Having never seen the laying of a keel on a cruise ship, we were intrigued by the opportunity to watch the procedure online. It was courtesy of Viking, the river cruise line that's soon to be an ocean cruise line, once its Viking Star is in the water next year. If you're interested, click here:… Continue reading About The Laying Of A New Cruise Ship's Keel…
Category: Ships
A Cruise Wine Policy That Almost Makes Sense
Just when you think common sense is prevailing when it comes to cruise passengers and bottles of wine, Holland America doesn't go far enough. The "most permissive" cruise line will now allow its passengers to take as many bottles as they wish to lug onto the ship and pay corkage for wine. The first bottle… Continue reading A Cruise Wine Policy That Almost Makes Sense
Norwegian's Morphing of Freestyle Into Paystyle
In the midst of today's christening of its new ship the Getaway, Norwegian has also launched a new way to eat on board, calling it the Ultimate Dining Package. A cynic might call it Paystyle Cruising. That's a play on Freestyle Cruising, the revolutionary concept Norwegian introduced about 15 years ago. It eventually spread to… Continue reading Norwegian's Morphing of Freestyle Into Paystyle
Are these Olympics a little Jade-d?
The fun starts tomorrow, which on this side of the ocean may be today. The 17-day sports/political quadrennial known as the Olympic Games. People who go on cruise ships are surely among the assembled masses and there is at least one mass-market ship among the four "cruise ships" on the scene in Sochi, Russia:… Continue reading Are these Olympics a little Jade-d?
Different Kind Of Month For Carnival!
It is now official. Carnival is no longer a four-letter word in the cruise industry. At least, not with the customers, the people who count the most. Last Friday, the sometimes-beleaguered cruise line reported record sales figures. It was the biggest month in Carnival's history for "net bookings" — new reservations minus cancellations. The… Continue reading Different Kind Of Month For Carnival!