ABOUT THREE GREAT CATHOLIC CRUISES IN 2008
Dear Future Cruiser (I hope!):
There are many good ways to learn your faith, but one of the most enjoyable is at sea, on a Catholic Answers cruise.
This year Catholic Answers is sponsoring three faith-building cruises:
1. Alaska Apologetics Cruise (June 8-15)
2. Christian History Cruise in the Baltic (August 21-September 2)
3. Bible Lands Pilgrimage and Cruise (October 2-16)
Let me tell you a bit about each cruise--and about a limited-room opportunity to visit St. Peter's actual tomb beneath the high altar at the basilica that bears his name.
(To go straight to the full details about all three cruises, click here: http://www.catholicanswerscruise.com.)
APOLOGETICS CRUISE TO ALASKA
Creek Street in Ketchikan
If you want to learn your faith and learn how to share it with others, this is the ideal cruise for you. The speakers will be Tim Staples, Jimmy Akin, and Jim Blackburn of the Catholic Answers staff, plus guest speaker Mark Shea.
These are four of the top Catholic apologists in the country. Not only will you hear great lectures by them, but you will have plenty of opportunity to talk with them one-on-one, both on board the ship and on shore.
On this 8-day cruise, you will have a chance to have all of your apologetical questions answered, and you also will enjoy some of the most impressive scenery in America. (Of all the cruises that sail from American ports, I think the one to Alaska takes the prize for beauty.)
The cruise departs Seattle and visits Glacier Bay, Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan in Alaska and Victoria in British Columbia.
JUST RIGHT FOR SCRIMPERS, FAMILIES, AND SINGLE TRAVELERS
This is our most affordable cruise and the easiest to get to for most Americans. It's just right for families, and it's just right for those who travel on their own. (If you want to shave expenses by sharing a stateroom with a compatible roommate, that can be arranged.)
I suspect you intend to take a vacation this summer--why not make it a vacation that both relaxes you and bolsters your faith?
Since the Alaska apologetics cruise is only a little more than four months away, I urge you to sign up promptly, so you can reserve the stateroom of your choice.
CHRISTIAN HISTORY CRUISE IN THE BALTIC
I'm looking forward to this one--we'll be going to places I haven't seen before. Ditto for you, perhaps.
We'll sail from London, end in Copenhagen, and visit the Scandinavian capitals (Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki), plus four other ports, including two days spent in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Joining me as speakers will be:
1. Thomas Howard--you may have read some of his books, such as "Evangelical Is Not Enough"
2. Christopher Check--a former Marine who gives the best talks on Catholic military history that I've ever heard
3 & 4. James and Joanna Bogle--London-based authors who are among the top leaders of Britain's laity
During this 12-day cruise we will explore how Europe became Catholic, how part of it fell away from the Church (at the Reformation and at the split with the Eastern Orthodox), and how it might become Catholic again. (Yes, it's possible, as Pope Benedict knows!)
On board ship we will discuss our Catholic faith in light of what happened centuries ago and in light of what is happening now. We will learn about errors made by others and how similar errors might be avoided today.
AN INSIDER'S LOOK AT CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT LONDON
Westminster Cathedral
There will be an optional three-day pre-cruise event in London, during which we will explore key Catholic and Reformation sites, including Westminster Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London, and the St. Thomas More Shrine.
We also will visit Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park, where apologists such as Frank Sheed and Maisie Ward exercised their considerable skills. (While there, I just may get up on a platform and make an impromptu speech of my own!)
Joanna Bogle will be our guide in London. Frequently interviewed by the BBC and the secular press, she knows British Catholic history--and wonderful Catholic trivia--like no one else.
We also will have a special guest speaker: Ann Widdecombe, Member of Parliament, convert, and author. (She has been touted as the next woman prime minister of the U.K. You won't want to miss her talk.)
BIBLE LANDS PILGRIMAGE AND CRUISE
Mary's House at Ephesus
This is a beefed-up version of the very successful cruise we sponsored in 2007. In 2008 we will spend 14 days on what many people will consider the cruise of a lifetime.
We will depart Athens, end in Rome (where we will have an optional three-day post-cruise event), and, in between, will visit the Holy Land, Mary's house at Ephesus, the pyramids of Egypt, Malta (the most Catholic country in Europe), and five other ports.
Joining me as speakers will be Catholic Answers' Jimmy Akin and special guest Steve Ray. We will guide you to many places mentioned in the Bible and in early Christian writings. You will come to know the history of your Catholic faith like never before.
Believe me, there is nothing more moving than to stand at Calvary, to go inside our Lord's tomb, to see where the Council of Ephesus met, or to walk in the footsteps of St. Paul.
A LUCKY FEW WILL SEE ST. PETER'S ACTUAL BURIAL PLACE
During the post-cruise event, we will show you not just Christian Rome but also pagan Rome: the Vatican, major basilicas (St. John Lateran and St. Mary Major), and the catacombs; the Roman Forum, Trajan's Forum, and the Pantheon.
We will visit some of my favorite Roman churches, including Santa Maria Sopra Minerva (a rare Gothic church, built over a temple to Minerva), San Clemente (built over fourth- and twelfth-century churches and over a Mithraic temple), and Santa Prassede (with its amazing mosaics and a portion of the pillar at which Christ was scourged).
We also will see the Spanish Steps, the church where Capuchin monks' bones are on display as works of art and devotion, the Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel, Rome's famous fountains, and the Vatican Museums.
As a special treat, we have obtained tickets for guided tours into the Scavi ("Excavations," in Italian) under St. Peter's. There you will see the actual tomb of St. Peter, directly below the high altar of the basilica, and will marvel at neighboring tombs of first-century Christians.
For the Scavi we have been allotted only 38 tickets, so these exclusive tours (no more than 14 people can enter the Scavi at a time) will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
HOW TO GET MORE INFO AND HOW TO SIGN UP
We have a special web site that gives you the details about the cruises: http://www.catholicanswerscruise.com.
Go there to find complete itineraries, full descriptions of the ships (we sail with Holland America Line), information about the speakers--everything you need to know. It's easy to book passage right from your computer.
Or, if you prefer, you can call our agent, The Cruise Authority, at 1-800-707-1634, between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
I hope you join us on one of these great cruises.
You'll sail with a convivial group of people who share your beliefs, will build your spiritual life through daily Mass on ship and at historic churches and shrines on shore, and will learn so much about Catholic teachings and history that your faith will be deepened immeasurably.
Please visit our special web site or call The Cruise Authority today.
Time is short--particularly for the Alaska cruise and for those wanting to see the Scavi in Rome.
Many thanks for thinking about sailing with us!
Best wishes in Christ,
Karl Keating
President, Catholic Answers
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