SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS TRANSFERRED TO PULLMANTUR

Royal Caribbean International’s Sovereign of the Seas will be reassigned to the
company’s Pullmantur fleet as Sovereign, and the Los Angeles- based Monarch of the Seas will assume Sovereign of the Seas sailings out of Port Canaveral. These changes will take place in October and November 2008.

Sovereign of the Seas last scheduled sailing for Royal Caribbean
International will be on October 31, 2008. Two subsequent cruises, scheduled for November 3 and 7, will be cancelled, and those booked on those cruises will receive a full refund and an onboard credit for rebooking an earlier Sovereign of the Seas sailing during 2008 (excluding holidays). All rebookings must be made by December 31, 2007. All currently booked on Sovereign of the Seas on or after November 10, 2008, will be re-accommodated onboard Monarch of the Seas.

Monarch of the Seas will make her last regularly scheduled sailing out of Los Angeles on October 13, 2008. All currently booked on a subsequent sailing will receive a full refund and an onboard credit for rebooking a three, four or five-night Caribbean sailing, or a seven-night Mexican Riviera sailing, onboard Royal Caribbean International in 2008 (excluding holidays). All rebookings must be made by December 31, 2007.

On October 17, 2008, Monarch of the Seas will reposition to the East Coast when she departs Los Angeles on a 16-night Panama Canal cruise to Miami. The ship will then undergo a scheduled, weeklong dry-dock before welcoming her first Port Canaveral passengers for three and four-night Bahamas sailings starting November 10, 2008.

RCI SWAPS SHIPS WITH PULLMANTUR

Royal Caribbean is exchanging the Empress of the seas with its Spanish cruise arm Pullmantur who will be moving its Blue Moon ship over to become the Azamara Journey.

The Empress of the seas is the smallest of the RCI fleet at just under 50,000 tonnes. This is a modern looking ship – more yacht like in appearance – and able to visit more diverse ports of call than its larger cousins in the Royal Caribbean fleet. It was originally launched in 1990 as the Nordic Empress and refurbished in 2005 when it was renamed the Empress of the Seas.

Check out the last ever cruises The Empress of the Seas is doing under the RCI banner on the Jetline Cruise website. We are offering 13 night fly cruise packages to the Southern Caribbean from only £799pp – which is available from November this year until March 2008 when it changes hands.

This is an incredible offer as the itinerary is packed with big name Caribbean Islands and has far fewer days at sea unlike the other offers out there at the moment... There are only 2 days at sea during this 11 night cruise itinerary. The £799pp price includes a direct flight to New York with an overnight hotel stay and the option to add extra nights on in New York. Then onward direct flights to san Juan to embark the ship which visits St Maarten , Antigua , St Lucia , Barbados , Aruba , Curacao , Margarita before return back to Puerto Rico and the flight home.

Pullmantur Cruises are a successful brand in Spain and have recently made inroads into the UK cruise market by appointing Jetline Cruises to be is general sales agent . Pullmantur is prefect for the UK cruise market and first time cruises as it can offer smaller friendly ships at unbelievable prices. The Spanish (like the Brits) love a tipple or two and so Pullmantur specialise in All Inclusive drinks cruises. Jetline Cruises have been successfully promoting these throughout the Summer with £399pp for a 7 night fly cruise all inclusive drinks package to the Mediterranean on the Oceanic and £699pp for a 9 night fly cruise all inclusive drinks package to the Caribbean on the Holiday dream.

Their ships have both Spanish and English language on board and include some old favourites such as: The Big Red Boat now the Oceanic, The Celebrity Zenith, The P&O, Australia Pacific Sky now the Sky Wonder and the iconic Love Boat now the Pacific.

‘SS OCEANIC' REVIEW

Originally intended for Transatlantic service, the delightful 39,000 ton ‘SS Oceanic’ entered service in 1965, but with the dramatic downturn in demand for such liner voyages in the mid 60’s, she effectively went straight into the embryonic cruise industry as a new build.

I have experienced the considerable pleasure of cruising on ‘SS Oceanic’ in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Indeed at his table on Gala Dinner evening in 2005, Captain Roman Krstanovic declared : “This ship is a masterpiece – she has the most beautiful and perfect hull, and after forty years is still a perfect cruise ship!” His admiration and affection for the last remaining of the great Italian liners of the 60’s is eminently understandable. She is every inch a classic, and the ship has proven to be a great success for her current owners, the Spanish company Pullmantur, now part of the ‘RCCL’ empire.

Sailing on her regular Western Mediterranean weekly schedule, departing Barcelona every Monday, she has acquired a formidable reputation for excellence throughout the Spanish cruise market, and is often booked to capacity. Her loyal followers embrace all age groups, and there is usually a sizeable group of British ‘expats’ on board.

Language is simply not a problem. All the officers and most of the crew speak English, and the daily cruise news and all menus are produced in both English and Spanish.

Being powered by steam turbines, Oceanic does not suffer from any of the unpleasant vibration sometimes associated with diesel propulsion. This is particularly beneficial in the cabins overnight, when you sometimes wonder if the ship is actually moving at all! Being built originally for the North Atlantic, she is fully stabilized, and has very good ‘sea-legs’!

Food is generally excellent, and certainly lives up to the ship’s four star rating. Drinks are on an ‘inclusive’ basis, and this means very acceptable wines – a good Rioja for example - with lunch and dinner, along with branded whisky, gin, vodka, brandy and liqueurs on demand from the ship’s bars. There is a nominal charge for certain premium brands.

The ship is very well appointed and maintained throughout, and certainly does not show her age! She was also the very first ocean liner/cruise ship to be built with a large retractable ‘magrodome’ roof over her upper deck, enclosing when necessary the Riviera Pools, and providing a very flexible space which is used to the full for everything from sunbathing, through buffet dining, to the Captain’s Gala Cocktail party.

I recommend Oceanic without hesitation – she is a graceful and elegant vessel externally, but with a friendly and wholly unpretentious atmosphere within. Her passengers clearly know how to enjoy themselves – sometimes noisily – and Pullmantur certainly knows how to manage a successful cruise operation. Oceanic is a truly wonderful experience – enjoy her while she is still around!

Colin R. Miell, July 2007.

Jetline Cruise are offering Amazing ALL INCLUSIVE 7 Night MED cruises on the Oceanic from only £399pp.