CRUISE TALK is a new feature to our web site and will be published monthly. We hope you enjoy the information in this column. Your suggestions for future columns are welcome. Send your ideas to sales@hookedoncruising.com.
In this month's column we feature:

Travelling Light
The Secrets of Pasta Making with Excursion Society 
The Colours of Autumn
Spotlight: Celebrity Cruises
 
Travel Light by Shipping Your Luggage           

Cruise enthusiasts who fly to their points of embarkation have reason to fear that their checked luggage could be lost.  During 2007, airlines lost seven bags for every 1,000 passengers, according to the Department of Transportation.  The lost baggage rate has climbed steadily every year since 2002.

            To rest assured that your luggage will arrive at the ship even before you do, consider using a luggage delivery service.  In exchange for an up-front fee, these services will collect your packed bags from your home or office and ship them to your departure port.

            Shipping luggage ahead allows you to move through airports more quickly and easily.  You won’t have to maneuver your luggage through a crowd, wait in line to check your bags or take them through a security checkpoint.  In addition, you won’t be surprised by any of the additional fees that many airlines are charging for extra, oversized or overweight bags.

On the plane, you won’t have to search for an empty overhead bin that can accommodate your bags or try to stuff them into the space under the seat in front of you.  At your destination, you can stroll past the baggage claim area and go right to your ground transportation.  After your cruise, shipping your luggage home will ease your return flight, allowing the relaxing effects of your cruise to stay with you a bit longer.

            While the convenience of a luggage delivery service may tempt you to board a plane carrying nothing more than a good book, remember that some items should always travel with you in a small carry-on bag.  These items include prescription medications and items of significant value.

            To find out more about luggage delivery services, talk with your personal cruise expert

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Learn the Secrets of Pasta Making with the Excursion Society

            It’s one thing to throw together a spaghetti dinner at home – it’s another to make your own fresh, gourmet pasta in the heart of Italy’s Chianti wine country.  That’s one of the exclusive on-shore experiences offered by the Excursion Society, Cruise Holidays’ value-added shore excursion program.  The Excursion Society provides unique shore excursions, at no additional charge, to cruise enthusiasts who seek something more from their time on shore.

            Celebrity Cruises’ 11-night Western Mediterranean and Morocco cruise on the Century, departing September 8 from Barcelona, includes the Excursion Society’s Pasta-Making and Winery Tour.  You’ll travel through Tuscany on the Chiantigiana – the Chianti wine road – taking in gorgeous views of the countryside, where olive trees, grape vines and ancient castles dot the landscape.

            Then, the fun of learning to make delicious pasta with your own hands will begin.  You’ll make three different types of pasta and learn which sauces best complement each.  Then, you’ll sample your work, along with Tuscan meats, vegetables, almond biscuits and a delicious local dessert wine.  You’ll tour the on-site winery and wine cellar, too.

If time permits, you’ll make a short visit to Greve-in-Chianti, a lovely Tuscan town with a Franciscan monastery and other buildings of medieval vintage.

            This Excursion Society experience is just one highlight of a cruise that will include port calls in Marseilles, Nice, Rome, Gibraltar, Casablanca and Tangier.

The Excursion Society’s special shore excursions can be enjoyed on several Regent Seven Seas, Celebrity Cruises and Holland America Line sailings.  The schedule includes these upcoming sailings:

Alaska

  • July 20 from Vancouver on Holland America’s Zaandam
  • August 17 from Vancouver on Celebrity’s Mercury
  • August 24 on Holland America’s Zaandam

Europe

  • August 16 from Copenhagen on Regent Seven Sea’s Voyager
  • August 21 from Amsterdam on Celebrity’s Century

Australia/New Zealand

  • November 14 from Sydney on Celebrity’s Millennium

There’s no extra charge for these excursions once you’re a member of the Excursion Society and anyone can join.  Ask your personal cruise expert how you can be part of the Excursion Society.
 

Cruise the Colors of Autumn

            The summer travel season hasn’t yet hit its peak, but it’s a good time to think ahead to a fall getaway.  A wonderful way to celebrate autumn is to enjoy a cruise off the coast of New England and southeastern Canada.  These sailings combine water-reflected views of turning leaves – as well as lighthouses, fishing villages and other coastal charms – with all the comfort and ease of a cruise.

            You can choose from an excellent variety of fall foliage cruises.  Itineraries generally range from four- to 10-days or more, with ships departing from ports such as Philadelphia, New York and Montreal.  In fact, the cities you can visit on a fall foliage cruise – including Boston, Bar Harbor and Halifax – are as attractive as the hillsides of flame-colored trees.

One of the oldest settlements in the U.S., Boston is full of colonial history and the youthful energy of a city that is home to dozens of colleges and universities.  Explore the city’s revolutionary past along the Freedom Trail; enjoy a visit to Faneuil Hall and bustling Quincy Market; or stroll beside the swan boats in Boston Common.

Bar Harbor, a famous summer colony in the “Down East” region of Maine, is nestled on Mount Desert Island.  The quaint village and its charming, historic buildings is a gateway to Acadia National Park, a stunning expanse of granite mountains, ocean shoreline, woods and lakes.  Within the park, the pink granite summit of Cadillac Mountain is one of the first places in the U.S. to see the sun each day.

Halifax, the provincial capital of Nova Scotia, is situated on one of the world’s largest natural harbors.  The restored waterfront area is full of restaurants, shops and artisans selling their wares.  The Citadel is a historic fortress that recalls the city’s beginning as an outpost of the British Empire.  Halifax also has museums, walking trails, beautiful parks and lovely Victorian architecture. 

            You can enjoy these and other ports on a fall foliage cruise, sailing in comfort from one spectacular color display to another.  To schedule your water-based color tour, talk with your personal cruise expert.
 

Cruise Line Spotlight: Celebrity Cruises

            Passengers who board a Celebrity Cruises ship are greeted with a glass of sparkling wine or mimosa – the first of many little tastes of luxury that are a signature of this cruise line.

            Celebrity was founded in 1989 to provide high-quality, premium cruises at a reasonable price.  The cruise line has fulfilled that promise through the years, even through a change in ownership (Celebrity was acquired by Royal Caribbean International in 1997) and a transition to larger ships.

            Celebrity emphasizes onboard dining as a significant part of a memorable cruise.  Its galleys are specially designed to prepare and serve food with optimum freshness.  Afternoon tea is a delightful experience on Celebrity’s Millennium Class ships, which also feature popular alternative restaurants.  When Celebrity’s newest ship, the Solstice, debuts this fall, it will have no less than 10 restaurants.  Dining options on the Solstice will range from a classic Tuscan steakhouse to a contemporary Asian restaurant, along with a glamorous main dining room.

Celebrity’s ships have some of the most spacious staterooms and suites at sea, featuring amenities such as plush terrycloth robes.  The new Solstice Class of ships will further increase the line’s average stateroom size, with standard staterooms measuring 215 square feet.  To ensure that these staterooms set a new standard for style and functionality, Celebrity gathered insights and opinions from a panel of women during the design phase.  The panel helped Celebrity create efficient floor plans, clear sightlines to sea views and elegantly neutral color palettes, among other features.

Spaciousness is also a feature of Celebrity’s fantastic shipboard spas, which are the largest at sea.  The AquaSpa’s menu of pampering treatments includes herbal steam baths, massages and aroma stone therapy.  On Millennium Class ships, the AquaSpa Café continues the theme of wellness with light, refreshing breakfasts and lunches.

Celebrity has achieved some notable “firsts” in the cruise industry, including the first exterior glass elevators (providing panoramic ocean views) and the first acupuncture treatments at sea.  The cruise line will chalk up another first when the Solstice debuts with the industry’s first shipboard lawn: a half-acre of lush, green grass on the top deck.  The lawn will be the centerpiece of the Lawn Club, where guests can play bocce ball or croquet, practice putting or even enjoy a picnic.

Celebrity sails to Europe, New England, Bermuda, Alaska, the Panama Canal, South America, Hawaii, the Caribbean and the Mexican Riviera.  For those seeking a bit of adventure, Celebrity’s 98-passenger Xpedition sails to the Galapagos Islands.  These voyages feature active shore excursions, such as snorkeling and hiking, for excellent viewing of the islands’ unusual wildlife.

While Celebrity is a sophisticated cruise line geared toward adult tastes, the “X Club” offers enjoyable, age-appropriate activities for children from age three to 18.

To find out more about where you can go with Celebrity Cruises, talk with your personal cruise expert.