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Time2Cruise Prepares for Cabo in December
2007-10-19 15:11:00
Thats right. We have started our preparations for our December cruise to Cabo San Lucas. Just in time for a little pre Christmas cruising! On short cruses like this we try to pack light with try being the optional word. We always over pack, even with all the advice we have for others, it seems that we cant heed our own advice. This will be the first cruise for four people in our group going which always makes for more fun. They are as excited as little kids who cant sleep on Christmas Eve with over a month before we even leave dock. There is nothing like that first cruise. The excitement and anticipation. We have done the dance so many times that bringing our friends along has added to our excitement as well, but I do miss that feeling as we saw the ship on our first cruise. Its one of those feelings that you just remember.
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Holland America's Oosterdam Reporters Review
2007-10-17 14:47:00
A reporter for the Santa Cruz Sentinel had the opportunity to get a personal tour of Holland America's Oosterdam recently. Specifically the Galley. She goes into depth what you will find on a cruise ship in the line of cleanliness and the amount of food on board in any given week. The galley tour is something every cruiser should do at least once. Most cruise ships offer the tour on each cruise. It will amaze you with how much is made from scratch on board and the amount of time and effort is put into every meal that is prepared on board. The article is a great read, and just makes me want to go on another galley tour myself.
More About: Review , Reporters , Holland America

Man on Probation Refused Cruise
2007-10-16 14:37:00
According to a small snippet near the end of an article in the Baltimore Sun, in November of 2004, a man was placed on three years probation and labeled a sex offender at the age of 23 for having consensual sex with a then 15 year old. With his three year probation nearly up, he petitioned the court for permission to leave the state to go on a Carnival cruise. The judge allowed the request as long as the man registered as a sex offender with the cruise line, and did not spend overnight stays in any port of call. When trying to find out how to register with Carnival, the man found out that they do not have such a system, and the cruise line invoked its right to refuse passage based on his probation terms. The terms state that he is not allowed to be in close proximity of minors of which there will be plenty of on a cruise.After reading this, I started to think that there were really three guilty parties here but then narrowed it down to two, the man himself, and the judge. Every...
More About: Cruise , Refused

No Such Thing as a Free Cruise
2007-10-15 18:32:00
Have you ever received a phone call from some ad agency telling you that you have won a cruise for two in the Caribbean? Or filled out one of those forms at the local fair or other event that you forgot about until the call came in? It happens a lot and people do win. Even on a cruise itself there will be a chance or two to win a "free cruise". But is it really free? The answer is no of course. While the winner, and a companion does get the cruise fair paid for it does not include such things as taxes, port charges, airfare, drinks, souvenirs, or gratuities. On a five day cruise the taxes, base gratuities, and port charges can add up to $200 or more before you even get to buy a souvenir or a drink on board. The average person can spend $25 or more a day on board the ship adding another $250 plus for two people on that free five day cruise. Also, the cabin is usually the minimum cabin option, but they will gladly upgrade for a fee. So if you find yourself the recipient of a...
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Power of the American Dollar
2007-10-13 20:49:00
Vacations can be expensive and in today's economy with the American Doll ar remaining in a major slump, the effect can be drastic. Americans vacationing in Europe will feel the effect the most with the dollar being worth less than half an English Pound and about three quarters of the Euro. What does it all mean? The financial experts have a ton of terms and definitions but the short story is that the American Dollar just can't buy as much as it did a few years ago and the experts do not see a rebound any time soon. So, what does this have to do with cruising? A lot actually, and much of it in a good way. While the cruise lines are feeling the crunch as well, prices have not changed much at all. In fact unlike just about any other product, the cruising has not changed in price much in over three decades. With inflation it equates to cruise prices going down over the years. It explains why more and more people are becoming attracted to taking a cruise every year. Another attractive s...
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Brand Loyalty
2007-10-13 15:31:00
I love talking to other cruise fanatics about the reasons they stick with one cruise line over another and find the reasons to be fascinating while at the same time not very in depth. In all honesty, I used to be one of these people. My favorite answer is simply "the food is better on..." I am not saying that its not a valid reason, but like the majority reasons for having a favorite anything, they are subjective. Food, entertainment, and decor are the big three when it comes to comparing the major cruise lines, but as the old cliche goes "one mans trash is another mans treasure". There is nothing wrong with having a favorite, I have mine as well, but I try hard to not bash any cruise line over something that based on opinion nor can I say something bad about a cruise line that I have never been on. Now that's a mouthful. Have you ever asked someone about a specific brand (I am talking cruising but this fits with many other things as well) and they will tell you how it is the worse...
More About: Brand , Loyalty

Cruising Sports Fan
2007-10-12 19:37:00
October has to be the best month for the American Sports fan. Football is in full swing, hockey season has started, basketball is in preseason, and Major League Baseball is in playoff mode. It leads to the question of what can you do if your on a cruise and your favorite team is playing? The simple answer is to just ask. Cruise ships have satellite television and get get most channels. If the game is a big one, you can guarantee that it will be on in more than one of the bars. We were on a Mexican Riviera cruise during the Super Bowl earlier this year, and not only was every public TV set to the game, the entire theater was set up for the game with the 25 foot tall screen, games, and even snack food just for the day, as if more food is really needed on a cruise. If your team isn't in the game of the week, you may not catch them, but can watch the game being played that night and keep up with the scores of the other games going on. Fans of soccer and tennis need not worry as ...

Queen Mary's Anual Shipwreck in Long Beach
2007-10-11 15:37:00
Anyone that is cruising out of Long Beach or San Pedro, or vacationing in the area during the month of October should check into the 13th annual Queen Mary Shipwreck Halloween Terrorfest. At $35 per person, this could be the perfect end to a Halloween cruise this month. The event is filled with mazes, live bands, and dancing but is only open on specific nights. The hours of operation is from 7PM to Midnight and all attractions are included on with the ticket. Tickets can be bought through Ticketmaster or as part of a package deal with hotel stay on the haunted ship. Also be sure to check the website for the dress code for admitance to the dance party because it is precise and will be enforced. For those who have never stayed on the Queen Mary, it can be an experience of a lifetime. We stayed on the Queen Mary a year ago, and cant wait to stay there again.Admission - $35 Per PersonTickets on sale at the Queen Mary box office or through Ticketmaster.comDates - October 2007: 5, 6, 7, 1...
More About: Long Beach , Wreck

A New Queen For Cunard
2007-10-10 14:52:00
With the Queen Elizabeth 2 destined for Dubai in retirement, Cunard Line has wasted no time in announcing a new ship. What is the name of the new ship you ask? None other than the Queen Elizabeth 3. The QE3, just recently placed on order will be a little larger than the Queen Victoria but smaller than the Queen Mary 2, again giving the Cunard Line 3 ships when she sets sale in late 2010. The Queen Victoria is on schedule to make her debut in December of this year. Both new ships will be welcome additions to the luxury line.

Fresh Water - Cruising Future?
2007-10-09 15:52:00
A couple of weeks ago I touched on an article about a cruise ship that is on its last few trips before leaving the Great Lakes for the open ocean. An interesting point is that the ship had been doing the Chicago to Toronto tour for 10 years but I never heard of it until it was to late. Since that article, there has been rumblings from Canada, and a few of the State side ports on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River about the subject. Could this be a future of cruising? Well the answer is yes and no. It is a definite possibility to be in the future, but we wont be seeing the large ocean liners going anywhere. But with many "seasoned" cruisers having 20+ voyages under their belt, they may be looking for something new, and fresh water cruises, whether in the Great Lakes, or one of the many other fresh water locals around the world are starting to look like a possibility. Fresh water cruising has been around for a while, but just not advertised on a large scale, but look for that to c...
More About: Future , Water

When Things Go Wrong
2007-10-08 14:59:00
Everyone wants the perfect vacation, but sometimes things just don't work out as planned. An article on Smarter Travel has a few examples and what one should expect and do to work through the snags that can happen. From personal experiences, the first thing, which is probably the hardest, is to be level headed. I have seen first hand what letting tempers flair can do especially in airports and its not a good sight. Keep in mind that the people on the other side have to deal with other peoples problems on a daily basis. Its a fast pace world today, even in the land of vacation and the ones that are prepared to roll with it will find the path a lot easier than those that choose to fight the system. This philosophy works on a cruise ship just as well as it works any where else.
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Cruising to Hawaii Trends and Cruise Air
2007-10-07 16:05:00
I found an insightful article written by the president of a travel agency in Ventura California. You can check it out the Ventura County Star and read his view of the future of vacationing in Hawaii . It breaks down three trends that seem to be in the the cards so to speak. While I agree with the article for the most part, when it gets to "trend 3" I am not sure what I think. I am familiar with Carnival's recent stand on removing commission from booking airfare. Not being a travel agent, it does not affect me as much as it would the author of the article. However, I have found through my travels that I prefer to book my own airfare when cruising. This is especially true when cruising out of the other side of the country, and living on the west coast, that is the majority of the cruises. Listening to other cruiser's stories, I think that it is a "trend" to book ones own airfare, and that the number of cruise air bookings will continue to decrease. Look for other cruise lin...
More About: Trends , Cruise

Cruising on a Budget
2007-10-06 21:14:00
It can be done. Here are some tips that you may want to think about when planning your next cruise vacation but are on a budget.If you drink soda, get the soda card. around $5.50 per day, depending on cruise line, all you can drink ($1.50 a can otherwise)Drinks such as tea, punch, and orange juice are free and self serve on lido deck.Booking a tour through the cruise line is usually more expensive. Look into booking yourself, or some places have free tours available. Use the internet to find deals.Stay away from the specialty coffee shop, bakery, and any other specialty eateries on board. These cost extra, but are not necessary with all the other food and drink available.If you want to snorkel, bring your own gear. Its $10-$20 to buy at Walmart, and $25 or higher to rent at the beach.Many cruise lines will allow you to bring a small amount of your own soda and water on board (check to make sure the cruise you book allows it).Try to find off season cruising dates to get bigger disco...
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As Cruise Ships Add New Activities, Whats Next?
2007-10-06 16:45:00
Every cruise line wants to have the one thing that will bring cruisers back again and again. Royal Caribbean has its rock climbing walls, in line skating tracks, wave pools, and ice rink. Norwegian has on board pool tables and their newest ship will have a bowling alley. Many of the other cruise lines are going to have to play catch up to come up with new ideas. Carnival has made minor changes recently, by adding a 9 hole miniature golf course to their ships, and announcing that after refurbishment, there will be a new adults only area along with expanded children's areas. But the question is, what is next? I have read many articles recently on how the ships are becoming THE destination and not just the means to get to the destination. As the ships get bigger, to house the new attractions, and more people, ports are going to have to be expanded if they expect the bigger ships to come a calling. That will happen, them more bigger ships will be on order but what will they off...
More About: Activities , Ships , Cruise , Cruise Ship

Be a Pirate on a Disney Cruise
2007-10-05 16:41:00
Taking a franchise that has already been a boom for Disney , they have turned the adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow and his crew into a game show being played on Disney Cruise Line. It only makes sense that they go this direction. It looks like being a pirate will be one of the top costumes for Halloween this year again. On board, the game show will divide the contestants up, and have them searching the ship for treasure, after going through pirate skill tests. It should be fun for the whole family.
More About: Pirate , Irate

Picking The Best Cabin
2007-10-04 15:28:00
When picking a cabin, the obvious reasoning by seasoned cruisers is like buying a house. Location location location. Most cruisers know that the middle of the ship should be the place to experience the smoothest ride, and that a cabin near the disco could be a bad choice if you are a light sleeper. But with the way ships are built bigger and with new technology, many of those problems and fears have been minimized. So, Erica Silverstein broke everything down in her article "How to pick the best cruise cabin." It gives insight into cabin size, decor, arrangement and even bathroom layouts. Find out who has the best inside cabins, cabins with balconies, and even suites.
More About: Cabin , Picking

Carnival Expands "Concierge Club"
2007-10-04 03:35:00
Carnival Cruise lines introduced the "Concierge Club " just a couple of years back. When they started it, you would get a gold Sail and sign card (on board credit card) on your second cruise on. Shortly after, they added the platinum card which comes into play on cruise number 10 and up. Along with the shiny new platinum card came a few perks, such as laundry service, stationary, and priority embarkation to name a few. Now Carnival has released news of nes perks for 25, 50, 75 and 100 cruises! I know what your thinking, and the answer is YES there are people that are in these categories. In what looks to be one of the most generous of offerings, the lucky passenger will get an on board credit equal to 25, 50 or 75 percent of the base fair of the cruise respectively. Nothing is stated about the 24 cruises in between these milestones. And for cruise number 100, Carnival is going to give another cruise! Yep, cruise 100 times and get a free cruise of up to 8 days in the Caribbea...
More About: Carnival

Passengers Not Only Ones Wanting Bigger Ship in Mobile
2007-10-03 15:08:00
According the an article in the Press Register (Alabama Newspaper) the City Council in Mobile has put a lot of money into improvements on the terminal that is the current home for Carnival's Holiday. Carnival has promised a bigger ship, presumably a Fantasy class, when the time comes to relocate the Holiday. This would bring another 500+ passengers per cruise to the area. The problem is that Carnival has made no comments on plans to move the Holiday. Rumors have abounded in recent months about the ship being moved to the same company that will be taking possession of Carnival's Celebration however nothing has moved passed rumor at this point. For now, the council will have to wait, and look for ways to increase revenue, otherwise risk the terminal becoming a money losing venture with the Holiday as its only tenet.
More About: Ship , Passengers

Royal Caribbean Expands Cruises in Austraila
2007-10-02 14:50:00
It looks like the Rhapsody of the Seas is going to continue its runs in Australia into 2008 and 2009 Look for over 12 exciting cruises over the next two years for the Rhapsody of the Seas during the winter months, including Pacific Ocean cruises as the ship relocates. Cruises range from 7 to 18 days, and hit many of the popular coastal destinations around Australia and New Zealand. The Trans Pacific crossings go from Sidney and Hawaii, when the ship relocates, running 16 days with popular stops in exotic places such as Tahiti and Bora Bora. Australia and Asian destinations have become more and more popular in recent years with people from all around the world. Look for more cruises to pop up from some of the major lines as well as possible spin off companies to cater to these locals on a more permanent basis. With the number of ships on order among all cruise lines, expansion into areas that have not been regular stops in the past just makes (dollars and) sense.
More About: Caribbean , Royal , Royal Caribbean , TRAI

A Great Forum for Cruise Fans
2007-10-01 15:14:00
CruiseLineFans .com is a site that I happened across just recently. With just under 10,000 members currently, the site is smaller than the more known cruising forums, but is growing. It has only been around for a couple of years and the members are more than willing to offer a helping hand with questions. As with the other forums for the cruising alum, the site is free to join. With the cruise industry growing at the rate is has been, there is always room for more places to help new cruisers, and give us avid cruisers a place to talk about our travels.
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Dirty Jobs on Royal Caribbean Cruise
2007-09-18 15:20:00
Well, not jobs on the cruise. The Show Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel will have an episode tonight (September 18th 2007) at 9PM Eastern, with the cast and crew taking it easy on a Royal Caribbean Cruise . The episode is going to be a recap of previous shows with the members of the show talking about their favorite episodes.

New Cruise Terminal Opens in Liverpool
2007-09-17 22:21:00
The opening of the new cruise terminal will be marked by a 40th birthday visit from the QE2 on September 21st. Being a northern European port, with 20+ confirmed ship visits over the next year and a half, Liver pool is adding another badly needed stop for northern European cruises. We look forward to seeing what other ships will be visiting the port in the coming future.
More About: Terminal , Cruise , Term

Build Your Own Paper Titanic
2007-09-17 17:52:00
I found this page doing a search for another blog, but think it is well worth sharing here. Currell Grapics offers a hand full of free paper models for you to cutout and build for yourself. On the page is a wonderful model of the Titanic . The site recommends you have some experience before attempting this model and offers a few other non ship related models that you may want to start with first. If you chose to attempt building your own Titanic, please come back an leave a comment on how it went.
More About: Paper , Build

Airline Alternatives SkyBus and Allegian Air
2007-09-17 00:15:00
For a lot of us, the nearest home port not a short distance away. This mean either a long drive (and what usually seems like a longer drive back home) or flying to port. With the cost of air fair being a large piece of the vacation budget, it can be depressing. Recently there has been a couple of upstarts that are just now starting to hit the radar when it comes to competing with the big boys. SkyBus for instance would be a great place to look for anyone near Columbus (their hub) or Kansas City looking for flights to many major cities near the ports (San Deigo, LA, Ft. Lauder dale etc...). The web page has competitive rates, links for hotel, cruises, and car rental, and the first 10 seats sold on every flight are sold at $10 (not including the taxes and fees). Allegiant Air is another small company. While they have more destinations, the destinations differ based on where you are flying from. Someone flying from Chicago will have a few Florida destinations to choose from, while some...
More About: Alternatives , Airline , Alter , Native , Alterna

Is the Passport Process Returning to Normal
2007-09-14 20:01:00
According to DeboHobo.com the U.S Passport process may be returning to the standard processing time. I have to agree with DeboHobo state that if your passport is expiring soon or if you are in need of your first passport, I would not wait. Remember this is the government that we are taking about. Having a planned vacation put on hold because of something as simple as a passport would be a shame.
More About: Process , Normal

Organizing a Get Together On Board
2007-09-14 14:58:00
On our last cruise, there were a handful of Cruise Critic members that wanted to get together and meet. So, two times were set up, one on on embarkation day at one of the bars just after muster drill and another on the next day at 10:30 at the library. The reason for two times and locations was because many thought they would not be able to make the first due to dining arrangements, which made sense. Some jokes were made, like wearing Groucho glasses so we would know who everyone was. Keep in mind, this was not a group that booked together, just a few members of a site that wanted to meet in person. We were among the early dining group that could not make the first get together. And well, the second get together happened to be at a bad time for us as well after seeing the "capers". I managed to show up a few minutes early and meet a couple of members of the site before being pulled away by my group to get to BINGO of all things. Well, I guess the group meet on day two was no...
More About: Board , Organ

Carnival Cruise Ship Shuffle
2007-09-13 14:28:00
I was trying to research all the changes in the next two years in cruise ship itineraries for Carnival Cruise Line and got myself all turned around before giving up and going on a cruise. Well Carnival did my work for me and posted their fleet information while I was on vacation. Thank you Carnival. The current list has the Celebration leaving the fleet in April of 08, but does not have any information on the future of the Holiday (rumors abound). Also missing from the list is information on the Pride moving to San Diego in 2009, what the Spirit will do in the Winter/Spring when that happens, and that the Splendor will be moving to Long Beach in 2009 to replace the Pride when it moves to San Diego. Another question is in what will Carnival be doing in New York in the future being the Victory is moving to Year Round San Juan when the Destiny moves to year round cruises from Miami in fall of 2008.
More About: Shuffle , Ship , Cruise Ship

New Your City Pass
2007-09-12 15:07:00
As mentioned in a previous post, while in NYC we used the NYC City Pass . What the City Pass does is give you some of the best tours and exhibits in one booklet. The New York pass included the Circle-Line Harbor cruise (mentioned in the previous post), Empire State Building, the MET, Guggenheim, Museum of Modern Art, and the Museum of Natural History. Our passes were good for 9 days and cost $65 each. This was great for us because we spent 2 days in New York before taking our 5 day cruise, and then another full day in New York. One feature of the pass that worked out well for us was that we got to skip the line to purchase tickets at the Empire State Building, and includes the audio tour option which is a added fee for others. The audio tour was well worth it, narrated by George Carlin, you get the history of multiple sites you see from specific spots on the observation deck of the building. We tried doing the tour around 9PM on a Saturday and the line just to get in the buildi...

Carnival Has No Plans to Return to Costa Maya until 2009
2007-09-12 03:34:00
According to Forbes.com Carnival Cruise Lines plans on skipping Costa Maya , also known as Majahual, through 2008 because of damage done by hurricane Dean. Royal Caribbean will be skipping the port until at least April of 2008 according to the article. Capable of handling up to three ships at a time, this will displace quite a few cruises over the the next year.This should be of concern for anyone who has booked a cruise and planed any tours/excursions that they booked themselves. Keep in mind that itineraries can change again, so I would keep an eye on ports of call if booked especially if the booking is six months or more out.
More About: Plans , Return

NYC Circle-Line Harbor Tours
2007-09-11 15:11:00
Anyone visiting New York for the first time, may want to give the Circle -Line tour a chance. Circle-Line is at Pier 83 (on 42 street just a few blocks south of the cruise terminals). They offer 75 minute, 2 hour, 3 hour, and a tour called The Beast. We did the 2 hour tour as part of the NYC CityPass package. The tour, fully narrated, went south on the Hudson River, passed the Statue of Liberty, and up the East River before returning. Because the tour is a semi-circle, either side of the boat is a good seat because what you see on the port side in one direction will be on the starboard side on the return trip. This picture was taken with my point and click 5 mega pixel camera with only 3x zoom and decreased in size to fit on this page.
More About: Tours , Harbor