THE RIGHT PRICE…………….see Thursday’s blog (July 29)
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Latest port to look into the possibility of cruise ships…Brownsville, Texas. That’s the place where two hurricanes/tropical storms have made landfall this year, but that’s life in any of the Gulf of Mexico port cities and towns, of which there are four that are home ports for the cruise industry.
The district of the west Texas port has commissioned a feasibility study to see if it makes sense, or $en$e, to be a turnaround port or port of call. The consultants’ research shows 118 new ships world-wide in the last 10 years and Brownsville would like a piece of the action.
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The Emerald Princess lost power for more than four hours last Sunday night, and the cause is still a mystery. Just 90 minutes out of Fort Lauderdale, at 6:30 p.m., the ship 
was adrift with no engine propulsion, no AC and limited lighting.
The first port of call was Princess Cays, the cruise line’s private beach in the Bahamas, a stop that was canceled. While Princess Cruises is still trying to determine how to compensate passengers, the Miami branch of the U.S. Coast Guard has launched an investigation into the cause. The balance of the 7-night cruise was completed without further incident.
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If you’re a gourmet diner — and who doesn’t like to be? — there’s a new fine-dining package on Freedom of the Seas.
Each cruise on that Royal Caribbean ship will be hosted by a celebrity chef; Johnny Vinczencz, winner of the U.S. version of Professional Master Chef, is one of them.
The Epicurean Discovery Package is a ship excursion, which means you pay for it, and the perks are tapas sampling, wine tasting, private dinner, a lecture, a private tour and a signed photo and cookbook.
We’d do it, mostly for the food.
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Having never so much as touched marijuana, we’re hardly the experts on this, but if anybody’s thinking of trying to smuggle the stuff onto a cruise ship, Bermuda would be a bad place to try.
According to USA Today’s Gene Sloan, a Maryland man was arrested by police who searched the Norwegian Dawn with drug-sniffing canines and found cannabis in his cabin. Bermuda is known for strict laws on possession and the cruise-ship passenger — no, he didn’t wind up in jail — escaped with only a $1,500 fine.
It’s the second time this has happened to an NCL cruise passenger, so we offer this little item as a public service announcement so there won’t be a third.
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That’s it, we’re done.