Cruises are big this year: Where to look for deals

by Jamie Rhein on

If the trip bookings at the AAA travel show, Great Vacations Expo this past weekend are any indication of the type of travel many people are looking for, it’s cruises, cruises and more cruises. While there, I ran into Bill Purpera, editor of Home and Away magazine for the Ohio section who filled me in on the statistics when I asked him about the biggest vacation sellers on Saturday.

Given that the temperatures plummeted to well below zero on Friday, enough that Columbus schools were closed, it’s not a surprise that people have a strong hankering to head south.

Carnival Cruise Lines were the strongest seller, followed by Royal Caribbean International, with Holland America and Princess Cruises tied for third place. Along with the pull of southern waters, cruises are the hottest travel deal this year, according to the woman who was representing Royal Caribbean.

She said that people are more likely to take cruises to the Caribbean for the first time, but once they’ve been on a cruise they are hooked and head to other destinations. One cruise that a friend of a friend of mine was most excited about was Uniworld’s cruises on rivers of Europe. As she said, the idea that you don’t have to pack and unpack at each city makes for an appealing travel option. The advantage of this sort of travel is that the sticker price of a trip won’t take you by surprise if you know the price options when you sign up.

When I was telling my father about this being the year for cruises, he reminded me that if you are traveling as a single person, cruises are more expensive. Price structures are generally set up for doubles. As a person who travels alone, my dad misses out on most cruise deals, but they can be found with sleuthing.

If you’re looking for cruise deals, here are four places to look:

CruiseDeals.com –Some cruises are grouped according to Top 3 Cruise Deals and More Great Cruise Deals. If you want to see if a cruise is a travel option you’d enjoy before you book a ticket. You can take a virtual cruise at this site. There are useful tips about travel insurance and passports as well.

Cruises.com–This site offers one-day sales, along with allowing you to search cruise options on a pull-down menu. If you’re interested in a shore excursion, but not a cruise, there are deals on tours. This means if you’re on a trip to Alaska, but not on a cruise you can take advantage of a shore excursion tour.

CruiseBargains.com –An easy to navigate site, there is a list of cruise destinations to give you ideas and a drop down menu. There are also links to pages that offer cruises based on activities and interests such as wine and food cruises; art culture and antiquities; and luxurious spas for mind, body and spirit.

VacationstoGo.com –As a cruise clearing house, this site is one to subscribe to if you’re looking for last minute deals. According to the site you can save up to 75% off. The links along the left side of the homepage allow you to search according to age group–there’s one for 55 and over, plus several other discount options like teacher rates, military etc. Here would be a place for browsing just to see what is available and what fits you. I receive the e-mail newsletter which summarizes deals each week.

Take off that swimming suit in Grenada

by Annie Scott on

The Caribbean island of Grenada has banned bathing suits! Unfortunately, they don’t want to see your bits and pieces; they want you to put on something else.

Wearing your g-string at the beach is still okay, but walk around inland with just your bikini top on? You could be slapped with a $270 Indecent Exposure fine. No shirt, no shoes, no Grenada.

It’s fair enough, we suppose, considering that walking around in your swimming suit is akin to walking around in your underwear — and they don’t like that, either, the law also applies to low-slung gangsta pants.

Recently, a group of tourists who were at a Grenada fort in beachwear were sent back to their cruise ship to change. This ain’t no St. Tropez!

[via The New Zealand Herald]

AAA Great Vacations Expo: Andrew Zimmern, Jack Hanna and travel info galore

by Jamie Rhein on

Last year I went to a AAA virtual travel show. Although it was very cool indeed, this weekend’s in person travel show opportunity–AAA Great Vacations Expo, is a perfect place to scout out travel options for 2009. The fact that it’s in Columbus makes it a no brainer for me. If you can swing it, come.

First off, Andrew Zimmern is going to be there on Sunday. As a Bizarre Foods fan, it will be a kick to see him in person and hear about his behind the scenes travel experiences.

On Saturday, Jack Hanna will be talking about his work with animals. I’m also interested in hearing what Amy Alipio, the Associate Editor of National Geographic Traveler’s “City Life” department has to say. She’s going to be talking about some of the world’s most interesting destinations.

Also, throughout Saturday, there are several offerings that were developed with kids in mind. In addition to Jack Hanna and his animal friends, the Ohio Wildlife Center and other organizations have kid-friendly activities. Sponge Bob is also making an appearance. Check out the event schedule for details. My son is already chomping to go. Sponge Bob to him is what Andrew Zimmern is to me.

In addition to the talks, I’m looking forward to wandering among the exhibitors. Browsing among tables laden with travel offerings is a chance to wander through possibilities.

As a person who likes to check out model homes and RVs for the voyeuristic pleasure, I imagine this weekend’s travel show will be a chance to peek into the various vacation opportunities. Should we rent a house near a beach in North Carolina–or head to a rafting vacation in West Virginia? What’s close to home? How cheap is luxury?

Although I’m not planning on an Alaskan cruise any time soon, finding out the options from someone who plans such trips is appealing. So is finding out about more adventure travel options or traveling green. Both themes are hot themes this year.

I imagine that going to this travel show will be like trying on different outfits to see which one is the best fit. Although many exhibitors are based in Ohio, several have reaches outside the state. I’m looking for those travel deals that are hard to pass up, as well as the ones I haven’t thought of before. For example, at the virtual show, I found out about a company that specializes in cruises on European rivers. Uniworld Cruises will be among the more than 100 exhibitors. As with many of the exhibitors, booking a vacation this weekend means a discount.

After the weekend, I’ll let you know what tidbits I’ve found out–and what Andrew Zimmern is like in person.

If you are planning on going, the event is at Veterans Memorial from Friday through Sunday. Vets Memorial is located on West Broad St., near COSI, the science museum–also a worthy stop. Make a weekend of it. Check out this post on 10 things there are to do in or near downtown Columbus.

QE2 to be cut in half in Dubai

by Jamie Rhein on

We’ve written about QE2 before. The last post was Jeffrey’s report that the ship had made it to Dubai with great fanfare.

When I read yesterday that the QE2 was to be cut in half, I pictured two halves of this magnificent ocean liner floating around its palm shaped, manmade island. Did Dubai World, the state-run conglomerate who bought the ocean liner want a hotel for each side of the island, I wondered. Something like bookends?

That’s not it. Turning a ship into a hotel doesn’t mean just docking it as is. At least, not in this case. Although, The Queen’s Room, The Captain’s Quarters and The Bridge will stay in their original state, according to this msnbc article from last November, there are changes to be made to make the ship hotel worthy.

Apparently, that’s where cutting it in half comes in. When it’s cut in half, a 100-foot extension will be added into the middle. What will be done with the middle, I’m not sure. This Daily Record.co.uk article doesn’t say. What it does say is that some folks are miffed–spitting mad with the idea of the alteration. Disgusted. Not in those words exactly, but the sentiments are about right. For maritime buffs, cutting the QE2 in half is worse than turning it into scrap metal. To these folks, cutting the QE2 in half is an indication that the company that bought the ship has no idea what a treasure it has.

I’ve heard that getting a ring resized by cutting the band at the back in order to add an extension is a bad idea. It makes the ring lose its value. Perhaps the same holds true with a luxury liner.

Cruise ship nightmare as hundreds get sick at sea near Brazil

by Jeffrey White on

Nearly 350 passengers on the MSC Sinfonia, a Swiss-owned cruise ship that left Rio de Janeiro one week ago, have come down with some kind of food borne virus that’s caused a massive outbreak of vomiting and diarrhea on board, according to the Associated Press.

The ship had to be steered into port at Salvador, Bahia, where the passengers are reportedly recovering. Spokespeople for the cruise liner say the virus is not life threatening.

There were 2,000 passengers on board the cruise, mostly from Brazil.

Inspections found high amounts of chlorine in the cruise liner’s drinking water and problems with the storage of perishable food items like mayonnaise, the AP says.

An investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the outbreak. The Brazilian agency in charge of it is called the National Agency for Sanitary Vigilance, and if that isn’t a great name for a government department, I don’t know what is.