TSA tax increase next week for flyers

If you're thinking about booking a flight to get to a cruise (or even just booking a flight period), and if you want to avoid a tax increase, book now. Well, not exactly right now…but before Monday. That's when new fees go into effect throughout the U.S. for air travelers. It's a little confusing, as… Continue reading TSA tax increase next week for flyers

The Skinny On Building New Ships

When a cruise line that already has two new ships still being built announces that it is building two more, as Norwegian did on Monday, there's a tendency to think this is an unprecedented construction explosion. It's not. Aggressive…yes. Unheard of…no. Starting with the Breakaway Class, by 2019 Norwegian will have launched six ships in… Continue reading The Skinny On Building New Ships

The Fame Of Man Named Francesco

There we were late Saturday night, settling in to watch the late news, and along comes Francesco…again. If you don't know who "Francesco" is just Google the name and chances are you'll discover he's one of the four most famous Francescos in the world, according to Google. The last name is Schettino and if that… Continue reading The Fame Of Man Named Francesco

Fugitive Search Included Sapphire Princess

As of yesterday, the world is still looking for Yoo Byung-eun. If you've never heard of Yoo, don't be embarrassed, but everybody in South Korea has. He is the country's most  wanted man and South Koreans are looking for him everywhere — even on cruise ships. The 73-year-old (or his family) owns the ferry (Sewol)… Continue reading Fugitive Search Included Sapphire Princess

Puerto Rico Plans to Market Cruisers

News item: Puerto Rico is doubling the number of hotels, and doubling the number of hotel rooms, over the next decade because of an annual increase in tourist traffic of three per cent (2013) that is topping out at 1.6 million. For the cruise community, Puerto Rico is San Juan. In a one-year period, San… Continue reading Puerto Rico Plans to Market Cruisers