3 Nights - Secrets in Cancun (top level resorts)

Silversands Cancun or Maroma Cancun – from $839
Capri Riviera - $899

The above specials include airfare, food and drinks.  Call for dates.

6 Golden Apple All-Inclusive at Cancun’s Riviera Maya – 7 Nights for only $1099

Holland America 5 Day Flash Specials New England and the Panama Canal

New England

MSC Cruises in Europe – Next page

Celebrity Exciting Deals

These specials are only available for booking on July 22, 2008.

9/9/08 :: CELEBRITY CONSTELLATION 14 Night Westbound Transatlantic Cruise
Departing BARCELONA, SPAIN for BAYONE, NJ
Inside from $599
Oceanview from $799
Veranda from $1129
Concierge Class from $1499

Carnival Cruise Line is putting in flexible dining on the Carnival Liberty.  Royal Caribbean already has it on the Brilliance of the Seas, Independence of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas.

The majority of our clients like having the option of going to dinner whenever they choose.  Hoverer, a significant minority complained that they felt the service was not as good with flexible dining.  They felt that the wait staff was more attentive when they had the same servers each evening.

If you experienced both types of dining, we would be very interested in getting your opinion.  Email justcruises@att.net or call us 800-783-7489.

BERMUDA NEWS

CRUISE CRITIC — The government of Bermuda has passed measures that will overturn a long-held ban on the operation of cruise ship casinos and suspend a cabin tax currently levied on ships calling on the island. 

VILLA ESCAPES:

Ever wanted more from a vacation? More luxury? More privacy?

How about a villa which you could share with friends? Available in the Caribbean,

France, Italy…great idea!

RENT YOUR OWN PRIVATE YACHT:

Have you thought of renting your own private yacht? A Captain and Cook can be provided if you don’t have experience captaining a sailboat. You can have this incredible experience is so many different locations such as the Caribbean (Tortola,

St Lucia, Belize, Grenadines, Canouan), or Mexico (La Paz, Sea of Cortes). One price charters the yacht, so you can take a romantic cruise for two, or bring your friends to share the cost.

COUNTRY LINE DANCING CRUISE:

Sail with Prospector’s Restaurant and Saloon on the 9 night Explorer of the Seas, March 6, 2009 with DJ Cowboy Kenn, DJ/instructor Tony Romeo, Rich from Prospector’s and Mary Lee from Just Cruises.  Enjoy country-dance lessons during the day, and dance time at night plus everything Royal Caribbean’s mega-ships have to offer. Price includes free parking at Prospector’s and round trip bus to Bayonne where we board our ship. Only a few cabins left. Prices guaranteed until July 18: Inside $1189 (4 left); Ocean view $1399 (10 left); Balcony $1499 (9 left).

AIRLINE CHARGES:

If you purchase a United Economy® ticket on or after June 13, 2008 for travel on or after August 18, 2008, a $15 service fee will apply, each way, to check your first piece of baggage. This fee applies to travel within the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada.
A $25 fee will apply to check a second bag. Extra charges apply if either bag is over 50 pounds.

Sail with Prospector’s on the 9 night Explorer of the Seas, March 6, 2009 with DJ Cowboy Kenn, DJ/instructor Tony Romeo, Rich from Prospector’s and Mary Lee from Just Cruises.  Enjoy country dance lessons during the day, and dance time at night. Price includes free parking at Prospector’s and round trip bus to Bayonne where we board our ship. Only a few cabins left. Prices guaranteed until July 18 only.  Inside $1189 (4 left); Oceanview $1399 (10 left) ; Balcony $1499 (10 left).

CARNIVAL RAISING FUEL SURCHARGES AGAIN

CRUISE CRITIC – On April 9, Carnival raised its fuel surcharge for bookings made on or after April 21. Now, effective June 12, the supplement will increase yet again, from $7 to $9 per passenger, per day, for the first two people in a cabin and from $2 to $4 per passenger, per day, for the third through fifth people in a cabin. The fee increase applies to six of the Carnival Corporation’s cruise lines: Carnival, Holland America, Princess, Costa, Cunard and Seabourn.

CARNIVAL PRIDE TO SAIL FROM BALTIMORE

CRUISE CRITIC — The 88,500-ton, 2,124-passsenger CARNIVAL PRIDE is the largest ever to homeport year-round in a Mid-Atlantic regional port. Baltimore is within 6 hours of 40 million people.

Beginning September 13, 2009, Carnival Pride will offer two different seven-night itineraries sailing to the eastern Caribbean.

REMEMBER TO CHECK OUR HOT DEALS!

We have amazing deals such as this

Celebrity Cruises

New Ship – Unbelievable price
November 30th Celebrity Solstice 7 Night E Carib from Ft Lauderdale –
Verandahs from $896 per person including taxes and fuel surcharge. 
Ports are San Juan, St. Marteen and St. Kitts

Go to our home page, and click HOT DEALS to see them!

================
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
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Representatives from the F.B.I. and authorities from Bermuda boarded Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Dawn this morning after it docked at Bermuda’s King’s Wharf.. Their goal? To investigate the incident that presumably ended the life of Mindy Jordan, 46, who fell overboard soon after the ship set sail on Sunday evening.Although the investigation is ongoing, one thing has been firmly established: Ms. Jordan was alone and acted alone when she fell from the balcony of her Deck 9 stateroom and into rough seas. According to an official statement from the cruise line, Norwegian Dawn’s extensive and advanced safety and surveillance system has documented, from both inside and outside the ship, most of the time that remains in question.

Royal Caribbean Changes Its Infant Policy

According to the new policy, infants on most cruises must be 6 months old by the first day of the sailing in order to board. However, babies on trans-Atlantic, trans-Pacific, Hawaii, select South America cruises and cruisetours, and other select cruises and cruisetours must be 12 months old to sail.

Queen Victoria Makes a Crashing Entrance in Malta

Cunard’s newest ship, Queen Victoria cerrtainly made an entrance as it arrived for its maiden call in Malta — by hitting a quay.The 90,000-ton, 2,014-passenger ship arrived in the dock around 11:30 a.m. GMT. Queen Victoria was being manoeuvred to berth alongside the waterfront in Grand Harbour when the incident occurred, damaging the stern. Cunard has confimed that the ship, which left Southampton on a Mediterranean cruise on May 6 with 1,887 passengers onboard, will now remain in Malta until tomorrow for repairs. It had been due to call in La Goulette in Tunisia but unfortunately this has been cancelled.

You asked for it, we listened! Now Platinum, Diamond and Diamond Plus Members can save $5 off any laundry charge of $25 or more. Look for your new laundry coupon in your Ultimate Value Booklet.

MORE ROYAL CARIBBEAN: Savings certificates are our way of thanking you for our relationship. From now until June 30, 2008, you can receive new members-only savings certificates, saving you up to $200 USD! Log onto RoyalCaribbean.com, click on Crown & Anchor, then click on “Special Offers” and start saving today. 

AIRLINE INFO

Most airlines are now charging $25 if you check a second suitcase. Remember,
the first can only weigh 50 pounds!

PRINCESS

Princess Adds Piazza, Crown Grill to Star, Caribbean Princess

Princess Cruises is adding several of the innovative new signature venues that debuted on Crown and Emerald Princess (and will appear on Ruby Princess when it is launched in the fall) to older ships in the fleet. Star Princess, which goes into dry dock in September, and Caribbean Princess, which gets a refurbishment in January 2009, will emerge with new features. These include: Atriums will be transformed with the now-signature Piazza, an energetic space that blends colorful entertainment, on-site bakery, Internet cafe, and wine and sushi bar, that has become a must-visit place on Crown and Emerald Princess. You’ll be able to hide from crowds in the Sanctuary, the top-of-the-ship, adults-only area that boasts padded lounges, shady and sunny areas, “Serenity Stewards” on call to provide beverages and snacks, available MP3 rentals, and spaces for massages (for an additional fee, of course). FYI, the addition of the Sanctuary won’t be limited to just Star and Caribbean Princess. Earlier this month Princess announced that it would introduce the adults-only concept fleetwide by 2010. The for-fee Crown Grill, whose menu blends seafood and steakhouse fare in an elegant mahagony ambience — complete with open kitchen — will replace the existing steakhouses on Star and Caribbean Princess.

MSC CRUISES

MSC Introduces Pre-Paid Onboard Credit Cards for Teens
Want to give your teen a little more responsibility, but don’t want him to rack up a high onboard bill with Internet time and mocktails? MSC Cruises has a solution: a new pre-paid credit card for use onboard. It’s available on all MSC ships for use by 12 to 17-year-olds.”My Teen Card” functions like the typical onboard credit card/stateroom key used on most ships, but with a catch: The card comes with a prepaid spending limit. Once a teen has spent the prepaid amount, no more purchases will be allowed on the card. Parents will have to purchase a new card if they want their child to continue to have spending privileges. Cards cannot be reloaded.On Caribbean cruises, parents can choose from a $35 card (pay $30 and get a $5 bonus) or a $60 card (pay $50 and get a $10 bonus). On Mediterranean and Northern Europe cruises, choose from a 35-euro card (pay 30 euros, get a 5-euro bonus) or a 60-euro card (pay 50 euros, get a 10-euro bonus). Not only will parents be able to limit teen spending while letting the kids take responsibility for their purchases, but they’ll get free money to boot.Passengers under the age of 17 will not have spending privileges onboard MSC ships without a Teen Card.Don’t forget – Kids are free on MSC cruises.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) recently released a cringe-inducing review of NCL’s all-Hawaii ship — with stomach-turning revelations worthy of a “Fear Factor” episode — giving the ship a flunking score of 78.  The CDC grades ships on a 100-point scale. Any score below 86 is deemed unsatisfactory, and failing ships must correct the violations, or face a recommendation from the VSP that the ship not be allowed to sail. The most disturbing health violations include poorly refrigerated beef; food kept past the recommended seven-day post-preparation period; an ice machine decked in pink and black mold; a filthy meat grinder; and counters covered with food particles and mold. Add to this list an improperly chlorinated whirlpool — cruisers soaking in the tub had to get up and get out when onboard inspectors discovered that the chlorine levels weren’t up to snuff. The CDC’s report cited other unsanitary conditions such as utensil handles that came into contact with food and inadequate sneeze guards in the buffet;food residue on the waffle irons; food-soiled coffee cups and plates laid out for use; and a contaminated ice cream maker. Editors Note: The Pride of Aloha will be leaving the NCL fleet later this month.  Other NCL ships have passed CDCsanitation tests.

Make Your Royal Caribbean Specialty Restaurant Reservations On-line

By the end of May, you will be able to make reservations for the specialty restaurants on most Royal Caribbean ships.  The specialty restaurants have been very popular and reservations at prime time (7 to 8:30PM) on the days at sea have been hard to get.  Here’s your chance to get a jump on the crowd.

Fox News’ Unfair and Unbalanced Reporting

Fox News reported that a family of 5 was kicked off Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas in their pajamas with a sick child. Watching Fox News, I thought that Captain Bligh ran the ship.

According to Royal Caribbean, the parents brought their sick child to the infirmary less than an hour before the ship was to sail from Nassau.  The child presented with vomiting and diarrhea .  Because the next port was Coco Cay with no medical facilities, it was recommended to the parents (and they concurred) that the child be hospitalized.  Royal Caribbean gave them the option of having one parent go with the child while the others stayed on the ship.  The family decided that they would all go with the child.  Royal Caribbean arranged for a complimentary hotel in Nassau as well as an ambulance to take the child to the hospital.  Fortunately, the illness was not serious and the family returned home at a cost of over $1700.
It should be noted that the family elected to decline travel insurance and had no passports (legal but not smart).

We can’t say that Royal Caribbean handled the situation perfectly, but we know that Fox News was grossly unfair in their reporting.  Our media loves to spin a story and make it sensational.  There is no objectivity left in this once proud but now sleazy profession.

Goodbye to the Galaxy

Celebrity’s Galaxy will be leaving the Celebrity fleet and moving to a German cruise line next March.  We have always liked this ship and its sisters, the Mercury and Century.  You still have almost a year to get a cruise on this great ship.

NCL Increases Fuel Supplement

Norwegian Cruise Line will increase its fuel supplement, effective for bookings made on or after May 1. Citing ever-increasing oil prices, the line upped its surcharge to $9 per person per day for the first and second passengers in a cabin and $4 per person per day for additional passengers in the same cabin.

Currently, NCL charges $7 per day for the first two passengers and $3 per day for additional passengers. These fees will still be in effect for all bookings made during the month of April.

Drug Bust on Brilliance of the Seas

According to a statement by Royal Caribbean, a ship security guard noticed that a returning passenger was acting suspiciously. The guest was taken aside for questioning and the guard discovered 62 pounds of cocaine in bags taped to the passenger’s body. The cruise line informed the Panamanian police, who arrested the man and his two traveling companions.

Celebrity Cruises will no longer allow passengers to smoke in cabins and on balconies once the new restrictions go into effect in early October. Violators may be slammed with a $250 cleaning fee. While by far most cruise lines permit in-cabin smoking, there’s a small group of lines that have begun to create stricter rules, such as Disney, Crystal, Peter Deilmann and Oceania. One major instigator of tightening restrictions was of course the terrifying fire aboard Star Princess last year; it was discovered that it began as a result of a passenger smoking on his balcony.

Carnival Family Increases Fuel Supplement

Effective for all new bookings made on or after April 21, Carnival’s fuel surcharge will increase from $5 to $7 per person per day, based on double occupancy. In addition, a fuel supplement of $2 per person per day will apply to third, fourth and fifth guests in a cabin. Total fuel charges are not to exceed $98 per person per voyage for the first two passengers and $28 per person per voyage for any other passengers sharing the cabin. The fee increase applies to six of the Carnival Corporation’s cruise lines: Carnival, Holland America, Princess, Costa, Cunard and Seabourne. The price hike actually does not make Carnival’s fuel surcharge the most expensive in the industry Cruise West charges $12 per person per day. However, Carnival can no longer be counted among the cruise lines with the lowest fuel taxes — that territory now belongs to Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara.  Disney is still one of the only major cruise lines to not charge a fuel supplement.

The Queen to Bid Farewell to QE2

Back on September 20 1967 in Clydebank, U.K, a new Queen was launched by its namesake, her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 2.Now, 41 years later, and with the ship set to retire from Cunard’s fleet this fall, it seems only right that Cunard Line’s QE2 is bid a fond farewell by the Monarch.  On Monday June 2 the Queen will head to Southampton for a final visit to see the “Grande Dame” before it retires to become a floating hotel out in Dubai. Kids Not Welcome Princess Cruises is citing popular demand for its decision to extend its adult-only Sanctuary areas to all of its ships.

Windjammer Barefoot Cruises Out of Business

Windjammer Barefoot Cruises is no longer licensed to sell travel in the state of Florida — effectively putting the kibosh on rumored plans for a renaissance. Although the CEO of the company promised faithful fans that Windjammer’s ships would be operating again sometime in April 2008, no cruises are sailing and the company’s offices are dark. Windjammer experienced financial difficulties throughout much of last year. Vendors, port facilities and even crewmembers did not receive payment; ships were stranded; and a slew of canceled voyages in the fall of 2007 left many would-be passengers searching for refunds.

Princess Cruises is citing popular demand for its decision to extend its adult-only Sanctuary areas to the rest of its ships through 2010.

American Airlines

American Airlines has canceled several hundred flights today (April 9-10-11) to conduct additional inspections of its MD-80 fleet.  Hopefully things will be back to normal soon.

We think that this was a calculated move by American Airlines. These inspections could have been conducted quietly over several weeks time. American chose to make these inspections very public to make it appear that the airline will stop at nothing to preserve safety. This is compares well to Southwest’s and other low-budget airlines’ aircraft that miss and fail inspections all the time.

If fact, The MD-80 has one of the best safety records in its class, far better than the Boeing 737.