THE RIGHT PRICE………….$1,938
October 16, 2011:
Barcelona to Galveston 28 days
Ship: Carnival Magic
Contact: carnival.com
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Our featured cruise this week is actually 2-in-1, so it requires a little explanation. The first leg is a 12-day return trip from Barcelona, to European ports in France, Italy, Croatia and Sicily. The Magic, which is Carnival’s new ship that’s scheduled to be launched next summer, leaves the same night it arrives in Barcelona for its North American home port in Texas — Galveston.
The second leg, 16 days long, has only four stops. But what a deal — $69 a night — for people who want to experience a new ship in its infancy and who want to sail across the Atlantic! After all, port-hopping is not for everybody.
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Oasis of the Seas, currently sailing the Caribbean, features Central Park (of sorts) in its mid-ship. As the world’s biggest cruise ship, it has space for such an extravagance. It also has four awards from the Plantscape Industry Alliance awards for its Central Park project, including the prestigious Judges’ Award as the most outstanding overall project in 2010, presented last weekend in San Diego.
The Royal Caribbean flagship’s attempt to “bring the best of land to sea” was designed by a group known as Ambius.
You think the price of doing business with Ambius just went up?
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Did you know that in today’s modern world of cruising that ships are steered by joysticks? We’ve come a long way from Atari, haven’t we?
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A large print ad and billboard campaign by Celebrity Cruises is urging customers to ask travel agents. Ask what? Now that YOU ask, Celebrity even feeds you the questions. Such as:
“Ask who provides the best premium Caribbean cruise vacation.”
“Ask about the largest staff of sommeliers in the Caribbean, or the world.”
“Ask about a place where your stateroom attendant calls you by name. And your waiter, too.”
“Ask about activities…such as Apple, Smithsonian Journeys, Bacardi, Rosetta Stone and Riedel Crystal.”
Presumably your travel agent has been given the Celebrity answers. The campaign is currently running in select national magazines and newspapers, and on billboards.
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That’s it, we’re done.