Oasis of the Seas Inaugural Cruise

Hi everyone!

Phil Doyle, KVI's agent in Ft. Lauderdale, just returned with his wife from the inaugural sailing of the brand new world's biggest cruise ship, the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas. To say the least, they were impressed! Here's Phil's review:



BIG, really BIG. Now that I have that out of the way, let me share some impressions from my inaugural sailing on the new ship, Oasis of the Seas. My agency loves booking Royal Caribbean Cruises, so I was invited to take a test ride on their newest ship. I love cruising and have done it 33 times on 8 different cruise lines and 27 different ships. With all of the hype about the Oasis of the Seas over the past year, I was prepared to be disappointed in at least a few areas. I was overwhelmed instead.

Numbers can make for a boring narration, but how can I avoid some of the numbers that make Oasis of the Seas extraordinary? At 220,000 tons, the Oasis is 40% larger than the next largest cruise ship. The maximum passenger capacity is 6,300 with 18 decks and 24 high speed elevators. There are 24 different restaurants, 9,300 pieces of original art and 2,100 crew members. The 12,000 live plants and trees on board create a unique feeling found on no other ship that I have experienced. Add the Broadway hit Hairspray in the 1,300 seat theatre, and the one-of-a-kind 750 seat Aqua Theatre, and you are now ready to pay the $1.4 billion price tag.

Now that the numbers are out of the way, here is how our trip started. Royal Caribbean set as a goal moving passengers from the curb to the ship in just 15 minutes. The new $75 million Port Everglades terminal was designed to do exactly that. I was skeptical. In the cruise industry, anything under an hour curb to ship is a good day. I timed the process and took my time walking through the terminal. 16 minutes! We were in our cabin in 4 more minutes. People, this is huge for the world’s largest ship. Next, we prepared to fight the crowds as we toured the ship, but there was no need. The public areas are so large that the per-passenger ratio is better than many smaller ships. It was incredibly easy to find our way around and the layout of the ship made sense immediately. There is even an interactive flat screen by each elevator bank that will map out any route you choose as well as show you what activities are going on around the ship and how to get there. I have never seen this before and will miss it when sailing on other ships in the future.

Let’s talk about the ship’s personality. Yes, every ship has a personality and the Oasis has one all its own. Imagine the size and amenities of a major Las Vegas hotel and blend it with the style and attention to detail of a Disney theme park. The ship is beautifully crafted in Finland and designed by people who know their customers. The elegance of the Champagne Bar, the Vintage winery, the upscale 150 Central Park restaurant and the 300 seat solarium are a dramatic contrast to the two Flow Rider surfing venues and the Zip Line where screaming guests fly 8 stories over the Boardwalk.

Royal Caribbean’s original goal with Oasis of the Seas was to have the experience be 1/3 familiar, 1/3 evolutionary and 1/3 revolutionary. Looking back on my experience on board, the familiar things like the rock climbing wall, the Studio B ice rink and the center Promenade felt like vintage Royal Caribbean.

Things like the dual Flow Riders, the quality specialty restaurants and the entertainment have evolved to the point where they are better than ever. Features like Central Park and Boardwalk, both open to the sky with overlooking balcony staterooms, live greenery everywhere, a true Broadway play and the Aqua Theatre with the stage that turns into a 17 foot deep pool in seconds are easily the most revolutionary features at sea today. You will take more pictures than you have ever taken on a cruise ship and find yourself planning your next trip before this one is done. Royal Caribbean says that their goal is to deliver the “WOW” in ways that it has never been done before. Forget the BIG, this ship really is about the "WOW!”

Philip Doyle
KVI.Travel
Cruise Specialist
954-817-9042
866-301-2700
phil@kvi.travel

Celebrity Constellation 10 Night Caribbean Cruise Review

March 27th, 2009

Celebrity Constellation

10 Night South Eastern Caribbean Cruise Review

Hi!

It's Kim Turcot & Scott Leeming with a review of our recent 10 Night Southern Caribbean Cruise on The Celebrity Constellation Sailing departing out of Fort Lauderdale on March 27th, 2009...Our cruise vacation on the Constellation was simply magnificent! We were left wanting to do it all over again, small tear drops slipped from our eyes as we disembarked this fantastic ship!While on the Celebrity Constellation, we experienced a truly luxurious experience from the Celebrity staff. Everyone from our room attendants, head & assistant waiters, Maitre d’, guest relations & excursion staff , internet technicians, entertainment director, musicians, etc... & so forth truly rose above our expectations in every way. The meaning of Celebrity's slogan "Starring You" became noticeably self explanatory whilst being pampered literally from dawn till dusk. The food preparation, its delivery to our table by our servers every day was simply splendid. The breakfast & evening dining menu combined with our ability to choose from a fresh & tantalizing buffet made our daily meal choices a breeze...the live music by the talented band "Fusion" kept a fun laid back spirit alive throughout the cruise & several vacationers on their toes dancing in the warm Caribbean breeze... This particular sailing with its itinerary was especially appealing to us which included St, Thomas, St. Kitts, Barbados, St. Lucia & finally St. Martin. The shores & beaches of St. Thomas are rated some of the best in the world & we can now see why that is! Utterly breathtaking views of clear turquoise water as far as the eye can see invite you to jump right in with a snorkel & mask to bask in its beauty...We booked an excursion to St. John's & were equally impressed with our surroundings. This was most unquestionably one of our greatest highlight of the cruise...St. Kitts was next on the itinerary and somewhat disappointing. Although historically interesting, we probably would have enjoyed ourselves more staying on the ship. At a glance, St Kitts is only starting to develop its’ tourism infrastructure for the cruise lines as it migrates away from their historical & labour-intensive Sugar Cane production. The beaches were somewhat disappointing and those that would have been ideal, were owned by the expanding resort developments along the Atlantic Coastline. We did meet a good tour guide who took us sightseeing to the bluffs overlooking the new resort developments where we had the pleasure of seeing the most cute & irresistible green leaf monkeys! These special little creatures were a definite highlight to see... Still, we feel that St Kitts is a few years away from becoming a destination ‘hot spot’...Barbados was wonderful! We were lucky to have booked an excursion on ‘The Tiami’ – a 5-Star Catamaran & Snorkel excursion. We enjoyed snorkelling in two distinct sites where we swam with hundreds of tropical fish & beautiful sea turtles. The mood on this excursion was fun. We were served a 5-star lunch onboard after snorkelling & then allowed to get off & swim or walk along the white sand beaches.. It was here that much Congo juice was poured by the very friendly Congo Man & his Rum Spiced Rum Punch...We even made him a reggae song that we all sang as the juice was poured into our glasses while swimming in the amazing gentle water... This was a really fun & relaxing excursion & we highly recommend it!After spending almost a month in St. Lucia in December 2008, we were quite emotional about returning to this tropical paradise! St. Lucia's lush tropical rainforest & drop dead gorgeous scenery & weather are not to be missed! We hired a fantastic tour guide who drove us near the famous Pitons Volcanic Mountains & everywhere we wanted to go. We managed to see almost every friend we made while in St. Lucia... We opted not to drive to a beach on this stop, though we would recommend any catamaran snorkel sailing to Annes Cochon beach or Annes Chastanet beach or the Jalousie Resort beach which sits directly against the Piton Mountain side. We feel that the southern part of the island is far more beautiful than the northern part which is more populated & resort-based. Tours to the scenic Waterfalls, the Rainforest ‘Zip Line’ the drive-in volcano are also worth a tour. Many of these tours will find you heading towards Soufriere... though it may appear somewhat economically challenged, don’t be fooled as the people are friendly and the views simply stunning. St. Lucia is a very special place to us & many who have come to know the locals can see that they are rich with culture & lifestyle. Like many islands, your first visit will find you taken back by the apparent hustling of cab drivers and merchants to buy their trinkets & such... However, if you are clear about what you want and what you do not want, St. Lucians will show you much respect. St. Lucians are wonderful loving people. We hired a local fisherman named Rudi in Soufriere who took us fishing in December & it was a blast! Some of our favourite guides can be found on our website at www.selectsailingsandtours.com under TOUR GUIDES.Next we visit St. Maarten whose reputation, beauty & shopping Mecca did not disappoint us. Again, here we enjoyed breathtaking views of the Caribbean sea... friendly locals & pleasing scenery... we highly recommend the Captain Morgan Catamaran Snorkel excursion that we missed as it was sold out. Instead we raced on the America’s Cup racing sail ships – two competing ships crewed by two sets of cruise ship passengers... and you do all of the work with the Captain shouting out your tasks as you try to win the race. It was good fun and drinks were supplied, but somewhat limiting in terms of being able to see a wider spectrum of the heralded French side of the island & waters. Also – if you book a beach excursion, know that the French side offers the best beaches (as opposed to the Dutch Atlantic Side).What is most enjoyable about a cruise that is longer than 7 nights, are those days at sea! Wake up late if you wish without the expectation to do an excursion, select one of several breakfast options at your leisure, lay around the pool whilst a live band plays in the hot sun, waves rolling by and that sea breeze that takes you far away from your day to day... drift in & out of sleep if you wish... Note to self; Bring 30 – 50 Proof Suntan Lotion!! Truthfully, those days at sea were equally pleasurable if not some of our favourite times of our cruise! The days at sea are relaxing & give you a real sense of vacationing at its best!All in all, the Celebrity Constellation delivered a 5-star rating for us.

Kim & Scott

Mayan Riviera - Grand Bahia Principe

Hi again,

Our operations manager, Kelly, recently spent a week at the Grand Bahia Principe resort in the Mayan Riviera. Here is his report:

This resort I recommended for everyone. From the introvert to the most enthusiastic extroverts this place has it all. Singles, groups, families, honeymooners - you name it - everybody fits in here on this massive, five-star, 1800 acre property. My wife and I stayed in the Coba portion of the resort where all the rooms are Jr. suites. The room was clean and the staff were always prompt in making the room up and restocking the mini bar.

Did I mention this resort is all inclusive? There are bars every where including 3 swim up bars!

Being that this is such a massive resort I have to point out there are dozens of trolleys, carts and trams that move you all over the property leaving from several different locations

There were lots of on property shops and market places

There are three parts to this huge resort - Tulum, Coba and Akumal - all three of which are at your disposal.

The entertianment is so good I'm surprised there crew isn't all in hollywood making millions! You have the abillity to pick from three different venues nightly (most resorts only have one). My wife and I and our friends all got involved the first night I recommend getting right into the role as its something we will never forget.

There is a Fiesta once per week here - it's 15 dollars per person. The Fiesta is a must see / get involved event. There are carnival games and amazing shows - lots of space & even a blast for the kids !

Sorry folks, keep your clothes on in the pool areas …. the beaches on the other hand are optional ;)

Speaking of the beaches there are many miles of beautiful beaches at this resort.

There are five a la cart resturants to choose from at the Grand Bahia. I recommend the Asian themed one (my personal favorite). Yes, I said Asian and in Mexico it was that good!

We stepped off site a few times and discoved a great Mexican amusment park call Xcarat. It's spectacular! Don’t miss the evening show at Xcarat, it's unreal.

I feel like I could go on and on about this place but I will say this in conclusion: The costs of travlling here were more than reasonalble for what is included. It's impossible to get bored at this resort. The staff is friendly and helpful. The resport is meticulously groomed and clean. The food is excellent and the drinks were good too! You wont find yourself standing in line virtually anywhere on the property. The beaches and the pools were perfect and there were always loads of beach charirs avaliable everywhere. See you at the pool!

Kelly Oram

Operations Manager

KVI Travel

kelly@kvi.travel

St. Lucia

ST. LUCIA

Hey everyone! Scott & Kim, two of our top agents recently traveled to St. Lucia and had a great time. Here is their report:

Scott & I just returned from a 1 month holiday in St. Lucia! We had plenty of time to explore this beautiful island and we are excited to share our knowledge of St. Lucia with our clients and other travellers who are also interested!We saw many of our favourite cruise ships sailing by and to the island. At night the ships were such a sight to see with all their lights shinning off into the sunset!We explored the entire island from the most southern tip through to the north end as well as every village. We also sailed on a private charter for two nights.While in St. Lucia we also had the opportunity to stay in 3 spectacular villas with breathtaking panoramic views of the Caribbean sea...By staying in 3 different areas, we were well educated on which parts of St. Lucia are really the most desirable!If you are planning on travelling to St. Lucia, do not hesitate to contact us for travel advice. Our contact information can be found on our website at http://www.selectsailingsandtours.com/As travel agents we are always ready to give you the very best experience possible!Best Rates! Whether it is an Interline or Retail fare booking for 2 people or a large Group; we have the proven skill at successfully tracking any cruise or tour, in order to secure the best rates. It’s a skill well worth teaming up with as you will see! Best Cabin Choice! As far as cruising goes, we know the ships and deck plans intimately & take great satisfaction in choosing that perfect cabin combination for you every time! For example, ask us what a FANTAIL is!!...We look forward to hearing from you!Kim & Scott