Monday, January 27, 2014

7 Night Bermuda Cruise on Celebrity Summit From Just $559


map of bermuda
Bermuda. The northern tip of an infamous triangle. Lonely island in the Atlantic, closer to Canada than the Caribbean. Why do people go there? Beaches. Peace. Quiet. Golf. Luxury. Plus, for those lacking will power to follow through with that health food diet, Bermuda has just one KFC, built before a law was passed banning all fast food chains and restaurants.

Surprisingly, a seven night Bermuda cruise out of Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, New Jersey can be had for as low as $559 per person. This is a unique itinerary in that there is just one port of call but the ship is docked at Bermuda for two nights and nearly three full days. Your time at sea is spent in total luxury onboard the Celebrity Summit of Celebrity Cruises.

The Cruise

celebrity summit cape liberty kings wharf bermuda luxury cruise
 

Celebrity Summit embarks from Cape Liberty Cruise Port at 4pm on Sunday, May 11, 2014. Cape Liberty is a relatively new cruise port opened in 2004 and located in Bayonne, New Jersey, across from the amazing skyline of Manhattan. A bonus for guests flying in, Cape Liberty is just 15 minutes from Newark Liberty International Airport. The cruise port is currently home to just four ships, the other three, Explorer of the Seas, Legend of the Seas and Quantum of the Seas, all belong the Royal Caribbean.


After two full days travelling out into the Atlantic Ocean, Celebrity Summit docks at King’s Wharf in Bermuda at 8:30am on Wednesday, May 14. King’s Wharf, aka Royal Naval Dockyard, was in use as a military base from 1795 to 1958. It is located on Ireland Island at the northwestern point of the Bermudas.

Summit then departs from King’s Wharf at 4:30pm on Friday, May 16. The ship hauls ass back to Cape Liberty, spending just one full day at sea on the return trip. Celebrity Summit arrives back at Bayonne, New Jersey at 7am on Sunday, May 18.

The Price


An inside stateroom on this particular cruise can be had for as low as $559 per person, based on double occupancy. Because of the three day stay in port, government fees and taxes are a bit high at $215 per person. This makes an interior stateroom for two go from $1,548, including taxes.

As the level of stateroom increases on this cruise, the price increases nearly exponentially. An Ocean View stateroom is still quite affordable at $899 per person. However, if you want a balcony, cabins start from $1,249 per person. A suite can be had from $1,919 per person.

The Ship 

Celebrity Summit is one of four Celebrity Cruises Millennium Class cruise ships. She was built at Chantiers de l’Atlantique in St. Nazaire, France and entered service for Celebrity in November, 2001. The Millennium Class includes Celebrity Millennium, coming along in 2000, Celebrity Infinity, entering service in 2001 and the youngest is Celebrity Constellation, entering service in 2002.

Summit is a decent sized ship with a gross tonnage of 91,000. She is 294 metres or 965 feet in length. There are eleven decks accessible to a capacity of 2,158 passengers. Typically, there are 999 crew members onboard the ship.

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.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Colon, Panama to Ft. Lauderdale Via Vision of the Seas: Unique, Short and Cheap


On April 26, 2014, Vision of the Seas of Royal Caribbean embarks on a short, unique and very affordable cruise that, coupled with, say, a week at a Panama all-inclusive resort, makes for an awesome vacation. Vision leaves its winter home in Colon, Panama to head north to Ft. Lauderdale, a port she’ll call home until November.

The Cruise

vision of the seas colon to fort lauderdale cruise
 

Vision of the Seas embarks on a very short Repositioning Cruise from Colon, Panama at 3pm on Saturday, April 26, 2014. After two full days at sea, moving north across the Caribbean Sea then around the top of Cuba, she arrives at Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Vision reaches her new home at 8am on Tuesday, April 29. There are no additional ports of call on the journey.


Currently, Vision of the Seas is running seven night Southern Caribbean itineraries out of Colon. These cruises are the most affordable way to see the Southern Caribbean with more ports of call in less days. Many ships use Colon as a port call before, or after, transiting the Panama Canal. Vision of the Seas is currently the only major cruise ship that uses the Panama city as a home port.

Once in Ft. Lauderdale, Vision of the Seas runs four and five night Western Caribbean cruises, with the odd ten night Bermuda cruise mixed in, until November. The ship does not return to Colon in 2014. Instead, she moves to the Gulf Coast of Florida to use Tampa as a home port for her seven night Western Caribbean cruises.

The Price


For this three night cruise, an inside stateroom can be had right now for as low as $136 per person, based on double occupancy. The additional government fees and taxes are extremely low at just $49 per person. This makes the price for two for an inside stateroom, including taxes, as low as $370.

The rest of the ship is quite affordable, as well. Ocean View staterooms start at $189 per person. A balcony cabin can be had from $189 per person. Even suites start from as low as $299 per person.

The Ship


royal caribbean vision of the seas
Vision of the Seas has been in service since 1998 and is one of six Royal Caribbean Vision Class ships. Vision Class includes Legend of the Seas, Splendour of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas, all built between 1995 and 1998 by Chantiers de l’Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire, France.

Vision is in the smaller range by today’s standards with a gross tonnage of 78,340. She is 279 metres or 915 feet in length and has eleven decks accessible to passengers. The ship has a capacity for 2,435 guests with 765 crew members on board.

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.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Round Cape Horn Via Luxury Cruise Ship From $997


Heading out of Buenos Aires via luxury cruise ship and rounding Cape Horn and the tip of South America before arriving in Valparaiso, Chile is on the bucket list of the world’s rich and famous. With Holland America Line and their fine ship MS Zaandam, this can be an affordable tick off the bucket list for those not so rich and famous.

The Cruise

ms zaandam holland america line south america cruise
 

MS Zaandam embarks on a 13 night South America Cruise from Buenos Aires, Argentina on Tuesday, March 4, 2014 at 6pm. The ship takes nearly two weeks rounding the bottom of the continent and cruising up the western side before arriving at Valparaiso, Chile on Monday, March 17 at 6am. Along the way, Zaandam makes five port calls. There are several other amazing natural features that can be seen from the ship.


Zaandam doesn’t travel far the first night, docking across the Rio de la Plata at Montevideo, Uruguay on Wednesday, March 5 from 8am until 6pm. Two days later, it’s back to Argentina with a stop at Puerto Madryn on Friday, March 7 from 10am until 6pm.

After a weekend at sea, Zaandam stops at Punta Arenas, Chile on Monday, March 10 from 6am until 6pm. She then backtracks a bit to Ushuaia, Argentina for a port call on Tuesday, March 11 from 2pm until 8pm. The final port of call is at Puerto Montt, Chile on Saturday, March 15 from 9:30am until 6pm.

Along the journey, MS Zaandam travels through or around the Strait of Megellan, the Beagle Channel, Chile’s Glacier Alley, Cape Horn, Amalia Glacier and the Chilean Fjords.

The Price


Right now, there is a flash sale with some inside staterooms, large outside staterooms with fully obstructed views and large interior staterooms available for as low as $997 per person, based on double occupancy. This is equal to about $400 off per person.

Government fees and taxes are steep for this cruise with $365.05 tacked onto each guest’s fare. A cabin for two can be had from $2,724.58, including taxes, for this truly once in a lifetime experience. As stipulated with this flash sale, the full price is due at the time of booking.

The Ship 

MS Zaandam is one of four Rotterdam Class (R Class) ships in the Holland America Fleet. She has been in service for HAL since 2000. In May of 2000, Zaandam was christened by the Olsen twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley. The ship was built by Fincantieri in Italy.

This is a small and agile ship, meant for journeys just like this one. Zaandam has a gross tonnage of 61,396 and is 237 metres or 778 feet in length. There are ten decks accessible to the capacity 1,432 guest. There are typically 615 crew members onboard.

The Rotterdam Class consists of four ships built between 1997 and 2000. MS Rotterdam was the first, put in service in 1997. MS Volendam came next in 1999 and MS Amsterdam joined the fleet the same year as Zaandam.

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.