posted by admin on May 23
Brooklyn, New York Opens Its First Cruise Ship Port
by Roy Witman © 2006, All Rights Reserved
In 2003, New York announced the grand opening of a new alternative port for cruise lines. Because ports in Florida were becoming more and more crowded, additional docking facilities in interesting cities on the Eastern Seaboard were needed to provide cruise lines with a new home port. The port has been wildly popular. So much so that another has been added in nearby Brooklyn.
The Red Hook terminal in a neighborhood in Brooklyn opened in April 2006 and welcomed its first permanent resident, Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 (formerly docked in Manhattan). Located on the Buttermilk Channel, the Brooklyn terminal gave the first increase in New York cruise ship pier capacity in over 30 years. With the likes of Cunard and Princess cruise lines as eager residents, the terminal has already become a success. Most other major cruise lines have also assigned vessels to sail from Brooklyn.
Princess Cruise lines will launch the Crown Princess from the Brooklyn dock in June 2006 for a Caribbean cruise. From June to October, Princess will offer numerous Caribbean tours, including calls on ports in popular destinations such as the Virgin Islands, Grand Turk and Jamaica. Star Princess will begin cruises from Brooklyn in October 2006 visiting ports up and down the New England and Canadian seacoast.
But Brooklyn? It doesn’t seem like the most exciting location for a cruise ship port. On the contrary. While not normally publicized as a vibrant city with plenty to do, Brooklyn offers cruisers an opportunity to spend a few days in New York before or after their tour.
Very similar to Manhattan, Brooklyn offers a trendy nightlife as well as diverse cultures and eclectic cuisine. Bars, clubs and restaurants line the streets, offering a tremendous variety of options for visitors and locals alike.
If culture is your thing, Chinatown is always a wonderful experience. In addition, Flatbush offers the largest Caribbean population in the United States. In either place, you’ll delight in the authentic sights, sounds and tastes on every corner.
With spectacular views of many popular attractions, including the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty, the Red Hook terminal also offers exciting options for sightseers. However, New York City is just a short cab ride away and opens a virtual treasure trove of attractions, shows, museums and affairs.
Overall, Brooklyn offers greater value (with lower rates on hotels) and a central location, making it a wonderful choice for both vacationers and the cruise lines. If New York is closer for you than Florida, or if you’ve been longing to visit the Big Apple, consider booking your next cruise from the Red Hook terminal in Brooklyn. Your travel agent will have a complete listing of which cruise lines sail from Red Hook and the destinations available.
Roy Witman is Vice-President of Cruise Vacation Center based in Yonkers, New York. Visit them online today at <a href="http://www.cruisevacationcenter.com">http://www.cruisevacationcenter.com</a> for the best deals, including <a href="http://www.cruisevacationcenter.com/alaska_cruises.htm"> Alaska cruises</a> and <a href="http://www.cruisevacationcenter.com/hawaii_cruises.htm"> Hawaii cruises</a>. You'll find their service exceptional and their attention to detail second to none.
How to enjoy Croatia ?
How to enjoy Croatia ? 1. Why Croatia ? Croatia is the closest Mediterranean destination to central Europe. It takes 2 hours by plane from London, 45 minutes from Munchen… Croatian natural beauties are significant and amongst the best preserved in the world ( over 5,800 km of coast, over 1,000 islands, numerous national parks … ). More about Croatia find on the official web site www.croatia.hr 2. How to Croatia ? Traveling by car you have to keep in mind that the traffic is increased in summer season. National ferry line is Jadrolinija and the national airline company is Croatia Airlines 3. Where in Croatia ? Although the inland of Croatia is beautiful as well, lot of tourists decide for one of the places along the Croatian coast. Most of the beautiful places in Croatia are located on the Adriatic sea coast ( National Park Brijuni islands, Roman arena in Pula, National Park Kornati islands, old towns Dubrovnik, Zadar, Trogir, Sibenik, Split, National Park island Mljet … ). Having one day trip in inland you can visit more Croatian beauties like National Park Plitvice lakes, National Park on river Krka, National Park Paklenica, … ) 4. Stay (sail) in Croatia ? Usually tourists rent a hotel room or an apartment and spend a week laying on a beach not aware that there are plenty other places around worth to be visited. Instead of changing hotels and moving your stuff from one place to another trying to see as much as possible , you can rent a boat ( skipper if necessary ), visit all the places along the Croatian coast and islands and have an extraordinary holidays. Croatian coast has 1000 of islands so there are no big waves and high sea. The conditons are perfect for nice and easy sailing. There are no long distance routes across the open sea. You can achor anytime you want and take a swimm. The price for sailing holidays in Croatia is equal to price for a hotel accomodation. More about yacht charter in Croatia find on web sites www.Yacht-Rent.com , www.star.hr, www.Yacht-charter-Rent-boat.com … There you can find a complete yacht charter offer in Croatia: around 2000 charter yachts belonging to all relevant charter companies in Croatia ( having at least 10 to 100 boats in their fleet). You can compare the prices for different boat models and select the most appropriate one. To answer the question how to enjoy in Croatia - sail in Croatia!
Cruise Food: Personal Choice Dining Makes A Big Splash
by Roy Witman © 2007, All Rights Reserved
In the golden era of ocean voyages, everyone was called to a single seating of dinner in the main dining room of the ship. Whether you were hungry or not, whether you liked liver p t or not, you came and you ate when and what you were told. Special requests from first-class passengers may have been accommodated, but they were done so at the quiet protest of the chef. Dining aboard cruise ships today has made dramatic improvements in both variety and service.
Cruising is now broadly accepted among the masses as a cost-effective and fun vacation alternative. What was once reserved for only the wealthiest is now available to practically everyone. Catering to the masses, especially families with finicky children, has become the delight of chefs, rather than an insult. Stretching their creativity, most of those on the kitchen staff take pride in developing new dining alternatives that suit their guests.
Options In Cuisine
Princess Cruises is a good example. With the advent of Personal Choice Dining , Princess has not only taken the restrictions off typical cruise ship dining, it has also expanded options for its passengers. With “Anytime Dining,” guests find most of the eight restaurants open all day. Some are open 24 hours. While the main dining room still has two seatings, it is open for Anytime Dining during breakfast and lunch hours. This allows passengers to eat when they are hungry rather than when the cruise line dictates they should dine. But time isn’t the only advantage to Personal Choice Dining .
Options in cuisine have become much more diverse. Making concessions for every age and appetite, Princess offers a little something for everyone. From an onboard, upscale Italian restaurant to a refined steakhouse to burgers, dogs and pizza at the caf , adults and kids alike can enjoy what suits their fancies. In addition, guests can curb those midday (or midnight!) snack attacks with a 24-hour buffet, featuring finger sandwiches, aged cheeses, chocolate-dipped strawberries, ice cream sundaes and more.
For those who prefer a more private way to dine, 24-hour room service is available with a full menu. Simply fill out the card provided in your stateroom, and any cuisine you desire from the dining room - including steak and lobster - will be delivered to you at the time you indicate. If you desire to dine on your balcony, your server will be glad to accommodate.
Dressing For Dinner
While the main dining room does have nights where formalwear is required, other dining options onboard allow passengers to dress in whichever attire they choose. Visit the buffet in your swimsuit and flip-flops, throw on shorts and a tank top for the late-night bistro or don your khakis and golf shirt for the steakhouse and other onboard restaurants.
If you’ve been under the mistaken impression that cruising means tuxedos and entr es with names you can’t pronounce, relax! Those days are long gone. Princess Cruises and other lines now have much more casual options you and your family can take advantage of. Eat when you want, where you want, what you want and make everybody happy!
Roy Witman is Vice-President of Cruise Vacation Center at <a href="http://www.cruisevacationcenter.com">http://www.cruisevacationcenter.com</a> offering the best deals including <a href="http://www.cruisevacationcenter.com/princess_cruise_line.htm">Princess cruises</a>. Visit them today!
Cruise Lines Enhance The Cruise Experience By Offering Up-To-Date Amenities
With the addition of so many new mega cruise liners the cruise industry has cabin inventory with thousands of berths that they must fill each week or every two weeks. Cruisers expect these beautiful ships with a plethora of entertainment venues, shops and itineraries to choose from everyday when taking a cruise vacation. Everyone that has enjoyed the cruise experience knows that cruise lines are forever trying to come up with new ideas and interesting things to entice new and repeat cruisers. The ships are getting glitzier and the perks are getting better and better. Here are a few things that the cruise lines have added to their rosters to coax you into taking your next cruise vacation on one of their ships.
The world is health conscious today, and the cruise lines have noticed this trend. The first thing that they have decided to revamp and extend is their sports activities to cater to those cruisers who wish to indulge in the cruise experience without leaving their fitness routine behind. Royal Caribbean, for example, not only offers its rock climbing wall but has added a forty foot wave pool, an ice skating rink and a boxing arena for guests to learn how to bunch a bag. These are all very diverse activities sure to meet the tastes of almost everyone on board. On the higher end of cruise lines, SeaDreams Yachts has a retractable marina. The marina opens so that guests may enjoy all kinds of water sports including snorkeling, water skiing, kayaking, and wakeboarding. The ship is even equipped with Segways for the clients to borrow to get around the ship or at tour ports when docked. Segways are high tech motor scooters rarely seen in port towns which make them doubly enjoyable.
Even non cruisers know the cruise lines reputation for good food, all of the time. Now the ships are creating activities that include the cruise guests when it comes to the culinary arts. The cruise lines want to show you how to prepare great food, present it and to savor it, a talent you can take back to your own kitchen. Holland America for one, has instituted the Culinary Arts Centers fleet wide. Each year they invite 20 well known culinary experts to sail and host cooking classes. Silversea on the other hand, has had Viking create a show kitchen on the beautiful Silver Wind. Jacques Pepin is the star of Oceania s ships doing cooking lessons, taking guests on culinary excursions in port and dining with the passengers on board. What aspiring chef would not be delighted with that?
During this time, as the cruise lines are teaching you about gourmet food what would be the perfect pairing? Well, Wine of course. Carnival has taken this step by introducing the wine-themed vacation called the Presidential Wine Club Cruise. On this wine themed Caribbean cruise they offer seminars and wine tastings from famous vineyards. They have even included the Michelin-starred chef Georges Blanc to oversee culinary dishes that are wine friendly. Silversea has instituted the Slow Food Experience excursions on its Genoa, Italy itinerary. With this unique program passengers become students at the University of Gastronomic Sciences for one day and then visit the nearby Wine Bank that has the top wines produced by 200 Italian vineyards. When touring the Iberian Peninsula, Princess Cruise passengers get to create their very own cognac in Camus, France at a family owned distiller. Another Princess Cruise line offering is a trip to Leith near Edinburgh, Scotland where you can visit a Scottish Malt Whisky Society and have single-malt tastings.
When it comes to spas, some cruisers will book just for that experience. Celebrity Cruises has packages that you can book ahead of time with a variety of spa treatments. Some of their exotic treatments include the Ceremony of Milk and Ginger, the Asian Ceremony of the Stone or the pricey Daily Well-Being Ritual. With all packages you have unlimited use of the Thalassotherapy pool. Costa Cruises offers the largest spa at sea on their Concordia. In the 20,000+ square foot spa there are Turkish baths, Rock saunas and thermals. If you book a suite on the Concordia, or a spa cabin, you have unlimited access to the Ristorante Samsaru where Chef Ettore Bocchia, another Michelin starred professional, has created the menu. All of the major cruise lines have choices which include aerobics, work out rooms with equipment, saunas, whirlpools and special programs like yoga or toning and stretching.
Because of our hectic world some people just don t want to be without internet access. Well, the cruise industry has answered your concerns. It is safe to say that all of the mega liners have internet access. Some have portals in each berth while others have internet cafes. On the higher end cruise lines you can borrow lap tops to use in your cabin. Each cruise line is different, some charge for usage or some use it as a perk for repeat cruisers. For instance, Princess Cruises has free internet usage for their Captains Club members after they have sailed a certain amount of times on the Princess ships. The cruise lines clubs (once you have sailed on a particular cruise line you are automatically a club member) all have different perks for different levels of repeat cruisers but that is for another discussion.
As you can see, the cruise lines are keeping up with all cruisers demands so you have lots of options to choose from on your next cruise vacation. Check out all the cruise lines with your Travel Agent and pick the one that is tailor made for your needs.
Bon Voyage!
Copyright © Mary Hanna, All Rights Reserved.
This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.
Mary Hanna has traveled the world by Air and Ship while writing eBooks, Software Reviews and Practical Articles on Internet Marketing, Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at: http://www.BestCruiseSites.com http://www.CruiseTravelDirectory.com and http://www.CruiseGold.com
Mary Hanna has traveled the world by Air and Ship while writing eBooks, Software Reviews and Practical Articles on Internet Marketing, Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at: <a target="_new" href="http://BestCruiseSites.com">http://www.BestCruiseSites.com</a> <a target="_new" href="http://www.CruiseTravelDirectory.com">http://www.CruiseTravelDirectory.com</a> and <a target="_new" href="http://www.CruiseGold.com">http://www.CruiseGold.com</a>
