Brooks Aehron

& the "Music at Sea"

Concert Cruise Programme

• Biography
• Music at Sea Program
• Invitation Letter from Brooks Aehron
• 2008 Music at Sea Programs & early 2009
• Brooks Blog for June 2, 2007 Music at Sea
• Brooks Blog for Feb. 17 & March 2, 2008 Music at Sea Cruises
• Cruise Ships Used for Music at Sea Concert cruises
• Prices
• Important information

• Three private concerts exclusively for guests of the Music at Sea Concert Cruise
• Dining in small groups with Brooks Aehron - an evening to get to know this very special man and his wonderful wit and sense of humor
• Special events for each cruise exclusively for the concert guests (for example we took a private trip from Villefranche to Chateau De Berne a private villa in Lorgue in the South of France. We had a tour of the villa, vineyard and winery, wine lecture, lunch, and then a private concert performed by Brooks Aehron on the owner's Steinway Concert Grand piano. It was an incredible special event that exceeded everyone's already high expectations. "The highlight of any cruise I've ever taken" according to one of guests.
• Guest artists on some cruises
• Private cocktail party and reception with Brooks Aehron
• Coffee & pastry with Brooks Aehron on some sea days
• Private CD signing session with Brooks Aehron
• Reduced CD prices
• Sometimes Mr. Aehron also performs bonus concerts for everyone aboard the ship

To get our special group price that includes all the unique Music at Sea program events and be included in the limited number of special guests allowed on each Music at Sea Concert Cruise, one must purchase these cruises from GalaxSea Cruises of San Diego, the exclusive travel agency for these special cruises. John and Rosemary Roberts are dear friends of Brooks Aehron and are the owners of GalaxSea Cruises & Tours of San Diego. We have handled all of the Music at Sea Concert Cruises (15 through 2006) since 2001 and will be happy to add you to our growing list of very special guests. We look forward to meeting you on one of the Music at Sea Concert Cruises described below. Please note, every year we meet Brooks fans on board the ship that learn about the Music at Sea Concert Cruise schedule from our mailings and mistakenly purchased the cruise through their local agency. When they get on board they were sorely disappointed to learn they are not part of our group, are not notified of our functions and do not get to enjoy any of the Music at Sea events. For Music at Sea Concert Cruises one must purchase the cruise through GalaxSea Cruises & Tours of San Diego. You are welcome to book all other cruises with you local agent and we will not market any other cruises to you. One last point is that our special price includes all these private functions and your local agent's price includes none of these special events and is likely to be a higher price and offers less.

2008 Brooks Aehron "Music at Sea" Concert Cruises

Our June 2007 mailing covered five exciting new Music at Sea Concert Cruises planned for you from April 29, 2008 to March 14, 2009, we are offering these new cruises on:

• two new ships, 5 new itineraries
• our first cruise to China & Japan!
• a brand new cruiseline, Azamara and her 700 passenger ships with open seating and no formal nights (see details on Azamara below in the Ships section)
  

1. 12-nt Best of Europe April 29, 2008 London to Barcelona on Celebrity’s Summit
2. 12-nt Norway & North Cape July 28, 2008 roundtrip Amsterdam on Celebrity’s Century
3. 14-nt Best of Italy Sept. 13, 2008 roundtrip Rome on Azamara Quest
4. 11-nt Ultimate Caribbean Jan. 12, 2009 roundtrip Ft. Lauderdale on Celebrity’s Constellation
5. 14-nt China & Japan March 14, 2009 Beijing to Hong Kong on Azamara Quest

Details on our 5 new cruise offerings follow:

1. 12-nt Best of Europe April 29, 2008 Celebrity Summit London to Barcelona

• This cruise sails from London (Southampton port), England; and calls on Paris (port of Le Havre), France; La Rochelle, France; Bilbao, Spain; Gijon, Spain; Vigo, Spain; Lisbon, Portugal; famous and exotic Casablanca, Morocco; Seville (Cadiz) Spain; ends in Barcelona, Spain
• You will have a whole day in Le Havre so you can spend the day exploring Paris visit the Louvre Museum, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower or just sip coffee and watch the people stroll by on the Champs Elysees
• La Rochelle gave the world the vineyards for Brandy and Bordeaux wines
• In Bilbao you can visit the world famous and distinctive Guggenheim Museum
• Vigo is home of the famous Santiago de Compostela built over where St. James was buried
• Lisbon is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and one of the least known
• The old quarter of Cadiz is a charming escape to the past and a very popular holiday destination for Spaniards and the well traveled.
• These are some great ports of call that Scandinavia/Russia and Mediterranean cruises miss. Great time of the year before it gets too hot and before the summer crowds arrive.
• Celebrity has a great deal of information on their website for each of these itineraries. If you go to www.celebrity.com and enter the month and ship then click submit. You will get a list of sailing dates for that ship in that month. If you click on the date of our Music at Sea cruise you will get the detailed Itinerary Page duplicated below, but you will get tabs for "Ports & Cities", Ship, Deck Plans, Shore & Land Excursion, and Pre & Post Hotel Package Options. The tabs are full of relevant information for the cruise you selected.

• Date	Day	Port	Arrive	Depart
  Apr. 29	Tu	Southampton, England (near London)	---	5 PM
  Apr 30	W	Paris (Le Havre)	7 AM	10:30 PM
  May 1	Th	At Sea
  May 2	F	La Rochelle, France	7 AM	6 PM
  May 3	Sa	Bilbao, Spain	7 AM	6 PM
  May 4	Su	Gijon, Spain	7 AM	5 PM
  May 5	M	Vigo, Spain	8 AM	5 PM
  May 6	T	Lisbon, Portugal	9 AM	6 PM
  May 7	W	At Sea
  May 8	Th	Casablanca, Morocco	7 AM	10 PM
  May 9	F	Seville (Cadiz), Spain	12 PM	8 PM
  May 10	Sa	At Sea
  May 11	Su	Barcelona (flights home OK after 10am)	5:00 AM

2. 12-nt Norway, Arctic Circle and North Cape July 28, 2008 on Celebrity Century

• This once or twice a year cruise is roundtrip from Amsterdam, Holland (easy to get into and out of compared to London these days); and will call on Alesund, Norway; the Arctic Circle (Cruising for 3 days when the sun will not set); Alta, Norway; Honningsvag (where we will visit the famous North Cape museum at the northern most point in Europe), Norway; Tromso ("Paris of the North"), Norway; Molde, Norway; Olden, Norway; Bergen, Norway; Amsterdam, Holland . This includes stunningly gorgeous Norwegian Fjords like Olden & Molde. Bergen is beautiful and it just doesn't get any prettier than Norway in July.
• In Alesund famous for its fairytale like architecture, you can tour this little town or take an all day cruise into Geiranger Fjord - the most beautiful fjord in the world!
• You'll want to consider staying a little extra time before or after your cruise to explore Amsterdam
• We plan to visit Grieg's home in Bergen & Mt. Floyen as part of our private shoreside event
• Celebrity has a great deal of information on their website for each of these itineraries. If you go to www.celebrity.com and enter the month and ship then click submit. You will get a list of sailing dates for that ship in that month. If you click on the date of our Music at Sea cruise you will get the detailed Itinerary Page duplicated below, but you will get tabs for "Ports & Cities", Ship, Deck Plans, Shore & Land Excursion, and Pre & Post Hotel Package Options. The tabs are full of relevant information for the cruise you selected.

 

Date	Day	Port	Arrive	Depart
July 28	M	Amsterdam	---	5 PM
July 29	Tu	At Sea
July 30	W	Alesund, Norway	9AM	6 PM
July 31	Th	Arctic Circle cruising
Aug. 1	F	Alta, Norway	8 AM	6 PM
Aug. 2	Sa	Honnisvag, Norway (for North Cape)	9 AM	6 PM
Aug. 3	Su	Tromso, Norway	8 AM	5 PM
Aug. 4	M	At Sea
Aug. 5	Tu	Molde, Norway	7 AM	6 PM
Aug. 6	W	Olden, Norway	8 AM	5 PM
Aug. 7	Th	Bergen, Norway	7 AM	5 PM
Aug. 8	F	At Sea
Aug. 9	Sa	Amsterdam (flights home OK after 10:30am)	5:00 AM

3. 14-nt Best of Italy on Azamara Quest roundtrip Rome Sept. 13, 2008

• Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy; Bari, Italy; Split Croatia; Venice, Italy (2-days); Ravenna, Italy; Taormina, Sicily; Sorrento, Italy (2-days); Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy; Florence (Livorno), Italy (2-days); Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy
• This cruise focuses on Italy and gives you two days in Venice, Sorrento (for Naples & Capri), and Florence (Livorno) plus many less commonly called on ports like Bari, Split, Ravenna & Port Cervo & Taormina. Taormina is an ancient Roman city and a medieval city in one. It has great views of the active volcano Mt. Aetna and you don't have to dock in Mecina and take a long drive to Taormina. This is one of the benefits of the small size of Azamara Quest.
• This is an outstanding way to see Italy without having to worry about paying for your vacation in Euros there and dollars when you return. For our international guests these cruise in dollars offer a great opportunity to save a lot of money and take advantage of your strong currencies.
• We are planning a shoreside event into the beautiful Tuscan countryside out of Florence
• You have a Back-to-back cruise option with this cruise and the Sept. 27th W. Med. cruise on Azamara Quest - Florence is the only port duplicated and Florence is the gateway to Tuscany and you just can't spend too much time in Tuscany
• Celebrity has a great deal of information on their website for each of these itineraries. If you go to www.celebrity.com and enter the month and ship then click submit. You will get a list of sailing dates for that ship in that month. If you click on the date of our Music at Sea cruise you will get the detailed Itinerary Page duplicated below, but you will get tabs for "Ports & Cities", Ship, Deck Plans, Shore & Land Excursion, and Pre & Post Hotel Package Options. The tabs are full of relevant information for the cruise you selected.

• Date	Day	Port	Arrive	Depart
  Sept 13	Sa	Rome	---	6 PM
  Sept 14	Su	At Sea
  Sept 15	M	Bari, Italy	8 AM	6 PM
  Sept 16	T	Split, Croatia	7 AM	5 PM
  Sept 17	W	Venice, Italy (overnight)	8 AM	---
  Sept 18	Th	Venice, Italy	---	5 PM
  Sept 19	F	Ravenna, Italy	7 AM	6 PM
  Sept 20	Sa	At Sea
  Sept 21	Su	Taormina, Sicily	7 AM	5 PM
  Sept 22	M	Sorrento, Italy (overnight)	7 AM	---
  Sept 23	T	Sorrento, Italy	---	5 PM
  Sept 24	W	Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy	8 AM	5 PM
  Sept 25	Th	Florence (Livorno), Italy (overnight)	7 AM	---
  Sept 26	F	Florence (Livorno), Italy	---	5 PM
  Sept 27	Sa	Rome, Italy (flights home OK after 10am)	4 AM	---

4. 11-nt Ultimate Caribbean Jan. 12, 2009 on Celebrity Constellation

• Fort Lauderdale, Florida; George Town, Grand Cayman; Cartagena, Colombia; Colon, Panama; Puerto Limon, Costa Rica; Cozumel, Mexico; Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• This is a relaxing itinerary with several days at sea. We picked January for those of you that live in colder climates that may want an escape from winter and would like to spend a few days with Brooks Aehron as well.
• Costa Rica is a great place to visit with many very interesting shore excursions into their wonderful country
• Cartagena has a colonial past that is very different from other Caribbean ports & very interesting
• We plan to offer a private excursion in Colon to visit the Panama Canal and as part of that we will visit the viewing area from Gatun Locks and watch the gigantic ships go up and down and through the locks. It is a fascinating perspective to be right next to these giants of the sea.
• Celebrity has a great deal of information on their website for each of these itineraries. If you go to www.celebrity.com and enter the month and ship then click submit. You will get a list of sailing dates for that ship in that month. If you click on the date of our Music at Sea cruise you will get the detailed Itinerary Page duplicated below, but you will get tabs for "Ports & Cities", Ship, Deck Plans, Shore & Land Excursion, and Pre & Post Hotel Package Options. The tabs are full of relevant information for the cruise you selected.
  

• Date	Day	Port	Arrive	Depart
  Jan. 12	M	Ft. Lauderdale, Florida	---	5 PM
  Jan. 13	Tu	At Sea
  Jan. 14	W	George Town, Grand Cayman	7 AM	5:30 PM
  Jan. 15	Th	At Sea
  Jan. 16	F	At Sea
  Jan. 17	Sa	Cartagena, Columbia	7 AM	4 PM
  Jan. 18	Su	Colon, Panama	8 AM	6 PM
  Jan. 19	M	Puerto Limon, Costa Rica	7 AM	7 PM
  Jan. 20	T	At Sea
  Jan. 21	W	Cozumel, Mexico	9 AM	7 PM
  Jan. 22	Th	At Sea
  Jan. 23	F	Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (flights OK after 12pm)	7 AM

   

5. 14-nt Beijing to Hong Kong on Azamara Quest March 14, 2009

• This cruise start in Beijing (Tianjin), China; and calls on Dalian, China; Seoul (Incheon), South Korea; Kyoto (Osaka), Japan (2-days); Hiroshima, Japan; Fukuoka, Japan; Pusan, South Korea; Shanghai, China; Hong Kong, China (overnight). This is our first Music at Sea cruise to China & Japan! It will likely sell out quickly so reserve your space right away. You are unlikely to be able to wait and book this cruise later in 2008 as it will be sold-out except for cancellations and the prices will likely be $1000 per person higher than our group prices. Planning ahead saves all of you a great deal of money.
• This cruise offers great ports of call in China and Japan including two days in Osaka for Kyoto - the ancient capital of Japan and "the most beautiful city in Japan".
• Everywhere we go in China we will see and incredible amount of new building. There are so many cranes putting up high rise buildings, some suggest the crane should be the new national bird of China.
• We will offer a 3-nt pre-cruise tour package option for Beijing with hotel, the Great Wall, Forbidden City,Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square & Ming Tomb but we don't have prices yet. There will not be a rush to book these as they can be easily added later.
• We will offer 1 or 2-night post cruise hotel package option for Hong Kong also
• Celebrity has a great deal of information on their website for each of these itineraries. If you go to www.celebrity.com and enter the month and ship then click submit. You will get a list of sailing dates for that ship in that month. If you click on the date of our Music at Sea cruise you will get the detailed Itinerary Page duplicated below, but you will get tabs for "Ports & Cities", Ship, Deck Plans, Shore & Land Excursion, and Pre & Post Hotel Package Options. The tabs are full of relevant information for the cruise you selected.

• Date	Day	Port	Arrive	Depart
  Mar 14	Sa	Tianjin (for Beijing)		6 PM
  Mar 15	Su	Dalian, China	9 AM	4 PM
  Mar 16	M	Seoul (Incheon) South Korea	11 AM	8PM
  Mar 17	T	At Sea
  Mar 18	W	Kyoto (Osaka), Japan (Overnight)	3 PM
  Mar 19	Th	Kyoto (Osaka), Japan		6 PM
  Mar 20	F	Hiroshima, Japan	7 AM	5 PM
  Mar 21	Sa	Fukuoka, Japan	7 AM	6 PM
  Mar 22	Su	Pusan, South Korea	7 AM	9 PM
  Mar 23	M	At Sea
  Mar 24	T	Shanghai, China	7 AM	9 PM
  Mar 25	W	At Sea
  Mar 26	Th	At Sea
  Mar 27	F	Hong Kong (overnight)	7 AM	---
  Mar 28	Sa	Hong Kong disembark (flights OK after ??)	7 AM	---

   

Cruise Ships Used for Music at Sea Concert Cruises

Celebrity's Infinity, Constellation, Millennium & Summit (identical sister ships)

Many of our cruises are offered on Celebrity's top of the line premium class four identical sister ships. These 91,000 ton $350 million ships are larger than many new ships today but holds only about 2000 passengers. Compare this to the larger Grand Princess which is 109,000 tons but holds 3100 people. They are two of the roomiest new ship afloat except for the luxury class ships. Berlitz & Conde Nast Traveler readers rates these ships as the top large cruise ships (over 1000 passengers )and we agree! They set the standard for premium class cruising.

The Ocean Liners restaurant is the specialty restaurant on board the Constellation which sets a new standard for dining at sea. It offers an outstanding 5-star dining experience with highly skilled and knowledgeable staff to make this 3 hour dining experience a meal to remember. It is one of Brooks Aehron's favorite restaurants anywhere. The restaurant seats 130 guests and has a demonstration galley, along with a dine-in wine cellar. We expect it to be a dining highlight of your cruise. There is a small $30 per person service charge to cover staff gratuities - the food is included in your cruise fare. The Millennium's specialty restaurant is called the Olympic, the sister ship of the Titanic and includes wood paneling from the Olympic preserved after her retirement.

Each of the dining areas onboard– the "specialty restaurant", the main dining room, the "Seaside Café" and "Seaside Grill" – feature the highly rated cuisine of European Master Chef Michel Roux, as do all Celebrity ships. They also offer an excellent sushi bar, and healthy spa cuisine, and custom made pizzas.

These ships offer a number of interesting features and amenities, several of them industry firsts:

• one of the first cruise ship to incorporate gas turbine technology, a propulsion system which reduces exhaust emissions by up to 90 percent and considerably curtails noise and vibration, offering guests the ultimate in cruising comfort.
• 80 percent oceanview staterooms, 74 percent with verandahs.
• The industry’s largest Penthouse Suites, encompassing nearly 3,000 square feet with verandah and including such opulent appointments as a butler’s pantry, personal exercise equipment, and a baby grand piano.

• The 25,000 sq. ft. AquaSpa is the largest and most sophisticated spa at sea.
• "The Emporium," 14,000 sq. ft. shopping area, is one of the largest designer boutique afloat.
• Glass-enclosed elevators, offering guests captivating, panoramic ocean views as they move from deck to deck.

In addition to its new public spaces and amenities, there is also the highly-acclaimed, fleetwide signature elements, including museum-quality contemporary art collections, Cova Café di Milano (a big favorite of Brooks Aehron), Michael’s Club piano lounge, a cinema, internet cafe, and Martini and Champagne Bars serving caviar and other delicacies.

 

 

 

We have also used Celebrity's Mercury for the extremely well received 2008 Australia/New Zealand and South Sea back-to-back cruises for Feb.& March 2008. Mercury is a small version of the Millennium Class. We are also using the newly refurbished Century for the first time in 2008. Century has been extensively redone with 314 balconies added, the spa enlarged and a specialty restaurant added. The early reviews have been wonderful. We also look forward to the new Solstice Class Celebrity ships that will debut in October 2008. We expect to offer at least one sailing on Solstice in 2009. Lastly we are very excited to be offering three Music at Sea cruises in 2008/early 2009 on Celebrity new 700 passenger "Deluxe" cruiseline called Azamara Cruises.

Introducing Azamara Cruises

Azamara Cruises was created by Celebrity in May 2007. We are excited to be able to offer our Music at Sea guests three outstanding choices on Azamara in 2008. Azamara is:

• An intimate deluxe cruise experience on a small 30,000 ton ship that holds only 700 guests with luxurious decor reminiscent of a small European Hotel
• “Deluxe” cruises designed to exceed “premium” class but cost much less than the luxury class ships – typically less than half. Azamara is also priced hundreds lower than Oceania – the only other Deluxe cruise line. Book early Quest will sell out quickly!
• Impeccable service with every cabin receiving butler service and concierge-style amenities like fresh flowers, fresh fruit, Elemis toiletries, complimentary use of Frette cotton robes, slippers, plasma TVs, European bedding & pillow menu, shoeshine service, complimentary tote bag, stationery and pen.
• A higher level of sumptuous dining featured in the main dining room with open seating (dine when you want and with whom you want). Menus will reflect the destinations on your cruise to add a sense of the culture in the area you are visiting
• Two specialty restaurant options: Prime C for steak and seafood and Aqualina for Mediterranean-style dining. All guests receive one nights complimentary dining in the specialty restaurant of their choice. Suite guests receive two complimentary nights.
• Resort casual attire and no formal nights
• Luxury cruise focus on adults - no children’s program
• No smoking allowed in cabins or on stateroom balconies
• Specially designed shore excursion with an on board "excursion expert" serving as a local expert and guide for each port of call
  

Pricing Information*

Category	April 29, 2008 Best of Europe 12-night	July 28,2008 Norway & North Cape 12-nt	Sept 13, 2008 Best of Italy 14-night
Cruiseline	Celebrity	Celebrity	Azamara
Ship	Summit	Century	Quest
Inside cat 9	call	$2527	$3635
Oceanview (1)	call	$3067	$4185
2A/2B Balcony (2)	call	$4147	sold-out
Concierge Class or 1A Balcony (3)	call	$4177	$4885
Sky Suite (4)	call	$5689	$6792
Royal Suite (4)	call	$8689	$11,792

 

Early 2009 Music at Sea Cruises - China will sell out quickly - Book early

*Prices are per person double occupancy and INCLUDE port charges, GRATUITIES, taxes & all Music at Sea Concert Cruise events. Airfare is not included (see notes 5 & 6). These prices in U.S. dollars are great values for our international guests! Each Music at Sea Concert Cruise requires a minimum subscription level and may be cancelled if that is not reached. In that event all deposits will be refunded. Call for single prices. Space is limited so reserve early! If prices decline we can reduce your price but reserving early locks in these great low prices which can go up significantly over time.

A refundable $900 per cabin deposit holds your cabin!

NOTES:
(1) Unobstructed oceanview category 7 (170 sq.ft.) on Celebrity, category 4 on Azamara (161sq.ft.)
(2) 2B balcony (208 sq.ft) on Celebrity, on category 2A on Azamara (216 sq.ft.)
(3) Concierge Class (CC Balcony on Celebrity is 232 sq. ft.) and includes many special suite amenities like upgraded linens, fixtures & bedding, priority embarkation/disembarkation, fresh flowers, pillow-menu & personalized stationary. Cat 1A on Azamara is more midship than category 2A but is same 216 sq. ft. All cabins on Azamara receive concierge class-like amenities.
(4) Please call for size, location, current price and amenity differences between Celebrity and Azamara
(5) Special $999 airfare with transfers from major North America gateways – limited time offer!
(6) Special $1499 airfare with transfers from major North America gateways - limited time offer!

Please note essentially the same musical program will be performed by Brooks on these 2008 and early 2009 cruises.

Important Information

We suggest you reserve you space early as Music at Sea Concert Cruises have limited space to ensure the experience is outstanding and they sell out quickly. You can only reserve space for this private event through GalaxSea Cruises of San Diego.