news - aug 2007

Buy The Sea

Our thoughts and prayers go out to our friends and colleagues in Minneapolis. We hope that you and your families are safe and and not affected by the horrible bridge collapse. Living in the hurricane zone, we are all too familiar with disaster and want you to know that we are thinking about you at this time.

Fam Trips

We still have space on our Grand Velas (November 15-18), Carnival Liberty (December 2-8), and Celebrity Century (January 7-12) buyer's trips. If you are interested in any of these, please let us know immediately.

StarCite

We are now officially listed on StarCite. For those of you who use StarCite for your rfps, it is now easy to send those requests through to us. We are listed as a cruise line without specific product attached. Simply let us know what your needs are and we will respond to you with the applicable ship and all-inclusive resort products.

News from Seabourn

When the 450-passenger Seabourn Odyssey arrives in 2009, she will be sure to turn heads. Take a look at what's in store for us. The time is perfect for a full ship charter, so please ask us for rates and details. If you are looking for the best of the best - you've just found it!

SEABOURN ODYSSEY
Delivery June 2009
Built at T. Mariotti Spa, Genoa, Italy
650 Ft. Long, 84 Ft. Wide, 21 Ft. Draft
32,000 GRT
3X Size of current ships but only 2X Guests
225 Total Suites/450 Guests
90% Balconies

Suite Breakdown
28 Non-Balcony Suites (318.6 sq. ft.)
164 Balcony Suites (318.6 sq. ft. + 64.6 sq. ft. balcony = 383.2 total sq.ft.)
27 Super-Suites (1-1/2 the size of a standard Balcony Suite)
6 Grand Suites - (1328 - 1400 sq. feet)
Shower/Tub in all bathrooms Walk-in Closet In-Suite Dining Table

Ship Facilities
Enhanced Multi-Level Spa with Indoor/Outdoor Massage Areas

4 Dining Options
Lounges
Concierge Lounge - Seabourn Square
Internet Café
Italian-style Coffee Bar
2 Swimming Pools + 7 Whirlpools
Boardroom - Seats 24
Watersports Marina
Wi-Fi access & cell phone service at sea

Seabourn Signature Delights

The ship will feature the renowned service for which Seabourn is famous.

News from Iberostar

Here we go.a new product that is perfect for the incentive market. How about three and four night cruises in the Amazon? Iberostar Grand Amazon offers a luxury 150-passenger product that cruises on the Rio Negro and Solimoes Rivers.

News from Crystal

Great rates for seven-night sailings in 2008 on Crystal Symphony and Serenity:

Mexican Riviera on Crystal Symphony
February 25, November 23 and November 30
R/t Los Angeles visiting Cabo, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan
Outside cabins from $1825 pp NET

Baltic on Crystal Symphony
August 4
Stockholm to Copenhagen visiting Tallinn, St. Petersburg and Helsinki
Outside cabins from $2,645 pp NET

Mediterranean on Crystal Serenity
May 30 - Venice to Athens visiting Katakolon, Santorini, Kusadasi and Mykonos
June 6 - Athens to Venice visiting Kusadasi, Santorini, Sarande and Split
September 5 - Rome to Venice visiting Katakolon, Corfu, Dubrovnik and Trieste

Outside cabins from $2,420 pp NET

Port, security, gratuities and tax are additional

News from Celebrity

Celebrity has ordered four Solstice-class ships, meaning that between late 2008 and 2011, the premium brand will add some 5,700 new berths to the market, with the first ship to be delivered late next year.

There's not much to tell clients about Solstice except that she's big and new with a lot of outside cabins with balconies.

At 122,000 tons, Solstice-class with a capacity for 2800 passengers (double occupancy) will be the largest in the premium category, but Celebrity has done this sort of thing before; the 91,000-ton Millennium-class ships, introduced in 2000, were then the largest premium ships.

News from Holland America

Holland America will be introducing their Signature Class of ship with the debut of the 86,000-ton 2,100-passenger Eurodam next summer. Touted features are 63 new panorama staterooms (with floor to ceiling windows), a pan-Asian restaurant, and an additional deck. But with this new class of ship, one gets the sense it's the staterooms that will represent the real change, as Holland sent out a release earlier this year touting a "distinctly different decor." Basically, the look will be much more contemporary than what currently exists fleet-wide. All 1,050 staterooms will have flat-panel televisions and DVD players. 85% of the cabins will be oceanview and 67% will offer private verandas.

Holland America launched "As You Wish" seating in their dining room. A take-off on Princess Cruise Line's "Personal Choice", guests can now choose between pre-set main or late seating dining, or open seating from 5:15 to 9:00 pm.

News from Royal Caribbean International

From December 2008 though mid-April 2009, the Enchantment of the Seas will be sailing some unique itineraries from Colon, Panama to the deep Caribbean. True, it is not easy or inexpensive to get to Colon - however, these itineraries are exotic and interesting. For those clients who have "been there and done that" this might be refreshing:

8-Night Southern Caribbean
November 29, 2008
Fort Lauderdale, Florida . Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Santa Marta, Colombia . Cartagena, Colombia
Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

7-Night Southern Caribbean
December 7, 14, 2008; January 4, 11, 18, 25;
February 1, 8, 15, 22; March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, 2009
Colon, Panama . Cartagena, Colombia
Santa Marta, Colombia . Oranjestad, Aruba
Willemstad, Curacao . Kralendijk, Bonaire

7-Night Southern Caribbean
December 21, 28, 2008
Colon, Panama . Cartagena, Colombia
Santa Marta, Colombia . Oranjestad, Aruba
Willemstad, Curacao . Kralendijk, Bonaire

8-Night Southern Caribbean
April 5, 2009
Colon, Panama . Puerto Limon, Costa Rica
Cartagena, Colombia . Santa Marta, Colombia
Oranjestad, Aruba

News from Carnival

When the Splendour arrives in March, the first of this new class of 3,006- passenger ships will include a 21,000-square-foot health club and the line's first spa staterooms and suites (also a first for the North American market). The big change with Splendour seems to be that everything is larger, with the largest workout areas, largest children facilities, and so forth. But the big picture is one of continuity more than change. As one example, Joe Farcus is once again designing the ship, and like existing Carnival ships, it will be themed. Interested in sailing on a Carnival ship? Join us on a seminar at sea on the Carnival Liberty, December 2-8, 2007 r/t Fort Lauderdale.

Contact our sales team for details:

Shari Wallack
shari@buy-the-sea.com

Sandy Cohen
sandy@buy-the-sea.com

Caryn Rosenthal
caryn@buy-the-sea.com

Or call the office at 954 424-8649 and we will be delighted to assist you.