The Ultimate Abyss will be aboard Harmony of the Seas when she debuts in May 2016
Royal Caribbean International has revealed the highly-anticipated first look of The Ultimate Abyss, the tallest slide on the high seas, which will intimidate the bravest of passengers onboard Harmony of the Seas when she debuts in May 2016. Towering more than 150 feet above sea level, overlooking the AquaTheater at the aft of the ship, the pair of side-by-side slides will release adrenalin-seeking travelers into a chilling 100 foot drop that twists and turns in a serpentine-like movement as they slide nine miles an hour, approximately, from the Pool and Sports Zone on Deck 16 to the Boardwalk on Deck 6 below.
The Ultimate Abyss is designed to incite and maintain a sense of heart-pumping anticipation. Launching onto the ride from a glass platform, guests can take one last look at the Boardwalk 10 decks below before climbing onto a customized mat and taking the plunge into the depths of the daunting slides. Spontaneous audio effects within each tunnel create a multi-sensory thrill for daring guests willing to test their mettle while traversing 216 feet through the one-of-a-kind slide duo. The Ultimate Abyss is made up of two separate cylinders, a reflection of one-another, each with a diameter of approximately 2.6 feet and constructed of stainless steel.
Harmony of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, will span 16 guest decks, encompass 227,000 gross registered tons, carry 5,497 guests at double occupancy, and feature 2,747 staterooms. The Oasis class is an architectural marvel touting Royal Caribbean’s exclusive seven neighborhood concept, including Central Park, Boardwalk, the Royal Promenade, the Pool and Sports Zone, Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center, Entertainment Place and Youth Zone. For more information about Harmony of the Seas, please visit RoyalCaribbean.com/HarmonyoftheSeas.
See much more here:
For additional information or to make reservations, vacationers should call their travel agent; visit RoyalCaribbean.com; or call (800) ROYAL-CARIBBEAN.
MSC Cruises has unveiled ambitious plans to create an unprecedented exclusive marine reserve island experience in the Bahamas.
Prime Minister Perry Christie and MSC Cruises Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago sign a 100-year lease agreement that will enable MSC Cruises to occupy and develop the island to be called Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve.
The visionary project was officially launched this week in the Bahamian capital Nassau, where Prime Minister Perry Christie and MSC Cruises Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago signed a 100-year lease agreement that will enable MSC Cruises to occupy and develop the island to be called Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve.
Over the next two years, MSC Cruises will work hand-in-hand with the Bahamian Government and ecologists to develop the cay, a onetime sand extraction station, into a thriving marine reserve that will harmoniously coexist with the local ecosystem. This is a project that will transform the local economy base from resource exploitation to resource conservation.
In keeping with the company’s commitment to providing absolutely authentic cruise vacations, the island will offer some of the finest beaches in the world, amid an array of Caribbean-inspired experiences.
The family that owns MSC Cruises has more than 300 years of seafaring heritage, which has engendered a deep respect for the ocean that underpins the company’s operations today. MSC Cruises is committed to protecting the waters it navigates. As one of the most ecologically conscious cruise lines in the world, the company will invest approximately $200 million in creating a flourishing natural haven from a desert island.
MSC Cruises Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago commented: “This is a natural progression for our company, which is growing very rapidly, and we are thrilled about providing this totally new experience for our guests in the Caribbean.
“Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve and its exclusive offerings will be a magnificent extension of our shipboard experiences. We ensure every decision we make keeps each of our ships true to the promise of our brand, offering the authenticity and quality our guests expect. This is what made us the leading brand in many of the markets we operate, including across Europe, South America and South Africa. We will apply the same thinking and attention to detail to our Caribbean offering, of which this exclusive marine reserve will become a cornerstone, because we know our guests will be amazed by this industry-unique experience.”
At 95-acres in size and with 11,400 feet of pristine beach front spread across six distinct beaches, Ocean Cay Marine Reserve will be – by a large margin – the biggest island development by any cruise company in the Caribbean. In addition, as the only marine reserve island experience, it will offer a multitude of key distinguishing features.
For example, a purpose-built berth and pier right on the seafront means that MSC Cruises guests will be able to step off the ship straight onto the island. Since a unique part of their visit will be the island’s night life in particular live music and entertainment at the 2,000-seat amphitheatre, and many restaurants and bars, guests moving at leisure between ship and island will be especially convenient. In addition, the ship and all on board services – including the casino – will stay open while berthed at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve.
All installations and experiences on the island, which lies 20 miles (32 km) south of Bimini and just 65 miles (104.5 km) east of Miami, Florida, will be fully sympathetic to the culture and traditions of the Bahamas. A comprehensive landscaping plan will see more than 80 indigenous Caribbean trees, grasses, flowers and shrubs, such as Jamaica Dogwood, Red, Black and White Mangroves, and Beach Morning Glory, expertly planted across the island. There will be an architecturally faithful Bahamian village, plentiful restaurants and bars offering local specialties, a variety of shops and an inviting arrival center with island-themed music gazebo.
Also, getting around the island will be a breeze, thanks to a network of walking and running paths, bicycle rentals and other stress-free transport options.
A family beach with kids’ restaurant, play areas and other useful facilities
A charming inland lagoon for absolute tranquillity
A thrilling zip wire crossing the island
A pavilion for weddings and celebrations
MSC Cruises plans to break ground on the development in March 2016 and Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve will open to guests in December 2017.
The Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve project will offer a permanent MSC Cruises presence in the Bahamas, for which the company plans to recruit 240 Bahamians in various roles over 2016 and 2017. The cay will be ideal for all MSC Cruises ships serving the Caribbean region, notably MSC Divina and the under-construction next generation ship MSC Seaside (launching December 2017), both sailing from Miami, plus MSC Opera and MSC Armonia, sailing from Havana, Cuba. In addition, the company will open a crew training school in Nassau to provide local manpower for the growing number of MSC Cruises ships sailing the Caribbean.
In the meantime, on December 15 MSC Cruises announced the opening of sales for the inaugural season of MSC Seaside. Guests aboard MSC Seaside’s maiden voyage from Miami will be the first to visit the island and revel in the location’s abundant offerings. To learn more about MSC Seaside, visit msccruises.com. Guest can also contact their local travel agent or call MSC Cruises direct at (877) 655-4655 to book a cruise today.
There are several medical conditions you need to be aware of that involve cruise vacations. TheNorwalk Virus is a gastrointestinal virus that multiplies and spreads like wildfire in the closed environment a cruise ship provides. Post-Cruise Depression is a malady that happens when the cruise is over and you have to return to real life. Cruise-Envy is a debilitating disease that effects you for about as long as your friends are at sea. There’s not a whole lot you can do but let cruise envy run it’s course, but here are some ways to pass the time while you wait for your friends to return from their fabulous cruise.
Focus on your own cruise– Cruisefish.net is a price, stateroom and cruise monitoring system that does all the browsing for you and sends email alerts when something changes. Say the price goes down, a particular cabin you wanted opens up or you want to know how full the ship is; for a small fee, CruiseFish.net will send you an email alert that you can forward to your travel agent for evaluation and action.
Stalk your friends– CruiseCal.com knows where all the cruise ships are all the time. Subscribe and know where over 200 ships are today and tomorrow. Integrated webcams let you follow along. CruiseCal.com is also a great place to keep up on which ships are running modified itineraries during a weather event
Go Social, not postal- Get on Twitter. Cruise news happens first on Twitter. Download HootSuite to make organizing easy and maintain an ongoing search for the tags #cruise and #travel for all the latest. Get access to good stuff with #CruiseChat and #TripItChat
This article is brought to by Cruise Compete. CruiseCompete.com allows you to easily compare multiple offers from Cruise Experts.
So you have your first international flight booked. The occasion might be for your upcoming European river cruise or a swing through the Mediterranean. You’re excited to see places read about in books, magazines and seen on television and in films; in person. A degree of confidence comes from knowing that cruise vacations, regardless of the cruise line or destination, are inclusive by nature. Scouring the cruise line website or devouring pre-cruise information sent you’re familiar with the program, once there. Airline websites have helpful information too, but international flight is a far cry from driving to the port. To calm down that apprehension, we have international flight tips gained from frequent flights across the pond that absolutely do work for us.
It is entirely possible to have the same confidence about getting to the international point of embarkation as we do on close-to-home places. In this post we focus on European sailings because they are the logical next step after the Caribbean, Bahamas, Mexico or Alaska where getting to the port means a domestic flight. Travelers who normally drive to the port; you’re another topic entirely and we’ll get to you later.
Frankly, an international flight is a huge, quantum leap from a drive to your local homeport or short flight around North America. But that does not mean it has to be scary and rewards are totally worth it. Simply put: Taking that leap to international travel can literally open up the entire world for us, much like the world of cruise vacations has opened up travel in general to so many who might not have experienced it otherwise. Hang on to that thought; it’s important and odds are you will need to refer to it from time to time during your journey.
A Good Strategy For Occasional Travelers- Book as far in advance as possible and with as few stops as possible. That just makes the long travel day a bit shorter. For occasional travelers, this is much more important than for those who do it frequently and are used to the routine of international flights.
Allow Plenty Of Time Between Connections– On domestic flights we want 2 hours between connections to allow for flight delays on either end, especially in the winter and especially if passing through an interesting airport. On international flights we bump that up to a preferred 3 hour window of time between flights. That extra hour is because international flights begin boarding an hour before departure and a re-check of your passport is normally required. The airline is not going to let that flight leave unless they know all passengers on board will be able to enter the country they are flying to. Another good reason to leave plenty of time between connections is so that your checked luggage can also make it to the next flight, along with you. We learned this lesson the hard way, barely making a very close connection in Miami, running to the next gate. It never crossed our minds that our luggage might not have had the same sense of urgency until we got to Barbados and it did not.
Lock Down The Documentations Needed– At the same time the booking is made, find out any special documentation you might need to board the ship. On rare occasions, travelers might be required to satisfy special entry requirements. U.S. citizens normally don’t need more than a U.S. passport for most European river cruises or Mediterranean ocean cruises. An upcoming sailing I have on Azamara Club Cruises begins and ends in Istanbul. I needed a visa for that and got it in about 2 minutes online, $20. Still, all cruise lines and travel agencies are all quick to point out that it is the traveler’s responsibility to be sure and have the correct documentation. Try to board without it and undocumented travelers will be turned away, given no refund and left on their own to get back home. A good source to figure that part out: The U.S Department of State’s Safe Traveler Program which offers all the information needed to enter and experience any given country in the world.
Protect Your Trip with travel insurance. Even if you don’t care about the investment made in the travel itself, accidents happen and can add up to $thousands before you know it. See Travel Insurance: If Not Full Coverage, Medical-Only Is Kind Of A No-Brainer for more. I rolled the dice, cruise after cruise, electing to skip the recommended travel protection offered by cruise lines and independent third-party companies. I was one of those people who believed “I saved enough money on travel insurance to pay for a cruise over the years”, and had no use for it. Traveling frequently though, I bought an annual medical-only coverage plan just to be safe, for about the same price as cruise line insurance on one sailing.
Focus on getting plenty of rest and eating right several days before the flight. Sure, maybe we can’t “bank” sleep but starting a long flight with a full tank of rest is always a good idea. International flights to Europe almost always require an overnight flight which you may or may not be able to sleep on. If the budget allows, increase the odds of a good night’s sleep by booking business class air with seats that lay down completely flat. A paid upgrade from economy to economy plus with more legroom can be a good value too.
Finish packing a week in advance- that offers the opportunity to be sure critical items are packed and allows time to get source those items if they were not packed first time around. Be sure to identify your luggage with something that will make it easy to see in the airport baggage claim area. Easy for us when sailing with Viking River Cruises who provides bright red leather Viking River Cruises tags in the pre-cruise documentation package.
Consider Traveling With Carry-On Luggage Only- This is one of the most difficult hurdles to get past for occasional travelers and is especially hard for those who drive to the port and have no restrictions on the amount of luggage they take on the ship. Still, keeping your luggage in your possession for the entire journey absolutely eliminates one of the biggest sources of apprehension for occasional travelers: waiting to see if their luggage made it to the destination. See Travel With Carry-On Luggage Only: Here’s How for more. We do this on every single trip, without exception, regardless of where we are going or for how long.
Charge! Bringing along electronic devices for entertainment on a long flight is a good idea. Having back up power to charge all those devices is a good idea too. Some seats may have plugin power available but determining if yours does or not in advance of flying can be hard to do. For that we suggest the Hyperjuice Magic Box which can power just about anything, multiple times See Travel Gear Review: HyperJuice Magic Box for more. This is a topic much more economically handled in advance rather than at the airport. In fact, recharging devices at an airport charging station may put you in danger. See Travel Security: Meet Juice Jacking for more.
Making It Through The Airport
It makes sense to give a degree of attention to every aspect of international travel, including arriving at and going through the airport, either at home or abroad. Advance consideration of what travelers are about to experience goes a long way.
Print Boarding Passes In Advance- as simple as this may sound, it is one of the most commonly missed parts of travel that has occasional travelers lined up at service desks and self-service kiosks at airports in a totally avoidable line. Once flights are booked and seats selected, look again occasionally to see if other seats opened up that might be more comfortable, when at home. At the airport, have your passport and boarding pass in hand, even if planning to use the airline app on a smartphone to board. The paper version is always there and easy to hand to security personnel and airline employees. Keep boarding passes for connecting flights handy too.
Consider your one personal carry-on item your “flight bag” and have everything that might be needed during the flight in it. Unless flying in business class, space to move around will be limited. Having everything needed right at hand, under the seat in front of you, is huge and a must-do for all international flights. Better yet, try traveling with carry-on luggage, see Travel With Only Carry On Luggage: Here’s How for exactly how to do that.
Consider a travel vest and make that a ScotteVest. I have been wearing a travel vest for years; an article of clothing that holds my cell phone, wallet, passport, loose change and just about anything else that might set off a metal detector at airport security checkpoints. Simply take off the vest and run it through the scanner for an easy security check. Better yet, that vest will carry just about everything needed in flight. With a multitude of pockets, my passport is always in one secure pocket, my smartphone always in another, etc. That’s important when making your way through airports and around places you are not familiar with. See Travel Gear Review: ScotteVest Travel Vest Has Blown My Mind.
On the plane, those well-thought out plans will pay off in a more enjoyable flight. Still, there are parts of flying that can’t be anticipated so flexibility is important Bring along good ear plugs if kids crying bothers you. Kids cry, be prepared. I once had crying kids on both sides of me and in back on a long international flight. Ear plugs saved someone’s life that day. Need darkness to sleep on a long flight? The flight crew will do their best to get all the window shades shut, will dim the cabin lights and set the stage for your best chance to get some sleep. Then there is the idiot who is oblivious to it all and has got to have the brilliant outside light inside. Eye shades.
Protect Yourself from germs with Nozin nasal sanitizer on the plane. I buy and use this product and it really works. Also use plenty of hand sanitizer use throughout the trip, every step of the way and bring along a nice little bottle of hand lotion as alcohol based hand sanitizers will dry out hands. Equally important: protect your health by making a conscious effort to stay hydrated. No, you can not bring bottled water from home but an empty sports bottle that holds water will be allowed to go through security checkpoints. Once through, look for water bottle filling stations, water fountains or just keep it handy so filling can be done in flight. Be double safe, ignore the high price of bottled water in airports and buy some anyway. Normally not a problem for flight attendants to fill up.
Never Pack Anything In A Checked Bag That You Can’t Live Without– After two different airlines on two different trips lost our luggage, we now use carry-on luggage exclusively.
In Flight On Your International Flight
Once the aircraft has taken off and reached cruising altitude on an international flight, service begins. Expect the flight crew to first come through with a warm towel to wash hands, followed by beverages and a snack of some sort. Next will be dinner, followed by another swing through the cabin with drinks before lights go out for the overnight flight. The process is similar regardless of which part of the aircraft one has booked. Still, there are a few actions occasional travelers can take to make the process smoother, the flight more enjoyable and help adjusting to the time difference in Europe easier.
Order A Special Meal- Airlines offer even occasional travelers the ability to order a special meal other than the customary chicken, beef or perhaps pasta selections generally offered to everyone else. Occasional travelers with special dietary needs need to take them up on that offer for sure. But other travelers, those who want to avoid a type of food that may keep them from sleeping well, can take advantage of this offering as well. Low-Fat, Vegan, Kosher, Fruit-only and other selections are possible when made in advance. Try to do that a couple weeks before flight then check that reservation again at one week prior to flight to be sure your request stuck in the airline system. A bonus: Those with special meal requests are usually served first.
Skip The Alcohol- As much as the complimentary alcoholic beverages may seem like a great idea when flying internationally, alcohol is also a whole lot of sugar that can come back to hinder efforts to sleep on the plane. This was a very difficult move for me to make but one that absolutely paid off. After an international flight, I hit the ground running and have little if no jet lag issues if I was able to sleep on the flight. For me, that seems to be the key. Rolling into sleep in a way as close to how we do it on land, when in the air, has a huge effect on the first day or two overseas.
Get Comfy- Bring comfortable socks, take off your shoes and perhaps wear a comfortable outfit or change into one as soon as possible after becoming airborne. Adjust overhead air vents to a comfortable position. If by chance there is a person coughing extraordinarily on the other side of the aircraft, point that air in their direction to help keep germs away.
Have A Flight Bag (or the above mentioned flight vest) that has everything you will need during the flight contained in it. Include medications needed before landing, hand sanitizer, whatever you will be entertaining yourself with, smartphone, headphones, etc. The point is to avoid going into your carryon luggage at all, for any reason.
Coming Home On Your International Flight
Admittedly, this is the worst part of any trip but the nature of international travel does offer some distinct advantages. For one, occasional travelers who follow the abovementioned tips will have smooth sailing on and off the aircraft. In flight, they maximize the experience too and that allows time for reflection on the adventure they have taken. That’s important. Reflecting on the experience while it is fresh in our minds can illuminate parts of the travel process we might do differently next time. Considering where we were and what we did, we can make plans for the future to return to that part of the world (or not), branch out to different places, repeat the mode of travel or try something different. That long flight back home provides a nice buffer of time between travel and returning to the real world too. Still, there are some ways to make being assimilated back into our normal lives a bit easier as well.
Consider Global Entry- One of the best travel investments we ever made, screened and cleared travelers breeze back into the return to the United States, check in via an easy to use kiosk as opposed to standing in a long line. Global Entry-approved travelers always go through the normally-shorter TSA Precheck line when boarding a flight from a U.S. airport. The $100 per person fee grants these benefits for five years. Click here for more information about the Trusted Traveler Network. I bring this up when addressing the concerns of occasional travelers because if they do it right, they will want to do it again.
Space For Gifts and Souvenirs- On the way to a winter river cruise from Florida, we packed our cold weather gear in checked luggage to be retrieved and worn upon arrival in Germany. On the way back, we will wore some of those clothes, making space for gifts and souvenirs picked up along the way. Another option offered increasingly abroad is to ship gifts back home, especially liquid gifts which are difficult to transport.
Enjoy the experience that international flights can offer in and of themselves. Flight attendants or other passengers have wonderful stories to tell when they have some time that can add a richness to our travels. I have no data to back it up but swear that flight attendants on international flights are more pleasant and approachable than on domestic flights.
Maybe You Don’t Return At All- The nature of international travel, very much like a good cruise vacation anywhere, can have life-changing effects on us as individuals. Just back from a trip abroad, we may be eager to catch up on our shows, see the neighbors again, reconnect with pets and family members (not necessarily in that order) and get back into our normal routine. A friend of ours, Matt Long from LandLopers seems to be traveling continually, loves it but is quick to say “I love to travel, but I love coming home.” And so will you…perhaps with a different outlook on life there and surely a different view of our world.
This article is brought to by Cruise Compete. CruiseCompete.com allows you to easily compare multiple offers from Cruise Experts.
When we visit iconic destinations around the world, some travelers choose to capture images along the way, trying hard not to include fellow travelers and locals. Others don’t want any photo that does not include them, documenting their appearance at the destinations they visit. Really picky travelers don’t want anything but the amazing place and use photography tricks and software to remove all but the landmark, scene or event. Probably not all that surprising, we like to see people in travel photos, the more local the better as well as trucks, boats, cars and other signs of daily life as it unfolds before us. Taking another look at photos captured during recent travels, here are some of my favorites.
In Boston on a Fall Foliage sailing of Crystal Cruises we arrived in Lexington just before a Civil War battle reenactment. The ‘soldier’ in the background, American flag by his side was the intended photo. Still, 2 year old Rocky, admiring a monument in the area made a nice addition.
On tour in Rothenburg, Germany with Abercrombie & Kent, this couple paused to consider the day.
Jumping off Seabourn Sojourn in Valletta, Corsica these locals out for a walk on a crisp Fall day were delightful to talk with.
Off Viking Hemming in Avignon, France during an early morning walk we saw shop owners getting ready to open their stores for the day.
In Bamberg, Germany with Viking River Cruises, these locals watched as tourists walked the streets, much as they had for the last 20 years, telling me “the chairs have changed but the view is about the same.”
In Cabrits, Dominica a hot day means a cool drink from coconuts, fresh from the palms as we saw traveling with Star Clippers.
Cavtat, Croatia , seen vial Carnival Cruise Line, is home to some of the most beautiful Summer flowers in the world. That these fellow tourists wandered into the photo did not bother us at all.
The ancient ruins of Chichen Itza, seen sailing with Holland America Line, have views that have been photographed for centuries. These people were here for the day and we captured the moment.
The Kohlner Dom cathedral in Cologne, Germany reaches to the sky, its towering spires marking the city center as a major landmark. Looking down rather than up, I found this little gang of children.
Half Moon Cay is a wonderful private island in the Bahamas, visited by a number of giant cruise ships. This tiny boat caught my attention.
Visit Canada’s Magdalen Island late in the season and visitors are apt to see the boats of this tiny fishing village up on blocks, being prepared for the winter. This fisherman told me he went from one to another doing maintenance, as long as the weather allowed.
Monte Carlo, Monaco is known as the exotic location where a number of James Bond 007 films were made, their famous casino, the Monaco Grand Prix auto race…and a great place to take photos off the back of our Seabourn cruise ship.
Summer in Nuremberg, Germany brings a lively city market that transforms to Christmas markets in cold weather to round out the tourist season. We saw both on a number of Viking River Cruises and did not hesitate to include this local merchant
Visiting Progresso Mexico with Princess Cruises we paused at a cafe to drink in the local flavor, one of our favorite things to do when traveling, time permitting.
On a summer Viking River Cruise, I stopped to rest on the steps of a building overlooking the city center square. While others tried hard not to get the abundant bicycles in their photo, I asked this gal to wait.
In Savona, Italy with Costa Cruises, I walked the streets looking for locals to add a bit of perspective to what I was seeing. Later, I would have coffee at a cafe with this man who refused to let me order Cafe Americano, considered an abomination of the espresso he loved dearly.
The point of all this is simple: Cruise vacations take us to amazing places around the world. I can Google any given destination and find photos of that place with absolutely no ‘distractions’. Those are not the views I want to remember. When looking back on my travels I want to recall the day I was there, what I did and who I met along the way. To me those elements, especially people in travel photos, make the destination real and memorable, not just a postcard view, documenting where I went.
This article is brought to by Cruise Compete. CruiseCompete.com allows you to easily compare multiple offers from Cruise Experts.
On European river cruises, ships pass through a number of locks to lift or lower boats from one level to another. Finding out firsthand just how locks work is one part of a river cruise experience along with visiting interesting places, enjoying the company of fellow travelers and more. Not far from home, the Panama Canal offers a similar experience, albeit on a much more magnificent scale. Holland America Line has crafted a number of interesting Caribbean itineraries that include partial and full transits of the Panama Canal, now just about done with a massive expansion project.
Visiting the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a water passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, built to make travel by ship much more efficient than going ‘the long way’ around South America. Ships sailing from New York to San Francisco prior to the canal opening traveled a distance of nearly 8,000 miles more going around South America. The marvel of passing through the Panama Canal has fascinated cruise travelers for decades. Now, new reason to visit is emerging as engineers begin flooding a newly enlarged section of the Panama Canal as authorities prepare to test a series of new locks that will allow the waterway to accommodate much bigger ships, affecting trade around the world.
Diverse Panama Canal Itineraries
Six Holland America Line ships will sail 11 full transits of the Panama Canal and one ship will offer 14 itineraries that feature both the southern Caribbean and partial transits during fall 2015 through spring 2016.
“To witness the fascinating operation of the Panama Canal from the deck of a Holland America Line ship is the ultimate way to experience one of the great engineering wonders of the world,” –Orlando Ashford, Holland America Line’s president.
With cruises ranging from 10 to 22 days, Holland America Line provides guests more in-depth ways to experience the Panama Canal than any other cruise line. In the 2015-16 season, the combined full and partial transits will carry more than 44,500 guests through the lakes and locks of the man-made marvel.
From September 2015 through May 2016, ms Amsterdam, ms Maasdam, ms Nieuw Amsterdam, ms Oosterdam, ms Veendam and ms Westerdam will make 11 transits between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans from six departure cities. Guests can set sail from Boston, Mass.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; San Diego and San Francisco, Calif.; Seattle, Wash.; and Vancouver, British Columbia.
Go Between Oceans on a Full Panama Canal Transit
In addition to the Panama Canal transit, the 14- to 22-day cruises include a variety of port calls along the way, making each voyage all the more enriching. On the full transits the ships visit destinations in Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and the Caribbean, along with Half Moon Cay, Holland America Line’s award-winning private Bahamian island.
Partial transits include the ‘ABC’ Islands
Besides the full transits, ms Zuiderdam will make 14 partial transits between November 2015 and April 2016. The 10- and 11-day “Panama Canal Sunfarer” itineraries include an exploration of the canal’s Gatún Lake and a combination of southern Caribbean calls in Aruba, Bonaire, Columbia, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Grand Cayman, Panama and Half Moon Cay.
Go ‘On Location’ in the Panama Canal
On each Panama Canal cruise, guests can enjoy the On Location enrichment program that brings local experiences onto the ships through lectures, presentations, cuisine and entertainment. Guests can learn to weave with palm fronds during Caribbean sea days; and while the ship is in the Panama Canal an expert historian recounts the history and drama of constructing the famous waterway. A Panamanian market and buffet on the Lido Deck is a highlight of the voyage, where guests can indulge in regional delicacies such as empanadas, arroz con pollo, ropa vieja and pastel de tres leches.
“Our diverse itineraries bring travelers to all seven continents and to many of the world’s most compelling marvels,” said Ashford, adding”and with 25 departures we offer more ways to experience the Panama Canal than any other line.”
Carnival Cruise Line was originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison. Now, the company is one of ten cruise ship brands owned and operated by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company has the largest fleet in the group, with 24 vessels currently in operation that account for 21.1% of the worldwide cruise market.
Guests aboard the Carnival Magic walk in the WaterWorks aqua park, while another shoots through one of two tube slides. WaterWorks features a 312-foot-long Twister water slide, a DrainPipe slide attraction and a huge bucket that periodically dumps 300 gallons of water. The Twister slide is the longest side in Carnival’s fleet. Photo by Andy Newman/Carnival Cruise Lines
A pioneer in the concept of shorter, less expensive cruises, Carnival calls its ships The Fun Ships, and there are a wide range of activities offered on board.
If You Insist That Carnival Owns Other Lines…They don’t, Carnival Corporation does and they keep all of them separate, offering everything from Luxury to Fun and everything in-between.
Friends Uniting Neighbors (F.U.N.) Team is an employee-driven service group that volunteers time and effort to support local charities and organizations.
But Military Members Get A Deal Too – Often the lowest price, during special promotions that low military rate can be shared with friends and family on the same sailing.
Gives Away Millions – Beating a goal of raising three million dollars in three years, thanks to their guests, dedicated crews and generous travel partners, Carnival Cruise Lines is renewing their partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital with the goal of raising $5 million more over the next four years.
Guests With Special Needs get the full Fun treatment on Carnival which has made substantial modifications to enhance your ability to move about their ships that feature Accessible Elevators at each elevator bank with tactile controls within reach of guests who use wheelchairs and audible signals for guest who are blind or with low vision.
Carnival Gift Cards and E-Gift cards can be used on almost anything: towards the purchase of a Carnival cruise and redeemed onboard toward the Sail & Sign account for gifts, drinks, and fun. Gift card owners can check the balance of their cards online too.
Hey, We Have A Destination Focus Too, Shut It Up You Guys – Destination-focus is a big deal these days with a number of cruise lines claiming to be king of the destinations. Guess what? Carnival has been going there for decades.
Getting Married? Carnival has a complete department working on Shipboard Weddings, Destination Weddings, Renewal of Wedding vows and even a Honeymoon registry.
Carnival Vacation Packages can add pre- or post-cruise hotel stays with transfers in London, Barcelona and Venice. Carnival also has low-cost transfers to and from other ports as well.
Customized Past Guest Offers are available to those who have sailed with Carnival in the past including an automatic two-category upgrade, refundable deposit subject to cancellation terms and no change fee.
New Carnival FunShops offer a way to send gifts to someone sailing or yourself. Choose from Cruise Cash, beverages, food, desserts, flowers, gift sets and apparel.
They Guarantee The Fun – which is really saying something because we all define “fun” a bit differently. Still, have a lousy time right off the bat and they’ll give you your money back and fly you home. Who wants a sour face on the ship anyway? Get off!
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Upon my return to SFO, I witnessed this amusing scene. So there were two United flights from LAX to SFO around the same time, and apparently some of the baggage got swapped, so the people on the earlier flight were still waiting for their bags to come in on the later flight, while the bags from the second flight had already arrived, though their owners hadn't. I assume airport handlers took them off of the carousel to clear it off. (My own bags from JFK were supposed to come out of Claim 3 here, but instead they emerged from Claim 2.) Hijinks all around.
But the kicker was when I overheard the PA system say, "We are at Homeland Security Alert Level Orange. Please report any unattended luggage to airport personnel immediately. Thank you."
Um..... :P
Lost luggage disrupts an otherwise fabulous cruise vacation almost as much as if we were to show up at the pier and the ship was not there. Where to go? What to do? Less frequent than canceled or delayed flights, it is easy to get a false sense of luggage security if it has never happened to you. I had that confidence, never experiencing lost luggage ever in my lifetime, until I got to know that loss first-hand on two consecutive trips. When it happens, travelers have been at the mercy of airlines to find and deliver that luggage later, usually a port or two down the itinerary. But what if it never comes?
Being told that that the airline had an efficient system for locating and delivering lost luggage was oddly reassuring at the time. Looking back I wondered if it might not have been a better idea to have a more efficient system for not losing it in the first place. Still, the airline did try to be comforting and offered a personal care kit that included a toothbrush, disposable shaver and a t-shirt with the airline logo on it that Barbie would probably have loved to see Ken in. Another “why bother?” moment, much like the less-than-delicious meals served on long flights.
Eventually, our luggage found us with our cruise in-progress, the first time. On our second “lost” luggage incident, we learned the hard way not to book connecting flights really close together. While we were able to run to the gate and caught the flight, our luggage did not. Compounding the loss, I was traveling with Whitney at the time and her lost luggage had a number of oversized bottles of beauty products in it. The world ended, briefly.
In both cases, the procedure for what to do is rather simple: file a claim with the airline and wait. If the luggage is never found, comes back damaged or has contents missing, the airline will eventually reimburse travelers appropriately. Still, in this scenario, it’s the lone traveler on one side and the mighty airline on the other and all the yelling and screaming in the world won’t improve that situation. Until now.
Photo- Chris Owen
Let Someone Else Scream At The Airline
Blue Ribbon Bags is the one and only third party service that tracks and expedites the return of bags lost by an airline. Much like having a cruise-focused third-party travel agent on your side, the Blue Ribbon service deals in the world of lost luggage daily and knows it well.
A satisfaction guarantee of $1,000 per bag is paid for a $5 service fee if Blue Ribbon Bags is unable to assist in finding the passenger’s bag after 4 days. Started as a way to give travelers “peace of mind” when checking luggage with an airline, Blue Ribbon Bags is currently available for customers traveling on any airline in every country around the world.
Basically The Lost Luggage Coverage Of Travel Insurance, On Steroids
Blue Ribbon Bags is inexpensive assurance that protects every bag taken on a plane for $5, paid in advance of travel, up to the minute before a flight actually takes off. In the event that a bag is not returned, Blue Ribbon Bags will track and expedite its return and pay a minimum of $1000 per bag if the bag is lost by the airline, and not returned within 4 days of your flight’s arrival.
Unlike airline reimbursements, no proof of what was in the bag is necessary to receive payment. All US and International flights are covered with this service, including all code share partners and connections.
The jury is still out on how effective Blue Ribbon Bags is at the tracking and expediting lost luggage element of what they do. After all, many airlines have smartphone apps that will tell us where our luggage is at any given time and it’s a bit of an iffy benefit to believe that the service really has much say in how quickly the airline system works.
“With over 20 million bags misplaced last year alone, we feel that our service gives our customers an efficient way to ease the inconvenience of lost luggage, and the hassle that goes along with it.” -Gabriel Menkin, CEO, Blue Ribbon Bags
Still, the $5 fee could be worth a bit extra peace of mind when faced with a less than optimum flight schedule. Traveling over holidays, having flights with tight connections or terrified due to our lost luggage experience would be good reasons. Also, the fact that Blue Ribbon allows the service to be purchased at the last minute could be helpful when flights are canceled, unanticipated storms cause a cascading delay effect on the entire transportation system or you did not make it to the convenience store to buy that lottery ticket and like to gamble.
This video gives a good overview of what Blue Ribbon Bags is all about-
This article is brought to by Cruise Compete. CruiseCompete.com allows you to easily compare multiple offers from Cruise Experts.
Sailing on Viking Cruises new Viking Star recently, one thing is quite clear: there is a lot to like. Another undeniable fact: there is no ship sailing quite like it. Let’s take a look at what makes this ship different.
Not to scare off those who fear change, fans of cruise vacations will indeed find some familiar elements. Viking Star floats and sails like just about any other cruise ship you might have sailed. That’s about where the similarity between Viking Star and all other ships out there ends though.
On the possible downside (depending on what one wants to get out of a cruise), there is no casino, top deck amusement park rides or children’s program to speak of. Let’s just get that out of the way right now and let those for whom such attractions make for a fabulous trip move along.
Designed For Travelers
On the very large up side, this is a ship designed for adults who like to travel and see places. An included tour at every port is not an original idea but one that Viking can stake claim for as they did originate the idea on the popular Viking River Cruises. Viking‘s river passengers liked that idea so much that they begged for an ocean-going ship and began a conversation that included a bunch of their suggestions, rolled into the design of Viking Star.
Like to eat? Let’s just put it this way: I gained 12 pounds on a 10-day sailing. Now, two weeks later, they have not dropped off. That’s a first for me, not experienced since we first began cruising as a family more than a decade ago.
Digging a bit deeper, that result might have something to do with the 11 different dining venues on board Viking Star, none of which carry the surcharge one might expect of other cruise lines “alternative dining venues”. They are all good and there was never a problem getting into any of them. 24-hour room service? They have it and it is good. On larger ships, it takes so long for delivery that I wonder if they are trying to discourage us from using room service. Viking Star: 15 minutes, like clockwork.
Like Spending Some Time In Your Stateroom?
You’ll like that on Viking Star, all staterooms have balconies. Inside and Oceanview cabins are not even a choice.
There are different sizes and configurations but all those all-balcony staterooms come with a lot of appropriate features not offered on other lines:
Embarkation starts at 11:00 AM- It’s what we want, Viking gave it to us
King-size Viking Explorer bed with luxury linens- Not two twins pushed together
Complimentary Wi-Fi- not the fastest but free is free
Luxury Robes & Slippers- the only time Lisa has asked “do you think these slippers are for us to take home?” (they are)
Luxury Toiletries- big bottles that are full of good quality products
Direct Dial Satellite Phone & Cell Service- not that I want to use it, but nice to know
One of the most encouraging parts of our trip was realizing that Viking Star is the first of possibly 10 more ocean-going ships. When a new product is introduced into the marketplace, there are often shakedown issues to be resolved. As good as Viking Star was, mainly for feature noted above that any cruise line might choose to offer, most of these features did not cost them a whole lot. They just paid attention and delivered what cruise travelers want. We like when that happens.
To learn more about Viking Cruises and her new ocean cruises, visit www.vikingcruises.com
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We have mixed feelings and a mixed review of the Olive hotel in San Juan. On the plus side it has been decorated in good taste, and the rooftop area is great. On the downside, it has been constructed in a weird manner, there is no personal space anywhere, the pool, restaurant and rooms are so small is almost uncomfortable… More
Dear Guest: We truly appreciate your honesty and your feedback. Thank you for praising our design, we are incredibly proud to offer a one of a kind decor and we put a lot of effort into all the details for guests to feel special. The rooftop area, as you also mentioned, is one of the favorite spots for guests, the… More
At 95-acres in size and with 11,400 feet of pristine beach front spread across six distinct beaches, Ocean Cay Marine Reserve will be – by a large margin – the biggest island development by any 
