2009 Top 10 Rivers for Cruising

If you would like to discover the magic of river cruising, Cruise Critic has put together the top 10 rivers for cruising in 2009.

1. Danube - storied landscapes, cultural heritage and centuries-old architecture of the Old World. You'll discover Europe's vineyard-lined valleys and beautifully preserved medieval towns in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Serbia and Romania.
2. Douro - visit restored palaces, places of pilgramage, cultural centres and vineyards in Spain and Portugal
3. Yangtze - see spectacular scenery and visit some of China's great historic landmarks
4. Rhine - incredible scenery from Alps to the North Sea, visiting Switzerland, Germany, France and Holland.
5. Rhone - this area through Provence and the south of France is renowned for fine wines and culinary delights
6. Nile - visit the sights of ancient Egypt
7. Murray - cruise through the Australian outback, visiting million-year-old gorges, golden sandstone cliffs and majestic red-gum forests.
8. Volga - travel scenic rivers, canals and lakes that connect Moscow and St. Petersburg
9. Mekong River - take in ancient cities, temples and natural wonders in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand
10. St. Lawrence Seaway - visit Montreal and Ottawa, two of Canada's most storied cities.

http://www2.canada.com/topics/travel/activities/cruises/story.html?id=1764066

Uniworld's New Program for Epicurean Adventurers

For wine and food connoisseurs, Uniworld Boutique River Cruise is offering the new Epicurean Adventurer Program that will enable guests to indulge their passion for fine wines and gourmet foods. Guests aboard Uniworld cruises that feature this program will enjoy a special dinner prepared with the region's finests ingredients and then learn how to select the perfect wine to complement the meal. Guests will also participate in cooking demonstrations and learn trade secrets and techniques from master chefs. Guided shore excurisions take guests into vintners' homes where they can enjoy private wine tastings, or to open air food markets where they can sample local food treats.

Los Angeles-based Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection features intimate hotel-style cruise ships with expertly planned itineraries and custom-blended shore excursions. It offers 35 all-inclusive river cruises ranging from 9 to 32 days in over 20 countries throughout Europe, Russia, China and Egypt. Uniworld was named to Travel + Leisure's "World's Best Top 10 Small Cruise Lines"and Conde Nast Traveler's 2008 Gold List.

Will Alaska Axe the Cruise Tax?

Had Alaska voters known that their decision in 2006 to levy a $50-per-passenger head tax on cruiselines would result in the dramatic pullout of several cruise ships from the Alaska market -- including those of Royal Caribbean, Cruise West, Carnival, Norwegian and Princess -- they might have thought twice about passing this initiative into law. It is estimated that Juneau alone will suffer a $25 million loss for the summer of 2010. The number of calls to Sitka will fall 53% next year from 222 to 104.

Alaskans are obviously taking notice and a grass-roots effort is under way to overturn or amend the tax. On July 24th, the First Things First Alaska Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes economic development, sponsored a summit in Juneau to discuss what the state needs to do to woo travelers back, particularly cruise passengers. The summit attracted more than 230 people, including legislators, mayors, tour operators and business owners. The summit did not resolve any issues, but major recomendations were made including revamping the tax and implementing a new marketing campaign aimed at drawing travelers to Alaska. A second summit is scheduled for August 20 in Anchorage, with a third summit possibly taking place in Fairbanks in September.

Princess Offers Rare Opportunity to See Oberammergau Passion Play in 2010

Princess has recently added a special cruisetour opportunity for 2010 that includes a visit to see the famed Oberammerau Passion Play, which is performed only once each decade in this small Bavarian town in Germany. The new 18-day "Oberammergau & Highlights in Germany" tour includes a 10-day Scandinavia/Russia cruise aboard Star Princess, and an eight-day landtour that includes two nights in Oberammerau, tickets to this special event, and stops in other German destinations such as Black Forest, Munich, Nuremberg and Berlin.




The Oberammergau Passion Play is a re-enactment of the life, death and resurrection of Christ. Gripped by war and plague in 1633, the villagers of this southern Bavarian town vowed to put on a "passion play" every ten years. The descendants of those villagers have carried out that pledge over the last four centuries. In 2010, over 2000 residents of the village will bring the story of Jesus of Nazareth to life for visitors from all around the world. All cast members have lived in the village at least 20 years, and must grow their hair and beards for several months prior to the performance.

Cruisers who want to catch this exceptionally rare event have a choice of two cruise departures offered on August 2 and August 12, 2010. The eight-day land tour takes place prior to the cruise departure.

http://www.oberammergau-passion.com/

Cunard Hosts James Beard Foundation

Cunard Cruise Line recently hosted an exclusive foodie event for the esteemed James Beard Foundation aboard the Queen Mary 2. The four-course lunch was specially prepared by Cunard's Executive Chef Jean-Marie Zimmermann, and was meant to showcase the magnificent Queen Mary 2 and its wonderful cuisine. Zimmermann served as head chef at Warrener Restaurant in Berkshire for five years which earned him a Michelin Red M, and Egon Ronay Star and a Michelin Star and has been leading Cunard's cuisine since 2004.

The James Beard Foundation is a national not-for-profit organization based in New York City, dedicated to offering programs that help people learn about and engage with food. Is annual James Beard Foundation Awards are an esteemed honor in the culinary industry.

Princess Announces Vancouver-Sydney Cruise, Departing September 20, 2010

Princess Cruises recently announced the redeployment of the Sapphire Princess from the Mexican Riviera for a new 32-day cruise from Vancouver to Sydney, departing September 20th, 2010. This dream cruise includes stopovers in San Francisco, Hawaii, the Polynesian Islands and New Zealand, before arriving in Sydney on October 23rd, 2010 . This dream cruise went on sale July 31st, 2009.

Princess Unveils Leonard Maltin Movie Club

Princess Cruises has teamed up with celebrated film critic Leonard Maltin to give passengers another way to enjoy movies onboard, by joining the exclusive Leonard Maltin Movie Club. Debuting fleetwide, Princess will showcase a new film selected by Leonard Maltin every month on its giant Movies Under the Stars screens. Each movie will be preceeded by a special video introduction from Mr. Maltin. After the movie is over, cruise staff will host a group discussion guided by questions and trivia from Mr. Maltin, where passengers can engage in thought-provoking discussion and gain greater perspective on the film.

Princess revolutionized movie-going at sea five years ago with its giant poolside movie screens. The giant Times Square-style movie screens are available on eight ships, and will be available fleetwide by 2011. Mr. Maltin is best known as the resident film buff on the popular entertainment news program, "Entertainment Tonight" where he has appeared since 1982. Mr. Maltin himself will be traveling aboard a Princess ship to host his new Movie Club at a date to be announced later.

Norwegian Epic - One Step Closer

Accompanied by a fleet of six tugboats, the Norwegian Epic made its first venture out to sea on July 11th, 2009. The "Float Out Ceremony" began at 7am as the ship made its first journey down the Loire Estuary to its outfitting dock. This event represented a major milestone as the ship has now moved into its final stage of construction, and work on the vessel's interior can now begin.

The ship will incorporate high-design New Wave staterooms with dark woods and curved walls giving the cabin a sleek chic feeling throughout. The innovative ship will also include 14 restaurant choices, a 33-foot high rock climbing wall and the largest bowl slide at sea - the Epic Plunge. As for entertainment, The Norwegian Epic will feature some of the most avante-garde shows ever seen at sea, including the Blue Man Group in the 685-seat Epic Theater, and the interactive Cirque Dreams and Dinner where guests will marvel at acrobatic theater during the two-hour dinner performance.

And for the very first time, a cruise ship will feature an ice bar, where the temperature inside is kept at a very cool 17 degrees fahrenheit (-8 degrees celsius) and guests are given coats and gloves to keep warm. Or for a little more spice and sizzle, guests can dance to the latin beat in Spice H2O Club.

The Norwegian Epic is scheduled to be delivered in May 2010, with its first sailing from Miami scheduled for July 17, 2010. The ship will alternate Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries until April 2011.

Top 10 Cruise Lines in the World

Travel + Leisure Magazine recently unveiled its ranking for the Top 10 Cruise Lines in the world (large ship category), as rated by its readership. Surveys were conducted by Harris Interactive, an independent research firm, from January 15, 2009 to March 29, 2009. Cruise lines were rated, based on "characteristics" such as cabins, food, service, itineraries/destinations, activities and value. Included in the ranking are each cruise line's ranking in 2008.

Rank	'08	Name	Score
1	1	Crystal Cruises	88.94
2	2	Regent Seven Seas Cruises	86.02
3	4	Oceania Cruises	81.78
4	3	Disney Cruise Line	79.93
5	-	Azamara Cruises	78.95
6	6	Celebrity Cruises	76.70
7	7	Holland America Line	75.92
8	-	Cunard	75.84
9	8	Princess Cruises	74.24
10	9	Royal Caribbean International	73.00

http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2009/

Top 10 Reasons Why People Cruise

A lot of people out there are curious about the notion about cruising, but really have no idea exactly what cruising is all about. They have a bevy of unanswered questions: Is it just for older people? Will they be bored on the ship? Can single people go cruising? Is it expensive? In my new Cruising 101 series, I will answer all these questions and more. But first, let me start by introducing the Top 10 Reasons Why People Cruise, which will hopefully help to dispel some of the misconceptions out there, and help people on their way to booking their first cruise.

1. It's a hassle-free vacation. No driving around, looking for hotels, waiting to catch planes, wondering what to eat. You pack and unpack only once, and spend the rest of your time maximizing your vacation time.

2. It takes you away from it all. No smog, pollution, traffic, ringing telephones, early-morning alarm clocks. It's all about water, sea, sky and landscape. The simple things in life that move us.

3. Pampering. Ever-present and gracious service, breakfast in bed, afternoon tea, spa treatment, lounging on deck. All these are commonplace on a cruise.

4. Huge variety of things to do. Snooze by the pool, jog on the deck, yoga in the gym, take a cooking course, watch a movie under the stars, explore an exotic port.

5. Sample a large geographic area. Cruises cover a vast area, and allow you to "sample" numerous places along the way. This is a great way to decide where you would like to return to and spend more time at a later date.

6. Making friends is easy. Opportunities to socialize are seemingly endless.....at dinner, by the pool, on shore excursions. Many of the people you meet will share the same interests as you in travel and other subjects.

7. You can learn so much. On many cruises, expert lecturers give enrichment presentations that help you understand the history and culture of the places you will be visiting. There are specialty courses on board that teach you cooking, wine-tasting, and even how to hit a golf ball!

8. Safety. The ship's environment is highly managed, and passage onto and off the ship is strictly controlled. Vessels have safety device and features that make problems highly unlikely.

9. It's the trendy way to travel. It's the "in" thing as more and more people indicate they would like to try it. In fact, experts say that a "hidden" reason for people to cruise is the bragging rights associated with going on an all-inclusive pampering cruise in far-flung destinations.

10. It's great value for the money. Cruise prices are comparable to land-based vacations, and typically include entertainment, onboard lectures, free courses, and supervised children's programs. Cruises also receive the highest satisfaction rating in the travel industry.