For those flying into port cities, GroundLink will track the flight and itinerary to make any necessary adjustments to ensure that the trip begins worry-free. Upon booking, guests will receive a confirmation email and will be continuously updated throughout the pick-up process, either a message that the driver is in route or a text containing the vehicle information. GroundLink transfers can be booked by visiting www.ncl.com and going to “Get Ready for Your Cruise – Getting to the Pier” or by calling 877-564-6146.

To book a cruise vacation with Norwegian, contact a travel professional, call Norwegian at 888-NCL-CRUISE (625-2784), or visit www.ncl.com.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

The readers of Condé Nast Traveler rated contenders in the cruise line category on a variety of criteria including activities/facilities, cabins, crew/service, design/layout, food/dining, itineraries and shore excursions. The questionnaire was available to all readers through a secure website and final tabulations of 25,916 responses were completed by Global Market Insite, Inc. of Boston, Mass.

A full list of winners in every category can be found on the magazine’s website www.cntraveler.com.
Winners are also featured in the November 2010 issue of Condé Nast Traveler on newsstands October 19, 2010.

Windstar’s commitment to providing guests with the most casually elegant, enriching and luxurious cruise vacation has consistently placed Windstar on the prestigious Condé Nast Traveler list year after year.

In addition to the Condé Nast Traveler honor, Windstar Cruises has been recognized by some of the most notable names in the travel and lifestyle world in 2010. Celebrated Living, American Airlines’ prestigious publication for first class passengers, named Windstar Cruises “Best Small-Ship/Mid-Ship Cruise Line” on their Platinum List for the fourth time in a row. Earlier in the year, Windstar Cruises was listed on Condé Nast Traveler’s Annual Gold List of “Best Cruise Lines” and all three Windstar ships were honored by Condé Nast Traveler’s “Best Small Ships” Reader’s Poll. Windstar was also selected by Travel + Leisure as one of the top five “World’s Best Small-Ship Cruise Lines.”

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

Unfortunately, the nearest home port to us, in land locked Arizona, is San Diego. When can get there in under 8 hours, maybe 7 hours drive time. We also have the option of a direct 1 hour flight from Tucson to San Diego on Southwest Airlines. This usually means that we end up traveling just about anywhere to depart for our cruises including Vancouver and Barcelona. However, my parents live near Dallas, and they can reach their closest home port of Galveston in about 4 1/2 hours drive time. They have taken advantage of this convenience and taken both Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruises out of this port. My mother-in-law, a Florida resident, can reach the Tampa port in about 1/2 hour, port Canaveral in under 3 hours, and Miami in about 4 1/2 hours. Perhaps this is why so many cruise lovers relocate to Florida for their retirement.

If you are interested in taking a cruise but dreading the thought of having to fly to a departure port, be sure to check out the cruise lines that sail out of the above listed ports. If you are lucky enough to live relatively close to one of these ports you may be able to enjoy a cruise without a long journey to and from the port. r

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All “Postcards from the Nation of Why Not” spots will be available to view on royalcaribbean.com, facebook.com and youtube.com in addition to select television markets.

This looks like a great way to share the cruise experience with their potential customers. Royal Caribbean seeks to attract some of the millions of people who have yet to take a cruise vacation to their line. Their ships feature many industry leading innovations like ice rinks, flow riders, interior promenades, and rock climbing walls. The Royal Caribbean ships still provide many of traditional features of a cruise like fine dining, included entertainment, and ships that transport passengers to fantastic destinations.

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In today’s announcement and on the Celebrity Captains Club web pages, Celebrity provided the details of the new program. I’d like to comment on the features that I feel l will offer the most benefits to passengers.

Laundry:

Celebrity ships do not have self service laundry, thus packing light has always been a bit difficult on for a longer Celebrity cruise. I have always felt that paying for laundry was and expense with which I’d rather not be burdened. Towards the end of a long cruise they have sometimes offered a full bag of laundry for $20, but it was usually offered too late to make a significant impact on the need for clean clothes, and not reliable enough to provide for lighter packing . The new benefit offers Select members a single full bag at the $20 rate at anytime on a voyage of 12 days or more. Elite members will get one free bag of laundry and one discounted bag during a voyage of 12 days or more. Being able to rely and budget for this service should make quite a few passengers happy who are looking to pack lighter and save money.

Internet Access:

The next enhancement that I feel will be of particular benefit to loyal passengers is discounted or free internet use. Select members will receive a 25% discount on any internet time package. Even better, Elite members will receive 90 minutes of free internet access. Frequent cruisers often like to keep in touch with friends and family back home through blogs or e-mail, so many of the Select and Elite Members will enjoy this benefit.

Exclusive Lounge:

Perhaps the most enticing benefit offered to their loyal customers is the exclusive lounge for Elite members. This lounge will offer a coffee house style breakfast and an evening social hour. According to the press release the ships will utilize their former Cigar Bars, Micheal’s Clubs for this Elite lounge. This may be a good fit for these clubs as they have generally been underused except on cruises where the piano players have drawn a loyal crowd. The press release specifically mentions complementary wine tasting, however rumour hint that the evening social hour may offer complimentary cocktails from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. Some internet chatter has express concern about certain sailing which tend to attract many Elite Captains Club members. The concern is that number of Elite members on some of the sailings might overwhelm service and capacity levels for this type of benefit.

Captains Club Celebration Event:

Today’s announcement also seems to indicate that Celebrity is some how revamping their Captains Club Social event, but provides no details as to what this new event will entail. In the past the event has been a cocktail party with live music and complementary drinks. We have attended and enjoyed this event on every cruise except our last one, where the number of repeat passengers seemed to exceed and overwhelm service levels and traffic flow capacity. We skipped the whole event anticipating large crowds, and those who did attend reported a 30 minute wait to get through the receiving line and slow service once inside the event. Perhaps with more and more loyal customers Celebrity is realizing that they must make these events more efficient in order to satisfy these customers.

For our next cruise with Celebrity we will once again enjoy Select Captains Club status. I’m looking forward to the discounted laundry and internet service. Also this cruise will qualify us for the next status level with Celebrity, so for our next cruise we will be able to take full advantage of the program Elite benefits.

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Windstar will take complete control of managing its shipboard deck, engine, and hotel operations, as well as shore-based management functions such as port operations, technical and hotel purchasing, compliance, and human resources. New positions have been created at Windstar’s headquarters in Seattle to manage the new responsibilities.

“V. Ships Leisure did a tremendous job managing our beautiful sailing vessels over the past two-and-a-half years,” said Captain Nico Corbijn, Executive Vice President of Fleet Operations for Windstar Cruises. “However, we are in a position now to control all ship operations which will allow us the opportunity to directly enhance our award-wining product and luxurious guest experience through implementation of new services and by evolving existing features which reflect Windstar’s vision of ‘180 Degrees from Ordinary.’ We look forward to working closely with V.Ships to make this transition as smooth and seamless as possible and we thank them for their service.”

Corbijn will lead shipboard management along with Nick Burger and Huib van Leeuwen. Burger, Vice President of Marine Hotel Operations, will oversee hotel operations and hotel purchasing. Van Leeuwen, Vice President of Marine Operations, will be responsible for all technical, deck and engine operations.

Windstar has been recognized by some of the most notable names in the travel world. Windstar was recently awarded “Favourite Small-Ship Cruise Line” in the U.K.’s Condé Nast Traveller’s 2008 Readers’ Travel Awards. Windstar received the highest score of any cruise line in the poll and was also only one of three cruise lines in Condé Nast Traveller’s list of the “Top 100 of the Best the Travel World has to Offer.” Celebrated Living, American Airlines’ prestigious publication for first class passengers, named Windstar Cruises “Best Small-Ship/Mid-Ship Cruise Line” on their 2009 Platinum List for the third time in a row. Readers of Porthole Cruise Magazine awarded Windstar “Most Romantic Cruise Line” and “Best Tall Ship” in the 2008 10th Annual Readers’ Choice Awards. Windstar has also earned top honors in Travel + Leisure’s World’s 2008 Best Awards and was lauded among “The World’s Best Small Ships” by Condé Nast Traveler.

About Windstar Cruises
Windstar Cruises operates three sailing yachts known for their pampering without pretense and their ability to visit the hidden harbors and secluded coves of the world’s most treasured destinations. Carrying just 148 to 312 guests, the luxurious ships of Windstar cruise to nearly 50 nations, calling at 100 ports throughout Europe, the Caribbean and the Americas. For more information including rates and itineraries contact a professional travel agent or call Windstar at 1-800-258-7245. Visit Windstar Cruises online at www.windstarcruises.com.

Windstar is a division of Ambassadors International Cruise Group, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ambassadors Cruise Group, LLC.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

elebrity Equinox will sail from Papenburg down the River Ems June 19 or 20, depending on the winds and tides, and following various provisioning activities, sea trials and inspections, will host a series of invitation-only special events for press, travel agents and consumers from Southampton, England, from July 23 until entering service July 31. Celebrity Equinox will present a series of “Ancient Empires” and other European itineraries from Southampton and Rome this summer, followed by 10- and 11-night “Ultimate Caribbean” cruises from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., beginning in November.

Celebrity Cruises brings cruising to a new level with extraordinary service, spectacular dining, and fabulous style and design. Its widely acclaimed Solstice Class fleet features the industry’s first “Lawn Club” – a lush, half-acre recreation area with real, growing grass – and a new category of accommodations, “AquaClass,” designed to offer a spa vacation experience at sea. Celebrity Equinox ship is the second in Celebrity’s widely acclaimed Solstice Class fleet. The first, Celebrity Solstice, was launched last year.

Celebrity sails in Alaska, California, Canada/New England, the Caribbean, Europe, Galapagos Islands, Hawaii, the Pacific Coast, Panama Canal and South America. The line also offers unique cruisetour vacations in Alaska, Canada, Europe and South America. Noted for four of the top 10 “Top Cruise Ships in the World” in the large-ship category, as voted by the readers of Condé Nast Traveler (February 2009 readers’ poll), Celebrity’s fleet – including the new Celebrity Solstice – will be joined by Celebrity Equinox this year, Celebrity Eclipse in 2010, a fourth Solstice-class ship in 2011, and a fifth in 2012. For more information, call your travel agent, dial 1300 754 500 or visit www.celebritycruises.com.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

“Celebrity Select Dining” would work similar to “Any Time Dining” on Princess. It would allow passengers who pre-pay their gratuity to choose open seating for their dining arrangements rather than a fixed table and dining time. This option would allow passengers to dine on their own schedule rather than at a pre-determined time and table. Theoretically passengers would show up any time the main dining room is open and be able to be seated in a short a mount of time. This would allow passengers more flexibility in their dining especially when returning from late shore excursions or after a long day when they want to dine early and go to bed early.

The difficulty is in putting the program into practice and accommodating all passenger preferences. Fixed dining times allow passengers to know that they have table and familiar waiter waiting for them. They never have to wait for a table, they just show up at their assigned time and seat them selves. On the other hand sometimes diners who prefer their meals in the main dining room find may find it difficult to make their assigned time, especially on port intensive cruises.

I actually prefer the assigned dining times and tables because I like to have the same waiter and table every night. There have been a few times when we had late days in port when we ate room service because we had missed our early dining time. On those few days it would have been nice to have more flexibility, however I don’t think I’d like to give up my assigned table on 14 night cruise, for one or two days when I would have enjoyed the flexibility.

However, I have heard from many cruisers who love this flexibility. A good friend recently took a Holland America cruise where she had booked open seating. That choice worked out perfectly for her when two of her children and their spouses surprised her and joined her party for their cruise. They were able to be seated at a table for 8 every night and enjoy their surprise fellow cruisers.

If Celebrity can work out the ratios for the open seating and fixed seating so that nearly every passenger’s wishes can be accommodated, this could be a great program. However, if those who prefer fixed seating are forced into flexible dining time, or those choosing the flexible dining program are forced to wait extended amounts of time, the program could result in more unhappy passengers than satisfied passengers.

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Carnival

“We have decided to cancel calls at Mexican ports for all current sailings. Additionally, we will cancel calls in Mexico for all voyages departing Thursday, April 30 through Monday, May 4. In many cases, we will be able to substitute the cancelled call with an alternative port and are currently working on those itineraries. Full details will be available by 5 p.m. today. Guests who do not wish to sail on a modified itinerary will be given the option to re-schedule their cruise for a later date.

Updates will be posted on our website at www.carnival.com.”

Celebrity

“Today, we announced we are temporarily suspending our port calls in Mexico. The decision was made in an abundance of caution, and allows additional time to better understand the full impact of the Swine Flu.

The temporary suspension involves only of our ships on its current repositioning sailing – Celebrity Infinity. The ship will replace its port calls in Huatulco, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with alternative port calls that are currently being finalized.”

Disney

I couldn’t’ find an official statement on their website, however reports say that Disney Magic will cancel a scheduled call in Cozumel and substitute it with a call in Nassau.

Fred Olsen

Again, I couldn’t find an official statement on their website, but reports say that the Balmoral will forgo a stop in Acapulco, stay longer in San Diego, and add a top in Costa Rica.

Holland America

“Of the line’s 14 ships, a total of five ships (and five sailings) are impacted by these changes. Four are the current sailings of the ms Ryndam, ms Statendam, ms Westerdam and ms Zuiderdam. The May 1, 2009 cruise of the ms Veendam will also be impacted.

The itinerary planning team at Holland America Line is developing alternate itineraries for these sailings and the new ports of call will be announced as they are confirmed.

If the CDC travel advisory changes prior to the conclusion of any of these five sailings, the cruise line may consider re-instating the original itineraries if possible.”

NCL

“As a precautionary measure due to the recent travel advisory relating to Mexico, the company is canceling Norwegian Pearl’s final two calls in Mexico on its current repositioning cruise. The stops were scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, April 29 and Friday, May 1, 2009. Apart from this sailing, Norwegian Cruise Line’s scheduled deployment does not include any other ports of call in Mexico until the end of September 2009.”

Princess

“Six Princess ships are currently scheduled for calls in Mexican ports through May, as they reposition to Alaska for the summer season. In total, eight itineraries and 22 calls in Mexico are affected, and passengers who are booked on these cruises will either visit alternative ports or spend an additional day at sea. Affected passengers will be advised of the itinerary changes once the new berthing arrangements have been confirmed.

We are sorry that circumstances beyond our control have caused these itinerary changes, and we recognize that these modifications may cause some disappointment among our passengers. However we hope our passengers will also agree that adhering to the recommendations of the CDC is the best course of action for the safety of our passengers and crew. ”

RCCL

“Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. today announced it is temporarily suspending its port calls in Mexico. The decision was made in an abundance of caution, and allows additional time to better understand the full impact of the Swine Flu.

The suspension involves the company’s Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises brands. Royal Caribbean International has four ships currently making regularly scheduled port call in Mexico – Enchantment of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas. Two additional Royal Caribbean International ships were scheduled to make upcoming Mexican port calls as they repositioned – Serenade of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas. Celebrity Cruises had one ship scheduled to make upcoming Mexico port calls as it repositions – Celebrity Infinity.

All but one of the affected ships will either make alternative port calls or spend additional time at sea. Royal Caribbean International’s Mariner of the Seas will sail a fully revised itinerary, visiting Canada and the U.S. West Coast. The temporary suspension takes effect immediately and will be in effect for the immediate future. It will be regularly reviewed in light of any Swine Flu developments.”

A Word To Our Readers

The cruise lines should be contacting those passengers scheduled to cruise to Mexico with the itenerary change information and passenger cancellation and reschedule options. If you are scheduled to sail soon and don’t hear from your line, contact them directly or through your travel agent. They should give you all the necessary information before your cruise.

I know I would be devastated if I had a cruise to Mexico planned and the cruise line altered the itenerary so drastically. I recently wrote an article about the wonderful Mexican ports of call. This would be a huge disappointment to me. However I would do everything I could to make the best of the situation. For some of our readers that choice might include rescheduling to a different cruise date. For others, who won’t be able to reschedule their vacation, my advice is to go with a great attitude, don’t blame your cruise line, and enjoy your replacement ports or extra sea days as much as possible. Sea days or unexpected ports can turn out to be some of the most enjoyable cruise experiences.

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While I still feel that a few features, like the grass lawn, are a bit gimmicky, the overall ambiance of this vessel is gorgeous. The venues that impress me the most are those designed for some of the great enrichment programs, activities, and beverage services that Celebrity already has onboard its other ships. These “designed in” venues include a wine tasting venue, an art gallery, a martini tasting venue, and an ensemble lounge. The ship also features several alternative dining venues in addition to its spectacular Grand Epernay dining venue. The pool area features a dancing fountain water feature and over sized lounge beds.

Also the Solstice marks a new entertainment partnership between Poet Theatricals and Celebrity Cruises. The new shows designed for this class of ship will include Broadway style shows and a full theatrical circus like none every seen before at sea.

All of these spectacular features are really tempting me to try this “bigger” vessel. I’ve always said that the ideal ship holds about 800 to 2000 passengers, but this ship holds 2850. However the first impression has me saying “Ooo La La”. My only other trepidation about this ship is the additional fees charged at some of the venues like the Gelateria. I like my cruise price to include nearly everything but excursions, tips, and beverages. However, it looks like those extra charges may just be icing on the cake, as the included food and venues look to be of superb quality and vast quantity.

The line offered a pre-inaugural cruise from November 14-16. Fellow Cruise Critic members and frequent cruiser Mike and Carol Preisman took some absolutely beautiful pictures of this brand new ship during that cruise. Their page takes a few minutes to load with all of its high quality pictures, but be patient because these pictures of this spectacular ship are incredible. Mike and Carol did a fantastic job of photographing the ship. This link will take to you their home page, and then from their you can click on their review of the Solstice. I hope you enjoy their photos as much as I did. They also have reviews of many other cruises. I want to thank Mike and Carol for giving me permission to use their picture here on my page.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

The first event is Sunday, October 26th at 12 noon at Pegasus Park in downtown Dallas, where they will unveil the World’s Largest Beach Ball (35 feet tall or approx 3 stories). In addition to tossing around the humongous beach ball with Carnival’s own Senior Cruise Director John Heald and breaking a Guinness World Record®, there will be music, ice cream , and free Carnival Cruise giveaways. This will be a great opportunity for both veteran and potential cruisers to partake in the Carnival brand of fun and learn more about the Carnival Cruise experience. This event also marks the launch of Carnival’s new marketing slogan: All for Fun, Fun for All!

The following Sunday in Philadelphia, we will be breaking the world’s largest
pinata at 11am on 20th and Market St.

The for video and pictures of the event visit Carnivals “Fun Crowd” Web Page.

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Months ago Celebrity announced that the ship will feature a top deck covered with living grass. That venue will be called “The Lawn Club” and will allow passengers to enjoy activities like lawn bowling and Bocce Ball. The ship’s other “green” feature will be located just above the Lawn Club: a full array of solar panels. We are still waiting the official announcement of what the solar panels will power and how much electricity costs they will defray, but it sure is interesting to see a cruise ship with panels that will hopefully keep operating costs and cruise prices low in the current high priced fossil fuel market.

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Military discounts may be the same as other discount fares offered to a broad range of cruisers, but on occasion, those discounts are above and beyond the discounts that are offered to the general public. For example, a rate for residents of certain states could be the same rates as the military discount. However, a military discount either on top of that discount or that beats that rate may be offered. My parents took a recent Carnival cruise when contacted by their Carnival sale representative. He had some excess capacity that he was trying to book and offered them a very attractive price. That price was good, but then he asked if either of them were ever active military. My Dad was in the Air Force reserves and that qualified him and Mom for an additional discount on the already attractively priced cruise.

I also did a couple of online prices searches for sample pricing. For a November Transatlantic cruise, NCL showed a military fare of $40 less per person than their standard fare. For a 7 day Caribbean cruise in November of 2008, discounts are offered for as much as $140 per person depending on the category of cabin booked and cruise line. Cruise lines offering military discounts, some for nearly all cruises and some only for select cruises, include:

• Carnival
• NCL
• Celebrity
• Royal Caribbean

There are several steps to insuring that you are getting a good deal on your cruise. First, research prices from several sources online or by phone. Be sure to get a price for both military and non-military passengers. Look at direct prices from the cruise line and from travel agencies. Then make sure that you qualify for the military deal. Is the deal for all active, retired, and honorably discharged military, or just active and retired? Then find out what documentation is required to prove your eligibility. You most likely will have to bring this documentation with you to prove that you meet the requirements when you check in for your cruise. Next, once you know you qualify and have proof of qualifications, then either contact a travel agency specializing in military discounts, your regular agent, or the cruise line directly and ask for a final quote for the military rate for the cruise you have in mind. You can also inquire about a any special deals for other dates or itineraries that you might have missed when you did your initial search. Some of the large travel agencies have dedicated military discount specialists. You may want to request one of these specialist when you contact the travel agency.

If you have ever utilized a military discount program for your cruise, please share your experience with us. We’d love to hear how smoothly the process worked for you and how you enjoyed your cruise.

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The Solstice, the first to be built, took one more major step this week towards its completion. The ship was moved out of the dry dock building area and into the ship yard where it underwent extensive engine testing. Over the next week, in addition to the more mundane work, the ship will have its two funnels installed in preparation for it sea testing scheduled for September 27th, 2008.

The debut of the the Solstice has not been without controversy. The inaugural voyage was moved up by two weeks after the initial sales had begun. In fairness, Celebrity did give passengers booked on the original date the chance to reschedule to the new earlier debut cruise with no extra charges. Many passengers, having booked the cruise for inaugural experience, moved to the new date if their schedules permitted the move. However, what is perhaps causing the most controversy, is that “Cruises Only” travel agency is selling spots on a Nov 21st charter pre-inaugural two day cruise to nowhere. Usually cruise lines have some sort of pre-inaugural cruises where only company family, travel agents, or VIP’s are invited, not the general public. I suspect that several these “Shake Down” cruises will take place before the two day “Cruises Only” charter. But many of the passengers who have booked the inaugural cruise are expressing disappointment on the cruise message boards that their inaugural voyage may not be so inaugural after all.

For me personally, I would be hesitant to book any inaugural cruise. Running a cruise ship is such an extensive operation that despite planning and experienced crew members, the cruise line may just need a few voyages to work out all the “bugs” in their on board operations. I have feeling that most passengers who booked these inaugurals are aware that things may not run completely smoothly, but they choose to book the cruise anyway to take advantage of the excitement revolving around an inaugural cruise.

I wish all these cruisers the best whether on the 2 day charter or the official inaugural. I can’t wait to hear from them when they return from their voyages.

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One will be an ice bar, that is really more of an attraction than a bar. It will be one of those completely frozen bars sometimes found in trendy Northern European cities where patrons don parkas and then sample drinks in the completely frozen environment. NCL says the cover charge will include the parkas and a drink or two.

The other area, pictured above, is the exclusive Posh Club. Guests will have to purchase a pass to utilize this exclusive adults only area of the ship. NCL also mentions several other exclusive or adults only venues on their F3 ships, however I’ve seen conflicting reports on whether or not their is a specific cover charge.

Intentionally or not, NCL is essentially creating a two class system on their ship. With their lower end prices, all casual dress code and unstructured dining system, they attract many passengers who desire and inexpensive casual get-a-way. It seems that NCL also wants to attract high end, higher spending passengers as well. Perhaps NCL feels that they can offer the best of both worlds to fill their ships. A basic passenger would eat in the included restaurants and enjoy all the entertainment and venues offered with the basic cruise package. However, the more well heeled passengers could enjoy a more upscale experience in the specialty dining venues and escape the masses in these exclusive clubs. While the contrast may not be as extreme as First Class and Steerage, it does bring to mind the days of the old Transatlantic liners that divided the passengers into separate and exclusive classes.

One of the aspects of pleasure cruising that I have always most enjoyed was the non-exclusive nature and mostly inclusive environment. It really emphasized that while on a vacation you could get away from your daily stresses weather you were a CEO or Housekeeper. Both jobs are stressful. Whether a passenger was in a highest level suite or sharing a lowest level inside cabin with her three sisters, a passenger had most everything else on the ship to enjoy equally. Other than a bar bill and tipping, passengers didn’t have to worry too much about when and where they spent their money on the ship.

As ships budgets got tighter, the cruise lines wanted to still offer relatively low fares, but then make up the lost revenues elsewhere. Rather than cut quality and services, many of the cruise lines decided to offer some “extras” not previously available on the ships and charge for them.

The example of this policy on my favorite line, Celebrity, is the specialty dinning rooms on some ships and the specialty coffee in the Cova Cafes. Both of these venues charge in addition to cruise price, about $30 for the meal service and about $3-5 for the fancy coffees. However, the quality of the food has still remained high in the main dining room, and coffee, though not the best, is available for free in the dining room and the buffet area. I’ve been please with the overall cruise experience on the Celebrity line, and the idea of free style has never appealed to m.

However, I did want to see what the price difference would be between several different lines on a similar itinerary. Perhaps with the cruise price savings, I could afford all the extras and come out about the same or ahead? I priced an example cruise on NCL, Celebrity, Princess, Holland American, and Royal Caribbean. I looked at Panama Canal itineraries in Nov of 2009. (I went with this example because it is actually the next itinerary and time frame that I am looking to book a future cruise) The cruises on these lines ranged from 10 to 13 days, so I broke the pricing down to price per family of 4 per day for a standard Ocean View cabin and include the current taxes and fuel surcharges. Here are the results:

• Princess – $545 per family per day
• Royal Caribbean $475 per family per day
• Holland American $575 per family per day
• Celebrity $550 per family per day
• NCL $406 per family per day

Our family would come out the same on NCL verses Celebrity even if we spent a total of around $144 a day on extra’s above and beyond what we would spend on extras on board Celebrity. While we still very much prefer the traditional cruise experience and the ambiance of Celebrity, this plan might work well for a family desiring the “Freestyle” experience. With the same travel budget, a family could take advantage of the higher end dining venues, the parents could enjoy some of the exclusive clubs while the kids are in the children’s program, and enjoy many of the extra’s not included in the basic price of the “Feestyle” cruise.

One thing is for sure, those lines that have lower base price have to make up that difference in some way. Perhaps NCL feels that the implementation of cover charges will allow them to keep their basic price down, appealing to persons looking for the most basic casual cruise, while still offering a more upscale experience to those who are willing to pay extra for it.

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On formal nights, men were requested to wear dark suits or tuxedos, while ladies often wore gowns or cocktail dresses. On Informal nights, men wore blazers or sports coats with or without ties, slacks and nice shirts. Ladies wore either cocktail dresses or dressy pants outfits. On casual nights ,it was usually very casual dresses or smart pants outfits for the ladies and for the men “dockers” and either a golf shirt or Hawaiian shirt. With the elimination of informal nights, men will no longer need to pack their sports coats. They will just need to bring or rent a tux or suit for formal nights.

Many people have been complaining about the new luggage restrictions implemented by the airlines. With most airlines now charging extra for a second bag, and American Airlines even charging for the first checked bag, cruisers have been complaining about the difficulty of packing in one bag or the extra expense of the second bag. Perhaps this could be the driving factor in the elimination of the informal nights. In addition, the industry overall has trended toward more casual dress codes, starting with NCL’s implementation of the nearly all casual “Freestyle” cruising. Last year Holland American dropped their “in-between” evening dress code, going with just formal and casual smart casual. Celebrity’s sister line Royal Carribbean still has the “smart casual” designation which still calls for a coat and tie for the gentlemen. However, I would guess that they too may eliminate the smart casual nights.

While I can understand the cruisers frustrations with having to try to pack in one suitcase under 50 pounds, I have to state that I am a bit disappointed with the change. I’ve always felt the one of the factors that differentiated Celebrity from other lines was the elegant evening ambiance. While the formal nights will still be elegant, the casual evenings just don’t have that same elegant feel. My everyday lifestyle is very casual and I relish the chance to dress up a bit more. My kids too are a bit disappointed in the new dress code. My son asked if he cold bring his blazer and still wear it on casual night. My daughter asked if she could still wear some of her informal dresses. We may choose to pick a few of the casual nights and dress up a bit more than the standard casual. I’ll have to let you know if the atmosphere seems less elegant due to the more relaxed dress code.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

According to an article on travel website galding.com, the woman and her family claim that because dinner seating preferences were extended to passengers with higher grades of cabins, she found it nearly impossible to get a dinner reservations in the ship’s specialty restaurants. In her complaint, she asks for a full refund of the cruise fare plus incidental expenses.

Interestingly enough, almost all comments on that web-page are from NCL cruisers who have never had any trouble getting reservation even when they were booked in the lowest category of cabin. Similarly, on a few other cruise chat sites, past passengers are commenting that this law suit is completely ridiculous. Those passengers found it really hard to believe that she couldn’t get dinner reservations. However, past passengers are using the term “You Snooze, You Loose,” meaning that all passengers should make their reservations for the specialty restaurants as early as possible during their cruise in order to insure that they get the reservations that they desire. Most loyal NCL cruisers seem to be very happy with the freestyle experience and have expressed that this law suit is baseless.

On the other side of the coin, we received negative comments about NCL from a Cruise Talk reader who mistakenly thought that Cruise Talk was NCL’s own passenger feedback depository. He wrote us, thinking we were some how affiliated with NCL, a long letter expressing his displeasure with the freestyle system on his last cruise. His complaint was that instead of the Freestyle system freeing up his schedule as advertised, he found himself getting up early every morning in order to wait in line to make a dinner reservation. He didn’t feel that this was the way he wanted to spend his vacation.

NCL has been working very hard to improve its Freestyle cruise experience, evidenced in their launch of Freestyle 2.0. The line has has also been actively trying to attract higher end customers by offering them perks with their suites and “Garden Villa” rooms not available to standard cabin passengers. While this lawsuit seems to have very little merit, it will be interesting to see if it results in any changes to NCL’s marketing literature or dinner reservations policies.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

Most obviously, cruise lines offer spectacular dining, both production and cabaret style shows, pool side and lounge bands, disco and ball room type music. They often have theme events and parties. Cruise lines showcase these types of activities prominently in their literature and advertising. Still, some people think that they might be bored in the confines of a cruise ship, especially on sea days.

The cruise lines have actively worked to keep their passengers happy and entertained with plenty to offer and plenty of choices. In the early days of cruising, the ships were usually converted ocean liners. These ships were built to transport rather than entertain, but the cruise director and his or her staff made up for the lack of amenities with a busy activities program. These activities might have included Bingo, Wooden or Movie Horse Races, Ball Room Dance Lessons, Costume Contests, Talent Shows, and Napkin Folding. With the dawn of the “purpose built” cruise ships, the lines began to build into the design of the ships more and more activities. Probably most notably was the introduction of the Voyager class of Mega ships in 1999. These ships were built to attract active people who might never had an interest in cruising before. The “Mega” ships have the most to offer people who prefer to keep busy with physical activity. The Royal Caribbean Voyager Class and newly introduced Freedom class have rock climbing walls, ice rinks, in-line skating tracks, and mini golf. Carnival has recently upgraded some their ships with “active” amenities (and separate serenity areas.) Many of Carnival’s and Royal Caribbean’s ships now feature pool areas with slides and water features found in land based water parks. These mega ships also feature expansive shopping areas and many dining choices. For cruisers who prefer less “active” activities, Princess Cruise has installed huge movie screens that can run movies and other video programming day or night in the pool area for their “Movies Under The Stars” program. Some cruise lines offer bridge tournaments or chess tournaments. In the computer age, more and more lines are offering software learning courses. Some cruises will feature guest lecturers on subjects as varied as Renaissance Art and NASA Space Missions.

Our family loves to cruise Celebrity and we’ve found that this line offers interesting but not over the top activities. Some activities are offered on almost any cruise. I’ve enjoyed trivia games and Name That Tune on all my Celebrity Cruises. Often I’ll just go to these games by myself and meet others while I’m there. They also have a continuing game of battle of the sexes trivia that goes on all week. My husband likes ping pong and he’s even won a tournament or two on some of the cruise. On nearly all our cruises, Celebrity has offered a variety of pool side or outdoor games such as free throw shooting contests, pool Olympics and King of the Ship Contests. Bingo is also a popular activity. On several cruises the line has offered a Q & A session with the resident comedian. On a few cruises, they had a ship model building contest. Celebrity also offers destination specific activities. They had a Polar Bear swim on the Alaska cruise where they gathered a few brave souls together to have a swim in the ship’s pool. They also offered on the Alaska cruise whale watching and nature lectures with the ship’s naturalist. Our Hawaiian cruise featured hula lessons. That cruise also had an extended number of sea days, (10) , so Celebrity brought on a wine maker to offer an extensive series of wine tasting seminars. Finally, Celebrity, like many other lines, offers some activities to their repeat passengers that are not offered to the general public. The galley tour offered to Captains club members was quite impressive, offering us a glimpse into the massive but intricate operations undertaken by the line to produce high quality and timely meals for all of its passengers. The Chardonnay blending seminar exemplified the way they Celebrity tries to provide activities that not only entertain, but inform.

Do you have a particular activity that you have enjoyed during your cruise? Have you ever been bored on a cruise? If so we welcome your comments and input here at Cruise Talk.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

Here’s the quote from their FAQ’s on their website:

“Is there a dress code for the dining room?

Depending on the length of the cruise, either formal dress or casual resort wear is required in the Dining Room. The dress requirement for children is the same. For those not wanting to dress up, the Lido restaurants are open nightly (with the exception of the last evening of the cruise), and have a casual dress code.

Cruise Casual Dining Dress Code: Gentlemen – Sport slacks, khakis, jeans (no cut-offs), dress shorts (long), collared sport shirts; Ladies – Casual dresses, casual skirts or pants and blouses, summer dresses, Capri pants, dress shorts, jeans (no cut-offs). Not permitted in the dining room during the Cruise Casual dinner for ladies and gentlemen: gym shorts, basketball shorts, beach flip-flops, bathing suit attire, cut-off jeans, and sleeveless shirts for men.

Cruise Elegant Dining Dress Code: Gentlemen – Dress slacks, dress shirts. We also suggest a sport coat. If you wish to wear suits and ties or tuxedos, by all means we invite you to do so. Ladies – Cocktail dresses, pantsuits, elegant skirts and blouses; if you‘d like to show off your evening gowns, that’s great too! Not permitted in the dining room during the Cruise Elegant dinner for ladies and gentlemen: shorts, T-shirts, beach flip-flops, bathing suit attire, jeans, cut-off jeans, sleeveless shirts for men, sportswear, and baseball hats. ”

Personally, I think I’ll still stick with the more formal cruise lines. I just enjoy the opportunity for the whole family to dress up and also enjoy seeing other passengers dressed up. However, I know that this will be a big relief for many potential cruisers who have stayed away from the whole experience because they don’t want to dress up.

For our full list of multiple cruise line dress codes please see our Dress Codes Page.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

For a long time, many cruise lines have strived to treat all passengers as if they were the most important person on the ship. The cruise lines wanted to do away with the class system that was a hallmark of the Ocean Liner days. When ships were a main source of transportation for people going from Europe to the Americas and vice versa, the majority of passengers were in steerage, with a few passengers in tourist and the select privileged few in first class. With the dawn of the pleasure cruise industry, the old class system went away as cruise companies strove to provide all passengers with the vacation of a lifetime. The motto was to treat all passengers equally, regardless of what kind of cabin they were booked in.

The one exception to this has been the Cunard Line, which has three different levels of service and dining determined by type of room booked. Their booking information clearly spells out all the perks and benefits of each type of room. For example, under their description for Queen’s Grill Suites they list the following amenities:

• Priority embarkation with separate Grill check-in
• Full bottle of French champagne with sugar-iced strawberries at embarkation
• Complimentary in-room bar set up
• Fruit basket & bottled water replenished daily or as needed
• Full flower arrangement
• Personalised Cunard stationery
• In-room Xbox
• Single-seating dining in the Queens Grill, or En Suite from the Queens Grill menu
• 24-hour room service & Grills Concierge services
• Butler service (including packing/unpacking service)
• Access to Grills Concierge Lounge, Queens Grill Lounge and private Queens Grill sun Deck
• Daily abridged newspaper
• Shoe shine service
• Evening canapés
• Linens & duvet
• Pillow Concierge offering nine pillow options
• Nightly turndown service with pillow chocolates plus special Sweet Dreams turndown surprise on formal nights
• Terry cloth bathrobe & slippers
• Fine Canyon Ranch soaps & shampoos
• Bath salts & manicure kit
• Priority disembarkation and tender service (Q1 – Q4 only)
• In-room DVD Player (Q1 – Q4 only)

Recently, there has been a slight shift from the completely “Classless” system by some lines which are offering some extra perks to their patrons who book suites. NCL calls their suite patrons VIP’s and offers the following exclusive amenities to passengers who book suites:

• Priority embarkation
• Concierge service
• Bottled water
• Up to 504 square feet of elegance
• Separate sitting/dining area
• Luxury bath
• Private balcony*
• Flat screen TV* with DVD player*
• Mini-bar*
• Coffee maker*
• Invitation to VIP cocktail party*
• 24-hour room service with special suite menu
• Full in-room breakfast menu
• Hors d’oeuvres delivered twice during cruise
• Fine linens, duvet and
• feather pillows
• Plush bath robes and towels, luxurious bath amenities
• Fresh flower arrangement and fresh fruit basket

Celebrity already offers the Concierge Class staterooms that offer extra perks like appetizers in the early evening, special shower heads and fresh flowers. They will be rolling out the new Aqua Class staterooms with their Solstice Class ships. With both Aqua Class and Concierge Class, the state rooms are generally the same size as the standard rooms. The rooms just have extras that come with them designed to offer a more upscale experience to the passengers. The Aqua Class staterooms will include:

• Welcome champagne
• Daily fruit selection
• Fresh-cut flowers
• Daily hors d’oeuvres
• Menu of pillows-Conformance,
• Body, Goose, and Isotonic®
• Duvets and pillow-top mattresses
• Leather key holder, personalized stationery and a tote bag
• Frette bathrobes
• Hansgrohe® showerhead
• VIP invitations to events
• Early embarkation and debarkation
• Dining and seating preference
• Preference on shore excursions
• Express luggage delivery
• Shoeshine service

For the most part, the suite or upgraded cabin amenities focus on making passengers in stateroom experience more pleasant. They also offer priority boarding and disembarking, however these are also often offered to repeat passengers as well. When the process is very efficient, like our boarding process in Vancouver, which took all of 15 minutes, this is really not much of a perk. When passengers book a suite or upgraded cabin class on one cruise line, they need to make sure that they are not expecting the amenities offered on another. Some offer an exclusive lounge, deck or pool. Some might offer free laundry or dry cleaning, others don’t. Some offer free bottle water, others don’t. Some might have a VIP tour as part of their suite amenity. For others it might be a special cocktail reception. You can see that the perks in these different upgraded cabins on the example lines have some crossover features. They don’t all feature the same amenities.

For their part, the cruise lines need to make sure they are complete in spelling out exactly what is included and what is not with a suite or upgraded cabin. Passengers need to read the information provided to them so that the know what to expect. Perhaps had the Celebrity passenger known that Celebrity does not include free bottled water in their suites, her cruise might have been more pleasant. Also, passengers should distinguish between a cabin with upgraded perks and a larger suite size cabin. I sailed with a passenger on the Infinity who was disappointed in the size of her Concierge Class cabin. She thought she had booked a larger cabin by upgrading to Concierge Class. She got perks instead of more room which was what she really wanted. The cruise lines also need to feature the benefits of a suite prominently in their literature and web sites. For example, dining at the “Blu” restaurant is included at no extra charge for Aqua Class passengers. However, this is listed on the Celebrity web site, but only on the page listing all the accommodations, and not listed under the specific amenities for the Aqua Class cabins. Travel agents will have to be ever vigilant in learning the ins and outs of the different classes of cabin on all the different cruise lines.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.