Adventure of the Seas

The Royal Caribbean 138,000 ton cruise ship Adventure of the Seas is not just a fashionable floating city all by itself, but is also a modern engineering marvel, even to the last detail. It can accommodate a staggering 3,000 odd passengers and a crew that numbers more than 1100 skilled hands at any time. It boasts of a 125 feet in-line skating rink, the adventure dunes 9-hole mini golf course, and a rock climbing wall at one of its 14 decks. There’s the Casino Royale too, which is a hot favorite among a lot of cruisers aboard this wonderful vessel. There is a full-size basketball court too.

It is a super quality Voyager class ship that offers the highest space-per-guest accommodation, huge state rooms, expanded dining areas, and out-of-the-world recreational facilities. Adventures of the Seas sails the Southern Caribbean itinerary.

Here are some of the exclusive features on board the Royal Caribbean Adventure of the Seas,

• Fully equipped Fitness Center with state-0f-the-art gym and aerobics room accentuated by daily changing health and fitness programs.
• Shopping galleria with duty free shops, jewelry boutique, all-purpose stores and logo stores.
• Beauty salon with exclusive treatments.
• Sauna/ steam rooms; full service spa with massage.
• Royal Promenade lined with fabulous bars offering the best of liquors.
• Especial deck that provides area for basketball, volleyball, shuffleboard and jogging track.
• 3 outdoor pools with swim up bar and 6 whirlpool spa.
• Shore excursions plus trip advise
• Active Ice skating rink with regular performances
• 900-seat studio-cum-auditorium.

Late night entertainment on board the Adventure of the Seas include,

• Viking Crown Lounge where there are 5 separate lounges for cocktails with friends.
• Imperial Lounge offers dancing and cabaret shows.
• Casino Royale offers blackjack, roulette, Electronic Slot machines and Video Poker.
• Connoisseur Club Cigar Club provides finest cigars and cognacs.
• Jester’s Night Club has DJ and whole night dancing.
• Schooner Bar is the right place to meet friends and enjoy a late night drinking session.

So, wait no longer. Book the cruise today – it’s available online too.

Celebrity Xpedition

Though you might have already sailed in a large cruise ship that carries a mammoth crowd of vacationers, where the keyword is fun and frolic, a Celebrity Xpedetion cruise, can be quite a unique experience. You are sure to love a trip on this amazing liner. You can visit the timeless Galapagos Islands in a much smaller 2,842-ton ship, and because of its size, it can be an intense experience.

Yes, on the Xpedition, you can visit the famous Galapagos Islands, the place that inspired the legendary British naturalist, Charles Darwin to come up with his Theory of Evolution is bound to create exhilaration, so rarely experienced in any other fun-only cruise. You are sure to make friend, exchange views and discuss Darwin and his findings with your co-passengers as you cruise through and take in the beauty of the Galapagos waters. The ship can hold 92 guests at the maximum. Because of the smaller size, you can be sure to receive the personal attention that you deserve at all times.

To make the cruise enjoyable and at the same time exciting, Celebrity Xpedition provides valued service of expert naturalists who will not only accompany you to most locations throughout the Galapagos, but will also take part in nightly discussions on the subject aboard the ship.

The ship sails at 17 knots into the enchanted waters of the Galapagos. As it sails, you are likely to be surprised at the array of amenities available in the small ship – you will find hot tub, sauna and fitness equipment, massage, immaculate room service and restaurants commemorating Charles Darwin (DARWIN’S) and the Beagle Grill, memorializing the name of the ship that carried the naturalist to the Galapagos.

As for recreation and leisure, the Blue Finch Bar and the Discovery Lounge on board the ship provides just the ideal setting.

The Celebrity Xpedition staterooms include Penthouse suits that have two convertible lower beds, a sitting area with convertible full size sofa beds along with floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors that leads to the balcony. All suits are provided with the following amenities/ privileges…

• Complimentary sparkling wine
• Two lower beds, convertible to queen (except as noted)
• Dual voltage 110/220 AC
• Complimentary beach towel
• Plentiful storage space in your bathroom and wardrobe
• Laundry service
• Room service
• Luggage delivery at boarding
• Duvet pillow-top mattress
• Hair dryer
• Complimentary use of premium Frette® bathrobes
• Quality binoculars for use and available for purchase
• Flat-screen TVs with DVD players
• Direct-dial telephone
• Individual safe
• Desk
• Thermostat-controlled air-conditioning
• Private refrigerator
• Mp3 docking station

Crown Princess

Owned and operated by Princess Cruises, the cruise ship Crown Princess is not only considered as a Grand Class ship, but it is also regarded as the gemstone of the Princess fleet. The 113,000 ton, 951 feet long floating city having accommodation facility for 3080 passengers sails the Caribbean during the winter season, and Europe for the rest of the year. So no matter which cruise you choose, you are sure to enjoy an amazing cruise ship vacation.

The awe-inspiring luxury liner is loaded with features that are quite amazing among the many cruise ships that sail the seas. Its superb piazza-style Atrium housing the International Café and Vines wine and seafood bar are acclaimed as the most striking extravaganza ever created in a contemporary sea-going vessel. Also, the innovative dining arrangement provided in the Crown Princess goes beyond the customary food venues like its Crown GrillSM or Sabatini’s SM, reaching the passenger’s own private balcony, being part of the ship’s ultimate balcony dining.

Here is what the Crown Princess provides for its valued guests.

• Art auctions for buying paintings made by renowned artists
• Scholarship@Sea® courses for brilliant students
• Movies Under the Stars® on deck movie theater
• Wedding-at-sea event officiated by the ship’s captain
• Nine-hole putting course and golf simulators
• 4 pools that include one that provides ‘swim-against-current’.
• Wrap-around Promenade Deck
• Sports Court and jogging track
• Asian-themed Lotus Spa® with ocean-view gym
• One of the decks dedicated to mini-suits
• Around 900 staterooms having private balconies
• Conference room with wireless Internet connectivity, PC with all peripheries and part time secretarial service
• Caribbean-themed Café Caribe specializing in local delicacies
• Two Specialty Restaurants – an extended Sabatini’s and the newly established Crown Grill famed for steak and seafood.
• One of the most lavishly appointed casinos afloat
• Skywalker’s Night Club-cum-Observatory

Enchantment Of The Seas

From Victor Hugo’s Toilers of the Sea to more contemporary Con Tiki expedition, people appear to have always been fascinated by sea voyages, especially when it is more oriented to fun than real life adventures. In the case of Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment Of The Seas however, the passengers can probably savor both. As a person enters the Enchantment, he/she is immediately confronted with the Centrum, a soaring seven-deck atrium that is studded with priceless art collections – a rare display for a cruise ship solely devoted to pleasure and pastime.

The Enchantment cabins, particularly the low-end ones measuring around 150 sq. ft. promise reasonable creature comfort, featuring a TV run through intra-ship channels mostly showing professionally produced promotional videos, a telephone, safe and toiletries. Hair dryers have recently been added for the benefit of the ladies. Storage space within the cabin is more or less OK while robes are provided to certain category of cabins only. Almost half of the ‘outside’ cabins of the Enchantment have balconies at different decks. As the liner travels through the open ocean, sitting in one of these balconies is sure to be an amazing feeling.

Breakfast and lunch is served in the ship’s Windjammer Café that also serves as an alternate casual dinner place - no reservation is compulsory. 24 hour room service can also be ordered by passengers. But there is a limited menu in this. The ship’s Solarium is famed for its hot dog and hamburger grill. The Royal Caribbean, nevertheless, prepares Ship Shape selection lists every night for the next day’s lunch and dinner menu which includes special items for the veggies.

The Enchantment’s prime enchantment venue is centered round its Orpheum Theater-Show Lounge which happens to be the most functional and intelligently designed structure ever created by the RCI. Since the seating arrangement is of the fixed type, adequate space has been left for enter and exit rows. The lounge also looks more neat and compact since peg tables have been replaced by beautifully designed peg holders inbuilt within the arm rests. In course of a week-long cruise, passengers are likely to view at least one show performed by a renowned entertainer, a couple of production shows, several evening time variety acts and, of course, a farewell feat.

Freedom Of The Seas

If you want to experience the ultimate in contemporary naval engineering and see what it can do in terms of convenience, ease and luxury, you must take a trip in RCI’s Freedom Of The Seas. This beautiful ship is second only to the legendary cruise ship Queen Mary 2. However, it has almost replaced the Queen Mary 2 as the largest cruise ship in the world with its gross tonnage of 160,000 as against the Mary's 150,000. Nevertheless, the QM 2 is still regarded as the longest cruise ship since it is 20 feet longer than the Freedom.

Even when you think of the features, all other multimillion dollar vessels will cut sorry figures before the Freedom Of The Seas. Where will you ever be able to find Onboard Surf Park at sea; Cantilevered whirlpools extending twelve feet beyond the flanks of the ship, H2O zone® Waterpark complete with interactive sculptured fountains and amazing waterfalls cascading through the deck? Then there is the most awe inspiring rock-climbing wall with a multitude of routes for scaling it and central spire you may swing around just for the heck of it. Also, think of the extensive WiFi feats offering you connectivity for your cell phones as well as broadband facility for your laptop. Book a voyage and see for yourself to believe these wonders afloat a ship.

Ever since its launching a few years ago, the Freedom of the Seas is sailing seven-night Western Caribbean itineraries from Miami and calling at Mexico, Cozumel, George Town, Grand Cayman, Montego Bay, Jamaica and Labadee, Royal Caribbean’s chosen destination.

Here is a list of some of the specialties of this great ship that awaits the pleasure of your visit.

• Full-size flat-screen TV in all staterooms
• Themed Bars and Lounges suiting your taste
• Adventure Ocean® youth themes
• ShipShape® Day Spa & fitness center
• Casino Royale

Majesty Of The Seas

Majesty Of The Seas is a sovereign-class cruise ship that is owned and operated by Royal Caribbean International and it was placed in service in April, 1992. However since then, the ship has been extensively renovated to change most of her innate features and several new features. As a matter of fact, the 73,941-ton Majesty Of The Seas was taken to a dry dock on January 12, 2007 for a multi-million dollar refurbishment program. The restoration process covered the ship’s public areas, pool decks, restaurants, shops, centrums and cabins while the additions included Johnny Rockets, the Compass Deli, Seattle’s best coffee, Freeze Ice cream, Latin Night dancing venue as well as other customary Royal Caribbean electrical and mechanical thingamajigs.

When the Majesty Of The Seas was finally pressed into service (3-Night Bahamas roundtrip Miami, Florida or 4-Night Bahamas roundtrip Miami, Florida), she was practically a new ship with tastefully refurbished staterooms, newly remodeled pool deck, enhanced Day Spa and Fitness Center and many more. To be precise, her current features include the renowned Viking Crown Lounge overlooking the pool and sun decks, an onboard fully equipped Casino, 11-passenger elevators, two of which are glass-lined and two major swimming pools.

As for onboard bars and drinking dens, Majesty of the seas have the usual marine-oriented Schooner Bar, A Touch of Class Champagne Bar, Boleros Latin Bar, Windjammer Café, Poolside Bar and On Your Toes Nightclub. Apart from these wonderful watering holes, this newly decorated ship boasts of a full-size Basketball Court and an adventurous rock-climbing wall. Also, the ship’s comfortable staterooms have been provided with luxurious bedspreads, flat screen TVs and 110 V/220 V plug points plus wireless Broadband connectivity for Laptop users.

Majesty of the Seas is currently commissioned by the Royal Caribbean on a 7-day cycle that covers two weekly voyages to the Port of Miami, stopping at Nassau (birthplace of the internationally famous black celluloid star, Sidney Poitier), Coco Cay, a private island owned by the Royal Caribbean and Key West, where the renowned American novelist and Nobel Laureate, “Papa” Hemingway completed the manuscript for his legendary work entitled “Farewell to Arms”. Surprisingly enough, even though another equally famous American writer, Tennessee Williams, author of yet another fictional masterpiece, “A streetcar Named Desire” lived in Key West during the same period, these two literary giants never met each other.

Nautica

The 30,277-ton Nautica is a very realistic cruise liner. It is not too big where passengers can lose their bearing, and it is not too small as well that makes a person jittery. To be honest about it, this ship best suits people who prefer a port-intensive itinerary, looks for a casual holiday on board a ship, are reluctant to pay additional charges for substitute restaurants and are non-smokers. Incidentally, Nautica’s port of call includes little known places like Guernsey, Palma de Majorca, Malaga, Oporto, Bordeaux and a few more.

True to her immaculate tradition, the price of spirits, wines, cigars, cigarettes and other modes of addiction on board the Nautica appear to have been kept at a higher level, probably in a vain effort to check inboard intoxication ! A great idea, no doubt, but whether it is applicable to people who have chosen a sea voyage primarily for relaxation remains a mystery.

However, the pleasures of the palate are guaranteed by most Oceania Cruise liners including the Nautica. The Grand Dining room opens at 6.30 in the evening and serves till 9.30 in the night, serving a grand assortment of victuals. However, it is always full and the acoustic arrangements in the room can hardly cope with the din, thus creating problems for a leisurely conversation. On top of that, 26 more tables (for two) have been currently added to serve more people in the already overcrowded dining room. The Terrace Café, adjacent to the pool deck, on the other hand, is a much more suitable place to enjoy your food in relatively tranquility. In fact, it is ideal for a leisurely breakfast where the servers hand out all that you may need in a friendly fashion.

The public rooms on board the Nautica have a typical “English inn-at-sea” feel. The spacious Horizons Lounge located at the bow section of the ship has extra large floor-to-ceiling windows that provide uninterrupted view of the open sea while strategically mounted brass telescopes allow inquisitive passengers to view in detail when a passing vessel appears on the horizon. Surprisingly enough, the no-nonsense vessel also has a well equipped Casino housed in her bosom while the Martini Bar attached to this gambler’s den boasts of a barman who has the credit of concocting 29 varieties of martini for the pleasure of his patrons.

Oceania cruise ship Nautica has 330 guest rooms, suits and penthouses aboard, most of them having verandas. However, the inside cabins on board the ship are indeed pretty undersized (160 to 165 sq. ft.). But the category C & D outsize cabins are large enough, sporting private balconies. Cruising in Nautica, by and large, can be called comfortable but not so very luxurious as compared to the other larger vessels.

Disney Magic

The cruise ship Disney Magic represents an excellent mixture of ocean liner magnificence with glimpses of the legendary Disney fantasy. It encompasses the thrills of sea voyage, intermingled with Disney touches that make it truly memorable for adults and kids alike.

Even though the Disney Cruise Line is regarded as perfect for families with children, the Disney Magic is provided with lounges that are quite suitable for couples as well. Three of these lounges are grouped together to form an entertainment profile that is lovingly called the Beat Street, and it is mostly for the adult passenger.

Sessions, the piano bar is very enjoyable. It has comfortable seating with mega-portholes offering a grand view of the sea rolling below.

The Diversion Sports Bar can be exiting when any major sports event is shown on ESPN. People mill around this bar to watch games on the giant plasma TV placed at a convenient corner of the bar for best viewing.

Rockin-Bar D is the third lounge in the Beat Street. While it serves as a place for family entertainment in the early evening, the scenario changes later in the night giving the shape of an adult disco.

Apart from these three, the other lounges on the Disney Magic comprise the Cove Café adult Coffee Bar, Promenade Lounge and the Studio Sea Family Club that almost resembles a television sound stage.

The food is good in most of the restaurants and bistros on board the Disney Magic even though the choices are usually limited. The hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza offered at the Topsiders, which is a buffet joint, are quite tasty and healthful while the dinner menu at the Animator’s Palate is exceptionally good. But here again, the options are fairly limited. However, dinner at Parrot Cay is most fun filled, more like Jimmy Buffet’s at City Walk but, to be honest about it, dinner at Lumiere’s is the best. By the way, passengers enjoying their meals in any of these restaurants seldom wear anything but ‘casual dress’ all the while.

The Disney Magic has 3 levels of suits that range from Inside Standard Cabin that sleeps 2/3/4; 1,029 sq. ft. Royal Suite with balcony that sleeps 7 while the Deluxe Family Stateroom that can accommodate four to five persons. The ship also has six different types of cabins, quite suitable for her passengers.

Island Princess

The Island Princess, as also her sister ship, Coral Princess have been especially designed to get through the Panama Canal (they usually traverse the Canal and the Gulf of Alaska) and hence, are comparatively smaller than the fleet’s bigger ships. However, these ships are still bigger than the mid-sized Princess-class ships that were so common during the nineties. But as a result, they enjoy the privileges of both, losing nothing in return. As a matter of fact, passengers feel more comfortable in navigating within the ship due to the re-sizing, which allows them better confidence in reaching their desired destinations than fumbling along oversize atriums.

92,000-ton Island Princess provides better facilities to its guests by shifting the public rooms to the lower decks and putting cabin decks higher up, which has allowed addition of more balconies to outside staterooms. This, incidentally, has also resulted in increasing cabin space on one hand and improving passenger flow on the other.

The food served in the Dining room and in the Lido Cafeteria featured in the Island Princess is typically Continental Ship variety comprising mostly Broiled lobster tail, Beef Wellington and the like. Passengers not used to such bland dishes prefer the Bayou Café to try spicy shrimp gumbo, grilled jumbo prawns, fried catfish or chicken and chorizo jambalaya amidst woody ambience. Those who feel still not very satisfied usually head for Sabatini’s for ultimate palate pleasure. But for those who insist on out-of-the-world savories, the Lotus Spa menu offers Chilled yogurt and Tamarind Soup sprinkled with grated lemon rind.

Interestingly enough, there is no dearth of invitingly intimate lounges on board the Island Princess, some with live music. Crooners, a Martini Bar mirrors the halcyon days of Rat Pack while the Churchill’s, a snug cigar lounge may remind one of early English country manors. The chunky nautical-themed Wheelhouse Bar (for no apparent rhyme or reason) holds many expensive original oil paintings.

The ship's Internet cafe, card room and library are mostly busy during days at sea. In fact, one may find himself/herself lucky in finding a place to sit. Because there are entrances from both the atrium and the midship elevators/stair tower, the locations are often used as passageways, not exactly ideal either for compute use or for reading.

As in other similar vessels, the captain of the Island Princes is empowered to marry intending couples in the ship’s Wedding Chapel while children are lovingly entertained at the Pelican Playhouse Children’s Center aboard the ship.

Costa Classica

Befitting its classy tagging, The Costa Classica is indeed classic in terms of comfort, style and elegance, not to speak of the delectable dishes like the Grilled lobster with drawn butter that is served in the Tivoli Restaurant. Exquisite murals in the celebrated restaurant transform its bay windows into scenic episodes from the Renaissance and the Roman era, and the tabletops in its Puccini Ballroom mirror sentiments from famed Puccini Operas.

In fact, every aspect of this magnificent cruise ship turns the head of passengers lounging its marvelous decks looking for something that is out of the ordinary. Take for instance, the Costa’s Galileo Disco and Observatory perched high atop the ship that serves as an observatory by the day and turning into a fabulous Disco as the night falls over the high seas.

In short, this luxury liner is a masterpiece of Italian cruise design where nothing was spared to give it the best of everything. Passengers strolling through its Tavernetta can browse through the chick boutiques, dine in its gourmet restaurant, unwind in jacuzzies (4 in number) or spend time in superbly equipped spa and fitness center located in one of its many decks.

While Costa Classica had served as an inspiration for creating its sister ship Costa Romantica, people fondly go for the Classica because of it inherent beauty and classical lines that makes this quite an unique ship.

The 52,926 ton, 723 feet liner with 13 decks can accommodate 1,302 Double Occupancy passengers in its 654 cabins that are served by a retinue of 590 skilled hands. Even though the ship’s maximum speed is rated at 20 knots, she normally cruises at 18.5 knots on calm seas.