Mike and Darlene’s Weekly DEAL! Norwegian Jade/Barcelona!

Before we tell you about this week’s great deal on a 12 night roundtrip cruise aboard the Norwegian Jade from Barcelona…Tapas anyone??? 
We found this interesting tidbit at Wikipedia (isn’t the net a wonderful thing?)
“According to the Joy of Cooking, the original tapas were the slices of bread or meat which sherry drinkers in Andalusian taverns used to cover their glasses between sips. This was a practical measure meant to prevent fruit flies from hovering over the sweet sherry. The meat used to cover the sherry was normally ham or chorizo, which are both very salty and activate thirst. Because of this, bartenders and restaurant owners began creating a variety of snacks to serve with sherry, thus increasing their alcohol sales. Soon the lowly tapa (from tapa derived the verb tapar, “to cover”) became as important as the sherry.”
Tapas have become so important, in fact, that you can find bars and restaurants dedicated solely to tapas, with a huge variety of delicious food items to sample as you relax and visit with friends. We love tapas, and a great place to find them is Barcelona, Spain. With that in mind, our feature cruise this week is an AMAZINGLY low fare on a 12-night cruise that starts and ends in Barcelona. This cruise is aboard the Norwegian Jade, (this ship even has a tapas bar onboard!) a ship we’ve sailed and really loved. The Jade features relaxed, Freestyle cruising, multiple dining venues, some really great entertainment, and the following fantastic itinerary on January 3rd, 2010:

Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Jade   January 3, 2010

Sun 01/03 Barcelona, Spain – Embark – Time subject to change.   07:00 PM
Mon 01/04 At Sea   
Tue 01/05 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 08:00 AM 08:00 PM
Wed 01/06 At Sea   
Thu 01/07 Athens (Piraeus), Greece 11:00 AM 08:00 PM
Fri 01/08 Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey 08:00 AM 05:00 PM
Sat 01/09 At Sea   
Sun 01/10 Alexandria, Egypt 07:00 AM 
Mon 01/11 Alexandria, Egypt   06:00 PM
Tue 01/12 At Sea   
Wed 01/13 Valletta, Malta 11:00 AM 06:00 PM
Thu 01/14 At Sea   
Fri 01/15 Barcelona, Spain – Disembark – Time subject to change. 05:00 AM 

In addition to exploring Barcelona, you’ll get to visit two of the major stops on “Steps of Paul” tours: Piraeus and Ephesus. You’ll have two days to explore the fascinating sights and sounds of Alexandria, Egypt, “The Pearl of the Mediterranean”.  There is way too much history associated with this city to synopsize here; suffice it to say that a place that was founded in 331 BC will have some interesting stories to tell!

You’ll visit Malta before returning to Barcelona on the 15th of January, what a wonderful way to start a new year! And for a SONG!!! Interior staterooms for this 12-night Mediterranean adventure start at only $699* per person, plus tax! Why on earth would the fare be so low? Our company held group space on this cruise MONTHS ago, when the fares were really low, now that the ship is starting to fill, our group space results in a $240 per person savings on an interior stateroom!

Ocean View staterooms are another great deal at only $879* PP plus tax, a savings of $100 PP!

Want to enjoy a private balcony? We have block space at $1099* PP plus tax, saving you $300 PP, AND getting you up to a 4-category upgrade, based on availability.

If you’ve always wanted to visit some of the places on this exotic itinerary, do not wait! Our space is limited, and if the cruise line can call it back if they need the space. Give us a call at 1-800-267-7613 and put some tic-marks on your “bucket list”!

Until then, have a great weekend!
Mike and Darlene

*prices are based on double occupancy, and include port fees. Tax, airfare and insurance are additional. Fares are subject to change and availability.

CHINA!

By Mike & Darlene Jordan

Last week we wrote about whether or not it’s safe to travel to Mexico, and we determined that, yes, it is. Still, it’s a good idea to check out the economic and civil situation in any foreign country to which you may consider traveling.

Just yesterday, we were presented with the opportunity to lead a group tour and river cruise to China in May of 2010. The itinerary is fantastic and so is the price, so it’s time for us to take a look at whether or not this is a good idea.

Our first stop, of course, is the U.S. State Department website, travel.state.gov. This site is a must for anyone considering overseas travel to an unfamiliar country, or any country that’s been in the news lately. There are several places on the site to check, and the first of those is the Travel Warning section. According to the website, travel warnings are “issued to describe long-term, protracted conditions that make a country dangerous or unstable,” or if there’s no embassy or consulate there to help American travelers. China is not on the warning list. So far; so good.

Next we check the Travel Alert page. Alerts are issued to “disseminate information about short-term conditions…that pose imminent risks to the security of U.S. citizens.” Yes, China is on that list. The first alert, dated July 9, 2009, involves unrest in the city of Urumqi in the Xinjiang province. This is an autonomous Muslim region of China, and our itinerary doesn’t go anywhere near there—no problem. The second alert, also dated July 9, is a reminder that China is very wary of the H1N1 virus, also known as the swine flu, and has taken some very proactive steps to prevent it from entering the country via foreign tourists. These steps include special temperature screenings at the airport and quarantine of incoming international passengers if swine flu is suspected. According to the alert, “the overall percentage of Americans being quarantined remains low,” but if there is suspected swine flu, that quarantine could be as long as seven days.

Would this be an inconvenience? Yes. Is it a deal breaker? We don’t think so, but now is the time to consider travel insurance. That’s a no-brainer, since we always take travel insurance, but we checked with the company we use, TravelGuard, and were reassured that the dollar value of any time missed due to quarantine, up to the entire cost of the trip, would be covered and reimbursed. So, the slight possibility of inconvenience is there, but no serious potential loss of money.

Lastly, we need to weigh all of this against the value of the itinerary. Here’s where we’d be going: The trip would start May 8 with a two-night visit to Shanghai, then we’ll board our Viking River Cruise ship, the Century Sun and sail first to “the Venice of the East,” Suzhou. The next day, we’ll visit Mt. Jiu Hua and its Buddhist temple. We’ll continue our journey up the Yangtze River to Jingdezhen, the “birthplace of porcelain,” Wuhan, Dongting Lake, Jingzhou (where we’ll tour an elementary school sponsored by Viking River Cruises), followed by one of the tour highlights, the Three Gorges and Lesser Three Gorges. This 150 mile stretch of river features towering limestone cliffs and a trip through the five-stage locks of the Three Gorges Dam.

After stopping in Shibaozhai with its 12-story temple, we’ll disembark the ship at Xian, but the trip will be far from over. A flight to Chongqing will take us to the world famous UNESCO site, the Huang Mausoleum, home of the Terra Cotta Warriors. Then…we’ll fly to Beijing for a two night stay featuring visits to the Great Wall, the Sacred Way, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. All along this route we’ll be treated to museum visits and guided tours to all of the sites.

Opportunities like this don’t come along very often, especially for the price (this is not a travel agent freebie for us). After taking a look at everything—there’s no warning of imminent danger to Americans, the slight risk of inconvenience on arrival, the incredible itinerary and value for the money—we’re going!

Why not come with us? We’ve got great 2 for 1 pricing from Viking River Cruises and $250 per person off on international air if you’re paid in full by September 30! Give us a call at 1-800-267-7613 for complete details, or email us at cruisesinc2@gojade.org. We’ll look forward to hearing from you!

 So, until next time, if you want to see for yourself where all of these places are…get out the map!