Top Large Ship Cruise Awards

Travel & Leisure Magazine has posted their annual awards for the best travel in the world 

For the category of "Top Large Cruise Ships", here are the full results . . .

• Crystal Cruises 89.90
• Regent Seven Seas 89.36
• Azamara Club Cruises 87.31
• Oceania Cruises 86.05
• Disney Cruise Line 84.96
• Cunard Line 83.26
• Celebrity Cruises 81.61
• Holland America Line 80.37
• Royal Caribbean 79.40
• Princess Cruises 79.08

The scores are results of reader surveys from the Travel & Leisure Magazine.

Visit the site, and check out the award winners of the Small-Ship Cruise Lines, River Cruises, Domestic Airlines, International Airlines, Car Rental Agencies, Safari/Tour Operators, as well as the top Hotels, Cities, and Islands. 
http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2012/air-cruise-more

Regent Seven Seas Luxury Cruises Includes FREE Air

The ships of Regent Seven Seas Cruises offer voyages of exploration and discovery to more than 300 ports on all seven continents. 


The luxury vessels are designed for guests numbering in the hundreds rather than the thousands. The ambiance on board is personal, individual, accommodating - "upscale but not uptight." And all ships share certain distinctions in accommodations, service, dining and amenities that elevate them to the lofty vantage point of our enviable six stars.

With Regent Seven Seas Cruises guests can enjoy cruising as it was meant to be aboard the luxurious, mid-sized ships.

In addition to 2-for-1 Fares plus bonus savings, fares include FREE roundtrip air, FREE luxury hotel package, FREE unlimited shore excursions, FREE fine wines and premium spirits, and much more. Enjoy - it's all included!

http://www.rssc.com/specials/

Regent Plans Move from Fort Lauderdale to Miami Next Fall

Good new for the Port of Miami!

Luxury cruise line Regent, and sister cruise line Oceania plan to move from Fort Lauderdale to Miami making both the port's only regularly scheduled luxury sailings.

Miami's port is home to Carnival, Royal Caribbean (including Celebrity) and Norwegian Cruise Line, however there is no regular sailing schedules from top of line cruise brands. Another luxury line, Crystal Cruises only has a few Miami based sailings.

An additional 19 calls sailing out of the Port of Miami is scheduled for the 2012 Fall cruise season. Both Oceania and Regent will sail from Terminal J where a nearly $3 million improvement project is nearing completion.

The Sea Change: Ever Finer Cruise Dining

Once upon a time, there were two choices: the main dining room or the informal, all-you-can-eat buffet. That landscape has changed considerably. On virtually all lines, cruisers can opt for open or reserved seating.

"You can pretty much choose when you want to dine, who you want to dine with and how you want to dress for dinner," said Naomi Kraus, cruise editor for Frommer's Travel.

On the Queen Mary 2 and the Oceania and Regent Seven Seas lines, guests can choose from a health-conscious menu designed by Canyon Ranch.

Royal Caribbean added seven new food venues when it relaunched the refurbished 2,500-passenger Radiance of the Seas.

Imagine eating a special meal hosted by the executive chef in the ship's galley during the busy dinner hours. For $75 per person one or two nights per cruise, as many as 10 Princess Cruises passengers enjoy a multicourse chef's table menu paired with wines.

Read more

Seven Seas Offers Guests Pre Cruise Complimentary Accommodations

Regent Seven Seas Cruises is offering their guests complimentary overnight accommodations at deluxe hotels before every cruise.

Regent Seven Seas offers airfare, all-suite accommodations, gourmet cuisine, open bars, sightseeing excursions, gratuities and taxes all included in its fare.

Beginning with its 2011 Europe season, every cruise will also include a free, pre-cruise luxury hotel package that features airport-hotel and hotel-ship ground transfers and breakfast prior to check-out.

The award-winning Regent Seven Seas fleet is comprised of three all-suite ships that carry from 490 to 700 guests in luxury to ports in Australia, Europe, Asia, Alaska and the Caribbean. Public areas feature rich fabrics, textures and furnishings.

The suites, among the more spacious at sea, measure from 300 to 1,200 square feet and offer full living and sleeping areas, marble bathrooms, walk-in closets, flat-screen TVs, a fully stocked bar and private balconies.

Facilities include several elegant bars, a show lounge, casino, library, Internet center, card room, outdoor pool, hot tubs and Canyon Ranch SpaClub. Depending on the ship, guests can choose from up to four, open-seating gourmet restaurants, including Prime 7, a new steakhouse.



http://www.rssc.com/

Regent Seven Seas Launches Online Magazine

Regent Seven Seas Cruises is introducing "Voyages to Explore Online," an electronic magazine for Regent guests and prospects.

Each issue will feature articles, destination videos and slideshows, plus the latest special offers and cruise information.

Published quarterly, "Voyages to Explore Online" offers articles on featured destinations and attractions; details on shore excursions, pre- and post-cruise land programs, Circles of Interest and Concierge Choice options; videos and slide shows; personalization capabilities allowing Regent to display featured content based on individual preference; real-time links to Regent offers and pricing, a section of featured special offers, and a link allowing users to request printed brochures; opportunities to forward the site to others; and the capability for guests to provide feedback and suggestions.

The debut issue features stories on Alaska's totem poles and their cultural significance, and the artistic and architectural legacies of the Mediterranean.

Also included is information on a new, six-night Circles of Interest culinary odyssey through Australia's wine country, plus a profile of Jean-Michel Cousteau, whose Ocean Futures Society offers family programs aboard Regent ships that focus on environmental responsibility and preservation.

Visit www.VoyagestoExplore.com

Regent Seven Seas Australian Food/ Land Program

Regent Seven Seas Cruises is featuring a journey through Australia's wine region this fall, with stays at boutique hotels, meals paired with regional wines, and exclusive tastings at vineyards.

The "Australian Food and Wine Experience" is a six-night, pre-cruise Circles of Interest enrichment program being offered before a 13-night, Sydney-to-Auckland cruise aboard the Seven Seas Mariner departing Nov. 19.

This is the first Circle of Interest that features an extensive land program which starts Nov. 13, 2008.

The "Australian Food and Wine Experience" is priced at $6,495 per person, exclusive of cruise fare.

For more information, visit www.TheRegentExperience.com/AustraliaCOI.

Regent Seven Seas Offers 2008-2009 Land Programs

Regent Seven Seas Cruises will offer a variety of pre- and post-cruise land programs in combination with its 2008 and 2009 worldwide itineraries.

Regent's land programs are highlighted by unusual transportation modes.

For example, travelers who enjoy riding the rails can go fast from Tokyo to Osaka aboard Japan's Shinkanse, or bullet train, or aboard China's Magalev from Shanghai.

Guests who prefer a more leisurely pace can cross Kent, England, in a 19th century Victorian railway car, journey from Colombo to Kandy in Sri Lanka aboard the Viceroy railway, or take an Indian Pacific Railroad luxury sleeper from Adelaide to Perth.

Airborne adventurers can drift 1,000 feet over Stockholm or soar above Kenya's Masai Mara national reserve in hot-air balloons. Helicopters provide the means to survey the waterfalls of a Central American rainforest or Italy's Amalfi coast.

Regent's 2008 land programs also include "Vintage Railway and Bodiam Castle," available on the Seven Seas Voyager's June 9 and June 24 cruises to and from Dover, includes a ride in a genuine 19th Century railway carriage to Bodiam Castle.

"Kandy by Viceroy Train," available on Seven Seas Voyager's March 13 Singapore-to-Mumbai cruise, includes a ride on the 75 year-old Viceroy Special, a restored, private luxury train, for a journey to Kandy, one of Sri Lanka's most historic destinations.

"Elephant Back Safari at Camp Jabulani" is available on Seven Seas Navigator's Nov. 1 cruise from Mumbai to Cape Town; it includes interaction with a specially trained herd of elephants and daily elephant safaris at the Kapama Private Game Reserve.

For more information, visit www.TheRegentExperience.com.

Regent Seven Seas Cruise Includes Carnival in Rio

Regent Seven Seas Cruises is offering passengers the chance to witness the famous Winner's Parade at Rio de Janeiro's Carnival celebration, in conjunction with a 17-night South America voyage aboard the Seven Seas Mariner.

The cruise departs Feb. 4 from Buenos Aires, Argentina. The cruise will call at ports in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, including a visit to Rio de Janiero on Feb. 9 for the Winner's Parade in the Sambadromo (known as the "stadium of samba").

The Winner's Parade, also known as the "Champions Parade," is the highlight event of the Carnival celebration. It takes place on the first Saturday after Carnival is complete, and features the top six samba schools from the five-day celebration. Each school presents several hundred dancers, huge percussion sections and floats.

Ticket packages include transportation to and from the Winner's Parade and an escort is provided for every 20 guests. The package costs $345 per guest.