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Holland America Line's flagship ms Amsterdam will usher in 2010 with a 128-day round-trip Los Angeles, Grand Holiday-and-World Voyage featuring 13 overnight calls -- the most ever offered by the line. Forty-five ports of call showcase some of the world's most remote and exotic regions including South America, Africa, India the Far East and scenic cruising in Antarctica. An optional 14-day holiday cruise, when combined with the 114-day Grand World Voyage, creates the 128-day roundtrip sailing from Los Angeles, departing Dec. 23, 2009. The voyage begins with calls in Mexico and Central America, including a transit of the Panama Canal. "Guests on Grand World Voyages seek an immersive experience, and the 2010 itinerary creates an enriching voyage," said Richard D. Meadows, CTC, executive vice president, marketing, sales and guest programs, Holland America Line. "By adding the 14-day holiday roundtrip Los Angeles sailing to the Grand World Voyage, guests can enjoy a relaxing holiday and festive start of their Grand World Voyage." Guests wishing to sail after the holidays can embark Jan. 6, 2010, at Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on a 114-day World Voyage. Amsterdam will sail the Panama Canal for a daylight transit of the man-made wonder before beginning its southbound exploration of Central and South America. Three overnight stays enable guests to explore Fuerte Amador (Panama City), Panama; Callao (Lima), Peru, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Other southbound calls include Manta, Ecuador; Callao Peru; Arica, Coquimbo, Valparaiso, Isla Robinson Crusoe and Puerto Montt, Chile. As Amsterdam approaches the tip of South America, guests will enjoy scenic cruising past Darwin Channel, Chilean Fjords, Amalia Glacier, Canal Sarmiento and Strait of Magellan before calling at Punta Arenas, Chile. More scenic cruising follows of Cockburn and Beagle channels, a series of glaciers and Ushuaia, Argentina, before the actual rounding of Cape Horn. The itinerary then takes a turn toward the ultimate southern destination -- Antarctica, which includes the Wilhelm Archipelago, South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Sound. After the three-day Antarctic experience, Amsterdam sails to Stanley, Falkland Islands; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Montevideo, Uruguay, where it departs on the trans-Atlantic leg of the cruise. Amsterdam crosses to Africa to call at Walvis Bay and Luderitz, Namibia, before heading to South Africa for an overnight at Cape Town and calls at Port Elizabeth and Durban. Upon reaching the Indian Ocean, guests will overnight at Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles, then head to India for overnights in Mumbai and Marmagoa before setting off to Port Kelang, Malaysia. Next, an intense exploration of the Far East begins, including overnight calls in Singapore, Republic of Singapore; Hong Kong; Xingang (Beijing), China; and Kobe (Osaka) and Yokohama (Tokyo), Japan. Additional calls include Sihanoukville (Kampong Som), Cambodia; Phu My (Ho Chi Min City) and Halong Bay, Vietnam; Shanghai, China; Cheju City, South Korea; and Kagoshima and Hakodate, Japan. Before heading back to North America, guests will experience Petropavlovsk, Russian Federation, and gain a day when they cross the International Date Line. Guests then have the option of disembarking in Vancouver, B.C., April 25, or Seattle, Wash., April 26, or continuing on to Los Angeles. The Grand World Voyage features three special celebrity-guest speakers -- former television news anchor Sam Donaldson (March 28 through April 1), biographer Kitty Kelley (Jan. 28 through Feb. 7) and Grammy Award-winning musician Doc Severinsen and El Ritmo de la Vida (Jan. 6 through 11). Reservations are now open for all four 2010 Holland America Line Grand Voyages, with a variety of early-booking bonus amenities offered to full-cruise guests. Depending upon the category booked, guests who book by Sept. 30, 2009, may enjoy shipboard credits up to $1,000 per person, an exclusive shore event, liquor service, complimentary luggage delivery service to and from gateways, pre-paid service charges and welcome-aboard champagne. Cruise fares begin at $17,999 per person for the full 128-day Grand World Voyage. New holiday segments of Grand World Voyage, a 47-day Los Angeles to Buenos Aires and a 61-day Los Angeles to Cape Town, also are available for booking and include airfare from select West Coast gateways and select East Coast and Central cities for $200 more. The special cruise-and-air fares for the 47-day segment begin at $7,299 and for the 61-day segment at $9,299.

Renowned maritime author and historian John Maxtone-Graham celebrated his 80th birthday aboard Cunard Line's flagship Queen Mary 2 in New York last week. Surrounded by family and close friends, Maxtone-Graham was toasted by fellow maritime aficionado Bill Miller and received congratulatory sentiments from Cunard's new President Peter Shanks in a letter read aloud during the special luncheon event. "We at Cunard find it most fitting to fete you aboard the world's grandest ocean liner as you have diligently and passionately kept alive the history and legacy of ocean travel throughout the years. Your invaluable contributions enrich all of us who work in the cruise industry, and we are grateful for the unique and prominent place you hold in the maritime arena," Shanks wrote. "Over the years we have been proud to have you witness many of our famous events and ship namings. It is appropriate that today Cunard Line is equally proud to be at such a celebratory occasion of yours," he added. John Maxtone-Graham is a best-selling author of numerous books that serve to preserve the legacy and history of ocean liners and maritime heritage. In 2007, he became one of only five recipients awarded the Silver Riband, a rare honour bestowed on those who have dedicated themselves to this worthy endeavor. Having taken approximately 300 voyages, he is a frequent speaker aboard several cruise lines and spends about seven months a year at sea with his wife, Mary.

Yet another major cruise line, P&O Cruises, is cutting back on the places cruisers can smoke. Industry watcher x reports the six-ship line will ban smoking in all interior areas of its vessels -- including cabins and casinos -- by next May. As x notes, the British line already has a no-smoking-indoors policy on three of its ships -- Artemis, Oceana and Ventura. The policy went into effect last year when the U.K. banned smoking inside public places. x says two of the line's three remaining ships -- Aurora and Oriana -- will go smoke-free indoors next April. The Arcadia will follow in May. Also to be smoke-free indoors is P&O's soon-to-debut seventh vessel, the Azura, which arrives in April. In addition to cabins and casinos, the ban will apply to all bars, nightclubs, restaurants and show lounges. Passengers still will be able to smoke on cabin balconies and certain open decks. Smoking on ships has been a hot topic over the past three years as more cruise lines restrict the places where passengers can light up. Some lines, such as Celebrity Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, have even extended smoking bans to cabin balconies, but it's still relatively unusual for lines to outlaw smoking in all indoor areas.

One of the world's best known and highest rated luxury ships is getting a major makeover. Crystal Cruises today announced it'll pour more than $25 million into the 14-year-old, 922-passenger Crystal Symphony later this year in an overhaul that includes a complete redesign of penthouses, pool areas and the Lido restaurant. The upgrade comes as two of Crystal's main competitors in the luxury market, The Yachts of Seabourn and Silversea Cruises, roll out splashy new ships that are likely to siphon business from the line. Seabourn's new Seabourn Odyssey, which debuted in June, already is winning raves from luxury travelers and travel agents. Silversea's new Silver Spirit arrives later this year. Details of the Symphony overhaul: -- Penthouses. The ship's two 982-square-foot Crystal Penthouses will be stripped to the bone and rebuilt with an "elegant residential apartment" feel and extended living spaces. Among highlights: New master bathrooms with sunken Philippe Stark Duravit Jacuzzi bathtubs that will have 90-degree ocean views. More than 60 butler-serviced Penthouses and Penthouse Suites also are getting a do-over that includes new custom cabinetry, flat screen televisions, bedding and more. -- Lido Cafe. The popular breakfast and lunch venue will be transformed into an upscale dining spot with a completely new Crystal dining experience centered around freshly cooked fare. -- Pool areas. The Seahorse and Neptune pool areas will be redefined with new spaces, water features and furniture. Among the biggest change: The Neptune pool under the retractable roof-covered, mid-ship area of the Lido Deck will be entirely removed and replaced with teak decking and al fresco dining and lounging options around the Trident Bar. -- Prego. The dinner-only Italian specialty restaurant will be remade with what the line is calling a more moody and dramatic design. Luxuriously padded, dark chocolate fabric walls will frame delicate chandeliers, art by famed Venetian artists and richly upholstered seating. As part of the makeover, all Crystal Symphony cabins also will get new sofas that -- in addition to providing extra seating -- will add third berths for families. The Symphony's cabins already got a big overhaul in late 2007, and recently were outfitted with plush new mattresses. The drydock also will bring upgraded elevators, new lighting systems and other behind-the-scenes projects. The medical center also is getting an upgrade with the addition of digital x-ray equipment. Work will take place from Sept. 17 to Oct. 1 at a Boston shipyard. The Crystal Symphony and its sister, Crystal Serenity, routinely are placed at or near the top in cruise ship rankings such as the Conde Nast Traveler readers poll.

Me too

Royal Caribbean has ended a controversial viral marketing campaign that has drawn criticism from many in the industry. Royal Caribbean's new senior vice president for marketing, Betsy O'Rourke, sent an email this week to participants in the Royal Champions program that said the line is shutting it down. Royal Caribbean came under fire earlier this year from cruise enthusiasts, online cruise site operators and other industry watchers after the two-year-old program came to light. The program allegedly rewarded a small group of fans who posted positive comments about the line at online message boards with free cruises and other perks. A Royal Caribbean executive who spoke earlier this year at a marketing conference said the aim of the program was to "subtly influence the influencers without them overtly realizing they were being influenced." The Royal Caribbean executive told the audience Royal Champions "are regularly leveraged for ongoing marketing initiatives" and "produce ample word of mouth and exert sufficient influence to make the investment worthwhile," according to a blog on loyalty marketing written by the Customer Insight Group. The blog also quoted the executive as saying online posts from Royal Champions "are carefully monitored during events and on a regular basis to ensure that posts remain positive and frequent." Many outside observers saw the effort as a line-crossing manipulation of online cruise fan sites. Spokespeople for all of Royal Caribbean's major competitors including Holland America, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess, Carnival and Celebrity said at the time they would never engage in such viral marketing campaigns at online message boards. Paul Motter, the editor of online cruise site cruisecrazies.com, which has active cruise-focused message boards, blasted the program as soon as it became known. "If there are any Royal Champions (posting on message boards) here at cruisecrazies we certainly did not authorize them to be here," he said at the time. "We were not contacted . . . to implement the program and had we been asked we would have said it violates our user agreement and privacy policy."

ABOARD THE CELEBRITY EQUINOX -- One of the few complaints that passengers had about Celebrity Cruises' last ship, the Celebrity Solstice, was that there weren't quite enough deck chairs to go around -- at least on those sunny sea days when everyone, it seems, wants to be out by the pool. And, indeed, the ship and its new sister, Celebrity Equinox, have a bit less deck chair space per passenger than is standard due in part to the much-ballyhooed, half-acre "lawn clubs" with live grass at the back of both vessels. But part of the problem, Celebrity executive Lisa Lutoff-Perlo tells USA TODAY, was that passengers often were unaware of pockets of open chairs around the ship. The line's solution, to be announced in coming days: New 'chair concierges" who will help passengers arriving at Solstice and Equinox pool decks find a spot. During inaugural events aboard the Equinox, which sets sail today on its first revenue cruise, Lutoff-Perlo said the new chair concierges will keep tabs on where chairs are open so they quickly can lead passengers to the right place. Lutoff-Perlo, who oversees Celebrity hotel operations fleetwide, says the line also is getting more aggressive about stopping passengers from "saving" unoccupied chairs for long periods. Lutoff-Perlo says the chair shortage issue only comes up on Solstice on the sunniest sea days in certain warm-weather destinations where a large percentage of passengers want to be on deck at once, and the level of complaints hasn't been all that great. Still, the issue is big enough that the line also has made a design change to Celebrity Equinox -- widening and lengthening the Solstice Deck at the front of the ship to allow for 100 extra deck chairs. At a press conference Thursday on board the ship, Celebrity president and CEO Dan Hanrahan also noted the line has tweaked its Lawn Club areas to encourage more passengers to relax there on sea days instead of in the deck chairs around the pool. "There (now) are quite a few deck chairs up on Solstice Deck, and I think the changes with the lawn have helped quite a bit," he says. "We've been able to mitigate quite a few of those (chair) complaints."

A Royal Caribbean cruise ship pulled into a French port today with dozens of crew members and passengers ill in what local officials feared was a massive H1N1 swine flu outbreak. But while the Associated Press quotes French officials today as saying about 60 crew members already have been diagnosed with swine flu, a spokesperson for Royal Caribbean says that's not the case and the illness is not swine flu. Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez tells USA TODAY that 62 crew members and two passenger on board the Voyager of the Seas are experiencing cold and flu-like symptoms and have been isolated on the ship along with people who have been in close contact with them. But Martinez says the sick passengers and crew have tested negative for influenza A. "H1N1 is a type of Influenza A," she notes. "Therefore, if the test is negative for A, it can't be H1N1." Martinez notes the line can't test for H1N1 on board ships as that can only be done in a lab. The 3,114-passenger Voyager of the Seas, one of the largest ships in the world, arrived in Villefranche-sur-Mer, France early Friday. The ship set sail from Barcelona on July 26 on a seven-night cruise that also includes several stops in Italy. While not influenza A, the illness on board could be another type of influenza, notes Martinez. Or it could just be a cold. Either way, the line isn't taking chances. Affected crew and passengers will remain in isolation until symptom fee, as is standard proceedure with any suspected flu illness, she says. Martinez says that despite the large number of crew members who have been isolated, service levels on the ship have not been affected. The illness also will not affect the ship's schedule, she added.