THE RIGHT PRICE…………….$249
November 27, 2010: Miami (return) to Western Caribbean, 5 nights
Bonus: $75 shipboard credit
Ship: Celebrity Century
Contact: CruiseDeals.com (1-800-668-6414)
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It goes without saying that if we planned to take our grandchildren on a cruise — don’t get excited, kids, the operative word is IF — the place we’d be most likely to look is Disney. Wouldn’t you?
In January, Disney launches its first new ship in more than a decade, the Dream. What’s attracting most of the attention in advance, and probably will after launch, is the AquaDuck.
What’s an AquaDuck? A water coaster at sea, of course.
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This one’s for art aficionados.
As of today, all three of Celebrity’s Solstice-class ships will offer self-guided art tours on iPads. The concept was introduced last week on the Celebrity Solstice and today it is being unveiled on both the Eclipse and the Equinox. Next year, the Silhouette becomes the fourth ship in the class, which obviously means four ships will have the tours.
The concept is a spinoff from Celebrity’s popular menus on iPads for the Osine specialty restaurant, which was a spinoff from the iLounges, with their MacBook workstations. It likely won’t be long until all eight Celebrity ships are upgraded accordingly.
With 14,000 works, the cruise line boasts one of the world’s largest corporate collections of contemporary art.
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Watch for entertainment news from Royal Caribbean. There’s a new Broadway production planned for both Liberty of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas, a family musical suited to children.
The two ships will also have Royal Babies and Tots nurseries, following the popularity of the nursery care program on Oasis of the Seas. It’s a safe, interactive environment for children aged 6 to 36 months. In its intent to make family cruising more enjoyable, Royal Caribbean has partnered with Fisher Price and Crayola.
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Calling shore to ship, to talk to someone you miss while they’re cruising? Get ready to pay a premium.
Most cruise lines have 1-800 (or 1-888) numbers you can call to reach their ships, but it’s not easy to find the numbers. One cruiser discovered it’s not always easy to pay for them — the cost was about $8 a minute.
How much do you miss him/her?
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That’s it, we’re done.