Cards From the Same Deck

Okay, now they've got us. The cruise line and the hotel. It's not so much that they want to be in our deck of loyalty cards, it's that they want to be there together. Royal Caribbean, naturally, has a loyalty program for those of us who enjoy frequenting cruise ships. That doesn't make Royal unique.… Continue reading Cards From the Same Deck

This Time, Cruising Hit by Hurricane

Get ready for the hurricane. Not Sandy, the "hurricane" of stories that we're going to hear from cruisers who have been stranded while trying to reach their ship, tossed around on ships, left at sea, compensated by airlines/cruise lines, not compensated by airlines/cruise lines, missed ports, missed ships, had their cruise shortened, had their cruise… Continue reading This Time, Cruising Hit by Hurricane

Pricing a Caribbean Cruise

  Just on a whim, we decided on the weekend to see what you'd be looking at if you decided — on a  whim — to escape the anticipated (and certain) blahs of winter and go on a Caribbean cruise. We discovered four cruise lines with almost the same cruises, so that we're not comparing… Continue reading Pricing a Caribbean Cruise

Oasis, Allure to get a sister?

It will soon be three years since Oasis of the Seas raised the bar on the size of cruise ships, by many hundreds of berths and millions of dollars. Perhaps like no other ship before it, Oasis became known as the "biggest cruise ship in the world" — a title other vessels have worn with… Continue reading Oasis, Allure to get a sister?

Dining Getting Royal Treatment

  We spent last weekend in Las Vegas, because that's what people who like Jimmy Buffett do when he's playing his tunes for you and 15,000 of your closest friends. And speaking of friends, a woman of our vintage said "Did you eat lots of food?" after we returned, because that's what Vegas used to… Continue reading Dining Getting Royal Treatment