Jetsettersblog

The number of river cruises to include Düsseldorf, Germany, as a new stop is expected to increase by 50 percent this year.

Bookings of Düsseldorf city tours by river cruise operators have increased steadily by about 20 percent annually over the past years, reports Düsseldorf Marketing & Tourism GmbH, the visitors and convention bureau of the city of Düsseldorf.

“Direct access to the city center, the tourist appeal of the city, and extraordinary festivals and events right on the Rhine are main reasons for the growing importance of Düsseldorf as a new component in cruise itineraries,” said Düsseldorf Mayor Dirk Elbers at the 45th ITB in Berlin (March 9 to 13), a trade show for the tourism industry.

River cruises were featured as a new focus of the city’s tourism marketing at ITB as new kinds of river cruises mirror the popularity and success of sea cruises and attract new consumers to the cruise market.

In addition to the established market of 50-plus travelers, who make up about two-thirds of river cruisers, many younger people are discovering the appeal of river cruises, especially those with themes such as wellness, yoga, golf, and other sports.

“Düsseldorf is more popular than ever,” Elbers said, referring to the current record numbers, especially in foreign tourism.

In 2010, visitors booked 3.6 million hotel nights, more than ever before.

The number of foreign visitors to Düsseldorf increased by 17 percent and hotel stays by foreign visitors now make up about 40 percent of all booked nights. The national average is 15 percent.

Düsseldorf International Airport, Germany’s third largest, offers several non-stop flights from U.S. and Canadian cities, including Atlanta, Chicago, Ft. Myers, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Newark, Toronto, San Francisco and Vancouver. For more information about the airport, visit www.fly2dus.com.  For more information about Düsseldorf,

Quark Expeditions, a polar travel specialist, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year with a new ship and other changes. “In January, we added Sea Spirit to our fleet for a new level of comfort in polar cruising,” said Hans Lagerweij, president of Quark. “In February, our sponsorship of ‘Antarctica: Photographs by Santiago Vanegas’ at the Atlanta airport successfully launched our new mobile website. Now March has begun with an unexpected honor. Travel and Leisure has nominated us as World’s Best Tour Operator.”

Quark will operate a 66-day World Cruise from July 10 to Sept. 13. The cruise will visit Anchorage, Alaska; remote islands in the Russian Arctic; Svalbard in Norway’s Arctic region; Greenland; and the Northwest Passage, the northern route to Asia in the Canadian Arctic.

Most of the voyage will be conducted in continual daylight, as the route is far above the Arctic Circle. Never to be repeated, this World Cruise will include more opportunities to see polar bears, walrus, and musk oxen in the wild than any other wildlife cruise in 2011.

The Arctic Circumnavigation is the last time Quark’s flagship Kapitan Khlebnikov will carry passengers through northern waters. The conventional icebreaker retires as an expedition vessel in March 2012.

Special guests will sail on the voyage. Peter Schmidt Mikkelsen will participate in the segment known as the Greenland Semi-circumnavigation, Aug. 4 to 24.

In the 1970s, the Dane spent a number of years patrolling the remote and virtually uninhabited eastern shore of Greenland by dog sled.

He was a member of the SIRIUS dog patrol, a special division of the Danish Royal Navy charged with protecting the sovereignty of the world’s largest island.

Irish filmmaker and polar explorer John Murray has spent a lifetime documenting the polar regions for international television. In 2002, he backed the Irish Canadian Franklin Search Expedition that sought the remains of Sir John Franklin’s lost ships. He will spool his films and present an insider’s view of contemporary Arctic exploration aboard Arctic Passage Aug. 22 to Sept. 13.

While sailing the Northwest Passage through the Canada Arctic, participants can earn marine navigation certification from Starpath School of Navigation. The school’s founder, David Burch, will provide hands-on training during the voyage in a full navigation station. The training is included in the cost of the expedition.

The per person cost, based on twin occupancy, is $88,990.

All cabins have facilities en suite and exterior views.

Helicopter sightseeing and Zodiac cruising is also included.

For more information, call 888-892-0171 or visit

www.quarkexpeditions.com

2011 is going to be the year of pleasant surprises for luxury cruise travelers as offers pour in with great cruise deals to Alaska.

VICTORIA, BC, – Oceania Cruises are some of the most unparalleled luxury cruises in the world offering you the finest of service and cruise experience of the highest order.

This year Oceania Cruises is offering a wonderful cruise deal where you get to travel as a couple at a single fare rate. You are eligible for 2-for-1 cruise fares with free air travel fee as well.

When you board the mega cruise ships on the pristine waters leading to Alaska from selected gateways you are also eligible for $1000 bonus savings and a shipboard credit of $1100 US dollars. Cruise vacations cannot get any better than this.

The cruise ship has a royal dining experience with the most impeccable cuisine at sea offered along with outstanding and extravagant accommodations.

Excellent staterooms and suites, aristocratic treatment by well-trained and experienced staff members, and a sumptuous amount of fun-filled onboard activities makes for a perfect cruise holiday amidst unprecedented comfort and luxury.

To take advantage of these lucrative cruise deals of Oceania Cruise, get in touch with your nearest luxury cruise specialist.

These people have far wider network of contacts in the travel industry that will help you find the best deals.

The 2-for-1 cruise fare deals are ongoing as of now and could offer you a perfect getaway.

About cruiseholidayspacific.com:

www.cruiseholidayspacific.com is a Cruise Holidays franchisee that helps the citizens of the magnificent Victoria, British Columbia plan, organize and reserve the perfect cruise vacation.

For more details please visit: http://www.cruiseholidayspacific.com

Cruise broker AdventureSmith Explorations now offers Australia cruises on three small ships — the 46-passenger Coral Princess, the 50-guest Coral Princess II and the 72-passenger Oceanic Discoverer.

Their sizes mean that the ships can maneuver hard-to-reach points of interest such as the Great Barrier Reef that larger vessels can’t. An eight-day Great Barrier Reef cruise aboard Coral Princess is priced from AUD$2,883 per person double. Departures from Townsville and Cairns are weekly year-round.

“Smaller boats mean more activity for guests,” said Todd Smith, founder and director of AdventureSmith Explorations.

“It is a lot easier to get 46 snorkeling-bound passengers onto the reef than it is to get 100 there. Plus Coral Princess has more experience as a dive/snorkel operator, having pioneered reef cruising in the region.”

Small-ship cruising in Australia is up, according to Smith, and 2011 is promising to be a banner year.

“According to Tourism Australia, it continues to be one of the hottest destinations in the world with 2010 visitors increasing by 6 percent over 2009,” Smith said.

“One of the hottest trends seen, Australia small-ship cruise business has increased an impressive 30 percent each year for the past two years. Tourism Australia anticipates an even larger increase in 2011.”

Smith said that the fleet uses an awning-draped aluminum excursion vessel for landings and exploration of King George Falls and secluded rivers. Another cruise adventure accesses the Kimberley, a region on the northwest side of Australia bordering the Indian Ocean. An 11-day cruise is priced from AUD$6,950 per person, double. The cruise aboard Coral Princess II or Oceanic Discoverer begins from the frontier towns of either Darwin or Broome.

For more information, call 800-728-2875 or visit www.AdventureSmithExplorations.com

Adventure Canada takes majority stake in a new partnership with Cruise North Expeditions

Cruise North Expeditions, a subsidiary of the Inuit-owned Makivik Corporation, is pleased to announce a new partnership with Adventure Canada that will continue to offer polar cruises with the cultural content and Inuit staffing that has become a trademark of Cruise North Expeditions.

In 2011, Cruise North Expeditions departures will be merged with Adventure Canada’s Clipper Adventurer schedule, including dedicated CNE programming.

The Clipper Adventurer, a sister ship of Lyubov Orlova has benefited from extensive renovation and offers an ideal blend of safety, comfort and functionality that makes it a leader in the field. Cruise North passengers will enjoy enhanced comfort and programming through the new joint venture.

Beginning in 2012, Adventure Canada and Cruise North Expeditions will each continue their traditional offerings of dedicated sailings with Inuit staff, itineraries and programs specially designed to bring benefit and opportunity to the people who call the Arctic home.

About Cruise North Expeditions

Cruise North Expeditions was founded in 2005 by the Makivik Corporation of Quebec, a highly successful investment corporation born of the first modern-day Aboriginal land claim settlement agreement in Canada (the JBNQA of 1975).

Makivik also owns the well-respected First Air and Air Inuit. Cruise North Expeditions earned a place on Conde Nast Traveller’s prestigious “Green List” for their environmental efforts and commitment to helping preserve Inuit culture through tourism.

For more information on Cruise North Expeditions please visit http://www.cruisenorthexpeditions.com  or call 1-866-263-3220

About Makivik Corporation

Makivik Corporation is an Inuit organization mandated to protect the rights, interests and financial compensation provided by the 1975 James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, the first comprehensive Inuit land claim in Canada, and the more recent offshore Nunavik Inuit Land Claim Agreement that came into effect in 2008.

Makivik actively promote the preservation of the Inuit culture of Nunavik communities.

For more information on Makivik Corporation please visit http://www.makivik.org

About Adventure Canada

Adventure Canada is an award-winning tour operator based in Mississauga, Ontario that has been providing comfortable and educational voyages to the Arctic, and the world, since 1988.

With a special blend of academics, thoughtfully planned itineraries, high quality lecturers and programming and old fashioned fun, Adventure Canada’s innovative style has been recognized by fellow leaders in the travel industry with recent awards from the Travel Industry Association of Canada Business of the Year Award, Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador’s Cruise Vision Award and the National Geographic Top 100 Tour Company Award.

For more information on Adventure Canada please visit http://www.adventurecanada.com  or call 1-800-363-7566.

SANTIAGO, Chile – Cape Horn is one of the most expected excursions among tourists who travel to Chilean Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego with Cruceros Australis. Very few are the lucky ones who have had the chance to visit such a remote 4-century old destination, full of legends and adventures.

They say Cape Horn is at the end of the world, where nature boasts its grandeur and splendor at its best. It’s a place where one feels vulnerable before nature’s greatness. Cape Horn is a hill-like promontory located north of Drake’s Sea, south of Isla Hornos at the Hermite archipelago.

Located in Chile’s territorial waters, this area belongs to the Cape Horn district. More specifically, Cape Horn is 437 miles from Punta Arenas and 102 miles from Puerto Williams, within Cape Horn National Park, which was founded in 1945.

Cape Horn was declared a Biosphere Reservation by UNESCO in 2005.

To award this status, UNESCO not only took its location into consideration, but the characteristics of this park of heavy rains and cold weather, where the average temperature is below freezing and rainfall is as much as 27 inches per year, on average.

Add to it strong winds, which makes this scenic spot one of the world’s largest challenges for the vessels that dare to sail one of the southernmost places in Patagonia.

Cruceros Australis has two routes: Punta Arenas to Ushuaia and vice-versa. Prices for double cabins (all-inclusive) vary between US$ 1400 and $3340 per person, depending on the season and type of cabin.

The route from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas lasts 3 nights (also all-inclusive) and rates vary between US$ 1050 and $2500 per person.
www.australis.com

Hurtigruten is offering a nine-day “Glaciers & Icebergs” voyage along Greenland’s west coast.

Traveling roundtrip from Copenhagen, the Disko Bay expedition delves into Inuit culture while exploring a landscape ranging from the icebergs of Ilulissat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to Qeqertarsuaq, situated on an old volcanic island.

A range of optional excursions in each stop start at $18.

Prices for the three June departures range from $6,579 to $9,870 per person, double, with discounted prices of $5,646 to $7,339 for bookings made by April 30.

Members of the 1893 Ambassador Program receive a free business-class upgrade on the flight from Kangerlussuaq to Copenhagen, as well as an additional 5 percent discount.

Fares include transfers as applicable, roundtrip, economy-class flights between Copenhagen and Kangerlussuaq, including taxes and surcharges, with business class upgrades for $532 per person; a selection of drinks for those in suites;

and a wind- and water-proof jacket.

International flights and optional excursions are additional.

For more information, call 877-301-3117 or visit

www.hurtigruten.us

Compagnie du Ponant has announced a seven-night “Celtic Shores” program aboard Le Diamant, available from July 2 through Aug. 28 from $1,395 per person, double.

The cruise explores Celtic culture, its origins, history and legends, visiting Portsmouth, Isle of Wight, Cornwall, Dublin, Pembrokeshire National Park, the port of Cobh, Cork and the Scilly Isles.

Historians will be onboard to act as guides, supported by Celtic entertainers. For more information, call 888-400-1082 or visit www.ponant.com

Celebrity Cruises will send the 2,850-guest Celebrity Solstice to Australia and New Zealand for the winter of 2012-13, replacing the 1,814-passenger Celebrity Century that will be there this upcoming winter.

Celebrity Solstice will transition from a 2012 summer in the Mediterranean to Australia/New Zealand via the Suez Canal and through Southeast Asia before arriving in Sydney in early December. The repositioning sailings will include multiple overnights in ports including Dubai and Cochin, India.

In Australia, Celebrity Solstice will operate 12- and 13-night open-jaw sailings between Sydney and Auckland, New Zealand. The season also will include a circumnavigation of Australia, consisting of two open-jaw sailings between Sydney and Perth (Fremantle). Many of the itineraries include overnight stays in Sydney.

Celebrity Solstice will continue a series of destination-immersive onboard activities that will debut during Century’s upcoming Australia/New Zealand season. Activities include local vineyard and wine shore excursions, onboard talks by local cultural entertainers and speakers, and destination-focused food and drink menus. Some activities will be complimentary.

Celebrity will continue to offer its Australia/New Zealand cruise-tour program. Celebrity offers four- and five-night pre- and post-cruise escorted land tour packages in Australia, which include destinations such as Port Douglas (Great Barrier Reef), Ayers Rock (Uluru) and Sydney. A six-night pre-cruise New Zealand package will visit Auckland, Rotorua, Queenstown and Sydney.

Australia highlights include a full-day tour over the Great Barrier Reef and a gourmet barbecue dinner under the outback sky at Ayers Rock. All cruise-tours are escorted by local tour directors, and include hotel accommodations, transportation, select activities, breakfast and some additional meals.

Full details will be available on March 23, when bookings for the 2012-13 Australia/New Zealand itineraries will open for sale. Bookings for the 1,814-guest Celebrity Century’s 2011-12 Australia/New Zealand cruises are open now.

Hurtigruten has announced its top 10 excursions on Norwegian Coastal Voyages for 2010. Leading the list, with more than 55,000 guests, is a trip across the 71st parallel to the sub-Arctic landscape of the North Cape Plateau, the northernmost point in continental Europe.

Coming in second and third, respectively, are the tour of the Arctic Capital Tromsø, including a visit to the Arctic Cathedral, and “A Taste of Vesterålen,” a guided tour illuminating the history and landscape of the town.

The other winners, in order, are the “Midnight Concert in the Arctic Cathedral”;

a visit to the Russian border; the Geiranger Fjord (Panorama 2), a UNESCO World Heritage Site;

the Lofoten Islands in the Arctic Circle;

Breakfast at the North Cape; the ancient Nidaros Cathedral and Ringve;

and the “Glacier Adventure” in Svartisen.

Because the top 10 list is based on the number of visitors, some of the smaller group excursions, such as dog sledding and the bird-watching safari, did not make the list but are often fully booked.

For more information, call 877-301-3117 or visit

www.hurtigruten.us