Cheap Cruise Watch- Norwegian Upgrades (almost) everybody

by Chris Owen on

It’s what the cruise industry calls “wave season”, the time of the year when people stop dreaming of a White Christmas and instead have nightmares about getting stuck in snow and ice. Thoughts turn to warmer weather and cruise vacations come to mind. We have been talking a lot about how to get a good deal lately. Today we have one for you.

Cheap prices are good. Cheap prices and you get more for your money are better.

Norwegian Cruise Line has a “Free Upgrades For All” promotion that applies to the new Norwegian Epic going on now through January 16, 2011 where we can book and get up to a 4 category upgrade at no additional charge. That’s nothing really all that exciting but with this promotion, you can book an ocean-view cabin (with a window) and get a balcony cabin at no additional charge. Book a balcony and get a mini-suite too. That’s different and unique to Norwegian.

They’re also throwing in a coupon book “worth over $400” but don’t get too excited about that part. Many of the coupons you probably won’t use but they do add up and some you will. The big attraction here is booking an ocean-view and getting a balcony or booking a balcony and getting a mini-suite on their newest ship. That’s the kind of value we want you to get. It’s available on all 2011 sailings and its pretty easy to do.

Like most cruise deals this can be a little tricky to book so pay attention if you visit the NCL website. For Balcony upgrades, you’ll see a Balcony Stateroom with the same price as an Ocean-view Stateroom. For sailings with Mini-Suite Upgrades, you’ll see a Mini-Suite listed at the same price as a Balcony. A few restrictions apply and it is always a good idea to read the fine print.

Get with your travel expert to be sure you get it right.

Flickr photo by Cruise News Weekly

Janet Jackson as entertainment on a cruise ship?

by Chris Owen on

Kinda.

On new Norwegian Epic, the popular Legends in Concert tribute show has changed some of the acts.

New to the ship will be Janet Jackson, Neil Diamond and Aretha Franklin impersonators doing six 45-minute shows over during a seven-day cruise.

Las Vegas’ famed standard of live tribute shows has rounded up the largest collection of live tribute artists and celebrity look-alikes in the world for over 25 years. At Sea, the performers are rotated every four months on Norwegian Epic, the latest ship from Norwegian Cruise Lines.

Among other entertainment options on a Norwegian Epic cruise including a Cirque Dreams and Dinner dining experience and a performance by The Blue Man Group, Legends in Concert has proved to be a popular option.

“The Legends in Concert show in the Epic Theater and Legends Unplugged (stars say naughty things) in the Manhattan Room are a favorite of our guests,” said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line’s CEO and recent star of TV reality show Undercover Boss who recently impersonated crew members on the ship.

Replacing Britney Spears, Rod Stewart and Michael Jackson, the new performers will also do the Legends Unplugged show on three other nights in the ship’s supper club.

Replacing Kevin Sheehan on Undercover Boss will be Ronald Croatti, President and CEO of UniFirst, one of the nation’s largest producers of work-wear and uniforms.

Flickr photo by chvad_sb

The worst cruise line values

by Chris Owen on

Cruise vacations can represent one of the best vacation values around, that’s for sure. The all-inclusive nature of a cruise makes it one of the easiest ways to go when budgeting too. Some cruises are better values than others though. Here are some of the worst cruise line values.

Cruises from New York
This is the whole supply and demand thing. Few ships sailing from the area with lots of demand equals higher prices in many cases. Summer sailings are a good example where fares for a 7-day cruise can easily be 30 to 50% higher than sailings from Southern ports.

Balconies on old ships
Old ships weren’t built for today’s demand. In the olden days of cruising, ships had mostly inside cabins and Ocean-view cabins with just windows. Just a few cabins had balconies, the popular option today. That makes balconies on old ships prime real estate that gets a premium price.

Sailing solo
While options are slowly improving, sailing by yourself is a horrible value compared to sailing with someone else in the cabin to share the cost with. Cruise lines base everything on double-occupancy and with few exceptions charge solo cruisers twice the cruise fare. Kudos to Norwegian Cruise Lines who introduced single studio accommodations on new Norwegian Epic last Summer, a first for the cruise industry.

Sailing during peak season
Spring Break, Summer, and sailings which fall on holidays or pretty much any time school is out demand a premium price. On the flip side, times when kids are IN school have some of the best values, especially Fall sailings. Some of the best? First week in November or December.

Brand new ships
They always demand a premium price. On the latest, greatest new ship that’s not surprising. Normally, you’ll pay more to be one of the first on the most innovative ships out there than an older sister-ship of the same class.

A good way to measure and compare the value of a cruise, or any vacation package, is the cost per person, per day. Cruise lines like this number because it compares very well to other vacation options.

Another part of “value” though is more of a personal matter. It may very well be worth it to sail solo if the alternative is to not sail or sail with someone you would never take your clothes off in front of. Sailing during peak season may be the only time you can go, or you are just dying to try that new ship with all the latest bells and whistles. Your travel agent can help by being aware of or watching for special promotions, discounts or offers over the life of your booking that will soften the blow of these otherwise worst cruise values.

Flickr photo by kthypyrn

2011 Cruise news headlines: what to expect

by Chris Owen on

We pulled out the crystal ball and came up with a bunch of predictions for the cruise vacations in 2011. Check back in a year to see how close we came on these possible cruise news headlines.

  1. Higher fuel costs mean higher fares for cruises and airfare too. Airfare will get hit first, cruise lines will be more cautious. An additional fuel surcharge for airlines is no big deal. Add on a charge for pat-downs, magazines in flight or something new, that would be a big deal. Cruise lines don’t want a fuel surcharge but if the price of oil hits and holds above $100 a barrel, they will and this time they won’t have to give it back later.
  2. Spring Break sailings will fill up fast and there will be few last-minute deals on them. If you want to go on a Spring Break cruise, pretty much any time in March or April, book it yesterday. Cruise lines have been warning of a price increase but they do that every year at this time when “wave” season hits and demand is high for cruises. They’ll hold that higher pricing longer this year.
  3. 2011: the Year of Ala Carte Pricing with cruise lines and travel agencies offering more optional choices as they move toward customizing each individuals vacation experience. This is way a good thing. Last year we blew the lid off the notion of a cruise being totally “all-inclusive” and bought into the reality of cruises having an “all-inclusive nature”. More than a subtle difference, look for more dining options, pre and post cruise hotel stays and options that before now, were a good idea but not really pushed all that much.
  4. Social Media blossoms in the cruise business with more lines “getting it” and moving forward with plans to engage us in a conversation about cruise vacations before, during and after sailing. In 2011 Facebook and Google ARE the Internet and those stuck elsewhere will fail. Losers: Faceless Internet Cruise Brokers, cruise lines not engaged in social media. Winners:Travel Agents who “get it”
  5. Multi-generational cruises take huge leap in popularity. An aging population will wake up more this year than in the past and want to travel with the kids and grand-kids. We saw a lot of this in Alaska and the Caribbean last year, look for more this year.
  6. European sailings skyrocket as cruise lines have repositioned ships to the Mediterranean, so goes the booking interest as supply of ships sailing from U.S. ports declines and prices go up. Last year saw some unbelievably good values in the Caribbean, that won’t happen as much this year.
  7. Cruise Lines ramp up security checks. It’s just inevitable that this will happen. Look for TSA-like security procedures and plan on taking a longer time to get on the ship, either upon embarkation or when in port.

Flickr photo by RambergMediaImages

Cruise ship delayed due to illness outbreak

by Chris Owen on

Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas returned to the Port of Tampa today with a ship full of passengers and a little something extra, an outbreak of intestinal flu.

“During Radiance of the Seas’ last sailing, a number of guests experienced some gastrointestinal illness,” Royal Caribbean said in a statement. “In an abundance of caution, we will conduct some enhanced sanitizing on board the ship and within the cruise terminal to help prevent any illness from affecting the next sailing”

The ship is expected to be delayed by about five hours said Doug Parker of CruiseRadio.net who has been in contact with guests preparing to board the ship for it’s next sailing. “Those guests have been told to be at the pier at 5PM for boarding at 6PM, departing at 9:30PM” Parker said.

The cruise line is asking guests who might be sick to reschedule their cruise instead of boarding too. “If you have experienced any gastrointestinal symptoms during the past three days” the company told passengers reports Reuters.2,110-passenger Radiance of the Seas had been on a five-day cruise to Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico and was scheduled to leave Saturday night on the same itinerary

Flickr photo by prayitno