Cruise and Dine with the Exotic Cuisines Of The Mediterranean
Twelve nights on the first sailing of the new Carnival Freedom to Italy, the Greek Islands, and Istanbul!
Click here to request brochures, more information or to book reservations.
Sunday, June 17-Saturday, June 30, 2007
Reservations or information: 504-456-0846
What are you doing next summer?
If you've always wanted to go to Europe, come with us!
The Eat Club summer cruise returns to Europe next June aboard the Carnival Liberty. We'll cruise for twelve nights, making eight stops in Italy, the brilliant blue Greek Islands, and exotic and amazing Turkey.
We will be abord the first sailing ever on this route of the new Carnival Freedom, which as you read this is not even finished being built. (We saw it at the shipyard outside Venice during our 2006 Med cruise.) It's a gigantic ship with superb services, in the same class as the Conquest and the Liberty, on which we've had great past cruises.
Perhaps the best aspect of our itinerary is that it begins and ends in the glory that is Rome. You can catch a quick look and taste of the Eternal City on the way to the ship, but we'll have a full day there at the end of the cruise, on which you can use the ship as your hotel. No amount of time is enough to experience this matchless capital of Western civilization, but whatever you do will linger in your memory forever. And we'll have a grand farewell dinner that night to cap the cruise deliciously.
Our first stop after the ship sails is Naples. This bustling seaport--the New Orleans of Italy--is the birthplace of pizza and its own exciting cookery. Nearby are the astounding sights of Pompeii, the beautiful islands of Capri and Ischia, charming Sorrento, or the legendary Amalfi Coast.
Next, the ship calls on Rhodes, Greece. Rhodes is the capital of the archipelago known as the Dodacanese Islands. The impossibly blue waters here can make anyone a beach lover, but it is also quite a cosmopolitan place if the sands are not your thing.
Izmir, Turkey is the ancient city of Smyrna. This historic place on the Aegean Sea is the land of the Trojans, and was home to the Colossus--one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. You'll want to see what else archaeologists have uncovered here.
The city I'm most eager to see on our voyage is Istanbul. As Constantinople, it was the center of the civilized world for 1500 years, largely because it's the crossroads of Europe and Asia. This cultural gumbo of eleven million people is a booming metropolis, divided by the Bosporus, with Europe on the west bank and Asia on the east. The Byzantine and Ottoman Empires built the grandest of ancient cities here, and most of it remains for us to explore.
Our next stop is Athens, home of the gods, capital of both ancient and modern Greece, and the site of the recent Olympic Games. The Acropolis and the other ruins here could keep you busy for the day, but take time to feel the pulse of the modern city.
Then, another contrast. Katakolon, the site of ancient Olympia, is where the very first Olympics were held. It's back on the deep blue sea, so it's a relaxing port for us to lie on the beach, have a meal of spinach pie and souvlaki, and rest up from all the walking you will likely do in Athens.
Then we have a day at sea to rest up before one of the great walking-and-staring cities of the world: Florence. Home to Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Dante, and Galileo, this center of the Renaissance is a feast for the eyes. And for the palate. I had one of my best meals there on the last trip, featuring the enormous bone-in grilled steak known throughout Italy as a Fiorentina, from a special breed of cow raised in the area.
Then it's back to Rome, where you'll have a full day to visit the Vatican, the Colosseum, the pizzerias, and gelaterias, and as much else as you can fit into the day. I've been there enough times now to be able to give you lots of ideas and strategies, if you need them.
After the day in Rome, it's back to the ship to pack up and get ready for the flight home, full of images and insights that will last the rest of your life.
Click here to request brochures, more information or to book reservations.
About Cruising With Our Group
The trip departs New Orleans (or wherever you're coming from) on Sunday, June 17, 2007. We'll meet in Rome and prepare for our 7 p.m. sailing. From that moment on, it will be one continuous party. Join the group activities if you like, or head off on your own adventures as you please.
There's never a lack of things to do on board. (If anything, there's too much.) Especially given the conviviality of our group. After staging weekly wine dinners in New Orleans restaurants for over nine years, we started cruising in 2002. I wish we'd thought of it sooner, because the people and the enjoyment have been incomparable.We turn whatever corner of the ship we happen to wander into a party. We'll have an Eat Club dinner every night--either in the main dining room, or in one of the two specialty dining rooms on board. We have cocktail parties, afternoon teas, karaoke, and late-night gatherings exclusively for our group every day. The ship is full of venues with live music, ranging from classical to jazz , R&B to C&W.
Our group will includes people of all ages. The ship is very friendly for children, as my young teens have found. Our 17-year-old son Jude and 15-year-old daughter Mary Leigh are old hands at cruising, and will help organize activities for the young cruisers. But if you'd rather not be around the kids, there are many places where you'll never see them.
The cruise fares include all meals (including one in the ship's supper club, a superb dining experience with great appetizers, steaks, chops, lobster, and fish, with live music for dancing), all on-board group activities, and all the shows. When you consider what you'd pay in a first-class hotel (and that is the kind of service you'll get on board) and for comparable meals, it becomes a real bargain.
In short, it's a great way to tour Europe. No packing, unpacking, taxis, or checking into hotels. Your hotel follows you around!
The Ship
The Carnival Freedom is one of the newest ships in the fleet of the world's largest cruise line. Take a virtual tour of the Carnival Freedom, its staterooms, dining rooms, and other impressive amenities.
The Itinerary
Date
Port of Call
Arrive
Depart
Monday, June 18
Civitavecchia (Rome) Italy
7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, June 19
Naples, Italy
7:00 a.m.
6:00 p.m.
Wednesday, June 20
At Sea. Formal Night.
Thursday, June 21
Rhodes, Greece
11:00 a.m.
6:00 p.m.
Friday, June 22
Izmir, Turkey (Smyrna)
9:00 a.m.
4:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 23
Istanbul, Turkey
8:00 a.m.
7:00 p.m.
Sunday June 24
At Sea
Monday, June 25
Athens, Greece
6:00 a.m.
5:00 p.m.
Tuesday, June 26
Katakolon (Olympia), Greece
8:00 a.m.
3:00 p.m.
Wednesday, June 27
At Sea. Formal Night.
Thursday, June 28
Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy
7:00 a.m.
7:00 p.m.
Friday & Saturday, June 29 & 30
Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy
6:00 a.m. Friday
Disembark
8 a.m. Sat.
Fares
The rates below are per person, and include:
A deposit of $500 per person is required at time of booking. Full payment by March 15, 2007.
- Round-trip airfare between New Orleans and Rome.
- Round-trip transfers between airport and ship.
- Port charges, departure taxes and airport charges.
- All meals, including stateroom service, and all on-board activities and shows.
- All group extras (see below).
- Not included: Gambling, drinks, gratuities, the extra day in Rome, and a few other minor things. Ask for details.
I've chosen three stateroom categories for pricing. The price per person varies depending on how many people are in your stateroom. I highly recommend the outside balcony cabins. Those balconies can't be beat for relaxation!
Stateroom Type
And Occupancy
Two People
In Room
3 People
In Room
4 People
In Room
Inside Cabin (4A)
$3070.00
$2880.00
$2490.00
Outside Cabin (6A)
3521.00
3192.00
3030.00
Outside Balcony (8A)
4025.00
3560.00
3333.00
Again, the rates above are per person.
And there are other, grander staterooms for those wanting to really spread out. Please don't hesitate to ask! Also, we usually have a number of singles who'd like to join us. There's a rather high singles supplement for one person in a stateroom, but if you'd like we can try to match you up with another single person. Let us know.
A current U.S. passport is required. If you need one, it's a good idea to apply soon. It is important that guest names on travel documents be identical to those on the cruise and airline tickets.
Click here to request brochures, more information or to book reservations.
The Advantages of Eat Club Cruising
The greatest advantage to traveling as a group is the camaraderie that gets going after the first day or two. We've had many people who were strangers to one another when they travel with us end the cruise as fast friends. Having a group allows us some other benefits, too:
Gala Dinner. Almost all the ships we sail on have a reservations-only, gourmet supper club. It offers the kind of food, service, wine, and surroundings you're accustomed to finding in our four-star New Orleans restaurants. For most passengers, dining in the supper club incurs a $30-$35 per person surcharge. We negotiate a complimentary supper club dinner for all Eat Club cruisers.
Special Seating in the Main Dining Room. We reserve a group of large tables in the main dining room for our nightly dinners. Join me and others in the group every night and watch some special service come down. (But you can dine anywhere you like, anytime.)
Daily Newsletter. Every day during the cruise, I write a newsletter full of tips for the next port of call, plans for our group activities on and off the ship, and other timely news. It's delivered (usually by me personally) to your stateroom mailbox.
Eat Club Cocktail Party. The ship throws a private afternoon gathering for us during the cruise. This is always one of our favorite onboard events, with an open (free) bar and appetizers. We do this at the end of the cruise, so we can hang out and talk one last time, now that we all know one another.
Daily Informal Get-Togethers. Nothing on the cruise schedule (other than the safety drill) is mandatory. But we organize tours, dinners in the ports, and onboard gatherings where members of our group can socialize if they care to. I announce the venue for our daily gatherings in the newsletter I distribute daily on the ship.
Group Photo. We gather everyone together for a group shot on the ship (which is like herding cats, I've found). Why would you want this? Believe me, you will. Each cabin gets a free eight-by-ten.
Pre-Cruise Get-Acquainted Dinner. A couple of weeks before we depart, we'll have a dinner for cruisers at Drago's. It'll give us a chance to meet one another, compare notes on the on-shore tours available, ask and answer questions, get your travel documents, and have a great dinner, too.
Please Read. Every cruise, we're asked whether one can book one's own cruise online or through another travel agent and still join the Eat Club's group activities. Let me explain why the answer to this is no, even for my best friends. The cruise line gives us special considerations based on the number of people we have in our group. Passengers who reserve outside the group do not count in that tally. If we included them in our activities, their participation would be subsidized by passengers who did book with our group. And it would compromise our ability to offer the amenities we provide. We can't make any exceptions. I appreciate your understanding.
Click Here For More Information
Fill out the form the above link will take you to, and we'll send you brochures and other information about our cruise. Or call our travel agent, Debbie Himbert, at
504-456-0846 or (cell) 504-338-3376
Debbie's e-mail address is dhtravel@bellsouth.net.
I'll also be happy to answer questions by e-mail: tom@nomenu.com.
Hope you can join us! It's going to be delicious, romantic fun!
Tastefully yours,
Tom Fitzmorris
Click here to request brochures, more information or to book reservations.
