THE RIGHT PRICE…………………….$509
November 7, 2011: TransAtlantic from Malaga, Spain to San Juan, Puerto Rico, 13 days
Ports: Portugal, Canary Islands, Gran Canaria, St. Maarten
Ship: Adventure of the Seas (above) Contact: Royal Caribbean
* * *
Don’t let your kids see this one…or you’ll be going to Castaway Cay on a Disney ship! On sailings in the New Year, kids can sail free, providing parents (or two responsible adults — that let’s us out) pay for a verandah stateroom.
On all 7-night Caribbean cruises from January 5 to March 5 (except one), the kids are free on the Disney Magic cruises to both the Eastern and Western Caribbean. All cruises stop at Castaway Cay, where only Disney cruisers can go.
Now before you go thinking this is too good to be true, the price of the verandah staterooms is dictated by the number of people. For example, a one-child family can go for $2,865…a two-child family (i.e. a stateroom that sleeps four) costs $2,945 to $3,205…and if you have three kids, expect to pay $4,405. All fees and taxes are included.
The rest of the fine print is on Disney’s website.
* * *
If you like fine food, watching fine chefs and helping a fine cause, Holland America’s Ryndam is a good place to be on November 7. It helps if you live in or are visiting Florida, because the Ryndam will be moored at Tampa that day.
The occasion is a competition featuring three city chefs who will have 15 minutes to try and become Tampa’s Top Chef. In a kitchen made for TV, the chefs will each prepare and present their signature dishes to Tampa food critics, with an audience watching. To be in the audience (and taste the signature dishes with a little vino) costs $75, and the beneficiary is the Children’s Cancer Research Group.
Cruising To A Cure starts at 10 a.m. and runs four hours. You can register here.
* * *
Been to Melbourne? It’s obviously making an impact among the cruising community. The Melbourne season starts tomorrow when the Dawn Princess (below) arrives, and it’s the first of 38 cruise ships that will bring 86,000 passengers to the Australian port through the summer (our winter).
The cruise terminal, called Station Pier, has been renovated to accommodate the increased traffic and on “cruise shipping days” its shops and restaurants will not be open to the public. The ships will produced an estimated $38 million in revenue for a country where “mate” has a slightly different meaning than it does on the seas!