Category: Cruise News

New cruisers, veteran cruisers, now is the time to book that cruise!  Great deals are everywhere, according to Sue Kovach Shuman, of the Washington Post:

In his 23 years in the travel business, says Alan Fox, chairman of the Houston travel agency Vacations to Go, rates were this low only in the six months after Sept. 11, 2001. “The inflation-adjusted price of a cruise has never been lower. …It honestly is a buyer’s market out there.” Prices average about $70 per day on some ships, he says, “and it got down to as low as $40 in the fall.”

The best bang for the buck these days can be found in the Caribbean, Fox says, partly because of the prices and because people can often drive to their point of embarkation. Further, he notes, lines he considers “extremely family-friendly” — including Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess, Disney and Norwegian — are sending ships out full.

Four night cruises are as low as $219.  Eight nights $399! A great price if you’d like to try cruising for the first time!  For seasoned travelers what about 10 days in Europe for $1425?

The deals are out there, you just have to look for them!

A big “THANK YOU” goes out to Celebrity Cruises.  As reported by freelance reporter, Christina Jonas, talking about the refurbished 12 year old ship Celebrity ship, Century,

“took just five weeks and included adding 14 new suites, 10 staterooms, a specialty restaurant, updated bathrooms, and plasma TVs and wireless Internet access in every room”.

Now the dreams of many can be answered.  You want to go on that desparately needed vacation but you or your spouse must be able to be in contact with the business world (or your family that you left at home), on a daily basis. Now thanks to Celebrity Cruises you can do just that!  Even better, assuming that the access works just outside your room, you can sit on your balcony while you work.  According to Celebrity president, Dan Hanrahan, an additional 314 balconies were added to the ship.  

Speaking of balconies… after being spoiled by having a balcony once you just can’t go back to an inside cabin.  (At least I haven’t been able to!)  My husband is afraid that I may decide to try a suite next! 

So now there are no more excuses.  Book that cruise, pack up your laptop and go on vacation! And if you haven’t tried it, treat yourself to a balcony, you won’t regret it! 

So, if you were designing your “dream” cruise ship, what cool innovations would you include?  Cruise lines are very interested in finding out what their customers want and are competing with each other for your business according to an article titled Cruise lines compete for tourists with innovations by Beth J. Harpaz, of the Jackson Hole Star Tribune:

The latest innovations for having fun in the middle of the ocean include a bowling alley aboard Norwegian Pearl, and a Flowrider, which lets you ride an artificial wave, on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas. Norwegian Pearl took its inaugural voyage in December, Freedom of the Seas launched last May, and another Royal Caribbean ship, Liberty of the Seas, which will also feature a Flowrider, debuts this May.

“They’re trying to outdo each other in terms of innovation,” said Celebrity Cruises president Dan Hanrahan at a January news conference organized by the Cruise Lines International Association.  “They’re trying to outdo each other in terms of innovation,” said Celebrity Cruises president Dan Hanrahan at a January news conference organized by the Cruise Lines International Association.

Being of the “baby boomer” age myself, my husband and I introduced our children to cruising early on.  Born in the late 70s and early 80s they have now become “cruisers” on their own.  Cruising is truly a family affair.  Depending on the line or ship that you choose, your vacation dreams can be fulfilled on a cruise ship no matter what age you are or what your interests are.  For example the Disney cruises cater to smaller children while a European cruise may cater to a “baby boomer”. 

My “dream” cruise would be one that would cater to me and my whole family so that we can have a real family vacation on the ship and everyone would be happy, from the little kids to great grandmas and grandpas.   Any line out there up for the task?  Is anyone out there now that we don’t know about?  Please write in if you’ve already experienced this “dream” cruise. 

Personally, I would also like to see a racquetball court aboard a ship!

 

 

Yes, I know this subject has been talked about before, but no cruise line seems to be taking the topic seriously, even though there are many “Baby Boomers” getting ready to retire in the very near future. What if a current cruise line took a chance to see how this would work?  Has any line even done a market analysis on this yet? 

Here are my suggestions:  Maybe start with 2-3 cabins.  They must be “rented” for a minimum amount of time. (3,6,12 months).  Of course the prices should be comparable to or less than if the “renter” just purchased back to back cruises for the same amount of time.  Renter gets a break on the price, cruise line has an occupied cabin at a guarenteed rate.  Renter may even work on/for the line.  Assuming these are retirement age people the possibilities would be babysitting for the tourists’ kids, teaching bridge, computers, etc. 

How many people would actually give up everything to live on a cruise ship?  I don’t know, but I do know that baby boomers (myself included), want “something different”, not our parents idea of “retirement”, but something that keeps us active and in touch with the world and technology.  Traveling offers so many opportunities to learn about history and other cultures.  Wouldn’t it be great to have everyday be a new experience while your basic needs (food and shelter) are being met?  Perhaps eventually the ships could have a reciprocity deal.  After your contracted time is up on one ship you can move to another ship (or maybe just switch with another couple).  It would work like the all inclusive resorts where you can go to different restaurants but it’s still part of one package.  I have more ideas concerning this topic and would be happy to be the first participant should any cruise line be interested.  (I would need a little bit of lead time to sell the house and everything in it. ;))

If you don’t like sad animal (or in this case mammal) stories you’d better stop reading now.  Many may think that Alaska is a beautiful place to visit by cruise ships but the regional humback whales may not agree after reading the article written by Don Hunter of the Daily News.

Princess Cruise Lines has agreed to pay $755,000 in fines and restitution to resolve accusations that one of its ships struck and killed a humpback whale near Glacier Bay more than five years ago.

The body of a 45-foot female humpback was found floating near the mouth of Glacier Bay on July 16, 2001. A necropsy showed the animal died of massive skull fractures, and that it was pregnant with a 4- to 5-month-old fetus, according to news accounts at the time. A distinctive marking on the whale’s fluke identified her as one first sighted in Seymour Canal as an adult in 1979.  

So what is the answer? How do we fix this?  Does slowing down to a slow and safe speed really solve the problem?  Maybe someone can invent a whale whistle (sort of on the idea of a deer whistle) to warn the whales to “Move out of the way, the cruise ship is coming through, wave to all the nice tourists”.  With more cruise ships heading to Alaska let’s hope that these questions get answered sooner than later so that we can keep these beautiful creatures around for a long time. 

Having been on many cruises I can say that I’ve never experienced, nor have I heard of anyone else that has had first hand experience with crime on a cruise ship.  I’m not talking about crime while in a port city, but a crime that actually takes place on the cruise ship.  Evidently a House subcommittee was interested enough to delve into the subject and come up with some interesting results as reported by Kimi Yoshino, of The Los Angeles Times. 

Testifying under oath before a House subcommittee, industry executives said that from 2003 to 2005, 178 passengers on North American cruises reported being sexually assaulted, 24 people went missing and four others were robbed…

At least 17 people fell overboard or simply disappeared while on cruises throughout the world in 2006…

Have you yourself or anyone you personally know ever experienced a crime on a cruise ship?   

It may be time to book your next cruise on one of Celebrity’s Millennium-class ships.  Deciding what cruise line to choose for your dream vacation is an important decision.  Conde Nast Traveler can help you pick your next ship with their survey of “The Best Cruise Ships in the World,” as reported on Travel Blackboard:

Celebrity Cruises has been named as ‘The Best Cruise Ships in the World’ for the fifth consecutive year in Conde Nast Traveler annual readers’ survey.

It was confirmed that in the large-ship category, Celebrity’s entire Millennium-class fleet- Constellation, Summit, Infinity and Millennium ranked first through fourth, respectively. The ranking marks the second year in a row that the line has held every spot from one through four. 

Watch this space for news on cruise lines, ships, menus, cruise destinations, and more!