Tagged With "Cruise Critic"
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United adds cruise awards for DividendMiles
Take your choice...cruise or fly. United Airlines has connected with a dozen or so cruise lines to offer cruises as awards for its loyalty program. DividendMiles members who buy cruises on some of those lines through United's website can also earn...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, March 8, 2015: Bernkastel-Keus, Germany
Bernkastel-Keus is a beautiful small town situated on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. The town has a traditional marketplace with timber-frame houses and flowers decorating the facades. The district is known for its wine (mainly...
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Couple takes 100th cruise -- on the same ship!
It's every business' dream! Customers who like your product or service so much they keep coming back again and again and again -- 100 times to be exact! Bernard and Janice Caffary from Florida are about to leave on their 100th cruise with...
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Disney's new idea: river cruising for families
The Disney empire, which seems to be almost as much a travel and resort company as it is a studio and park operator, has another new plan: change river cruising from an older-adult activity to a family plan. Adventures by Disney, which provides...
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Viking: How to have snow on your summer cruise
Every year the cruise-ship companies find new ways to amuse and refresh passengers—mini-amusement parks, sky-diving, Broadway shows and more—but now Viking has trumped the others by adding snow to its new ocean cruisers, starting with...
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Concordia Sinking: Captain's trial raises question of company's responsibility
When the Costa Concordia sank off the coast of Tuscany three years ago last month, blame quickly fell on the ship's captain who was accused of causing the disaster by recklessness and compounding it by abandoning the ship while others waited for...
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Morse Museum: Tiffany and Much More
When it's time to leave Disney World for the Real World, Orlando's Charles Hosmer Morse Museum provides an excellent re-entry point.
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Carnival stirs up a swimming-pool tempest
Carnival opens adults-only pool areas to families, and not all its cruisers are happy with the decision.
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Uniworld aims at younger river cruisers
Uniworld aims at a new demographic of young professionals, with different types of excursions and plans.
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Cruising into uncharted waters
When cruising resumes, there will be some new rules and procedures on board; here's a preview from industry discussion.
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Royal Caribbean: Buffet sailing into sunset
Those famous cruise ship buffets may soon be a thing of the past, with maybe a distant future; cruise fans are split on the issue.
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Carnival launches 'fathom' new 'voluntourism' brand
Volunteers work on water filtration system parts (Photo: Carnival Corp) Carnival, mothership of nine different cruise line brands, is launching another, with a twist: Instead of high-end entertainment and gambling, the line—named...
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Cruise to Nowhere update: The reason why
Last week, we reported HERE that Cruises to Nowhere are being dropped because of new U.S. regulations, and that the reasons were not fully clear. But now we know. Under U.S. laws, designed to promote both the domestic shipbuilding industry and...
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Who's Cruising? 23 million, that's who!
Over 23 million passengers for cruises this year—up over 4%—and almost-daily announcement of new ships and new routes, tell you how popular cruising has become, and the 'specialty cruise' group (super-luxury, elegant liners and some of the...
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More river cruises cancelled, but some hopeful signs
CroisiEurope's Leonardo da Vinci on the Neckar at Heidelberg Continuing problems with low water in European rivers, as described in several recent TG NewsLinks, are disrupting more cruise plans by most operators...but at least some see hope in...
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Good news for European river cruises: the water's back!
CroisiEurope's Leonardo da Vinci on the Neckar at Heidelberg After a spring marked by cruises canceled or modified by too much water in major rivers, and a summer marked by cancellations due to too little water in some rivers, it looks like...
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Erika Update: Storm causes cruise changes and cancellations
Tropical Storm Erika has been downgraded, but her effect on the Caribbean cruise industry continues, bringing changes to cruise itineraries, and cancelling some port calls, although some cruises are now slated to resume their original plans. ...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Sep 1, 2015: Champagne Bar, QM2
Cruising the open seas is always a memorable experience and one of my particular favourite journeys was on the Queen Mary 2 from Southampton to New York. The good thing about cruising is you can pass the time as you please and there are...
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New name for U.S. highest mountain
It's hard times for famous Americans these days. Either Hamilton or Jackson is slated to lose his place on the money, and Ohio's William McKinley has now lost his spot on the tallest mountain in the U.S. It's now officially to be called Denali, a...
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Mobile, Alabama's Mayor Says Deal Close in Bringing Back Carnival Cruise Lines
Mobile's Mayor, Sandy Stimpson, announced the city is in the final stages in bringing Carnival Cruise Lines back to Mobile. The Mayor says all particulars will be revealed by the end of the month when the contract is finalized and then it will be up...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, September 29, 2015: The Beauty of Alaska’s Tracy Arm Fjord
A fjord is a long, narrow inlet created by glacial erosion. Fjords can be found all over the world, but in Alaska they are especially beautiful. Tracy Arm Fjord — named for Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Franklin...
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Barcelona cruises to a new cruise record
Barcelona, which has expressed some doubts recently about just how much tourism to promote, has scored an all-time record for a weekend's worth of cruise ship visitors, with just under 60,000 arriving. That includes over 26,000 on Sunday alone...
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Low water puts some European river cruises on hold
Low water in the Danube, 2012 If it seems like only yesterday we were reporting on European river cruises being canceled because high waters were blocking ships from sailing under bridges...well, it was. On May 7, we reported problems on the...
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AmaWaterways and Disney partner on family river cruising
Adventures by Disney and AmaWaterways are combining their travel expertise to create family-focused vacations with first-ever river cruising itineraries. Five sailings along the Danube River in the summer of 2016, as well as two holiday- themed...
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Cruise lines drop Houston as a cruise port
The two cruise lines that have been sailing from Houston's cruise port have cancelled plans to use the port after the middle of next year. The port has been open since 2013, after a $100 million renovation. Local officials had hoped that it would be...
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Another cruise line sets sail for Cuba...it hopes
Oceania's Riviera is one of the line's 684-passenger R-class ships Norwegian Cruise Lines' Oceania Cruises brand, like Carnival's Fathom, has plans to join the growing interest in travel to Cuba from the U.S., but it's taking a radically...
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'Cruise to Nowhere' must now go 'somewhere'
New plans needed: Carnival Vista would have gone nowhere from New York in 2017. Photo: Carnival New rules issued by the U.S. mean the end of "cruises to nowhere"—ocean voyages by cruise ships that leave U.S. territorial waters for a day...
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Carnival orders 9 new ships, including world's 4 largest
The world's-largest ship title just got a new winner. Carnival has just ordered nine new ships, and four of them, at 180,000 tons and 6,600 passengers, will be the world's largest. That beats Royal Caribbean's Oasis-class ships that hold up to 6,450....
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Carnival's WiFi gets faster, sort-of-cheaper
Carnival Cruise Line, which has recently tried out faster internet with lower package prices on three of its ships—and gotten good marks for it from passengers—is adding it to nine more ships, and plans to include the majority of its fleet...
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Virgin sails into the cruise business for 2020
Richard Branson, whose Virgin brand is slapped on everything from mobile phones to megastores and especially airlines is now launching a cruise ship line, to be called...of course...Virgin Cruises. The line will start operations in 2020 with...
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Cruising solo just got more affordable
Being single means sometimes I travel alone. Generally speaking this means I have no one to share costs with—hotels, car rental and gas. But otherwise expenses such as airfare and restaurants are the same. One standout where...
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MSC first to base cruise ship in Cuba
Street scene, Cuba Photo: GarryRF / TravelGumbo MSC Cruises, currently Europe's top ocean cruise line, is responding to constantly-increasing European interest in Cuba (and possibly...
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Cruise ships to offer free limitless wifi?
Good news for cruise lovers! Regent Seven Seas Cruises will be adding free unlimited WiFi access for every passenger. The company announced that its fleet would be offering this service starting late 2016. Currently only...
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'Fee Creep' continues in cruise industry
Norwegian Escape (above) arrives with new dining charges Photo: Arno Redenius / Wikimedia Perhaps taking a cue from the airlines, a number of cruise lines have recently added...
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It's Official, Carnival Fantasy to Sail Out of Mobile, Alabama
Mobile Alabama's Mayor, Sandy Stimpson, announced earlier that the city was close to signing a deal to bring back Carnival Cruise Lines To Mobile. Now, it's official and the Carnival Fantasy will be sailing out of Mobile starting in the fall of...
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Joaquin shifts cruise itineraries, may affect flights
Four cruise lines have made changes in itineraries in the Caribbean for the next few days because of Hurricane Joaquin, which is presently centered over the Bahamas, and will likely be in the area throughout Friday before moving north. The...
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Cruise line updates: Win some, lose some
Cruise lines have announced some changes in plans and prices recently; two big ones are a trend to higher daily gratuity charges on board, and a move to more flexibility in choosing flights as part of cruise packages. Princess Cruises is raising daily...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, August 26, 2015: Sunset Cruise, Aruba
For me one of the highlights while vacationing on Aruba was a Pelican Adventure sunset cruise . Couples danced, passengers chatted and laughed, strangers made new friends. The perfect way to end a perfect day on Aruba—One Happy...
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Cuba: More cruises, Havana homeport
Lirica-class ship of MSC split for its upgrade Cuba's presence in the cruise market is growing, with Carnival's Fathom brand starting up cultural-exchange cruises open to U.S. citizens, and MSC announcing a second ship will use Havana as its homeport...
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Cirque du Soleil sets sail on MSC cruises
Cirque du Soleil, the no-animal wonder-world circus of acrobats, contortionists and aerialists that delights audiences in multiple shows in Las Vegas and elsewhere has now signed on to create shows onboard MSC cruise ships. Starting with a new...
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Most Popular River Cruises in India
A river cruise provides an escape from the constant commotion surrounding our everyday lives. As you sail along the river at a leisurely pace, with lovely sights greeting your eyes, you realize there is much to appreciate in this unhurried journey. India, with its impressive inland waterways, provides wonderful opportunities for river cruising. From the backwaters of Kerala to the might waters of Brahmaputra, every cruise gifts you with a memory to be cherished or a moment to be valued.
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Cruise Critic names its Best of 2017
A variety of awards from Cruise Critic highlight the variety that's available for cruise fans.
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Wetting My Whistle: Berkeley Springs water tasting
Stephanie Kalina-Metzger shares her experience as a water judge (tasting, not swimming or diving) in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia.
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In Egypt: Up the Nile
PortMoresby leaves Luxor, takes to the river, sees riverside farms & temples along the way, learns a lesson and begins her wish list for next time.
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Oct. 9: Norway's Fjords
Cruise ship is dwarfed by steep mountains as it enters Norway’s Naeroyfjord, an arm of the Sognefjord in the rugged coastal mountains north of Bergen. A network of these deep waterways connects scattered areas of small towns and farms on...
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Saint-Jean de Montmartre: An Art Nouveau Church in Paris
There are hundreds of churches in Paris, many even sharing names, but my favorite of the moment is Saint-Jean de Montmartre, which must be among the most unusual in the city. Its history is not that of centuries and kings and great events, like Notre...
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"Cruise Night", Thunder Bay, Ontario: The 1930's
In the first part of this series, which you can read here , I wrote about the beautiful cars I saw on "Cruise Night" in my hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Today I continue my blogs dedicated to the beautiful automobiles I...
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Viking's Got Something Going: More New Ships
Viking, the company best known for its river cruises, announced a year ago it was going into the higher-end smaller-ship segment of the ocean cruise industry, and it must have found a sweet spot, because it's already sold 70% of the spots for 2015 on...
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"Cruise Night", Thunder Bay, Ontario: The 1920's
Living in the Great White North, one eagerly looks forward to the spring (especially after this last harsh winter that we had). Ahhhh, spring, when snow melts, songbirds return, grass turns green, flowers bloom, and best of...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, July 15, 2014: Deck Chairs Aboard QM2
empty deck chairs on the QM2 When we think about cruising the seas aboard a luxury liner, we conjure up images of stately cabins, five star dining, deck quoits, sitting by the pool, dancing till dawn and exotic ports of call. Well, I...