From $169 For 3 Port Calls In The Bahamas Aboard Norwegian Sky

It might be just a four night cruise but it packs a punch. On January 20, 2014, Norwegian Sky embarks from Miami, Florida for a four night journey around the Bahamas. Over the short cruise, the ports of call are packed in with three stops on the three full days between leaving and arriving back at Miami. Pricing may still have room to drop but even just under a month out, the rates are quite affordable.

The Cruise

 

This four night Bahamas cruise on board the Norwegian Sky embarks from Miami, Florida at 5pm on Monday, January 20, 2014. She arrives back in Miami at 7am on Friday, January 24. Sky crams in three port calls along the way with no full days at sea.

On Tuesday, Norwegian Sky spends the day at Great Stirrup Cay. The small island is located in the Berry Islands of the Bahamas and is owned by Norwegian Cruise Line. She stays at this location from 8am to 5pm before moving on.

Next up is Nassau, Bahamas on Wednesday. Sky is docked at the largest city in the Bahamas from 8am until 6pm. Nassau has a population of around 250,000 and accounts for a good portion of the overall population of the Bahamas. January is a great time to visit Nassau with the average daytime high around 26 Celsius or 80 Fahrenheit. January is the city’s driest month.

The final stop is at Freeport on Grand Bahama Island. Norwegian Sky stops at the ‘second city’ of the Bahamas on Thursday from 8am to 5pm. Freeport is quite a bit smaller than Nassau with a population of around 60,000. Located a little further north, the average daytime high is three degrees Celsius less than Nassau but still an enjoyable 23 or 74 Fahrenheit. As with Nassau, January is one of Freeport’s driest months.

The Price

Currently, an inside stateroom on board Norwegian Sky can be had for as low as $169 per person. That equates to $42.25 per person per night. Added to that price is $101.07 in government taxes and fees. The total for two in an interior stateroom starts from $540.14. This deal is eligible for a $15 on board credit per stateroom.

Claustrophobic? Ocean View staterooms start from $229 per person. Balcony prices are decently priced from $349 per person.

The Ship

Norwegian Sky has had a bit of a broken life. She was originally ordered in 1993 and was to be the Costa Olympia for Costa Cruises. Construction on the ship was started by Bremer Vulkan in Germany. However, the company went out of business in 1997. Bremer Vulkan had been around since 1893 in the ship building biz, mostly cargo ships with just a few passenger cruise ships on the resume.

The ship that would become Norwegian Sky was then towed to Lloyd Werft in Germany where it was completed in 1999. The ship never sailed for Costa and was the Norwegian Sky from 1999 to 2004. She then became the Pride of Hawaii, still under Norwegian Cruise Line. In 2008, she returned to the Norwegian Sky name.

Back in September, 1999, on her inaugural cruise, Sky was at the mouth of the Saguenay River at the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada when she ran aground. The ship was evacuated as a precaution and there were no injuries.

One of two Sky Class Norwegian Cruise Line ships, Norwegian Sky is a smaller ship with a gross tonnage of 77,104. She is 260 metres or 853 feet in length and has nine decks accessible to passengers. Capacity on the vessel is for 2,004 guests with 934 crew members.

The other Sky Class ship is the Norwegian Sun. Sun is younger and slightly larger. She was put in service for NCL in 2001.

The Small Print

·Because of the nature of last minute deals, the pricing printed here is fleeting and could change at any time.

·Prices are in Canadian dollars.

·Most meals are included in a typical cruise price but DRINKS ARE NOT!

·Also not included are gratuities.

·Cruise pricing does not include air fare, ground transfers and hotel accommodations before and after the cruise.

Holland America Luxury Transatlantic Cruise From Just $700!

In April, 2014, the classic Holland America ship ms Ryndam crosses the Atlantic Ocean, switching from her winter home to her summer home. After calling Tampa, Florida her home port for the winter months, Ryndam moves east to spend most of the summer out of Dover in the U.K.

Ryndam’s Transatlantic Repositioning Cruise does not go from Tampa to Dover but from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to Barcelona, Spain. Holland America Line has special pricing on this 15 night cruise right now with an inside stateroom going for as low as just $700 per person, or just under $47 per night per person before government taxes and fees.

The Cruise

 

Ryndam embarks from Port Everglades at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on Sunday, April 6, 2014 at 4pm sharp. She arrives at Barcelona on Monday, April 21, 2014 at 7am. Along the way, the does a bit of an island tour with three of her five ports of call located off the mainland. All port calls are either in Portugal or Spain.

After several days at sea, guests on ms Ryndam can get out and stretch their legs and minds at Ponta Delgado on the island of Sao Miguel in the Azores. The ship docks on Monday, April 14 and is in port from 10am to 6pm. Ponta Delgado is the capital of the Azores Islands and has a population somewhere around 70,000.

On Thursday, April 17, Ryndam makes a stop on the mainland of Spain. From 8am to 6pm, she will be docked at Malaga on the southern coast. This is a large tourist area on the Mediterranean and has a metro population over one million.

The following day, ms Ryndam moves east along the coast to Cartagena, Spain. She is docked from 8am to 5pm at this city with a population about a fifth that of Malaga.

The final two stops are out in the Mediterranean Sea. Ibiza is a small island with a population of around 135,000. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, belonging to Spain. Ryndam will be at Ibiza from 8am to 5pm on Saturday, April 19.

The final stop is Palma de Mallorca, the capital of the Balearic Islands region. Ryndam docks at Palma from 8am to 5pm on Sunday, April 20.

The Price

For the moment, Holland America Line has reduced some inside staterooms to as low as $700 per person. Typical of any flash sale, the choice of stateroom is limited and will be assigned at the time of check-in.

Additional government fees and taxes come to $115.24 per person. This means an inside stateroom for two can be had for as low as $1,630.48 with the fees and taxes added in.

Just to give an idea of what a great deal this is, let’s look at Ryndam’s return to Tampa from Barcelona in November, 2014. The lowest price for that cruise is currently $1,500 per person! The price for two, including government taxes and fees, would be $3,236.64. The itinerary is nearly identical, except the ship goes straight to Tampa, not stopping in Ft. Lauderdale.

The Ship

A Statendam Class (S Class) ship, ms Ryndam has been in service for Holland America since 1994. She is the third of the four Statendam Class ships. Statendam and ms Maasdam both came into service in 1993 and ms Veendam came along in 1996.

Ryndam is a smaller ship with a gross tonnage of 55,819. She is 220 metres or 720 feet in length and has ten decks accessible to the capacity 1,258 passengers. 602 crew members are also on board.

As mentioned, her home port in the winter is Tampa, Florida with her summer home mainly in Dover. She makes the return Transatlantic voyage from Barcelona to Tampa on November 1, 2014.

The Small Print

·Because of the nature of last minute deals, the pricing printed here is fleeting and could change at any time.

·Prices are in Canadian dollars.

·Most meals are included in a typical cruise price but DRINKS ARE NOT!

·Also not included are gratuities.

·Cruise pricing does not include air fare, ground transfers and hotel accommodations before and after the cruise.

That's Right! A Luxury Cruise Up The Amazon River

Think the Amazon can only be cruised by black smoke-sputtering, rusted out diesel ships with no air conditioning and pirates following close-by? Think again. In 2014, six different luxury cruise lines will make the journey from the Atlantic Ocean, up the Amazon River, to Manaus, Brazil, and back. These cruises are not cheap but Holland America Line is doing their best with a ‘Flash Rate’ on their cruise in March, 2014.

The Cruise

 

HAL’s ms Maasdam departs Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Sunday, March 2 on a 26 night repositioning cruise to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Along the way, Maasdam makes several port calls along the Brazilian coast and in the Caribbean. As well, she takes seven days to travel up the Amazon and back. This is considered a repositioning cruise but the Amazon River cruise is definitely the highlight.

After stopping at Buzios, Salvador and Fortaleza up the Atlantic Coast, Maasdam enters the Amazon River on Thursday, March 13. Before reaching Manaus, nearly 1,500 kilometres up the river in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest, the ship makes two stops along the way. Maasdam stops at Santarem and Boca da Valeria before an overnight at Manaus.

On her way back to the Atlantic, the ship makes port calls at Parintins and Alter do Chao, along the Amazon. Maasdam returns to the Atlantic Ocean on Thusday, March 20.

Before arriving at Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on Friday, March 28, the ship makes stops at Bridgetown, Barbados; Roseau, Dominica and Philipsburg, Sint Maarten.

The Price

Typically, a cruise that involves the Amazon starts in price from no less than $8,000 per person. For a limited time, an inside stateroom on the ms Maasdam can be had for as low as $3,493.89 per person. Keep in mind, this is a 26 night cruise. Additional government fees and taxes of $441.06 per person need to be added to total. All-in, a inside stateroom for two can be had for $7,869.90.

This is ‘Flash Rate’ sale pricing. This means that you don’t have a lot of choice on the location of your inside stateroom and that room is not assigned until the time of checkin. This also means that the full amount is due at the time of booking.

The Ship

Ms Maasdam of Holland America Line has been in service since 1993. She is an S Class ship built by Fincantieri on the north shores of the Adriatic Sea in Italy. Maasdam is a small ship with a gross tonnage of just 55,575. She is 220 metres or 722 feet long and has nine decks accessible to passengers. The Capacity on board is for 1,258 guest and 580 crew members.

The Small Print

·Because of the nature of last minute deals, the pricing printed here is fleeting and could change at any time.

·Prices are in Canadian dollars.

·Most meals are included in a typical cruise price but DRINKS ARE NOT!

·Also not included are gratuities.

·Cruise pricing does not include air fare, ground transfers and hotel accommodations before and after the cruise.