Luxury Travel Advisor - November 2007 - (Page 52) ACCESS: WHO SAILS TO NORTHERN EUROPE Regent Seven Seas Cruises www.rssc.com Seven Seas Voyager offers seven-, 10-, 11- and 15-day cruises through Northern Europe with departures from Stockholm from June 24August 30, 2008. Crystal Cruises www.crystalcruises.com Crystal Symphony offers seven-, 11- and 14-day cruises through Northern Europe with departures from Copenhagen, Dover and Stockholm from June 7-August 22, 2008. Silversea Cruises www.silversea.com Silver Cloud and Silver Wind (above) offer seven-, 10-, 11-, 12- and 15-day cruises through Northern Europe with departures from London, Copenhagen and Stockholm from June 5-August 20, 2008. Oceania Cruises www.oceaniacruises.com Regatta offers 14-day Northern Europe voyages with departures from Stockholm and Dover from June 4-August 27, 2008. Seabourn www.seabourn.com Seabourn Pride sails nineand 12-day cruises through Northern Europe from Copenhagen throughout the summer of 2008. 52 1,390-square-foot, one-bedroom Carlton Suites, which offer connecting rooms. Tip: All rooms on the 10th and 11th floors provide the best views, but rooms 1002, 1003, 1004, 1102, 1103 and 1104 also offer the panorama to guests reposing in their bathtubs. All accommodations can be booked over the GDS. For VIPs, contact Director of Sales & Marketing Lada Samodumskaya (lada.samodumskaya@ritzcarl ton.com) or Guest Relations Manager Alla Kosik (alla.kosik@ ritzcarlton.com). Oliver Eller (oliver.eller@ritzcarlton.com) is the property’s general manager. The fabulous new ESPA (the Ritz is the only luxury hotel in town with a bona fide spa) has 14 treatment rooms, a great fitness center and an indoor pool. The signature treatment is the Ultimate Four Hand Synchronized Massage. Insiders suggest booking your clients’ treatments in advance. For VIPs, contact Spa Director Neil Saul (neil. saul@ritzcarlton.com). Three-Michelin-star chef Heinz Winker, whose pigeon en croute is deserving of its “signature” title, heads up Jeroboam restaurant (Winker is the youngest chef ever to be awarded three stars). Petrus, perfect for an intimate affair, is a private wine cellar large enough to accommodate up to 14 guests and is stocked with the world’s best bottles, including some 800 rare vintages. Both venues are red hot among locals, so book anywhere from two weeks to one month out. The sushi-serving O2 lounge on the hotel’s rooftop is also a see-and-be-seen spot for locals and guests, particularly on weekends. Tip: The hotel’s overthe-top Tsar’s Breakfast, which comes with delightful goodies such as Cristal champagne, a Kobe beef-and-truffle omelet, silky smooth fois gras and a heap of Beluga caviar with blinis, can be enjoyed en suite, or, if you book ahead, in Jeroboam. When it comes to luxe-level transportation, private viewings and customized tours with expert guides, the concierge team gets it done. For gadding about town when the sun goes down, the aforementioned night butlers (request one in advance) will get your clients into the most exclusive spots, be it clubs, eateries or bars. For VIPs, contact Chief Concierge Mustafa Apak (mus- tafa.apak@ritzcarlton.com). In a city where cyclists rule, Amsterdam is a lovely combination of tree-lined canals, historic gable-roofed homes and museums filled with the works of Dutch Masters. It’s also said that visiting without booking a private sail on one of the antique wooden ships along the Vecht is like visiting Paris without heading to the top of the Eiffel Tower. These charming vessels stop along the way at historic houses for tours of the interiors and gardens—some will even offer lunch, evening cocktails or dinner. ITBholland (www.itbhol land.com) is known for getting its customers into houses not easily accessible by its competitors; they can also set up private tours at the top museums. For your VIPs, contact General Manager Rene Buyink (rene.buyink@ itbholland.com). For a look inside the famous Bentinck canal house on Keizersgracht, contact Charlotte Bentinck (charlottebentinck@hotmail.com, www. charlotte-bentinck.nl), who will happily serve up a formal dinner for up to 30 guests (as she has for heads of state and corporate leadSOME RITZ-CARLTON Superior Rooms feature views of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. LUXURY TRAVEL ADVISOR | November 2007 http://www.rssc.com http://www.itbholland.com http://www.itbholland.com http://www.crystalcruises.com http://www.charlotte-bentinck.nl http://www.charlotte-bentinck.nl http://www.silversea.com http://www.oceaniacruises.com http://www.seabourn.com
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