THE
NORWEGIAN GEM will be christened by the Norwegian Cruise
Line passenger who best personifies an "It" girl in an online video
contest. NCL said that contestants can submit videos to the ship's
Web site, gemitgirl.com, explaining what makes them an It girls
like the Gem, NCL's final Jewel-class ship. The five finalists will
be revealed on Nov. 15; and the grand prizewinner will be announced
on Dec. 18 in New York, just before the ship is christened. The
winner also will receive a seven-day cruise in the Gem's Garden
Villa, along with her five-member "entourage," NCL said.
CARNIVAL
CRUISE LINES expanded its Concierge Club recognition
program to provide members with shipboard credits when they achieve
a "milestone" cruise with the line: their 25th, 50th or 75th
Carnival cruise. The shipboard credit will represent 25%, 50% or
75% of their cruise fare, depending on the milestone, for that
sailing. Anyone on their 100th cruise will earn a free voyage of up
to eight days to the Caribbean, Mexican Riviera or
Alaska.
HOLLAND
AMERICA LINE is holding a free cruise sweepstakes, is
offering booking incentives and will have extended hours, all in
conjunction with the World's Largest Cruise Night, CLIA's annual
marketing event. HAL will offer reduced deposits for customers who
book from Oct. 17 to 19 and is holding a sweepstakes with a grand
prize of a Caribbean cruise for two for all agents booking between
those dates. The line's reservations hours will be expanded to
midnight on Oct. 17 (the night of the World's Largest Cruise
Night), and HAL also will provide agents with promotional materials
such as a guide to staging cruise nights.
DISNEY
CRUISE LINE will begin offering passengers "onboard
airline check-in" this season, a service that enables its qualified
guests to check-in for post-cruise flights from Orlando while
onboard the Disney Magic or Disney Wonder. Besides checking in from
the ship, guests' luggage will be transported directly from the
ship to their flight on the seven participating airlines: AirTran,
Alaska, American, Continental, Delta, Northwest and United. To
participate, passengers will have to complete preregistration
information from Orlando Airport or a Disney Cruise Line
Hospitality Desk at the Disney World Resort and turn it in during
cruise check-in at Port Canaveral.
WINDJAMMER
BAREFOOT CRUISES canceled its sailings last week, took
down its Web site and left its passengers and travel agents
wondering what the line's future held. The line's ships were
stranded in various Caribbean ports, with reports surfacing that
the vessels had no fuel or food and that their crews were not being
paid. Late last week, the Miami Herald reported that Jerry Ceder,
an investor who the paper said in August would be taking over the
tall-ship cruise line, was now going to sue Windjammer for
violating its agreement concerning the acquisition by negotiating
with other interested parties.
Cruise
E-Letter Editor: Johanna Jainchill
Phone: (201) 902-2065
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