A Look at How Azamara Quest Handled the Crisis in Japan

Arnie Weissmann, editor-in-chief of Travel Weekly, was aboard Azamara Quest in Nagasaki, Japan, when the earthquake and tsunami hit northern Japan. He wrote an excellent and detailed account of how the ship's captain and executive officers handled the crisis along with Azamara's home office.

As Nagasaki is in the southern part of Japan, the ship was never in danger and no passengers or crew were injured.

Read Arnie's minute-by-minute account aboard Azamara Quest here.

And here's his dispatch from March 14 about complications at sea during the crisis. Excellent reading!

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxuryCruiseBible.com

Four Seasons Explorer in the Maldives

Have you traveled to the Maldives? That's one place that's still on my must-visit list. There are two Four Seasons resorts in the Maldives—Four Seasons Kuda Huraa and Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru—and they also offer cruises aboard their yacht, the Four Seasons Explorer.

Now this is one cruise I'd love to take!

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxuryCruiseBible.com

Video courtesy of Four Seasons

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Crystal Cruises Cancels November 2011 Call in Libya

Due to the recent turn of events in Libya, Crystal Cruises will cancel its call in Tripoli and revert to the original itinerary set for its November 16 “Italian Splendor” European cruise from Venice to Barcelona.

The 11-day itinerary through the Adriatic and Mediterranean Seas aboard Crystal Serenity will feature a maiden call in Koper, Slovenia, in addition to visits to Dubrovnik, Catania, Naples, Civitavecchia, Livorno and overnight stays in Venice and Barcelona.

“When Libya relaxed its visa restrictions, we were very excited to offer this exotic call to our fall cruise collection,” said Gregg Michel, Crystal’s president. “Fortunately, we can very easily replace the revised program with our original itinerary, which is rich in European culture, history, and scenery.”

With Crystal’s fall sale, the “Italian Splendor” cruise starts at $4,970 per person, double occupancy. Crystal’s pricing offers free round-trip air transportation from more than two dozen North American gateways (or air credits), $2,000 per couple “All Inclusive – As You Wish shipboard spending credits. A Bring-a-Friend and Crystal Family Memories programs provide bonus savings.

For more information, contact your travel agent or Crystal Cruises at (888) 799-4625.

—LuxuryCruiseBible.com

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We're bringing clean water to a village in 2011.
Learn more about our clean water project.