Posts Tagged ‘Royal’

Vietnam Royal Tour 17 Days From Saigon

DAY 1: HO CHI MINH CITY ( D)
Welcomed at Tan Son Nhat airport and transfered to Hotel. Short city tour to the Reunification Hall, China Town and Thien Hau Pagoda. Welcome dinner on boat to cruise along Sai Gon river to see Saigon by night. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

DAY 2: MEKONG DELTA (B, L)
A.M. Leave for My Tho town of Tien Giang province (the first province in the Mekong Delta – about 75 km from Ho Chi Minh City). Visit Dong Tam snake-farm and Vinh Trang pagoda. Boat trip on Mekong river to visit the fruit gardens and peasants” houses on a islet. Lunch at a typical restaurant of Mekong Delta. P.M. Return to HoChiMinh City. Shopping. Night in hotel.

DAY 3: HO CHI MINH CITY – PHAN THIET (B, L)
Drive to Phan Thiet, a famous beach 200km to the North of Ho Chi Minh City. Check in at a lovely beach resort as Blue Ocean or Bamboo Village. Free bathing with sun and white sand at the resort. Night at the resort.

DAY 4: PHAN THIET (B, L)
Enjoy the beach at sunrise. After breakfast visit the famous moving sand-hill of Phan Thiet. Visit Poshanu Cham Tower, Duc Thanh School. Night at the resort.

DAY 5: PHAN THIET – NHA TRANG (B, L)
A.M. Visit Phan Thiet Market. Then transfer to Nha Trang city, 250 km North of Phan Thiet which is considered as the best beach of Vietnam. Check in hotel. Relax at the beach in front of the hotel. Seafood dinner. Overnight in Nha Trang.

DAY 6: NHA TRANG – ISLANDS (B,L)
Full day boat trip to visit Tri Nguyen Aquarium, Hon Tam Island. Sea-bathing in the blue water beach. You can also enjoy diving or snorkelling at the islands. Night in Nha Trang.

DAY 7: NHA TRANG (B, L)
A.M. Drive to Nha Phu Bay and get reach of the Monkey Island by a boat. Visit Monkey Island and admire playfull performances of the monkeys.
P.M. Visit Ponagar Cham tower, Hon Chong Promontory, Long Son Pagoda, Dam Market. Overnight in Nha Trang.

DAY 8: NHA TRANG -HOI AN (B, L) ( Flight )
Transfer to Nha Trang Airport for flight to Da Nang. Meet and transfer to Hoi An ancient town, 30 km South of Da Nang, one of the World”s Cutural Heritage. Visit Japanese Bridge, Chinese Pagoda… Overnight in Hoi An.

DAY 9: HOI AN – DA NANG – BANA RESORT(B, L)
Transfer to Danang for visiting Ngu Hanh (Marble) Mountains, Non Nuoc Beach, Cham Museum. Continue to Ba Na Mountain Resort by car and get on the resort by telepheric. Visit Ba Na and stay overnight to enjoy the pleasant weather.

DAY 10: BA NA – HUE (B, L)

Visit Ba Na. Then transfer to Hue, the old capital city of Vietnam, 120 km from Danang. You will have a chance to view the Hai Van Pass, the most beautiful mountain-pass of Vietnam. Check in hotel. Night in Hue.

DAY 11: HUE (B, L)
A.M. Boat ride along Perfume River to visit Thien Mu pagoda, Minh Mang King”s Mausoleum and Hon Chen Temple.
P.M. Visit Tu Duc and Khai Dinh”s Mausoleums, Tu Hieu pagoda. Night in Hue.

DAY 12: HUE – HANOI (B, L)          by Flight
A.M. Visit Hue Imperial Citadel, Dong Ba Market.
P.M. Transfer to Phu Bai Airport for flight to Hanoi . Meet at Noi Bai airport and transfer to hotel. Evening enjoy Water-puppet show – a Vietnamese famous traditional art. Overnight at hotel.

DAY 13: HANOI (B, L,D)
Full day city tour to Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Ho Chi Minh House-on-stilts, Ho Chi Minh Museum and One-Pillar Pagoda, Hanoi Old Quarter, Temple of Literature (the first University of Vietnam), Restored Sword Lake, Tran Quoc Pagoda. Diner at restaurant. Overnight in Hanoi.

DAY 14: HANOI – HAI PHONG – CAT BA (B, L)
A.M. Transfer to Hai Phong seaside city (110 km). Board on a hydrofoil to travel to Cat Ba Island.
P.M. Visit Cat Ba National Park, Trung Trang Cave, Cat Co Beach. Canoe ride around Cat Ba. Overnight in Cat Ba.

DAY 15: CAT BA – HA LONG – HANOI (B, L)
A.M. Boat cruise to Halong Bay to admire thousands of charming islands and natural caves with various shape of stalagmites such as Thien Cung, Dau Go. Lunch on board with seafood.
P.M. Return to Hanoi . Overnight at hotel in Hanoi.

DAY 16: HANOI  FREE DAY (B)
Breakfast at your hotel. All day free to shopping around Hanoi. Overnight in Hanoi.

DAY 17: HANOI – DEPARTURE (B)
Transfer to airport for departure.

More information at : http://www.hanoipeacetour.com/english/?page=tours&menu=detail&id=292

Tour Cost includes:

- Full transportation by private car or bus as tour program indicated.
- Full meals as indicated in the itinerary. Lunch and dinner at local restaurant – Vietnamese food
- 2 Domestic flights : Nhatrang – Danang., Hue -Hanoi

- English /French – speaking guide
- Entrance fees.

- Private Boat trip in Perfume River, Nhatrang, Tiengiang river in Mytho.

- Hight speedboat ticket : Haiphong – CatBa -Haiphong

- Twin-share accommodation with daily breakfast; ( AC room)

Tour Cost excludes:

International airport tax in Hanoi at USD 14.00 nett per person

International airfare to/from Vietnam

Personal insurance.

Expenditure of a personal nature, tips, such as drinks, souvenirs, laundry, emergency transfers & etc.

Visa to Vietnam

More information at : http://www.hanoipeacetour.com/english/?page=tours&menu=detail&id=292

A Cruise Through The Royal Carribbean

cruises are luxury hotels that move every half hour, it’s a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, a mass of one hundred thousand tons, that glides on the ocean between Florida and the islands of the Caribbean on a regular basis.

Royal Caribbean International is the second largest cruise ship operator in the world with revenues in excess of $4 billion. It owns 28 ships with more than 65,000 berths on them and is growing. Here’s their story.

Flash back to 1969. An idea suddenly struck Arne Wilhelmsen and Edwin Stephan (Arne was a Harvard-educated investor and Edwin a famous Floridian businessman). The idea was that there was a large community of extremely wealthy Americans in Florida, and that this community would put down top dollar for a short, relaxing luxury cruise to the nearby Caribbean.

Arne and Edwin marketed this brainwave to some of the shipping magnates in Norway who readily bought it and came up with large investments. After a short gestation period, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (and an entire new industry) was born.

By the next year (1970), the infant company could speak of it’s first possession: The SONG OF NORWAY, a splendid cruise ship, weighing 18,500 tons and equipped for 700 passengers, custom-built in Finland. The most stunning feature of it was a cocktail lounge cantilevered around the smokestack (Edwin Stephen got the idea from the Seattle Space Needle). This lounge was built into many of the Line’s later ships and became the hallmark of the Company’s fleet.

* Growth, Growth and More Growth *

The founders of the Company pursued their vision of achieving market dominance through a continual program of adding ships and services. A consolidated record of this, which is very difficult to find elsewhere in the media, is presented below:

1971

Cruise ships NORDIC PRINCE and SUN VIKING arrive

1978

SONG OF NORWAY cut in half, 75-foot piece with 164 cabins introduced in between

1980

NORDIC PRINCE augmented the same way

1982

SONG OF AMERICA arrives with a larger, more luxurious lounge around the smokestack

1988

SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS, the largest cruise ship ever built at 73,162 tons for 2,276 passengers, arrives at a cost of $150 million

1990

- NORDIC EMPRESS arrives

- The Company expands beyond the Caribbean: Mexico, Alaska, and Europe are added as destinations;

- Industry’s first computerized booking system introduced

1991

- MONARCH OF THE SEAS arrives, ready for 2,354 passengers

1992

- MAJESTY OF THE SEAS delivered, equipped for 2,354 passengers

1993

- The Company goes public

1995

- LEGEND OF THE SEAS arrives, built for 1,804 passengers

1996

- GRANDEUR OF THE SEAS arrives at 74,000 tons and for 2,440 passengers

- SPLENDOUR OF THE SEAS, in the same class as GRANDEUR, delivered

1997

- Name changed to Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited (RCCL)

- RCCL buys Celebrity Cruises and its four working ships from Chandris Lines at a cost of $1.3 billion

- RHAPSODY OF THE SEAS, at 79,000 tons and for 2,435 passengers, is delivered

- ENCHANTMENT OF THE SEAS, at 74,000 tons and for 2,440 passengers, arrives

1998

- Enter VISION OF THE SEAS, 79,000 tons and to carry 2,435 passengers

- Joint ownership agreement signed with Chicago’s Pritzker family (that has $15 billion in assets) and Haifa’s Ofer family (that owns one of the world’s largest shipping companies, Ofer Brothers Shipping Co)

1999

- VOYAGER OF THE SEAS comes in at a whopping 140,000 tons for 3,114 guests

2000

- EXPLORER OF THE SEAS arrives; in the VOYAGER class, it has marine laboratories on board as well

2001

- ADVENTURE OF THE SEAS arrives: 3,114 passengers accommodated per cruise

- RADIANCE OF THE SEAS delivered: 2,100 passenger capacity at 90,000 tons, with gas turbines, it is the first in it’s class

- The company buys 20% of UK tour operator First Choice and launches a joint venture cruise line. It offers land-based tours in Alaska through Royal Celebrity Tours.

2002

- BRILLIANCE OF THE SEAS, a vessel in the RADIANCE class, arrives and is ready for duty

2003

- SERENADE OF THE SEAS, the third RADIANCE class vessel, is delivered

2004

JEWEL OF THE SEAS, RADIANCE class, makes its debut

… and of course, more ships, even larger that the earlier ones, are on order!

* Conclusion *

With revenues in excess of $4 billion, RCCL is a juggernaut which will not slow down.

Its ships are floating cities, boast amenities such as rock climbing walls, miniature golf courses, swimming pools, ice skating rinks, sun decks, basketball courts, beauty salons, exercise and spa facilities, gaming facilities, lounges, bars, cabaret performances, cinemas, shopping arcades, multiple restaurants and casinos.

Most importantly, when on a cruise, one experiences some priceless bonuses: unpolluted air and a virtually noise-free environment. These are truly, in the modern context, balm for the soul.

If you can afford the entirely reasonable average fare of $400 per person for a 3-night cruise in a luxury stateroom don’t think twice about it, sign up for a cruise and gain the experience of a lifetime!

What do you think about Royal Caribbean cruise ships continuing to dock at Haiti?

“On Sunday, the Guardian reported that Florida-based Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines is docking ships at the “picturesque wooded peninsula” known as Labadee, which it leases on Haiti’s northern coast. At Labadee, passengers “enjoy jetski rides, parasailing, and rum cocktails delivered to their hammocks.” The British paper also reported that passengers can spend their time “shopping for trinkets at a craft market” while armed guards stand at the entry to the complex to guarantee their safety.

Despite the fact that the ships have delivered relief supplies to the island, some passengers on the ships are reportedly “sickened” over the decision to dock there. One passenger took to an Internet message board to protest the idea of vacationing where “tens of thousands of dead people are being piled up on the streets, with the survivors stunned and looking for food and water.”‘

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100119/ts_ynews/ynews_ts1063