Newsletter Dated February 6, 2012
Dear Vacations To Go Customer,
More cruise ships will sail in the Mediterranean or Northern Europe
during the summer of 2012 than ever before, and today I'll provide some
tips to help anyone heading in that direction find a great deal. Click
any link below for a complete list of options.
Mediterranean
cruise itineraries typically range from seven to 14 days and are most
numerous from late April through October, though several ships stay in
the region year-round. Many sailings visit Spain, France and Italy, or
the
Greek Isles.
A few Mediterranean cruises call on ports in
Israel
or Morocco, and some include a few ports in the
Black Sea.
Due to the cool climate, the cruising season in
Northern Europe
is short, from May through August. Itineraries generally range from
seven to 14 days and most sail in the
Baltic Sea
to legendary port cities like St. Petersburg, Stockholm and Copenhagen.
A few cruises each year concentrate on the
British Isles
or the
Norwegian Fjords.
While many of Europe's top cities are easily accessible by cruise ship,
other great places such as Milan, Madrid, Paris and Prague are not. A
few cruise lines offer cruise tours that combine a Mediterranean or
Northern Europe cruise with a land-based tour. Cruise tours allow you to
spend some extra time in a cruise's departure or arrival port or visit
some of those terrific inland destinations. Click the city names below
to see the options.
These cities are featured on cruise tours that combine a
Mediterranean cruise with a multi-day land tour:
Amman, Jordan
Barcelona, Spain
Florence, Italy
Lake Como, Italy
London, England
Lucerne, Switzerland
Madrid, Spain
Milan, Italy
Paris, France
Petra, Jordan
Rome, Italy
Venice, Italy
Zurich, Switzerland
These cities are featured on cruise tours that combine a
Northern
Europe cruise with a multi-day land tour:
Amsterdam, Holland
Berlin, Germany
Budapest, Hungary
Killarney, Ireland
London, England
Paris, France
Prague, Czech Republic
Shannon, Ireland
Vienna, Austria
For a complete list of
2012 Europe cruise tours and every
discount available, click
here.
Unlike the Caribbean and Mexico, where it's generally best to book
within 90 days of departure for the best price, Mediterranean and
Northern Europe cruises should be booked a bit further in advance,
especially for the peak June to August period. If you wait until the
last minute, you will likely have difficulty finding airline tickets at
a good price, or at all.
If you're planning to cruise the Mediterranean or Northern Europe
between now and the end of August, or if you hope to take a cruise tour
in Europe this year, I recommend booking soon, and no later than the end
of March, for the best price and selection. If you are planning to take
a Mediterranean cruise that departs after the end of August, and are
flexible about date and ship, I recommend waiting until about 120 days
prior to departure to book, as rates for some sailings will drop between
now and then and air should not be a problem.
For anyone traveling from North America, I recommend arriving one or two
days in advance. This will ensure that you don't miss your ship
departure due to airline delays and afford you time to get over jet lag
and do some local sightseeing before boarding the ship or beginning the
tour. Most cruise lines offer pre-cruise hotel packages, which our
cruise counselors can arrange.
Additionally, we can assist with airfare in conjunction with any of our
Europe cruises or cruise tours through the cruise lines' air/sea
programs. In most cases, you'll find that the cruise line's airfare is
competitive with, or less than, what you can find on your own --
especially for European trips that begin in one city and end in
another.
Disney Cruise Line is offering Vacations To Go customers
exclusive shipboard credits of $100 to $200 per stateroom on almost all
of their remaining 2012 cruises. Shipboard credits can be used towards
the purchase of just about anything not included in the upfront cost of
your cruise, from shore excursions to alcoholic beverages to spa
treatments. Click
here
for dates and prices.
Oceania is offering our customers deep discounts, up to 78% off,
plus exclusive shipboard credits of $350 to $750 per stateroom on select
cruises departing this summer and fall.
Some cruises must be booked
by February 12, others by February 29. Click
here
for dates and prices.
For just three days --
February 7, 8 and 9 --
Carnival is
offering Vacations To Go customers shipboard credits of up to $200 per
cabin on select cruises departing between now and the end of June. Click
here
for dates and prices, choose your cruise and
call us Tuesday,
Wednesday or Thursday to book.
Here are the best cruise deals in the next 90 days, organized by port of departure.
Click below for best cruise deals departing US and Canada ports:
Baltimore, MD
Bayonne, NJ
Boston, MA
Charleston, SC
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Galveston, TX
Honolulu, Oahu, HI
Jacksonville, FL
Long Beach, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Miami, FL
New Orleans, LA
New York City, NY (All ports serving...)
Port Canaveral, FL
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Seattle, WA
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Tampa, FL
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Click below for best cruise deals departing major ports worldwide:
Amsterdam, Holland
Athens (Piraeus), Greece
Auckland, New Zealand
Barbados
Barcelona, Spain
Bari, Italy
Beijing (Tianjin), China
Bergen, Norway
Bombay (Mumbai), India
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Cape Town, South Africa
Cartagena, Colombia
Colon, Panama
Copenhagen, Denmark
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Durban, South Africa
Florence / Pisa (Livorno), Italy
Fortaleza, Brazil
Genoa, Italy
Hamburg, Germany
Hong Kong
Istanbul, Turkey
Kiel, Germany
Kirkenes, Norway
Lima (Callao), Peru
Lisbon, Portugal
London, England (All ports serving...)
Malaga, Spain
Marseille, France
Monte Carlo, Monaco
Naples (Capri), Italy
Natal, Brazil
Oslo, Norway
Palermo, Sicily, Italy
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Papeete, Tahiti, Society Islands
Perth (Fremantle), Australia
Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica
Recife, Brazil
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy
Rotterdam, Holland
Salerno, Italy
Santiago (Valparaiso), Chile
Sao Paulo (Santos), Brazil
Savona, Italy
Shanghai, China
Singapore
St. Maarten
Sydney, Australia
Tokyo (Yokohama), Japan
Valencia, Spain
Venice, Italy
Here are today's
Top 10 Cruises,
brand new specials from the world's best cruise lines.
Click the FastDeal # for details.
1)
Caribbean,
7 nights on Carnival,
departs San Juan Mar 25,
starting at $419,
save 76%,
FastDeal # 14436
2)
Bermuda,
7 nights on Norwegian,
departs New York May 6,
starting at $529,
save 56%,
FastDeal # 17931
3)
Caribbean,
7 nights on Princess,
departs San Juan Mar 4,
starting at $452,
save 40%,
FastDeal # 21508
4)
Transatlantic,
13 nights on Celebrity,
departs Miami Apr 21,
starting at $799,
save 53%,
FastDeal # 10868
5)
Mediterranean,
12 nights on Royal Caribbean,
departs Rome May 16,
starting at $1,049,
FastDeal # 17775
(Royal Caribbean does not provide brochure rates for this cruise,
so we are unable to show a savings percentage.)
6)
Mexico,
7 nights on Carnival,
departs Long Beach Feb 26,
starting at $459,
save 74%,
FastDeal # 18814
7)
Caribbean,
7 nights on Celebrity,
departs Fort Lauderdale Mar 11,
starting at $599,
save 41%,
FastDeal # 30201
8)
Asia,
7 nights on Silversea,
departs Beijing May 10,
suite starting at $2,445,
save 83%,
FastDeal # 12483
9)
Caribbean,
7 nights on Seabourn,
departs St. Thomas Feb 24,
suite starting at $2,699,
save 71%,
FastDeal # 24405
10)
South America,
12 nights on Oceania Cruises,
departs Rio de Janeiro Feb 26,
oceanview starting at $3,074,
save 65%,
FastDeal # 12999
For the best last-minute cruise specials in the next 90 days,
click
here.
To search for discounts on cruises departing more than 90 days from now,
click
here.
For escorted tours worldwide, or air/hotel packages to London or Paris,
click
here.
For hotels in the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, Bermuda or the Bahamas,
click
here.
Para visitar a nuestro sitio web de cruceros en español, haga
clic
aquí.
Once you've found a FASTDEAL, call us toll free at 800-338-4962 (US and
Canada) and a cruise counselor will attend to your needs. Customers
from the UK, please call toll free 0800 279 8084. All other
international customers, please e-mail or call us at +1-713-974-2121.
Please e-mail me your comments, suggestions and questions at
alanfox@vacationstogo.com
and I will respond the same day.
To send a copy of this newsletter to a friend or friends, click
here.
Sincerely,
Alan Fox
Chairman & CEO
Vacations To Go
