Cruise: Sail Away—Cruise Lines Celebrate Love

WINDSTAR COUPLESail Away: Cruise Lines Celebrate LoveBy Paloma Villaverde de RicoThe four cruise lines we’re featuring in this month’s cruise section—with offerings from Alaska to Tahiti—up the ante when it comes to celebrating love on the high seas, and yes, of course we’ve included the ultimate “love boat.” Princess Cruises — Come Feel the LoveI mean, what’s a romance on the high seas story if it doesn’t include the Love Boat. This year, in fact, Princess Cruises launched the “Come Feel the Love” brand campaign, leaning into love as the brand’s superpower and touching all its offerings, including onboard services, F&B and entertainment. In other words, your couples will “feel the love” around every corner, just like travel advisor Kathleen Herman, owner of Vacation Travel Pro, LLC, a member of the Avoya Network, did when she decided to get married on board a Princess ship. When we asked Herman what made her decide on this as the site for her destination wedding, she responded, “We originally wanted to have a beach wedding in California, we’re from Arizona. We looked from San Diego up to Malibu and couldn’t find anything less than $20K for the wedding. We also realized with everyone having to come from out of town, we’d only have a few hours with a ton of people and didn’t want that to be our experience. So, we looked at cruise ships. I worked at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge in Alaska for two summers and had been on one Princess cruise. We looked into it and found it was a fraction of the price for a far better experience. Over 60 guests came to the wedding and 30 sailed with us. We were recognized all week as ‘the Bride and Groom’ and it was like being celebrities on the ship. Highly recommend the experience.” Princess Cruises offers three wedding options: At Sea Wedding Cruise, where couples are married by the ship’s captain at either the onboard wedding chapel or library; the Harborside Wedding Cruise, which is ideal for wedding groups that include non-sailing guests; and Ashore Wedding Cruise, which means the couple will be married ashore at one of the destinations visited during the sailing—imagine a glacier ceremony. Yes, that’s an option if the couple has opted for an Alaska cruise and it’s sure to wow your clients when you recommend it. PRINCESS QUOTE As Jill Whelan, who played Vicki Stubing, the daughter of Captain Stubing on “The Love Boat” and is currently a Celebrations Ambassador for Princess, notes, “Alaska is one of my favorite destinations for a romantic getaway—as the #1 cruise line in Alaska, Princess offers guests the chance to immerse themselves in the beauty, culture and adventure of The Great Land, all at an incredible value.” And she adds, “What better way to celebrate romance than on ‘The Love Boat’? World famous for its celebrations at sea, Princess Cruises makes the perfect romantic getaway with world-class amenities and personalized service.” If couples are thinking of saying “I do” on a Princess ship while sailing in the 49th state, they’ll have an array of itineraries to choose from as the line offers 145 departures with 14 unique voyages (in 2023 alone) as well as four departure ports. During their sailing, the newlyweds will enjoy immersive experiences that bring them up-close to local personalities, the destination’s culture and the famous Alaskan seafood, not to mention they'll have the opportunity to go dog sledding on a glacier, take a flightseeing adventure and enjoy plenty of wildlife viewing. They can also extend their time in Alaska and continue celebrating their love with a stay a one of Princess’ wilderness lodges, located on the doorsteps of legendary national parks. Of course, while sailing with Princess, couples can also say “I do” on a Caribbean beach. For couples who prefer that to a glacier wedding, recommend a sailing on the Sun Princess. The first in the line’s new Sphere class, Sun Princess will debut in February 2024 with an inaugural season in the Mediterranean and Europe, and then, starting in October 2024, homeport in Port Everglades for the winter season offering 7- to 14-day Caribbean sailings. VIRGIN VOYAGESVirgin Voyages — Splash of RomanceVirgin Voyages, considered by many the ultimate adults-only getaway on the high seas, just debuted a new ship of its own—the Resilient Lady. Her inaugural season is in none other than Greece, one of the world’s most romantic settings. With the addition of Resilient Lady to the fleet, Virgin Voyages adds all-new ports in bucket list destinations. After her inaugural sailings in Greece she’s off to Australia and New Zealand from Dec. 11, 2023 to March 27, 2024. So, what does a ship like Resilient Lady offer couples looking for a little romance, aside from the obvious adults-only setting? Well, the 7-night Greek Island Glow itinerary, for starters, which has couples visiting Santorini, Rhodes, Bodrum and overnighting in Mykonos before returning to Athens. Also debuting this season is the 7-night Adriatic Sea & Greek Gems itinerary, roundtrip from Athens, with stops in Split, Dubrovnik (late-night stay), Kotor and Corfu. That late-night stay in Dubrovnik allows couples to explore this lively destination until the wee hours. The ship also debuts new entertainment, new soirees in The Manor, onboard parties and more live musical acts. And of course, when in Greece…Virgin is debuting Opa Hour, an ode to Greek culinary tradition. Held in the Dock and Dock House, Opa Hour features a Greek-inspired food and beverage menu in addition to the usual offerings. For couples, Virgin offers the Splash of Romance package—curated for only 75 cabins per voyage, so quite exclusive. The package includes priority boarding; wristband set; curated daily cold-pressed juices; two 3-hour Thermal Spa Passes; a Shake for Champagne; Sail Away Hour and sultry bites. If couples want to celebrate a special anniversary with friends, recommend Virgin’s party planning packages such as A Splash for Your Bash, which includes a bottomless brunch event, a dinner party with curated beverages and desserts, and a complimentary bottle of Moet & Chandon.OCEANIAOceania Cruises — A Foodies HeavenThere’s also a new addition to the Oceania Cruises fleet—the all-veranda Oceania Vista. It’s the first of the line’s Allura class, and the line's first new ship in a decade. This is the ideal vessel to recommend to couples who are true foodies (I mean, the ship’s godmother is celebrity chef Giada, who will be creating two new signature dishes exclusive to Vista). On board, couples have a choice of 11 culinary venues, including three which are new to Vista: Aquamar Kitchen, offering an array of wellness-inspired dishes; The Bakery at Baristas, serving freshly baked pastries; and new signature restaurant, Ember. Additionally, Vista is also introducing The Casino Mixology Bar, a new concept for the line focused entirely on the art of the cocktail. In all, the Vista offers eight bars, lounges and entertainment venues, plus the Aquamar Spa + Vitality Center and Aquamar Spa Terrace. A top recommendation for couples is to spend time in the Culinary Center and enjoy a hands-on cooking school at sea. Culinary classes on board Vista include Brunch Around the Globe, Classic French Technique, Harvest Unleashed (with a plant-based menu) and It’s a Dessert Party. Or perhaps afternoon tea or wine tasting is what tempts your happy couple. During this summer season, Vista’s onboard delights are framed with exceptionally beautiful landscapes as the ship is sailing a series of Grand Voyages in the eastern Mediterranean, Aegean and Adriatic seas, visiting iconic cities and smaller boutique ports throughout Italy, Turkey, Greece and the Holy Lands. While exploring ashore, couples can choose from Food & Wine tours, which are led or organized by a local culinary expert— sommeliers, chefs and wine writers—granting access to unique insights and behind-the-scenes experiences, or Culinary Discovery tours. And point to the Wellness Discovery Tours by Aquamar for couples who want to complement delicious fare with some active exploration.Windstar Cruises — Tahiti AwaitsThe all-suite Star Breeze will call on one of the most enchanting destinations in the world come February 2024—Tahiti. This Windstar Cruises vessel, sailing with only 312 passengers, thus making it ideal for a romantic getaway, will sail French Polynesia year-round, replacing the Wind Spirit. And Windstar will go beyond its usual Tahitian cruise stops to the extremely remote Marquesas Island on the brand-new, 14-day Tahitian Treasures & Magnificent Marquesas itinerary. Says Chris Prelog, Windstar Cruises’ president, “We’ve been hearing from travel advisors and guests that they want us to offer different cruises in Tahiti, and we’re pleased to be able to take them beyond the more expected locales to far-flung islands that have fewer than 1,000 residents.” WINDSTAR QUOTE This itinerary will take couples to the Tuamotu Islands of Fakarava and Rangiroa en-route to and from the Marquesas, where the yacht spends time in Omoa, Fatu Hiva; Atuona, Hiva Oa; and Taiohae, Nuku Hiva, ending with the Society Islands of Tahaa, Bora Bora (an overnight), Moorea, and Papeete. Surrounded by all that beauty, it’s only natural romance will bloom, and for that, Windstar offers a couple of packages. The Starstruck Romance package features an onboard welcome of flowers, chocolate and a bottle of Rose Champagne; a commemorative cruise certificate; a romantic dinner under the stars and Champagne breakfast in bed; romance turndown each night; romance photo; and World Spa by Windstar credit. The Starstruck Plus Romance package includes all of the aforementioned plus an exchange of vows ceremony that comes with a bridal flower bouquet, cake, flower arrangement setup, champagne toast with canapes for 10 guests, and the vow exchange ceremony officiated by the captain. While on board the Star Breeze—which underwent renovations as part of the line’s $250 million Star Plus Initiative—couples will be pampered with a new spa, an infinity pool, spacious staterooms (recommend a suite, with the highest category featuring a private verandah) and culinary delights, including two new dining venues. “Our tagline has always been 180 degrees from ordinary,” says Prelog, and that means “providing guests with new experiences, whether it’s trying new food, going into a new destination, or being the expert on all things Tahiti. The Windstar brand is for customers who want to slow down, who really want to learn about the destination they’re exploring.” In terms of the type of customer who tends to be a repeat guest for Windstar, Prelog points to three types. There’s the “‘Active Explorer,’ which really seeks out new destinations and is quite active, the ‘Cruising Parents,’ a group that are not yet empty nesters, but are okay taking a vacation sans children, and they enjoy Windstar because of the services and because it’s a casual fun atmosphere, and the ‘Sailing Sophisticate,’ those guests who like to cruise, but also appreciate the onboard amenities and want to have great service and engage with the crew.” Contact InformationOceania Cruises: oceaniacruises.comPrincess Cruises: princesscruises.comVirgin Voyages: virginvoyages.comWindstar Cruises: windstarcruises.com

COVERDISNEY CRUISE LINETable of ContentsEditor's NotesSANDALSSANDALS SPREADAdvisor Speak: Peer Advice — Selling Destination WeddingsTURKISH AIRLINESIndustry Insights: The Caribbean is on a RollHYATT INCLUSIVE COLLECTIONPALLADIUM SPREADCaribbean/Mexico: Endless Love—Sun, Sand & RomanceCaribbean/Mexico: "Destination I Do"SANDALS SCLA COLECCION SCLA COLECCION ADSAINT LUCIA SCSAINT LUCIA ADOnsite Review: Iberostar Selection Playa Mita—Something for EveryoneOnsite Review: Hyatt Ziva & Zilara—The Two Faces of Hyatt in the Mexican CaribbeanSouth Pacific: Tahiti — New Air & Land Booking OptionsCruise: Sail Away—Cruise Lines Celebrate LoveVIRGIN VOYAGES SCVIRGIN VOYAGES ADOnboard Review: MSC Meraviglia RelocatesRECOMMEND EDU HOUSE AD