Rock & Roll All Nite

KISS frontman, Gene Simmons, is in the news for more than just the recent marriage to his longtime girlfriend, Shannon Tweed. This time, he’s in the travel news. With two performances and theme events, a boatload of people will be rockin’ and rollin’ all night long during the upcoming KISS Kruise on Carnival Destiny next week!

Bowzer meets Stacy and Barb from SOFT.

KISS is joining a continuing growing trend of celebrity singers and bands performing on cruise ships. Lynyrd Skynyrd has also played on Carnival. Taylor Swift, Rhianna and Bowzer (former lead singer with Sha Na Na) are among many who have performed for guests on Royal Caribbean. While James Taylor has thrilled fans on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2, NCL’s guests have enjoyed the sultry pop sound of Sara McLachlan. Holland America has pleased American Idol fans by having Adam Lambert sing on one of their ships (pre-AI) as well as the Texas Tenors (post-AI).

How do you get to be on a cruise with your favorite performers? Some celebrities are on chartered “fan” cruises either alone (such as next week’s KISS Kruise) or with multiple celebrities typically in the same or similar genres of music. Other times a singer will be a headliner on a cruise. The best way to know is to follow your favorite performers on their websites, Facebook and Twitter. Or you can try “googling” your ship and sailing to see if anything comes up in the way of headliner news.


Rock on!

~Connie

Pizza at Sea & at Home

Are you a pizza aficionado? As a pizza lover, an article regarding Travel + Leisure’s Best Pizza award in their America’s Favorite Cities survey got my mind moving (and my mouth watering!) on the subject of pizza.

Deciding I wanted to write about cruising and pizza, I wondered about 24-hour availability for pizza lovers on cruises so I contacted the six largest cruise lines. Here’s what I was told.  With the number of ships each of the lines has, there may not be consistency among their entire fleets.

Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Princess Cruises are the best lines for true pizza addicts who need access to a 24 hour fix. Carnival claimed to have a 24-hour pizzeria on all ships, but it’s not on their room service menu.  Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Princess said that pizza is available 24-hours a day by room service.

Holland America explained that they offer pizza in their Terrace Grill 11am – 5:30pm.

A Norwegian Cruise Line agent said they “have food courts that probably serve pizza  and there’s a $5 pizza delivery on Epic,” but she wasn't sure that they have pizza in the food court.  I was put through to another department that promised to call me back with the information for the blog, but I didn't hear back.

Going for your pizza in a buffet or pizzaria is free. Having it delivered to your cabin ranges from complimentary (but please do tip the delivery person) to $5, depending on the line.

So which cruise line has the best pizza? I couldn’t find any recent polls online for that, but my favorite “pizza at sea” has been from Sorrento’s on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas.

Speaking of food and travel, Candy Harrington, a travel writer whose work I'm very familiar with, is finishing a book titled “Eating Well on the Road.”   In it, she shares a lot of her hard-earned experience about realistically adjusting your diet at home and when traveling around the United States to benefit your health.  Some of the tips and strategies she’ll be including can also be applied to cruise vacations.  I asked Candy if she would share a recipe “for an easy, tasty and healthy pizza for this blog. Here’s the recipe for her:

Tomato Basil Pizza

Ingredients

1 8-inch Boboli pizza crust

1 plum tomato, thinly sliced

4 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

2 T Trader Joe's parmesan, romano and asiago cheese blend

Directions

Place pizza crust on an ungreased baking sheet. Layer with tomatoes, basil and cheese. Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes or until cheese is

melted.

Nutrition
2 Servings
Calories: 233
Sodium: 448 mg.

Are you ready to take the “pizza at sea taste test?”

Contact Connie George Travel Associates at info@cgta.com or 610-532-0989 to book your next cruise and let us know how you felt about the pizza!

They Say I Shouldn't Blog About this Cruise Special

I read a fair amount of marketing tips articles. Many of the ones about blogging stress using it to show your personality, professionalism and knowledge. “They” say not to use it to talk about specific prices, promotions and sales. But I wonder if “they” are always right?

People are often interested in the best “deal” so is it really bad if I write to tell you that we have an exclusive promotion with Holland America Line until this Monday, March 22? Is it wrong to tell you in a blog that you can pay a reduced deposit of only $100-300 per person? Is it a bad thing for me to mention here that we will be sure that you receive a shipboard Coupon Value Booklet with a value of up to $340? One Coupon Value Booklet will be given to each person for up to two people in a cabin.

While I’m being so bad, let me share some details:


Reduced Deposits:

Cruises of 7 days or less - $100 p.p. deposit
Cruises of 7-9 days, CruiseTours of 10-14 days - $200 p.p. deposit
Cruises of 15 days or longer (excluding Grand Voyages) - $300 p.p. deposit


Cruise Value Booklets Include:

Complimentary La Therapie Age Zone Treatment: $20 Value - Greenhouse Spa & Salon

20% Off Second Spa Treatment: $20 Value - Greenhouse Spa & Salon

Complimentary Fitness Class: $11 Value - Greenhouse Spa & Salon

Elemis Aroma Spa Ocean Wrap with Massage Treatment: $25 Value (while in port) - Greenhouse Spa & Salon

Complimentary Cigar: $10 Value

Complimentary Souvenir Glass: $3.95 Value

Save $5 on any of our Wine Club Collections: $5 Value

Save $10 on Five-Bottle Admiral’s Choice Wine Package: $10 Value

$2 Discount on Purchase of $20 Bingo Card: $2 Value

$5 Casino Match Play Certificate: $5 Value

Any Slot or Blackjack Tournament: Two Entries for Price of One: $20 Value

Internet Café 10 Complimentary Minutes: $7.50 Value

Holland America Line Logo Items: $10 Off

Free Raffle Ticket for Art Auction for a $500 Bid Credit: $25 Value

$5 Off Holland America Line Bathrobe: $5 Value

Insulated Coffee Mug: $9 Value

$2 Per Minute Discount on Stateroom Call: $10 Value

$10 Off Purchase of Second Telephone Calling Card: $10 Value

Complimentary Glass of House Champagne: $10.50 Value - Pinnacle Grill

Three-month Complimentary Subscription to Food & Wine magazine: 65% Savings - Culinary Arts Center

10% Off Any Item in Online Store at shophollandamerica.com: 10% Savings (Based on estimated average purchase of $300)

Join Holland America Line Wine Club & Receive $25 Discount on Any Item In Online Store at shophollandamerica.com: $25 Value

5 Free Prints: $2 Value

10 % Off the Creation of Digital Media CD: $1.50 Value

Special $10 rate for 2-Year Subscription to Porthole Magazine: $49 Value

While I’m being such a renegade with thumbing my nose at those who tell me what not to write about, let me tell you one more neat promotion we have going on with Holland America. Book by this Friday, March 19 to cruise on Rotterdam roundtrip from Seattle to Alaska July 3 – 10 this summer, we’ll also include a $50 shipboard credit for your cabin!

If you want to take advantage of these promotions, be sure to reach us right away at 610-532-0989, 888-532-0989 or info@cgta.com.

For those article writers whom I normally respect and listen to…. as one of my sons would say… “My bad!”

-Connie