I'd like to start today by sending best wishes to all the victims of Hurricane Florence in my home state of North Carolina and in South Carolina. As a child, my annual family vacation was always to one of the hard-hit beach towns near where Florence made landfall, and I looked forward to it all year long.

As I write this, at least 19 people have died and more are missing or unaccounted for, hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses are without electricity, and entire cities and towns are cut off from the outside world due to impassable roads. The water is still rising in some rivers and bays, and dams and levees in coastal areas are in danger of failing.

It's been barely a year since the floodwaters of Hurricane Harvey began to rise here in Houston, taking lives and property and livelihoods. The 800 Houston-based employees of Vacations To Go send our heartfelt condolences to all who are dealing with the same in the Carolinas.

Vacations To Go will donate $100,000 to relief and recovery efforts in the hardest hit areas in the Carolinas. We are vetting local, long-established charities now and I will announce in next week's newsletter where we sent our donation.

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For today's newsletter, we've negotiated fantastic cruise offers with Princess, Norwegian, Oceania, Crystal and Costa. They include shipboard credits, which can be used toward the purchase of items not included in the upfront cost of your cruise, like shore excursions, spa treatments and souvenirs from the onboard gift shop.

Princess is offering Vacations To Go customers discounts of up to 68% and exclusive shipboard credits of up to $85 per cabin on a variety of cruises. Plus, receive free gratuities on select last-minute Hawaii sailings in 2018. Book by October 4. See dates and prices.

Norwegian is offering our customers discounts of up to 85% and shipboard credits of up to $365 per cabin. Plus, book an ocean-view cabin or higher on select sailings and choose two of the following amenities: 1) a beverage package for two, 2) a specialty dining package that includes up to four meals for two guests, 3) 250 minutes of Internet or 4) a shore excursion credit of $50 per cabin, per port. Book by September 30. See dates and prices.

Oceania is offering our customers big discounts of up to 79%. Also receive shipboard credits of up to $900 per cabin on select voyages. Book by September 30. See dates and prices.

Crystal is offering Vacations To Go customers huge savings on select last-minute sailings -- save up to 78%. Also enjoy exclusive shipboard credits of up to $650 per cabin. Kids age 17 and under sail free on select dates. The upfront fare includes gratuities, fine wines, Champagne, premium spirits and nonalcoholic beverages. See dates and prices.

And, save up to $2,000 per cabin on many Crystal river cruises in Europe through 2020. Book by September 30. See dates and prices.

Costa has slashed prices by up to 84% for our customers, and kids age 17 and under cruise free on select departures. Book a balcony cabin or suite on certain Caribbean sailings and get free drinks. Costa offers Italian-style hospitality, cuisine and entertainment aboard its ships, which sail itineraries in destinations worldwide. See dates and prices.

As always, these offers are for new bookings only and subject to availability. Restrictions may apply. Past guests of some cruise lines may see better rates on select sailings.

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With less than three months until the launch of the new Celebrity Edge, Celebrity has revealed more details about the groundbreaking ship -- this time, unveiling the Grand Plaza that will serve as the heart of the vessel.

A center for dining, drinking and live entertainment, the three-deck space will contain specialty restaurants, Cafe al Bacio and the Grand Plaza Cafe. A sleek, seven-ton chandelier comprised of 765 vertical illuminated LED blades will be suspended over the Martini Bar, changing color from night to day. Hanging three stories between flights of stairs, an artwork known as The Pendulum will sway gently to the rhythm of the ship moving on the sea.

The Grand Plaza was designed by Patrick Jouin and Sanjit Manku; Jouin's grandfather was a welder who worked on the construction of the S.S. Normandie, a French liner built in the 1930s at the same Saint-Nazaire shipyard where the Celebrity Edge is taking shape. A corridor leading to and from the Grand Plaza will expose the bare hull of the Edge, a reminder of the ship's beginnings complete with architects' markings and engineers' notes.

The Celebrity Edge debuts on December 9 and will cruise the Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale through April 2019. Click here for rates and dates.

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I'm pleased to announce our Rhine River hosted singles cruise for August 10, 2019. Take in spectacular views of cliff-top castles, terraced vineyards and postcard-perfect villages on a sailing from Amsterdam to the Swiss city of Basel aboard the 138-passenger MS Monarch Countess. The upfront rate for the nine-day trip includes your river-view cabin, onboard meals, late-night snacks, unlimited wine and beer with dinners, Wi-Fi in public areas of the ship and shore excursions in each port.

Vacations To Go has hosted singles cruises on oceangoing cruise ships since 2005. They are immensely popular -- we've booked more than 30,000 passengers on these fun-filled trips. Our Rhine River singles cruise will include group excursions, mixers and "single-mingle" dining. A Vacations To Go host will be on board to make introductions, organize events and ensure that everyone has a great time.

The included excursions in port are led by local experts. A walking tour of Cologne highlights its magnificent twin-spired cathedral, which took six centuries to complete. In Koblenz, follow narrow lanes to picturesque squares and Romanesque churches. The Alsatian city of Strasbourg blends French and German cultures; guests will explore La Petite France, a district filled with half-timbered homes dating to the 16th and 17th centuries.

Click here for rates and information. Call soon if you'd like to join us, as space is limited.

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Holland America has partnered with Rolling Stone to bring a classic rock music club to sea. The Rolling Stone Rock Room will host live bands performing iconic hits from four decades. It will be part of the Music Walk aboard the Nieuw Statendam when it debuts on December 5, and it also will be added to the Koningsdam that same month.

Other Music Walk venues include B.B. King's Blues Club, the Lincoln Center Stage for classical recitals and Billboard Onboard for an interactive music experience that incorporates trivia.

The Nieuw Statendam will spend winter sailing to the Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale on trips of seven to 14 nights. Click here for discounted rates.

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Disney plans to homeport a ship year-round in Miami starting in 2023. The line received the first rights to negotiate the building of a dedicated cruise terminal at PortMiami that could accommodate ships capable of carrying 3,500 or more passengers, according to a resolution approved by Miami-Dade County commissioners.

In addition to a having one ship in Miami year-round for four- and five-night cruises, Disney will place a second one there seasonally for three- and four-night sailings. The line currently has a fleet of four ships (two of which carry 4,000 passengers) and will build three more for delivery in 2021, 2022 and 2023. At 140,000 tons, the new ships will be bigger than Disney's two current largest vessels but will have the same number of staterooms.

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Vacations To Go is an official corporate sponsor of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (DFGF). Founded by famed gorilla researcher Dian Fossey in 1978, the organization is dedicated to the conservation of critically endangered mountain gorillas and their habitats.

I want to share an article from the latest issue of Vacations magazine, which details the work of the DFGF and its Karisoke Research Center. To read the article in Vacations, click here.

Located in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park, the Karisoke research center works to protect 604 mountain gorillas roaming the jungles of East Africa's Virunga Volcano region. Enduring cold and damp conditions, teams of trackers and scientists rehabilitate injured gorillas and conduct vital research on gorilla behavior and ecology. The DFGF also provides needed jobs, health care and educational programs to local communities.

For more information about what the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund is doing to save mountain gorillas -- and how other humans can help -- please visit GorillaFund.org.

To read my trip reports from my safari in Rwanda and Uganda, click here.

For a list of trips that visit Rwanda, click here. For a list of trips that visit Uganda, click here.

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Here are all the best cruise deals worldwide in the next 90 days, organized by region:

Africa
Antarctica
Arctic
Asia
Asia Cruise Tours
Australia/New Zealand
Australia/New Zealand Cruise Tours
Bahamas
Bermuda
British Isles
Canada/New England
Canada/New England Cruise Tours
Canary Islands
Caribbean
Cuba
Europe Cruise Tours
Galapagos
Greek Islands
Hawaii
Mediterranean
Mexico/Central America
Middle East
Northern Europe
Norway
Pacific Northwest
Panama Canal
Repositioning
River Cruises
South America
South America Cruise Tours
Tahiti/French Polynesia
Transatlantic

Here are all the best cruise deals worldwide in the next 90 days, organized by cruise line:

American Cruise Lines
Azamara Club Cruises
Carnival
Celebrity
Costa Cruises
Cruise & Maritime Voyages
Crystal
Cunard
Disney
Holland America
Hurtigruten
MSC Cruises
Norwegian
Oceania Cruises
P&O Cruises
Paul Gauguin Cruises
Ponant
Princess
Pullmantur
Quark Expeditions
Regent
Royal Caribbean
Seabourn
SeaDream Yacht Club
Silversea
Star Clippers
Viking Cruises
Voyages to Antiquity
Windstar

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Here are today's Top 10 Cruises, brand-new specials from the world's best cruise lines. Click the FastDeal # for details.
 

1) Caribbean, 7 nights on Carnival, departs Galveston Sep 29, starting at $459, save 74%, FastDeal # 24786

2) Mexico, 7 nights on Princess, departs Los Angeles Dec 8, starting at $469, save 33%, FastDeal # 14576

3) Caribbean, 7 nights on Holland America, departs Fort Lauderdale Oct 21, starting at $499, save 32%, FastDeal # 17852

4) Mediterranean, 7 nights on MSC Cruises, departs Rome Sep 30, starting at $639, save 54%, FastDeal # 10306

5) Cuba, 7 nights on Oceania Cruises, departs Miami Dec 10, oceanview starting at $2,699, save 61%, FastDeal # 19050

6) Caribbean, 7 nights on MSC Cruises, departs Miami Dec 1, starting at $489, save 51%, FastDeal # 25087

7) Bahamas, 7 nights on Carnival, departs Baltimore Oct 7, starting at $599, save 66%, FastDeal # 33609

8) Hawaii, 15 nights on Princess, departs San Francisco Nov 18, starting at $1,119, save 34%, FastDeal # 30216

9) Canada/New England, 10 nights on Oceania Cruises, departs New York Oct 23, balcony starting at $4,899, save 65%, FastDeal # 12225

10) Tahiti/French Polynesia, 14 nights on Regent, departs Honolulu Nov 1, suite starting at $7,299, save 69%, FastDeal # 38899