups on cruises of 12 or more days will donate $100 per stateroom.

Other amenities added to the 2011 GAP menu include “A Taste of Elegance,” an internationally published cookbook written by Holland America Line’s Master Chef and Culinary Consultant Rudi Sodamin. An hour-long cocktail party with nonalcoholic beverages and hors d’oeuvres also is available as part of the new GAP menu.

GAP amenities apply to groups of five or more staterooms and are determined by cruise destination, date and length of cruise for the specific group. Other available amenities include private wine tastings, beverage cards, lunch or dinner at the Pinnacle Grill, monogrammed robes and Girls’ and Guys’ Night Out packages. The line also offers customized GAP programs for weddings, family reunions and culinary groups.

via Cruises to Alaska, Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico and the world on Holland America, one of the best cruise lines.

This sale features select 2011 departures from the ports of New York and San Francisco. Destinations include Alaska, Canada/New England, Bermuda and the Eastern Caribbean, and more. As always, restrictions apply. Call before the sale ends for bookings or information.

A brand new nightclub called One5, inspired by its deck location, will be created on the top deck of the ship, replacing its iconic Skywalker Nightclub, which has given the ship its distinctive profile. Skywalkers will be removed from its 18th deck perch, with its replacement located on deck 15. This change will significantly improve the operational performance of the ship, including greater fuel efficiency.

“This is the largest makeover we’ve ever undertaken for any of our ships,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises executive vice president. “When Grand Princess was launched she was the most innovative ship at sea, and now we’re adding some of the later innovations we introduced on subsequent ships.”

Artist renderings of the Grand Princess changes are available in a Flickr gallery at: http://bit.ly/g0JA8I.

The changes will be made during a drydock from April 11 to May 4 at the Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport, Bahamas. Highlights of the dramatic makeover include:

New Piazza atrium — The atrium space of Grand Princess will be completely rebuilt to include this signature Princess feature — a multi-faceted social hub of the ship combining always-changing quick bites and light meals, beverages, entertainment, shopping and guest services. The Piazza will feature the International Café for pastries, grilled panini sandwiches, salads, fresh-baked cookies and a variety of coffee drinks. Passengers will also enjoy a new Vines wine bar offering a selection of more than 30 wines by the glass, plus a selection of tapas and sushi, and a wine shop where passengers can purchase their favorite bottle.

Leaves Tea Lounge and Library — A fusion of tea lounge and library, the new Leaves offers a distinctive opportunity for passengers to custom-blend a variety of base teas with herbs, fruits and spices to create a personalized tea blend. Created in partnership with Mighty Leaf Tea Company, one of the world’s premier maker of artisan teas, Leaves will give passengers an impressive choice of up to 500 different tea blends to suit their palates. A trained tea sommelier will assist passengers in blending a personalized tea creation, which they can enjoy in the midst of the library and a good book.

Alfredo’s Pizzeria — Known for serving the best pizza at sea, Princess will introduce Alfredo’s, a new sit-down pizzeria with an enticing menu of freshly prepared individual-size pizzas. Named for the line’s master executive chef, Alfredo Marzi, the pizzeria will feature an open kitchen where passengers can watch chefs create the pizzas they’ll enjoy with a glass of wine or other beverage.

One5 Lounge – The new One5 lounge will replace Skywalkers as the place to be for nighttime dancing and relaxing. The new lounge on deck 15 hence its name takes its inspiration from the chicest urban nightclubs, and will offer a cool vibe, contemporary seating and lighting, and a dramatic back-lit bar.

Crown Grill — A classic steakhouse with rich wood surroundings, this specialty restaurant features an open, theater-style kitchen where chefs custom-prepare premium aged beef and fresh seafood items, including lobster.

Also part of the renovation will be 10 new suites; remodeled casino, boutiques and art gallery; enhancements to the Horizon Court, Lotus Spa, and wedding chapel; and the addition of Crooner’s Martini Lounge.

The newly renovated Grand Princess will debut on May 5 in Ft. Lauderdale where the ship will depart on a transatlantic crossing for her summer and fall homeport of Southampton, from which she will cruise a variety of European itineraries.

via News Article : Princess Cruises®.

Norwegian Cruise Line announced today that it has completed the first phase of enhancements at Great Stirrup Cay, the line’s 250-acre private island in the Bahamas. On Thursday, February 3, the company opened the new marina and dining facility on the island, representing a significant milestone in the more than $20 million enhancement project currently underway. Norwegian Sky’s 2,000 guests were the first to experience the opening of the marina basin with four docks for the island’s tenders and the new 8,500 square foot dining facility, complete with two bars and four picnic pavilions.

“Both the new marina and the dining facility greatly enhance the guest experience on Great Stirrup Cay which is our second busiest port of call this year,” said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line’s president and CEO. “By moving the tenders’ arrival to the marina and away from the beach, we have now opened up a great expanse of beachfront for our guests to enjoy and relax. We’ve also built a new large dining facility that is similar to the action station restaurants we have on board our Freestyle Cruising ships.”

The marina is approximately 12 feet deep at low water and is home to the island’s four tenders. It took more than eight months to excavate the basin and the entrance channel. The dining facility includes a central pizza making station, two grills, hot and cold food stations, as well as fresh fruits and breads. There are two full bars on either side of the facility for added convenience. The four pavilions, each more than 1800 square feet, offer picnic tables with a total seating capacity for more than 500 guests.

Enhancements to Great Stirrup Cay have been underway since January of 2010 and will continue through the end of this year. Several new island activities have been added since the project began including more than 16 wave runners, kayak rentals and an eco-adventure boat tour around the island. These are in addition to the existing snorkeling; floats; inflatable hippo slide; and parasailing.

The second phase of enhancements includes an arrival/departure pavilion, additional bar facilities; several comfort stations; a band stand; cruise program activity area; private beachfront cabanas; a kid’s play area; straw market; and beach volleyball courts. The beachfront will continue to be expanded on the island’s west end.

Norwegian has owned the island since 1977 when it became the first cruise line to offer an uninhabited tropical island experience exclusively for its guests. Great Stirrup Cay offers magnificent white sand beaches, majestic palms and calm, pristine waters where an abundance of colorful marine life inhabits the surrounding coral reefs.

Norwegian Gem, Norwegian Jewel, Norwegian Sky and Norwegian Pearl regularly call on Great Stirrup Cay throughout the year.

The last few cruises we have taken we have not used the cruise line’s cruise/air packages for various reasons – mostly because we had air miles we needed to use. But for this cruise we wanted to use Princess’ “eZAir” program. Mostly because it was a new program this year.

Under previous cruise line air programs we probably would have booked a “bulk” air ticket through the cruise line and the cruise line would have plugged us into an available flight through their airline contracts a few weeks before sailing. The down side to that program was that the cruise lines – and the passenger – had to pay for a more expensive ticket that could be exchanged, changed or refunded (with certain limitations) prior to departure, while the same flights could be had on a non-refundable basis for a lot less. And, you would have to wait to find out which flights you were on (and you couldn’t pick your flights without paying an additional fee). On top of that, some airlines would not always allow a cruise line to lock in fares, so the air rates could go up [never down?] before they were paid in full and ticketed.

Most cruise lines have made/are making changes to there air programs and I think I like Princess’ new program. The first change is that I like is that Princess is offering “next port protection” in the event of flight delays, something that has been missing from Princess’ air program in recent years and which used to be a standard in the industry. That means that, Princess now says that they will get passengers to the next port to catch their ship if they miss embarkation due to a flight delay. But the biggest change is that the old bulk fares are no longer offered through Princess Cruises. Instead, Princess will allow you to book scheduled air directly through their reservation system. We (your cruise agents!) can do it for you directly with Princess or passengers can add their flights to their reservation on-line when they fill out their Cruise Personalizer. Either way, Princess provides a link to their air reservation system which allows us to see most of the scheduled air flights that would meet their travel guidelines (you will not see airlines, like South West, that do not participate in electronic global distribution systems). You can choose more expensive refundable fares or the less expensive restricted (non-refundable) fares, compare fares and routes and even choose to arrive a few days before your cruise or go home a few days after. For us it is pretty much like using our favorite air fare tools. Once you have selected your flights they must be paid for in full at that time even if it is before final payment for your cruise. The message there is that if you select the non-refundable airfares you do NOT get that back if you cancel your cruise even if your cruise is 100% refundable! Bottom line? You get some control over your flights, you get an opportunity to save what could be a significant amount of money compared to the old bulk fares, you get next port protection and Princess does not charge you an extra fee to get access to the program.

So, how did it work out for us? Pretty good. We did wait until final payment to book our flights so we were a little worried about rates and routes but we found that the rates were pretty good. Marilyn found great flights right away but it was late in the evening and we decided to sleep on it. In the morning one of the legs was no longer available so we ended up paying a few dollars more and had a little longer layover than if we had not waited but that is the way things go sometimes. We decided to take an early flight out – 5:30 am. Experience has taught us to take early flights on the way to the cruise. If there are delays along the way, early flights can give you a much needed cushion, and we have needed that cushion in the past. As it turned out we did not have any problems getting to Ft. Lauderdale. We did have to go looking for our luggage however. It seems that USAir put our bag on the flight that we had originally wanted to book and it was waiting over by the baggage office instead of on the carousel! Since we were getting in relatively early and the Ft. Lauderdale airport is so close to the pier we had decided in advance to take a cab instead of using the cruise line transfers to get to the pier.

One question though – Can any one tell me why the credit card reader in both cabs that we took would not work?

Bottom line? Unless you want to use an airline that is not offered on the Princess eZAir system, I highly recommend Princess eZAir, and we will use it again I am sure.

Up Next: Check-in and first impressions of the Emerald Princess.

December 09, 2010 10:49 AM

Royal Caribbean International is adjusting the recommended gratuities guideline for sailings that commence on or after July 1. The new recommended daily gratuities for dining staff and housekeeping staff will be a total of $11.65 per guest per day, up from $9.75, and $13.90 per suite guest per day, up from $12.

This will be Royal Caribbean’s first gratuities guideline adjustment in 13 years. “This adjustment is the result of a long period of consideration and assessment that places the cruise line’s recommendations in line with its competitors,” the company said.

All guests who prepay gratuities or select the My Time Dining flexible dining program before 12:01 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Dec. 11 for sailings on or after July 1 will not be affected by the adjusted guideline.

Gratuities will continue to be given at the discretion of each guest, except for guests who choose My Time Dining, which requires prepaid gratuities.

via Royal Caribbean Increases Recommended Gratuities.

I can’t say as I blame them. there have not been many cruises out of Philadelphia for quite some time now. Today’s larger cruise ships can’t really cruise use the port and cruise lines were never happy about the six-hour sail up the Delaware River. There are newer, larger cruise terminals in Baltimore and Bayonne and it seems that is where the cruise ships are going. So rather than invest millions in cruise terminal upgrades it looks like they will be closing down. There will be a couple of cruise stops there  over the next year but it looks like that is the end of cruising out of  Philadelphia.

Marilyn and I cruised out of Philadelphia a couple of times and it was very convenient but Baltimore was actually more convenient from where we lived in Pittsburgh. We had tried to get cruise lines to add bus service out of Pittsburgh to Philadelphia but it never worked – in part because the trip would have taken too long to be able to make other pick-up stops along the way to fill a bus. So those of us who cruised out of Philadelphia can now say “I remember when…”