October 31, 2003 -- In our biweekly roundup of cruise industry news and offers of note we've got a new outing to frigid Antarctica, small craft nuptials, and NCL's winter weather guarantee policy.
Fun in the Sun or Spice on the Ice? Royal Princess Offers New Antarctica Excursion
The classic Royal Princess, christened by the late Princess Diana in 1984, is the ship Princess sends off on its longest and most exotic cruises. And this December, its 24-night South Atlantic/Antarctica/South America sailing will offers passengers a distinctive (and expensive!) shore excursion to boot: a day at Antarctica's Villa Las Estrellas research station.
Departing from the Chilean port of Punta Arenas, the new twelve-hour "Antarctica Landing Expedition" reaches the station by air, flying over the Tierra del Fuego archipelago and spending four hours at the center, one of the continent's oldest meteorological stations. There, participants have the opportunity to tour the station; view area glaciers, whales, and other wildlife; and, weather permitting, hike across a nearby isthmus to Ardley Island, home to a colony of papua penguins.
The price for all that? A whopping $1,599 per person. What, you thought visiting one of the most remote places on earth would be cheap?
Royal Princess's 24-day South Atlantic/Antarctica/South America cruise departs from Cape Town, South Africa on December 19, sailing around the Cape of Good Hope, visiting Tristan da Cunha, Elephant Island and other Antarctic islands and channels, and the Falkland Islands, then on to Cape Horn and Ushuaia in Argentina and up along the Chilean coast to Santiago. At press time, a limited number of cabins were still available, with prices starting at $3,578.
For more information, contact Princess Cruises at 800/PRINCESS or www.princess.com.
Unfurl the Sails and Tie the Knot: Windjammer Wedding Packages
Sure, most cruise lines offer wedding packages. And sure, some of the Royal Caribbean, Princess, NCL, and Carnival ships have fancy wedding chapels on board. But for certain types -- and you know who you are -- all that pales next to the thought of getting hitched on the deck of an old-time sailing ship, with stripe-shirted crewmembers manning the rum barrel and a pirate-tan captain officiating.
Windjammer Barefoot Cruises' Tie-the-Knot-at-Sea program offers all that, and provides a passenger-list of partying types bound to make your shipwide reception a hoot too. Legally binding ceremonies can be performed on deck by a nondenominational minister -- or you can complete all the legal paperwork back home so that the ship's captain can officiate. Windjammer's wedding consultants work with local wedding coordinators on the islands and advise on all legal necessities, as well as arranging for flowers and photographers. Weddings can take place in a number of ports, including Antigua, Aruba, Grenada, St. Thomas, Nassau, Nevis, St. John, St. Lucia, Sint Maarten, and Miami.
Wedding packages run from $1,000 to $1,600 and include consultant services, officiator, tropical bouquet, a celebratory champagne toast, a "keepsake certificate," and various options. Fares for wedding guests start around $700 for six-day cruises. For more information and bookings contact Windjammer at 305/672-6453 or www.windjammer.com.
Neither Rain nor Sleet: NCL Offers Winter Weather Guarantee on New York Sailings
Last year, Norwegian Cruise Line (800/347-7030 or www.ncl.com) became the first to offer year-round sailings to Florida and the Bahamas aboard its new Norwegian Dawn. This year, heading into its first full winter on that route, the line is reminding prospective passengers that they're covered if Mother Nature affects the ship's sailings.
The line's Winter Weather Guarantee offers passengers various discounts and options depending on the extent of the delay. If the cruise is held up longer than twelve hours, guests receive a $100-per-person onboard credit or the option of delaying their cruise to a later date. In the unlikely even a cruise has to be cancelled completely because of weather, guests are reimbursed for all reasonable expenses in rearranging their travel plans, and receive full credit toward a future cruise.
Norwegian Dawn sails on Sunday's year-round from New York's historic west-side passenger ship terminal, cruising down the coast to Florida's Port Canaveral (from which passengers can take excursions to Kennedy Space Center or Orlando's theme parks), visiting Miami, then heading to the Bahamas for stops at Nassau and NCL's private island, Great Stirrup Cay. One day at sea later, you're back in the Big Apple. Prices typically start just over $500 per person, though deals sometimes run as low as $399.
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