New ship No. 10 — AIDAprima

Last in a series of new ships for 2016 If you think you’ve read about this “new” ship before, well, you have. Right here, one year ago, when the AIDAprima was to be among the class of 2015. Well, it wasn’t. Originally scheduled to be launched last spring, AIDA Cruises announced in October that the AIDAprima’s… Continue reading New ship No. 10 — AIDAprima

Why Upscale Cruise Deals Are Rare

You may have noticed in our Daily Deals — five days a week, 52 weeks a year — that bargains on "upper premium" cruise lines appear only rarely. There’s a reason for that: The “deals” are often…well, confusing. An example is one we just received from Oceania. What caught our eyes was Free 3-night Winelands… Continue reading Why Upscale Cruise Deals Are Rare

Company For World's Top Cruise Ports

Miami…Fort Lauderdale…Port Rashid… Notice the apparent disconnect? Well, not so fast. The acknowledged kinds of cruise ports are  Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Proven to send more than eight million people off on their favorite cruise ships every year. Gateways to the Caribbean, primarily, and that’s still where most people go on their first cruise. Also… Continue reading Company For World's Top Cruise Ports

Dubai: The Expected and the Unexpected

How much do you know about Dubai? Perhaps, like us, you know that a visit there would provide spectacular skylines depicting opulent (oil) wealth, unaffordable (diamonds) shopping, maybe a little golf (like Tiger) and riding ATVs around sand dunes, if that’s your thing. Okay, how about skiing? As in…snow skiing. This was a revelation to… Continue reading Dubai: The Expected and the Unexpected

Costa Calls 'Fore' More Golf

It’s getting so you can do virtually everything on a cruise ship, and some of it virtually. Take golf, which this couple has been studying for more years than you want to know. Take Costa Cruises, the company that’s mixing golf and cruising in a big way. On two ships, the Costa Deliziosa and the… Continue reading Costa Calls 'Fore' More Golf