Added on
December 8th, 2005:
easyCruise.com:
http://www.easycruise.com/
I know what you're thinking, Stelios has
enough money to run his own campaign and doesn't need the free promotion on Travel Notes,
especially as a featured site.
Well, easyCruise have been running campaigns
on Travel Notes and other travel websites and they're about to take their campaign to the
US media; expect to see a confrontational advertisement in The Miami Herald (traditional cruise departure port)
on the 11th of December.
The advertising points out that easyCruise is
a pleasant alternative to dancing in tacky ballrooms at night in the company of old age
pensioners, although the ads are careful to point out that any similarity with Carnival
ships is purely coincidental!
Now that's out of the way, back to why we
think this site is an important featured site. You, the consumer, can get to cruise in The
Caribbean for less than the price of a winter coat (flights excluded).
We like Stelios' style, his unashamed love of
self-promotion (often made easier by his mega-rich rivals crying to the courts when they
feel that their extortionate profits could take a dive), and most of all.... his service
to the public - by saving them money. Lot's of money.
Caribbean
Cruises From $16 Per Night:
Cruise in The Caribbean for less than the price of a winter coat.
And get this, the easyGroup still make a
profit.
The easyCruise Website
The front page of the easyCruise website loads
with one map of The Caribbean and another of the French and Italian Riviera. Clicking on
either map takes you to the same booking page, so we've taken a screenshot of the booking
page.
While the primary reason of the booking page
is to book a cruise, this is also the page with essential navigation to other parts of the
site.
Book Now:
Cruise bookings can be made in English, French, Spanish, German or Italian.
Cruises are available in The Caribbean (until
April) and from May to October you can choose to cruise along the French and Italian
Riviera.
Payments for the cruise are accepted in Euros,
British pounds or US dollars.
Our Itineraries:
I keep calling it a budget cruise but you might like to think of easyCruise as a floating
hotel with free transportation while you sleep.
As the quarters are fairly cramped, lets call
it a couchette on sea.
You can join and depart the ship at any stage
of the itinerary, provided you spend a minimum of 2 nights (maximum 14 nights) aboard the
ship.
 Caribbean Itineraries.
The ship stays in Barbados
for two days and nights (Saturday and Sunday) to maximise the flexibility of catching a
suitable flight in and out of the island.
Suggested itineraries are seven-day round
trips; to the islands on the circuit with an international airport (flights to The
Caribbean are not included).
So if you can't make it to Barbados for a
weekend departure, you could embark at Martinique
(Tuesdays), Grenada
(Thursdays) or St. Lucia
(Fridays).
 French & Italian Riviera itineraries.
In the summer, easyCruiseOne stays in port
until 4am, so you can go out and spend the money you saved; in the casinos.
While seven-day itineraries are suggested for
The Caribbean (as charter flights usually work to seven-day schedules) in Mediterranean
Europe it's a lot easier to pop down to the south of France for a few days (on easyJet to
Nice of course) and do Nice (Fridays), Cannes (Saturdays), St. Tropez (Sundays) and Monaco
(Mondays).
Portofino -
Courtesy of easyGroup.
If you want to make a week of it and continue
cruising across into Italy, you'll also visit Genoa (Tuesdays), Portofino (Wednesdays) and
Imperia (Thursdays) for a trip to San Remo.
Then the ship cruises back to Nice.
Our Destinations:
This part of the easyCruise website links to travel information about the easyCruiseOne's
ports of call and of course to easy port maps and directions.
Our Ships:
Well, currently it's just the one.... easyCruiseOne.
Anyway, until there are more tangerines
floating around on the high seas you can find out more about the cabins and on-board facilities
of easyCruiseOne and view a photo gallery of
promotional images.
About Us:
This section includes customer support telephone numbers; which I didn't use so I can't
tell you how long it actually takes to talk to a person.
News:
The latest stories floating about concerning easyCruise, the easyGroup and competitors who
are getting a little sea-sick by Stelios' promotional antics and under-cutting practises.
Keep it up!
Forget about entering the caption competition
(easyMobile vs Orange), to win a Caribbean Cruise, it's already been won.
Congratulations to Mr J. Curran from Manchester!
My Information:
The password protected area for customer accounts and profiles.
There's also a section for Travel Agents to earn 5%
commissions and a helpful collection of Frequently
Asked Questions.
In Summary:
If you've often though about taking a cruise in The Caribbean or along the Riviera but
have been put off by the prices or think that cruises are for older folk, think again.
If you don't mind cramped conditions (or the
colour orange) and look at the cruise ship as just a floating hotel that takes you to the
next port of call, then easyCruise.com
is the website for you.
Currently the easyCruise prices can't be beat
and if you're flexible with your dates you can secure the cheapest prices for the cruise
you choose.
Michel
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