Ð ²Ú ú Üàôº²Ü ØÆàôº²Ü κ ðàü²î²ü ì²ðâàôâæôü ARMENIAN RELIEF SOCIETY, INC. / CENTRAL EXECUTIVE BOARD NGO in Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC and in Association with the DPI ARMENIAN RELIEF SOCIETY, INC. FOURTH INTERNATIONAL CRUISE 12 NIGHT ADRIATIC CRUISE To all the passengers of the ARS 4th International Cruise to the Adriatic Sea Welcome to ARS 4 th International Cruise! As cruise time approaches I have to remind you of the following important pre-cruise procedures: Get your passports ready Reserve your airline tickets to Venice and back from Rome. We recommend you arrive in Venice the morning of July 3, 2014. Reserve your tickets back home from Rome Fiumicino Airport after 1:00p.m. on July 15, 2014 No visas needed for all passengers who hold American, Canadian & European passports. Visas needed (Schengen) for all passengers who hold Middle Eastern passports. All other citizens should check with their respective consulates. All those passengers who arrive to Venice Marco Polo Airport on July 3, 2014 should arrange their own transportation (taking a local taxi) to the Port of Venice (10 minute drive, approximately $34.00pp). Have your general health check-up with your doctor. During the 12 days of our fun and memorable cruise, we will have the following events: 4 Kef Nights, dancing and singing performed by famous singer Hratch Gaydzagian and organist Seto Baghdassarian, from Lebanon 2 Cultural Events ARS Day ARS Gathering for members and guests 1 Karaoke Night 1 Patriotic Songs Night 1 Farewell Party EXCURSIONS The Armenian Relief Society is organizing the following excursions in two cities, Venice and Rome: VENICE, ITALY July 4, 2014 Eighty Bigelow Ave., Suite 300, Watertown, MA 02472, USA / PHONE: 617-926-5892 / FAX: 617-926-4855 / E-MAIL: ceb@ars1910.org The Armenian Relief Society is a 501(c) (3) Charitable, Tax-Exempt Organization; Your Donation is Tax-Deductible to the Extent Allowed by Law
Duration: 4 hours Organized by ARS with the Fathers of St. Lazarus Monastery Ships will pick everyone up from the port of Venice. Visit the island of St. Lazarus and be guests of the church abbot. Have a tour of the museum and the Madenataran, where you can find the oldest Armenian manuscripts. Ships will take us back to the island of St. Marco and there you will be on your own. Enjoy St. Marco s square and the 900 year old St. Mark s Basilica. The Gondolas will be waiting for all those who want a romantic ride along the charming Grand Canal (optional), or you can walk through the most beautiful architecture, filled with shops, bistros, etc. FARE: 15 Euros (to be paid to ARS on the ship, July 5, 2014) If you arrive very early on July 3, we will try to make special arrangements with the ship if you can leave your luggages on the pier. You can also reserve the following excursion from Celebrity Cruise Excursions on July 3, 2014 VE 08 Murano Glass & Burano Lace (Island of Murano and Burano) ROME, ITALY July 15, 2014 ****** - Duration: 8 hours 9:00 a.m. - Buses will pick up all the passengers from the pier of Rome Guided Tour of the city of Rome, scenic drive through famous monuments in Rome Visit St. Peters Basilica (where you will see the statue of Sourp Krikor Lousavorich) Visit the Colosseum from outside Spanish Steps 3 hours free on your own Optional All those who want tickets for Sistine Chapel and Colosseum, please visit the websites mentioned below and buy your tickets in advance so it will be easier for you to enter. Buses will take all passengers back to their hotel. FARE: 80 Euros ( to be paid to ARS on the ship, July 5, 2014) I kindly ask you to respond to me via e-mail (shakehb@aol.com ) if you would like to participate in the above two excursions organized by ARS, by April 30, 2014. All those who do not respond by the designated deadline will need to make their own arrangements. The following hotel has been reserved for all ARS passengers (close to the center of city and St. Peters) NH GIUSTINIANO (four star hotel) breakfast included VIA VIRGILIO 1E/F/G ROME 00193 Superior room Euro 160 Standard room Euro 139 You can reserve one night or two nights by calling SIDON TRAVEL (CARLO) 1-818-353-0777, or by e- mailing carlo@sidontravel.com, also you can e-mail to me shakehb@aol.com PAGE 2 / 5
Other than the above two ARS Excursions, everyone is free to reserve their shore excursions to all the cities we visit through the Celebrity Cruise Line website. We advise you to book your shore excursions as early as possible otherwise you might not find spaces at the last minute. Some excursions will sell out sooner than others. Follow the link below to reserve your excursions. You need your booking number to reserve. Go to www.celebritycruise.com Click Already Booked Click Shore & Land Excursions Right hand side (Already Booked a Cruise?) click log in Then add your last name, reservation number (you can find it in your confirmation e-mail from Travel Group International), date of the cruise and the ship name. Then click each city we will visit, clicking any duration any activity and choose any excursion. To make it more easy for you, I have gone through the excursion lists in the cities that we will visit and highly recommend reserving the following excursions: Koper, Slovenia - KR 30 Panoramic Koper KR 29 Ljubljana on Your Own (Slovenia s capital) You can also tour Koper on your Own (just come out of the ship and start Walking to the city. Downtown is in walking distance and a lot of shops. Ravenna, Italy RV 28 - Bologna on your Own (Rich in cultural jewels, lively ambiance, delicious cuisine, (1 and half hour drive) - RV 23 Panoramic Ravenna - RV 30 Ravenna Beach Tour (transfer to the beach, umbrella, two chairs) Ravenna has beautiful beaches you can enjoy your day on your own on one of the beaches : MARINA ROMEA MARINA DI RAVENNA PUNTA MARINA TERME, etc. (Just get a cab and ask the driver.) Split, Croatia - AT 05 Highlights of Split Riviera - You can also tour the city of Split on your own. Just come out of the pier, start walking, enjoy the historic city of Split, have lunch on the beach and visit the Temple of Jupiter. Dubrovnic, Croatia - DU 10 Highlights of Dubrovnic Riviera - DU 03 Seaside Resort of Cartat and Dubrovnic You can also come out of the pier and there are shuttle buses to tour the historic sights of Dubrovnic (Pile Square, exquisite Adriatic coastal scenery, cuisine, Old Town where you will see the statue of an Armenian PAGE 3 / 5
Saint outside the cathedral), etc. Those who seek Paradise on Earth should come to Dubrovnic. Kotor, Montenegro - KV 19 Seaside Resort of Budva and Kotor - KV 17 Montenegro Highlights - Bari, Italy - BQ 20 Picturesque Alberobello (the cone top structured houses of Alberobello are considered to be among the most famous attractions.) - BQ 14 Bari & Historic Trani You can also come out of the pier and start walking Bari on your own, to Piazza Ferrani, visit Swabian castle and St. Sabinos cathedral, shop and taste very famous Apulian Foccacio bread. You can also visit VILLAGIO ARMENIA, NOR ARAX (15 minutes drive from the Pier). A great number of Armenians had lived here after World War I and the Armenian Genocide; Armenians came from IZMIR and BURUN (Western Armenia, now Turkey) to Greece and then to Italy. Now only 2 families still live in Bari. Valetta, Malta - VT 06 Island Panoramic Tour - VT 02 Mdina, Mosta & Handicrafts Village - VT 01 Mdina & Historic Valetta - Catania, Sicily - CQ 21 Panoramic Catania and Coastline - CQ 24 Taste of Sicily Mt. Etna & Taormina (for all those who have not seen Mt. Etna, the volcanic mountain) - CQ 27 Sicilian Beach Transfer (1 sunbed, 1 umbrella included) Or you can come out of the pier, rent a cab or van with your group and ask to drive to GIARDINI NAXOS beach (50 minutes drive) and enjoy the beautiful Mediterranean Sea, relax and have fun. Naples, Italy - NP 03 Exploration of Pompei (for all those who have not seen the ruins of Historic City of Pompei) - NP A1 - Leisurely Sorrento (for all those who have not seen Sorrento; the lovely town of Sorrento is a magnet for both Italian and foreign travelers - NP 05 - Island of Capri (50 minute cruise from the bay) (Must see for all those who have not seen Capri; it is the heaven of Sicily.) - Amalfi is a must see in the tour if you have not seen before. Just come out of the pier and get a cab or van with your group (one hour drive). Enjoy the beautiful beach and delicious cuisine. PAGE 4 / 5
Always have your bathing suit and towel with you and be ready to enjoy the beautiful beaches of Mediterranean. ------------------------------------ ****All those passengers who want to visit the SISTINE CHAPEL and the VATICAN MUSEUM in Rome and see the miraculous work of Michelangelo on their own, may get tickets in advance through the Vatican Museum website: http://mv.vatican.va/3_en/pages/mv_home.html Click left HOURS AND TICKETS Click TICKETS ON LINE (top) Change language to English (left bottom) Click ADMISSION TICKETS Click VATICAN MUSEUM AND SISTINE CHAPEL Then add the date and number of people, then the hour you want to visit The ticket prices are Euro 16+4 = Euros 20 for each person, and you can buy with your credit cards; you can visit any hour you want without waiting in line on July 15 or 16, 2014. ****All those passengers who want to visit the Colosseum (the Roman Arena) in Rome on their own, may get tickets in advance through the Colosseum website. Ticket prices are 12.80+3.90 = Euros 16.50 for each person http://www.thecolosseum.net/around/visit.htm Shakeh Basmajian ARS Representative for the International Cruise February 10, 2014 PAGE 5 / 5