Here are readers picks for large ship cruise line.  (Note:  Crystal, Regent, Oceania & Azamara ships carry fewer than 1000 passengers and, in my opinion, shouldn’t be in this category)

1.  Crystal Cruises

2.  Regent Seven Seas Cruises

3.  Oceania Cruises

4.  Disney Cruises

5.  Azamara Club Cruises

6.  Cunard Line

7.  Celebrity Cruises

8.  Holland America

9.  Royal Caribbean Cruises

10.  Princess Cruises

Best Small Cruise Lines

1.  The Yachts of Seabourn

2.  Silversea Cruises

3.  Lindblad Cruises

4.  Sea Dream Yacht Club

5.  Windstar Cruises

World’s Best River Cruises

1.  Abercrombie & Kent

2.  Avalon Waterways

3.  Tauck

4.  Viking River Cruises

5.  Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection

Any surprises?   Do you agree?

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“I was going to sail with Royal Caribbean but since I very rudely got the shaft by their sales department, I will be looking elsewhere. I called last night to check the availability of 2 cabins but needed to verify with my wife on the dates of the cruise. It was too late to call back so I called first thing in the morning. They raised the prices by over $600!!!! The same cabins are still available but 12 hours later they want to stick it to me on the price. The sales person very smugly told me “supply and demand” so too bad. I do not buy it. That is no way to treat a potential customer.

I say no thank you to Royal Caribbean. I will take my business elsewhere.”

Anyone who has ever booked a cruise can empathize with the writer’s frustration and thank their lucky stars it didn’t happen to them. Nobody in the cruise industry was surprised at this comment. I know people personally who have experienced the same thing: last year friends checked the online price of a cruise and took a few hours to discuss it. When they returned, the price was higher.

The Travel Agent Side

Jean Mallory of White Travel had this response: “First and foremost – they should call a travel agent. “The traveling public often feel they receive better prices directly from the cruise line but that is just not so.” And there’s a good reason for this: ” when White Travel offers a quote, we will often put a courtesy hold on a stateroom IF the ship is filling upor if the cabin is exceptional and would be hard to match – just in case!!. The good news is that White Travel has guaranteed rates on most ships and sailings so this is not normally necessary for us.”

Willie Fernandez of CruisesOnly says “you should always ask if you can have a courtesy hold or a 24hr option. Most cruise lines will offer the client 24hrs to hold a cabin with no obligation. This hold unlike an airline seat will actually lock in the rate for you and give you time to discuss with those traveling with you. I’ve always encouraged my clients to hold a cabin with no obligation, especially if there was less than a handful of cabins left.”

The Bottom Line

If you’re going to play the bargain game in the cruise industry, you better understand the rules. It really is about supply and demand.

** When a cruise line or travel agent tells you there’s only one cabin left so you shouldn’t wait, believe them. This isn’t QVC and it’s not gimmick to get you to pounce quickly on a deal.

** Ask for a non-binding hold on a cabin while you consult with family or friends.

** Jean Mallory points out that it’s not a good idea to wait until the last minute because all too frequently, the bargains are gone. Bookings have increased significantly in the last few months causing prices to increase … not a great deal, but they’ll be higher than last year.

** Use a travel agent to find the best fares.

** When you encounter a great deal, be prepared to pounce quickly

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Open Letter to The Editor from a Cruise Executive

Dear Anne,

Now that Oasis-mania has hopefully died down, I’d like to state one thing:

It’s Not the Size of Your Ship That Matters, It’s how you use it!

While the Oasis of the Seas is a magnificent engineering feat and Royal Caribbean must be given credit for their visionary approach and willingness to push the proverbial envelope, I fear that the Oasis-class ships may be as detrimental to the cruise industry at large as they are beneficial.

Conceieved as the ultimate floating resorts at sea, these ships will undoubtedly attract a new class of passenger, consumers who would have never considered setting foot on a cruise ship. Now given the Atlantis-like proportions and resort amenities found in these mega-resorts, Oasis opens up many, many doors to attract what John Maxtone Graham loving refers to a “new passengers”. They will be awe struck by the size and sheer number of attractions and will regale in the many diversions such as zip-lining, cupcaking and aqua theatre shows.

But what they will miss out on what the core of a cruise experience is and what the majority of ships provide – a relaxing vacation at sea that takes you to distant and not so distant lands and exotic and not so exotic ports. Instead, they must schedule every minute of every day in advance to take full advantage of Oasis of the Seas experience. They will not know the laissez-fare of a relaxing evening at dinner followed by the ponderance of a night cap and genial conversation or to take in the show or prhaps a spin around the dance floor. They will not experience wanderlust or the goose-pimpled excitement of the ship sailing away from dock at the end of a memorable day. And after a cruise on Oasis, there is very little chance that these thrill-riding cruise passengers would ever step foot on a ‘lesser’ ship that is bereft of all the ‘look at me, look at me, look at me’ amenities.

Instead, they will run from aqua theatre to Boardwalk carousel, to zip-line, flow-ride and Las Vegas show with nary a relaxing moment in between.

Many have termed Oasis a ‘game changer’ and yes indeed she is, she changes the ‘game’ in so many ways. But the same was said of Atlantis, Dubai and the new generation of Las Vegas mega-resorts. Oasis, like the aforementioned destination resorts, is an ill-conceived loved child of the financial excess of the first decade of this new millennium. She is the floating equivalent of a Hummer H1. She is a ship that mirrors the sheer excess that our society now eschews. When I was at the Atlantis in October, its occupancy was below 40%. And Vegas resorts are failing faster than airlines. Now Dubai is looking to get a break from its debt.

While in all of her glitzy excess, Oasis of the Seas is amazing, she is a ship of gimmicks while the Seabourn Odysseys, Norwegian Gems, Oceania Marinas, and Celebrity Solstices of the industry are ships of superlatives. And aren’t superlatives what this industry gained its fame from?

Oasis and the Cruise Industry

I think Carnival’s Micky Arison had the right idea when the cruise line backed away from building a super-ship to go head to head with Oasis. While the new breed of social climbing yuppie and wanna-be affluent may flock to Oasis, they won’t be flocking to the greater cruise industry at large. The cruise industry I know cherishes great food and promises pampering and personalized service. Its akin to staying at a fine hotel and having a truly relaxing vacation. I have sailed everything from the uber-ships of RCI’s Voyager Class to the smallest and most intimate of ships. And while they all delivered different experiences, you always got that thrill associated with going to sea.

If people who have never cruised before want a truly memorable vacation, they SHOULD try a cruise, a REAL cruise on a human-sized ship that does not rival a large city or even a small state, such as Delaware, for size. Where the glamorous dining rooms serve fine meals, where lounges and bars glimmer with luxurious trappings and the bartenders might actually remember your preference and where every waing moment of your day need not be scheduled to ensure a memorable vacation.

So yes Anne, size does matter. But more important than size alone, is what you do with it!

****************

What is YOUR opinion on Oasis of the Seas?

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I second what one passenger said, “I was very embarrassed to live in the metro area,” because most of those aboard are from the New York/New Jersey area.  Like the majority of Carnival Miracle’s passengers, she knew the ship’s Captain had to avoid ports where servere weather made it dangerous to stop. 

However, this obscene behavior isn’t limited to New Yorkers: there have been other instances when weather or mechanical glitches have necessitated changing ports resulting in small number of passengers making very vocal demands.  And it’s important to realize, that, prior to 2006 passengers never ganged up and demanded refunds because ports were changed or cancelled. 

In January, 2006, on a 38-day voyage between Europe and South America, Queen Mary 2 developed a shudder shortly after departing Fort Lauderdale which indicated there was a mechanical problem .  Because the ship had to sail at a reduced speed, the Captain decided to cancel a stop in Barbados during the 12-day Florida-to-Rio de Janeiro segment in order to reach Rio on schedule.

A handful of passengers gathered together and began emailing friends and journalists all over the world to report that they had were very unhappy about the Captain’s decision.  Hey, Queen Mary 2 is a famous ship, so the world’s media jumped on the story.  TV and newspaper reports claimed there was a passenger mutiny aboard QM 2, which was far from the truth.   Princess Cruises, parent company of Cunard Line, caved in to the barrage of media attention and announced that all Queen Mary 2 passengers would get a full refund. 

When I wrote a column and said I thought Princess made a huge mistake in giving full refunds I was blasted for “being on the side of the cruise lines”.  My argument was that it would set an erroneous example for the rest of the industry, which is exactly what happened.  

You see, your passenger ticket clearly states that the ship’s Captain can skip or substitute a port FOR ANY REASON.  When you accept your cruise ticket you’ve agreed to the terms. In the case of Carnival Miracle, changed ports to avoid a monstrous tropical storm.  At the minimum, passengers would have been violently ill from seasickness brought on by high seas and wind.  Ships don’t stay in port during major storms because the vessel can be damaged by being slammed into the port. 

If you can’t handle the legal terms, don’t take a cruise.

The group of angry cruisers aboard Carnival Miracle was after money and fortunately Carnival Cruise Lines didn’t cave in.    When a ship substitutes new ports because of weather, passengers aren’t entitled to a refund. 

Perhaps I’m out of touch, but it seems that only cruise ship passengers act like three year olds when the weather doesn’t deliver their anticipated vacation.  Does anyone blame hotels and resorts when weather affects their vacation?   Should a LaGuardia-bound flight be diverted to Boston because New York is fogged in,  passengers will blame the true culprit, the weather.

Has your cruise ever been affected by bad weather?  How did passengers react?

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This is both good news and bad news.  The good news is that you’ve taken cruises for years and have espoused may opinions on what you like and don’t like, frequently muttering “If I owned this cruise line……….” daily aboard ship.  The bad news is that you also have to stay in business when the price of fuel  increases daily during a bad economy.  

If this curse/blessing happened to me, the changes I’d make to Campbell Cruises include:   

1.  I’d force Steiner’s of London to change its spa policies.  This company operates the spas aboard every cruise ship in the industry, except Cunard Line and Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ vessels.  Since staff makes most of its salary on commissions from the sale of products, it’s typical to get a hard sell in the middle of a very pricey massage.  I’d force Steiners to pay masseuses more to and give passengers a quality treatment.

2.  Install hooks on the walls of all cabins so passengers may hang hats, bags or whatever they like there.  (Ok, a personal thing).

3.  Schedule daytime stops in Puerto Rico so passengers can stroll around Old San Juan and visit local historic attractions….instead of pulling into port at 4:00 p.m. when everything is closing so passengers are forced to buy a pricey excursion to see a local nightime floorshow.

4.  Increasing the quality of food so it’s at least on par with Carnival Cruise Line’s fare.  That inclues serving great coffee and adding a 24/7 pizzeria.  And, paying a fortune to hire the person in charge of Carnival’s outstanding onboard entertainment.

5.  Offer obscene amounts of money to lure away the person in charge of Princess Cruises’ shore excursions since this cruise line does it best.

6. Ditto the head of Royal Caribbean’s onboard children’s programs.

7. Like Holland America and Princess Cruises, employ only physicians certified by U.S. and/or British hospitals in emergency room procedures.

8. Marry a Saudi prince in the hopes of keeping fuel costs in check.

9.  Sell the cruise line to Carnival Corporation, since everything CEO Micky Arison acquires turns to gold …. or at least survives a rough economic patch.

10.  Make my dog Micky (yea, named after the above) the cruise line’s mascot so he can sail whenever I do which may include turning a cabin into a kennel/puppy play area. 

Should the curse/blessing of inheriting a cruise line fall on you, what changes would you make?

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Will the Airline Chaos Affect Your Cruise? 

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As editor of Cruising From New York , I’m astonished at the rapid resurgence New York as a hub of passenger shipping.  In fact, over one million people sailed from New York’s three ports (Manhattan, Brooklyn and Cape Liberty, Bayonne, NJ) in 2007, according to the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and that number is expected to increase in 2008. 

Since 9/11, the number of ships and passengers increased to the point that additional berthing facilities were opened in Red Hook, Brooklyn and Cape Liberty (Bayonne), New Jersey.  Today every major cruise line has several ships that home port in New York for extended seasons of voyages ranging from a one-day party cruise to a 99-day circumnavigation of the globe. 

Four cruise lines (Cunard Line, Holland America, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line) have year-round service from New York.  Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 continues the tradition of regularly scheduled transatlantic service between New York and Southampton.

My picks for the Best Ships and Itineraries of 2008/09

BEST CRUISE LINES AND SHIPS

 The Biggest New York Star:  Queen Mary 2.  Ballroom dancing to a live orchestra, high tea perfectly served, scholarly guest lecturers, a dog kennel and the ultimate in creature comforts keep the British maritime heritage alive and well. 

Best Ships for Families:  Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas.  A big kid pleaser due to her rock climbing wall, roller blading, ice-skating and private teen club, Explorer of the Seas is hugely popular with cruisers of all ages.  

Top Luxury Ship:  Crystal Symphony (Crystal Cruises) Boasting the top levels of food and service, penthouse suites with private butlers and onboard enrichment programs, Crystal Symphony steals the show in luxury cruising. 

Best Itineraries:  Princess Cruises’ Caribbean and Canada/New England cruises from Brooklyn. 

Best Ships For Laid-back Cruisers:  Norwegian Cruise Line.  This cruise line’s popular “Freestyle Cruising” program means you may opt to dine in numerous restaurants when and with whom you please.  And, no tuxes required.   

Best Onboard Dining Program:  Princess Cruises’ Caribbean Princess.  Princess offers the choice of single open seating dining or traditional two seating dining plus a Lido Restaurant that serves great food 24 hours per day. 

BEST ITINERARIES OF 2008/09

 Caribbean:  (Princess) Caribbean Princess sails on nine-day Eastern Caribbean voyages round-trip from Brooklyn to Bermuda, Grand Turk, San Juan and St. Thomas 

Bermuda:  (Royal Caribbean & Norwegian Cruise Line)  Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas sails on six-day Bermuda cruises from Cape Liberty (Bayonne), NJ and Norwegian Cruise Line’ Norwegian Dawn makes seven-day Bermuda voyages from Manhattan 

Canada/New England:  (Princess) Princess’s Sea Princess sails on ten-night cruises between Brooklyn and Quebec City (with an overnight stay aboard the ship).  Ports of call are Newport, Boston, Bar Harbor, Saint John, Halifax, Sydney, Charlottetown 

Europe:  Six-night transatlantic crossings between New York and Southampton aboard Queen Mary 2 

Short Cruise:  Aug. 29, 2008 three-night cruise to nowhere aboard Holland America’s brand new Eurodam sailing from Manhattan. 

Best Long Cruise:  Sea Princess’ 14-day Iceland & Greenland voyage from Southampton, U.k., to Brooklyn Aug. 30, 2008.   Bergen, Norway; Shetland Islands, Scotland; Faroe Islands, Denmark; Iceland; Nanortalik, Greenland; St. Johns, Nova Scotia.

Best World Cruise: Queen Victoria sails from New York to Barcelona on a 99-day World Cruise departing Jan. 10, 2009.  The ship visits Curacao; Guatemala; Cabo San Lucas; Los Angeles; Honolulu; Tonga; New Zealand; Australia; New Guinea; Japan; China; Hong Kong; Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore; India; Dubai; Jordan; Egypt; Turkey; Greece; Rome; Barcelona.

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My worst cruise experience was in China, a ten day Yangtze River cruise aboard a Victoria Cruises boat.   When I visited in 1999 Victoria Cruises was purported to be the best river boat company in China whereas today Viking River Cruises’ Yangtze sailings are a much better alternative.   

While the boat was built in 1994, it was more like a tin can than a river boat.  The floors bucked and doors sometimes stuck.  In fact, a colleague in the cabin next door got locked in his cabin in the middle of the night and spent hours banging his fist on the door.  The ship’s staff called the police who met the ship at the next port and cross examined him.

Additional glitches:  only one staff/crew member on the boat spoke English.  A colleague tried to call me from another cabin and someone from the purser’s office ran to the cabin to say I had a call from the United States!  Come quickly! So I ran and almost tripped on the buckled floor only to learn it was a friend two cabins away attempting to call me. 

The itinerary was dreadful.  We stopped in small towns along the way and were taken to “historic” sites.  Well, there are very few real historic sites in China because Madam Mao destroyed them all during the cultural revolution.  We visited sites that may or may not resembled the original temple or building.

The food aboard the boat was inedible and I thanked God I’d brought turkey jerky, a jar of peanut butter and Power Bars, or I would have starved to death.

This isn’t the cruise line’s fault, but the pollution was so bad I never saw the sun once, just a pervasive white haze.  It turns out that coal-burning factories dot both sides of the river, spewing carbons into the air.  I had a metallic taste in my mouth for the entire visit.  In fact many, many visitors return home with bronchial conditions that sometimes lasts for months.

When you can’t eat OR breathe, it’s a good indication the trip is a real bust!

Have you had a bad cruise or vacation experience?

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I live in New York which has seen a huge increase in passenger shipping. In 2001 a few ships cruised to Bermuda or on Canada/New England itineraries.   The increase in ships and cruise passengers has been so great that piers were opened in Brooklyn and Cape Liberty (Bayonne), New Jersey.  Today two cruise lines offer year-round Caribbean cruises from New York and every major cruise line has two ships based in New York for long seasons.

Personally I don’t want the aggrivation or expense of hopping on a plane and flying to a Florida port to take a ship.  I’ll spend extra time at sea to reach the Caribbean just so I don’t have to travel.   If I wanted to go to Europe — too expensive for me now — I’d take a ship from New York to get there.

Does the proximity of the nearest port sway your decision on which ships to take?

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Have you been affected by the negative publicity?  What do YOU think about the practices of these lawyers?

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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 be as active or lazy as I please.

8. Returning from a morning workout at the gym to find my stateroom in pristine condition, the bed made, new towels and my mess better organized.

7. Food, food, food. I certainly believe the urban legend that cruisers put on an average of five pounds per week.

6. Proceeds from bingo go to the cruise line instead of the Catholic Church.

5. There is no better way to visit some areas of the world including Antarctica, the Greek Islands, the Baltic or transit the Panama Canal.

4. With rare exceptions, officers and crew go out of their way to ensure my voyage is wonderful and problem-free.

3. Casting off from home port, watching the shore fade in into the distance, is as thrilling today as it was in the time of Columbus.

2. The sexiest men alive are ships’ officers, the more stripes the better.

1. The sense of being at sea, the gentle rocking of the ships and a peaceful mind because I left the harried, worried, stressed out me in home port.

Would love to hear some of your best reasons to take a cruise!

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