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Coral Princess: a study in comfort
I am taking some time off and have turned the Blog over to my colleagues Bob and Nancy Dunn of Cruising Done Right. They are currently on an Alaska tour and cruise with Princess Cruises. Today, they...
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Great to be small (ships) in Alaska
Sailing on a small ship in Alaska has many advantages. While the major cruise lines follow similar routes, the smaller ships can slip into bays and inland areas that bigger ships only sail past. More...
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New ship contracts for Nagasaki
Photo by Allie Caulfield European ship builders such as Fincantieri of Italy, Meyer Werft of Germany and STX France have, for the majority of cruise lines, been the builders of choice for new cruise...
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Scenic Crystal: adaptable balconies
Scenic Tours, the only river cruise line in Europe with an Australian accent, is getting ready to launch its sixth river cruiser in April. The Aussie-owned river cruise line is making interesting...
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Thanksgiving sales cross borders
I am still trying to figure out when Black Friday sales started in Canada. It’s irrelevant though, isn’t it? Anything for a sale — right? So far, three cruise lines have announced what could be...
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Cruise news around the world
Oceania has added its name to cruise lines offering all-you-can-drink cocktail packages. “All you can eat” has been on ships for a long time with the buffet spreads out all day long. So here is the...
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Disney’s dazzles in any port
I’ve been sailing the Mexican Riviera on the Disney Wonder for the past week — my first time on a Disney ship with a full load of passengers (I was on the Dream for 24 hours when it was launched at...
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Disney D-Day looms for Fantasy
PAPENBURG, Germany — The good ship Fantasy is a mess. I mean that in the kindest way. Here I am in Papenburg, getting a first look at Disney’s newest creation — the Disney Fantasy, the latest addition...
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Looking for great cruise photos
I don’t know about you, but I have about half a dozen cruise-related pictures that some day will be the start of an online picture book of my best shots. While I have thousands of photos, these are...
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Sapphire Princess sailing again
The Sapphire Princess is out of dry-dock in Victoria and is now sailing on a round-trip Los Angeles-Hawaii cruise after a three-week makeover. The ship now has a brand new Piazza Atrium, which...
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Avalon busy making cruise news
Some news from the river cruise line Avalon. This is a company that has a lot going on these days, starting with the launch of a new all-suite ship, Panorama, christened last week in Mainz, Germany....
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NCL’s Dawn arising from dry-dock
Spring is here and re-furbishing ships is in full swing for some cruise lines, starting with Norwegian. NCL’s Dawn is currently in dry-dock in Freeport, Bahamas and when she comes out at the end of...
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Busy spring for Holland America ships
If you own a house or an apartment, then you know spring is the right time for doing the windows, power washing the concrete, and just making the house and the yard look its best for summer. And...
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Royal’s Radiance rich in restaurants
I mentioned in yesterday’s Blog that the refurbishing of Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas is more like a remodelling. As necessary as that was, the addition of so many restaurants has a lot to...
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Norwegian new-builds design…first
Norwegian has always been a cruise line for firsts, and that reputation isn’t likely to change any time soon. It was to apply “Freestyle Dining” to evening meals, offering seating outside of the...
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More upgrades for Royal family
Royal Caribbean is opening the purse strings and laying out $300 million on ship upgrades over the next three years. Some of it was already spent on the Radiance of the Seas, last month in Victoria....
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Princess cruise sale heating up
Princess Cruises has a three-day sale running that starts today (July 20), with the emphasis on warm-weather destinations (Has your summer left you craving some southern exposure?). Cruises on sale on...
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Viking sails into ‘hot news’ waters
While people everywhere are scrambling for jobs, the launch team for Viking River Cruises is going to be extremely busy with the launch of two more river cruisers for 2012. Now that is news, but it...
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Millennium music, boutique growth
Monday and that means it’s time to catch up on some cruise news. If you like symphony music and cruising, I have a combo for you. Symphonic Voyages is organizing several concerts on the Celebrity...
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Stateroom teasers from the Norwegian Escape
Finally, a hint of what to expect from Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship, the Escape. It’s scheduled to launch in the fall of 2015 and will be Norwegian’s largest ship at 4,200 passengers. We did...
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Cruise deals
Here are some holiday cruise deals from a couple of cruise lines and an airline. Scenic Tours, who offer four vessels on the rivers of Europe, will make it five in 2011 with the launch of the Scenic...
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NCL caters to solo cruisers
From the people who brought you freestyle cruising comes the latest—solo cruising. Singles have long been left out of the picture when it comes to cruising. There is the odd sale from time to time,...
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Prinsendam and Dubai add something new
If you’re sailing on Holland America’s Prinsendam this year you will notice a few things have changed. The Prinsendam carries 800 passengers, give or take a few with the new upgrades. The renovations...
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Fascination–looking good
Phil Reimer–Carnival Cruise Lines’ Fascination is back in service in Jacksonville after getting a $34 million upgrade. The ship will continue to sail its four and five day cruises year-round. On the...
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Carnival Glory renovations completed
Phil Reimer–The Carnival Glory is back in Caribbean service, out of Miami, after her renovation. The 2,900 passenger ship added a Serenity adults only area, a new Seaside Theatre and more facilities...
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Oceania’s Marina on sale to all
Phil Reimer–They’re starting to crank out the information as we get closer to the launch of Oceania’s new ship, the Marina. The deluxe-brand cruise line will set the Marina loose in early January...
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Avalon Felicity wrap-up
This is the final installment on my European river cruise and time to tell you about the actual ship–the Avalon Felicity. Just a reminder, it was a 7-day Tulip Cruise from Amsterdam return through...
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Holland America upgrades Statendam
Phil Reimer–Another Holland America ship has completed Signature upgrades. The Statendam, which will sail out of Vancouver to Seward (Anchorage) in a series of north-south cruises this summer, has had...
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Celebrity Constellation transformation
Phil Reimer–On April 24, Celebrity Cruises will officially name their new ship in Southampton. Eclipse will be a sister ship for Equinox and Solstice—all of them Solstice-class ships. While that is...
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River cruising picking up speed
If you have any doubts that river cruising is gaining in popularity, Viking’s announcement this week should erase them. Viking River Cruises plans to spend $250 million on eight new ships over the...
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Big-picture thinking for Avalon
I know this is a lot of river cruising information in two days, but while cruise ships are cutting back on ordering inventory, the river cruise industry is going full steam ahead. Following up on...
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River cruising 2011 the Scenic way
Scenic Tours, the well-known Australian operator with ships and land tours on all five continents, has announced its river-cruise itineraries for 2011. What makes Scenic Tours unique is that it’s the...
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Oceania fleet preparing for new arrivals
Oceania is upgrading its fleet, in what the popular deluxe cruise line calls its Pillars of Distinction initiative. If you’re familiar with the Nautica, you’ll notice the changes immediately. Insignia...
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Disney does Mexico ‘Kids Free’
The weakness of the Mexican market in Los Angeles is highlighted by the announcement this week that Disney Cruise Lines is offering a “Kids Free” campaign stretching from January 23 to March 20, 2011...
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Carnival ships on the move in the Gulf
Usually when a new ship comes on the scene, it heads to Florida for the winter. That is not the case with the Carnival Magic, the newest Carnival Cruise Lines vessel now under construction and due to...
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Three new ships, three new names
Three ships were the stars of naming and christening ceremonies over the weekend. In New York, the big splash came for Epic the largest cruise ship in the Norwegian fleet and by the lack of any other...
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Good cruise deals subjective
Like me, you have your own idea of what’s a good deal and what isn’t. It is subjective and sometimes influenced by the size of your travel budget. According to a website called “Business Travel Tips”...
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Standing room only airline seating
You know what it’s like when you’re cruising — a lot of sitting around when you’re not in port. Lying around the pool, sitting in the lounge, dinner and the shows. In fact, too much sitting, right?...
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April 15, 2012: Memories at sea
If you’re a Titanic buff, you’ll have an opportunity to re-live the moment the Titanic went down on the exact spot on the exact date at the exact time. Azamara Club Cruises has booked the Journey to...
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Remembering man of ‘Riverboat’ fame
He is no longer with us but I once time had a chance to work with the late actor Darren McGavin and his wife, for about 12 weeks. You know…the guy who starred in TV series such as Mickey Spillane’s...
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Little to Eclipse the Solstice brand
Right now I’m on board the new Celebrity Eclipse as it gets ready for its inaugural season in the Caribbean. The ship will be based in Miami for the winter before returning to Europe next spring,...
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Eclipse: getting it right with space
Celebrity Eclipse, the third of five ships that will eventually fly under the Solstice banner, officially carries 2,800 passengers in a comfortable, spacious setting. Nothing jumps out at you. The...
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Reflections on the good ship Eclipse
It’s time to leave the Celebrity Eclipse in Miami and head 30 miles north to Fort Lauderdale and board the mega ship Allure of the Seas, sister ship to Oasis of the Seas. But before getting into the...
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Norwegian setting singles standard
Today: Made for Singles. While standing in for a single (me) on the Norwegian Epic, Bob and Nancy Dunn of cruisingdoneright.com had a look at NCL’s made-for-singles rooms. This is their fourth Epic...
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Snuggling up to Hawaiian Islands
Want to get close…I mean very close. It sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock movie, doesn’t it? No scary birds, no Bates Motel. The close I’m talking about is Hawaii on a new boat, starting in the fall of...
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Reflections on Oceania’s Marina
In collecting my final thoughts on sailing the Oceania Marina, part of me will miss the ship — along with my four cruises in five weeks. The other part of me is just ecstatic to be back home. Time for...
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Another Princess for this Royal Family
As of yesterday, the first of the new Princess ships scheduled to launch in 2013 has a name — Royal Princess. I know, there’s already a ship with that name but it’s heading to another branch of the...
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Viking’s river cruising ‘explosion’
The biggest river cruise line in the world is about to get bigger. Viking River Cruises is building 10 state-of-the-art vessels to launch in time for the 2012 European season, which usually get...
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Asia to welcome a Celebrity in 2012
As new ships arrive, Celebrity is spreading its wings — I suppose that should be wake — in expanding into the Asian market. Millenium is the ship that’s moving to Asia, after it has a Solstice-style...
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Something unique for cruise comrades
Cruisers are always looking for something different. Once you have done the two most popular cruise destinations — the Caribbean and the Mediterranean — a few times, different and unique become...
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