Alaska Season
May 3, 2008 at 10:48 pm | Posted in Alaska | 1 CommentAs every cruise addict knows, summer is Alaska season. It’s increasingly popular as a destination and just about all of the major cruise lines offer these packages. If you’ve never been to Alaska, or have been a thousand times, The Inside Passage is the best place to start and to wind up. It’s a protected coastal stretch of waterway that gives you smoother traveling and lots of sightseeing.
Excursions are important on the Alaskan cruise. Whether you decide to go flight-seeing (a term coined in Alaska for touring by small private plane), dog-sledding, or whale-watching, you need to get out and explore the incredible natural scenery. Grizzly bear and polar bear watching are also big.
If you like to fish, you have to take advantage of some of the packaged fishing excursions. These are great deals because somebody else brings your gear and shows you the best spots. You don’t have a lot of time, so you want to fish while the fishing is good. If you opt to take your catch back to the ship, some cruise lines will cook it for you and serve it at dinner (ask about this option first). You can usually make arrangements to have your wild salmon (or whatever fish you went for) frozen and stored on ship and then brought to you when you leave. Alaska is a strange place and many flights in and out of Alaska offer what is known as a “fish allowance.” That means you get to take whatever luggage the line allows you plus a certain poundage of frozen fish.
Again, ask before you go fishing, but there is no reason you can’t enjoy your Alaskan seafood. Of course, you can also do the catch-and-release thing.
Deals on Alaska are getting scarcer because the destination is getting a great reputation and we’re approach the high season. However, I’ve seen some deals run online … here and there. So if Alaska is in your summer cruise plans, start scoping out the websites now to see if you might not still nab a bargain.
Most Unspoiled Carribean Destination
March 16, 2008 at 10:22 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 1 CommentWhat is the most unspoiled Carribean destination? That’s obviously a subjective question. However, the editors at Porthole Cruise Magazine voted this year and gave that distinction Grand Turk (part of the Turks and Caicos Islands). Cruise visitors who’ve been there know it best for it’s Margaritaville Bar (one of the largest in the Carribean) but it’s also a “natural Carribean paradise.” If you don’t know it, take a look at this video (courtesy of YouTube) which shows a Holland America Line Cruise Ship.”
Want more information about the island? Get it at http://www.Grandturkcc.com.
Azamara Adds Some New Ports
March 4, 2008 at 12:16 am | Posted in Azamara | Leave a commentAzamara, the little luxury line that boasts smaller ships that don’t need the deep-water ports required for the “bigs,” has announced some of its 2009 schedule. The new line is actually part of Celebrity Cruises, but branded as a specialty type ship catering to discriminating travelers.
In Europe, Azamara has five homeports: Athens, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Rome, and Venice. It will call on 91 ports in 36 countries and is introducing a 10 p.m. “late night” depatures in 10 ports of call, designed to let passengers soak up as much European ambience as possible before setting sail.
The smaller ships are making some interesting voyages possible (for instance, when was the last time you saw an offering to cruise “up the Thames”?) The Azamara ships will be able to dock in Zadar (Croatia), Rouen (France), Volos (Greece) and Dartmouth (England).
Also offered are Icelandic and Norwegian cruises, a Holy Land cruise, and an Ancient Empires cruise which includes calling on five different Turksih ports as well as ports in Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus.
2009 Princess Schedule
March 4, 2008 at 12:11 am | Posted in Princess | Leave a commentCruise lines always announce their schedules early and Princess has good reason to be pleased with the 2009 plans.
First, they’re going to 11 new ports. This is always great news since many cruise addicts are always looking for new destinations. If you want exotic, you can find it here:
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Sochi (Russian town on the Black Sea)
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Murmansk (never heard of it? It’s only the largest city on earth … north of the Arctic circle!)
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Lulea (gateway to Lapland)
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Mariehamm (Finland)
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Klaipeda (Lithuania’s main port)
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Seydisfjordur (Iceland!)
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Grundarfjordur (another port in Iceland, this one known for a glacier)
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Kristiansand (Norway)
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Ceuta (an autonomous Spanish city … but located in Morocco)
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St. Pierre et Miquelon (a French-speaking city off the coast of Newfoundland)
Princess is also offering a dozen Holy Land cruises, more than ever before in its history.
Carnival PokerPro Challenge
March 4, 2008 at 12:06 am | Posted in Carnival, Poker | Leave a comment
Carnival has just installed some state-of-the-art PokerPro tables on its ships which allow players to participate in satellite tournaments. The tables show table stakes, pot amounts, and community cards.
Win in the prelminary rounds and you could get $750 along with entry to the Grand Final Playoff on October 4, 2008.
Now for the fine print. Entry and buy-in for up to 10 players is $150 each with rake fees of $15 per entry. If you win the prelminary and book on the grand final voyage, you can qualify for up to $100 in on-board credits if you book within a month of qualifying.
To participate, you need to sail on one of the following Carnival ships between now and June 30, 2008. Note that there are a few exceptions to this list, so check with the Carnival people to be sure you don’t miss the right boat.
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Carnival Pride (but not the June 15, 2008 sailing)
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Carnival Spirit
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Carnival Conquest
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Carnival Legend
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Carnival Glory (but not the May 10, 2008 sailing)
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Carnival Valor
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Carnival Liberty
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Carnival Fascination
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Carnival Victory
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Carnival Miracle (but not the April 23, 2008 sailing)
Poker players are urged to register for the tournaments on their first night of the cruise by going to the cashier cage in the casino.
Scuba Diving in Cozumel
March 3, 2008 at 11:54 pm | Posted in Cozumel, Uncategorized | Leave a commentIt’s hard to believe in some parts of the country, but it’s actually nice and warm in Cozumel right now. This video courtesy of YouTube and gives you a pretty good idea of what “lies beneath” for those who take the plunge on a diving excursion.
Carnival Announces Bloggers Cruise for 2009
February 16, 2008 at 10:54 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentCarnival just wrapped up a first bloggers’ cruise with John Heald (over a million hits on his blog in year one!). John Heald is a senior cruise director with Carnival. The next bloggers’ cruise is in February 2009 and sets sail from New Orleans for Progreso and Cozumel Mexico.
Celebrity Going to Australia/New Zealand
May 28, 2007 at 5:07 pm | Posted in Australia, Celebrity, South Pacific | 2 CommentsCelebrity Cruises is going to sent Celebrity Millennium (one of its largest ships and one that has verandas in more than half of all staterooms) down under for the winter of 2008/2009.
Get a load of this itinerary: 15 days in the South Pacific, starting at Honolulu and calling on these ports:
- Hilo, Hawaii
- Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
- Moorea, French Polynesia
- Bora Bora, French Polynesia
- Bay of Islands, New Guinea
From November 2008 to March 2009, Celebrity Millennium is doing 14-day cruises to Australia, sailing between Sydney and Auckland.
Extensions in Sydney can be arranged in a five-night package through Celebrity (go to Ayers Rock, the Outback and visit the Great Barrier Reef).
RC Names First Woman Captain of a Cruise Ship
May 28, 2007 at 5:02 pm | Posted in People in the News, Royal Caribbean, Uncategorized | 1 CommentKarin Stahre-Janson, a Swedish mariner, has been appointed captain of Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas. That makes her the first female captain of a cruise ship in the industry.
Capt. Stahre-Janson just completed her first tour of duty. The ship is based in Los Angeles and goes on three and four night cruises to San Diego, Catalina, and Ensenada, Mexico. Her next stint is in August.
A lifelong sailor, Capt. Stahre-Janson holds a bachelor’s degree in Nautical Science from her native Sweden and she obtained her Unlimited Master License. This license allows her to command virtually any ship of any size. Monarch of the Seas is 880 feet long, 106 feet wide, and routinely carries around 2,400 passengers plus 850 crew.
Teen Zones
May 28, 2007 at 4:58 pm | Posted in Family Friendly, Royal Caribbean, Uncategorized | Leave a commentRoyal Caribbean was the first line to offer teen-only areas on its ship and now every vessel in the RC fleet has some areas where kids can meet and mingle with other kids. They just got what they’re calling a Teen Advisory Board launched but they’ve actually been doing the focus-group, market research thing with kids aged 12 to 17 for over a year now. The result is more kid-oriented stuff on cruises, including teens-only dining. That will start on Liberty of the Seas (maiden voyage was May 4) but will eventually expand to the whole fleet.
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