Cruise prices rise but bargains are out there, nevermind the view

by Chris Owen on

As promised, cruise lines have raised prices in reaction to increasing demand. It seems the all-inclusive nature and higher-than-other-things safety level of a cruise vacation is once again filling up ships. But there are still a few bargains out there, if you don’t mind the view.

Royal Caribbean International, who eternally vowed to never discount new Oasis and Allure of the seas is doing the next best thing. In what they call a summertime “family-friendly” promotion running through the 13th of April, the line is offering $200 onboard credit for sailings during June, July or August 2011.

Vacationers booking two or more Central Park- or Boardwalk-view balcony staterooms, that are grouped together, will receive a $200 onboard credit per stateroom, up to a maximum of three staterooms for a total of $600 onboard credits per group.

Here’s the catch: Nobody wants those cabins.

When most people think “balcony” they think “overlooking the ocean”. These don’t. Your view will be of whoever is across the interior Central Park Neighborhood if you look straight ahead or of the Central Park landscaping below. Look up and you will see the sky but not much of it.

The Boardwalk-view location is better or worse depending on how you look at it. The aft location does provide a view of the ocean. Sort of. If you look past the Aqua-theater and there is a lot going on back there. The down-side is that there is a lot going on back there. Someone who wants a lazy day on the balcony watching the ocean roll by will be disappointed if not angry.

I was on the ship with a bunch of really loud people who we put out on the balcony, hoping they would fall off. They didn’t fall off but when the balcony door was closed and I was standing inside the cabin looking at them it was like putting them on mute setting.

Still, this is a great promotion if you don’t have plans to relax, fool around, smoke or otherwise misbehave on your balcony. Concerns over noise from the area below are more true in the bustling Boardwalk area than the serene Central Park but not very well founded.

Don’t get me wrong, Oasis and Allure of the Seas are great ships. The cupcakes from the Cupcake Cupboard alone are reason enough to sail on either one. Take Royal Caribbean up on this deal and you’ll have plenty of cash for them.

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Photo: Whitney Owen

At one year old, the Trump SoHo is still rockin

by Grant Martin on

It pains us to see one of the best properties in the world not profiled in the Gadling database, so taking advantage of a recent assignment with The Trunk Club and a planned team happy hour we stopped in to take a look.

The Trump Soho is just finishing up it’s first year of operation in the posh corner of Manhattan known as SoHo. It’s a great part of town, were 9 out of 10 tourists head like pilgrims during the Hajj and where all of the finest restaurants and boutiques jostle for store space. With such a prestigious quarters, the Trump had to have a presence in some respect.

At it’s current level of operation, the property is just starting to fire on all cylinders. Aspects of each room have been fine tuned (such as the location of the ice buckets — not trivial!) after some of the initial guest feedback, and all of the employees and operations are starting to look and feel comfortable. The staff, though they’re trained to be attentive and pinpoint now have an air of gravity to them, like they’ve experienced every situation and are capable of handling anything else. There’s a light patina on the metalwork, a hum to the automated room curtains and a tint to the bright blue glass on the exterior walls — something makes this place feel like more of a home than the rigid hotel that it used to be.

All of this is juxtaposed against the normal amenities that make a Trump hotel really outstanding. The Bellino sheets are crisp and inviting, like no luxury sheet we’ve ever experienced, and the room technology system flawlessly controls the living environment seamlessly woven with the classic wood finishes and casual luxury appointments. Looking down the backbone of 6th Avenue from our bedroom window, it’s easy to see how one could never want to leave this place.

In celebration of their one year anniversary, the Trump Soho is offering special upgrades for any April booking made on Saturday, April 9th. Using the code APRIL9, guests booking regular rooms will get to experience the one bedroom suites, a real treat for any thrifty budget traveler. Get ye to the booking engine before the code expires.

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Photo of the day – Cunningham Cabin, Grand Tetons

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Today’s Photo of the Day was snapped last summer by JasonBechtel inside the famous Cunningham Cabin in Grand Teton National Park. The sky, mountains, and clouds contrast startlingly with the log cabin interior, presenting a skillfully handled double framing. The contrast is so sharp that it almost looks fake.

We’re fans of JasonBechtel, and in fact today’s selection isn’t his first visit to our rodeo. But even if you’ve never submitted an image to us for consideration, don’t be shy. We want to see your work. Upload an image or several to Flickr’s Gadling Group Pool. Chosen images end up as future Photos of the Day.

AAA launches new online guide books

by Chris Owen on

Members of AAA (formerly known as the American Automobile Association if you haven’t been paying attention lately) have long-relied on guide books and the famous AAA TripTik page-by-page maps that looked to be doomed as Internet applications like Google maps became more popular. But now, things are looking up for the world’s largest auto club.

Announced today, AAA members can take along the free digital guides for their Amazon Kindle, Apple iPad, Barnes and Noble Nook, Sony Reader or smartphones equipped with an e-reader application. Site visitors to AAA.com/ebooks can view the available eTourBook titles, but only AAA members can initiate a download. To complete the process, members login to download titles to their personal computer and then sync the files to their portable device.

The AAA library is extensive too. AAA publishes 26 regional TourBook guides covering the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean .The information is gathered by a team of travel editors and inspectors conduct in-person evaluations of all AAA Approved lodgings and restaurants.

Listings include 58,000 AAA Approved and Diamond Rated lodgings and restaurants, 17,000 attractions, 23,000 events and 7,000 destinations.

Printed AAA TourBook guides and maps are still available free to members through AAA offices or online at AAA.com/travel. I just ordered a bunch of them for an upcoming trip to Italy at the end of the month. I think it is one of the best benefits they have…well, next to coming out for free road service that is.

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Flickr photo by photopaige

Captain Kid Rock sails again

by Chris Owen on

He doesn’t get to marry people at sea, drive the ship or make people walk the plank but Captain Kid Rock’s second-annual Chillin’ the Most Cruise is underway once again. Along with 2,700 of his fans, Kid Rock is on the way to Cozumel from New Orleans aboard the Carnival Triumph.

The five day charter sailing goes to Cozumel, just Cozumel, and no place else. That’s probably just what the doctor ordered for the rabidly fun-loving fans on board.

“For this heavy-drinking, heavy-smoking crowd, it’s an itinerary that includes all-hours bars, pole-dancing classes and performances by 16 acts, including Rev. Run, Gretchen Wilson and two up-close-and-personal concerts by Rock himself.” says Brian McCollum, on board, from the Detroit Free Press
Fans arrived in New Orleans early and by all accounts, the party was well underway before the ship left the dock.

“Fans had begun piling into New Orleans a day early, excited to dive in to what many returning cruise-goers described as a Kid Rock family reunion. These are the hardest of the hard-core — the fans whose Kid Rock concert counts run into the dozens and whose arms are vividly emblazoned with tattoos of the Detroit star” McCollum wrote.

But other than a few drunken domestic arguments, the crowd seems to be as somewhat-under-control as it probably could be with Rock in charge of the festivities.

“The party will be everywhere,” Rock boasted to the Free Press just after boarding yesterday adding “Everywhere you go on this boat, you’ll be walking into it.”

I bet there’s a story or two coming out of this before it’s all over. Actually, let me take that back on the “he doesn’t get to make people walk the plank” thing I mentioned earlier. I wouldn’t put anything past the venerable Mr Rock.

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Flickr photo by familymwr