New Passport Rules Hit This Week, But Not for Cruisers (Yet)
With new U.S. passport regulations going into effect this week, it may be time to brush up on who needs what, and when.
- Air Travel: As of January 23, all citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda must have a passport or other accepted document (Air NEXUS card, U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document, Alien Registration Card) to enter or re-enter the United States from within the Western Hemisphere.
- Sea and Land Travel: Though a specific date has not yet been finalized, it's likely that as early as January 1, 2008, U.S. citizens traveling between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea could be required to present a valid U.S. passport or other documents.
Lesson of the day: If you don't have a passport and want to travel, apply now. Ditto if your existing passport is about to expire. Information can be found on the State Department's travel website: http://travel.state.gov/passport.
Disney to Sail West Coast Again in 2008
For nearly a decade after their launch in 1998 and 1999, the twin 1,754-passenger Disney Magic and Disney Wonder of Disney Cruise Line (tel. 888/DCL-2500; www.disneycruise.com) sailed the same itineraries: alternating weeklong eastern and western Caribbean itineraries for Magic, alternating 3- and 4-night Bahamas routes for Wonder. In 2005, though, Magic took her first trips away from home, offering a season of Mexican Riviera cruises from Los Angeles. Now the line has announced a repeat performance, with the ship scheduled to offer twelve 7-night Mexican Riviera sailings from May 25 through August 10, 2008, visiting Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. In addition, the vessel will offer two 15-night Panama Canal repositioning cruises on May 10 and August 17, calling at Castaway Cay (Disney's private Bahamas island), Aruba, Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas, plus Cartagena (Columbia) on the August sailing.
Rates for the Mexican Riviera cruises start at $1,599 per person. Rates for Panama Canal repositioning cruises start at $1,699 per person. Both itineraries will be open for booking starting Jan. 31.
For summer 2007, Disney Magic is scheduled to sail a season of 10- and 11-night Mediterranean cruises from Barcelona, May through August. Ten-night cruises depart on Wednesdays, visiting Palermo (Sicily), Naples, Civitavecchia/Rome, and La Spezia/Florence (Italy), Olbia (Sardinia), and Marseilles and Villefranche (France), with two days at sea. Sailing dates are June 6, June 27, July 18, and August 8. Eleven-night cruises depart Barcelona on Saturdays, with an identical itinerary and one extra day at sea. Sailing dates are May 26, June 16, July 7, and July 28. In addition to the Mediterranean cruises, Disney will offer east- and westbound 14-night transatlantic cruises, departing from Port Canaveral May 12 and from Barcelona August 18.
Lindblad's National Geographic Endeavour to Sail 38-Day Transatlantic
There are trips and then there are voyages. On March 2, the 110-passenger National Geographic Endeavour, flagship of Lindblad Expeditions (tel. 800/EXPEDITION; www.expeditions.com), will sail one of the latter, departing from Ushuaia, Argentina, and ending up 38 days later in Las Palmas, Canary Islands.
The "Islands of the Atlantic Ridge" expedition will cover 7,500 nautical miles -- a third of the way around the Earth -- and visit the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, Tristan da Cunha, St. Helena Island, Ascension Island, the Cape Verde Islands, and the Canaries. Onboard lecturers and experts will include:
- Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, the first female astronaut to walk in space and director of the Batelle Center for Mathematics and Science at Ohio State University. An adviser on technology tools used by Lindblad undersea specialists, Sullivan will share her experiences in a series of formal and informal discussions.
- National Geographic writer Roff Smith, an award-winning journalist for more than 20 years, will host a travel-writing workshop featuring informal instruction and private, personal critiques.
- Award-wining photographer Mike Nolan will help guests create their best images ever through group photo sessions.
- Utilizing National Geographic Endeavour's underwater cameras and ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle), undersea specialist Dennis Cornejo will lead exploration of Mid-Atlantic sea life, capturing images of rarely seen creatures for broadcast in the ship's lounge.
- Oceanographer and geologist Jim Kelley will lead a navigation workshop offering instruction in basic navigation, from using sextants to reading charts and plotting courses.
Guests depart the U.S. on March 2 for Santiago, Chile; fly from Santiago to Ushuaia; and board the ship on March 4. The expedition ends April 7 in Las Palmas, after which guests fly to Madrid, returning home on April 8. Per-person rates start at $9,950.
Princess News: Loyalty Upgrades, Shore Power, and an Emerald on Deck
Three questions from Princess Cruises (tel. 800-PRINCESS; www.princess.com) this week:
1. How do you measure loyalty? Until now, Princess measured it by the total number of cruises a passenger has sailed with the line. Now, though, passengers can qualify for past-passenger benefits by adding up either their sailing days or their total number of completed cruises. This new twist is a boon to travelers who tend to sail longer voyages.
The line's "Captain's Circle" loyalty program offers three membership levels: Gold, Platinum and Elite, with benefits as follows:
- Gold (2-5 cruises): Preferential pricing offers, members-only onboard events, Princess Captain's Circle quarterly magazine, access to Princess Captain's Circle center online, services of onboard Circle host, member benefits card, Princess passport, and collectible destination stamps
- Platinum (6-15 cruises or 50-149 cruise days): All Gold member benefits, plus complimentary Cruise Atlas, free upgrade to Travel Care Gold when purchasing standard travel care insurance, platinum check-in, platinum members lounge for debarkation, and complimentary Internet access in Internet Cafe
- Elite (16+ cruises or 150+ cruise days): All Gold and Platinum member benefits, plus priority debarkation, priority tender embarkation, shoe-polishing service, complimentary laundry services, complimentary mini-bar set-up, deluxe canapes selection, afternoon tea in stateroom, upgraded bathroom amenities, 10 per cent boutique discount, and complimentary wine tasting.
2. Where's the outlet? Beginning in 2008, Princess's vessels will begin turning off their engines while docked at the Port of Los Angeles, relying on the city's electrical power rather than ship's engines to keep the lights on on board.
The program, designed to reduce air emissions, is similar to one Princess debuted in Juneau, Alaska, in 2001. It expanded to Seattle in summer 2005, and ten Princess ships -- including all those currently sailing from the Port of Los Angeles -- are now equipped to use local hydroelectric power.
"We're extremely pleased and proud to be expanding our commitment to using shore power wherever the landside technology is available, which will now include the Port of Los Angeles next year," said Princess president Alan Buckelew. "We're dedicated to making this connection program a success, just as we're dedicated to the local air quality issues that are important to the community."
3. Can an Emerald float? The answer, apparently, is yes. In the past weeks, Princess's newest vessel, the 116,000-ton, 3,100-passenger Emerald Princess, sailed through her sea trials, a vital marker on the way to her April 2007 debut. After departing the building dock at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, Emerald sailed for several days, accomplishing various maneuvers designed to test her sea-keeping abilities and safety. The ship will be named in a dual christening ceremony with the new Royal Princess, in Santorini, Greece on May 12, and will sail her debut season of 12-night cruises in the Greek Isles and the Mediterranean.
Queens Float, Too
On January 15, the Marghera shipyard near Venice saw the first floating of the 1,968-passenger Queen Victoria, the newest vessel from Cunard (tel. 800/728-6273; www.cunard.com),as she moved from her construction dry-dock to a fitting-out dock in preparation for her December debut. Ceremonies marking the float-out included the traditional coin ceremony -- in which significant coins (in this case a Euro and a gold Queen Victoria sovereign) are welded beneath the ship's mast -- and the ceremonial breaking of a bottle of Italian prosecco against the hull.
Notables on hand for the ceremony included Cunard Managing Director Carol Marlow and guest of honor Maureen Ryan, who became a Cunard employee in 1963 and is the only known person to have served on every Cunard Queen that's ever sailed: Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, QE2, and Queen Mary 2.
Queen Victoria will depart on her maiden voyage on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 (a 10-night Christmas Markets Voyage from Southampton to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Oslo, Hamburg, and Bruges), followed by a 16-night Christmas Canary Islands cruise. On January 6 she begins a 106-night world cruise, calling at 37 cities in 23 countries before returning to her homeport of Southampton on April 22. Early-booking fares for the complete voyage start at $20,304 per person, double occupancy.
John Cleese to Host Film Festival on Silversea's Silver Shadow
What do you get when you mix Monty Python's The Life of Brian with uber-luxe Silversea Cruises (tel. 877/215-9986; www.silversea.com)? Who the hell knows, but if you want to find out, book aboard the 382-passenger Silver Shadow May 22 transatlantic crossing from New York to Southampton. Along for the ride will be Monty Python creator and comic legend John Cleese, hosting the first John Cleese Film Festival at sea. Featured will be classics from the Cleese oeuvre, including A Fish Called Wanda, The Life of Brian, Die Another Day (the first James Bond movie to costar Cleese in the role of "Q"), and the documentary In the Wild: Lemurs with John Cleese. The actor will also share anecdotes from both his film and TV work and multifarious activities that have included co-authoring two best-selling books on psychology, teaching at Cornell University, and co-founding the company Video Arts, which pioneered the use of humor in management and sales training films.
The 16-night Cleese cruise departs from New York and calls at Boston, Halifax, the Azores, Cork, Waterford, and Plymouth before ending at Southampton. Early-booking incentive fares start at $7,486 per person, double occupancy.
Schooners Break Off from Maine Windjammer Group, Go Digital
Up on the Maine Coast, the Maine Windjammer Association (www.sailmainecoast.com) may seem like a cruise line, but it's actually a consortium that brings together owner-operated classic schooners to help get the most out of limited advertising dollars.
This year, two of the association's member schooners -- the 24-passenger J&E Riggin and the 20-passenger Timberwind -- have made a break for it, leaving the association to team up as Maine Adventure Sails (www.maineadventuresails.com). As a pre-season taster, the new group has set up the Maine Adventure Sails blog at www.mainesailsblog.com, with postings from the captains, recipes from the cooks, comments on eco-travel and carbon-neutral vacations.
Launched in 1927, J&E Riggin worked as an oyster dredger before being rebuilt for passenger sailing in 1977. Known for her speed, she won the first and only oyster schooner race ever held on the Delaware Bay, and has won the Great Schooner Race several times. She was named a National Historic Landmark in 1991, and is now owned and captained by Jon Finger and Annie Mahle.
Timberwind was built in Portland, Maine, in 1931, and spent the first 38 years of her life stationed 18 miles off Portland Head, taking pilots to meet large ships and navigate them in. She was converted for passenger sailing in 1969, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1992, and today sails for captains Robert and Dawn Tassi.
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