New Group Cruise Options
By Cindy Bertrain
It’s no secret cruise lines offer
their passengers more choices
than ever. Yes, cruise guests
still sail for the dining, ports
and entertainment, but now you can
build your group around golfing,
wine, health and fitness, culinary
arts, holistic health and spa elements,
theater, enrichment series
and renowned lecturers.
The high interest levels in health
and fitness have carried over to the
cruise industry. Cunard Line introduced
the Canyon Ranch Health Spa
onboard their Queen Mary 2 when
she was launched in 2004. Manned
by a staff of 51, this state of the art
20,000 square-foot facility offers
guests the chance to enjoy unique
therapeutic water and rejuvenating
spa treatments, including the exotic
Rasul Ceremony, a Canyon Ranch
signature item. And Holland
America Line’s “Signature of
Excellence” program, a $225 million
initiative launched in late 2003 to
enhance and upgrade all the areas of
their fleet, includes partnering with
another spa stalwart – The
Greenhouse Spa. Holland America
Line’s ships will all feature The
Greenhouse Spa by early 2006.
These offer great avenues to build
a group theme around health, wellness,
and therapeutic areas. Carnival
Cruise Lines is offering their second
annual “Mind/Body Cruise” aboard
their Carnival Pride this fall, which
features a faculty of experts from
Shape and Men’s Fitness magazines.
Informative seminars are devoted to
health, fitness and nutrition.
Wine lovers who like to cruise
also have a new option. Carnival
Cruise Lines recently launched its
Presidential Wine Club, the cruise
industry’s first. Carnival President
and CEO, Robert Dickinson, a noted
wine collector and connoisseur who
is the namesake behind the
Presidential Wine Club, is hosting a
“Carnival Wine Cruise” aboard the
Carnival Liberty in December of
2005. During this inaugural
Presidential Wine Club Cruise, a
number of events will be featured,
including informative seminars with
wine experts, gala wine tastings, and
wine-themed parties. And extensive,
personalized activities are also part of
the cruise, ranging from two different
wine tasting seminars featuring not
just the wines but also the winemakers,
to special opening and farewell
receptions and nightly food pairings.
Culinary arts enthusiasts also
have a new alternative. Spending
more than $13 million to create and
install special Culinary Arts Center
facilities on all of their ships,
Holland America is the first cruise
line to create these dedicated “show
kitchens at sea.” Guests on select
Holland America Line cruises will
have an opportunity to experience
seminars and demonstrations conducted
by top chefs, leading cookbook
authors and wine experts provided
by Food & Wine.
If you have golf enthusiasts in
your group, Norwegian Cruise Line
has a solution. NCL offers weekly
cruises throughout the Hawaiian
Islands, and their new Golf Hawaii
program ties in beautifully with
some of Hawaii’s most intriguing
golf courses. Golfers don’t even have
to bring along their own golf clubs,
and golf shoes are also available for
rental. Guests can choose to play
from among five different golf
courses during the cruise, on Kaua’i,
Kona and Maui. The Golf Hawaii components can be pre-reserved, so
morning tee times are guaranteed in
advance at Hawaii�fs best courses.
For cruise enthusiasts who prefer
a bit of intellectual stimulation,
groups have even more from which
to select. Celebrity Cruises, for
instance, has expanded their
�gCelebrity Discoveries�h program,
with up to four lecturers on every
cruise, ranging from caricature
artists onboard Bermuda and
Caribbean sailings to residential naturalists
on the line�fs Alaskan,
Hawaii and South American cruises.
In 2005, famous onboard personalities
included actors like Larry
Hagman, Ernest Borgnine, Jane
Powell, Orson Bean, and Rita
Moreno, news correspondents such
as CBS Evening News�f Ike Pappas
and NBC News�f Irving R. Levine,
and former Olympic gymnast Cathy
Rigby. And National Geographic
Traveler has teamed with Celebrity
Cruises�f to bring noted photojournalists
onboard.
Partnering with England's prestigious
University of Oxford, the
QM2 offers their exclusive Oxford
Discovery Programme. Guests can
interact with some of the world�fs top
scholars on science, politics, English
architecture and history. In addition,
the QM2 features enrichment programs
with guest speakers sponsored
by Architectural Digest, House &
Garden and the New Yorker. Still
another unique feature is the QM2�fs
Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts
program, which includes acting
workshops and performances.
LEISURE GROUP TRAVEL, August 2005
Group Cruise Hotel Discounts
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