Celebrity Cruises for All-Inclusive Vacations

Why Take a Cruise Vacation? Well, with all the cruise lines available, all the cruise destinations,and the range of prices, there exists a cruise to please even the most jaded traveller.

If you think about it, it's an extremely cost-effective and time-efficient way to take a holiday. Consider all the time you'd spend driving yourself to several different destinations, packing and unpacking at each hotel, and searching for restaurants and other services. On a cruise you don't drive anywhere for seven, ten, fourteen days or even even more. Even if you were on a bus tour with no driving yourself, you haul your luggage or at least one package and unpack it at every new stop. On a cruise, you check your luggage when you check in and it magically appears in your cabin, stateroom, or even suite. You're at home for the duration of the cruise. And the food! Every ship has several restuarants staffed by world-class chefs, and the cost of the food is included as part of the cruise. At each port, guided tours are available so you won't miss any local attractions. Supervised activities such as snorkeling are available to keep the children occupied. And at the end of your holidy staff will pick up your luggage and place it on shore at the intended pick-up point. Taking a cruise vacation frees you from so many of the hassles of traveling, and leaves you with more time to relax and enjoy your destination.

Celebrity Cruise Lines offer some of the best deals in the business. Conde Nast Traveler consistently rates
Celebrity Cruises as one of the world's best cruise lines. Services include informative lectures about your location, upscale boutiques, and Las Vegas style entertainment created for Celebrity by Cirque du Soleil.
Try your luck in the Casino or collect fine art during an onboad auction. The nightlife spectacular at The Bar At The Edge of the Earth.

There's a whole world of pampering waiting for you at the world-famous Aqua-Spa by Elemis. Try a deluxe manicure, a luxurious facial or a relaxing massage. There is even acupuncture by a licensed acupuncturist and Chinese medicine as well. You'll feel renewed and invigorated.

Children feel right at home on a Celebrity Cruise. The Celebrity X-Club Youth Program has age-specific activities and entertainment for every child. Science and nature exploration, talent shows, treasure hunts, children's dinner parties, slumber parties and more are all arranged by professional staff. Special areas of the ship are set aside for children only, such as the Shipmates Fun Factory, teen center and pools. When the ship is docked, adults have the option of going on tours by themselves while the children are supervised onboard. What could be more enjoyable or safer?

Age or disability are no impediment to cruising. Ships are designed for mobility-impaired passengers, and staff is always ready to assist. Celebrity accommodates those who need dialysis or oxygen, and other medical services can be arranged if requested beforehand. Emergency care is always available on board, saving you the trouble of finding a doctor who speaks your language in a foreign country.

Dinner is a vital event in itself on a cruise ship, a tradition dating back to the late 1800's when cruises were for royalty and the wealthy who expected elegant formal dinners. Again, in today's lifestyle the elegant dinner is optional, and for those who like to dine casually, food is available around the clock . However, for those who like a ritzy event where they can show off their best attire and jewelry, there are optional formal dinners where ladies wear long formal gowns or evening dresses and gentlemen have on tuxedos.

Did I forget to mention the cruise destination itself? Celebrity Cruises dock at a different port of call every day or two, depending upon distances and sailing time between points of interest. You can stay aboard the ship all day or disembark. You are free to explore every destination on your itinerary as long as you return to the ship before departure time.

For a small additional fee, Celebrity offers adventures geared toward the unique features of each destination. As an example, Caribbean cruises offer snorkeling, diving or beach excursions while Alaskan cruises offer helicopter tours or sea kayak trips. For the less adventuresome, commonly there are bus tours or even supervised shopping excursions in the local port. Every single thing, including meals, is prearranged. All you have to do is find the correct line onshore and an experienced guide handles the rest of your tour.

Celebrity Century Review

Having just returned from our first Celebrity Cruise aboard the Celebrity Century and I wanted to post a review that hopefully others can benefit from it.Some background on our cruising experience. This is our 6th cruise we have taken in the last 20 years so by no means are we what you would call experts. Nor would you call us rookies either. In the past 20 years we have cruised with Royal Caribbean, Disney, Carnival and Holland (twice). We have been also fortunate enough to attain a financial level where the last 3 cruises have been at the Suite level.We booked the Celebrity Century out of Miami Florida, as we wanted to take a New Years Eve Cruise. A word of caution if you are looking to take a cruise over any New Year you will want to book very early. For example, the first week of October there were several options on several cruise lines. In the second week of October most all of these choices we gone.

There were four of us in our party and we purchased one water card and one beer card for the four of us. I cannot recommend these cards enough. On the water you get your choice of Evian stilled and Perrigrino Sparkling. You get bottled water at no charge at every bar, every restaurant and all day everyday. These are not the small bottles either - these are the large bottles of water all the way to the 1.5 liter size. During dinner we easily went through 5 bottles a night.

The same goes for the beer card. The beer card gives you every can or bottle of beer at no charge. This includes both domestic and imports. To make the math work on a beer card you need to drink about 6 beers per day. You can only order one beer at a time, but on the pool deck there are 4 bars in the immediate vicinity. At first we simply each took my card to each different bar and ordered a beer. Then one of the waiters came over and asked told us that we did not need to come to the bar because he would make the bar "come to us". I then told him we were looking for some good service and slipped him a $20 in his pocket. That was it - we never had to make another "beer run" the rest of the cruise. Regardless of the number of beers we wanted - he brought them over and put them on the free card. On every cruise you should always tip your waiter early in cash and I promise you that you will get better service than you ever have had in the past.

A note on tipping. At first I felt a little guilty when the bartender or waiter gave me a bottle of water or beer and the charge slip had zero, but a spot for additional tip. Then I remembered that Celebrity had had 15% to the cost of the card for the gratuity. In essence the gratuity on these drinks was pre-paid.Also remember to double check your charge slip to make sure the waiter did not charge you. We did have 3 separate incidents where the waiter inadvertently charged us. The good news is as soon as we pointed it out they reversed the charge.A more professional cruise experience? The cruise on the Celebrity Century felt like it was designed for the more seasoned cruiser. It is highly likely that what I am about to describe is common through out the Celebrity Cruise Line, but since this is my one and only cruise with Celebrity, I can not say this for certain.

Compared to all of the other cruises I have experienced, I never felt "sold to". Unlike other cruises there was not the constant announcements about a jewelry sale, art auction, bingo game, etc. Our mail box / cabin was also not littered with flyers and coupons reminding us of the same. It was a nice break. This is not to say that Celebrity did not keep us informed about what was happening aboard the Celebrity Century. There were occasional announcements and of course the daily itinerary of events was delivered to our cabin nightly. But if you waited to be told what to do next aboard the Celebrity Century you would have missed out on various activities.

Celebrity Cruise Line - Celebrating Fun Cruises

Spending a vacation aboard one of the Celebrity Cruise ships promises to be a luxurious experience considering that they are one of the best high rated ships in the world. They have luxurious suites, spas and world-class restaurants that guarantee a different gastronomical experience. They also offer endless possibilities for fun and excitement wherever you choose to go. However, all these may not come true if you don't plan and book a trip properly.

The first thing you should consider in booking for a Celebrity Cruise ship vacation is the destination you want to go to. There are over nine destination offered by this shipping line, each offering a distinct experience, climate and adventure. Usually, the destinations offered are Alaska, Australia, Caribbean, Europe, Galapagos, Hawaii, Panama Canal and Transatlantic. If you haven't been on a cruise before, it will be worth doing a research on each destination to know which one you will suit your tastes.

After choosing a destination, the next thing you will check is which Celebrity cruise ship is scheduled for that destination. There are nine ships on this shipping line and each has a different destination schedule. One way of finding out which ship is bound for your chosen destination is checking their website, their travel agents or your travel agent.Knowing when and how to book your vacation is also as important as choosing where and on what ship board. If you are comfortable using the online booking, then booking can be done on the website. If not, you can call either their office or a representative nearest your location. Booking with their agents also offer some advantages as booking anywhere else as they are usually more updated and knowledgeable.

Aside for booking the trip, you may also want to consider booking shore and land excursions. This ship line offers a variety of escorted tours such as those to the Easter Island on Chile, Outback Australia, cathedrals in Europe and the Mediterranean, and Canadian Rockies. It will be best to check what tours are available for your chosen ship. And if you decide to go on one, be sure to book four days before your scheduled sailing for online booking. Otherwise, you will have to book aboard the ship.

Lastly, know any policies that the ship may have prior to sailing day or booking to avoid surprises. For instance, you may want to check smoking policies. Usually, a no smoking policy is imposed inside land transportation during land tours. There are also designated areas for smoking on the ship and smoking anywhere else is prohibited.

Jennifer Aniston Launch Her Debut Fragrance

 

Jennifer Aniston flew across the pond to launch her Debut Fragrance by Jennifer Aniston at Harrods, rather than launching in the US first.

There is much confusion about the launch of her fragrance, the name Lolavie went down like a lead balloon and it has been removed from all packaging and promotional materials.

The bottle is now blank (why?) and there’s a slip cover of Jen over the white box. It’s such a shame she didn’t keep the original name and packaging, who cares what everyone thinks, it’s her fragrance and she has a huge fanbase! It will be interesting to see how it rolls out in the US.

Anyway as usual she looks absolutely flamboyant at the launch from the pre-fall 2010.11 collection with strappy Azzedine Alaia sandals.

Georgia May Jagger for Versace spring/summer 2010

The highly anticipated Versace Spring/Summer 2010 advertising campaign staring the British Fashion Council’s Model of the Year 16 yo daughter of Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall Georgia May Jagger.

“She’s smart, beautiful, full of energy and has a strong personality… and with that natural high star quality, I adore her,” Donatella Versace told WWD. “She’s perfect for this collection – a real Versace girl.”

 

Shot by Mario Testino in London last month, we must admit this is not the kind of look we were expecting. With the likes of Hudson Jeans playing on her sexy pot looks and Versace’s previous campaigns so striking in their simplicity we’re not loving the pink Versace logo splashed across the image.