Jetsettersblog

Destination specialist Voyages of Discovery has launched its summer 2010 cruise atlas with 20 percent early-booking savings and low-cost air add-ons from 25 North American cities. Guests who book by Feb. 1 will save an additional 10 percent with the line’s Launch Offer Savings.

Special rates for single travelers also are available.

The summer 2010 season offers 11- to 17-night voyages such as Greenland to Normandy, the Black Sea and the Levant.

As Voyages of Discovery rarely repeats an itinerary, the line also will offer eight Grand Voyages ranging from 21 to 43 nights.

Cruise destinations for the 650-guest Discovery include the Arctic, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, Red Sea and North Africa. In the atlas, two-page spreads for each itinerary provide destination highlights, an historical description of each port, details on the scheduled guest speaker(s) and values such as hotel stays and low-cost air add-ons.

The brochure can be viewed online, downloaded and printed from the website, or emailed to a client or friend. The line’s website also reflects the new design of the new brochure. New streaming video for winter 2009-10 cruises to India, Asia and Africa also have been added to the site.

“We’re pleased to present a fresh new look to both our brochure and website,” said Mark Flager, vice president of sales, marketing and passenger services. “With the addition of destination videos for our winter 2009-10 programs and richer destination and lecturer content, we’re providing a better understanding of our cruise-tour programs to travel agents and their clients.”

Summer 2010 destination videos are in production and will be added to the site shortly. All Voyages of Discovery itineraries feature an extensive enrichment program. Historians, diplomats, scientists and naturalists provide background and insight into the history, culture, flora and fauna of the destinations visited.

Scheduled guest speakers include Air Chief Marshall Sir Richard Johns; Derek Blundell, emeritus professor of geophysics at Royal Holloway, University of London; and Prof. Richard Wilson, host of the BBC’s “Writers and Places” series. New ports in 2010 include Sicilian Catania, Nauplion near the Greek citadel of Mycenae, the island of Korcula and the city of Split on the Dalmatian Coast.

The itineraries are carefully planned to maximize time spent ashore, exploring sights, many beyond the reach of larger ships. Guests also can visit inland destinations such as Berlin and Cairo. Overnight stays are scheduled in places such as St. Petersburg, Venice and Reykjavik.

Summer 2010 programs include a rare visit to Ilulissat, Nuuk and Qaqortoq, Greenland, on the 17-night “Iceland & Greenland” voyage sailing Aug. 6 from Reykjavik. Cruise fares (with Launch Offer Savings) start at $4,337 per person.

The “British Isles Heritage Trail” departs June 22 from Harwich (London) and includes Discovery’s first visit to Liverpool as well as visits to the Scilly Isles, Dublin, Belfast, Oban and Dundee. Fares begin at $3,485 per person.

At Dundee, Scotland, guests can visit the line’s namesake vessel, the restored RRS (Royal Research Ship) Discovery, flagship of the 1901 British National Antarctic Expedition under the command of Lt. Robert Falcon Scott. Also new in 2010 is “A Taste of France,” a 10-night voyage calling at St. Helier, Channel Islands; La Rochelle, Bordeaux (overnight); St. Malo and Rouen for Paris; and the Normandy beaches. Fares for the Aug. 17 cruise begin at $3,458.

About $3.5 million has been spent on updating and improving the facilities on the Discovery over the past two years and a further $3.5 million will be spent this year. From late May to late August next year, a majority of Voyages of Discovery’s summer cruises will sail roundtrip from Harwich (London). Cruise-tour packages feature two hotel nights in London pre- or post-cruise with an included half-day sightseeing tour. Voyages of Discovery is a trading division of U.K.-based All Leisure Holidays, which also owns and operates Swan Hellenic and Hebridean Island Cruises.

For more information, call 866-623-2689 or visit www.voyagesofdiscovery.com