Cruising can be one of the most value-friendly vacations going. But how the heck do you choose from all the choices out there? Here are some resources (including non-traditional cruising, like freighters) and feedback.

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How Princess Cruises is servIng up innovative dining

  The exclusive dining experience on the Princess Discovery is unlike any other I have been a part of during my travels. "360: An Extraordinary Experience" is dining immersion making one feel like you’re sitting in the Greek countryside with olive trees or smelling the fragrance of lavender in the south of France. Thanks to Princess Cruises, I savored this time with fellow bloggers. I immediately became captivated with the experience when I heard beautiful music played by two violinists and…

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Cruising is the main way to explore awesome Antarctica

 Virtual-Piano Our planet's vast, remote, southernmost continent - larger than Europe - is a much-coveted "final frontier" for many travelers. And booking Antarctica vacation packages via cruise ship offers a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see frozen landscapes that can't be seen anywhere else along with a plethora of polar wildlife. With vacation packages typically ranging from one to three weeks, cruise ships departing from Argentina's Tierra del Fuego make the two-day crossing through the…

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Some of what´s new on cruise ships in 2024

Carnival Cruise Line On their recent Carnival Cruise Lines vacation, every member of the Meyers family was busy enjoying their three-generation vacation getaway. Tom and Martha were playing their favorite sport of pickleball, which is a popular pastime among people in their advanced age group. Their son Ben and his wife Melissa were steering electric race cars along a winding two-level track (above and below), slowing to negotiate sharp hairpin turns. Meanwhile, grandchildren Tom and Betsy were…

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A wintertime cruise above Norway's Arctic CIrcle

We spent two nights were spent aboard the MS Nordkapp., a 590-passenger ship that´s one of the nine currently operated by the Hurtigruten line, which plies the Norwegian coast daily. These are mostly passenger cruise ships, but also serve the vital function of transporting locals and cargo between 34 towns along the coast, some of which are otherwise fairly isolated. And they´re comfortable but hardly luxurious, without most of the bells and whistles common across the cruise industry these…

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  • Just got back from a 9-day from Baltimore to New England/Canada on RCI's Enchantment of the Seas. I'm an OFS (obnoxious former smoker). I smoked from when I was 20 (real dumb) til I was 25. I've been asthmatic since I was 28.

    When I went to the casino (except on the 2 non-smoking nights, which were heaven), I was in big trouble. When others smoke near you, YOU smoke. That's the reality. & you're not getting the super-filtered end of the deal, either. Also, you run the gauntlet when you pass the smoking section as you enter the pool area to get to the Windjammer buffet. When the automatic doors open, it creates a vortex which pulls all the smoky air right at you with a dramatic rush. If you took a shower before you came down to breakfast, you're SOL. Now you stink.

    It's difficult to blame the cruise line for this; I believe they were thoughtful about where on the ship to put smoking sections. But honestly, the last night aboard ship, I was in the casino (a smoking night) & I had a sore throat. Big deal; I knew it was because of the heavy smoke & I'd feel better the next morning. Not so. I'm getting over the head cold that developed full-force when I got home from my vacay last Saturday (it's Thursday).

    It's not fair to tell non-smokers to avoid the smoking areas on the ship. The casino was non-smoking 2 nights out of 9. The area of the pool where the smokers are is practically unavoidable; one must walk through this area to get to the Windjammer (my husband & I did a little recon when we first boarded to see if there was a way around this).

    I understand that smoking is an addiction of the brain & body. Perhaps smokers could use their cruise as a time to "stop" smoking. I didn't say "quit." You *know* you could stop smoking for a week or so. Give it a try.
  • Smoking on Cruise Ships

    Where there's smoke, there's fire: A post at Cruisecritic.co.uk has reminded me what a hot issue smoking on cruise ships is. I'm a life-long non-smoker (really life-long; I never even tried it) who's pretty tolerant about other people smoking, but is this permissive attitude outdated?
  • New on the Tripatini blog: another member's take on Norwegian Cruise Lines new Epic.
  • The new Costa ship, Deliziosa, was home to three of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" who, with their families, sailed on the maiden voyage last winter. Teresa Giudice, Jacqueline Laurita and Carolina Manzo were aboard.and took in the sights of Venice. They enjoyed spa treatments, the casino and dancing.
  • Ahoy! A Tripatino has a question about a Mediterranean cruise. Can you lend a hand?
  • Contest for Writing a Cruise or Port Review

    Don't know if this is worth doing or not; I'm just passing it along.

    DETROIT, MI (July 13,2010) AllThingsCruise.com, the leading consumer cruise information site, is offering its visitors the chance to win a river cruise on AmaWaterways.

    Guests need only write a review of a recent experience with a ship or port of call to enter; each legitimate review submitted to the site by September 15, 2010 will earn an entry into the “AmaWaterways ” River Cruise Contest. (No purchase of any kind is required- please see the official rules for submission guidelines.*)
  • Today's eTurbo News includes a CBC report on another possible battle between environmental regulations and cruise ships.

    "New emission controls planned for Canada's coasts may threaten the country's multi-million-dollar cruise ship industry.

    The level of sulphur permitted in fuel used within 200 nautical miles of land is going to be lowered, which would raise the costs of operating in Canadian waters.

    The U.S. is making similar changes after a joint agreement reached with Canada in March....One British cruise ship operator [Fred Olsen cruises] has already said it will likely drop Canada and New England from its schedule when the controls start in two years."

    Will this end up as a cautionary tale for other countries that want to raise environmental standards for cruise ships?
  • Hello all you cruise-goers and experts!
    We are looking for freelance travel writers for advertorial assignments in an American high-end lifestyle and travel magazine. Must have travel experience aboard a luxury cruise ship, be familiar with the luxury cruise industry, and (or at least) thorough and varied knowledge of high-end cruise lines. We have several advertorials that need to be written for such companies as Uniworld, Silversea, Oceania, Regent, Seabourn, and Crystal, and we will allot each assignment to whomever has the most experience writing on the subject, or who has had a first-hand experience as a guest on the particular luxury cruise line. We have many assignments for this publication twice a year, and we look for writers we can keep using in the future.

    Please contact by email. looking4freelance@yahoo.com
    Please send:
    1) your resume and rate per word
    2) list other publications you have written for
    3) advertorial writing samples (of cruise lines if possible)
    4) a list of cruise lines you have experience sailing aboard, and where you have traveled.
    Thanks, and Happy Travels!
  • A few months Tripatini ran a story about the cruise ship showdown in the Mekong River Delta. Now a manager at one of those companies, Compagnie Fluviale du Mekong (CFM), says these routes may be imperiled by environmental changes. "I feel that global warming and the eventual effects of China’s dams in the Upper Mekong might lower water in a irreparable way," says Ship Manager Yves Boccuni. "We certainly will have to rethink Mekong cruises within the next decade." He urges the formation of an association of competing cruise lines to cope with this and other problems. Would these competitors really cooperate much with each other?
    blog.TRIPATINI.COM
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