In 2007/8 the sinking economy resulted in cruise lines steeply discounting cruise prices in order to fill ships and, as a result, cruisers waited until the last minute to pounce on rapidly falling prices. While first time cruisers held off, those with quite a few voyages under their belts knew that, even without low prices, [...]
29 September
If you are even considering a 2010 Christmas or New Years cruise, Holland America (HAL) is offering very tempting prices worth considering. How does $1598 (plus tax) sound for a family of four? And, on six dates you’ll find free or $199 rates for the third or fourth guest in a stateroom.
Caribbean, Panama Canal [...]
27 September
On the Cruise Log, journalist Gene Sloan cites a report of a man getting kicked off a Carnival ship in Roatan, Honduras because he was sick. The unfortunate passenger was offloaded at the the first port and had to pay thousands of dollars to get himself home in order to get the medical care he needed.
That’s [...]
16 September
If you said you want to try a sybaritic, pampered cruise experience normally restricted to fairly well-to-do people, I’d steer you to Windstar Cruises, which operates a fleet of wonderful motorized sailboats in the Caribbean & Europe.
However, you may want to run. Windstar has just announced 2-for-1 prices on 2010/11 Caribbean cruises if you [...]
13 September
I’m sure there are people who eschew cruises entirely because “what if …?” That is, they get freaked out by thinking about all the things that can happen that would cause them to cancel the cruise — and loose a great deal of money. After all, the average booking period is four to six months [...]
13 September
EDITOR’S NOTE: We all remember where we were on 9/11 (I was in New York and this is always a horrible anniversary for those of us present for the disaster). The cruise industry also had an emergency with passengers and ships all over the globe. Below is my interview with the president of Princess Cruises [...]
11 September
While it’s great to escape economic turmoil and bad news by running off to sea on a cruise ship, it would be 1000% better just to head for your own private island. After all, cruise lines own and lease island with idyllic beaches where a few hours ashore never seems long enough.
Best of [...]
09 September
*** 9/10/10 Update: Cruise West has taken down its website, closed reservations and, according to a Seattle newspaper, fired 65 staff. I think it’s safe to say that the company is kaput. For this cruiser, a huge loss.
*** 9/9/10 Update: Cruise West’s new phone message states: ‘Cruise West has not been sold. However, management [...]
08 September
Having a bad cruise experience is the pits and I should know.
My worst cruise experience was a ten-day Victoria Cruises riverboat excursion on the Yangtze River in China. My experience was ten days on a decrepit boat (the floors buckled!) where only one crew member spoke English while visiting attractions that were utterly [...]
08 September
I know a fancy Italian who tried to pooh-pooh cruising as something that’s not for him. I asked what his favorite leisure activities are, and he replied “golf, basketball and fine dining.”
It was a cinch: I pointed out that nearly all cruise lines offer golf packages in any port where golf is an option, including [...]
08 September
Cruise Deals
Cruise 1st offer a range of cruise deals all over the world.
Find cruises to suit your tastes and destinations at expedia.com
ShipCritic Blog is a labor of love by Anne Campbell, a journalist who has been covering the cruise industry since 1993. Why a blog? This newfangled technology is the best way of interacting with cruisers, both first timers and veterans, who also share a passion for seeing the world by ship.
