If you’ve put off travel plans because of news reports about high prices and the fuel crisis, consider a unique North American itinerary:  Canada and New England, a destination with European flavor, where the dollar still buys something and the weather is pleasantly cool.    Why not discover the charms of our northern neighbors and cruise to [...]

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While the summer is typically a slow time for cruise industry news, I’ve managed to come up with a few intriuging tid bits.
__ While most cruise passengers have tried cruise ships’ alternative restaurant, where a more tony dining experience comes with a small surcharge of up to $20, Crystal Cruises has upped the ante quite a bit.  [...]

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Late this afternoon I came across a news item of interest, that a cruise ship carrying 1,200 passengers has been detained in New York by the U.S. Coast Guard for safety violations.  In fact they found 66 violations including damage to the hull.  And, none of the news organizations appeared to know the ship’s name or [...]

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Art Auctions are such a big source of profit for the cruise lines that the “galleries” art located in a central area of public space and they are heavily promoted in daily programs.  In a New York Times article, passengers who are less than satisfied with the purchase of art when they arrive home sometimes turn [...]

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According to several cruise industry execs, who spoke off the record, the cruise industry is still largely unaffected by the economic downturn and high price of fuel.  And, while fares are lower in some cruising regions, we’ve yet to see the drastic fire sales that hit the industry post-9/11.
There are two reasons for this:  the popularity of [...]

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If you take a conventional mega-ship through the Panama Canal, you will experience this engineering marvel first-hand but you will see few — if any — brilliantly-hued birds, chattering monkeys, lush Central American jungle or indigenous Indian tribes.
For that you need to take a small cruise ship, such as Cruise West’s 100-passenger Pacific Explorer. [...]

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