Tagged With "Cruise"
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Afloat with a Brewery
Custom ales are commonly served aboard ships, but Carnival is creating the world's first floating brewery aboard its newest ship, the VISTA.
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Update: Cuba clears way for Fathom cruise
Cuba has given permission for Cuban-born Americans to sail on Carnival's Fathom cruises to Cuba; the first trip is back on schedule for May 1st.
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Empress of Seas cancels a month of cruises
Royal Caribbean's updates and upgrades on Empress of the Seas have taken longer than expected, forcing cancellation of April and May cruises.
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Cruise ship to feature underwater bar
Ponant's four new small-ship cruisers will feature a unique amenity: a below-the-waterline lounge with floor-to-ceiling windows on the sea life.
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Viking plans round-the-world cruise for new ship
Viking Ocean Cruises will launch its fourth ship next year, and send it on a 5-month round-the-world maiden voyage.
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River cruises throw out the 'Old Folks' stereotype
Over the past year we've mentioned the growing trend toward families traveling on river cruises, which has led operators to modify ships and routes, and even brought Disney into the market. Last week, at an industry convention in Amsterdam,...
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Is 'green cruising' the future for cruise industry?
Japanese NGO develops 'Ecoship' concept for emission-free cruising.
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High-speed WiFi spreading at sea, some free
Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean are both rolling out new high-speed WiFi services...but they come with a price.
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Carnival launches half a new cruise ship
Carnival's newest ship is being built in two widely-separated Italian shipyards. The front, launched yesterday, is on the way to meet its mate.
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MSC adds a second private island
A growing trend: Cruise lines buy or lease small islands and use them as port calls for their cruises, restricted to their passengers.
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23 million cruisers—a new record!
Cruising continues to grow as a popular travel option, with record numbers last year and even more expected this year.
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Disney fleet expands to 6 with 2 new ships
Disney continues to expand its cruise fleet, adding two new ships, each one a bit bigger than the current four. No names and no itineraries set yet.
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No smooth sailing yet for U.S.-to-Cuba cruises
Delays in Cuba's government licensing process are putting U.S.-to-Cuba cruise plans on hold, but operators hope to get going soon.
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More family-style river cruises coming
The river cruise industry, once thought to appeal mostly to an older crowd, is continuing to develop new itineraries and facilities for family travel.
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Carnival accepting reservations to Cuba for May
Carnival is taking reservations to Cuba for May before getting Cuba permits.
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Princess Cruises matches you with a cruise by smartphone
Princess Cruises helps you pick a cruise destination by smartphone
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MSC adds a port call in not-quite-the-Bahamas
MSC Cruises is joining the parade of cruise lines with private islands that host their passengers for days on the beach, at sports and even shopping. MSC has acquired a former dredging station 20 miles south of Bimini and 65 miles east of Miami and renamed it Ocean Cay. By the end of next year, $200 million will have created 6 beaches, 2000-seat amphitheatre, sports venues, walking and nature trails, and even a "Bahamian village" with shops and restaurants. Ocean Cay will be the biggest of...
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Disney to skip Greece and Turkey for 2016: security concerns
Disney Cruise Line has cancelled both Greece and Turkey from its 2016 itinerary for Disney Magic's 12-night cruise. A spokesperson said the change was a result of monitoring conditions and activities in the region. Earlier, Costa Cruises had dropped Turkey stopovers for the last half of the 2015 season, and last month Celebrity announced it wouldn't overnight in Istanbul in 2016. The Celebrity announcement said it was due to cruise port construction in Istanbul, but it seems likely that...
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Perfect scores for the cleanest ships afloat
When cruise ship passengers come down with a virus, it's always news, but there's not as much publicity for the good news—so here it is: In 2015, 32 ships earned perfect scores of 100 on their semi-annual inspections by the Centers for Disease Control. Leader of the pack, so to speak, is Holland America's Eurodam, which has had a perfect score on its last 9 inspections. Holland America also got 100s for Veendam, Noordam, Statendam, Ryndam and Nieuw Amsterdam. The inspections are...
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Royal Caribbean: no more last-minute bargains
Royal Caribbean is putting a 30-day cutoff on price cuts, in part to keep early-payers from being upset that others waited and paid less.
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Viking launches new boats despite slowdown
With six new ships launched this week and another coming, Viking River Cruises is on its way to its goal of a 100-ship fleet, despite some slowdown in demand.
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Royal Caribbean tightens cancellation policies
Royal Caribbean, which has recently had to cancel or shorten some cruises, is now imposing stricter rules on customers who want to cancel bookings.
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Cruising the Elbe in Hamburg
Jonathan L takes us on a cruise down the Elbe and through one of the largest shipping ports in Europe
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Concerns about the rising number of cruise visitors to the Arctic
Cruise lines sell the chance to see Arctic wildlife and claim they can do so without causing harm. However, many Inuit and other indigenous people who have inhabited the Arctic for millennia are deeply worried. Tourists buy souvenirs and bring income but also a growing threat of sewage and heavy fuel oil pollution as well as the disturbance and destruction of wildlife, such as ships striking whales in narrow channels. Shrinking sea ice is allowing larger cruise ships to venture farther into...
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Unusual Travel Getaways For All Seasons!
It’s becoming increasingly popular for Aussies to check out Thredbo, a resort that is: open year-round for skiing or snowboarding in winter, mountain biking , hiking, fishing, or just relaxing in the summer season. Still, tourists will come through for more unusual Christmas festivities, since this generally isn’t the rule. By the same token, many Aussies look to experience a white Christmas in other parts of the world, as the literature paints it. There are adventures to be had in the...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, March 8, 2015: Bernkastel-Keus, Germany
Beautiful part of Germany. Following the Moselle or the River Rhine you'll see fairytale castles and villages. Taking a cruise down either river is a must see.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, March 8, 2015: Bernkastel-Keus, Germany
I remember this area from trips with my family from Heidelberg, where we lived for a while...and I learned to love the area's wines!
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Re: Is Airport-Style Security Coming to Museums?
This attack really was horrible and I feel for the families. I don't know how we can totally avoid that very small risk of an attack at a public place .Some changes can be made, but I hope fear doesn't change museums into what we've made airports. At major museums, I can see them being able to handle some changes. What concerns me is some of the smaller museums that don't have the budgets for security, x-ray machines and storage lockers. Will they make rules for no bags at all? I know at...
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Re: Cruise lines drop Puerta Vallarta over violence
I was in Puerta Vallarta in June last year. Not the friendliest place I've been to. It was a busy working city. Not the sanctuary of paradise I was expecting. Very disappointed. So many arrogant people. I was moved twice from room to room in 2 weeks. Each time the Staff at "Secrets" said it was for building repairs. Each time a Wedding Party with 4 adjoining rooms moved in. The Hotel told my tour operator it was my own fault for asking to be moved.
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Re: High-speed WiFi spreading at sea, some free
On a recent Norwegian cruise the charges for wifi were very high ($25/day), and people said that the speeds were awful. While these prices are "better" they would still stop me from using wifi on my cruise.
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Re: arctic cruise ships
Read more about the concerns that the cruise industry is ruining the Arctic
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Re: Perfect scores for the cleanest ships afloat
I think Cruise Critic's list forgot the last perfect inspection of Holland America's Zuiderdam.
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Re: Perfect scores for the cleanest ships afloat
I'm sure there are a number of fine restaurants in all the great cities of the world that would not fare nearly so well. Congratulations to Holland America and the others who got high grades!
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Re: Perfect scores for the cleanest ships afloat
My mother-in-law used to tell us that restaurants that were too clean lacked flavor... Rob, there were a number of comments on the CruiseCritic site about what was included or not; depends on the cut-off date you use, apparently.
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Re: Perfect scores for the cleanest ships afloat
PHeymont -- it is true that if you eat off the floor, having a place that's too clean will stifle the flavors. But if you are looking at reducing food-borne disease, there's nothing like a clean restaurant. And when you're at sea and confined with thousands of others, keeping illness as low as possible is critical to everyone having a good time.
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Re: Venice again considers tourism caps, limits on ships
Venice is really a fairly small place, and definitely has limited capacity to handle tourists. I can definitely see limiting the number of day visitors here, although I don't know that completely banning all of the cruise ships is their best solution. Today the business of Venice is tourism. Without tourists, it would not survive.
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Re: Venice again considers tourism caps, limits on ships
The issue of the ships is somewhat different from the number of tourists issue. because of their sheer size, they change the currents, channels and sea life of the islands in ways that would be different if anchored on other shores of the lagoon. Plus, at anchor in Venice, they tower over the buildings.
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Re: Venice again considers tourism caps, limits on ships
Ships have lots of different ways of getting their travelers to a destination, if they can't dock there. Smaller boats to shuttle people back and forth are very popular with tourists and the cruise companies, and would work well here.
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Re: Venice again considers tourism caps, limits on ships
In this case, docking at Mestre and using bus or train to enter Venice could be at least a partial solution...
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Re: Venice protesters block cruise ships
Good for them. I approve wholeheartedly of the people taking charge when their government has failed to protect them. There's a cruise ship ad running, possibly Viking, advertising their bigger (non-river) cruise ships. It shows a giant ship passing by the end of a small Venice canal, dwarfing the ancient buildings as it glides past. I'm astonished every time I see it, that this is an image that they believe will convince me to buy one of their cruises, seemingly oblivious to the fact that...
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Re: Venice protesters block cruise ships
A bit of Civil Disorder is always a good reminder to the Government that it is not in control of public opinion. And no one got shot.
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Cruising with cargo
Looking forward to cruising again but worried that it may not be the same after COVID? Perhaps too many health checks and rules for it to be the relaxing and fun-filled experience it used to be. Or maybe you just don’t want to mix with 3,000 other passengers any more. For a completely different experience have you ever considered cruising on a cargo ship? Of course cargo ships still have to make sure they stay healthy, but as there will likely be no more than 12 passengers on your cargo ship...
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Re: Cruising with cargo
Something to keep in mind, a variety of factors can conspire to keep passengers on the ship at ports. Having sailed on CMA CGM from Singapore to Malta, for a variety of reasons we were never allowed off the ship. Travelers should definitely check specifics before booking if it's important to them.
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"Cruise Night", Thunder Bay, Ontario: The 1940's and 1950's
Stunning classic cars of the 1940s and 1950s, at a show in Thunder Bay, Ontario
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Re: Cruising with cargo
Hello everyone, my friends and I are going on vacation to Turkey, I would like to explore all the historical places and excursions, do you have any tips?
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Cruising: Best Options for the 55+ Club
Samantha shares some of the best cruises she found for those in the 55+ club. Happy sailing.
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Re: Cruising: Best Options for the 55+ Club
We have taken nine cruises on Azamara, Celebrity, Norwegian, P&O and Princess and overall our favourite is Azamara. We like the small size of their ships - about 180 metres length and 600-700 passenger capacity - which gets them into places larger ships can't go. Their cruises are always all-inclusive of drinks etc and the atmosphere is cosy. The complimentary onshore events you mention (white nights) are fantastic and the guest lecturers are of a very high standard. Norwegian is also a...
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Cruising on the Norwegian Sun
Taking a 3 week trip on the Norwegian Sun, Jonathan L got to really experience cruise life. Here is his review.
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How to make your AAA card pay for itself!
Besides roadside assistance, AAA gives you discounts that can save you enough money each year to pay for the membership! Samantha shares some ideas.