Sheila McPherson - CruiseOne: Adventures in Cruising

Sheila's Ports of Call Guides: The Beautiful Baltics, Part 5: Scenic St. Petersburg

2010-07-15T14:45:00.009-05:00

St. Petersburg, Russia, can be the highlight of any Baltic cruise, especially if your ship will dock there overnight. There is so much to see in this city with its rich history, culture, art, and architecture, that even two days isn't enough. Our ship was docked there for two full days so we got to experience quite a bit, though our schedule was definitely go, go, go with no time to just relax and enjoy, which I would have liked. If you are an American visiting St. Petersburg on a cruise ship, it is highly advised that you book excursions with a licensed tour operator rather than trying to visit on your own, especially due to safety issues and the need for Visas. There are many tour operators to choose from, and you can go with a large group on a big bus, a small group in a van, or hire a driver and guide to take you around in a private car. Whatever you are looking for, there are tour operators out there to help you, and it's really your best bet.

There appears to be a bit of misinformation floating around, though, concerning cruise line excursions versus private tours and when you can get off the ship. Apparently, some cruise passengers have been told that they had to wait for those on cruise line excursions to disembark the ship before those on private tours could, and this is simply not true. You are allowed to get off the ship at the same time as everyone else, regardless of how or with whom you booked your excursions. So if someone tries to sell you a cruise line excursion based on the fact that you will get off the ship first, don't listen to them. On our cruise, we were given forms in our stateroom to fill out, stating the name of our tour operator and the time our tour began, and we were then assigned a disembarkation time so that we could meet our tour operator at the right time. It was a piece of cake getting off the ship but there was quite a line to get through immigration control, so keep that in mind when you want to disembark.

While we would really have preferred to hire a private driver and guide for our two days in St. Petersburg, our budget would not all for that, so we decided to go with a small group tour that would hit the highlights. I booked us into an existing group of 7 people for the 2-day “A Tour” (the least strenuous) through SPB Tours, and it worked out to be $220 per person – not bad at all but perhaps not the best choice in the long run due to the schedule we had to keep, but definitely within our budget and we ended up with a very nice group. While I enjoyed St. Petersburg and found it to be quite fascinating, I had several issues with our tour: 1) our tour guide, Elena, was very bossy and since she was always concerned about time and sticking to the schedule she was at times rude; 2) we were promised time to shop for souvenirs but I thought we would have flexibility and choice of where to shop; instead, we were only allowed to shop at three different stores to which we were taken, and all offered the same (and in my opinion) overpriced merchandise; and 3) I felt that we spent too much time in certain areas and only had photo stops for others that I would have liked to experience from the inside. The third point probably could have been remedied had I selected a tour with more flexibility, but the only real way to truly be flexible is to hire a private guide and driver, so if that is what you are looking for, be sure to budget for it when you book your cruise!

Our tour began at 9:00 am when we were driven through the city on an orientation tour. We stopped along the Neva river to get a few photos of St. Isaac’s Cathedral and then went to the square where we could get better photos for a few minutes. The Cathedral is really quite a sight with its gleaming onion domes and I would have liked to see it from the inside but unfortunately we didn’t have time. There were quite a few kiosks in the square offering souvenirs, but we were quickly ushered back into the van so that we could continue with our tour. Here is a photo of St. Isaac's Cathedral:

From St. Isaac's Square we headed out to Peterhof Palace to tour the lower gardens. The Palace is often referred to as the "Russian Versailles" and the whole grounds are huge and you could probably spend an entire day there seeing the palace and everything. There are many fountains but the most spectacular area is right at the bottom of the palace, called the Grand Cascade. We got there just in time to see the fountains all begin to flow along with music at 11:00 am. It really was a beautiful experience and the fountains really are cool because they are not operated by pumps! Here's me and my friend, Brenda, in front of the Grand Cascade:

After watching the Grand Cascade fountains for a bit, we spent at least another 90 minutes walking around the lower gardens; and while it really was beautiful, after a while it stopped being really interesting to me and I think I would have preferred to tour part of the Palace, but that wasn't part of our tour. As we headed back to the van we stopped at a little Blini stand near the entrance to the grounds to have lunch. Blini are like crepes and I had one filled with chicken and mushrooms (delicious!) and one filled with apple (pretty good) and they cost only about 3 or 4 USD, so they were very inexpensive and pretty filling as well. We hopped back in the van and then spent at least an hour working our way through traffic to get to Catherine’s Palace in Pushkin.

Catherine's Palace is really pretty spectacular and we had a pretty complete tour of the inside of the palace. However, I wasn't able to enjoy the palace as much as I had hoped because I was recovering from spinal surgery after a car accident, and by this point in the day my back was aching so badly that I could barely walk. The most memorable rooms of the palace for me were the grand ballroom, with its walls of gold and the beautifully painted ceiling, and the Amber Room, whose walls were covered in all shades of genuine amber, and amber was even used to create picture frames and other architectural/design details. Photography was allowed in all the rooms we visited except for the Amber Room, which is really too bad; here's a photo of the palace exterior, though:

On the way back to the ship we stopped for souvenirs at one shop and we arrived back at the ship at about 5:30 pm. This was problematic for us because we had booked tickets through SPB Tours for the ballet that evening and we had to be back at the van at 6:10, so we didn't have much time to change clothes or eat dinner. I ran upstairs to the grille on the pool deck to get hamburgers and fries for us and then rushed back down to our stateroom to change clothes, and then I ate my burger in the van on the way. We were going to see "Sleeping Beauty" at the historic Mariinsky Theatre, but I had no idea that with four acts and three intermissions, the entire ballet would last four hours!

This was my first time at the ballet, and what an experience it was, seeing "Sleeping Beauty" in a grand historic theater in St. Petersburg, Russia! We had nice seats in a box at the back of the main floor, which was slightly raised so that we could see clearly above all the heads in front of us. Unfortunately, the stiff upright dining-room type chairs that we had to sit on wreaked havoc on my back and neck, and within a few minutes my shoulders were aching as badly as my lower back had been during the day, so I ended up feeling miserable and I didn't get to really savor the experience as I had hoped, but I really will treasure it always.

Day 2 began at 8:40 am when we took another drive through the city, where we stopped for about 5 minutes to take photos of the Church on Spilled Blood. I would really have liked to go inside that cathedral because it is so ornate with all the different mosaic tiles and colors, but we didn’t have time. Here's a photo of the incredible Church on Spilled Blood:

We then walked briefly through an indoor Farmer’s Market (why I don’t know, as we couldn’t buy anything there to take back on the ship with us) that sold fresh fish, meats, and produce; and then we took a subway ride for one stop and then back to show us how nicely the subway stations are designed. Next we drove the Peter and Paul Fortress to see the inside of Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral, which is the oldest cathedral in St. Petersburg. Actually, I wasn't feeling well enough to visit the cathedral so my roommate and I stayed in the van to rest because we were in for a lot of walking later in the day. We then stopped for a very quick lunch at a local pierogi restaurant and then went to another shop for souvenirs. I had bought everything I had intended to buy the day before, so when I told our tour guide, Elena, that I wasn’t planning on buying anything, she quite rudely ordered me back to the van. I did not appreciate being told what to do, and unfortunately everyone in the group began grumbling about our guide as the day wore on.

We then made our way to the world-famous Hermitage Museum and spent the remainder of the afternoon there. I enjoy art museums for the most part, but I like to go to the exhibits that interest me and don't really care to wander around too much. It's just the way I am and what I like to do, and I've done that in the Louvre, the Uffizi, the Accademia, and even the Vatican, and I feel that I have enjoyed them all in my own way. Since I had been concerned about the amount of time we were going to be at the Hermitage from the beginning, I spoke with our tour operator and I was told that we could go off on our own in the museum if we wanted, so that we could see what was important to us. However, Elena did not like that idea and was visibly upset when we requested to go off on our own, and due to the enormous crowds in the place and the sheer size and confusing layout, we felt compelled to stay with her as she led us from room to room. We spent about two hours at the museum and I would have liked to have spent more time on the Impressionists on the third floor, but those artists were not emphasized on our tour. Overall, I must say that the Hermitage is certainly impressive and I am glad I got to visit it, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. Here's a shot of Leonardo DaVinci's Madonna and Child on display at the Hermitage:

Afterwards, we drove to another souvenir shop near St. Isaac’s Square to shop one final time for souvenirs, and the day was over at about 4:00 when we were dropped off at the port. Sine I just wasn't feeling well enough to really enjoy St. Petersburg, I would love to go back there again and be able to really take it all in. The tour we took was certainly worthwhile and everyone seemed to really enjoy it, and it did give us a good overview of the city and the most important sights; however, its pace was just too intense for me due to my physical condition and I believe I would have enjoyed this historic city much more had I had more time to relax. Overall, St. Petersburg is a really cool city and I think you'll find it as fascinating and scenic as I did.

Sheila's Ports of Call Guides: The Beautiful Baltics, Part 4: Cute Copenhagen

2010-07-08T15:15:00.010-05:00

As Danny Kaye sang in the movie "Hans Christian Andersen", "Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen for me!", all I can say is I totally agree. I absolutely LOVED Copenhagen, and it is one of the cutest, most picturesque, and friendly towns I have ever visited. It truly is special.

We got off our ship quite early on our day in Copenhagen, so nothing was really open for a while after we arrived in town. It is very easy to get into Copenhagen; you can take the public bus #26 which literally picks you up right at Langelinie Pier after you get off the ship; or you can take a very enjoyable walk along the waterfront into town. It was such a nice day when we arrived in Copenhagen so we decided to walk into town.

Not too far from Langelinie Pier along the waterfront, is The Little Mermaid statue, which was erected in honor of Hans Christian Andersen. Now usually the statue, which is quite small, sits on a few rocks right along the water, but when we were in Copenhagen, Her Mermaidness was actually on display in Shanghai for the World Expo 2010. Instead, there was a digital video screen in her place on the rocks with a live feed of The Little Mermaid statue in Shanghai. Here is a picture:

It was a little disappointing not being able to see the actual statue, because "The Little Mermaid" was always one of my favorite stories when I was a kid so it would have been cool to see her, but I knew in advance that she wouldn't be there. While there is an identical twin of the statue in Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, we didn't have time during our stay there to go see it. Nevertheless, it was still interesting to see the display there in her place.

As we continued our walk into town, we veered off the path along the waterfront and wound up walking along a path that led to St. Alban's Church, as seen here:

How beautiful is that? After admiring the beautiful surroundings for a moment, we continued on our way to Amalienborg Palace, which is set in a beautiful square with four different palaces in it and a statue of Frederick V in the center. There are Palace Guards standing near little red booths along the square and you can catch the Changing of the Guard ceremony there at noon. Here is a photo of me with the square behind me, where you can see the statue of Frederick V and the beautiful Marble Church in the distance.

We made our way back to the path along the waterfront and continued until we got to a street called Sankt Annae Plads, where we turned right; then turned left onto Toldbodgade, which led us to Nyhavn, which is a picturesque 17th century waterfront area with lots of beautiful boats in the canal and lots of shops and cafes lining the streets along it.

We were going to take a boat tour, which you can catch from Nyhavn, but it was relatively early in the morning when we were at Nyhavn and a little cool and windy, so we decided it would be best to save the boat tour for the afternoon instead. From Nyhavn, we walked to the Kongens Nytorv, which is the largest square in Copenhagen and has many historic buildings, including the Royal Danish Theater and what is now the French Embassy. We continued walking down Kongens Nytorv and, after encountering a little difficulty, we found our way to the Stroget, which is a very famous series of pedestrian-only connected streets with tons of shopping (including high-end clothing and typical souvenir shops) and restaurants (including McDonald's and Burger King). Now, it turns out that if we had crossed to the other side of the Kongens Nytorv square and followed that around, we would have found the beginning of the Stroget; but as such, we ended up catching it at about the middle, at a street called Amagertorv. Nevertheless, we found the Stroget, and as it was still early and not a lot of places were open, we sat down and had coffee and a danish at an outdoor cafe.

We then spent several hours walking along the Stroget shopping for souvenirs and other items (most of the souvenir shops were located closer to the City Hall end of the street as opposed to the middle). If you ever decide to walk along the Stroget, note that there aren't really any public WC's around, or at least any that we noticed; so, if you need to go, try going to the McDonald's, where their restrooms are located upstairs. (The combination to the locked door is 1-2-3, or at least that's what it was when we were there, thanks to a young lady who so kindly shared that information with us!) The Stroget will end at City Hall Square, with the entrance to Tivoli Gardens across the street:

Upon entering City Hall Square, we turned left, then turned right onto Stormgade, where we passed the National Museum and then continued down the street until we came to the canal, where we saw Christianborg Palace:

By this time, it was mid-afternoon so we headed along the canal to Gammel Strand, which is a square and street with very pretty 18th and 19th century houses. It was from here that we boarded a boat for a canal tour that took us past parts of Copenhgen that we never would have seen otherwise, including the beautiful Christianshaven district. Here are some photos I took during the canal boat tour:

One tip if you plan to take the #26 bus back to Langelinie Pier from town: you need exact change for the bus! We had used credit and/or debit cards for all of our purchases in town during the day and did not want to have to take out cash just for the few DKK bus fare, so when we purchased our tickets for the canal boat tour, the nice lady in the booth charged our credit cards not only for the tour tickets, but for the cost of the bus fare and gave the change to us to use on the bus! It worked out great and saved us from having to find an ATM to get more money than we needed (and pay the exchange rate and fees on top of that!).

We walked to the other side of the canal from Gammel Strand and got the #26 bus -- make sure it says Langelinie Pier on the front display before you board -- and it was a pretty quick ride back to the pier. The bus lets you off right at the pier, and since it was late in the afternoon when we got back, all the shops along the pier were open so we took a few minutes to browse through those. There were quite a variety of shops there, including outlet stores and many souvenir shops.

Everyone we encountered during our wonderful day in Copenhagen was very friendly and everyone spoke English, so there were no communication issues. While the town is easy to navigate on foot, make sure that you have a good map so that you can find your way, and have an idea of what you'd like to see so you can plan out a route for yourself. If you will only be in Copenhagen for a few hours like I was, you'll need to choose what's most important to you to see, but a great way to get an overview of the beautiful buildings, canals, boats, and skyline of Copenhagen is by a canal boat tour.

Copenhagen is truly a great place to visit and I can't wait to go back there and spend more time; but right now I can say definitively how much I love this cute town!

Sheila's Ports of Call Guides: The Beautiful Baltics, Part 3: Happy Helsinki

2010-07-07T10:46:00.007-05:00

I have to admit that I was less excited about seeing Helsinki than I was Stockholm and the other Baltic ports of call on my recent cruise, and I get the feeling that this is a common reaction. Helsinki is a nice town, seemingly quiet and peaceful, with friendly people, but it just doesn't seem to hold the true dramatic appeal that many of the other Baltic ports do.

One recommendation that I can make right off the bat for Helsinki is if you are going to be exploring on your own, get a good map, especially if you use your cruise line's shuttle service into town. You need to take some form of transportation from your cruise ship dock into town, unless you're up for quite a walk and you have lots of time. Our cruise line offered a roundtrip shuttle from the dock into town for 8 Euros per person, and since that was less expensive than the cost of a taxi, we took the shuttle. The problems began, however, when the shuttle let us off in the middle of town and we had no idea of where to go and what to see from there. Luckily, I had downloaded an interactive map on my iPhone for this city because the map I had from the cruise ship plus the confusing location where the shuttle left us made it difficult to navigate at first. I had to ask the driver to locate us on the map and to point us in the right direction because I had no idea where we were as we were on some side street that I couldn’t identify.

Once I figured out where we were, though, the city was pretty easy to navigate on foot. Turns out we were about a block away from a large, beautiful park called Esplanade Park, which seemed to be the focal point of the city because people were out there relaxing, people watching, and picnicing all day. The park had beautiful lawn areas and landscaping with flowers and trees, and there were statues in the ceter commemorating important people and events in Helsinki's history. There were streets bordering both the north and south sides of the long park, and these streets had upscale shopping and cafes with outdoor seating, so it really seemed like that whole area was the place to be in Helsinki, and people seemed relaxed and happy. Here is a picture of part of the park:

Once you have walked along the park, it turns out that if you continue to follow either of the streets lining the park straight for a couple of blocks, you will end up at the downtown pier area. This area hosts a daily Farmer's Market where they sell food, ice cream, beverages, produce, meats, and souvenirs. There are many orange-colored tents there and many things to buy and look at, so it's an interesting place to spend some time. All of the sellers that we encountered at the Farmer's Market spoke English, and they were all very friendly and eager to talk about how much they loved their city. Some sellers there took credit cards, but it turns out that if you need to get cash for shopping, there is a bank in a gray building on Etelaespanadi (the street on the south side of Esplanade Park) to the west of the Farmer's Market area.

Once you have walked through the farmer’s market you can continue down Pohjoiesplanadi (the street on the north side of the park) towards the Russian Orthodox Cathedral, the Uspenski Cathedral, which is visible from there. This beautiful church with its red-brown brick, green roof, and gleaming gold onion domes sits on a hill about 2 or 3 blocks walk from the Farmer's Market area.

We didn't go in the Uspenski Cathedral but we walked around that area and had a snack at a nice quiet café along the waterfront behind the church. Afterwards, we went back west along Alexandersgatan until we came upon Senate Square and the Lutheran Cathedral. The gleaming white cathedral with its giant green dome is set in the center of a square that houses not only the Senate building but (I believe) the University of Helsinki. Unfortunately, the cathedral is situated at the top of about 50 steps or so, and with our being so tired, we didn’t go in, but apparently it is quite beautiful inside.

There is a nice souvenir shop across the street from the cathedral, and if you walk straight south from the Cathedral you will come up to Esplanade Park again. From there, we walked back west and over to our shuttle stop, but not before we stopped in a store where I bought a new pair of shoes.

Overall, Helsinki is a nice town but it doesn’t have the appeal or attractions that Stockholm or other Baltic ports have; however, if the weather is nice and you don’t feel like doing a ton of grueling sightseeing, the park and waterfront area is a very nice place to shop, have a bite to eat, and watch the happy people of Helsinki!

Sheila's Ports of Call Guides: The Beautiful Baltics, Part 2: Spectacular Stockholm

2010-07-06T10:58:00.006-05:00

If you arrive in Stockholm by cruise ship and dock at Frihamnen Pier, there are a couple of ways to get into town from there. Some cruise lines offer a shuttle service; ours did, and it dropped you off at the Opera House, which was still a few blocks walk to Gamla Stan, the Old Town. You can also take a taxi, but they are expensive. The least expensive alternative is to take the public bus. You can take the #76 bus into town, and you catch the bus at a stop outside Frihamnen Pier. How do you find the bus stop? You follow the blue line that is painted on the street and it will lead you directly to it! One key point you need to know if you want to take the bus into town: BUY YOUR BUS TICKETS FIRST! If you decide to just get off the ship and follow other people walking to the bus stop, you will end up VERY disappointed because you cannot buy bus tickets from the driver; you must buy them in advance.

You can buy your bus tickets inside the port building which you walk through right after you get off the ship. You can buy single tickets, return tickets (one ride there and back), or all-day tickets, which are good for multiple rides on and off throughout the day. Since we didn't plan on taking the bus more than just getting to Gamla Stan and back, we bought only return tickets, and they were still less expensive than the cruise line's shuttle (and they got us closer to Gamla Stan). It is quite a walk to the bus stop outside the Frihamnen port area – probably about a mile — but certainly doable in 15 to 20 minutes, so keep that in mind if you can't walk well. The buses can be crowded and are not air conditioned (at least they weren’t when I was there) so keep that in mind if you are traveling in warm weather. Board the bus through the front door and show your ticket to the driver. Once you are on the bus, notice the electronic displays which tell you the next stop coming up and watch for your stop. When your stop is approaching, press one of the red buttons on the bus to request a stop, and you may have to press another button in front of the bus door to get it to open.

We took the #76 bus from outside the port area to Kungstradgarden, which is a short walk to Gamla Stan (Old Town) so we could get cash at an ATM, and it was about 3 blocks straight and across a bridge to Gamla Stan. If you don't need to get cash first and want to go right to Gamla Stan, you can take the bus to the Slottsbacken stop. Kungstradgarden is a very nice part of town, very modern, and it is in stark contrast to the Gamla Stan. If you get off at Kunstradgarden like we did, you follow that street (Kungstradgardsgatan) in the direction the bus was going and you will eventually come to a bridge; you can see the Royal Palace from there so it’s easy to find your way. The picture below is a view of the Royal Palace from across the bridge on Kungstradgardsgatan.

If you get to the Royal Palace before noon on a weekday you can see the changing of the guard ceremony, which is pretty cool. You need to walk around to the side of the palace and enter the courtyard there in order to see the ceremony so don’t get confused if you can’t find how to enter the palace grounds. The Palace is not a grand, spectacular building, but it is very large and stately looking and you can tour the Royal Apartments and other areas for a fee. Here is a photo from the ceremony:

I had planned to follow a walking tour that I had downloaded from the Internet but we decided to just walk around and go where we wanted. We ended up on a major thoroughfare, Vasterlanggatan, that had tons of shops and cafes, so it was very nice, and with the weather being sunny and in the mid-70s, it was really a wonderful day. We did some shopping in the myriad of shops (souvenir and otherwise) but as we weren’t very hungry, we decided to wait until we got back on the ship to have lunch. As we worked our way back up through Gamla Stan to the bus stop, we came across the Nobel Museum and took a few pictures but we did not go in. Stockholm is really a great city and everyone we encountered was very friendly and spoke English, so communication was not a problem at all.

There are many other sights to see in Stockholm, like the Skansen (open-air museum) and the Vasa Museum (a 17th century warship recovered from the ocean after sinking on her maiden voyage), and you can see these by taking a ferry from Gamla Stan; or by the #76 bus to the Djurgarden stop.

To catch the #76 bus back to Frihamnen from Gamla Stan, you walk to the Royal Palace, cross the street, and walk about a block down to your right and the stop is in the middle section of the street. The ride back to Frihamnen is relatively short, and once you get off the bus, you follow the lines on the pavement back to the pier.

Another option for getting around town and sightseeing in Stockholm is the Hop On/Hop Off ("HOHO") bus and/or boat. You can catch the HOHO bus right at the Frihamnen Pier and it will take you all around Stockholm, including Gamla Stan; but it is a much more expensive option, and I think you can get around from sight to sight pretty easily by either taking buses and ferries or walking. Plus, if you walk or use public transportation to get from place to place, you get more of a feel for the city than you would if you just sat on a sightseeing bus. I thought that taking the #76 bus was very easy and I would recommmend it to all of my cruise clients who would like to see Stockholm on their own while in port.

All in all, Stockholm is a very cool city: it has an interesting contrast between old and new; interesting things to see; great shopping; and very friendly people. In one word, I'd say Stockholm is SPECTACULAR!

Sheila's Ports of Call Guides: The Beautiful Baltics, Part 1: Wonderful Warnemunde

2010-07-02T12:58:00.012-05:00

Warnemunde, Germany (pronounced "Var-nah-moon-duh") is the port of call for Berlin, which is about 3 hours away by bus. There are many excursions available to Berlin, and most last all day since it takes so long to get there. If you don't want to venture that far into Germany, there are other places to see that are closer, like Schwerin, for instance; and if you don't feel like going far at all you can take a very short train ride to Rostock, or you can just hang out in Warnemunde. I would be willing to bet that most passengers on our cruise went to Berlin, because the ship seemed quite empty until the late evening, and then you saw many people walking around looking absolutely exhausted.

My travel companion and I didn’t want to take the long trip to Berlin this time so we decided to go somewhere a little closer. One of the great things about the port in Warnemunde is that the train station is a very short walk from when you get off the ship. In the photo above to the left you can see a line of people walking from the ship to the train station. We took the train from Warnemunde to Rostock, and then from there bought tickets to Schwerin (pronounced "Shway-reen") so we could go to see the castle there. I wasn't sure how long the train ride would be to Rostock and I asked a lady sitting near us how far the Rostock station was, but she didn't speak English. Nevertheless, we arrived at Rostock safely by watching the signs as we arrived at each station.

We arrived at Rostock station on the lower level and had to go upstairs in order to find someone who spoke English and who could help us buy our tickets to Schwerin because I had trouble figuring out which train we needed to take from the signs on the lower level. The lady at the DB Service Point counter was very nice and we got our tickets promptly. Once we bought our tickets to Schwerin Mitte station, which is the closest train station to the castle, we had a bit of a wait so we walked around the immediate area of the station, but there really isn’t much there other than a pharmacy and a few other shops.

The photo on the below on the left is the front of the Rostock train station.

The train to Shwerin Mitte station took about an hour, and it turns out that the cars have a digital display telling you the next stop so it really is easy to navigate. I was a little worried about how exactly to get to the castle after we arrived at Shwerin Mitte, but it actually turned out to be a piece of cake.

After you get off the train, you take the stairs up to the street level and turn right. Ahead of you is a shopping center called Schlosspark Center, and if you walk in that direction, you eventually will cross a parking lot and you can enter the mall from there. Once inside the mall, you turn to the right and walk all the way down to the end. When you exit the mall doors at the street level, you will face a street called Schlossstrasse that leads directly to the castle. You walk straight down that street for about a mile and the castle is right there. You turn right at the castle and walk around to the side to the entrance. Entrance fee is 6 euro per person and an audiogude is another 2 euro. There were a fair number of rooms to see but most had no furniture, or the furniture that was there was not authentic. Overall the castle was interesting to see but not a major attraction and it does not compare with other castles in Germany, such as Linderhoff or Neuschwanstein.

After touring the castle we started heading back to the train station, but as the train to Rostock is every two hours, we had more than 90 minutes to kill before the next train, so we explored. We found a lot of stores on streets right off the Schlossstrasse, so we shopped a little and then we found a great little café in which to have lunch. We had pork medallions, fried potato dumplings stuffed with sour cream and cheese, and salad. It was delicious and it was a nice way to relax and soak up some German atmosphere. Our waitress did not speak English so we had to gesture and point, although she did understand us enough to give us a menu translated with English, and luckily we had Euros on hand because the restaurant did not accept credit cards.

To get back to the train station, you go back down the same street from the castle, enter the mall, go all the way down to the other end, turn left, and take the elevators to the top floor of the parking structure. Exit the elevator, then find a gate leading to the sidewalk. Follow the sidewalk until you can turn right and you will see the train station. At the station, look at the platforms below and you should be able to see on which track the train back to Rostock will be arriving. As I said earlier, the train back to Rostock from Schwerin Mitte station only runs every two hours, so you need to plan your day accordingly if you want to visit Schwerin by train. The ride back to Rostock was pleasant, and this time when we arrived at the station, we easily found the right track for the train back to Warnemunde. When you arrive back in Warnemunde, you can take the tunnel that goes under the tracks and keep going straight and that will lead to you to the port area, where you turn right and you should see your ship docked there.

Another couple of notes about our day: it was mid-May when we were in port and the temperatures were in the high 40s/low 50s, so if you visit this area around that time of year, be prepared and dress in layers. Also, we did not encounter many people who spoke English outside of shops and attractions, so communication could be a problem if you don't speak German.

Overall, my travel companion and I had a great time on our adventure to Shwerin and we thoroughly enjoyed our day. I've heard from other travelers that Rostock is a nice place to hang out and sightsee, and I think next time I go to Warnemunde I will do that; but for now, I consider Warnemunde to be quite wonderful.

Introducing Sheila's Personal Ports of Call Guides: "The Beautiful Baltics" Begins Tomorrow

2010-06-30T22:33:00.006-05:00

Introducing my new blog series: Sheila's Personal Ports of Call Guides!

Because I am a Cruise Specialist and it is my job to help my clients book the right cruise for them, I thought it might be helpful to my clients if, from now on, I share information about the ports of call that I visit whenever I cruise. Of course, there is plenty of information about different ports of call all over the internet, but maybe the information that I provide, based upon my personal experiences, could give my clients a better idea of what really to expect when they visit a particular port of call.

So, beginning tomorrow, I will post the first blog in my series entitled "The Beautiful Baltics". See you then, and thanks for reading!

Celebrity Constellation Cruise Review: The Constellation is Stellar, But Not Quite Out of This World

2010-06-28T15:51:00.006-05:00

I recently returned from a 12-night Baltic/Russia cruise on the Celebrity Constellation, which departed from Amsterdam on May 16, 2010. I was quite impressed with the Constellation and I think she is a very, very nice ship. She had just come out of a 15 day or so drydock, during which she was “Solsticized” by adding several new restaurants/dining venues, a Martini Bar, the Cellar Masters wine tasting area, and replacing carpets and furnishings in public areas and staterooms. I wanted to try the new Tuscan Grille restaurant but as my traveling companion has a very sensitive stomach when it comes to garlic, it was not recommended that we dine there. I also don’t drink much so I did not try the Martini Bar or Cellar Masters, although I did bring a bottle of wine onboard in my luggage and my roommate and I split the cost of a stateroom bar setup (Bacardi Rum and Diet Coke).

A note on the stateroom bar setup: they will only deliver six cans of soda to go with an entire bottle of rum (or whatever liquor you choose), so if you don’t like your drinks very strong, you may have to pay for additional mixers. We asked our room steward for some pineapple juice to use as a mixer, and he brought us one small container of it, but after that the bar manager told us we couldn’t have any more. However, later that evening our room steward brought us a huge can of pineapple juice, stating that he got it from a friend in the galley. With the large number of drinks we were able to make from that bottle of rum, the $80.00 we paid was well worth it, but if you ever order a bar setup, keep in mind that if you don’t have a nice room steward you may end up having to buy additional mixers.

The layout of the ship is pretty easy to remember: entertainment is forward (Celebrity Theater, Reflections lounge, etc.) and dining is aft. There is a nice thalasaotherapy pool on deck 10 in a very nice glass-roof enclosed area and use of the pool is free. I have encountered similar pools on other cruise lines and they charge for use of their thalassotherapy pool, so I really applaud Celebrity for offering theirs for free and in such a nice setting. The main pool is on deck 10 midship and while it seemed to be a pretty decent pool, it didn't get much use on this cruise because it was just too darn cold. The library had a really nice selection of books, which you could check out anytime on the honor system, and one thing I really enjoyed about the ship was that there were plenty of cozy places to sit and do your own thing, whether it be snuggle with your mate, enjoy a drink, or simply read and enjoy quiet. In addition to the great layout of the ship, the service was excellent, with crew member we encountered being very friendly and attentive, especially our room steward and our waiter.

Our inside stateroom was a small but larger than I expected for an inside stateroom, and it had ample storage and closet space for the two of us. The bathroom was small but still larger than the one we had with a balcony stateroom on the Celebrity Mercury. The twin bed was comfortable and our steward did a good job of keeping our room tidy. I had never sailed in an inside stateroom before, and, to tell the truth, I was quite concerned about feeling claustrophobic in such a small room, especially when dark. However, I was able to overcome those concerns by bringing a small battery-operated fan and by using an iPhone app that looks and acts like a nightstand clock to provide some light in the room. Another important note about inside staterooms: it's really easy to lose track of what time it is since there's no natural light coming in! It is very easy to oversleep in the morning since you have no idea whether it’s night or day so having a lighted clock that you can easily see is pretty much a necessity.

The Constellation’s food was excellent in the main dining room. Every day offered completely new and different selections, and they ranged from typical American fare to more exotic Moroccan and Indian dishes. The always available dinner selections included a New York Strip steak, which was a very nice steak compared to what has been offered as steak on other cruises. Dishes were always cooked as ordered and were presented very nicely, and portion size was just right. The buffet, unfortunately, left a lot to be desired, save for the make your own pasta and Asian stir-fry stations in the late afternoons/early evenings. Also, because these stations took a lot of time to make food for one person, they should be moved away from the actual buffet line to prevent “traffic jams”. I’m not a big fan of buffets to begin with, but this one was pretty typical uninspired buffet fare that was best visited when you just wanted a snack when other venues were not available.

The room service menu was decent, offering mostly sandwiches, but the burgers were very tasty and service was relatively prompt. The room service breakfast menu offered mostly cold items but you could select from either plain scrambled eggs (which were often runny) or a plain omelet (which had no taste) and hot sides such as bacon or sausage, and it was always delivered either slightly before or right at our requested time. Room service orders could be ordered by phone or on the interactive TV (or by hanging the breakfast card on your door). You could also order from the main dining room’s menu for dinner, although I did this one night and had to wait over an hour for delivery.

The grill near the pool offered the typical burgers and fries, but unlike the burgers offered at the grill on other ships, these were awesome! The grill also offered chicken sandwiches and the like, as well as those all-important French fries, which were quite good. Another highlight was the ice cream station by the buffet, which was open every afternoon. The selection was always good and included ice cream as well as sorbet, plus candy toppings; and it beat the alternative of paying $3 for a scoop at the gelato bar on deck 5. Overall, the food on the Constellation was really good and I was impressed.

The one real negative about this cruise was the entertainment, or lack thereof. Our cruise director was neither entertaining nor funny, and unfortunately, this was my second time on a Celebrity cruise with a bad cruise director. I have been on many other cruises where the cruise director was a really fun guy: great to be around, funny, and very entertaining in his own right. The right cruise director can really make the entertainment onboard even more special, and I am beginning to wonder if I’ve just been unlucky with my Celebrity cruises, or if this is a problem with Celebrity. The problem with the entertainment, however, extended beyond the bad cruise director on this cruise. The Celebrity singers and dancers were mediocre at best, and unfortunately, they took up several evenings’ entertainment with their production shows. After watching their poor performance during the first night's show, I decided that an evening spent watching one of the limited TV channels in my stateroom would be more entertaining than watching the singers and dancers, so I did not bother attending any of the production shows. Several other nights were performances by singers that I’d never heard of, and, since they had not been introduced during the first nght’s Welcome Aboard Show, nobody else knew who they were either or what to expect. The other nights had some sort of comedy/juggling/acrobatics, but the shows were really nothing worth writing home about, unfortunately.

Daytime entertainment on sea days consisted mainly of trivia, sports-related contests, bingo, and the like. There were also other activities offered as part of Celebrity’s “Life” program, but most of them did not hold much interest for me and most required additional fees. While I certainly appreciate what Celebrity is trying to do here by enriching guests’ experiences onboard, I feel that they could include a lot of these activities without charging additional fees.

I would also like to note that the limited variety and quality of the entertainment onboard could be due to the clientele and the itinerary for this cruise. This was a 12-night cruise to the Baltics in mid-May, so you would expect the average age of passengers onboard to be higher since older people would have not only the disposable income but the time to travel for that long. Also, this was a very port-intensive itinerary with about 5 ports in a row (including overnight in St. Petersburg) without a sea day and the other sea days being at the beginning and the end of the cruise. With this cruise being so port-intensive, many passengers were very tired out at the end of each day, so it is possible that Celebrity felt it didn't need to really beef-up the evening's entertainment as they figured the shows wouldn't be very popular. This could also explain the lack of anything really extraordinary entertainment-wise on sea days as well, because I'm sure many passengers didn't feel like doing much on those days in order to recuperate from being in port!

One other brief point I would like to make about the Constellation is that I really do appreciate Celebrity's attempts to keep their older ships up to date, and the concept of "Solsticizing" is a good one. However, it seemed to me that the bulk of the new venues/improvements added during the dry dock were new ways for passengers to spend more money onboard (the new restaurants carry cover charges, the wine cellar and martini bar offer expensive drinks, etc.). I can't fault Celebrity for wanting to increase their bottom line, but I personally felt like I was constantly being bombarded to spend, Spend, SPEND, and for me that doesn't lead to a very relaxing vacation.

So, all in all, I think the Constellation is a very nice ship: she offers great food, great service, great accommodations and many beautiful, modern, and cozy venues, but the disappointing and uninspired entertainment made this cruise a little less stellar than I had hoped.

Exclusive Offer: Book a Royal Caribbean Cruise for 2010 and CruiseOne Will Pay Your Gratuities!

2010-06-08T16:00:00.003-05:00

Wanna get away on a cruise this year? Then here's a deal for you! This deal is for 3 days only beginning today and ending midnight on June 10. All you need to do is book any Royal Caribbean Cruise for 5 nights or longer in an oceanview stateroom or above, sailing anytime between July 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010, and CruiseOne will pay the standard gratuities for the first two passengers in your stateroom.

This deal is exclusive to World Travel Holdings brands, including CruiseOne, so you won't find this deal on most cruise booking sites. But for the best service, book with your CruiseOne agent and take advantage of this deal!

To book a cruise under this promotion or any other, contact Sheila McPherson, Your Independent Cruise and Vacation Specialist, at 630-868-8719 or toll free 877-823-8597.

A Different Dolphin Excursion in Mexico!

2010-06-04T12:34:00.010-05:00

In early April, 2010, I sailed on the Norwegian Star for 7 nights to the Mexican Riviera. I have done this itinerary many times and I always enjoy it because there is so much to do and see. My previous trips to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas have primarily focused on shopping, but this time I decided to do something different: I wanted to see dolphins.

Most shore excursions that involve dolphins entail you standing in a large tank of water and having trained dolphins swim with you and maybe giving you a kiss. It's a fun experience because the dolphins are so cute and friendly, but is that really the best way to see dolphins? Wouldn't you prefer to see dolphins just being dolphins, instead of acting like trained seals? If that sounds like a good idea to you, then you should try taking a dolphins in the wild excursion: it's like whale-watching, but when you locate the dolphins in the water, you may get to jump in and swim with them!

I booked my excursion with ShoreTrips, entitled "Dolphins in the Wild with a Marine Biologist". The excursion is actually operated by a company called Wildlife Connection in Puerto Vallarta. You meet with the Wildlife Connection staff at Opequimar Pier in Puerto Vallarta, where they give you a brief introduction to the tour and information about dolphins, and then you head out on one of their boats to search for the dolphins. Each boat has a driver and a marine biologist with a camera. The marine biologist will take photos of the dolphins during the excursion and can email them to you if you wish. You have to keep in mind that since you're going to look for dolphins in the wild, you may not see any, but it also also possible that you may encounter dolphins that would like to play; and if you do, then you can get in the water and swim with them!

On our excursion, we set out looking for dolphins, and at first we didn't spot any, but we did see a manta ray and a whale! After a while, we spotted some dolphins but they didn't want to stay

up near the surface. We kept moving the boat around to different parts of the water to find dolphins and we ended up seeing quite a few. Some even leaped and flipped in the water like the trained dolphins do in the tanks, but this was better because it was spontaneous and the dolphins were doing it because they wanted to, not because they were commanded to do so. At one point our marine biologist got in the water to play with the dolphins, but they wouldn't stay near her and play so there was no point in us getting in the water.

The whole tour lasted about 3 hours (I think) and it was really a lot of fun. It was so exciting seeing the dolphins in their natural habitat, seeing them leap, swim, and play as they wish. I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to swim with the dolphins, but the trip was very interesting and I will always remember it. The next time I'm in Puerto Vallarta I will do it again and maybe I'll get lucky and get to swim with the dolphins next time!

Here's a clip of some dolphins leaping:

If you would be interested in taking this excurion the next time you are in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, please contact me at (630) 868-6719 or ShoreTrips at http://www.shoretrips.com/ and we will be happy to book it for you. You can reach Wildlife Connection directly at http://www.wildlifeconnection.com/.

You Mean I Can Now Do An Alaska Cruisetour Roundtrip from Seattle? Awesome!

2009-10-15T13:07:00.006-05:00

Princess Launches Alaska Wilderness Sale on Convenient Cruisetours from Seattle, with Special Pricing Including Travel Between Seattle and Alaska Plus Stateroom Upgrade!

Princess Cruises announced today that it is again offering its popular Alaska Wilderness Sale promotion, but this promo also features a special lineup of cruisetours that offer passengers the extra convenience of roundtrip travel from Seattle. These unique packages make planning an Alaska land/sea vacation easier than ever by including ALL travel once the passenger gets to Seattle. This even includes airfare between Seattle and Alaska! The Alaska Wilderness Sale runs through December 31, 2009, and features 10 Seattle-based cruisetour options. Air travel between Seattle and Alaska, motorcoach transfers between Seattle and Vancouver, and an overnight stay in Seattle are all included in the package. Fares start at $1,899 for an interior stateroom and $2,299 for a balcony stateroom for an 11-night land/sea vacation, which includes a free stateroom category upgrade.

Princess Cruises offers a wide variety of Alaska Cruisetour options, including both northbound and southbound routes, with itineraries ranging from 11 to 15 nights. All passengers will experience Princess’ signature seven-night Voyage of the Glaciers cruise, combined with a variety of Direct to the Wilderness tours, or Explorer tours to the Copper River or Kenai areas. All tours feature Princess’ own riverside wilderness lodges, with at least two nights in the Denali National Park area and luxury train travel on ultra-domed railcars. “These packages make a visit to the heart of Alaska more convenient than ever, so the only other planning needed is travel to and from Seattle. We handle all other arrangements, so visitors can simply enjoy this incredible opportunity to experience Alaska’s top attractions, including Glacier Bay and Denali National Park.”

What sets Princess apart from many other cruise lines' Alaska cruisetours is that all of Princess' cruises feature daylight cruising of both Glacier Bay National Park AND either College Fjord or Hubbard Glacier. These itineraries provide guests with the best opportunities to view fantastic glaciers and wildlife. Another important distinction is that many cruise lines only offer one night in the Denali National Park area, but Princess includes at least two nights in this important area on every cruisetour so guests can maximize their experience there.

I think Princess has done an amazing job in deciding to offer roundtrip cruisetour packages from Seattle and I applaud them wholeheartedly. As a Cruise Specialist, I am very aware of the difficulties that come with booking a one-way cruise or cruisetour. On a northbound itinerary, arrangements often need to be made to get a passenger back to Vancouver or Seattle from Anchorage or Fairbanks; and on a southbound itinerary passengers often need transportation back to Anchorage so they can purchase the often lesser-expensive roundtrip air fares. It can often be very expensive and challenging to make this all work, but now Princess has made it so much easier.

With Princess' roundtrip Seattle cruisetour packages and their new Family Fun Cruisetours which I previously blogged about, there really is no reason now to forgo that trip to Alaska! So come on people and get those bookings done, as the Alaska Wilderness Sale ends December 31!

For more information, contact Sheila McPherson, Your Independent Cruise Specialist, at 630-868-6719, or toll free at 877-823-8597; or visit my website at http://www.serenitycruising.com/.

CruiseOne Agents Say Demand For Cruises Continues to Bounce Back

2009-10-12T15:48:00.004-05:00

USAToday.com reported that travel agents attending the CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. National Conference last week on board the Carnival Pride say they're seeing a surge in last-minute bookings for fall and early winter as consumers grow more confident about the economy.

"Within the past two to three months the pendulum has swung upwards," says Ralph Santisteban, a Miami-based CruiseOne agent who has been in the business for 11 years. "I think they've been waiting to make sure they could leave with a clear [conscience]." Santisteban and other longtime cruise-selling agents at CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. say they're seeing people who have put off booking vacations all year long finally pulling the trigger.

"People have said 'enough is enough, I'm going,'" says Becky Piper, a CruiseOne agent in the Cleveland area. "I think they've realized that they still have a job, and they're mentally exhausted and need a vacation." Piper says her business began bouncing back in July after a horrible start to the year. As of March, her bookings were off 60% year-to-date from the previous year, she notes, but after a good July, August and September she's now caught back up and even is ahead a bit for the year.

The travel agents at the CruiseOne/Cruises Inc. conference, which took place last week on the Carnival Pride during a seven-night itinerary out of Baltimore, admit that heavy discounts by the big cruise lines has been a key factor in bringing back demand. Santisteban says customers definitely remain cost conscious. "The person who used to call to ask me for a suite is now calling to ask about a balcony," he notes. "The person who would call asking for a balcony is now calling to ask about an inside."

That said, the booking window -- how far people book in advance of a voyage -- is starting to move back out, say agents, and pricing is starting to edge upwards after months of rarely seen discounts. "Pricing is moving up, but what's funny is the client's expectations is that the pricing is still where it was (a few months ago)," says Piper. "It hasn't been an easy year," Piper adds. "But I really believe things are getting better."

CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. are part of World Travel Holdings, which bills itself as the nation's largest cruise retailer. The company also owns Cruises Only and Cruises.com, which sell cruises on their websites. It is important to note that each CruiseOne franchise is independently owned and operated, and CruiseOne agents like me offer unique personalized service that you can't get by booking on the internet or through a call center.

I would agree with my CruiseOne colleagues that pricing has started to creep upwards, but even if pricing is headed higher than it was a few months ago, there are still tremendous deals out there. However, I think the trend with my clients is that the booking window is holding steady from where it was early in the year, but this is still a shorter window than in the past.

Remember that it's not too late to book a cruise for the end of 2009, and you can take advantage of special deals in celebration of World's Largest Cruise Night, which is on October 13. Check out my website for more information at www.serenitycruising.com.

Wanna Take the Kids to Alaska? Now Princess Cruises Makes it FUN!

2009-10-09T13:37:00.004-05:00

According to Cruise Industry News, Princess Cruises has just announced a new Alaska family-oriented cruisetour. To make it easier for families to plan a trip to the 49th state, which offers stunning scenery, abundant wildlife, and plethora of active adventure opportunities, Princess Cruises has added a fun new cruisetour option designed especially with family groups in mind.

Princess already offers a variety of Alaska cruisetours, but this one is different, as this 12-night cruisetour includes a variety of special features not usually included in a cruisetour package. Families will have the opportunity to travel on a jetboat, pan for gold, take an interactive tour of Denali National Park, and experience what Alaska is like in the winter when it’s many degrees below zero. The cruisetour (number: FUN) is offered at a 25 percent discount for all berths, so all members of the family are included in the special pricing. “This is really the ultimate family vacation,” said Charlie Ball, president of Princess Tours. “Alaska is a wonderful travel destination with kids, so we wanted to make it easy and affordable to plan the perfect Alaska experience for everyone in the family.”

Included in the Family Fun cruisetour are a seven-night Voyage of the Glaciers cruise plus a five-night land tour featuring one night at Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge, two nights at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge and two nights at Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge. At sea, families can also take advantage of Princess’ many onboard programs especially for children, including a special Junior Ranger program in Glacier Bay National Park. Princess owns all of its lodging options in Alaska and all are conveniently located to nearby activities.

These are the special inclusions for the Family Fun Cruisetour:
Daily Breakfast – Everyone in the family can start their morning off with the most important meal of the day.
Direct-to-the-Wilderness Rail Service with Lunch – Princess’ acclaimed Direct-to-the-Wilderness rail service gets families to their wilderness lodge faster, and includes lunch aboard the train.
Three Rivers Jetboat Tour (Mt. McKinley) – An exhilarating alternative to taking a motorcoach to Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge, this tour travels from Talkeetna to the lodge by jetboat, with stops along the river to view historic encampments and learn about the native wildlife.
Arctic Blast (Denali) – Family members can experience winter in Alaska – in the summertime. This special chamber is chilled to wintertime temperatures, so visitors can find out what happens to hot water when it is thrown in the air and whether soap bubbles can survive the cold.
Music of Denali Dinner Theater (Denali) – This rollicking musical comedy tells the legend of the first expedition to the summit of Mt. McKinley, accompanied by a hearty, family-style meal featuring smokehouse ribs and Alaska salmon.
Experience Alaska with Alaska Geographic Tour (Denali) – A more intimate tour of Denali National Park, this special experience includes a variety of interactive experiences, including an enhanced view of the Denali ecosystem and current research taking place. The narrated bus tour takes guests 15 miles into the park to a beautiful river valley where they embark on a short walk to the historic Savage River Camp, where they can participate in a number of hands-on experiences.
Denali Sourdough Expedition Breakfast (Denali) – While fueling up for the day with a family-style, Alaskan roadhouse-style breakfast, guests experience an unforgettable journey up Denali through breathtaking images in Laurent Dick's Climb Denali. Participants have the opportunity to meet this real mountain climber and ask questions about mountain climbing.
Riverboat Cruise and El Dorado Goldmine Tour (Fairbanks) – Families can enjoy traveling on an authentic sternwheeler for a fully-narrated cruise along the Chena River and try their hands at gold panning at the El Dorado Gold Mine, where they will learn about Alaska's gold mining history.

Fares for the Alaska Family Cruisetour (#FUN) start at $1,743 per person for the first and second berths, and $1,191 per person for the third and fourth berth passengers. That's under $100 per night for the third and fourth berth passengers, so a really good deal!

For more information on this Family Fun Cruisetour or any other cruise vacation, please contact Sheila McPherson, Your Independent Cruise Specialist, at (630) 868-6719 or toll-free at (877) 823-8597.

CruiseOne Agents Now Officially Sell Land Vacations!

2009-10-07T15:21:00.005-05:00

It's official! On October 7, 2009, during its national conference aboard the Carnival Pride, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. launched their first land division. As reported in today's edition of Travel Pulse, "As part of the new integrated program, 1,000-plus CruiseOne franchise owners and Cruises Inc. independent agents are now officially licensed to sell land travel and will be rewarded for doing so with exclusive incentives. The new land division of CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. will be rolled out in several phases. The first phase includes 10 preferred land partners -- Apple Vacations, Club Med, Disney Destinations, Funjet Vacations, Globus Family of Brands, GOGO Worldwide Vacations, Sandals Resorts, Trafalgar, Travel Impressions and US Airways Vacations. Future phases expected to launch over the next 24 months will include the addition of new land partners."

This is REALLY big news for us CruiseOne agents because so many times we have gotten requests from clients for land packages, but we've never really had access to great deals before. Traning on land operators has always been on-our-own -- I am already a Certified Apple Vacations Agent, and am in the process of completing my training with Disney Destinations -- but now we can expect more formal training and support from our corporate headquarters. But the best part about this news is that now, by forming partnerships with these top land providers, we can access great deals for our clients and earn top commission dollars as well. So it's definitely a win-win situation and I am very excited about this opportunity.

So start thinking about that next vacation to Hawaii, Europe, DisneyWorld or Las Vegas and call me, your Independent Cruise Specialist, at (630) 868-6719 or toll-free at (877) 823-8597.

What Time is Dinner Again? Oh, Yeah, When We're Actually Hungry!

2009-10-01T15:52:00.003-05:00

With the recent announcements by Royal Caribbean and Celebrity regarding their new flexible dining programs aboard their ships, I thought it would be a good time to comment on this major change in the industry.

Evening dining on cruise ships used to be all about schedules. You'd tpyically have two seatings for dinner each night, early or late, and you'd select your preferred seating time when you booked. Each night you'd sit at the same table with the same companions, and the evening entertainment would be scheduled around those dining times. There would be an early show for the late-seating diners, and a late show for the early-seating diners.

I have had both good and bad experiences with the traditional dining. One great experience was on the Carnival Jubilee way back in 1990. Our loud family of 5, who enjoyed laughing and having fun, was seated with another couple whom we did not know, but they enjoyed laughing along with us. Each night of the cruise we joked around with our waiter and busboy, who seemed to really enjoy our jokes, and it really was a lot of fun. Dinner was more than just dinner; it was an event. Our tablemates really got into our silly spirit and it really was a memorable experience for all. The opposite, however, was true the following year when my husband and went on our honeymoon on a Royal Caribbean ship. We were seated at a table with 2 other couples, and it was a disaster. One couple never spoke to us, even to greet us or say goodnight when they left the table; the other couple spoke but had about zero personality. We tried conversing with them but there were so many awkward silences that we eventually gave up. For some reason which I cannot recall, we were unable to change our seating assignment, so we began eating in the buffet instead.

Overall, the best part about traditional dining is forming a relationship with the waitstaff. On a recent Celebrity cruise, our waiter and busboy enjoyed making little animals from our napkins, and it seemed like every night they had something different with which to entertain us. On my husband's and my anniversary cruise last year on the Royal Caribbean Adventure of the Seas, we had a wonderful waiter who really helped make our cruise special. And on our most recent cruise on the Carnival Valor, our waitstaff really pleased our kids by knowing their likes and dislikes right away. The smile on my son's face as our waiter poured his ketchup on his nightly chicken nuggets dinner was priceless, as was my daughter's delight at being brought a shrimp cocktail without even asking. Those are the kind of experiences that really make cruising a wonderful vacation.

Unfortunately, you oftentimes forfeit that relationship when you have flexible dining. Since you eat at a different table each night and at different times, it is hard to get the same waiter and busboy more than once, unless you remember their names and specifically ask for them. Sometimes your request can be accommodated and sometimes it can't, so the whole experience becomes less personal and more like going to a typical restaurant.

Yet the flexibility of being able to eat when you are hungry and with whom you would like certainly has its merits, and I think it is great that almost all of the American contemporary cruise lines are now offering their own versions of flexible dining to give us more of a choice when we cruise. There are slight differences and distinctions between the cruise lines' programs, so I am briefly outlining them here.

I think it is important to begin with NCL, because their Freestyle Dining is probably what started the movement. NCL's program is very flexible, allowing you to eat wherever you want and whenever you want. Reservations can be made onboard the ship or you can walk up to a restaurant and be seated, but depending on the time you arrive, you may encounter a wait. NCL actually will charge a fee if you fail to cancel a reservation, but I think this is a good way to deter passengers from making reservations at every restaurant on the ship and preventing others from dining there when they'd like. Overall, I really like NCL's Freestyle cruising experience, and I think the Freestyle dining works well, but I have found some of their waitstaff to be very impersonal.

Princess has offered its Anytime Dining for quite a while now, and I think it works quite well also. One of the main dining rooms is used for traditional seatings, and the other is used for Anytime Dining. You can make reservations once you get onboard, or you can just show up, and sometimes, depending on what time it is, you may encounter a wait. I have taken a number of Princess cruises and never had to wait more than 15 minutes to be seated, so that turned out good, but on my last Princess cruise I encountered waitstaff that was impersonal and seemed rushed. Perhaps the waitstaff needed to be better trained or we caught them at a bad moment. Overall, the program works well in my opinion.

Holland America's As You Wish Dining works similarly to Princess's program. This program was introduced about 2 years ago and has been implemented fleetwide for about a year. As You Wish dining operates much like Princess's program does, with one dining room designated for traditional dining, and the other for flexible dining. Reservations can be made once onboard the ship.

Carnival now offers its Your Choice Dining on some of its ships and it should be implemented fleetwide in mid-2010. When booking, guests now choose which dining option they want, be it Early Seating, Late Seating, or Your Choice, and the dining selection is then confirmed. With Your Choice Dining, guests can make reservations once onboard and will be seated at 15-minute intervals. Too bad this program wasn't available when I sailed on the Valor last July because I would have liked to experience it. I assume that the program will operate similarly to Princess and Holland America, with one dining room for traditional and the other for Your Choice.

Royal Caribbean offers My Time Dining, which allows guests to make daily reservations once onboard. The difference with My Time Dining is that guests must enroll in the program in advance of their cruise, and they must pre-pay their gratuities to participate. I do not really understand why Royal Caribbean requires guests to pre-pay their gratuities, since the line charges gratuities to guests' onboard accounts anyway, but perhaps they do so to ensure that the waitstaff get what they are entitled to.

Royal Caribbean also offers a unique program called My Family Time Dining, which offers an expedited 40-minute dinner experience during the first seating in the main dining room for kids, ages 3-11, enrolled in the Adventure Ocean youth program. Once seated, kids will enjoy expedited service and be immediately served. Forty-five minutes into the seating, a youth counselor will escort kids from the main dining room entrance back to the Adventure Ocean spaces for continued evening activities, allowing parents to enjoy the rest of their dinner quietly while the children play elsewhere. This isn't flexible, in that it is only for early seating guests, but it sounds like a great program and apparently there is no charge to participate.

At the end of August, Celebrity announced its Celebrity Select dining program, which offers a feature that the other flexible dining programs do not offer: the ability to make dining reservations before you even board the ship! Guests can book reservations online up to 4 days before boarding, so they can really plan ahead! Like Royal Caribbean, Celebrity requires guests to enroll in the program in advance and requires pre-paid gratuities. The program became available on the September 26 sailing of the Equinox, and will be introduced on other ships according to a schedule on the cruise line's website. The online system for reservations is supposed to become operational for most sailings on October 15, and guests will always have at least 30 days before sailing to begin making their reservations.

With Celebrity's program starting up, we now have almost every contemporary and upscale American-market cruise line offering some form of flexible dining. Carnival, Royal Caribbean, NCL, Celebrity, Princess, and Holland America all offer a program, and I think this really shows how the industry is open to change. The only player in these American-market cruise line categories that does not offer a flexible dining program is Disney, although the fixed dining program they offer isn't exactly "traditional". Disney's program truly is unique, but I choose not to elaborate because the program is really beyond the scope of this blog entry. Nevertheless, this shift towards freedom to dine at guest's schedules instead of the cruise lines', shows how the cruise lines are constantly evolving to meet our needs and desires. This is yet another reason why cruising is about the best vacation experience around.

Flying to Get on a Cruise Ship? Check the Bottom Line Carefully Before you Buy!

2009-09-24T12:03:00.004-05:00

I was reading an article on MSNBC this morning about escalating airline fees so I thought it would be a good point to note in my blog, since so many of my clients need to fly to get to their embarkation port for their cruises.

Flying to an embarkation port is certainly nothing new, but with the airlines hurting so much with the economy the way it is, they keep coming up with new and more ridiculous fees. It is important for consumers to watch out for hidden fees and make sure they understand these days just what is included in their airfare and what isn't.

Remember the days of free beverages and meals on flights? I know most people never liked airline food, but I always enjoyed getting a meal on a plane. To me, it was a nice distraction from the boredom of being cooped up in a tiny seat on a long flight. The food was never very good, but I welcomed each meal and savored it because at least I was doing something. When I fly nowadays I always take my beloved iPhone and other electronic gadgets to keep myself from going insane with boredom (I am one of those unlucky people who can never really sleep on a plane, no matter how hard I try) but I'm never really engaged in any type of activity. So a meal to me was a great way to break up a long flight. Those days are long gone, of course, unless you are flying international. For domestic travel, you might have at least gotten a complimentary small snack in the past few years, but not anymore. Many airlines are now charging for snacks, and at ridiculous prices, no less. Want a bag of chips? That will be $3.00, please! While airlines certainly feel they might need the extra revenue by selling meals and snacks, I don't think it's necessary that they completely gouge us consumers, either.

Sure, you can grab some food at the airport before you get on your flight, but that's not exactly an inexpensive proposition, either. While airports might be increasing the food items for sale because we poor shlubs who fly coach need to eat something while we're flying for 6 hours, we're not talking about healthy or inexpensive fare. With my family of 5, which includes a teenage boy who can eat copious amounts of food and still be hungry afterwards, we need to increase our travel budget now for airport or airplane meals because I know my kids will start whining for food at least once during a 4 hour flight. So the next time you fly, remember to eat in advance so you won't be hungry in the air, bring food with you, or be prepared to pay an arm and a leg while you're on the plane if you want to eat.

Many cruise passengers pack very heavily for their cruises, especially those that are long and have several formal nights. While checked baggage fees certainly aren't new, the airlines are now charging more if you check those bags in at the airport instead of online. Expect to pay $5 more per bag now on many airlines if you decide at the airport you need to check those bags! Also check the weight of your bags before you leave home: if one weighs more than 50 lbs. you will get hit with exhorbitant fees, some upwards of $100! Here's a tip for all you women out there cruising with your men: pack some of your stuff in his bag so yours won't go over the weight limit. Of course, travel experts have always recommended that couples split their clothing between their bags so that if one bag gets lost, the both of you will still have some clothes to wear, but now this another reason to follow that rule!

Airlines have been charging for onboard "entertainment" for a while, and now that internet access is available on many flights, that can be quite costly, so be prepared if you desperately need to check those football scores while in the air. While I always bring my own electronic devices to keep me occupied while flying, as I stated earlier, what really irks me is now you have to pay for a pillow and/or blanket on a flight! Some airlines now charge as much as $7 for a pillow and blanket -- I'm not sure if that's a "rental" or if you get to keep them as souvenirs of your wonderful flying experience. When flying in the winter time, I now always pack a lightweight shawl/shoulder wrap thing that I can use as a blanket in a pinch if I get cold. It's better than paying $7 for a crummy pillow and blanket!

So what's a cruise passenger to do when purchasing airfare for his next cruise? If you're not using your agent to book airfare for you, be sure to check fares often (even daily) before you decide to buy. Fares can change on a moment's notice, so if you see a really great fare your best bet is to purchase right away because that fare might not be available the next day. Also, when you see a great fare, be sure to check the fine print so you know exactly what is included. As we've now seen, between checked baggage fees, meals/snacks, entertainment, and even a pillow and blanket, your wallet could end up being a lot lighter by the time you reach your final destination. Third, take advantage of many websites' fare alerts, so you can keep track of when your flight to Florida to get on your cruise ship will cost you less.

I should probably note here that, comparatively speaking, it is cheaper to fly these days than it was in the past, so that certainly is a good thing. Airline travel is safe and convenient, and pretty reliable, and I am thankful that we have the freedom to travel when and where we want at such a relatively low price point. I just think that consumers continually getting hit with higher and higher fees and having to pay for things that used to be included, is getting ridiculous, and I for one, would like to see it end.

Instead of Getting Dad a Tie for Christmas This Year, How About a Cruise Instead?

2009-08-31T14:19:00.004-05:00

Royal Caribbean International recently announced an exciting new program where consumers can give the gift of a cruise to family and friends. Consumers can now purchase Royal Caribbean's Royal Incentive Rewards certificates from travel agents through September 18. The Royal Incentive Rewards are individual cruise certificates that can be redeemed for a Royal Caribbean cruise for two. A range of certificate levels are available, which offer choices in departure ports, ships, itineraries up to 12 nights, and accommodations. There is no expiration date, and gift recipients of Royal Incentive Rewards can upgrade their certificate or transfer it to another person. Certificates redeemed after two years of the issue date will provide a cash value toward the cruise price.

Royal Caribbbean has some great holiday cruises available, which would be a perfect way for family and friends to celebrate. How about having someone else cook the turkey and all the trimmings? Royal Caribbean has an eight-night Bahamas itinerary over Thanksgiving aboard Explorer of the Seas. sailing on November 21 from Cape Liberty in Bayonne, N.J. If you want to celebrate Hanukkah on board Royal Caribbean, a rabbi will be onboard every ship to conduct services and preside over a menorah-lighting ceremony. Guests can also enjoy Kosher meals in the main dining room! Check out the December 12 sailing of Independence of the Seas from Port Everglades; it will combine the Jewish holiday with an eight-night Eastern Caribbean cruise. How about Christmas with the family at sea? Families can still book staterooms aboard the December 19 sailing of Oasis of the Seas, which enters service in December from Port Everglades. This is Royal Caribbean's newest and largest ship, with so many innovations, you have to check it out! A Catholic priest also will be onboard to lead the holiday’s observances. And what better way to ring in the New Year than doing it on a cruise ship? Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas will depart Los Angeles on December 27 on a seven-night Mexican Riviera voyage, where you can usher in the New Year with a Cruise Director and Captain’s Countdown, and themed parties in all onboard lounges. It will be one heck of a party, so don't miss out!

To book any of these fantistic holiday cruises, or to purchase Royal Caribbean's Royal Incentive Rewards certificates, call me today at (630)868-6719 or toll free at (877)823-8597.

Carnival Valor: Big Ship, Big Crowds. A Review by Sheila

2009-08-20T21:22:00.005-05:00

SAILING DATE: JULY 12, 2009

My last sailing on a Carnival vessel was in June, 1990, so this voyage on the Valor was quite new to me. Carnival has changed a lot over the past 19 years (has it really been that long?!?), and of course, so have I. The ship itself is quite large, especially in comparison to the Carnival ship I last sailed on, and, unfortunately, you really do feel the crowds. The décor of the ship was actually pretty nice, and the staterooms were decently appointed, but I found the theme of the ship quite confusing.
The ship’s name is the Valor, and I thought it was supposed to celebrate our nation’s heroes. The American pride showed through in the red, white, and blue marble tiles on the atrium floor in the shape of the American flag, and faces of presidents molded into tiles along the ceiling lines. However, different areas of the ship that had nothing to do with America or our history confused me. Paris Hot Lounge… Shogun Casino… hello? Whatever. I didn’t get that, but that was the least of my concerns.

CROWDS, CROWDS, AND MORE CROWDS!
The ship’s passenger capacity is almost 3,000, and as I mentioned before, you really do feel the large crowds on this ship. I have been on other ships that accommodated almost the same number of passengers and in the same size range as the Valor, but those ships did a much better job of dispersing people throughout the ship. The biggest problem was that the Promenade deck, deck 5, which was where the most happening areas of the ship were located (show lounge, main theater, casino, nightclubs), was designed with one relatively narrow walkway that went from one end of the ship to the other. In the evenings, it could take a long time to go from the Ivanhoe Theatre, which was all the way forward, to the Eagles Lounge, which was all the way aft, simply because of the sheer number of slow-walking people congesting that one walkway. Making matters worse were an array of small portrait areas set up along that walkway, probably about every 25 feet or so, which caused small crowds to form and block the already too narrow walkway. The only shortcut available, which was to cut through the Shogun casino, afforded little relief as most of the congestion occurred as you tried to make your way forward enough to even get to the casino.
Another problem area was the inadequate seating in both the Ivanhoe Theater and the Eagles Lounge. We had the early seating for dinner and arrived at the Ivanhoe Theater 20 minutes before the first nights’ show was to begin, and there was not one seat left in the entire house. Once the show began, people were standing in the aisle at the back of the theatre at least 20 deep. The other nights if we wanted to see a show, we got to the theatre way early, usually during Bingo, which inevitably seemed to be going on, so that we could get decent seats for the performance. If you wanted to get a good seat for a show in the Eagles Lounge, it seemed you probably had to get there at least 45 minutes early. I’m just guesstimating, of course, because I never did get there that early. We usually arrived 15 or 20 minutes early and took the few seats that were left over. Arrive 5 minutes before the show starts? Forget about getting a seat. Even the late-night adults only comedy shows were incredibly crowded.

SO HOW ABOUT THE FOOD?
The food overall was much better than I expected. I don’t remember too much about the food on my last Carnival voyage, other than the fact that it wasn’t very good.
I thought the buffet had a pretty good selection of food and most of it was quite tasty. The buffet was divided into several different areas, two of which were the typical buffet setups, and then there was a dedicated deli, which offered very good sandwiches; and a dedicated Oriental (I prefer the term Asian) area. You could also head up the stairs to the Fish & Chips place and get some awesome fried calamari and other items from the sea. My kids, of course, loved the self-serve ice cream that seemed to be available almost all the time.
While we appreciated the self-serve drink stations in the buffet area, which featured juices, iced tea, fruit punch, and lemonade, you could not go to a bar on the ship and get iced tea or lemonade. If you wanted either of these items, you had to go to the buffet and get it yourself. I had thought about bringing some insulated mugs with us, but left them at home, which is too bad, because they could have been useful. Fill them up in the buffet with iced tea or lemonade, and then we’d bet set for a while. Oh, well, we’ll know that for next time.
In the main dining room, dinners were quite good. Presentation was okay, nothing special, but the food always arrived at the right temperature and the selection was very good. There was always a good selection of appetizers, with at least a couple of different soup choices, including some cold ones which were quite good (the chilled melon soup was delicious). Entrees usually included some type of meat or two, a pasta dish, and a vegetarian dish. I enjoyed most of the entrees, with the sole exception being the risotto that I ordered one night. My kids got to order from their own kids’ menu every night, which included the standard kid fare: spaghetti, pizza, chicken nuggets, etc. but they could order off the adult menu as they wished. My daughter asked for a shrimp cocktail with her dinner the first two nights, and she loved it so much that our waiter automatically brought her one each night after that. Desserts were very good, and the molten chocolate cake was to die for! Served hot, with a small dish of vanilla ice cream, it was the best dessert I had had in a long time. I couldn’t have it every night (even though it was always on the menu) because it was so rich, but thinking about it now, I can still smell that wonderful chocolate. Of everything I had to eat in the main dining room, that was a true standout.
Room service consisted of cold items like salads and sandwiches with potato chips, but the chicken tortilla wrap thing that they had was really good. My kids loved ordering room service for those late night food cravings, and my husband and I ordered it often for breakfast. I was disappointed that the breakfast menu was limited to continental breakfast items (coffe, tea, juice, pastries) but I guess every cruise line can’t offer hot breakfast items on their room service menus. Room service breakfast always arrived at the requested time, but ordering in the late evening often meant a wait of about 45 minutes.

HOME, SWEET STATEROOM
For our family of five, we booked two staterooms: a balcony for my husband and I, and an inside across the hall for our 3 kids. The kids’ room was small, but seemed about typical size for an inside stateroom, and consisted of two twin beds with a nightstand in between, and then one upper bunk with a ladder. There was a desk area with a little bit of storage and decent-sized closet space. Amazingly, my kids kept their room pretty neat in the small space that they had, and most of the fighting seemed to stem from which one of them got to sleep in the top bunk.
Our balcony stateroom was almost all the way aft on deck 6, so we had a room that was configured a little differently from a typical balcony stateroom. As you entered the room, the closets lined the wall to your right in a narrow “hallway”. As the hallway opened up into the room itself, there was a small round table with a chair on either side against that wall to the right. Next to that was the desk area. The rest of the room was taken up by the bed with a nightstand on either side, and you had to walk around the bed to get to the very small bathroom and to access the balcony through an outward-swinging heavy door. Since our room was much wider than a typical balcony stateroom, our balcony was about twice as long as a typical one, but it was the same depth; therefore, the lounge chair that was placed there did little good because you had to sit sideways on it to see the ocean. With the unusual configuration of our stateroom, we also had two large windows, but it would have been a real plus if they were centered in front of the bed instead of being off to each side.
As I mentioned, the bathroom was very small and had barely enough room to turn around, with the sink and counter on the wall to the left and tiny round shower and toilet on the right. The shower had good water pressure but the shower curtain was always fun as it tried to stick to your body and consequently spilled water onto the floor.
I always sleep like a baby on cruise ships, and this voyage was no exception, as the bed was very comfortable. I was a little concerned because I had read on the internet complaints about noise in this stateroom coming from the Eagles Lounge immediately below, but it really wasn’t bad at all. We heard some bass pumping at times but it wasn’t so bad that it prevented us from sleeping.

WHERE WE VISITED
On this cruise we hit Grand Cayman and Cozumel, which we had been to several times before; as well as Roatan, Honduras and Belize City, Belize. On Grand Cayman we went to Sea Grape Beach, part of Seven Mile Beach, for a while. The water there was clear but the sand felt rough, and we didn’t feel like staying too long, so we left to do some shopping and have lunch. Since we had been there before, we just didn’t feel like doing too much and spent most of the afternoon on the ship.
In Cozumel, we went to Paradise Beach. This is a nice beach with free access (you are expected to buy drinks and/or food if you take up the chairs on the beach) with some water-related activities (water trampoline, climbing “glacier”, snorkeling gear (although there aren’t any fish to see!), floats, etc.) for a $10 per person fee. The drinks were pretty good, but the food was disappointing. We ordered a Mexican platter which had a whole variety of foods, and it really wasn’t very good at all. I’ve had much better Mexican food at local restaurants than I had at Paradise Beach, so that was really a shame! There were stands nearby for hair braiding, temporary tattoos, parasailing, and jet ski rental so there were a lot of things to do if you wanted to do more than just lay around.
Belize was disappointing for us because of the excursion we took; it was a boat trip out to some tiny private island, of which I cannot recall the name, and then a guided snorkeling tour. We bought this excursion from one of the many vendors waiting at the dock and were promised excellent snorkeling, but this turned out to be one of the worst snorkeling experiences I’d ever had. They took us out to some spot in the water than had several other boats anchored there, each with many snorkelers in the water. With so many people in the water, there were hardly any fish to see, and the coral really wasn’t all that interesting. The private island had little more than a few chairs and some over-priced barbeque food to offer, and we had to wait around for about 45 minutes after our snorkeling trip before they would take us back to the dock so we could then tender back to our ship. We paid almost $50US per person for this excursion and we would never do that again. Next time we go back to Belize, we are going to go to Ambergris Caye where the really great snorkeling is!
Our best port day was Roatan, where we hired ourselves a van and “tour guide” to take us to West Bay Beach, where we stayed all day and had a great time. The beach were we were had free access because there were no facilities, so we just lay our towels out on the sand and enjoyed the wonderfully clear water. Our “tour guide” stayed there all day and set us up near a few vendors who offered the usual services: hair braiding, tattoos, snorkeling gear, etc. We rented some snorkel gear and swam way out where there was a nice coral reef. We saw some fish, but not as many as we had hoped, but we still enjoyed it because there was hardly anyone else in the water. After a while we walked down to the Thirsty Turtle Bar and Grill and had some fish and chips for lunch. The food was very greasy and the service was very slow, but there were a couple of guys playing some pretty good music so it was a nice atmosphere – very laid back. When we got back into the van and headed back to the dock, our “tour guide” offered to take us to the driver’s house, where we could get some fresh mangos right off the tree. We didn’t think we could take them on the ship with us, so we ate them right there, and they were delicious! The only bad part of the day was when we arrived back at the dock and our “tour guide” demanded more of a tip than we gave him. We almost got into an argument with him (we felt the 15% tip we gave him was sufficient) but finally gave him another $20 and left.

CAMP CARNIVAL NOT MUCH OF A CAMP
One of the reasons that we took this cruise is because we thought our two youngest children (9 and 10) could spend the days in Camp Carnival so that my husband and I could have a vacation as well. Not so fast, though! It turns out that the program for kids that age consists of scheduled activities; if you don’t want to participate in that activity, you can’t just hang around in the kids’ area and have supervised free play. Our kids weren’t really interested in most of the activities that they offered during the sea days, so they were with us all day on those days. During port days, our kids participated in Camp Carnival because they had more “free play” time, but it still wasn’t really what we expected.
There were also several parties offered during the cruise, but they all were at an additional cost. Overall, we were not impressed with the kids’ program for our kids, but the facilities are nice and for younger kids the program is less scheduled and leaves time for lots of supervised play.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS AND FINAL THOUGHTS
Carnival has changed a lot for the better over the past 19 years, that’s for sure. The ships are nicer, the food better, and the entertainment MUCH better (although we still weren’t very impressed with the singers and dancers). There is still somewhat of a party atmosphere, but the line is definitely more geared towards families now.
There is the typical amount of nickel-and-diming going on throughout the ship, as far as the Contemporary lines are concerned. There is a Java Café on board but the “gourmet” cakes, cookies, and pastries available there were at additional cost; seems ridiculous considering those items are all baked in the same place where all the other food is made, so why should they be at an additional charge? Every performance was preceded by the Cruise Director’s staff selling “instant win” tickets. The Camp Carnival program had “party nights” that carried additional charges, some as high as about $25 per child! Bingo was offered several times per day, and the jackpots were several hundred dollars each time, getting higher each day.
There were several fun games and contests in which we participated, but overall we were not really impressed with the Cruise Director’s staff; however, the Cruise Director was one of the funniest I’ve seen in a long time. He was great!
Overall, this was a pretty good cruise; we enjoyed the entertainment, and the food was pretty good, and it gave us a chance to relax and spend time together as a family. But, the large crowds from which it was difficult to escape, and the overall clientele on the ship, left much to be desired, unfortunately. The truth is, we picked this cruise because of our kids, and while my husband and I would have preferred more luxury, this cruise served its purpose well enough.

You Can Rock Climb, Ice Skate, Surf, and Now Hip Hop on Royal Caribbean!

2009-05-29T14:45:00.003-05:00

Well, looks like Royal Caribbean has done it again, coming up with a new activity on its ships. We all know that you can rock climb, ice skate and surf aboard Royal Caribbean's ships, but now you can learn to Hip Hop Dance, too! The new Hip Hop dance adventure that transcends all ages, languages, and skill levels is taking Royal Caribbean ships by storm. This program is offering guests the opportunity to let loose, chase a dream, and ‘wow’ their cruisemates with cool new dance moves beginning summer 2009, all on ships in the fleet. Based on the documentary film by Dori Berinstein, award-winning director and producer of film, theater and television, the guest-participatory Gotta Dance experience is being exclusively offered by Royal Caribbean International.

“Gotta Dance is the newest Royal Caribbean International program that offers guests an opportunity to try something different on their vacation regardless of age and experience,” said Peter Compton, vice president, Entertainment, Royal Caribbean International. “Every age is welcome and no experience is necessary. As with many of our onboard programs, Gotta Dance helps bring families closer together and build lasting relationships among guests for an unforgettable cruise vacation.”

Royal Caribbean’s Gotta Dance is inspired by the award-winning documentary film of the same name, which will hit the big screen across the United States beginning in July 2009. Gotta Dance (www.GottaDanceTheMovie.com) chronicles the first-ever senior-citizen, hip-hop dance troupe for the New Jersey Nets Basketball Team. Just like the film, Royal Caribbean’s Gotta Dance program will offer guests, from the young to the young-at-heart, a chance to grab their moment in the spotlight.

Kicking off each cruise will be a special screening of the film. Guests sailing on select ships before the nationwide roll-out of the movie will be treated to an advanced viewing of Gotta Dance. Participants will then be divided into teams and, over the course of their vacation, will learn choreographed routines with a member of the Royal Caribbean dance team in rehearsals during sea days. The program will culminate with the main event – a farewell show on the last evening of the cruise, whereby each of the teams will perform their routines in the ship’s main theater.

Each of the groups will perform a different routine, all of which were choreographed by New Jersey Nets Dance Coach Kimberlee Garris, who also appears in the Gotta Dance film. For each song an easy and more complex choreography has been designed, and Royal Caribbean’s Gotta Dance instructors will have the option of tweaking these versions further based on group skill level.

So if you plan on taking a Royal Caribbean cruise starting this summer, be sure to pack your dancing shoes and prepare to dance, dance, dance!

Chill and Thrill with Royal Caribbean!

2009-03-18T16:56:00.004-05:00

Looks like Disney will no longer be the only cruise line that combines theme park packages on land with its cruises. It has recently been announced that Royal Caribbean International and Universal Orlando are teaming up to offer vacation packages that combine a theme park visit with a cruise out of Port Canaveral. Now you get to chill out on the ship and then get your thrills at Universal all in one convenient package!

The “Way More Than a Cruise” packages will pair three- or four-night stays at Universal with a three- or four-night Bahamian cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas or a seven-night Caribbean sailing aboard the Freedom of the Seas. The packages include hotel and shipboard accommodations, multi-day passes to both Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, admission to some CityWalk venues and ground transfers between airport, hotel, theme parks and Port Canaveral. I think this is a great idea for those cruise passengers who would like to extend their vacations in Florida and have all the components planned out for them; no worries about transportation or tickets or anything. Just book and go!

These packages will be available for travel beginning March 31, 2009. “Universal Orlando Resort is thrilled to enter this partnership, bringing together two incredible experiences to create one memorable vacation,” Bill Davis, president and chief operating officer for Universal Orlando Resort, said in a written statement. “Our guests will not only enjoy some of the most entertaining theme-park attractions ever created, but also the world-class experiences and service Royal Caribbean is known for delivering.”

As always, to take advantage of this offer, contact Sheila McPherson, Your Independent Cruise Specialist with CruiseOne, at (630) 868-6719 or (877) 823-8597.

Cruise Carnival, Get Paid? Carnival Cruise Lines Now Offers Cash Back!

2009-03-13T16:43:00.002-05:00

Carnival Cruise Lines announced a few days ago a new promotion offering "cash back" of up to $240 per stateroom for a wide range of the line's "Fun Ship" departures this summer.

The new promotion is available in conjunction with virtually all three- to eight-day summer departures, including voyages to the Caribbean, Bahamas and Mexico from fourteen (yes, 14!) convenient North American homeports. Bookings must be made between March 9 - May 10, 2009, to qualify for the promotion, which is valid with the line's "Fun Select" advance purchase discount fares.

The cash back option is provided in the form of a shipboard credit that can be redeemed once on board. Guests will receive a $100 per stateroom shipboard credit on three- and four-day cruises; $150 per stateroom shipboard credit on five-day voyages; and $240 per stateroom shipboard credit for six-, seven- and eight-day sailings. $240 is quite a bit of money to spend, so this is a great deal!

The shipboard credit is automatically applied on guests' Sail & Sign accounts when they board their cruise and can be redeemed toward shore excursions, spa treatments, supper club reservations, gift shop items and a variety of other shipboard purchases. Any unused funds at the end of the cruise will be returned to guests on debarkation day in the form of a check. And that's the greatest part about this promotion, because usually shipboard credit is not refundable, so if you don't spend it, you lose it.

"A 'Fun Ship' cruise is already an affordable vacation option for today's value-conscious consumers and this new promotion - which provides guests with cash back that can be used toward any shipboard purchase -- makes the value of a Carnival cruise even more outstanding," said Lynn Torrent, Carnival's senior vice president of sales and guest services. I heartily agree!

The new promotion is capacity controlled and applies to new individual bookings for stateroom categories 4A to 11. To book, give me a call today at (630) 868-6719 or
(877) 823-8597, and you'll be on your way to getting some bucks back from Carnival!

Lose Your Job? No Problem! "CruiseAssurance" to the Rescue!

2009-02-27T21:02:00.003-06:00

This is big news! Just the other day, Norwegian Cruise Line announced that it was offering job-loss protection as part of its travel insurance plan for cruises booked with NCL after May 1, 2009. If you had been at your job for at least one year, then lost your job and couldn't afford to take your cruise and cancelled, you'd get reimbursed in full for any cancellation fees. Sounds pretty good, right?

Well, now the news gets even better. CruiseOne has just announced their innovative "CruiseAssurance" travel protection policy, which covers guests sailing on ALL cruise lines. Plus, there's no extra charge for this added protection, which provides full reimbursement for cancellation fees, so you can book your cruise and not have to worry if you need to cancel because you just got a pink slip.

Under the “CruiseAssurance” policy, clients can cancel their trip up to the day of departure, or even during their vacation! The only requirements are that travelers purchase an entry-level travel insurance plan – administered by Travel Guard – and present their termination letter. One year of employment is required. “CruiseAssurance” applies to bookings made March 1 through May 2, 2009 and is offered in addition to an already comprehensive travel protection policy.

Like I said, this is really big news in the cruise industry, and everyone needs to know about it. With unbelievable pricing and promotions going on right now, there really is no better time to book a cruise, and with "CruiseAssurance", that just makes it even better!

To book your next cruise vacation, contact Sheila McPherson, Your Personal Cruise Specialist with CruiseOne, at (630) 868-6719 or toll free at (877) 823-8597.

Carnival Conquest is Now a "Funner" Fun Ship!

2009-02-09T16:05:00.003-06:00

The Carnival Conquest has resumed service out of Galveston, Texas, now that she has undergone an extensive, multi-million-dollar renovation.

So what has been renovated? She got a new Circle "C" club for 12 to 14 year olds to hang out in, a massive LED screen on the Lido Deck, and eighteen balconies were added to existing oceanview staterooms.

I really like the Circle "C" club for tweens. The facilites are excellent, including a high-tech sound and lighting system, plasma screen TVs displaying movies and music videos, a touch-screen jukebox, and gaming pods with the latest video games and consoles. This gives these kids who aren't quite teenagers a perfect place to hang out and have fun in a setting all their own. They won't have to worry about their younger siblings interrupting their fun, because the younger set is safely installed in another area of the ship: the 4,200 square foot Camp Carnival play area. This area was also remodeled with updated gaming stations and various cosmetic enhancements.

The teens onboard will enjoy some enhancements to their 1,800-square-foot Club O2 teen center, which now features new plasma TVs. Carnival's programs for its younger guests are fleetwide and give them a real chance to play with others their own age while their parents get a break as well.

The addition of the Seaside Theater now puts the Conquest within a special "club" of ships within the line. The massive 270-square-foot LED screen on Lido Deck displays movies, concerts, sporting events, and other programming, including a “Morning Show” hosted by the ship’s cruise director. Utilizing the same technology featured in large stadiums and New York’s Times Square, the state-of-the-art entertainment system includes a 70,000-watt sound system, providing concert quality sound, even outdoors. The concept is similar to a program called "Movies Under the Stars" on some Princess ships and is quite enjoyable.

Eighteen staterooms on the Carnival Conquest that previously featured floor-to-ceiling windows have been retrofitted with private balconies, creating expansive 230-square-foot verandah staterooms. Including these accommodations, Carnival Conquest now has 573 total balcony staterooms – ideal for scenic Caribbean cruising.

Other improvements to the ship include replacing dozens of individual pieces of exercise equipment in the ship’s 14,500-square-foot Spa Carnival facility. Even more impressive, the Carnival Conquest is also the latest “Fun Ship” to offer bow-to-stern Wi-Fi access, enabling guests to use their laptop computers from any location on the ship, including their staterooms. This is a boon to those of us who need to stay connected even while we're at sea!

The 110,000-ton Carnival Conquest operates year-round seven-day Caribbean cruises departing Galveston every Sunday. In addition to seven-day western Caribbean cruises to Montego Bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, the ship begins a new weeklong eastern Caribbean option Feb. 15, with calls at Key West, Freeport and Nassau. The Feb. 15 departure will be the first of 11 eastern Caribbean cruises this year.

For more information on the Carnival Conquest or any ship in the Carnival fleet, contact me, your Personal Cruise Specialist, at (630) 868-6719.

CruiseOne is Celebrity's National Account Partner of the Year!

2009-01-29T20:20:00.003-06:00

Celebrity Cruises announced today that it has named World Travel Holdings (WTH) its 2008 “National Account Partner of the Year.” WTH owns and operates several cruise brands, including Fort Lauderdale-based CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. CruiseOne is a leading U.S. franchise operation of more than 550 Franchise Owners specializing in cruise travel, and I am one of them! Our sister company, Cruises Inc., is the original host agency with nearly 500 independent contractors selling cruise vacations. With these brands, WTH is the nation’s leading retailer of cruise travel, and we love doing what we do!

“Throughout 2008, Celebrity Cruises showed that they are willing to make a continued investment in the travel agent community,” said Brad Tolkin, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of World Travel Holdings, and all-around good guy. “Celebrity was the first to implement a no rebate policy and was among the first to eliminate fuel surcharges. They are clearly committed to helping travel agents succeed. This level of respect does not go unnoticed by our agents and as we proudly accept this honor, we pledge to continue doing our part in 2009.” You go, Brad!

The recognition of WTH as Celebrity Cruises’ 2008 “National Account Partner of the Year” follows a year of shared milestones for the industry leaders.

In September, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. held the companies’ annual National Conference aboard the Celebrity Mercury, and I was there. Dondra Ritzenthaler, Senior Vice President of Sales for Celebrity and Azamara Cruises, served as the event’s keynote speaker, and her speech was, to use her words, "super fantastic!" Her speech was quite motivational and I will remember it for years to come. Also during the conference, Celebrity was named “Premium Cruise Line Partner of the Year.” That award was voted on by nearly 1,100 CruiseOne Franchise Owners and Cruises Inc. Independent Agents, although I didn't get to vote. I don't know why.

In November, WTH, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. exclusively chartered the Celebrity Solstice for a special two-night sailing. The companies’ Franchise Owners and Independent Agents had exclusive access to this unique sailing and built widespread national consumer demand for the ship’s anticipated debut. I wanted to go on that sailing but wasn't able to, unfortunately; however, I heard it was s huge success.

"We are thrilled to recognize World Travel Holdings as our National Account Partner of the Year," said Dondra Ritzenthaler, Senior Vice President of Sales, Celebrity Cruises. "Day in and day out, the WTH team demonstrates nothing but professionalism and a desire to succeed, and it is a pleasure to partner with such a terrific group of people. We look forward to a long and continued partnership with WTH."

A good majority of the cruises I sold last year were on Celebrity, and I am proud to be a part of WTH's success in being named National Account Partner of the Year. Here's to being Celebrity's National Account Partner for 2009!

Got the Late-Night Munchies? Don't Order Room Service on Royal Caribbean!

2009-01-06T14:37:00.004-06:00

Well, here we go again with another cruise line surcharge! Royal Caribbean recently repealed their fuel surcharge on cruises for 2009, so could they now be trying to recoup some of that lost revenue by sticking it to passengers who get the late-night munchies? Royal Caribbean International recently announced that it will be implementing a service charge for room service orders placed between midnight and 5:00 am. The service charge of $3.95 per delivery is supposedly "intended to minimize onboard food waste" and "is based on an exhaustive review of demand for room service by hour of day and the corresponding amount of food wasted,” the company said in a statement. To compensate for this, Royal Caribbean will extend the hours of one of its other onboard eateries (Solarium Cafe or Sorrento's Pizza) on some ships, while the Freedom and Voyager class ships will keep the Cafe Promenade open 24 hours.

I have several problems with this new surcharge. First of all, complimentary room service has always been a big selling point for cruise passengers, especially those who like to order room service for breakfast. To all of a sudden start charging for this service (even if it is only late at night) is to me an insult. Not only that, I think it could cause a great inconvenience to some passengers. What if there were an elderly passenger on board who needed to take medication late at night and had to take it with food? Is it right to charge that passenger $3.95 when he needs that food that originally would be free? Is it right to make him get dressed and walk down (or up) to whatever eatery is open just so he can take his medication and avoid having to spend $3.95?

And if Royal Caribbean is really so concerned about food waste, then why don't they make sure that everyone who eats at the buffet actually eats all of the food they put on their plates? Are they going to start charging those passengers who don't clean their plates at the buffet because they're wasting food? What about the main dining rooms? What if you don't finish your dinner -- will you not be entitled to eat dessert because you wasted food?

I honestly do not believe this is about food waste, no matter how Royal Caribbean wants to spin this. I simply believe that this is another way for them to make money and to try to make up for some of the revenue they lost when they repealed fuel surcharges. And let's be honest here -- if Royal Caribbean gets away with this, the other cruise lines will quickly follow suit, and pretty soon nobody will offer complimentary room service because they won't have to. The practice will just become "accepted" because the market will bear it. Look at those fuel surcharges; people raised the roof with complaints when they first started being imposed, but nobody really actually stopped cruising because of it.

I genuinely love the cruise industry and Royal Caribbean has really been quite innovative in its cruise ship design and offerings so I appreciate what they have done for this industry, but I can't sit quietly back and say nothing about this. I truly feel this is a big step in the wrong direction. Everybody is hurting right now from the downturn in our economy, but that doesn't mean Royal Caribbean needs to kick people when they're down by charging money now for something that used to be free. We need to draw people in to the benefits of cruising, and this might just give those people who are unsure of the value of cruising another reason to turn away.

Bad move, Royal Caribbean. Shame on you!

2008 Cruises to an End

2008-12-29T14:19:00.006-06:00

With 2008 nearly over, (wow, the year went fast!) I thought it might be a good time to recap some relevant cruise news from this year. These blurbs certainly do not represent all that has happened in the industry this year, but I thought they were interesting, and, well, it's my blog...

Norwegian Cruise Line Continues to Make Waves

Well, it looks like Norwegian will continue with the F3 project after the squirmish with the shipmaker, but now it's down to just one ship instead of several. NCL should take delivery in May, 2010, and I, for one, am quite interested to see what this new ship will actually be like. We've heard the rumors about the Ice Bar so I'd like to see if they're really going to go through with that idea or not. NCL America has cut its operation in Hawaii to just one ship, the Pride of America, after originally having three there, but the good news is that the operation is now actually profitable. NCL will also begin its new Bermuda contract in 2009 and both NCL and MSC get to battle it out as to who has the youngest fleet in the industry.

Seattle Overtakes Vancouver in Alaska Cruise Port Popularity Contest

It's now official, Seattle has finally outstripped Vancouver in the number of cruise passengers travelling through its port. However, Vancouver certainly has nothing to feel badly about. First, since it's illegal for one-way cruises to or from Alaska to start in Seattle (due to the ships' registry), these cruises all have to start in Vancouver. This also means more hotel business for Vancouver since many people arrive the night before their cruise sets sail. Secondly, Vancouver also hosts Regent Seven Seas, which is the most upscale and luxurious cruise line sailing in Alaska. Lastly, Vancouver still retains the highest number of actual vessel calls. Plus, it's a damn beautiful city. So take that, Seattle!

Holland America Line Retreats? To Where?

As previously reported, Holland America has come up with an innovative new Retreat area to be installed on several of its ships, including the Statendam, Maasdam, Ryandam, and the Veendam, and the Rotterdam. The coolest thing about these new Retreats is that people will be able to sit in lounge chairs in nine inches of water on either side of the pool, while the middle section of the pool will be sixteen inches deep. The tradeoff is that these Retreats are being put in where the old aft pool areas were, and apparently passengers are complaining because they said that the aft pool area was the best place to relax on the ship. I personally think it's an interesting idea, and we'll see what passengers say in the future, as maybe they'll think the Retreat is an even better place to relax than before.

Bermuda is Back and Better than Before!

I guess Hamilton, Bermuda lost its cruise business in 2008, but things will be different in 2009 thanks to Holland America. The line signed a contract with Bermuda to operate its 1,350-berth Veendam in weekly service between New York's Manhattan Passenger Ship Terminal and both Hamilton and St George's.
The agreement started out as a late summer and autumn season of 10 roundtrip voyages starting August 10, but this month it was extended to a full season of 24 cruises starting in April. As the Veendam will be the first of the Statendam class to get her new Retreat (see above), Bermuda passengers will be able to sit in their deck chairs in the pool, should they so wish. Now all they need are little floating trays to hold snack foods by their loungers.

For more information on these developments, see The Cruise Examiner and Cybercruises.com. To book any cruises on these lines to these ports or any other, please contact Sheila McPherson, Your Personal Cruise Specialist, at (630) 868-6719 or toll free at (877) 823-8597 or visit www.serenitycruising.com.

Merry Christmas and a Cruisin' New Year!

2008-12-24T14:09:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to put up a quick post to say thank you to my loyal readers of this blog (wherever you are!) and to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I know that times are tough for all of us right now, but I also want to encourage those of you who are thinking about traveling this coming year to go ahead and do so as soon as possible. The travel industry in general is struggling right now and there are some really tremendous deals out there. It looks like it may be a long, cold, snowy winter here in the Midwest, so why not take advantage of some great deals and head off towards warm and sunny weather during the next three or four months? You could be lying on a beach getting a tan or frolicking in the ocean, while the rest of us are stuck here shoveling snow!

Cruising continues to be a fantastic all-inclusive way to travel and a great value compared to land-based resorts, so I hope to see you sailing away on a luxurious cruise ship this coming year!

Once again, thank you to my loyal readers, and I wish everyone of you out there a Merry Christmas and a Cruisin' New Year!

Wine, Wine Everywhere... And Plenty of Drops to Drink!

2008-12-17T18:20:00.004-06:00

Silversea Cruises, an ultra-luxury cruise line, has announced its enticing new collection of 11 Wine Series voyages for 2009.

According to a press release, "On each wine-themed cruise, discerning travelers with a passion for fine wines will enjoy sampling great vintages and learning about the tradition and art of winemaking in special tastings and lectures conducted by wine professionals, vineyard owners, winemakers and other epicurean specialists from renowned establishments, including California's Justin and Wente wineries, Italy's Castello Banfi and Chile's Santa Alicia Winery, to name a few. On many voyages, guests will also have the chance to explore some of the world’s most celebrated wine regions on guided shore excursions."

It seems that fine leather handbags and shoes go well with wine, as the family of Italian fashion visionary Salvatore Ferragamo also happens to own Il Borro, an acclaimed wine-producing estate in Tuscany. Ferragamo's grandson is slated to host Silver Wind's July 6 wine-themed sailing from Lisbon to Monte Carlo.

Guests will visit and interact with the Wine Experts onboard, experiencing fine wines through entertaining tastings and lectures, while visiting spectacular ports of call and enjoying the luxurious accommodations onboard the ship. This is a tremendous opportunity for wine enthusiats to savor new flavors and learn more about wines throughout the world, while living in the lap of luxury aboard a fantastic cruise ship!

Silversea's 2009 Wine Series cruises are as follows (rates are per person, double occupancy and do not include port charges):

Alaska & Pacific Coast

-- Silver Shadow departs July 20 on a 12-day, roundtrip voyage (#3917) from San Francisco with calls in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Wrangell and Victoria. WINE SERIES HOSTS: Eric and Arel Wente, owners of California's Wente Vineyards. Silver Sailing fares start at $6,646.

-- Silver Shadow departs August 25 on a 9-day, roundtrip voyage (#3921) from Vancouver with calls in Sitka, Juneau, Skagway, Wrangell and Victoria. WINE SERIES HOST: Master Sommelier Joe Spellman of California's Justin Vineyards and Winery. Early Booking Incentive fares start at $5,775.

Mediterranean

-- Silver Wind departs May 28 on a 9-day voyage (#2917) from Monte Carlo to Athens with calls in Livorno, Sorrento, Crete, Santorini, Rhodes, Kusadasi and Bodrum. WINE SERIES HOST: Stanislas Marchal, public relations representative for Vranken-Pommery Monopole. Early Booking Incentive fares start at $7,305.

-- Silver Whisper departs July 4 on a 7-day voyage (#4918) from Venice to Athens with calls in Split, Kotor, Corfu and Itea. WINE SERIES HOST: Georges Muller of Riedel Crystal (the wine glass company), expert on pairing wines with stemware. Silver Sailing fares start at $4,896.

-- Silver Wind departs July 6 on a 12-day voyage (#2921) from Lisbon to Monte Carlo with calls in Cadiz, Malaga, Ibiza, Barcelona (overnight), Cannes, Menton, Livorno and Corsica. WINE SERIES HOST: Salvatore Ferragamo, owner and managing director of Il Borro estate, Tuscany, Italy. Silver Sailing fares start at $5,797.

-- Silver Wind departs August 14 on a 7-day voyage (#2925) from Venice to Athens with calls in Hvar, Sibenik, Dubrovnik and Santorini. WINE SERIES HOST: Philip di Belardino, Castello Banfi Vineyard Estate & Winery, Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy. Early Booking Incentive fares start at $6,115.

Northern Europe & The Baltic

-- Silver Cloud departs June 25 on a 9-day, roundtrip voyage (#1914) from Stockholm with calls in Helsinki, St. Petersburg (3 days, 2 nights), Tallinn and Gdansk. WINE SERIES HOST: Gary Eberle, owner of California's Eberle Winery (will co-host with a European winery, exploring Old and New World wines). Silver Sailing fares start at $6,646.

-- Silver Cloud departs August 26 on a 10-day, roundtrip voyage (#1921) from London with calls in Edinburgh (overnight), Invergordon, Oban, Dublin, Cork and Fowey. WINE SERIES HOST: Gordon Bell, brand ambassador and master of Scotch whisky. Silver Sailing fares start at $7,486.

South America

-- Silver Cloud departs January 4 on a 16-day voyage (#1901) from Santiago to Buenos Aires with calls in Puerto Montt, Puerto Chacabuco, Laguna San Rafael, Punta Arenas (overnight), Falkland Islands, Puerto Madryn, Punta del Este and Montevideo. WINE SERIES HOST: Daniel Soto, Santa Alicia Winery, Santiago, Chile. Voyage co-hosted by GUEST CHEF Luis Gonzalez Morales, chef/owner of El Remezon restaurant in Punta Arenas, Chile, specializing in traditional Patagonian cuisine. Silver Sailing fares start at $8,606.

-- Silver Cloud departs February 5 on a 16-day voyage (#1903) from Santiago to Buenos Aires with calls in Puerto Montt, Laguna San Rafael, Punta Arenas (overnight), Ushuaia, Puerto Madryn and Montevideo. WINE SERIES HOSTS: Silvina Barros of Trivento Winery and Vineyards, Mendoza, Argentina; Fernando Mediano of Emiliana Vineyards, Casablanca Valley, Chile; and Jofre Duran of Concha y Toro Vineyards, Maipo Valley, Chile. Early Booking Incentive fares start at $10,450.

Transoceanic

-- Silver Cloud departs April 15 on a 15-day voyage (#1910) from Barbados to London with calls in St. Lucia, Antigua, La Horta, Ponta Delgada, Falmouth and Cherbourg. WINE SERIES HOST: Trevor Burnett, brand ambassador for Grey Goose Vodka. Voyage co-hosted by GUEST CHEF of the Viking Cooking School. Silver Sailing fares start at $5,337.

To book any of these fantastic voyages or for more information, please contact Sheila McPherson, Your Personal Cruise Specialist, at (630) 868-6719 or visit my website at www.serenitycruising.com.

Kiss Those Annoying Fuel Surcharges Goodbye!

2008-12-08T16:14:00.003-06:00

After Carnival Corporation announced last week that it was eliminating fuel surcharges for all of its cruises departing after December 17, 2008, the other major lines have quickly followed suit. Royal Caribbean International, parent company for Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Azamara; and NCL, parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line and Norwegian America, quickly announced they were also repealing fuel surcharges but the starting dates vary. I wasn't surprised that RCI and NCL followed suit so quickly, and I certainly think it's about time that these announcements were made, considering how the price of oil has changed in the recent months. To make it even better, Prestige Cruise Holdings, parent company of Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, announced today that they are joining the party and will be eliminating fuel surcharges for all voyages departing in 2009.

All the cruise lines have, of course, reserved the right to reinstate the fuel surcharges if the price of crude oil reaches a certain level. For more information on what that target price is, check each cruise line's website.

For passengers who have already paid for their cruise in full, the fuel surcharges will be refunded by shipboard credit. Those passengers who have not yet paid in full will have their outstanding balances adjusted.

Keep in mind, though, that cruise lines vary in how they will allow you to spend your onboard credit; some may not allow you to use that shipboard credit to pay for your gratuities, or to cover any spa charges. You also probably won't be able to exchange that onboard credit for cash in the ship's casino, either, so plan on running up quite a bar tab to use up your fuel surcharge onboard credit! If you've paid in full and are expecting an onboard credit and you want to know how you can use it, check with your travel agent or cruise line before you set sail.

Any way you look at it, this is great news and let's hope that we never see fuel surcharges added to cruise fares again!

Carnvial Ends Fuel Surcharges For Good... For Now, That Is!

2008-12-04T15:47:00.003-06:00

Awesome news! Carnival Corporation announced today that it is suspending fuel supplements effective for all voyages departing on or after December 17, 2008. This suspension applies to all six of Carnival Corporation's brands, including Carnival Cruise Lines, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and The Yachts of Seabourn.

The fuel supplement will be refunded by shipboard credit for all bookings within the final payment period for departures on or after December 17, 2008. All bookings outside of the final payment period for departures on or after December 17, 2008 will be adjusted to remove the fuel supplement and guests will be provided with a revised final payment amount.

Carnival's executives cautioned that the fuel supplement could be re-instated if oil prices increase significantly. Carnival therefore reserves the right to re-instate the fuel supplement for all guests at up to $9 per person per day should the price of light sweet crude oil according to the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange Index) increase above $70 per barrel.

I'm not surprised this is happening and I am certainly glad to see it! I expect that the other major cruise lines will follow suit pretty quickly, so we might be able to finally say goodbye to fuel surcharges... at least for a while!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow.... On a Cruise Ship?

2008-12-02T18:13:00.005-06:00

Princess ships are now preparing for another festive season at sea, and according to the latest reports, weather conditions are again pointing to unusual snow flurries onboard. Princess Cruises debuted this concept last year to rave reviews, so they've decided to do it again. Snow (yes, SNOW!) will actually fall in the ship's atriums, transforming the ships into floating winter wonderlands throughout December.

"What's better than the romance of a white Christmas, especially when it's an unexpected surprise?" said Jan Swartz, Princess senior vice president. "Our snowfalls were such a huge hit last year that this has now become a new tradition on Princess ships."

Princess Cruises has developed an innovative snow-making process which creates falling snowflakes that vanish on contact, letting passengers enjoy the excitement of snow flurries without the need to bundle up. Princess' daily snowfall will occur on all ships except for the Pacific Princess, Tahitian Princess and Royal Princess, as these smaller ships do not have multi-story atriums.

The fun holiday experience doesn't end with the snow, however. The ships are all decked out in holiday decor with Christmas trees on the vessels' masts and carolers strolling throughout the decks. Passengers can get into the fun with the "gingerbread challenge," where teams try to construct the most creative gingerbread structure. Or they can test their holiday craft skills by creating a personalized photo ornament. And for those of us who are cutlery-challenged, guests can learn how to expertly carve a holiday turkey from the onboard culinary experts.

Sounds like fun to me! I think this is a really great idea and I'd love to experience it for myself. For those of you who can get away this holiday season but haven't made any plans yet, consider taking a Princess cruise and REALLY get into the holiday spirit!

Sleeping In on Disembarkation Day? I'm All for That!

2008-11-26T15:58:00.002-06:00

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line recently announced that it is changing its disembarkation process. Instead of passengers having to rush out of their staterooms, gulp down breakfast, and then do the "hurry up and wait" routine in public areas of the ship, they will be allowed to access more areas of the ship and have access to more services.

Royal Caribbean's plans will allow guests to have extended access to their staterooms, as well as continued in-stateroom TV entertainment. Guests also will receive an “As You Depart” notice, which communicates the new enhancements and the location of departure lounges offering refreshments and light entertainment. Among the departure lounges will be a dedicated Family Zone, which will include refreshments, toys and games geared toward younger cruisers. Guests in suites will be treated to an exclusive continental breakfast hosted by guest services or the concierge. Royal Caribbean will also cut down on the amount of ship-wide public announcements all morning to maintain a relaxing atmosphere, with nearly all departure updates limited to the departure lounges and through the in-stateroom TV programming. If you'd like to get off the ship right away instead of waiting around, guests can also take advantage of the Express Departure option, where they carry their own luggage off the ship. With this option, you get to disembark the ship first and as soon as the gangway is opened and cleared by local authorities.

I think this is a great step forward on Royal Caribbean's part and I'd really like to see other cruise lines follow along. On my most recent cruise on the Norwegian Star, their disembarkation process allowed passengers to stay in their staterooms while they were waiting to disembark, and it made for a much more comfortable and relaxing experience. Bravo, Royal Caribbean!

NCL's Freestyle: Free to Be You and Me!

2008-11-13T14:57:00.004-06:00

I just recently returned from a Seminar at Sea aboard the Norwegian Star, a beautiful ship in NCL's "youngest fleet in the industry". This was my first opportunity to experience NCL's signature "Freestyle Cruising" for myself, after hearing much about it through other agents and clients. I have been a fan of the dine-at-your-own-leisure-type experience offered by several cruise lines for many years, even though each line's system seems to work a bit differently. I enjoy being able to eat dinner early one night if I happen to be hungry earlier than my set dining time; or being able to relax for a while after a long day ashore and have a late dinner instead of having to rush to the dining room to be there on time for my seating. I also enjoy being able to choose with whom I'd like to dine, instead of having to sit with the same table-mates for the duration of my cruise. I'm all about choice, you see?

What I really liked about NCL's Freestyle program is that it truly IS freestyle. You get to choose when you want to eat, where you want to eat, and with whom you want to eat. Now, I knew this already as a cruise specialist, but to be able to experience it for myself really made me understand what NCL was aiming for when they developed this program. I really enjoyed the FREEDOM granted to me and I found the process to be very well-run. You simply pick which restaurant you'd like to dine in, whether it be one of the main dining rooms on the ship, or one of the many specialty restaurants on the ship (each of which charges a small cover charge); and you can either make a reservation, which is recommended, or you can simply walk in when you're ready to eat.

Reservations are only allowed 24 hours or less in advance, so that prevents people from picking the "best" or most popular restaurants for every night of the cruise, blocking others from getting a chance to dine there as well; and passengers are encouraged to actually keep their reservations, because failure to cancel with enough notice means a cancellation charge (the amount of the cover charge) being added to their shipboard accounts. Some people may balk at being charged for failing to cancel on time, but I think it's a smart idea. After all, if you reserve a table and don't show up, you could be preventing someone else on board from being able to dine there at that time.

For those of you who don't like to make reservations and prefer to just walk in to a restaurant and get a table, this can be done; just keep in mind that if you pick the most popular dining spot onboard at 6:00 pm, you may have to wait to get a table. I mostly live by the "fly by the seat of my pants" method, and usually wait to decide what to have for dinner until about 10 minutes before I want to actually EAT dinner, and the whole process went very smoothly for me. Our sailing was full and my traveling companion and I never had an issue getting in to eat where we wanted on a given night. We did make reservations a couple of times, but only about two hours or so before we wished to dine that evening; and several times we just walked in to a restaurant and were seated right away. It worked great.

If you didn't feel like actually sitting in a "restaurant" to eat, there was always the poolside grill, the buffet, the ice cream bar, and room service to keep you full. And, of course, the Blue Lagoon (sort of a diner) was a great place to sit and have a bite if you were just looking for something to do.

I really felt free on this ship, and my traveling companion, who enjoyed it so much, even booked her next cruise while onboard the ship! NCL's Freestyle cruising is a giant step away from the typical cruising experience, and it may not be for everyone. After all, some people really enjoy the set dining times, formal nights, and shuffleboard of traditional cruising; and that's wonderful that they do, as there is an air of elegance to it. But if you're a part of Generation X or you just enjoy doing things a little differently and at your own speed, then NCL might be for you. You really can be free to do what you want where you want and when you want -- at least for a week or so aboard a cruise ship!

Oh, and by the way, the food was pretty darn good and the entertainment was fantastic, too!

How about a nice round of golf --- in Vietnam?!?

2008-11-13T14:43:00.004-06:00

According to Cruise Industry Wire, Luxury cruise line Crystal Cruises is expanding its "Experiences of Discovery" Golf theme cruises into Asia, giving golf enthusiasts the rare opportunity to play at four world-renowned courses in Thailand and Vietnam. Guests can sharpen their skills on board and ashore with instruction from a guest celebrity golfer and PGA golf pro. Crystal Symphony's 11-day itinerary from Hong Kong to Singapore offers a roster of onboard lectures, clinics, contests and events, including the chance to win a free Crystal cruise.

Every detail of the Crystal Golf Program is arranged in six-star fashion, from onboard practice with TaylorMade equipment -- the No. 1 driver on the PGA Tour -- to cocktails, caddy and cart service on the greens. Complimentary cleaning and storage of golf clubs and golf shoes will be offered after each round.

Courses include:

•Vietnam Golf & Country Club, Ho Chi Minh City -- The country's first 36-hole golf club, widely regarded as the premier club in Vietnam,

•Burapha Golf, Bangkok -- A 36-hole championship course set amid lakes, hills and tropical vegetation,

•Laem Chabang International Country Club, Bangkok -- Three distinct nines: The Lakes, Mountain and Valley courses, each offering its one-of-kind challenges, and

•Montgomerie Links, Da Nang, Vietnam -- Asia's first "Montgomerie" branded golf links set against the Marble Mountains and China Beach coast.

Departing April 20, the Golf Cruise calls at Chan May and Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam, Bangkok/Laem Chabang, Thailand. Fares start at $4,805 per person, double occupancy. Golf excursions begin at $347 per person. Crystal also offers golf-themed itineraries in the British Isles and Northern Europe, and Canada/New England in 2009.

I am really excited to hear about this not only as a wife of an avid golfer who'd love to be able to take this cruise, but as a cruise specialist. With many cruise lines now cutting back on their more exotic itineraries and focusing on ports closer to home, it's really great to see Crystal adding to its already spectacular cruise opportunities by bringing the golf element onboard. Combining golf and cruising is really a no-brainer, but to be able to offer the opportunity to play golf at courses many, many Americans would never otherwise have the chance to play, is a stroke of genius. I applaud Crystal for offering this awesome golf cruise and hope to see other cruise lines doing the same.

If you are interested in booking this golf cruise or any other cruise vacation, please feel free to contact me at (630) 868-6719 or toll free at (877) 823-8597.

Cruising for $40 per Day? Holy Shnikes!

2008-10-29T22:49:00.001-05:00

As reported in the Chicago Tribune on October 26: CruiseOne/Cruises Inc. has come up with a list of "Top 40 Cruises Under $40/Day," all of which are before the end of the year.

www.chicagotribune.com/40dollarcruises

This is huge, since I always thought that cruising for $100 a day was a great value! If you are looking to book a cruise vacation, now is the time to do so, obviously. Can you imagine getting a great hotel room, all your meals, and fun entertainment all for under $40 a day? Wow! Call me today to take advantage of these awesome deals!

Technorati Tags: cruises,deals,value,vacation,Chicago,cheap,CruiseOne

Carnival Pulls out of Europe; Who's Next?

2008-10-28T22:41:00.003-05:00

Carnival Cruise Lines just announced that the Carnival Liberty, which was scheduled to begin sailing in Europe for the summer of 2009, will remain in the Caribbean instead, doing 7-night sailings out of Miami. The decision was based upon the economy and high airfares to Europe, and Carnival execs state that their customers would prefer to sail out of domestic ports which are close to home.

This unfortunately is not surprising news, as we are beginning to see cruise lines shortening or removing cruise options to far-away ports, such as Australia (see a previous blog post regarding Celebrity pulling out of Australia) and now, Europe. I believe that while it is true that many Americans would prefer to save on airfare by cruising from a domestic port, pulling ships out of Europe, especially on the contemporary lines, is a mistake. With the U.S. Dollar so weak right now, it makes more economic sense for Americans to visit Europe by paying for their vacations in advance in U.S. Dollars, and we all know what a great value a cruise vacation is compared to a land-based vacation. Taking away an opportunity for someone here who always sails on contemporary lines, such as Carnival, to cruise to Europe, is really sad. Now those of us who are on tight budgets but who still would like to travel to Europe will have one less opportunity to do so.

I know our economy is struggling right now, but people still need to take vacations for their peace of mind and mental health. The cruise industry has weathered the storm pretty well so far, but I pray that the entire cruise market does not change as a result with hardly any ships visiting exotic and far-away ports of call, because that has always been one of the best parts of a cruise vacation; visiting beautiful and wonderful places that are far away, and having to unpack only once!

Carnival Corp. Repeals Fuel Surcharges (Depending on the stock market!)

2008-10-10T22:06:00.003-05:00

In a statement released today to CruiseOne, Carnival Corp. announced that it will be eliminating the fuel surcharge for all new bookings on 2010 departures, effective October 31, 2008. Of course, at the same time, they will be raising the fares for the 2010 departures so keep that in mind before you start jumping for joy.

Carnival is also saying that for 2008 and 2009 voyages, there may or may not be a fuel surcharge in effect on each sailing, depending on the price of oil for about a month prior to each sailing. They will use the ending trading price of light sweet crude oil on the NYMEX for 25 consecutive trading days ending 5 trading days prior to departure; if the price each trading day is $70/barrel or less, then passengers will get a shipboard credit in the amount of the fuel surcharge. If not, then passengers will not get a shipboard credit. So it seems to me that if you have 2 people setting sail on 2 consecutive days, that the guy who sails first could get a shipboard credit for his fuel surcharge, and the guy who sails one day later could end up without a shipboard credit, if the price of oil went up by a few cents on the 26th trading day. This also seems like it could be a logistical nightmare for Carnival Corporation, because it would mean a lot of tracking to see which cruises will have the fuel surcharge in effect and which won't. I also wonder whether or not passengers and/or their travel agents will be notified prior to sailing whether or not they'll be getting a shipboard credit.

So, this could potentially be good news, but I take it with a lot of caution, because this is all dependent on the stock market, and we all know that could be very good or very bad!

Disegalitarianism: My Thoughts

2008-10-06T10:39:00.004-05:00

This weekend, Peter Greenberg, otherwise known as The Travel Detective, discussed on his radio show, a recent article on BudgetTravel.com regarding disegalitarianism being the new trend in the cruise industry. What is diseglitarianism, you ask? Well, it basically means people who spend more on their cruise vacations expecting special perks, like priority seating in ship restaurants, around the pool, and access to areas of the ship like exclusive spas or nightclubs.

First, I don't know for sure if this is an actual trend in the industry, but there are definitely things going on that reflect it. For example, NCL already has premium Garden Villas on some of its ships which are located on a private deck. Guests in these suites are catered to at their every whim and are entitled to special perks such as priority tender seating, so they can get on and off the ship at ports of call whenever they please, plus VIP Immigration status so they get to be first in line. There is also talk of there being nightclubs with exclusive access on the upcoming F3 NCL ships.

Second, it has appeared, at least to me, that the service level in some areas of some ships has gone down since cruise lines began instituting the policy of charging gratuities charged to shipboard accounts. I don't want to name any ships or cruise lines in particular, but I have noticed this. This may be partially driving the desire for more perks because passengers want to be treated as if they are special and may not be feeling as much of that vibe anymore.

While I've never actually stayed in a suite on a cruise ship, I have stayed at luxury resorts before and have flown first class, and I enjoy the little perks that come along with those types of accommodations. After all, who wouldn't? But, at the same time, the more you cater to the higher-paying guests and the more exclusive perks you give to them, the more you emphasize the "classes" in our society. In truth, we are not a classless society, but I don't think we need to be constantly reminded of that fact when we're on vacation. Plus, the more we make certain parts of cruise ships open to only certain people, the more it reminds me of Titanic and ships of her day, where 3rd class passengers stayed in cramped quarters on the lowest decks and were referred to as "steerage". And we all know what happened to a great many of those 3rd class passengers when the ship sank! So let's not even go that route and try to contain the perks and exclusive areas on ships that are given only to those in the priciest accommodations, and treat everyone on board like they're special. After all, everyone could use a little time to be pampered now and then, especially when we're on vacation!

The Solstice is Coming, the Solstice is Coming!

2008-09-30T20:35:00.002-05:00

Celebrity Cruise Line's newest and largest ship, the Solstice, left the shipyard in Germany the other day and is now undergoing several sea trials in preparation for her maiden voyage in November.

The Solstice has a very unique feature never seen before on any cruise ship: a large area called the "Lawn Club" which has about a half acre of real, growing grass! How's that for unique? The ship also boasts its new Aqua Class staterooms with extra spa-related amenities, which can really add to the relaxation factor!

By the way, there is still space available on the CruiseOne charter of the Solstice as she sails from Ft. Lauderdale for 2 nights on November 21, 2008. Be sure to contact me right away if you're interested in being one of the lucky bunch of people who will be the first to sail on this grand ship!

It's All About the Family

2008-09-30T18:22:00.008-05:00

Let's face it: cruising is wonderful, in fact it's probably the best vacation value around, but it can sometimes get tricky when you're trying to book a stateroom and you have more than four people in your family. I have five people in my immediate family, as I am married and we have three kids under the age of 16. I grew up in a family of five, so it was always two adjacent hotel rooms for us when we would travel, but trying to accommodate all of us comfortably on a cruise ship gets a little more complicated. This is because my husband and I always insist on having a balcony stateroom, and then we need to be able to find an inside stateroom across the hall to accommodate our kids. (We've never booked far enough in advance to snag one of the limited number of "family staterooms" that are available on most ships.) The good thing, however, is that it finally seems as if cruise lines are getting smarter and more hip to the fact that many families exceed the "perfect four" of mommy, daddy, son, and daughter. Family staterooms, those that accommodate five or more passengers, are becoming more commonplace, and thus, easier to book than ever before.

Take Royal Caribbean's new Oasis of the Seas, for example. The Oasis of the Seas has several different categories of staterooms that will accommodate larger families, ranging from the Family Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony, which sleeps six; all the way up to the tony Royal Loft Suite, which sleeps six in grand style in a two-story stateroom complete with baby grand piano, indoor and outdoor dining rooms, and a huge balcony furnished with an LCD TV, entertainment area, and Jacuzzi. And if you need even more bunks, there's even the Presidential Family Suite which sleeps FOURTEEN! Now those are what I call FAMILY staterooms!!!

For more information on the fabulous Oasis of the Seas or to book, visit my website at www.serenitycruising.com or call me today at (630) 868-6719 or toll-free at (877) 823-8597.

Celebrity Cruises Discontinues Australia/New Zealand Cruises for 2009-2010

2008-09-29T09:55:00.006-05:00

Apparently, Celebrity feels that its customers would prefer to sail from the Eastern Seaboard instead of visiting the Land Down Under, so the cruise line is discontinuing its voyages to beautiful and exotic Australia and New Zealand. The Millenium will finish her Alaska run completing cruises that were originally scheduled to be on the Mercury; then she will head down to San Juan, where she will sail to the Southern Caribbean for 10 and 11-night cruises. The Mercury will head to the Eastern Caribbean from Baltimore from November 2009 to February 2010, then she will sail to the Eastern and Western Caribbean from Charleston through April of that year.

Personally, I think this has both positive and negative impacts. A positive is that with the additional sailings to the Caribbean from the east coast and San Juan, clients have more choices for longer sailings to that area, as many cruises to the Caribbean are for 7 days only. With the economy the way it is, it seems that many people would prefer to sail out of ports close to home to avoid spending big bucks on airfare so this should work out well. However, the negative is that there will be fewer opportunities for clients to sail to Australia and New Zealand, especially for those clients that sail on upscale cruise lines like Celebrity. It's really a shame, but hopefully things will turn around and Celebrity will re-deploy some of its ships to that beautiful part of the world soon.

Fred. Olsen Cruises Bans Indoor Smoking

2008-09-26T19:28:00.006-05:00

Fred. Olsen Cruises will have smoke-free indoor environments on all of its five ships beginning early in 2009. According to a recent news article, smoking will only be permitted on cabin balconies and designated areas of outdoor deck space. The smoking policy will initially be instituted on three vessels: Boudicca, Black Prince, and Braemar, all of which will become smoke-free on January 1, 5 and 8, respectively. Black Watch and Balmoral will go smoke-free after completion of their 2009 world cruises, April 13 and May 29, respectively. Fred. Olsen currently allows smoking indoors in designated areas of certain lounges on each of the five ships.

I personally think this is a good policy and think that all cruise lines should implement this on all of their ships. Many towns prohibit smoking inside public buildings nowadays so it's really becoming quite expected that if you want to smoke, you do so outside. Most smokers probably are used to that policy anyway so to have to do the same on a cruise ship should not be a big deal. Now all of us can feel comfortable aboard a cruise ship!

WHEATON, ILLINOIS-BASED CRUISE SPECIALIST ATTENDS ANNUAL CRUISEONE NATIONAL CONFERENCE

2008-09-26T19:16:00.005-05:00

SHEILA McPHERSON JOINS MAJOR TRAVEL INDUSTRY PLAYERS, INCLUDING NUMEROUS CRUISE LINE REPRESENTATIVES, ABOARD CELEBRITY MERCURY

Wheaton, IL – Sheila McPherson, a cruise specialist based in Wheaton, Illinois, joined top travel industry executives on an 8-night sail from Vancouver to Alaska as part of the 13th annual CruiseOne National Conference. Celebrity Cruises hosted Sheila McPherson and more than 300 other travel agents aboard the Celebrity Mercury for this unforgettable experience.

The Celebrity Mercury sailed September 14, 2008 to Ketchikan, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Hubbard Glacier; Sitka, Alaska; Victoria, British Columbia and Seattle, Washington. The conference, themed “Xperts in Cruising,” offered extensive training opportunities to Sheila and other attendees. The trip also included a check presentation and $6,000 donation to the Alaska Raptor Center in Sitka, Alaska, courtesy of CruiseOne and Celebrity Cruises. Executives from all major cruise lines, as well as destination convention and visitor bureaus and tour operators, attended this highly regarded event. Additionally, Sheila attended extensive training sessions, becoming expert in Alaska travel, luxury cruising, group cruising and more.

“I always look forward to attending the CruiseOne conference because of the knowledge I gain, industry players I meet, and chances I have to build value for my clients,” said Sheila. “Cruising is one of the most popular ways to vacation. Each year, the CruiseOne conference unveils new trends, innovations and opportunities for me to keep travelers ahead of the curve with deals, incentives and service they won’t find anywhere else.”

For more information about a cruise vacation visit http://www.serenitycruising.com/%20and and sign up for the weekly eNewsletter or call Sheila McPherson, your Independent CruiseOne Cruise Specialist, at ( 630 ) 868-6719 or toll free
( 877 ) 823-8597.

About CruiseOne:With more than 500 locations coast to coast, CruiseOne prides itself on providing attention to detail and expert advice to every customer. Each independently owned and operated business combines the latest technology with old-fashioned, personalized customer service. The automated best fare search program enables cruise specialists to identify excellent values on all major cruise lines. CruiseOne offers innovative and exclusive programs including Honeymoon Cruise Registry, Company and Member Cruises and much more. CruiseOne is part of World Travel Holdings, the world’s largest cruise retailer.

Another Oasis of the Seas Neighborhood Unveiled!

2008-09-24T18:39:00.004-05:00

Royal Caribbean has raised the curtain on yet another of its neighborhoods aboard the Oasis of the Seas. The new neighborhood, Entertainment Place, is a complex of diverse entertainment venues.
A contemporary nightclub district, Entertainment Place will introduce new signature after-dark spaces in more intimate venues. The collection of venues will include Blaze, a nightclub at sea; Jazz on 4, an intimate lounge with live jazz and blues; and Comedy Live, a comedy club.
Dance enthusiasts will be able to enjoy an elegant evening in Dazzles, a dance lounge featuring musically themed evenings, dance lessons and competitions.
The late-night Entertainment Place will center around Casino Royale, what Royal Caribbean calls the largest and most sophisticated casino at sea. Guests will enter through two themed walkway entrances -- the first showcasing the 40-year legacy of Royal Caribbean International and the second, the Museum of Gaming, which immerses guests in the history of gaming. The casino, inspired by the classic casinos of the French Riviera, features dramatic sculptured architecture, crystal chandeliers and décor in jewel-toned hues of amethyst, aquamarine and ruby.
Details of Entertainment Place, as well as other entertainment offerings onboard Oasis of the Seas, were unveiled at the CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. national conference held on a cruise to Alaska this week. A video preview of Entertainment Place can be viewed at www.OasisoftheSeas.com.
"We are extremely proud that our partners were the very first to get a glimpse of the exciting new entertainment complex on Oasis of the Seas," said Brad Tolkin, co-CEO of World Travel Holdings.
Previously announced neighborhoods include Central Park, the Boardwalk, the Royal Promenade, the Pool and Sports Zone and the Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center. The seven neighborhoods (one is still to be announced) provide cruisers with the opportunity to seek out relevant experiences based on their personal style, preference or mood.

-- I am getting really excited about this ship and I think it is absolutely amazing and could potentially change the cruise industry as we know it. If you haven't yet booked your cruise on this ship, you need to do so today! Visit my website at http://www.serenitycruising/ for more details!

Sheila Sails to Alaska on the Celebrity Mercury!

2008-09-24T12:35:00.007-05:00

I have just returned from the CruiseOne, Cruises Inc. 2008 National Conference aboard the Celebrity Mercury. We sailed into glorious Alaska from Vancouver, B.C. and returned to Seattle after 8 nights, having visited Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, and Victoria. We also viewed the magnificent Hubbard Glacier, which, for me, was the highlight of the cruise. Since this was my first cruise aboard a Celebrity ship, I have decided to review it so that my readers can have the opportunity to gain from my experiences. What did I think? Well, read on to find out!

Since my husband had to stay home with the kids, I traveled with a friend of mine, and we shared a Category 2A Balcony Stateroom. I have to say that I was not very impressed with the stateroom, as it was very small. With two twin beds and two very small bedside tables, a desk, small glass coffee table and "loveseat", there was hardly room to walk around the room without bumping into furniture. The Mercury is one of Celebrity's older ships, and the size of the room and its furnishings reflect that fact. Many ships have now updated their staterooms to include flat-screen TVs and upgraded bed linens such as comforters, but these have not undergone such upgrades yet. Despite the cramped surroundings, the storage space was more than adequate, with two closets for hanging items and a third with shelves and drawers. The bathroom was tiny, as expected, but with adequate storage space and a decent-sized shower, it was definitely serviceable. The balcony was good-sized, and was furnished with a small square coffee table and 2 chaises. The balcony was not deep enough to accommodate the chaises if they were laid flat, but it still worked. We've been on ships where the balcony was barely deep enough to accommodate standard chairs, so this was an improvement.

The ship's public rooms were nicely decorated but in my opinion there really was not a lot of pizazz. I don't care for loud neon lights and really bold colors, but I thought that in general the decor seemed sedated. The main dining room was nice but nothing to scream about and the nightclubs and other areas were nicely appointed but nothing really took my breath away. One thing I found frustrating was that the only area of the ship that had a TV on was the casino bar, and the bar was in the middle of the casino so it tended to be very noisy when there was a lot of gaming action going on. The pool area seemed nice but the pool didn't get much use since we were in cold weather. The enclosed Palm Springs Pool area at the back of the ship was a nice place to relax and seemed to be used more often than the area surrounding the La Playa Pool midship. The Celebrity Theater had comfortable seating and good sight lines and the Navigator Club on the Sky deck and beautiful views.

The food on the Mercury was generally good and lunches and dinners in the dining room were nicely presented. The buffet in the Palm Springs Cafe served breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and also had a Sushi buffet in the late afternoon. The food at the buffet was pretty decent, exept for most of the desserts, which seemed to lack flavor. The sushi buffet offered a variety of maki, such as California Roll and Tuna Roll, and had small pieces of tuna and salmon sashimi; these tasted better than the rolls. They also offered a create-your-own stir fry station, which was a pretty good way to get your vegetables in but the choice of sauce was limited to oyster or soy, so not much variety there. My major complaint about the food on the Mercury was room service. The 24-hour menu was limited to soups, salads, sandwiches and a few hot items, and the dessert choices were also limited and uninspired. For breakfast, room service was limited to eggs (scrambled or a plain omelette only) and a selection of breakfast meats and some toast and pastries. Coffee came with non-dairy creamer only, and you could not choose the type of pastry you wanted, and muffins were not offered. I expected the choices to be better, but at least delivery was timely.

As for the ports of call we visited, I enjoyed Juneau and Sitka the best. In Ketchikan, we visited the Totem Bight State Park, which was small and sort of interesting, but not really my cup of tea. If you are interested in Indian culture and totem poles, this might be a good place for you to visit. In Juneau we took the Mendenhall Glacier Float Trip, which was disappointing because we merely floated along the lake with the glacier in the background, the mouth of which was obscured by a large land peninsula; and the rapids, which were fun, lasted all of about 10 minutes out of a 90 minute trip. The scenery was not very interesting and overall the operation was shoddily run. I would not recommend this excursion unless you like to sit and do nothing in the cold for about 90 minutes with not much to see. In Sitka we went on the Captain's Choice Wildlife and Beach Trek, which was interesting and informative. The tour lasted 3 hours and we spent about an hour on the beach of a small remote island and learned about marine life and the flora and fauna on the island. Later, back on the large and comfortable catamaran, the captain took us to an area where we saw a large gathering of bald eagles, and then we saw several whales in the water. What a sight that was, and it really was the high point of that excursion. The crew was friendly and knowledgeable, and I would definitely recommmend this excursion.

For me, the highlight of this cruise was seeing the incredible Hubbard Glacier. The enormous blue-colored wall of ice was an awesome sight and it was everything I had envisioned. The weather generally cooperated for us, as it was quite cold and rainy as we entered Disenchantment Bay, but it gradually cleared up and the sun came out for a while as we viewed the glacier from all sides of the ship. The smaller Turner Glacier also was a beautiful sight and the area really is spectacular.

Entertainment on the Mercury was rather limited. During the day, activities were the usual fare: art auctions, bingo, trivia, watercolor painting lessons and computer enrichment classes, etc.; and in the evenings you'd have the show, whether it be the singers and dancers or the comedian, or some sort of variety show; and a couple of different choices to listen to music and dance. The casino was an option, but it was small and the slots seemed very tight. It could be very easy to lose a lot of money there in the space of 8 nights, so you need to visit it sparingly unless you have a large bankroll. The shops onboard sold the usual array of items, but since we sailed at the end of the Alaska season, a large amount of Alaska-related merchandise was marked down. I personally did not care for Fith, our Cruise Director, but I heard others onboard praise him, so to each his own.

Overall, it was a good trip and I will cruise to Alaska again, although next time I plan to do a cruisetour so that I can see more of Alaska's awesome wildlife on land. If you have not yet visited Alaska and would like to take a cruise there, start planning soon because the big Alaska cruise booking season is just around the corner! I will treasure the memories of my Alaska firsts, such as icebergs, glaciers, and whales, and I look forward to seeing all of that again and more on my next trip. Take my advice and cruise to Alaska next year -- you will love it!

Holland America to revamp bars on five ships

2008-09-10T09:23:00.001-05:00

Centrally located bars and lounges aboard five Holland America Line ships are being upgraded and reconfigured to bring a new concept to the shipboard bar scene, the company says. The highlight is a large, new space located in the heart of the ship, called Mix, that incorporates three specialty theme bars - Martinis, Champagne, and Spirits & Ales. These enhancements are part of a new $200-million Signature of Excellence upgrade to ms Statendam, ms Maasdam, ms Ryndam, ms Veendam and ms Rotterdam."A focus of this latest Signature of Excellence series of enhancements is our entertainment venues, where we've created the ultimate place to both socialize and be entertained," said Richard D. Meadows, CTC, executive vice president, marketing, sales and guest programs. "Our guests are looking for an upscale, trendy spot where they can gather together and be part of this exciting new ambiance."A new entertainment space called Mix is set to become the destination lounge where guests can meet and mingle throughout the day and night. Mix is an open and inviting space anchored by a pianist providing entertainment for three distinctly themed areas. The bubbly will flow at Champagne, which offers a variety of 20 different champagnes and sparkling wines from around the world. The centerpiece of this bar is a cool, ice-filled counter top chilling champagne bottles that invites guests to indulge by the glass or by the bottle served in traditional silver buckets. This venue will offer events such as late champagne breakfast, pre-lunch Mimosa and Bellini hour, champagne tea time and pre-dinner champagne hour with caviar canapés. Champagne will be the ship's premier celebration venue.
Martinis serves up 25 Grey Goose martinis elegantly offered in individual shakers as well as a full range of cocktails. Guests can also enjoy a martini flight made up of several mini martini concoctions. The martini flight includes Holland America Line's signature martini, the Yellow Tulip, a mixture of Grey Goose vodka, lychee juice, pineapple juice, guava juice, coconut cream and fresh lime juice. Other martinis included in the flight are the Peartini, Cosmopolitan, Sunshine Martini, Rum Sundae and High Tide Martini. A house specialty will be a signature Martini for Two with aged Cognac served with a dish of caviar and traditional garnishes.
Spirits & Ales will feature an international selection of beers and premium whiskeys and brandies sure to entice even the most selective connoisseur. Here guests can drop by to enjoy a wide selection of beers on tap while watching sporting events or relax after some shopping in the nearby boutiques.The Ocean Bar will be enhanced to refresh its look. Guests wanting to learn new moves or brush up on their ballroom dancing skills can sign up for lessons given by the Line's experienced staff. Providing tunes from the Great American Songbook, The Neptunes - Holland America Line's resident three-piece music combo - will keep things lively as guests dance the night away and enjoy a cocktail in the luxuriously appointed lounge.
This $200 million phase in the Signature of Excellence commitment brings the latest innovations at sea to Holland America Line's Statendam, Maasdam, Ryndam, Veendam and Rotterdam. The first of the extensive dry dock periods begins with the Veendam in spring 2009 and the last will be completed on the Maasdam in late 2010. While in dry dock, ships will expand the aft deck to create a new resort pool concept, The Retreat. Enhancements will be made to all existing staterooms and additional staterooms will be added to the ships. The ships also will introduce 46 innovative lanai staterooms with direct access to the Lower Promenade Deck. New spa staterooms near the Greenhouse Spa and Salon will offer special in-room spa amenities. Overall, Holland America Line has committed $525 million to its Signature of Excellence program that redefines premium cruising, the company said.

CruiseOne, Cruises Inc. Detail 2008 National Conference

2008-09-05T21:36:00.002-05:00

CruiseOne, a leading U.S. franchise operation of more than 550 independent cruise-only travel professionals, and Cruises Inc., the nation’s original host agency network with nearly 500 independent contractors, announced details of their 2008 National Conference, which will take place Sept. 14 though 22 onboard the Celebrity Mercury sailing throughout Alaska and Canada. Titled “Xperts in Cruising,” the nine-day program includes general sessions, targeted workshops and seminars created to enhance the attendees’ knowledge and insight to the many new products and services offered by CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. Attendees will also have the opportunity to earn CLIA credits towards their ACC and MCC.
“This year's conference will give our agents and owners the opportunity to become true destination experts and learn how to continue building their overall sales,” said Dwain Wall, senior vice president and general manager for CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. "Our independent agents and franchise owners will have the opportunity to experience the wonders of Alaska,” said Steven Hattem, vice president-marketing and sales for CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. “We are also excited to have been selected to host the next exclusive reveal for the Oasis of the Seas where Vicki Freed, senior vice president-sales for Royal Caribbean will join us to share the details of this next generation and revolutionary cruise ship from Royal Caribbean.”
Other industry attendees include: Dondra Rizenthaler, senior vice president-sales, and Jeffrey Clarke, vice president-national sales for Celebrity and Azamara; Edie Bornstein, vice president, national accounts and business development for Carnival Cruise Line; Dave Stockert, vice president-training for Holland America Line; Mike Wiersemra, vice president-sales for Viking River Cruises; Rudy Schreiber, president, and Kristen Karst, vice president-sales for Amadeus Waterways. Marc Mancini, president of Marc Mancini Seminars, will also be presenting with Terri Burke, vice president-industry relations for Norwegian Cruise Line; plus many others cruise and travel industry leaders. For more information on CruiseOne, call 800-892-3928 or visit www.CruiseOneBusiness.com. For more information on Cruises Inc., call 877-714-4072 or visit www.JoinCruisesInc.com.

Announcing New Weekly Updates to this Bog!

2008-09-05T15:07:00.004-05:00

Hello, my blog readers! Here's some good news for you: I will now be updating this blog on a weekly basis, bringing you important and exciting news related to cruising and the travel industry as a whole.

In light of this change, be sure to visit this blog on a regular basis so that YOU TOO, can be in the know as to important developments in the cruise and travel industry!

Happy Cruising!

Disney Cruise Ship to Get Fantasia-Themed Splash Pool and LCD TVs!

2008-09-04T15:56:00.002-05:00

The Disney Magic cruise ship will get a splash pool themed around the movie "Fantasia," new 22-inch, LCD television sets in cabins and a series of other upgrades during a nearly three-week stay in dry dock later this month. Disney says the 385-square-foot "Mickey's Splash Zone" will be added onto the Mickey Pool on the ship's deck nine. Themed around the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" segment in Fantasia, it will feature star- and moon-shaped fountains and splash areas (including, Disney says, an area for "children not yet toilet trained and in swim diapers"). The new televisions, meanwhile, will be mounted on swivel arms so they can be watched from different spots in a stateroom.Other upgrades to the 2,700-passenger Magic, according to a release Disney issued earlier this week, will include new waterfalls from a pair of hot tubs in the pool at the adult-oriented "Quiet Cove;" plush new chairs at the nearby "Cove Cafe;" and new registration areas to allow "radio frequency identification" at the kid-focused "Oceaneer Club" and "Oceaneer Lab" that will ultimately allow children to check in and out by tapping a sensor with with tag-embedded wristbands. Disney also plans to apply a new hull coating during the dry dock in Norfolk, Va., that is designed to reduce surface resistance in the water and improve fuel efficiency.

Princess Cruises to Open Off-Limit Crew Areas to Tours

2008-09-03T16:00:00.000-05:00

The Love Boat line says it will launch what's billed as the industry's first comprehensive "back of the house" tour in November.
Dubbed The Ultimate Ship Tour, the guided explorations will debut on the soon-to-launch Ruby Princess and eventually spread fleet-wide. The tours will take passengers to the engine control room, medical center, print shop, laundry, photo lab and even the bridge.
All good things come with a price, of course, and cruise junkies will have to fork over $150 per person for the three-hour tours, which can be reserved on board vessels at the Passenger Service Desk. The tours will be offered once or twice per cruise, and space will be limited.
The tours include a chance to meet quite a few crew members. One stop, for instance, will be the back stage area of the ship's theater, where passengers will meet cast and production staff who will show them what goes into putting on a show. In the galley area, passengers will meet the executive chef, who will explain the process of preparing meals for thousands of people at a time.
In one of the most unusual stops, the ship's staff captain will accompany passengers to the top deck of the ship to peek inside the ship¿s funnel area. At the last stop, on the ship's bridge, tour-goers will meet the captain and learn about the navigational equipment and safety systems on board.
The 3,070-passenger Ruby Princess will be christened Nov. 6 by The Bachelorette's Trista and Ryan Sutter. The 113,000-ton vessel will spend its inaugural season sailing to the Western Caribbean out of Fort Lauderdale before heading to Europe next summer.

Holland America Line Announces New York to Bermuda Service!

2008-08-30T14:03:00.001-05:00

Beginning in 2010, Holland America Line will once again sail on regularly scheduled cruises between New York City and Bermuda. The line will call on both Hamilton and St. George's, with overnight stays.
The 1,350-passenger Veendam is designated to sail in late August 2010 on the first of 10 round-trips, marking HAL¿s return to New York as a homeport and to Bermuda as a destination.
HAL first visited Bermuda in 1926 when Veendam II, with capacity for approximately 500 passengers, left New York on the company's maiden Caribbean cruise. During the summers of 1930 and 1931, Veendam II sailed five-day round-trips between New York and Bermuda.
HAL's Rick Meadows, EVP marketing, sales and guest programs, called Veendam 'ideal' for the upcoming program: "She is a premium mid-size ship, the perfect size to navigate the narrow entrances to the harbors in Hamilton and St. George's." Passengers will be able to ashore into the center of each town.
Bermuda Premier Ewart Brown welcomed the new relationship with Holland America.
In addition to the 10 sailings between late August and October in 2010, the line will visit the island for a full season beginning in May the following year, with 20 or more departures anticipated.

Disney Contemplates Alaska Cruises

2008-08-29T16:05:00.000-05:00

Mickey Moose, anyone? You might see just that in 2010 because Disney Cruise Line is investigating the possibility of cruising Alaska.Disney Cruise Line has applied for a 10-year permit (valid from 2010 to 2019) to visit Glacier Bay, one of the most popular destinations for scenic cruising on Alaska itineraries. Current regulations restrict the number of vessels that can visit this national park, as well as the number of days lines can have ships there throughout the season. Disney's application for a permit is a clear sign that the line is considering offering Alaska cruises.A spokeswoman for Disney Cruise Line confirms that Alaska cruises are in consideration, but says that the cruise line is always evaluating new itinerary possibilities. Indeed, Disney -- known for its Bahamas and Caribbean itineraries -- has tried out several new cruising regions over the past few years. Disney Magic tried out the Mediterranean in 2007 and the Mexican Riviera in 2005 and 2008. Next year, the ship will add two new Eastern Caribbean itineraries -- one featuring Tortola and the other St. Croix, both new ports for the cruise line. Might Disney send Magic to Alaska in 2010? Or is it seeking options for its new, larger ships, which will debut in 2011 and 2012? Right now it's anyone's guess.

Video of New Neighborhoods on Oasis of the Seas!

2008-08-26T16:56:00.001-05:00

http://www.cruiseone.com/travel/editorial.jsp?edType=Custom+Page&pagename=Oasis-video

Carnival Elation to Offer Shorter Routes

2008-08-20T16:10:00.000-05:00

San Diego-based Carnival Elation will offer a new three- and four-day schedule starting Feb. 12, 2009. The ship currently operates four- and five-day cruises and will continue that program through the departure of Feb. 7, 2009.
On its new route, Carnival Elation will depart Thursdays on three-day cruises to Ensenada. Four-day cruises will depart Sundays and visit Ensenada and Catalina Island.
Carnival Cruise Lines has offered a similar program from Southern California for a number of years, currently on Carnival Paradise based in Long Beach, with departures on Fridays and Mondays.
"Between the two ships, consumers will have a choice of two very popular departure points, Long Beach and San Diego, as well as four different departure days each week to select from,"said Terry Thornton, Carnival's SVP marketing planning.
He added: "These will be the only ships in the Southern California market offering three- and four-day cruises starting in 2009, and with short getaways currently a trend among North American consumers, combined with the inherent value of a cruise, these voyages represent an extremely desirable vacation choice."
Carnival also operates longer cruises from Southern California. Carnival Pride sails weekly Mexican Riviera cruises from Long Beach year-round (to be replaced by the new Carnival Splendor in March), and Carnival Spirit offers seasonal eight-day Mexican Riviera voyages from San Diego.

Condé Nast Traveler Recognizes Norwegian Cruise Line

2008-07-25T16:13:00.002-05:00

The top-rated travel magazine recognizes Norwegian Gem as one of the best cruise ships for "spa lovers" and Norwegian Jade as one of the best for "foodies." Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) received top billing in Condé Nast Traveler magazine's special August cruise issue, which hits newsstands this week. "Norwegian Gem and Norwegian Jade are two of our newest Freestyle Cruising ships that offer an unmatched cruise experience and appeal to a wide range of vacationers," said Colin Veitch, NCL's president and CEO. "It is particularly gratifying to be recognized by the editors at Condé Nast Traveler, since this widely read publication is respected the world over as a genuinely independent authority on travel." Conde Nast Traveler's Consumer News Editor Wendy Perrin opens the special pullout section with a letter to readers highlighting the amenities she and her family enjoyed during their sailing on board Norwegian Gem's seven-day Florida & Bahamas sailing from New York. She writes that she found the perfect ship for a family holiday because Norwegian Gem had everything she needed including, "a well-equipped child-care center with age specific programs and plenty of kids for my boys to befriend; sports facilities that would allow me to exhaust the whirling dervishes with minimal effort on my part (large pool, a water slide, basketball court, space for running); a selection of kid-friendly places to eat; and never having to dress up."

Norwegian Gem Best for Spa Goers: Norwegian Gem, NCL's newest Freestyle Cruising ship, was lauded as having one of the best spas at sea. In the Yin & Yang Spa, guests can receive a wide range of exotic and rejuvenating treatments in 18 rooms, plunge into the thalassotherapy pool and relax on heated poolside loungers. Norwegian Gem is currently sailing seven-day Western Mediterranean cruises from Barcelona. From November through April, the ship sails seven-day Bahamas & Florida and 10 and 11-day Exotic Southern Caribbean itineraries out of New York.

Norwegian Jade Best for Foodies: Sailing year-round in Europe, Norwegian Jade is touted in the magazine for its 12 restaurants which give guests the opportunity to eat whenever and wherever they want. The ship caters to a wide range of tastes and features: Le Bistro, NCL's signature French restaurant; Cagney's Steakhouse; Papa's Italian Kitchen; Paniolo's, offering authentic Tex-Mex; an Asian complex featuring Japanese teppanyaki, a sushi bar and an Asian fusion eatery; a 24-hour diner; and an action station restaurant. With the recent Freestyle 2.0 enhancements, all of Norwegian Jade's restaurants have new, expanded menus and Lobster Galore, where foodies can find lobster in a different restaurant every night of the cruise. Norwegian Jade homeports in Europe year-round sailing three to 23-day itineraries with ports of call in the Mediterranean, Greek Isles, Africa and Spain. For more information and cruise tips from Condé Nast Traveler, visit www.cntraveler.com/cruise. To book a cruise on Norwegian Gem or Norwegian Jade, call Sheila McPherson, Your Independent Cruise Specialist with CruiseOne, at (630) 868-6719 or (877) 823-8597.

Sheila and Steve's Tromp Through Italy, April 2008

2008-06-22T15:14:00.005-05:00

Day 1: Our flight was late taking off from New York so we got into Rome about an hour late. It was an interesting experience getting into the airport in Rome; the plane stopped at some empty place at the end of the runway and we walked down a flight of metal stairs and crammed onto a bus which drove us to the arrivals terminal at the airport. Getting through immigration and customs was a breeze and it was a piece of cake getting to the train station to catch the express train to Termini station in Rome. The train ride was hot and we had trouble finding seats, but we ended up sitting with a nice couple from Seattle, who were going on a Holland America cruise. As a matter of fact, the guy is a marketing manager for HAL, so that was quite a coincidence! We had fun walking from the Termini station to our hotel, getting confused a couple of times, but we made it okay. Turned out our hotel was only about a block away from the Repubblica stop on the Rome Metro A line, so we learned a quick lesson. The La Griffe Hotel is decent (our mini-suite was kind of cool but I don’t think I’d get that room again) but frankly, the service was not up to par. Location-wise, it was great as we used the Metro a lot while we were in town. We got to the hotel around 3:30 pm local time, showered and changed, went for a nice dinner at a restaurant across the street (Via Nazionale) and then went back to our room and I crashed. I was so tired from the long plane ride from New York to Rome as I did not sleep well at all, despite trying desperately to do so.
Day 2: We got up relatively early because we went to bed so early from being so exhausted and were out the door by 9:00 am. We had a decent breakfast at the same place we had dinner last night and then made our way to Termini Station so that we could buy the Roma Passes from the TI booth there. Those were great and I will recommend them highly, as we saved a bundle in Metro fares alone! From Termini we hopped on the Metro B line and arrived at the Colosseum. I almost burst into tears when I first glimpsed it as I walked out from the train station because I just couldn’t believe that I was finally seeing it with my own two eyes. The security lines were pretty long (although moving quickly) and Steve and I just kind of jumped in one of the lines. It was great after that, though, because there were tons of people waiting in a LONG line that wasn’t moving, to buy tickets, and we got right in with our Roma Passes! The Colosseum itself was quite a sight and we took tons of pictures and video. I really wished we were able to go down into that maze below the floor! After we trekked around there for a while, we headed over to the Forum. Well, actually, we thought we were going to The Forum, but Rick Steve’s book was wrong, and we ended up walking up a steep hill for nothing, because where he says to enter is now blocked off as an exit only. So we had to walk about 300 meters down the street to enter. We got to skip the line again, which was awesome, but we had no idea where we were going or what we were seeing, so we ended up walking all the way up this huge hill to Palatine Hill to see nothing really mind-blowing, before we finally found the entrance to The Forum. The Forum itself was pretty cool but I had trouble figuring out what was what because Rick Steve’s Forum Walk didn’t make a lot of sense. So what I thought was one thing in the beginning, turned out to be another thing in the end, and I never really saw the things I wanted to see (or understood what I was seeing), like the House of Vestal Virgins, but, nevertheless, it was an awesome sight! We stopped for a ridiculously overpriced and not very good “pizza” at some food stand across from the Colosseum, then decided to go to St. Peters in Chains church to see Michelangelo’s Moses sculpture. We had a little trouble finding our way there from the Metro stop, and the flight of stairs getting up there was a killer, but it was pretty neat. We got a quick gelato on the way back to the Metro, and then rode back to the hotel. The uneven “road” wreaked havoc on our ankles, though, so when we returned to our room late that afternoon we had to soak our feet for quite a while. After that long and punishing day, we still decided to punish ourselves some more by taking Rick Steve’s Dolce Vita Stroll and the Night Walk Across Rome (although we did that one in reverse, going from the Spanish Steps to Campo Di Fioro and having dinner there). That was actually pretty cool, as we went by some of the other major sights, such as the Pantheon (incredible), Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps. There is a lot of top-brand shopping on Via Condatta on the way to the Spanish Steps, and I wanted to stop in to some of the stores, but they were closed (they close at like 5 pm). The Spanish Steps were beautiful, with tons of people hanging out there, and naturally, we climbed all the way to the top just to go back down again. Trevi Fountain was beautiful but really crowded, and we forgot to throw coins in. I wonder if that means that we’ll never return to Rome? We had a pleasant dinner (though the pasta was not as good as the first night’s) then caught a cab back to our hotel. I had no idea what was in store for my body the next day.
Day 3: Since it was Monday, we decided to head to the Vatican to take in St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museum (well, really we just wanted to see the Sistine Chapel). I was afraid of having to stand in a really long line to get in, so we took Rick Steve’s advice and arrived there around 1:00 (well, more like 12:30). The line was huge when we got there and it wrapped a long way around the Vatican wall, so we took advantage of an English-speaking tour for25 Euros per person (plus the 14 Euro per person ticket price) so we could jump the line. We didn’t really want to do a group tour but I was not up to standing in line for hours, either, so we made sure first that we could drop out of the tour early. I was okay until the tour started, where we spent at least 30 minutes listening to Mike, our tour guide, explain the Sistine Chapel’s art. At that point, my feet and ankles began to ache so badly that I could barely stand. No matter what I did, the pain persisted, and we finally decided to break from the group as soon as they decided to head inside the Vatican Museum. We sat in the courtyard there for about 15 minutes, while I tried to rest my feet and ankles, and finally decided that I just had to deal with the pain so that we could get in there, get out, and go back to the hotel to rest. So we headed inside and trudged our way through the entire museum, fighting with the pushing and shoving crowd, filing past stuff that we had zero (or less than zero) interest in, just so that we could make it to the Sistine Chapel. I have to say that I really think this whole thing is horribly mismanaged and I think it’s a joke that you are required to schlep through miles of a pretty worthless museum (in our opinion, at least) just so that you can get to see what you really want to see, and what most people are there just to see. So once we FINALLY made it into the chapel, it was hot and massively crowded, with people pushing and bumping into you from all directions, and there were so many people there blatantly breaking the rules and taking pictures, some with flash even! I was in awe of the majesty of the art, but there was so much to take in that I was just overwhelmed by it. I was in so much pain and I tried to stand there for as long as I could, but I just couldn’t take more than maybe 10 minutes of it. I was so disappointed because I think that they do not allow you to really appreciate the artistry of it all in the way they run things. They should allow a limited number of people in at a time, and provide seating or something so that you can relax and be able to comfortably view the magnificent artistry so that you can really appreciate it; instead of allowing so many people in that the room is almost completely full and you have no space to be able to move around in so that you can view much at all! When we couldn’t stand it anymore, we made it out the slow as molasses moving crowd through the “back door” and went into St. Peter’s Basilica. Now I don’t know if it was the fact that I was in so much physical pain or it was the incredible sight I saw in front of me, but I almost cried once we walked into that absolutely magnificent holy place. I am not religious at all but I felt as if I need to thank God for creating such a gorgeous sight. I could not believe what I saw, from the walls to the ceiling, to the sculpture (Michelangelo’s Peita was fantastic), the unbelievable dome, the altar, the marble floor… I just couldn’t believe it. It literally took my breath away. I had never felt that way in my entire life and I don’t know that I ever will again. The beauty was just too much for me. It was the kind of experience that I thought I would have had in the Sistine Chapel, but didn’t, but I feel so grateful that I was able to see that incredible holy place with my own eyes. I have never seen a more beautiful sight in my entire life and I will treasure that feeling it gave me forever. When we finally and mercifully arrived back at our hotel, I was in an incredible amount of pain, but, being that this was our last night in Rome, we still went out that night and did more walking. Steve thought it would be fun to walk down to the Victor Emmanuel monument and have dinner there, so we walked down Via Nazionale and stood in front of the monument for a few minutes. Then we decided to try to find a good place to eat and made the mistake of going to some place called Pastarita or something like that. The food was mediocre at best (I had shrimp risotto which was not good and Steve had gnocchi with pesto; better than mine but still not great). We both felt very uncomfortable there, and it wasn’t just because the temperature was like 80 degrees inside there. Plus, there was some kind of political demonstration going on that night, with tons of people on the street waving flags and shouting, and cars honking their horns and stuff, and then a whole bunch of those people came inside the restaurant. We left as quickly as we could and then stopped for some delicious gelato desserts at a nice sidewalk café on Via Nazionale on our way back to the hotel. We went to bed but I had trouble sleeping so stayed up playing games on my old cell phone until almost 3:00; then we overslept and didn’t wake up until 10:30 am, and our checkout time was at 11:00!
Day 4: We had to hurriedly pack up and check out so we had no time to shower or eat breakfast, and we caught the Metro to Termini to buy our train ticket to Florence and then thought we’d spend some time at some art museum seeing a Joan Miro exhibit. We had a quick bite at Termini, then checked our bags downstairs and headed to the TI booth to get some info on the museum, but then realized that the museum was closed and would open up only after our train to Florence left! Since we still had a couple of hours to kill before our 3:30 train to Florence, we rode the Metro to the Spanish Steps and hit the shopping district on Via Condotti. We windowshopped for a bit and then headed back to Termini to catch our train. It was easy finding our train, except for the fact that it was listed on the board as going to Milan (the final destination) and we were getting off in Florence. The ride itself was pretty nice; quiet, and we had a nice little snack of bread, cheese, and red wine to help pass the time. The scenery was decent but not a must-see. We arrived in Florence at a little after five and found it to be a pretty easy walk to our hotel. The Savoy is very expensive and the front desk and concierge service seem to reflect the high price, and the room is very nicely appointed, although tiny. However, we got a great room on the top floor with a view of the Duomo outside our window, so we were pretty happy about that! We went to dinner at a local restaurant that the front desk clerk suggested, and we WAY overpaid for the ridiculously huge slab of meat that we ordered (steak for 2? Call it steak for 4, at least!) but at least we had a nice ½ bottle of Chianti and some delicious roasted potatoes. After being raped on that meal, we got raped some more by paying 25 euros for 2 cappuccinos and 2 desserts at this little café on the Piazza della Repubblica across the street from our hotel. We spent the later part of the evening in our room, catching up on a few business things using the hotel’s internet (20 euros for 24 hours, yikes!) and called the kids. I had a weblead to follow up on and did a few routine business things, and then it was lights out.
Day 5: We got a relatively early start today because we had reservations at the Accademia at 10:35 am, which we got through the hotel concierge. That worked out very well and we got to skip a huge line waiting to get into the museum. On the way to the museum we stopped at a little café and got croissants and cappuccinos (our cheapest meal yet!) but I was worried about getting to the museum on time, so we didn’t linger, although that would have been nice. The Accademia wasn’t much to shout about but it was worth it to see David. The sculpture is magnificent and it really is quite a sight to see. He is set underneath a dome and flooded with natural light from above and you find yourself just staring at him with a complete look of awe on your face. He is a spectacular work of art and seeing how finely detailed he is really made me appreciate Michelangelo even more. After we quickly worked our way through the rest of the museum we headed back to the hotel to change our shoes (both Steve’s and my ankles were killing us in our MBTs) and then we headed over to the Duomo, which is about a block away from our hotel. It is beautiful in green, pink and white marble, with very intricate carvings all over it, and the dome is impressive. We joined the end of the relatively short line to climb the dome and began the long trek of 436 steps to the top. At first I was a little claustrophobic and I had to use my inhaler early on but then I got used to it and it wasn’t so bad. Tiring, yes, but it was worth the climb because the view from the top was beautiful. You could see the green mountains in the background and the city really is impressive with its maze of short streets and alleyways and all the buildings are the same sort of whitish color with the same red tile roofs. It was neat and the climb down was much easier, obviously, and overall it made for a fun couple of hours while we got a good workout to boot! We then headed towards the Uffizzi Gallery, where we had reservations for 1:45 and had lunch at a little restaurant on the Piazza. Steve had a delicious 4-cheese pizza with salad for only 9 euros – not bad! Getting into the Uffizzi was a breeze but neither of us really got much from it at all. It was all religious works of art and sculpture and there were only a few pieces that held our interest for more than a few moments, but I’m glad we went because I can say that I’ve been there and I saw The Birth of Venus, which was really cool. We went back to the hotel afterwards to rest for a while because we were both pretty tired and then headed back out again to do some shopping. We walked along, looking in different stores, Louis Vuitton in particular, but I didn’t buy anything there, mostly because I was concerned about spending so much on a purse after all the money this trip was costing us. I did, however, find a really cute (and inexpensive) purse in a small shop after seeing it in the window as we were walking by, and I feel really good about that purchase because I know I won’t find something just like it at home and it will always remind me of being in Florence. We had dinner at McDonald’s to make up for overpaying so much last night and walked back to our hotel to relax for the evening. It’s our last night here in Florence and we’re tired!
Day 6: We got up, showered, packed, and downstairs to check out about an hour before the noon checkout time, so we did not have to rush like we did getting out of our hotel in Rome. However, we had a surprise waiting for us when we checked out, because little did we know, although I did suspect in the back of my mind that they would do this, the hotel overcharged us by A LOT for the tickets to the Uffizzi and the Accademia. Tickets with reservations were 10.50 Euros per person at each museum, but the hotel charged us 15 each. They never told us they added a “service charge” to the price of the tickets, so we complained. First they tried to tell us that that is what the actual tickets cost, but we argued with them and said that they were 10.50 each total. Then they said that the additional was their “service charge” and we said that they should have told us before they charged for that. They replied that they didn’t have to do that, and that “all the best hotels all over the world” charge a service charge without disclosing it first, so they didn’t have to. We still complained and they finally took some of the money off, but it was only after they treated us like dirt for complaining in the first place. We should have only paid a total of 44 Euros but we ended up paying 48, but I didn’t want to push the matter after the way they treated us. We walked back to the train station and bought tickets to Venice, and made our way onto the train without incident. The train ride was interesting, as we wound up sitting across from some nasty lady whom Steve ended up spilling water on after I stepped on her foot trying to get into my seat, and I think she was so relieved when we got up to go have lunch in the dining car. The lunch was actually quite good, although at 28 Euros a piece, it was very expensive, but the experience was pretty cool. I'd highly recommend it to someone who has never really traveled by train. By the time we were done with lunch, which began when we stopped in Bologna, we only had about an hour left on the train, and we ended up sitting in seats across the aisle from our original seats so the nasty lady had space to herself. She got off in Mestre so we were alone for the last bit of the ride. When we finally arrived in Venice, we got off the train and then proceeded to find our way to the Vaporetto stand to buy tickets to take the #82 vaporetto bus to Rialto Bridge so we could get to our houtel. However, we quickly found out that there no longer is a #82 bus and we’d have to take the #1, which stops at EVERY stop along the way. We stood in a massively long line trying to buy tickets, and then I heard this couple behind us speaking English, so I asked them if they’d be interesting in sharing a water taxi with us instead of waiting to take the vaporetto. They weren’t, as they were going another direction, but the man suggested that we walk to our hotel instead of waiting in line to take the vaporetto. I said that I thought that it looked like a REALLY long walk, but he said it would only take about 30 minutes and it was easy, as you just followed the signs towards Piazza San Marco. So off we went, and the walk really wasn’t that long or that bad; the worst part was trying to weave our way through the massively crowded narrow streets. There were so many people, walking so slowly, it was really tiring and frustrating trying to get to our hotel! The worst part were all the bridges, as people would stop on the top of the bridge to take pictures or whatever, and block other people from getting up the stairs, and then you’d have to fight your way through the crowd at the top so that you could go down the other side. It was awful and I was so relieved when we finally arrived at the Palace Bonvecchiati, which as it turns out, is very conveniently located between the Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco. The hotel was very nice and breakfast was included in our rate, which was nice because buying breakfast every morning was becoming quite expensive. The room was very nice but the shower was a little awkward as the spray was directly overhead of where you had to stand so water runs right down the top of your head and gets in your ears. Oh, well. After we relaxed for a bit and unpacked, we took the concierge’s recommendation and went to a decently priced restaurant about a block or two from the hotel and had some pretty good food and wine for dinner. After that, we walked to Piazza San Marco and looked around for a bit at the different shops and listened for a few minutes to one of the orchestras that was playing there in the square. We then returned to the hotel and spent the evening catching up on more business, then turned out the lights and went to sleep.
Day 7: We got up at 9:30 so that we could make it downstairs for breakfast while they were still serving, but found out that it went until 10:30 instead of 10:00. Breakfast was decent, with eggs and bacon, assorted fruits, cereals, juices, yogurts, and breads and pastries. After we were sated, we walked over to the American Express office located near the Piazza so that we could buy our train tickets back to Rome. We encountered trouble using the Fidelity Visa, as we had at the train station, so we went to a nearby ATM to withdraw the cash to pay for the tickets. Once that was taken care of, we headed off to explore Venice by ourselves, and found it to be magnificent. It is so picturesque, with the lovely buildings sitting on the canals, all the beautiful flower boxes under the windows, and the warm sunshine. We decided to walk instead of trying to take the vaporetto, heading over the Accademia bridge so that we could visit the Peggy Guggenheim collection, which featured some of our favorite artists, like Picasso, Kandansky, and Miro. The museum is small so we did not spend a tremendous amount of time there, but it was worth a visit. We then had lunch over by the bridge, which was fantastic. We had reasonably priced and delicious pizza at a table right on the canal, and enjoyed watching all the people, boats, and birds go by. It was very relaxing and a wonderful experience, and I think it was my favorite part of our visit to Venice. Next, we bought tickets for the vaporetto (passes for 48 hours at 26 Euros each, and at 6.50 per ride, after riding it 4 times, it paid for itself) and rode the #1 all the way to the Lido, which was the final stop for that bus. We stood on the edge of the open part so we had great opportunities to take pictures, and the scenery was just beautiful. Then we rode a different vaporetto to Piazza San Marco and walked around there for a while. There are many shops there with beautiful Murano glass and we got confused as to what to buy since some shops had some really nice stuff and some seemed to have junk. We found a sculpture that we liked but were concerned about spending the 1100 Euros to buy it, and decided that we’d be better off going to Murano the next day and buying something there. We had a cheap dinner at Burger King, then splurged on coffee and dessert at one of the restaurants on the Piazza so we could listen to the music. It was very expensive to do so, as they charge about 6 Euros a piece just to sit there, but it was really a great experience and we enjoyed it quite a bit. Next, we walked around trying to find a Gondola station to take a ride, but all the gondoliers were gone. We finally found one at Piazza San Marco, and spent 150 Euros for a 40-minute ride. Yes, again, we WAY overpaid but we figured we didn't know when we'd be back in Venice so it was something that we HAD to do. The ride was very peaceful and our gondolier was pretty cool (no, he did not serenade us) and pointed out important buildings as we floated by. The city was very quiet and it was beautiful to see the moonlight reflecting on the water. We went up through the Grand Canal, under the Rialto Bridge, and then ended up back at Piazza San Marco again. It was a great way to experience Venice and we will treasure those memories.

Day 8: Today, Saturday, we made the mistake of taking the Vaporetto to the island of Murano. The wait at the station near the Piazza San Marco was incredibly long, as it seemed that the whole continent of Europe decided to descend upon Venice that day. We had wanted to take the nonstop Vaporetto that would take us directly to Murano, but after waiting in the really hot station with the very pushy crowd, we got on the first bus that we could fit onto, which just happened to be the one that made EVERY stop along the way. So after spending about an hour and a half trying to get to the island of Murano, we finally made it and spent all of about an hour there, as there really wasn't much to see. We went to a glass-blowing demonstration but had to wait in line for about 20 minutes first and the demo lasted all of about 3 minutes. Then we were herded into their shop but the merchandise was nothing special (a lot of junk, really) so we quickly left. We browsed in a few more stores and found a few glass pieces that we liked but did not end up buying anything after all. We walked back to the Vaporetto stop but there was a huge line of people waiting so we decided to have lunch and wait there for the next bus. We had a decently priced pizza lunch at this little cafe right across from the Vaporetto stop so we could keep an eye on the line. When we finished, there was no line at the stop so we went over there to wait for the next bus. We quickly learned that Europeans have no respect for lines, as many people cut in front of us even though we were there first, and the fact that their culture does not respect "personal space" as ours does, made us very uncomfortable. The long ride back to Piazza San Marco was made even more unenjoyable by the fact that the bus was totally overcrowded and hot. Steve decided to open one of the windows to get some air, and water splashed on us a few minutes later. We thought it was kind of funny, but the elderly lady sitting next to me, who got a little wet, didn't at all, and she lambasted us for opening the window. Of course, we couldn't understand what she was saying since she yelled at us in Italian, but Steve gave it right back to her in English. When we finally arrived back at Piazza San Marco, there were wall to wall people in the streets surrounding the piazza that it took us about 40 minutes to walk back to our hotel, which had only taken us about 5 minutes previously. We rested up in our hotel room for a while in the hopes that in the evening the crowds would be gone, and they pretty much were when we ventured back out around 7:00. We shopped for a few souvenirs for the kids and some friends of ours, then had a very nice pasta dinner in a different part of town, and then headed back to our hotel to pack, as we had to leave early the next morning.

Day 9: We were downstairs for breakfast very early, as we had to check out and take the Vaporetto back to the train station to catch our train back to Rome. The Vaporetto ride was relatively quick and uneventful and we made it to the station in plenty of time. The train ride to Rome was about 3 hours long so we had a chance to relax and watch the scenery for a while. Upon our arrival at Termini station, we checked our bags downstairs and then sat and had a bite to eat. We upgraded our tickets from coach to Business Class with Eurofly and we were able to use their VIP Lounge before boarding. The lounge was quite nice and it had wonderful reclining chairs that allowed us to plug in our laptops and work on them while we waited. Our flight was delayed a bit but once we boarded, it was a nice, pleasant flight back to JFK. I tried to sleep and actually was relatively comfortable in the seat, but since I never sleep well on planes, the rest I got was better than I expected. By the way, the food was quite good and I would definitely not hesitate to fly Eurofly again. By the time we arrived back in JFK and took the complimentary shuttle to our hotel, we were absolutely exhausted because it was well after 1:00 am. We stayed at the Ramada Plaza Hotel, which is supposedly right next to the airport, but it sure took the shuttle bus a while to get there. The room was sparsely furnished and in overall not very good condition, but it served its purpose well (much needed sleep!). However, the front desk staff was rude and understaffed, and I would not recommend this hotel to my clients.

Day 10: Our flight home on JetBlue was uneventful and actually quite good, considering we could watch DirectTV programming right from our seatback monitors. All in all, this was a superb trip and we will cherish the memories forever. Ciao, Italy!

Bermuda to Allow Cruise Ships to Open Late-Night Casinos in Port

2008-06-09T16:43:00.001-05:00

Cruise ships will be allowed to open late-night casinos in port in Bermuda, according to The Royal Gazette. Premier and Tourism Minister Ewart Brown announced the decision in the House of Assembly as one of a number of alterations to cruise ship legislation, the newspaper reported.
He said that ships would now be allowed to open bars and signature shops and "provide full entertainment inclusive of the opening of casinos after 10 p.m. while in port."
Brown said that, in return, the cruise lines would be required to contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to on-Island activities, adding that Norwegian Cruise Line has committed to pay $150,000 a year to the Bermuda Music Festival and provide entertainers for Harbour Nights in Hamilton, produce an on-Island dining brochure distributed to all its cruise guests and donate a total of $275,000 to the Bermuda Heritage Museum and St. George's Foundation, according to the Gazette. It added that negotiations are underway with Royal Caribbean.
Brown reportedly said a review of cruise industry trends concluded that Bermuda was losing its competitive edge attracting cruise ships, especially "the smaller premium ships capable of docking in Hamilton and St. George's." This he blamed partly on increased competition from other summer destinations such as the Mediterranean and Baltic and high operating costs in Bermuda.

ROYAL CARIBBEAN UNVEILS FIRST ARCHITECTURAL MARVEL

2008-04-15T16:49:00.002-05:00

Central Park Brings the Outdoors In, Creating Open-air Neighborhood for Guests That Reaches to the Sky!

In its latest evolution in cruise ship design, Royal Caribbean International's Project Genesis will bring the best of the land to sea with Central Park, a revolutionary design in which the center of the ship opens to the sky and features lush, tropical grounds spanning the length of a football field. An exquisite public gathering place featuring serene pathways, seasonal flower gardens and canopy trees, Central Park will provide cruisers with more choices in a unique outdoor space. One of the ship's most ground-breaking spaces, this new concept is the first of seven neighborhoods to be unveiled on Project Genesis. Each neighborhood will provide vacationers with the opportunity to seek out relevant experiences in various locales based on their personal style, preference or mood.
Elegant and lively, Central Park's central piazza will be the ship's "town square" which evolves from a tranquil and peaceful atmosphere during the day to a gathering space for alfresco dining and entertainment in the evening, where guests will enjoy concerts and street performances. The neighborhood is lined with balcony staterooms rising six decks high with views of the Park below and the sky above.
Surrounding this social space will be an array of restaurants, with choices ranging from fine dining to casual chic. Guests will have the option of an elegant dinner at the new 150 Central Park or a picnic lunch from the more casual Central Park Café, where they can sit outdoors and people-watch. Other dining choices will include: Giovanni's Table, an Italian restaurant; Vintages wine bar; and Royal Caribbean's signature Chops Grille steakhouse. Several bars will be scattered throughout the Park, including the Canopy Bar, located at one of two impressive glass-domed canopies, and the unique Rising Tide bar - the first moving bar at sea. Truly an engineering feat, Rising Tide will span three decks and allow cruisers to enjoy a cocktail as they slowly ascend into Central Park and then descend back into the public spaces below. Central Park also will have stylish boutique shops, showcasing a selection of upscale merchandise.
"Building such a large vessel allowed us to add even more of the choices and amenities that our guests value and Central Park is a dramatic addition to our already extensive array of exciting features," said Richard D. Fain, Chairman & CEO, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. "Central Park is the first of many dynamic neighborhoods on Project Genesis which will enable each guest to find his or her own space and activity." "Our brand identity is founded in innovation and on delivering the best cruise vacation through `WOW' experiences," stated Adam Goldstein, President & CEO, Royal Caribbean International. "Central Park is a true evolution of cruise ship design and allows us to provide our guests with not only a more varied selection of balcony
accommodations, but also a stunning public venue that will be a central element of the ship, both during the day and at night."

Local Travel Agent Becomes Cruise Expert by Earning Prestigious Top Rank inPrincess Cruises Academy

2008-01-30T16:38:00.000-06:00

WHEATON, Illinois (January 30, 2008) – A Wheaton travel agent has achieved prestigious Commodore status in Princess Cruises’ Academy training program, certifying her as an expert cruise professional. As a Commodore, Sheila McPherson of CruiseOne joins an exclusive group of travel agents who are now recognized by Princess at the Academy's highest level for their unique qualifications and knowledge as a cruise planning professional. Sheila McPherson earned this distinction after completing the minimum 25 courses necessary to graduate from the program.

“We at Princess are very proud of Sheila McPherson’s dedication, as she put in extra effort to offer clients exceptional knowledge regarding our cruise vacation product as well as our worldwide destinations,” said Jan Swartz, Senior Vice President of Customer Service and Sales at Princess. “Travel agents who reach this top level in our Academy program have completed hours of course work to become a cruising expert, which will prove invaluable to providing clients with a great vacation.”

Princess Academy is the cruise industry’s most comprehensive online training program available to travel agents in the U.S. and Canada. Agents who complete the extensive coursework become experts on a wide range of topics, offering travelers full knowledge of important details about a Princess vacation such as the different passenger amenities on the line’s 17 ships, the company’s worldwide destinations and the many special programs available onboard.

“I'm thrilled to be a Princess Commodore and expand my expertise about cruising. The knowledge I've gained makes me a more valuable resource for my clients, and enables me to recommend the very best vacation which matches all of their needs,” said Sheila.

To become a Commodore, travel agents must fulfill 25 required and elective classes, representing approximately 15 hours of total course work covering worldwide destinations, onboard programs, and customer service skills. As they complete courses, agents receive their “stripes” through four levels: First Officer, Staff Captain, Captain and finally Commodore. Agents can continue to take elective courses to expand their knowledge and keep their Commodore status current.

7 Nights in the Caribbean on RCCL's Adventure of the Seas

2007-11-06T16:16:00.000-06:00

My husband and I just sailed on Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas to the Southern Caribbean. We hadn't been on Royal Caribbean since we were on the Viking Serenade many years ago.

My first impression: Wow, what a beautiful ship! My favorite feature was the gorgeous 3-story dining room. The grand staircase at the rear reminded me of the grand staircase on the Titanic, and the lighting and furnishings throughout the room were just beautiful. It really made dinners there each night very enjoyable.

Another beautiful feature of the ship was the grand Promenade. If you haven't been on a Royal Caribbean ship that has this feature, you're really missing something! There was always hustle and bustle going on down there, especially in the evenings, when there would be music playing and people would gather around to listen and sing along. Our favorite part, however, was the Cafe Promenade, where we could sit and have a great cup of Seattle's Best Coffee and just watch and listen. This place was also a great alternative to the buffet if you just wanted a quick sandwich or pastry, and it was open late for those late night cravings!

Speaking of cravings, the food was pretty good on the ship. We found the dinners to be quite good, and lunches in the dining room (on sea days only) were excellent. You have to try the open faced steak sandwich -- delicious! The buffet food was, well, typical buffet food, so that's not too surprising. The only really good buffet we've ever had was at The Peppermill Hotel/Casino. Now THAT''s a buffet! We ate a few times at Johnny Rockets, and we enjoyed that, although I really think that they should do away with the cover charge ($3.95 per person per visit), although we did each have a coupon to waive the cover charge from our Crown & Anchor Society books in our stateroom. We've been to Johnny Rockets many times on land and the food on the ship was pretty much the same, and I really loved how they'd bring us a basket of fries and onion rings as soon as we sat down.

We took advantage of our balcony stateroom and had breakfast out there every morning. We've done that every day of every cruise that we have been on in the past seven years and that's one of our favorite things to do. It just makes us feel so pampered! We sit out there with our robes on and watch the beautiful water as we enjoy our coffee and eggs, and it is just so peaceful and relaxing. Here's a tip for those of you who want to try this: if you want something that's not on the menu, write it on there in the quantities you want and see if they bring it to you. On Princess they were very accommodating; we requested corned beef hash almost every morning and got it every time! However, on the Adventure, we tried that and they called and said they didn't have it. However, they scrambled our eggs with cheddar cheese as we requested and brought us extra pastries when we requested them. Overall, breakfasts were very enjoyable, even though the table on the balcony was so tiny it could only hold a couple of coffee cups on saucers!

Our stateroom was very nice; we had a superior balcony stateroom and it was very well appointed. We loved how the bed was right near the balcony, because we left the sliding door open at night so that we could hear the ocean as we slept, and it was so wonderful. There was ample storage space, and with all of the stuff we bought in the different ports, we used most of it!

This trip we made shopping a priority, and boy, did we SHOP! We knew we wanted to buy a couple of watches -- one for me, one for him -- plus some jewelry for me, and we accomplished all that and a lot more. We had a great time buying souvenirs and T-shirts for our kids in Curacao and Aruba, and we saved the big purchases for St. Maarten and St. Thomas. We hunted from store to store in St. Maarten, trying to find a certain Concord watch for my husband, and we finally found it, and at a great price, too! And I picked out the most perfect Sophia Fiori blue diamond ring in St. Maarten as well at the Venetian boutique. That place is a must-see if you are looking for Sophia Fiori blue diamonds. We bought more souvenirs and T-shirts in St. Thomas, plus a new digital camera for me. It was a shopping extravaganza for us, and we had a great time!

Overall, this was a very nice cruise. As I said, the ship was beautiful and the food was pretty good, but we found the entertainment to be a little lacking. We did not find that there were a lot of activities going on throughout the day, unless you were into bingo and belly flop contests. We played bingo once and spent quite a bit of money on the cards for the two of us, and we didn't win (of course) but we were surprised at how low the prize winnings were -- the "big" jackpot final game that day was all of $75! We played bingo on Disney several years ago and my husband and I each won over $200, and neither of those were the big jackpot games!

As for the shows, we did not care for the musical productions at all. The musical productions on the Disney Magic and the Grand Princess were much better. There was a pretty decent comedian, and the audience participation games were quite funny, but that was about it. The highlight of the entertainment was the "Fountains" routine they did one late night. I don't know if they are doing this on other ships or not, but this was quite funny. Oh, and they did a can't miss game show called "The Quest" one night, and this was unbelievable. If they do this on your next cruise, you MUST go! We laughed so hard and had an awesome time, I did not want it to end!

One other minor complaint involved the dining venues on the ship. On the other cruises we have taken over the years, the main dining room was always open for lunch, whether the ship was at sea or in port. On the Adventure, the dining room was only open on sea days. When the ship was in port, the only choices for lunch were the buffet, where the food was average at best, and Johnny Rockets, where you had to pay the cover charge. We really felt that Royal Caribbean was trying to get passengers to eat at restaurants in port, thus saving the cruise line money on food. Also, on other cruises, the buffet has always been open either 24 hours, or at least until very late at night. On the Adventure, that was not the case, as the buffet would close around 10 or 11 pm, so if you wanted something later on, the only choice open was the Cafe Promenade, which had a very limited selection of items. They did a late night full buffet one or two nights up on the pool deck, but when we got up there, the line snaked all the way around the deck and we decided it wasn't worth the wait.

The most important thing for us to get from this vacation was a chance to just be together as husband and wife, without the kids and the daily stresses at home, and to really connect with each other. We certainly did that, and so for that reason alone, it was a great vacation and we eagerly await our next cruise!

SHEILA McPHERSON APPOINTED CRUISE SPECIALIST

2007-10-04T13:12:00.000-05:00

(WHEATON, IL) – October 4, 2007 – Sheila McPherson has been accredited as a local independent cruise specialist in Wheaton for CruiseOne, offering guidance in selecting cruise ships and itineraries and savings of up to 50 percent on all major cruise lines. CruiseOne specialists are knowledgeable in a broad range of cruise vacations ranging from family reunions at sea and honeymoon cruises to corporate meetings, incentives, and ship charters.

Sheila McPherson participated in the cruise industry’s most intensive training curriculum that included sales and marketing seminars, product briefings by major cruise lines, hands-on computer orientation and onboard ship inspections. The state-of-the-art CruiseOne training center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is considered among the best in the nation.

With more than 500 locations coast to coast, CruiseOne prides itself on providing attention to detail and expert advice to every customer. Each independently owned and operated business combines the latest technology with old-fashioned customer service. The automated best fare search program enables cruise specialists to identify excellent values on all major cruise lines

“Congratulations to Sheila McPherson upon successfully completing the CruiseOne certification program,” said Vivian Ewart, senior vice president of CruiseOne. “The cruise industry is so large and complex that general service travel counselors cannot do justice to the cruise product or properly serve the needs of today’s cruise customer.”

Sheila McPherson can be reached at (630) 868-6719 or toll free at (877) 823-8597 or by visiting her web site at www.serenitycruising.com.