Oceans apart from any other Irish Cruise
Thirty years ago I promoted my first Irish theme cruise. We sailed out of New York Harbor joined by 80 passengers and some of New York’s finest musicians. While I had been promoting other Irish events, I had absolutely no idea of the organizational skills required for successful cruising. We were all novices on this incredible voyage as this was also a first cruise for my guests. The ship was small, our staterooms quite plain but the food was incredible and the midnight buffets were truly indulgent.
We were assigned a small lounge on the top of the ship to host our Irish entertainment. Let me tell you we had so much fun that we were the envy of every other passenger onboard. We danced nights away, enjoying the Siege of Ennis, Jiving, Polka’s, Old Time Waltz’s and ending each night with our Anthems. I recall coming back with hundreds of names given to me by other passengers that wanted to be notified of my next Irish cruise.
It all began for me from that cruise so many years ago, with 80 passengers to chartering entire ships. I continued to promote an Irish theme cruise on an annual basis. I gained a vast amount of knowledge along the way on how to improve the cruising experience. However I remain steadfast to my own theory “simply envision the type of quality and service that I would expect and don’t offer anything less to my customers”. My philosophy is to offer my guests the 5-star experience from the moment they step on the pier for embarkation. The mood is set, each guest is personally greeted, followed by a champagne reception and of course some welcome Irish music. It is heartwarming to watch the smiling faces and joyous emotions exhibited as each guest is ready to board the ship for the cruise of a lifetime. I now charter Holland America’s vista class ships annually catering up to 2000 + passengers.
Most of my business comes from “word of mouth” and passengers hail from all over the world. I am truly blessed and have to thank all of my guests who sailed with me over the past thirty years. Should you choose to join us on this 30th Anniversary cruise you are sure to meet up with some old friends that you have met along the way on a Gertrude Byrne All Star Irish Cruise!
Entertainment
Itinerary
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Islands
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas & Virgin Islands
Philipsburg, St. Maarten & Netherlands Antilles
Half Moon Cay, Bahamas
Cruiser
MS Nieuw Amsterdam
At the heart of Amsterdam is the Planeto Astrolabium, a commissioned signature sculpture soaring in a three-story atrium. The stunning Astrolabe tracks constellations, the planets, world time and ship time. Dutch heritage and tradition is clearly displayed throughout the ship in original Art Deco pieces that once graced the elegant Nieuw Amsterdam of 1938. For a contemporary touch, works of the noted maritime artist Stephen Card adorn public spaces.