Cruise West’s Alaska Experience

Within more than half a million square miles lies a world so vast, so rich, that even with repeated visits you will never grasp its scope.  Alaska.  Known as the Great Land, it is a place of extremes.  Majestic mountains.  Thundering glaciers.  Picturesque ports.  Ancient cultures.  Towering rainforests.  Sweeping tundra.

Cruise West’s small ships share Alaska’s secrets with you.  Four unique voyages in the coastal waterways of Southeast Alaska offer unique insights and rare experiences. Your journey will take you away from crowds to the grandness of the special places around you, the hidden fjords, the secret coves, the Native villages and the enchanting ports.

Your choices of itinerary are as wide as the Alaskan sky and Cruise West’s small ships take you to more of Alaska than any other cruise line.  From 4-day to 11-day cruises, there’s an itinerary that’s just right for your dreams.

Two exciting routes explore Alaska’s Inside Passage with routes from Seattle to Juneau, and round trip Juneau, all exploring the charming ports and scenic waterways of the legendary Inside Passage.  Lush evergreen forests, snow capped mountains, calving glaciers, breaching whales and gatherings of bald eagles invite you to one of the last great wild places on earth.

With more permits than any other cruise line, our Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve cruises offer you an unending panorama of wildlife, fjords and the wilderness heart of Alaska, allowing you to discover the real Alaska, accompanied by an onboard National Park Service Ranger and a Native Cultural Interpreter.

Beautiful Prince William Sound is the home of mammoth glaciers, colonies of seabirds, a myriad of wildlife like humpbacks, orcas, grays, otters, seals and sea lions.  This spectacular region of meandering shorelines studded with hidden islands and enfolded fjords is a hidden treasure where few roads reach and even fewer cruise lines go.  Here is a pristine landscape the world has come to treasure.

Alaska’s glorious coastlines stretch for more than 6,000 miles.  Yet these enchanted waterways only reveal part of its beauty because Alaska’s interior is also filled with surprises.  To complete your Alaska voyage, come to the heartland.  Discover mountain ranges, vast landscapes that are home to moose, caribou, grizzlies and wolves.  From the enormous wilderness of Denali National Park to the serene peace of remote, rustic lodges, when you add a land tour to your cruise, you’ll capture even more of the unsurpassed beauty that is Alaska.

Come with Cruise West on the trip of a lifetime to experience the realization of something you’ve dreamed about, planned for and looked forward to.  Seeing Alaska by small-ship will get you closer let you see more and show you personally what Alaska truly means.

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One Week Only – Azamara Cruises Special Offer

Book your travel between August 13 and August 20, 2009 to take advantage of this promotion.

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Travel the Historic Columbia & Snake Rivers by Small Ship

I know the summer season is coming to a close, but if you have not had a chance to get away, I would like to suggest this Small Ship Adventure with Cruise West sailing along the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Enjoy the Autumn colors that’s right in our own backyard.

There are still a few Cabin Spaces available and you could receive 25% savings if you take advantage of the Cruise West Stowaway program. This would mean, you could save up to $1,366 per person when you purchase a Columbia/Snake Cruise in a 30 Day window. Reserve and book a 7 night cruise, including port fees, taxes, gratuity and shore excursions for as little as $2,658 per person, depending upon availability and sailing departure date.

Cruise West’s eight-day, seven-night Voyage of Discovery along the Columbia and Snake Rivers takes explorers on an up-close, casual and personal journey traveling in the footsteps of the Lewis & Clark Expedition.  Retracing nearly 1,000 miles of their historic route, the small ship’s path invokes the adventurers’ spirit of exploration with spectacular natural vistas, informative historical excursions and enlightening culinary delights.

Departing from Portland, Oregon, the 96-guest Spirit of ’98 sails along the Columbia River and into the Bonneville Dam and locks, the first of eight sets of dams and locks throughout the trip.  From there, guests will take a drive by motor coach to breathtaking Multnomah Falls, the tallest falls in the state of Oregon.

The ship will continue upriver to the Columbia River Gorge, an 80-mile-long, 4,000-feet-deep river canyon that is a natural wind tunnel and the only sea level route through the Cascade Mountains.  At the Bonneville Dam’s Visitor Center, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Interpretive Guides will give a tour of the giant turbines and explain how the Columbia River provides the majority of the electrical power in the Northwest.  The Nez Perce Indian tribe will then greet the ship in Clarkston, Washington, where guests will board covered jet boats for an excursion into awe-inspiring Hells Canyon.

In the increasingly popular wine region of Walla Walla, Washington, visitors will enjoy the Fort Walla Walla Museum, which houses a collection of more than 35,000 catalogued pioneer artifacts, dioramas and a replica village. A special casually elegant lunch has been arranged at a local favorite restaurant before a tour and tasting at two unique wineries.

The ship then departs for the Maryhill Museum, a historic mansion sitting in solitary splendor on a bluff over the Columbia River.  Here guests will explore an eclectic collection of Native American arts, European paintings, and the Queen of Romania’s personal effects.  The museum offers a stunning view across the Columbia River to the Oregon plateau and Mount Hood, Oregon’s tallest volcanic mountain at 11,240 feet.

From the museum, visitors will descend a narrow road to Biggs Junction, where various branches of the historic Oregon Trail joined together.  The trip’s grand finale finds guests in the historic town of Astoria, home to Fort Clatsop – an appropriate ending, considering the fort belonged to Lewis and Clark more than 200 years ago.

Every Cruise West trip hosts Exploration Leaders onboard to provide guests with a wealth of insider knowledge and a passion for the history of the region.  Because Cruise West’s philosophy embraces adventure and spontaneity, the captain and crew will stop or linger at unexpected and unusual sites along the way, whether they involve ancient geologic forces, Native American myths and legends, intrepid explorers, or regional wine.

For more information about traveling to the Columbia & Snake Rivers with Cruise West, please feel free to contact me at 1-914-922-5577 or email: arthur.wright@protravelinc.com

Here’s a sample of the fine cuisine that you’ll experience when you travel with Cruise West.

Nuka Hiva Pepper Steak

8, 3-4oz. Tournedos of Beef Filet
3 tbsp  Fresh cracked black pepper
Sea Salt to taste
4 oz. Clarified butter for Sauté’
4 oz. Brandy
4 oz. Mango Chutney processed to a smoother consistency
8 oz. Good veal demi glace

Chopped parsley and red bell pepper brunioise for garnish.
Roll tournedos in cracked pepper and then season with a little sea salt. Sear off in sauté pan with a little clarified butter to temp.  Remove from pan and deglaze with brandy and mango chutney finish with demi and mount with a little sweet butter.  Plate 2 tournedos and top with sauce and garnish. Finish plating with chef’s choice of potato and vegetables and serve hot.

4 Portions

Note: I would like to thank Cruise West for allowing me to post this recipe. This is one of the additional pleasures that you as a passenger will enjoy.

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* CRACKED BLACK PEPPER-BLUEBERRY DUCK BREAST AND POTATO CAKES

Today’s recipe is

* CRACKED BLACK PEPPER-BLUEBERRY DUCK BREAST AND POTATO CAKES

As prepared by Executive Chef Allan Day

*We would like to thank Royal Caribbean for giving us permission to post this recipe from their Savor RCCL International Cookbook

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One Day Royal Caribbean Sales Event For Tuesday August 18, 2009

This Sales Event is a one-day only event. These prices are valid only for NEW bookings made on Tuesday August 18, 2009.

* Click on the Royal Caribbean International logo below to see their current cruise offers.

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Collection of Barbra Streisand to Preview Aboard Queen Mary 2

Possessions spanning star’s life and career to be auctioned live in Beverly Hills in October, benefiting charities supported by The Streisand Foundation.

6 August, 2009 – Cunard Line and Julien’s Auctions are partnering once again – to present an exclusive preview from The Collection of Barbra Streisand – onboard flagship Queen Mary 2’s Transatlantic Crossing to England departing New York 23 August, before they are sold at auction live and online at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA on 17 and 18 October, 2009. All proceeds from the auction will benefit The Streisand Foundation, founded more than two decades ago by the famed actress-singer-director-composer-activist-philanthropist, to aid humanitarian causes worldwide.

During the Queen Mary 2 Transatlantic voyage, Darren Julien, President, and Martin Nolan, Executive Director, of Julien’s Auctions will be joined by Marty Erlichman, Streisand’s long-time manager, to present an exclusive inside look at the auction and the prolific career of the famed entertainer through the line’s acclaimed onboard enrichment programme, Cunard Insights.

After Queen Mary 2 arrives in Southampton, the auction highlights will then be exhibited at The Museum of Style Icons in Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland. From Ireland, the highlights will travel to Beverly Hills where a full public exhibition will be presented.

Julien’s Auctions will offer more than 400 lots from Barbra Streisand’s stunning personal collection, including fine and decorative art, Americana furnishings, Art Deco fixtures, oriental rugs, Native American baskets, and the international star’s personal Yamaha Baby Grand Piano, along with timeless movie memorabilia and costumes from her numerous film, television, live concert and special personal appearances. Clothing highlights include costumes and outfits from “The Way We Were,” “Funny Lady,” “On a Clear Day,” “Yentl,” “Nuts,” “Prince of Tides” and “Meet The Fockers,” as well as custom Donna Karan and other designer pieces, including two vintage Christian Dior fashions.

Exhibitions for the auction will be created by WRJ Design Associates, who have designed exhibitions for The Estate of Katharine Hepburn, The Estate of Johnny Cash, The Collection of Cher and recently The Collection of Michael Jackson.

Registration is required to bid in the live auction of The Collection of Barbra Streisand. Registration and bidding, including absentee bidding, can be done either in person at the exhibitions and auction, by visiting www.juliensauctions.com before the sale, or by calling (310) 836-1818.

To learn more about Queen Mary 2 and to book a voyage, please contact your travel agent Arthur Wright at (914) 835-7600 Ext 226, or feel free to email me at awright@richtravel.com.

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One Day Royal Caribbean Sales Event For Tuesday August 11, 2009

This Sales Event is a one-day only event. These prices are valid only for NEW bookings made on Tuesday August 11, 2009.

THIS OFFER HAS EXPIRED

* Click on the Royal Caribbean International logo below to see their current cruise offers.

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