P&O Cruises has unveiled its 2016/2017 holidays featuring brand new event cruises, exciting new itineraries, more evening and overnight calls in popular destinations; more Greek Island cruises and maiden calls in Corigliano Calabro and Crotone, Italy and in Tarragona, Spain.
New for 2016 is a 19 night cruise on Aurora (R619) departing November 1, featuring Athens, Naples and Rhodes as well as Kusadasi for tours to Ephesus.
Six Holland America Line ships will sail 11 full transits of the Panama Canal and one ship will offer 14 itineraries that feature both the southern Caribbean and partial transits during fall 2015 through spring 2016.
With cruises ranging from 10 to 22 days, Holland America Line provides guests more in-depth ways to experience the Panama Canal than any other cruise line. In the 2015-16 season, the combined full and partial transits will carry more than 44,500 guests through the lakes and locks of the man-made marvel.
“To witness the fascinating operation of the Panama Canal from the deck of a Holland America Line ship is the ultimate way to experience one of the great engineering wonders of the world,” said Orlando Ashford, Holland America Line's president. "Our diverse itineraries bring travelers to all seven continents and to many of the world's most compelling marvels; and with 25 departures we offer more ways to experience the Panama Canal than any other line."
Go Between Oceans on a Full Panama Canal Transit
From September 2015 through May 2016, ms Amsterdam, ms Maasdam, ms Nieuw Amsterdam, ms Oosterdam, ms Veendam and ms Westerdam will make 11 transits between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans from six departure cities. Guests can set sail from Boston, Mass.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; San Diego and San Francisco, Calif.; Seattle, Wash.; and Vancouver, British Columbia.
In addition to the Panama Canal transit, the 14- to 22-day cruises include a variety of port calls along the way, making each voyage all the more enriching. On the full transits the ships visit destinations in Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and the Caribbean, along with Half Moon Cay, Holland America Line’s award-winning private Bahamian island.
Partial transits include the ‘ABC’ Islands
Besides the full transits, ms Zuiderdam will make 14 partial transits between November 2015 and April 2016. The 10- and 11-day “Panama Canal Sunfarer” itineraries include an exploration of the canal’s Gatún Lake and a combination of southern Caribbean calls in Aruba, Bonaire, Columbia, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Grand Cayman, Panama and Half Moon Cay.
Go ‘On Location’ in the Panama Canal
On each Panama Canal cruise, guests can enjoy the On Location enrichment program that brings local experiences onto the ships through lectures, presentations, cuisine and entertainment. Guests can learn to weave with palm fronds during Caribbean sea days; and while the ship is in the Panama Canal an expert historian recounts the history and drama of constructing the famous waterway. A Panamanian market and buffet on the Lido Deck is a highlight of the voyage, where guests can indulge in regional delicacies such as empanadas, arroz con pollo, ropa vieja and pastel de tres leches.
One-of-a-kind outdoor spaces, distinctive new experiences, and the return of 123go! bring brand story to life
Epicurean travelers this summer and fall have an abundance of opportunities to savor the Mediterranean in the most literal sense, as luxury cruise leader Crystal Cruises unveils an extensive menu of culinary experiences ashore, with 12 brand new options added this year. In total, three dozen Crystal Adventures in 2015 are specially designed to highlight the local flavors and signature cuisine of Spain, France, Italy, Turkey, Malta, Portugal and Greece, including hands-on cooking instruction, wine tasting and pairing, and exploring local marketplaces for the freshest ingredients.
“Like many of our guests, we feel that food, drink and the dining experience are among the best ways to intimately acquaint oneself with a destination,” says Crystal’s CEO, Edie Rodriguez. “It’s only natural that the immersive culinary programs that travelers relish aboard our ships should continue ashore, allowing guests to expand their palates while learning about new cultures.”
Among the mouthwatering shore-side Mediterranean excursions this year are:
NEW Meandering through the Tuscan countryside to Verrazzano Castle, in a small village within Chianti, for an extravagant wine-pairing meal (from Florence, Italy in June, August, October and November)
NEW Roaming the local marketplace to select fresh ingredients, then use those ingredients to create a feast of traditional Turkish delicacies with hands-on instruction at a local family farm (from KuÅŸadasi, Turkey in September and October)
NEW Crafting, bottling and labeling one’s own wine in Spain’s renowned Vera de Estenas wine region, led by an expert winemaker and oenologist (from Valencia, Spain in June and November)
Wine tasting and dining on world-famous Ston oysters in Dubrovnik, Croatia in June, September and October
Hands-on cooking instruction from the head chef of Faggera Restaurant in the charming village of Megalochori, creating appetizers, entrees and desserts using traditional local ingredients (from Santorini, Greece in September and October)
With an impressive onboard culinary program that comprises a bevy of globally-inspired delicacies, from Nobu Matsuhisa’s Silk Road and The Sushi Bar and regional Italian comfort food in Prego to internationally-themed selections in the Lido Café, tastes of the world have always been an integral part of the renowned Crystal Experience.
Crystal’s 2015 Mediterranean voyages range from seven to 12 days, with all-inclusive cruise fares starting at $1485 per person when booked by the June 30 “Book Now” deadline.
Crystal Cruises is the world’s most awarded leading luxury cruise provider, having earned more “World’s Best” awards than any other cruise line, hotel, or resort in history. Crystal Cruises has won “World’s Best Cruise Ship” in Condé Nast Traveler’s Reader Choice Awards for 21 years; voted “World’s Best Large Ship Cruise Line” by Travel + Leisure readers for 19-consecutive years; the “Best Luxury Cruise Line” by Virtuoso; and both Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity were rated as two of the “Top 5 mid-size ships” by the 2015 Berlitz Cruising & Cruise Ships.
