Last week Cunard Line announced that Queen Victoria will have fencing classes aboard the ship.  Of course aboard Royal Caribbean’s largest ships you can surf or go ice skating while on several of Princess Cruises’ newer vessels passengers may opt for pottery classes.  Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest vessels boast bowling alleys.
Today, Celebrity Cruises announced it would collaborate with [...]

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Cruise.com offers a terrific price on a seven day Holland America cruise sailing round-trip from San Diego to Mexico. Departing Saturday, February 2, 2008, HAL’s Oosterdam visits Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta with three days at sea. Per person, double occupancy fares start at $469 (inside); $514 (outside); $694 (balcony) and $964 (suite). [...]

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Will 2008 turn out to be a banner year for cruise deals?  Well, it won’t top 2001/2002 when cruise companies practically had to pay people to board their ships, but I believe you’ll have your pick of deals in many cruising regions. 
Based on “Black Friday” retail sales, people are spending less now.  Florida is not only [...]

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Since I love open seating dining, spacious cabins, casual dress and small ships, Cruise West’s new South Pacific cruises make my mouth water.   The company’s flag ship, Spirit of Oceanus, will visit some of the most exotic isles in the South Pacific on 11- to 16-night voyages to unspoiled places like Tahiti, Fiji, the Solomon [...]

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Cunard Line has taken possession of the 90,000-ton Queen Victoria at Fincantieri, one of four major ship yards in Europe.  While considerably smaller than the 140,000-ton Queen Mary 2, she will have the exclusive Queens Grill and Princess Grill.  Passengers will find a West End-style theater with private boxes and a two-story library.  Victoria will leave [...]

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A Canadian expedition vessel, the Explorer, struck submerged ice today in Antarctica and, at press time, is sinking.  Some 154 passengers and 54 crew members abandoned ship as she slowly sank near the Antarctic peninsula.   An Argentine rescue center in Ushuaia, the southern most city on the continent, was notified at 11:30 p.m. EST that the [...]

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In a decade and a half of covering the cruise industry, I’m rarely surprised by anything that happens.   But this morning, as I perused the offerings of a few cruise agencies, my jaw fell open.  HUH?   One month out I discovered space available on the Christmas and New Year’s sailings of dozen or so  ships.  Normally these voyages are sold [...]

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“This Christmas, unsuspecting college students and their parents may discover dangers on some cruise lines including serious injury and death.”  Just one sentence in a press release from a maritime lawyer, put out over the Internet today.  Of course we’ve all read that taking a cruise is putting your life in jeopardy.  Over the weekend, [...]

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Last week Carnival Corp. said it was adding a $5 per person, per day fuel surcharge for Carnival Cruise Lines, Cunard Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America and Costa Cruises.  As expected, the rest of the cruise lines followed suit.
Norwegian Cruise Line said effective Dec. 1, 2007, it will assess a fuel surcharge of $7 per person, [...]

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A friend once quipped that I’m a “shipaholic” and, yes, I plead guilty. Here are my picks for the ten best reasons for taking a cruise.
10. My steward brings breakfast to the stateroom and I sit sipping coffee on the balcony with no time pressure.
9. The ultimate freedom of days at sea, when I can [...]

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