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Twilight Travel / Celeb Travel / Cruising With Celebs / Cruises / → All Tags

Vampires Versus Pirates: "Twilight" Cruise Sets Sail In 2010

Leave your garlic at home: fans of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series and the subsequent movies take to the high seas next year when the first Twilight Cruise and Convention at Sea sets sail in August 2010.

Offered by a new company called Cruises Cruises Cruises, the Seattle-to-Juneau trip August 8-15 already has two Cullen RSVPs—Alice and Emmett (uh, Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene to you). On-board activities include movie viewings as the sequel "New Moon" should be out on DVD by then, a costume ball and trivia contests. Is it too much to hope for vampire baseball too?

"Twihards" with extra time can opt in on a 4-day bus tour beforehand that will take them to Forks and La Push, Washington, which both feature prominently in Twilight and were used as sets for the first movie before production. But start saving your allowance now: cabins on the cruise start at $1049 for a double, with the bus tour at $449.

For a moment we thought vampires actually couldn't get wet, but wait, that's witches. Still, how will a night-dwelling people protect their sparkly skin on the high seas? Pack your SPF 5,000!

Related Stories:
· Twilight fans get chance to cruise with vampire film stars [Guardian.co.uk]
· Alaska Twilight Cruise and Convention at Sea [Twilight Fans Cruise]
· Twilight coverage [Jaunted]

[Still from "Twilight" of Edward Cullen and some chick: SIlive.com]

Cruising With Celebs / Cruises / Crystal Cruises / Food Travel / Chefs / → All Tags

Despite What Arthur Frommer Thinks, Nobu Goes On a Cruise

Arthur Frommer may have dissed cruising this week by stating his horror at "the transformation of the cruise ship to an amusement park," and John Mayer has just disembarked from his ownbooze cruise, but gimmick cruises will soldier on. Who will be next to pack in the fans and pack on the pounds? Leave it to classy Crystal Cruises to appeal to a higher palate by sending celebrity chef Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matushisa out to sea for 12 days and 7 specially-prepared dinners.

For a starting price of $6,640 per person on the Crystal Serenity's July 12 "Byzantine Accolades" sailing, amateur gourmands will be treated to these seven "Omakase," or chef's choice, meals personally prepared by the man himself in his ship-board restaurant Silk Road. Don't forget to haul your Nobu cookbooks aboard either, as Matsuhisa will be signing at sea and giving cooking demonstrations so that when you return to dry land, your sushi skills don't dry up.

Although we don't exactly think of five-star Asian cuisine when we see an itinerary like this one, which hops around Italy, Greece and Turkey, we wouldn't mind not having to worry about the bill as we eat our fill. So long as the sea is calm, we're down with shoveling down the priciest sashimi regardless.

Related Stories:
· Nobu Crystal Cruise Itinerary [Official Site]
· Travel Guru Arthur Frommer: 'I'm horrified by what cruise ships are becoming' [USA Today]
· 'Vom'd the First Night' :: Mayercraft 2 is a Success [Jaunted]
· Cruises Coverage [Jaunted]

[Crystal Serenity Photo: Trondheim Havn; Nobu photo: Daylife/Getty]

Cruising With Celebs / John Mayer / Mayercraft / Cruises / Twitter / → All Tags

'Vom'd The First Night' :: Mayercraft 2 is a Success

Unfortunately, we didn't manage to finagle our way onto the Mayercraft Carrier II, the much talked about celebrity cruise involving and inspired by singer John Mayer and his most passionate fans. But while the boat's still out at sea until tomorrow, reports are trickling back to land, despite onboard tweeters being slapped with roaming charges.

The trip so far, according to John: There were toasts, ill-advised songwriting sessions and collegiate cliché-forming and all of it was very busy. Mayer may or may not be headed to bed right now after "DJing" with iTunes till 7AM.

The trip so far, according to other tweeters:
· "Vom'd the first night. Success!" --urka21
· "Yoga, swim, lay out, water slide, live bands --- life is good on Mayercraft" - hotasmiah13
· "I woke up on the balcony of a room on cruise ship...funny thing is I don't have a balcony in my room." -JayTayLIVE
· "Soft serve ice cream is 4 decks up! Have to keep moving chair for perfect tan..." --MjBubbles
· "Mayercraft tip: Don't fall asleep on top of the TV remote. My back's aching and I accidentally ordered "Horton Hears a Who" on demand." --carlmayer, John's brother, who apparently prefers towel animals to tour dates?

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Political Travel / Cruising with Celebs / Karl Rove / Barack Obama / Holland America / National Review / → All Tags

Does Karl Rove Wear SPF 80? You Can Find Out on Holland America

After the 2008 election, it was conservatives, not liberals, who joked about fleeing the country which they saw as having turned on them to elect President Barack Obama. The impulse is to go somewhere and start over -- really, anywhere will do where conservative ideals can take pride of place again and no one will argue with you about who you voted for.

If this sounds like your dream, you can live it on Holland America's National Review Cruise this summer. Spend 10 days in the Greek Isles with great thinkers like former UN Ambassador John Bolton, former Delaware governor Pete DuPont and, yes, Bush White House insider Karl Rove. Hey, we hear the man raps!

Activities in which you can rub shoulders with these guys and National Review editors as well, who should feel lucky to work at the magazine with the best perk ever, will include onboard yoga and outings to places like Olympia and Santorini.

Related Stories:
· Event Highlights [NRCruise.com]
· Presidential Family Wedding Hits Texas In '08 [Jaunted]
· Cruising with Celebs coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: NYTimes.com]

Geek Travel / Cruising With Celebs / Royal Caribbean / Star Trek / → All Tags

Live Long, Prosper, and Visit the Lido Deck

We confess we're not all that familiar with "Star Trek," the popular sci-fi franchise that gave us William Shatner and "Beam me up, Scotty!" But we can understand the impulse to get together with megafans and geek out together on vacation -- after all, you already know you have something in common with your fellow passengers.

We can't tell you whether the Enterprise was ever used as a pleasure boat, so "Star Trek" megafans will have to settle for Royal Caribbean's Star Trek Cruise of the Mexican Riviera.

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Cruising With Celebs / Jean-Michel Cousteau / Cruises / → All Tags

The Life Aquatic with Jean-Michel Cousteau

A lot of cruises offer snorkeling or other underwater entertainment as part of your ticket price. But what's there to see, and how will you know what you're looking at? Regent Seven Seas Cruises solves that problem by taking aboard Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of the famous underwater ecologist who was the inspiration for Bill Murray's character in "The Life Aquatic."

The Mumbai-to-Cape Town includes a whopping nine days at sea, but that just means more opportunities to spot local wildlife under the sea. Cousteau will give lectures and show slideshows of his adventures with dad Jacques and carrying on his legacy, and a travel photographer will offer pointers on how to get the best pictures of that gorgeous coral.

True, a 19-night cruise pushes the limits of what most allotments of vacation days can provide. But you have time now to start hoarding your days off! Besides, everyone's still going on cruises, right?

Related Stories:
· 19-Night India and Africa Cruise [Signature Travel Network]
· Also on Regent Seven Seas: Relive the Moon Landing on the High Seas [Jaunted]
· Cruising with Celebs coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: detroitsunrise]

Cruising With Celebs / Celeb Travel / John Lithgow / → All Tags

John Lithgow Refuses To Act His Age

Sometimes we wonder what convinces stars to get on a boat with their biggest fans and go somewhere. But in this week's Cruising with Celebs, we can see it perfectly: He gets the offer sitting at a sidewalk cafe with one foot in the air. He tilts his remarkably large head to one side and then, with a pucker of the eyebrow, he thinks, Why not? Could be a right pleasant jaunt. At least we assume that's how it went down when Silversea Cruises approached John Lithgow about climbing aboard its Scandinavian-Russian adventure this July.

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Cruising With Celebs / Erica Jong / Queen Mary 2 / → All Tags

Got a Fear of Flying? Cruise With Erica Jong!

It's zipless: Set sail with feminist legend Erica Jong (author of Fear of Flying, which is not about aviophobia) and Cunard this June on the Queen Mary 2 between Southampton and New York.

The cruise is part of the Literature and Liners series, which promises lectures, Q&As and book signings, although we haven't been able to find any kind of specific itinerary or idea of what the price would be (if any) to add this onto your trip. Jong, a poet and author whose most famous work addressed female sexuality through the unhappily married character of Isadora Wing, is one of several authors invited aboard Cunard in this new program, which also includes poet Rita Dove and novelist E.L. Doctorow.

Set sail with Jong on June 13 and you can participate in the other onboard enrichment on the same trip, Oxford University Press' "Science at Sea." How studious and balanced of you!

Related Stories:
· Cunard Insights [cunard.com]
· Five Reasons We Might Actually Take A Cruise In 2009 [Jaunted]
· Cruising with Celebs coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: njron]

Cruising with Celebs / Cruises / Celeb Travel / Buzz Aldrin / → All Tags

Relive the Moon Landing on the High Seas

Not enthused by the idea of six days at sea with John Mayer? Not to worry, Celeb Cruises are hot right now and there's something for everyone. Literally, everyone.

The latest and greatest we've spied is Regent Seven Seas' Lunar Experience cruise, featuring one Buzz Aldrin. Guests on the Far East excursion, which leaves April 19 and travels from Singapore to Hong Kong, will get to chill out with Neil Armstrong's number two man and also meet Alfred Worden, an Apollo 15 astronaut who holds the Guinness World Record for being the most isolated human, at one point being further than 2,000 miles from the nearest person.

OK, maybe 'celebs' is pushing it a bit with these two, but different strokes for different folks, right? Also, you need serious dough to sail around with these explorers. Starting rates for cabin suites are at $10,495.00

Does the Buzz Aldrin cruise pique anyone's fancy? What celeb would you like to sail away with? Let us know.

· Buzz Aldrin & Alfred Worden to Share Lunar Experiences [Theme Cruise Finder]
· 14-night Ring of Fire World Cruise [Official Site]

· Five Reasons We Might Actually Take A Cruise In 2009 [Jaunted]

Photo: [insidewit]

Cruises / Cruising with Celebs / Travel News / Travel Trends / → All Tags

Five Reasons We Might Actually Take A Cruise In 2009

We've recently commenced detente with the cruise industry, mostly because of its ability to churn out celebrity cruises with such alarming facility. But while travel booking websites are quaking with fear and airline bankruptcies seem more common than a free upgrade, the number of people taking cruises is actually growing.

Granted, we're getting those numbers from the Cruise Lines International Association, which has a vested interest in hyping the trend. But the organization also points out some reasons besides bandwagon jumping that might motivate travelers to take a boat-bound trip in 2009.

New Destinations: One of the things that turns us off about cruising is the relatively snoozy ports of call. (Really? Ft. Lauderdale to Cancun? We'll be dozing by the shuffleboard court.) But the CLIA reports lots of action at "emerging ports" like Bahrain, Dubai, Hvar, Ischia, Mumbai and Sihanoukville. Now we're talking.

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Cruising with Celebs / Cruises / Music Cruises / New Kids on the Block / → All Tags

New Kids On The Block Cruise Sets Sail May 15

The newly reunited New Kids on the Block are jumping on the celebrity cruise meme, planning their own sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale on May 15. The four-day trip will make a stop in the Bahamas, and apparently the booze will be flowing, Joey McIntyre tells People:

We're not going to be drinking piña coladas, we'll be serving them.

Further details on the cruise are still sketchy, but the Kids have apparently been keeping up with the competition, mentioning how their trip will be superior to similar celeb sailings from John Mayer and John Legend. McIntyre goes so far as to report:

Our manager tells us this is not a cheesy thing.

If you say so! Tickets go on sale Wednesday at nkotb.com.

Related Stories:
· New Kids Announce Plans to Perform--on a Cruise! [People]
· Work On Your Tan With John Mayer [Jaunted]
· Pink Floyd Cruise Wishes You Were Here [Jaunted]

Cruising with Celebs / Celeb Travel / John Mayer / Cruises / → All Tags

Work On Your Tan With John Mayer

Don't forget your banana hammock! John Mayer's Mayercraft cruise, which made its debut last year with that unforgettable "Borat"-style swimsuit, still has cabins available for its March 27 sailing.

The original Mayercraft Carrier boasted an '80s Prom and a visit to the Bahamas as well as performances by Mayer and other artists (like Colbie Caillat). The Mayercraft Carrier 2 will leave from Los Angeles, heads off to Cabo and features Guster and O.A.R. as well as its titular dude.

American Express is offering a package (heh) for the 4-day cruise (run by Carnival) for $1,298 per person, which includes "VIP Check-in" and a special session with the almost-Mr. Jennifer Aniston. Hey, it's cheaper than the trip that was put on eBay last year! If your body isn't a wonderland, you might want to check out AmEx's other deals with Carnival involving bands like Barenaked Ladies (February 1-6) or Lyle Lovett (February 28-March 7). Unlike the Pink Floyd cruise, the actual bands will be on board... we think.

Related Stories:
· Where Is Jason Mraz In His New Video? [Jaunted]
· Cruising with John Mayer, Only On eBay [Jaunted]
· And John Mayer's Jaunted Award Goes To... [Jaunted]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Daily Mishmash]