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
Category: Ports
Florida Hotel That Doesn't Live Up To Its Name
Okay, maybe it is better to arrive in your port of departure the DAY before your ship leaves. That's our mantra, but sometimes we deviate from it — all for good reason — as we did this month en route to boarding the Allure of the Seas. We paid for our deviation, big-time. Flying from… Continue reading Florida Hotel That Doesn't Live Up To Its Name
This Big Three In Serious Port Competition
Mention the "Big 3" in Florida and everybody will think you mean Lebron James, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade. These days, it's not that automatic, and not just because James was making headlines with his Decision 2.0 as to where he'll be bouncing and swishing basketballs. In the cruise world, for example, the "Big 3"… Continue reading This Big Three In Serious Port Competition
The Haitis of Mitch Albom & Royal Caribbean
LABADEE, Haiti — One of our heroes is a man named Mitch Albom, a Detroit sportswriter-columnist-novelist-screenwriter of immense talent who for the last four years has taken a personal interest in this Caribbean island devastated by an earthquake that killed 150,000 people and left three million homeless. Albom has made it his cause to help… Continue reading The Haitis of Mitch Albom & Royal Caribbean
City By The Bay, Concerts By The Bay
In San Francisco, there's a lot of optimism about cruising. In September, the new James R. Herman Cruise Terminal will welcome its first ship and, the optimists hope, open the door to a new era of cruising for the city by the bay. The first ship will be the Crown Princess. It will be followed… Continue reading City By The Bay, Concerts By The Bay