Cruise West New Website & Marketing!

Hi Everyone,

I received this press release from Cruise West and thought it would be
of interest. If you have missed any of my news' postings, they are
available on my web site.

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com


SEATTLE, WA, May 23, 2006 – Cruise West, the largest American-owned
cruise line and leader in small-ship cruising, has partnered with
Marqui, Inc. to launch an integrated marketing campaign and
technologically sophisticated website to match current trends and
customer demands, including blog postings, “webinars,” and RSS (Really
Simple Syndication) feeds.

Cruise West’s new, simple-to-navigate website and partnership with
Marqui provides great advantages to current and potential consumers
and travel agents. The website is more interactive and offers a
heightened level of enrichment through the blog postings and RSS
feeds, a method of syndicating information. The blogs feature
firsthand descriptions from trips and allow visitors to the site to
post their own feedback. This entity creates a greater sense of
community with previous Cruise West guests and provides a more
intimate tool for potential guests. Visitors to the site can directly
request updates and news with the enhanced email campaign and RSS
feeds, alerting them when new information has been added to the
website.

Travel agents also find greater benefits when navigating Cruise West’s
website. Agents are now able to email specific webpages to their
clients and have easy access to rates and dates for each itinerary.
Cruise West has also developed a “webinar” marketing, branding and
sales series in conjunction with acclaimed author Lisa Haneberg, a
consultant on organizational success and development, management and
leadership training. Each month features a different course, such
topics as predictions about baby boomers and maximizing agent
motivation.

Marqui’s software has also enabled Cruise West to channel all
marketing strategies through one initiative. With this single effort
to manage blogging, web content, search engine optimization, email
marketing, RSS feeds and more, Cruise West can reduce time and
resources previously needed to individually coordinate a multichannel
campaign. The integration synchronizes the message to avoid delays in
distribution through various channels.

“Today’s technology has created a variety of means to communicate a
single message,” said Cruise West’s Vice President of Marketing and
Sales Warren Sukernek. “Now, with Marqui’s software, we can customize
interactions with our customers to meet each individual’s interests on
whether he or she desires print brochures, blogs or email updates.”


About Marqui

In a world filled with emails, blogs, RSS and more, it is increasingly
difficult for organizations to communicate effectively with key
audiences while ensuring consistency in messaging and protecting brand
integrity. Recognizing this complexity, Marqui developed the first
Web-based suite that simplifies and automates a broad range of
marketing communications activities, including email campaigns, Web
content management and blogging. The result: better marketing
communications programs, lower costs, a more productive team and
decreased risk of inaccurate or embarrassing information getting
distributed. Marqui maintains offices in the United States and Canada,
and has an established customer base of more than 200 organizations.
For more information, visit www.marqui.com.

Cruise West – a second-generation, family-owned business based in
Seattle – offers the opportunity to explore remote, worldwide locales
by providing distinctive, one-of-a-kind, personalized itineraries not
offered by the traditional larger cruise lines. Cruise West’s smaller
ships – ten in all – hold between 70-138 people each, and the casual
style onboard encourages relaxation and congenial interaction between
guests and crew alike. The experience is personally enriching through
expert Exploration Leaders providing onboard narrative and lectures,
special local guests from a wide variety of backgrounds, and the
library provided on each vessel. All have forward lounges and ample
outdoor deck space for viewing and photographing wildlife and scenery.
All vessels are also equipped with inflatable landing boats for
close-up exploration of remote areas and shore landings.

Destinations served include: Alaska and the Bering Sea, British
Columbia, Columbia & Snake Rivers, California Wine Country, Mexico's
Sea of Cortés, Costa Rica & Panama, The U.S. eastern seaboard, the
Caribbean, Japan, the South Pacific, the Kuril Islands, and the Great
Lakes
--

Don't you hate it when a PR is about a new website but there is no link
included. If you want to check out CruiseWest's new website, just point
your browser to http://www.cruisewest.com . They also can be reached at
888-851-8133.


Ray Goldenberg wrote:
SEATTLE, WA, May 23, 2006 – Cruise West, the largest American-owned
cruise line and leader in small-ship cruising, has partnered with
Marqui, Inc. to launch an integrated marketing campaign and
technologically sophisticated website to match current trends and
customer demands, including blog postings, “webinars,” and RSS (Really
Simple Syndication) feeds.

Cruise West’s new, simple-to-navigate website and partnership with
Marqui provides great advantages to current and potential consumers
and travel agents. The website is more interactive and offers a
heightened level of enrichment through the blog postings and RSS
feeds, a method of syndicating information. The blogs feature
firsthand descriptions from trips and allow visitors to the site to
post their own feedback. This entity creates a greater sense of
community with previous Cruise West guests and provides a more
intimate tool for potential guests. Visitors to the site can directly
request updates and news with the enhanced email campaign and RSS
feeds, alerting them when new information has been added to the
website.

Travel agents also find greater benefits when navigating Cruise West’s
website. Agents are now able to email specific webpages to their
clients and have easy access to rates and dates for each itinerary.
Cruise West has also developed a “webinar” marketing, branding and
sales series in conjunction with acclaimed author Lisa Haneberg, a
consultant on organizational success and development, management and
leadership training. Each month features a different course, such
topics as predictions about baby boomers and maximizing agent
motivation.

Marqui’s software has also enabled Cruise West to channel all
marketing strategies through one initiative. With this single effort
to manage blogging, web content, search engine optimization, email
marketing, RSS feeds and more, Cruise West can reduce time and
resources previously needed to individually coordinate a multichannel
campaign. The integration synchronizes the message to avoid delays in
distribution through various channels.

“Today’s technology has created a variety of means to communicate a
single message,” said Cruise West’s Vice President of Marketing and
Sales Warren Sukernek. “Now, with Marqui’s software, we can customize
interactions with our customers to meet each individual’s interests on
whether he or she desires print brochures, blogs or email updates.”


About Marqui

In a world filled with emails, blogs, RSS and more, it is increasingly
difficult for organizations to communicate effectively with key
audiences while ensuring consistency in messaging and protecting brand
integrity. Recognizing this complexity, Marqui developed the first
Web-based suite that simplifies and automates a broad range of
marketing communications activities, including email campaigns, Web
content management and blogging. The result: better marketing
communications programs, lower costs, a more productive team and
decreased risk of inaccurate or embarrassing information getting
distributed. Marqui maintains offices in the United States and Canada,
and has an established customer base of more than 200 organizations.
For more information, visit www.marqui.com.

Cruise West – a second-generation, family-owned business based in
Seattle – offers the opportunity to explore remote, worldwide locales
by providing distinctive, one-of-a-kind, personalized itineraries not
offered by the traditional larger cruise lines. Cruise West’s smaller
ships – ten in all – hold between 70-138 people each, and the casual
style onboard encourages relaxation and congenial interaction between
guests and crew alike. The experience is personally enriching through
expert Exploration Leaders providing onboard narrative and lectures,
special local guests from a wide variety of backgrounds, and the
library provided on each vessel. All have forward lounges and ample
outdoor deck space for viewing and photographing wildlife and scenery.
All vessels are also equipped with inflatable landing boats for
close-up exploration of remote areas and shore landings.

Destinations served include: Alaska and the Bering Sea, British
Columbia, Columbia & Snake Rivers, California Wine Country, Mexico's
Sea of Cortés, Costa Rica & Panama, The U.S. eastern seaboard, the
Caribbean, Japan, the South Pacific, the Kuril Islands, and the Great
Lakes
--