Fantastic Cruise Special Offers from Cruise Direct

New York Stay & Transatlantic Voyage
Onboard Queen Mary 2

26 April 2009 • 8 Nights from just £849pp

6 nights Full Board on the Fabulous Queen Mary 2

Stay 1 night FREE In a 4*hotel

Book a BALCONY cabin & receive 2 nights FREE in New York

Other dates available 14 April & 5 November 2009

Fly non-stop from Glasgow or Edinburgh to New York, transfer to your 4 star hotel  for a 1 night stay.
See the bright lights of the Big Apple, international mecca and melting pot, with expensive brownstones, colourful neighbourhoods, great museums and ambling parks. Some come just for the shopping:
there’s Bloomingdales on Lex, Tiffanys on Fifth, Barneys and the unique boutiques along Madison.
Or head downtown and explore the trendy shops of SoHo

Transfer to  Queen Mary 2 - the grandest, most magnificent ocean liner ever built. She's a true heir
to the timeless elegance, legacy and inspiration of the great Cunard liners of legend. You'll notice it the moment you walk through her doors into her soaring Grand Lobby, and be awed from the first instance you experience the famous Cunard White Star ServiceTM.

Sail between New York and Southampton  and experience six unforgettable days to revel in activities. Your days and nights at sea offer an abundance of possibilities. Spend a refreshing moment beneath a waterfall in the AquaTherapy Centre of the Canyon Ranch SpaClub®, browse the books in the largest library collection at sea, attend lavish Royal Nights balls, indulge in our traditional Afternoon Tea in the Queens Room and dine on the finest cuisine and perhaps best of all, be among the privileged travellers who can say they have experienced an extraordinary legacy

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22 October 2008 Silver Shadow 17Nt Tour

 From £4995pp

Itinerary:
Fly UK - Papeete Private transfer from the Airport to Hotel
Overnight stay at the Sofitel Tahiti Resort, Papetee
Private transfer from Hotel to Port
16 Nights onboard the Silver Shadow
Suite Accommodation - All Inclusive

Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Rangiroa, French Polynesia • Day At Sea • Nuku Hiva • French Polynesia •
Day At Sea • Day At Sea • Day At Sea • Day At Sea • Hilo, Hawaii, USA • Honolulu •
Oahu, Hawaii, USA • Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, Usa • Day At Sea • Day At Sea • Day At Sea Day At Sea • Day At Sea • Los Angeles, California

Private transfer from Port to Airport
Fly Los Angeles - UK
Upgrade to Veranda Suite £300pp
Upgrade to Business Class Flights £2650pp

 Availability and costs subject to change at all times

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15 November 2008 Silver Shadow 18Nt Tour

 From £3765pp

Itinerary:
Fly UK - PapeetePrivate transfer from the Airport to Hotel
Overnight stay at the Sofitel Tahiti Resort, Papetee 
Private transfer from Hotel to Port
16 Nights onboard the Silver Shadow
Suite Accommodation - All Inclusive

Los Angeles Day At Sea • Day At Sea • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico • Day At Sea •
Acapulco, Mexico • Day At Sea • Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala • Day At Sea • Day At Sea • Panama Canal, Panama • Cartagena, Colombia • Santa Marta, Colombia •
Day At Sea • Day At Sea • Fort Lauderdale, Florida

 Private transfer from Port to Airport
Fly Miami - UK  
Upgrade to Veranda Suite £300pp
Upgrade to Business Class Flights £2375pp 

Availability and costs subject to change at all times

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12 December 2008 Silver Shadow 12Nt Tour
 
From £2495pp

Itinerary:  Fly UK – Barbados
Private transfer from Airport to Hotel  
3 Nights at the Almond Casuarina Beach Resort, Hastings All Inclusive  
Private transfer from Hotel to Port
9 Nights onboard the  Silver Shadow Suite Accomodation - All Inclusive

Bridgetown, Barbados • Castries, St. Lucia • Roseau, Dominica • St. John's, Antigua •
Gustavia, St. Bart's • San Juan, Puerto Rico • Day At Sea • Day At Sea • Key West,
Florida • Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Private transfer from Port to Airport
Upgrade to Veranda Suite £120pp
Upgrade to Business Class Flights £1850pp

Celebrity Cruises announce new routes

New routings for the Celebrity Millennium and Celebrity Mercury, offer cruisers more alternatives from the Eastern Seaboard cities of Baltimore, Maryland, and Charleston, South Carolina, and also the popular Caribbean cruises that feature San Juan, Puerto Rico. however Celebrity will alsp not be continuing with 

its Australia and New Zealand sailings that were previously planned for the end of 2009 and 2010 on Celebrity

Millennium. 

Holland America Invest $200,000,000

Holland America Line is to spend $200 million in upgrades, enhancements and new features on five of its ships.  The work will begin when Veendam enters an extended dock in spring 2009, and the last ship is slated for completion in late 2010.  Over the next two years, the ms Statendam, ms Ryndam, ms Maasdam, ms Veendam and ms Rotterdam will undergo extensive dry docks to create new venues, new staterooms, new decor and more.  Enhancements will include a new resort pool concept, on Lido deck called The Retreat, with a shallow area where guests may lounge in chairs with their toes in the water.  Each ship also will have an additional 44 to 46 staterooms, 32 with verandahs and the remaining will be inside staterooms.  "In an era where cruise lines are building ships to carry more than 5,000 passengers, Holland America Line remains focused on mid-sized vessels," said Richard Meadows, CTC, executive vice president of sales, marketing and guest services.

P&O - 2010 Cruise details are out NOW

P&O Cruises’ adults-only ship Arcadia is to embark on its first world cruise in winter 2010.  The world circumnavigation departs on January 10, 2010, sailing westbound via the Caribbean, Mexico, US, New Zealand and Australia, with two weeks in Asia and a return sailing to the UK via India and Egypt, passing through the Suez Canal.  Key ports of call are: San Francisco, Honolulu, Auckland, Sydney, Whitsunday Islands, Hong Kong, Sihanoukville, Ko Samui, Singapore and Aqaba.  Prices for the 94-night itinerary start at £8,599, including a 45% early booking discount.   Meanwhile, Aurora will undertake a 104-night Grand Voyage departing from Southampton on January 5, 2010.  The vessel will sail via the Mediterranean, pass through the Suez Canal to visit Egypt, India, the Far East, Japan, Australia and the Indian Ocean, before returning via South Africa.   Prices lead in at £9,549, including the 45% off offer for bookings made by November 30.  Double on board credit of up to £750 per person is also available before that date. Line voyages ranging from 38 to 66 nights in duration are priced from £4,099.  P&O Cruises’ managing director Nigel Esdale said: “These two world voyages complete our most varied winter programme yet, with two week Caribbean fly-cruises and month-long Southampton round trip sailings already on offer for winter 2009/10.  “Our expanding fleet means we can offer more variety and choice for our passengers, in terms of deployment, destinations, length and cost of holiday. “Winter cruising and longer voyages are particularly popular with experienced cruisers and present a significant commission opportunity for agents.  “But we are finding that an increasing number of first time cruisers are opting for world voyages as their first cruise, so should by no means be overlooked when working with ‘new to cruise’ customers.” More than 2,000 passengers are already booked on complete world sailings for 2009, according to the company. Courtesy of TravelMole

MSC Cruises order 2 New Ships

MSC Cruises yesterday announced that their Cruise fleet will expand further with the order of 2 new ships.

They will be built in the French Aker Yards in St Nazaire. The new vessels will be called the  MSC Meraviglia and MSC Favolosa, and will be completed by early 2011 and 2012 respectively. They will be the 5th and 6th

Vessels in the Musica class, weighing in at 93,000 tons and boasting 1,275 cabins with a potential occupancy of 3,013 passengers per ship. The delivery  of these 2 vessels will raise the total number of ships in the MSC fleet to 14 bringing to a close this phase of the companies development plan.

Holland America to spend $200 million on Ship upgrades

5 Holland America Line vessels will be upgraded in the next year and a half at a cost of $200,000,000. 

The Statendam, Ryndam, Maasdam, Veendam and Rotterdam will be taken into drydock to have extensive work carried out which will include new venues, cabins and decoration. 

The improvements will introduce additional balconys and new categories of cabin. The aft Lido Deck's pool will welcome a new area called The Retreat, and will also feature an upgrade to the cabins and bathrooms aboard 

32 new cabins with balconires will be added with another 12 without. 

On the 4 bigger ships, 12 cabins close to the spa will have new balconies also 3 inside cabins, will change to 'spa staterooms' with a range of substantially improved facilities. 

The Rotterdam, will change 23 cabins to the upgraded spa staterooms. 

On the 5 Vessels, lanai cabins will be made by changing the windows of 42 cabins with lanai doors that will open out onto the promenade deck, thuis will also add 4 extra cabins. 

The Veendam will go into dry dock early in 2009, all ships are expected to be finished by late 2010. 

Oasis of the Seas on Sale

A huge demand is anticipated as the Oasis of the Seas goes on sale.

The Cruise ship which will sail on it's maiden voyage in December next year, is almost half as big again as the world current biggest Cruise liner.

Royal Caribbean, the ships owners are expecting a bumper sales day as interest has been masive in the ship

Extra staff have been drafted in to cope with the sales rush and a series of special events are being staged in CruiseDirect and Barrhead Travel to Mark the occassion.