The new Norwegian Epic is going to challenge Royal Caribbean’s Oasis and Allure of the Seas ships not on size but in a number of different ways.  At slightly over 150,000 tons and carrying 4100 guests, the Epic is no slouch in the size category.  In fact, it is almost 60% larger than the other ships in the NCL fleet and larger than the ships operated by Carnival and Princess.   But size is not really the differentiator here.  At NCL it’s all about taking the Freestyle Cruise concept up a notch.  20 different dining options are just the start.

For example, there is no “main theatre” on board.  Instead, guests will be able to visit a multitude of entertainment venues including the Blue Man group, Legends in Concert, Howl at the Moon and a one-of-a-kind circus and dinner show called Cirque Dreams.  A recently announced partnership with Nickelodeon means the kiddies and Sponge Bob lovers of all ages won’t be left out.

The ship will sail on June 24^th on a sold out transatlantic crossing to New York and arrive on July 1.  There will be a two day cruise for the travel trade and media with christening by Reba McEntire.   On July 4^th the ship will act as official host for the Macy’s Annual Independence Day fireworks celebration.  The Cruise Professor will be on board for that event and I look forward to sending you a live update and a complete report on the entire ship – including the world’s only floating Ice Bar.  In the meantime, the cruise experts at www.iCruise.com are ready to start you on your way to your own “Epic’ cruise experience.

To whet your appetite you can view a sneak peak of the ship below.  Call www.iCruise.com at (800) 427-8473 for more details.

Enjoy the magnificent new Celebrity Equinox with a special Cruise Combo™ package from www.iCruise.com this November and December.  The package features an 11 night deep Western Caribbean cruise from Ft. Lauderdale visiting Cozumel, Roatán, Puerto Limon (Costa Rica), Colon, Cartagena, and Grand Cayman.  In addition, you can select from either FREE parking at the pier or a FREE hotel night before the cruise in Ft. Lauderdale.  Either way, with rates starting at just $999 per person, this is one of the season’s hottest deals on the hottest new ship.

If you haven’t sampled the impeccable service,  world class cuisine and country club casual atmosphere on Celebrity’s fleet of award -winning ships, then this new package from www.iCruise.com is just the ticket for you.  Call a personal cruise expert at (800) i-Cruise (800-427-8473) or click here to see more details.  www.EquinoxCruiseCombo

Carnival Cruise Lines, the world’s largest cruise operator, will dramatically expand its Bermuda cruise schedule in 2011, offering 16 departures to the island from four popular eastern U.S. homeports — Baltimore, Norfolk, Va.; New York and, for the first time, Charleston, S.C.  Carnival will be the only cruise line offering Bermuda cruises from Charleston.

The 16 Bermuda voyages — the most the line has ever offered — will encompass a variety of six-, seven- and eight-day cruises from April through November.

“Bermuda is one of the world’s most desirable cruise destinations, and offering three different cruise lengths from four East Coast homeports provides our guests an unprecedented variety of choices for visiting this beautiful island paradise,” said a Carnival spokesperson.

Carnival’s 2011 Bermuda departures include:

•     Baltimore (seven-day cruises on Carnival Pride) – April 10 and 17, Sept. 18, Oct. 2 and Nov. 6

•     New York (seven- and eight-day departures on Carnival Miracle) – April 14 and 21, and Sept. 11 and 27

•     Norfolk (six-day sailing on Carnival Glory) – Oct. 16

•     Charleston, S.C. (six-day voyages on Carnival Fantasy) – April 23, May 19, June 16, Aug. 25, Sept. 15 and Oct. 6

All 16 voyages will dock at King’s Wharf, and while in Bermuda guests can sample the island’s many fine restaurants, shops and boutiques, and visit a number of interesting sites and landmarks. Six-day voyages will offer two-day calls at King’s Wharf while seven- and eight-day cruises will feature three-day visits.

Contact the cruise experts at www.iCruise.com (800) 427-8473 for more information.

Celebrity Cruises is toasting its guests with a new beverage on board beverage program.  As a result of extensive research and past guests’ feedback, Celebrity has created four brand-new beverage packages. These include two classic options and two premium options. The “Classic Non-Alcoholic Package” features fountain and can soda, bottled and fresh-squeezed juices, premium coffee and bottled water, and is available at $14.95 per person, per day. The “Premium Non-Alcoholic Package” includes everything in the classic non-alcoholic package plus specialty non-alcoholic coffee drinks, additional name-brand bottled water choices, canned energy drinks and flavored bottled water offerings, smoothies and frozen non-alcoholic drinks, and is available at $18.40 per person, per day. Celebrity’s new “Classic Package” features everything in the classic non-alcoholic package plus beers with a retail value of up to five dollars per serving and spirits, cocktails, and wines by the glass with a retail value of up to eight dollars per serving, and costs guests $44.85 per person, per day. The “Premium Package” features all the premium beverages in the premium non-alcoholic package plus all beers, and spirits, cocktails, and wines by the glass with a retail value of up to 12 dollars per serving, and is available for $56.35 per person, per day. All prices include a standard 15 percent service charge.

Celebrity also is offering its wine packages for pre-booking. These include the “Sommelier’s Package,” the choice of a three-, five-, or seven-bottle lineup of premium international wines; a wider variety of wines available in a “Captain’s Package” or a “Build Your Own” wine package designed for guests who want to maximize their personal taste in wine while enjoying a discount. The “Build Your Own” package allows wine connoisseurs to select three upper-range bottles of wine that each cost at least $75, and enjoy a 15% discount. Bottles of wine enjoyed through any of Celebrity’s wine packages can be uncorked in one onboard venue, then recorked and stored until the guest is ready to reopen them.

Your cruise expert at www.iCruise.com has all the bubbly details!

Norwegian Cruise Line announced the dates and itineraries for two 2011 “Nickelodeon All Access Cruises.” These cruises will offer Nickelodeon-themed entertainment every day of the seven-night voyage. The two cruises are the Norwegian Jewel’s Feb. 20 departure from New York and the Norwegian Epic’s July 24, 2011, departure from Barcelona. NCL currently offers Nickelodeon entertainment on the Norwegian Jewel.

The two Nickelodeon cruises will include meet-and-greets with Nickelodeon stars, screenings of new episodes of hit shows, interactive game shows for the family, a Nick-themed Sailaway, Club Nick parties, and the opportunity for every family to get slimed. The Feb. 20 voyage from New York sails to Port Canaveral, Nassau, and Great Stirrup Cay, NCL’s private island. The July 24, 2011, cruise goes to Florence/Pisa, Rome and Naples, and Palma, Majorca, Spain. Fares start at $1,349 per person, double occupancy, and go on sale April 28 to past NCL guests and May 1 to the general public.

The cruise experts at www.iCruise.com – (800) 427-8473 – are ready to help get you slimed!

Cruise lines and their ships contribute to worldwide causes almost on a daily basis.  On any given day, there are multiple programs being conducted that benefit local, regional and national charitable organizations. These range from on board “walk a mile” programs to support breast cancer research to carrying relief supplies to areas of the world impacted by natural disasters as in the case of Haiti.

A recent example of a cruise ship coming to the rescue played out during the recent volcanic ash crisis in Europe that grounded flights and stranded thousands of travelers.

The Celebrity Eclipse returned recently to her home port in Southampton from Bilbao, Spain, where she picked up approximately 2,200  vacationers stranded by the volcanic eruption in Iceland and the resulting flight cancellations.  The voyage replaced the planned two-day launch celebration cruise for the ship, operated by Celebrity Cruises .

If you would like to raise funds for your local organization, many cruise lines have a program that contributes directly to your charity when you put a group cruise together.  It’s a simple, easy to manage program.  Your  www.iCruise.com expert can provide details on this unique, fund raising cruise opportunity.

Enough supplies were carried on Enchantment of the Seas to fill five 40-foot trucks from floor-to-ceiling. Among the cargo was 40,000 liters of bottled water.

A group of family and friends are going on the Norwegian Jade that departs Barcelona on May 16.  We are, of course, hopeful that the Icelandic Volcano dust cloud is long gone by then.  But a lot of the group have made independent plans to travel to other places in Europe prior to the cruise.  We recommended strongly that everyone purchase trip insurance “just in case”.  Most did.

Yesterday, my cousin called me and asked “Will the volcanic cloud affect our cruise?”  I was honored to have been considered an expert on world meteorological conditions but unfortunately I was as clueless as he was.  After a little digging, I found out the source of his near panic:  He and his spouse had elected not to purchase trip insurance.

Gee, what could possibly happen?  A volcano erupting?  What is the chance of that?  Needless to say, this couple will spend the next few weeks in a stressful mode wondering “what if”.  When we were discussing the situation, I got a little cheeky and asked a pointed question.   “Do you have car insurance?  When you bought the insurance, did you plan to get into a car accident?”  I think he got the point for future travel planning!

The moral of this story (which I hope has a happy ending for everyone) is that the number of things that can happen during a trip is quite extensive. Things that affect your vacation go way beyond just airline delays and lost baggage.  Good trip insurance can’t fix the problems  but can certainly protect your financial interests and make the time leading up to the trip much less stress-free.

Your personal cruise expert at www.iCruise.com  can explain the various trip insurance options that are available to cover your next cruise or tour.  Trip insurance . . . . . Don’t Leave Home Without It!

The Windstar Cruises fleet of 3 sailing ships may never win the award for “biggest, largest or fastest” ships but to their loyal followers that’s just fine.  Each year, a few thousand lucky travelers experience the pure joy of combining a sailing experience with cruise ship style amenities. Carrying just 148 pampered guests, the Wind Star exudes a private yacht-like atmosphere with an attentive staff, fine dining, and comfortable staterooms.  The ship is powered by computer-managed sails along with auxiliary engines.

ICruise.com has created an exclusive 11 day Mediterranean Highlights Cruise Combo™ package departing this fall when the crowds are gone and the weather is wonderful.   One price includes roundtrip flights from NY, 7 night cruise with an ocean view stateroom, one night pre-cruise hotel in Istanbul with a private full day city tour, a private tour of the remarkable ruins in Ephesus, a one night post cruise hotel in Athens, a half day private tour in Athens including the Acropolis, transfers from airport to hotel and ship, and a special $200 on board credit if you book by April 30^th.

This is a great chance to experience the Cradle of Civilization at a relaxed pace and without having to travel  with a few thousand passengers.  And while you may miss the rock climbing walls and giant theatre productions for a few fleeting moments, it is almost a sure thing that shortly after departing from your first port, you will quickly embrace the “sailing life” available only on Windstar cruises.

This special Cruise Combo™ package is only available through iCruise.com  View  more details on this trip by clicking on this link:   www.iCruise/WindstarCruiseCombo or by contacting your iCruise.com expert cruise counselor at 1-800-i CRUISE (800) 427-8473.  www.iCruise.com is an award-winning cruise agency representing all cruise lines and ships.

Azamara Cruises launched in December 2007 as the “premium-plus” brand in the Royal Caribbean ownership group that includes Royal Caribbean Cruises and Celebrity Cruises.  Recently, the company changed its name to “Azamara Club Cruises” and began a transition to a more inclusive on-board product.  Amenities such as bottled water, sodas and specialty coffees are now included in the fare, along with housekeeping and dining gratuities, self-service laundry and other features on the line’s two ships, Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest.

Other changes announced include dining in the specialty restaurants, Prime C and Aqualina, is now complimentary for suite passengers throughout the cruise. Non-suite stateroom guests receive two complimentary specialty restaurant options and, beyond that, can dine in these venues, based on availability, for a cover charge of $15 per person.  Where available, the cruise line is adding complimentary shuttle bus service to and from ship and city centers of the ports visited.

The Azamara Journey and Quest offer a distinctive array of worldwide itineraries.  The ships carry slightly less than 700 guests and their size allows them to visit many unique ports of call not accessible to the mega ships.  Destinations for 2010 include Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Panama Canal and South America.  Your iCruise.com cruise expert can provide details on this exciting new cruise club concept that offers a higher level of upscale cruising at surprisingly affordable rates.

For more information visit www.iCruise.com or call toll free  1- (800) iCruise  (800-427-8473)

NCL recently held a sneak peek at the new Cirque Dreams and Dinner show being prodced exclusively for the new Norwegian Epic. It is the first ocean going show that combines interactive, cirque entertainment with a three-course meal.

The show will be performed twice a night, six days a week on the 4,200-passenger Epic. Much of the show will be performed on a 10-foot diameter stage under a 20-foot-high ceiling. Tables and chairs will surround the stage, but the performers will also be integrated with the dining experience: They will put hats on audience members, sit on their laps, bring them drinks and perform aerial acrobatics over their heads.

NCL is allowing the show’s producer to bring on the entire cast of the show and even designed the Epic’s Spiegel Tent with the production in mind.

An NCL spokesperson said “significant investment” in the show and we made a decision to change the face of cruise ship entertainment,” pointing to both the Cirque Dreams show and other acts that will perform on the Epic, such as Blue Man Group and Legends in Concert.

The Norwegian Epic begins sailing in July 2010 and www.iCruise.com has great rates on the inaugural Caribbean season. Also, check out the exclusive transatlantic London theatre Cruise Combo™  packages available at www.iCruise.com.  Your iCruise.com  cruise counselor has all the details at 1-800-I CRUISE ( 1-800-427-8473)