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MSC Divina Completes Maiden Voyage to Miami

By
John Shallo
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MSC Divina Completes Maiden Voyage to Miam
MSC Divina

The MSC Divina has made cruise history this morning, when it was escorted into PortMiami by a fleet of high-powered FIAT personal watercraft. With today’s arrival, MSC Divina becomes the first MSC Cruises ship to sail year-round from North America.

With today’s show-stopping entrance, MSC Divina concludes her 18-night Atlantic Ocean crossing to Miami from Venice, Italy. During the voyage, a fabulous Rosso Brillante (metallic red) Fiat 500, or Cinquecento as it is known in Italy, was loaded onto the ship to accompany MSC Divina across the Atlantic.

“With MSC Divina’s debut, we are thrilled to welcome one of our finest and most innovative vessels to North America,” said Richard Sasso, President and CEO of MSC Cruises USA. “Today marks an important milestone for MSC Cruises as we continue to grow in this region, offering more destinations and appealing to wider audiences. We look forward to offering North American cruisers something new and fresh.”

“Like the MSC Divina today, the FIAT brand made a trip from Italy to America two years ago to bring Italian style, European technology and great value for money into this market,” said Olivier Francois, Chief Marketing Officer, Chrysler Group LLC and Head of FIAT Brand Worldwide. “We have been welcomed by the American customers and, as we expand our portfolio, we will continue to offer to them vehicles that are unique and that celebrate their individuality in true Italian style.”

MSC Divina guests will experience several new, exciting features. Two entirely unique dining venues created in partnership with Italian restaurant emporium Eataly in Manhattan, New York will include the upscale Ristorante Italia and spectacular regional steakhouse, Eataly Steakhouse, fashioned after the famed restaurant in Eataly’s Manhattan location. Eataly was founded by Oscar Farinetti in 2007 and launched in the U.S. in partnership with celebrity chefs Mario Batali and Lidia and Joe Bastianich.

MSC Divina will also be the first ship to offer Aqua Cycling at sea. Reported as this summer’s latest fitness craze by Extra TV and highlighted on Good Morning America, New York Times and Time Magazine, among other media, Aqua Cycling will allow MSC Divina guests to take spinning to new heights while cruising the Caribbean.

Unlike any other luxury onboard experience, MSC Divina will also feature the MSC Yacht Club for the first time in North America. Our unique “ship-within-a-ship” will now be available in the Caribbean for guests looking for unparalleled indulgence, luxury and comfort. From personal butler, 24-hour concierge service and complimentary select wines and spirits available any time of the day, guests booked in the MSC Yacht Club Suites are pampered throughout the MSC Yacht Club’s exclusive lounges and pool area. This oasis of premium tranquility provides several private venues, including Le Muse panoramic restaurant, Top Sail Lounge, pool and relaxation area as well as private access to the MSC Aurea Spa.

For more information about MSC Divina’s first season in the US and its unique new features and special offers, please visit www.msccruisesusa.com.

The Fiat 500 personal watercraft have made multiple appearances this year, including the iconic waterfront of San Francisco and Chicago, in addition to this summer’s Vans US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, California.

A review of Carnival Miracle in Alaska and Cruise News

By
John Shallo
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Carnival Miracle

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

We talk to Nancy Schretter of the Family Travel Network. Nancy gives us her review of her 7 night sailing on the Carnival Miracle. Stewart Chiron joins us with cruise news.

Watch the Brilliance of the Seas Inaugural Sail away from Tampa, FL

By
John Shallo
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Brilliance of the Seas
Brilliance of the Seas
Continue

Pre-Cruise Checklist Can Eliminate Headaches Later

By
Chris Owen
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Pre-Cruise Checklist
Pre-Cruise Checklist

Seasoned cruise travelers know that getting ready for an upcoming cruise vacation takes more than just packing and making sure they have the right travel documents. Those two things are important but becoming familiar with the ship, the ports of call and taking a good look at other elements of the cruise experience before boarding is just as critical.

Getting Ready Can Be Easy

Not to say passengers should make a job out of getting ready to cruise but taking advantage of resources provided by major cruise lines and travel agents before sailing can elevate a good vacation to trip-of-a-lifetime status easily.

Getting ready to sail on a Princess Cruises ship, we received a series of emails from the cruise line to help in the process. One of them asks and answers common questions with links to information about a variety of topics. Reminders, checklists, directions to the pier and more were found here, giving even the most experienced Princess passenger critical information. The thoughtful email even tells us what movies will be playing on board, invites us to join the Princess Book Club and more.

This is not something we will find in advertisements for the line, but paying attention to details like this series of pre-cruise emails that all passengers can have access to can add real value to our cruise experience…if we are aware of it.

This is just one reason why completing online registration with the cruise line as soon after booking as possible is important. Without our email address, none of this information would be available.

Cruise Boarding Pass Is Not Line Airline Boarding Pass

Often, booked guests on a number of lines look a pre-cruise registration much like printing a boarding pass for an airline flight, something to do at the last minute. As we can easily see, there is a whole lot more to be gained from registering early than the piece of paper that makes getting on the ship easier. That’s important too but the benefits of receiving pre-cruise information, only available via email, is staggering compared to not having it at all.

Cruise line websites too allow booked and registered guests to access a wealth of information on a number of lines. Carnival Cruise Lines has a similar program that features a countdown to cruise clock, updated every time we log on. Royal Caribbean‘s Pre-Cruise Planner allows much more than simply booking shore excursions and printing a boarding pass too.

It May Be Personal But It Needs To Be Correct

Aside from all these benefits, booked guests get to see their personal information as it appears on the cruise line records which may not always be the same as an invoice created by a travel agency. I can’t count the number of times when passengers have told me they did not realize that “Bobby’s” real name that appears on his passport, the document used to board the ship which must match cruise line records or boarding could be denied, is really “Robert”.

Meet Carnival Imagination’s Cruise Director Skip Lyons

By
John Shallo
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We meet Skip Lyons, the Cruise Director of the Carnival Imagination in this in-depth interview. We learn about his life and work at sea. Skip offers us advice for having a great cruise vacation and much more.

Woman Reportedly Jumps From Cruise Ship

By
John Shallo
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Ruby Princess
The beautiful Ruby Princess at sea.

A 54 year old woman reportedly jumped from the Grand Princess just northeast of Hawaii on Wednesday afternoon. According to a statement from Princess Cruises, the women was later seen intentionally jumping overboard on the ship’s video surveillance.

Once Princess Cruises had learned of the overboard, crew members from the Grand Princess contacted the US Coast Guard and the FBI. The Coast Guard arrived on scene shortly after and assisted the ship in a search and rescue operation. According to Princess, crews searched waters approximately 650 miles northeast of Hilo.

At this time, the women has not been discovered and is presumed dead.

The Grand Princess was three days into a 15 day round trip Hawaii sailing when the incident occurred.

Carnival Sunshine To Arrive In New Orleans This Week, Fun To Ensue

By
Chris Owen
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The amount of work it took to transform Carnival Destiny into Carnival Sunshine is evident to those who had sailed the ship in the past. Initially, they remember what was where before, but quickly those old memories fade, replaced by shiny new venues and features. That’s what past Carnival guests are likely to experience when Carnival Sunshine makes her way to New Orleans this week to sail a series of Caribbean cruises.

What was the aft pool area has been replaced with a water park. The mid-ship pool area hosts Guys Burger Joint, the dueling Red Frog Pub and Blue Iguana Cantina and serves as the nerve center for on deck activity. The forward teen make out deck is gone, replaced by an adults-only serenity area. Of the 25 branded elements of Carnival’s energizing Funship 2.0 initiative, 12 of them are on the top deck. Response from passengers has been so overwhelmingly positive that many are choosing not to go ashore.

We took a look at those venues last summer while Carnival Sunshine was docked in Marseilles with the French countryside as a backdrop.

Carnival Sunshine Waterworks

We begin with Waterworks, an on board water park that features five different slides, 40 interactive water features and a 150-gallon drenching bucket and more.

  • Splashzone – a kids water play area with slides just for kids and other kid-friendly features.
  • Speedway Splash– dual side-by-side, 235 foot water slides with special lighting effects where racers compete and times are displayed.
  • Twister Slide– At 335 feet long, the enclosed Twister slide is Carnival’s longest.
  • SportsSquare- is an outdoor recreation area with a full-sized basketball court, a two-level nine-hole mini-golf course, a jogging track, foosball, ping pong, pool tables and more. Also features SeaDogs, a hot dog-shaped cart within the SportSquare offering complimentary all-beef franks and traditional toppings.
  • SkyCourseis part of SportsSquare and a ropes course where guests strap into a safety harness and choose from a beginner or intermediate levels
  • Youth Program Headquarters – Camp Carnival (ages 2-11), Circle “C” (12-14) and Club O2 (15-17) are youth program venues located appropriately close to SportsSquare
  • Guy’s Burger Joint – moving mid-ship we have Guys Burger Joint, developed in tandem with Food Network Star Guy Fieri.
  • Blue Iguana Cantina – has authentic tacos and burritos that can be personalized by diners at a limitless salsa and toppings bar- Also a great place for breakfast with custom-made breakfast burritos
  • Red Frog Rum Bar is a poolside adaptation of the RedFrog Pub offering the refreshing Caribbean rum-based frozen drinks and beers including (personal favorite) Thirsty Frog Red.
  • Blue Iguana Tequila Bar is a poolside watering hole, directly across from the Red Frog Pub offering tequila-based frozen drinks and beers

What is Cruise Ship Etiquette?

By
John Shallo
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woman cup girl faceless
Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Contributor of USA Today and blogger for Porthole Cruise Magazine, Fran Golden, joins us with her recent article on cruise ship etiquette. This is a must listen for all cruisers!

Stewart Chiron, The Cruise Guy® stops by with Cruise News:

What is Cruise Ship Etiquette
Norwegian Getaway
  • Norwegian Getaway was floated out of the shipyard
  • Two ships are Florida bound from Europe, Carnival Sunshine and MSC Divina
  • Allure of the seas is experiencing some propulsion problems
  • Vision of the seas just emerged from dry dock
  • Norwegian Cruise Line released earnings

Sailing From Port of Houston – Texas’ NEW Cruise Terminal

By
Chris Owen
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Bayport Cruise Terminal
Bayport Cruise Terminal

Just back from a 4-night cruise aboard Caribbean Princess on Princess Cruises first-ever Cruising For A Cause, it was our first time sailing from the Port of Houston. Actually, it was the first time sailing from the Port of Houston for most passengers. Built in 2008 to the tune of $30 million, the new facility has been sitting empty; waiting for cruise lines to come calling ever since.

Princess Cruises will sail Caribbean Princess from Houston on a series of twenty seven 7-night itineraries to Belize, Roatan and Cozumel through April 2014 when the ship repositions to Fort Lauderdale for alternating Eastern and Western Caribbean runs. In November 2014, Emerald Princess will begin sailing from Bayport through April 2015…so it looks like Princess is going to be calling Houston home for quite some time.

Getting There

Traveling from Houston’s Intercontinental Airport (IAH) it takes about 45 minutes to reach the Bayport Cruise terminal. The drive reminded us a lot of the trip from Orlando (MCO) to Port Canaveral, minus the palm trees. Princess offers transfers for $96 per person, round-trip which is a good price. We also noticed a fleet ofSuperShuttle vans lined up for pre-arranged transfer and runs about $60 per person, round trip with pricing based on how many people in the party. Private cars are also available for $97 and that’s for the car, holding up to three people via ExecuCar.

Getting Out Of There
Located inland, it takes a few hours sailing to get from Bayport to open sea. We liked it and thought sailing past the Texas landscape made for a great sailaway. This was a bit of a concern before we did it as opposed to sailing from Galveston, located right on the ocean. No big deal really, getting to the ocean.

Actually, cruise ships will probably never equal the amount of traffic that the Port of Houston Authority sees via freighters. The number one port in the United States for freight shipping, there is a lot of activity there which also makes for some good ship-watching on the way to sea.

Inside Bayport Cruise Terminal-
The shiny new cruise terminal is well organized and allowed plenty of space for embarkation activities. Special for the Princess Cruising For A Cause, a local band played military- and 60’s-themed music as passengers lined up. Special areas for upper level past-guests of the cruise line were stocked with snacks and beverages too.

Frankly, we enjoyed sailing from Bayport every bit as much as sailing from Galveston; Bayport just seems to be out in the middle of nowhere. Again, much like Port Canaveral.

Booking

If the idea of a Caribbean Princess sailing from Bayport sounds good, better book quickly. We have the ability to look at dining availability, a good indicator of how a ship is filling up on any given sailing. What we see today is a waiting list for both early and late dining through February 2014, indicating that this will be a very popular first season for Caribbean Princess.

Also Sailing-
Starting in fall 2014, Norwegian Cruise Line will sail 2,374-passenger Norwegian Jewel from Houston on seven-day Western Caribbean cruises through the 2017 cruise season.

Here are some more views of what we saw at the new Bayport Cruise Terminal.

Review: Princess Cruises Cruising For A Cause Sailing To Honor U.S Veterans

By
Chris Owen
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Review: Princess Cruises Cruising For A Cause Sailing To Honor U.S Veterans
Review: Princess Cruises Cruising For A Cause Sailing To Honor U.S Veterans

This week I am on board Caribbean Princess on a four-night sailing from the port of Houston. The occasion is Princess Cruises first-ever Cruising For A Cause sailing, devoted entirely to supporting a charitable organization. Make that two charitable organizations; Operation Homefront and The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

On board, veterans and their families will hear distinguished retired military officers and guest speakers share their experiences. Panel discussions will bring stories from World War II to present day. Informal receptions are planned for each of the five branches with generals and admirals as hosts. That’s coming up. Today is all about sailing away, under U.S. Coast Guard escort, on a ship full of stories.

The program started as we entered the Houston cruise terminal; a beautiful like-new facility not used all that much as most ships sailing from Texas hail Galveston as home. The giant embarkation hall was decorated with red, white and blue balloons and banners. Each passenger was given an American flag for a first-ever Red, White and Blue Sailaway party. A live band played songs of the past. And the stories began.

I can’t recall ever wishing a waiting line to get on a cruise ship would move slower.

Embarkation conversations happened between those in line, proud of their service and shared military experience, sporting ball caps and t-shirts specific to their branch of the Armed Forces. On the ship, stories continued as old friends met again, new friendships began and Princess began working their Escape Completely magic on what I would have thought to be one tough crowd.

Quite the contrary, heroes in their 90’s were dancing alongside young ‘kids’ in their 60’s with Princess entertainment staff mixed in to be sure everyone was having a good time.

We have sailed Caribbean Princess a number of times and enjoyed the onboard programming as well as the layout of the ship, unique features and more.

On board this week for Princess Cruises Cruising For A Cause, an entire sailing saluting U.S. Veterans, it’s no surprise that theme-specific offerings are a bit overwhelming. Still, let’s take a look at what we are getting in addition to what Princess normally offers.

  • Interesting Events In The Princess Theater– In Princess Cruise For A Cause- The Stories Begin we talked about programming specific to military members and their families including a panel of senior officers and individual presentations of interest to veterans
  • In-Cabin Television Programming– In addition to normal stateroom television programming, a Military TV Channel hosts video from Operation Homefront, the Veterans History Project and the World War II series.
  • Keepsake Commemorative Challenge Coin- “Members of the U.S. military have a long-standing tradition of carrying a special coin symbolizing unit identity and esprit de corps,” explains Princess of a special Commemorative Challenge Coin given to each person sailing as a momento
  • Special Guest Profiles- a booklet for each stateroom detailing the background of each member of the impressive Senior Officer Panel, Senior Spouse Panel, guest speakers, hosts and panel moderators.
  • Cruise For A Cause Art Auction- standard fare cruise line art auction with a unique twist: all proceeds go to Veteran’s organizations
  • Informal Receptions- for each branch of the service, hosted by a member of the officer’s panel.
  • Themed Drinks of the Day- Stars and Stripes was white rum, blue curacao, pina colada mix and grenadine.
  • Headliner Entertainment via country singer and veteran Rockie Lynne who has appeared nationally on Good Morning America, CMT, the Grand Ole Opry “Live” and Fox News. Lynne is also co-founder of a an annual motorcycle ride called Tribute to the Troops, which visits the homes of fallen soldiers acknowledging them for making the ultimate sacrifice.
  • Support for Veteran’s Organizations- A portion of each passenger’s cruise fare from $100 to $300, depending on stateroom category, will be matched by Princess Cruises and donated equally to the two veterans’ organizations, Operation Homefront and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.
  • Taps- Passengers enjoy an evening performance with Jari Villanueva, a retired Air Force bugler from Arlington National Cemetery, who is a foremost authority on Taps and other U.S. military bugle calls.

Thinking about a themed cruise? Ask for specifics on what ‘extras’ come along with the deal. The list should be long and fulfilling if its going to come anything close to the marvelous time we’ve had on Caribbean Princess honoring our soldiers!

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