Cruise lines offering new itineraries world-wide

by Chris Owen on
A common concern among those who cruise often is wanting to see new ports on new itineraries. Carnival Cruise Line came up with some new ones recently that answer the call. Other lines as well hear passengers loud and clear, offering a new, diverse menu if itineraries for their ships as well.

Carnival’s latest itinerary update includes a change to sailings on the Carnival Valor, based in Miami year-round. This one is significant because it brings back 8-day, adds 6-day sailings that and will have the first Southern Caribbean sailings from Miami.

“What’s significant is the 8-night Southern Caribbean itinerary. This will be the first from Miami and follows Holland America’s industry first 7-night Southern Caribbean from Ft Lauderdale” said cruise expert Stewart Chiron, CEO CruiseGuy.com.


Between now and December 2011, Carnival Valor will operate seven-day voyages which depart Sundays from Miami, alternating to the Eastern and Western Caribbean. Beginning in January 2012, the ship will add six-day cruises that depart on Sunday and return the following Saturday and eight-day cruises depart on Saturday and return the following Sunday.

Three different four-port, eight-day cruise itineraries will be offered and include Eastern/Western Caribbean cruises calling at Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios, Grand Turk and Nassau, Eastern Caribbean cruises featuring stops at St. Thomas, Antigua, Tortola and Nassau and Eastern/Southern Caribbean cruises to Grand Turk, La Romana (Dominican Republic), Curacao and Aruba.

Celebrity Cruises Eclipse will sail from Southampton boasting new destinations such as Reykjavik in Iceland, Genoa in Italy, and Ponta Delgada in the Azores. The 2012 return of the popular ship will bring revised cruise itineraries in response to guest demand including a series of eight and fourteen night cruises.

“Celebrity Eclipse is the most popular ship in the Celebrity Cruises fleet for UK and Irish holidaymakers, and we’ve further enhanced itineraries and destinations to keep guests coming back” explains Dominic Paul, Vice President & Managing Director, UK & Ireland.

New calls will be made to rarely-visited St Lucia in the 2012-2013 season too when Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Sun makes regular visits to the island.

Cruise lines headed back to Alaska this year in a big way with many sailings selling out fast in answer to built-up demand.

Last year, the Alaska legislature, on the heels of a low-capacity season, voted to lower the previously raised head tax on cruise passengers. Later in the year, Princess Cruises announced a fourth ship to be added to it’s popular Voyage of the Glaciers run after two years of running a reduced capacity.

“We are particularly appreciative of the efforts of Governor Sean Parnell and the Alaska state legislature that have resulted in meaningful progress toward resolving the challenges facing Alaska’s recovery as a cruise destination,” said Princess President and CEO Alan Bucklew.

Disney Cruise Line is sailing north to Alaska with Disney Wonder as the line will double its size by adding Disney Dream which debuted this year and Disney Fantasy in 2012. Another first-timer to Alaska, Oceania Cruises will send their Regatta on a series of departures from San Francisco, Vancouver or Anchorage.

Flickr photo by LaBellaVida

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Top 10 Onboard Fitness Innovations for 2011

by Chris Owen on

An evolving cruise industry is way more than a ride around the Caribbean, a 24/7 food fest, bingo and a generic 70’s Vegas-style show at night these days. Giant Oasis-class Royal Caribbean ships, the latest Dream-class from Carnival and an upcoming new Princess ship class have features that go far beyond what the tiny Love Boat of TV-fame had to offer. A focus on healthy living has gone from a basic, obligatory fitness center to ship-wide features, activities and programs both on and off the ship. Onboard gym innovations aimed to help keep guests fit at sea abound and travel agent network Cruise One has been keeping track of what the different lines have to offer.

“Back in the day, cruise travelers came home with more than souvenirs – taking a cruise usually meant bringing home an extra 10 pounds,” said Dwain Wall, Senior Vice President and General Manger of CruiseOne.

Gadling has reported on fitness and health at sea before with a focus on Carnival Cruise Lines new Carnival Magic to debut this May (and Gadling will be on board) with an exclusive Sports Zone that will will feature a SkyCourse, the first ropes course at sea and the first ever outdoor fitness area in the cruise industry. We talked about how Royal Caribbean is making fitness at sea a quiet priority, offering guests more healthy, active lifestyle options than ever before too.

According to CruiseOne, the “Top 10 Onboard Fitness Innovations for 2011” include many other lines as well.

Celebrity Cruises – Learn to Love the Gym
Guests who are uneasy about entering the gym can look for guidance with Celebrity Cruises’ “Help! I Don’t belong in a Gym” training sessions. Trainers will happily guide beginners through weight training and teach them how to use the various exercise equipment available onboard.

Crystal Cruises – Walk on Water (WOW)
Guests can take advantage of the line’s exclusive Walk-on-Water (WOW) program featuring the WALKVEST® Training System, a weighted vest that adds resistance to workouts, which can be utilized on the ships’ 360-degree promenade. The WALKVEST can be used with customized music-driven audiotapes, a day-by-day guided walking program, and educational instructions on how to walk safely and effectively on deck.

Seabourn – Walk in Water
Seabourn Sojourn offers a Kneipp Walk pool, a shallow, circular pool separated into regions of very warm and chilled water. When guests walk around the pool, the combination of changing pressures, temperatures and motion improves capillary circulation, aiding in the cleansing of toxins, increasing hormonal balance and reducing stress.

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Carnival Cruise Lines – Cycling at Sea
Several Carnival ships feature “virtual bicycles” in which guests “tour” a variety of routes, including mountain pathways and snow-covered trails. Guests can choose a different course each day and depending on their fitness level, the routes chosen may be bicycling through highways, cross-country or even participating in the Tour de France.

Disney Cruise Line – Sports go Virtual
Parents and kids alike will enjoy Disney Dream’s Goofy’s Sports Deck, where Digital sports simulators are available, providing a variety of state-of-the-art virtual sports-gaming experiences that include soccer, golf, tennis and basketball. Thanks to realistic graphics and sounds, guests are invited to kick, swing, throw and compete in some of their favorite active sports while out at sea without the use of an actual ball.

MSC Cruises – Aurea SPA with Breathtaking Views
MSC Cruises’ unique signature Aurea SPA offers a variety of aerobic classes including step, Pilates, Latin dance, passive gymnastics, personal training and yoga. Guests will love the view in the sun-kissed exercise room onboard all MSC ships, which is suspended above the water.

Norwegian Cruise Line – Epic Fitness Firsts
Norwegian Epic itself has many firsts that take sports and fitness to a new level, including the first rappelling wall at sea and the only U.S. rated climbing wall afloat. The fitness center features an unprecedented 37 treadmills and 18 cross trainers; extensive weight equipment and free weight areas; stretching areas and four distinct aerobic studios. For those who enjoy group settings, Norwegian Epic has diverse fitness classes such as TRX and kettlebell training; yoga; Pilates; Activio® group cycling; Gravity® reformer; and body sculpting boot camp classes.

Oceania Cruises – Tip-Top Toes
Oceania offers specialized wellness services including Yamuna® Foot Fitness classes offering simple techniques that improve the alignment and flexibility of hard-working feet. Through the class, guests can re-educate healthy foot function, by restoring balance, strength and proper gait.

Princess Cruises – Core.Balance.Strength
Lotus Spa on Princess Cruises now offers guests an exclusive fitness program focusing on three vital components of balanced health called Core.Balance.Strength., which is designed to help guests maximize their wellness potential by focusing on these three fitness components, each with a series of corresponding classes.

Royal Caribbean International – Jogging through Innovation
Guests of Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, Royal Caribbean’s newest and most innovative ships, can jog their morning mile in the middle of the ocean, with breathtaking 360-degree views from the Sport Deck’s running track. The track winds through various areas of the ship, unlike many other onboard jogging offerings.

Whatever it is you do in your active, real life, be it hiking, cycling, walking, running or any number of assorted gym machines, there is something special about doing it on vacation in different surroundings. On a cruise you may get the opportunity to try you passion at multiple destinations, adding even greater depth to your experience. I go to the gym every morning and spend a lot of time on a treadmill. I do that on a cruise too but in front of me is not a bank of televisions or the other people I see at the gym each day. Instead I see any one of hundreds of cruise ports or the open sea, a totally different experience.

“Today’s travelers have asked for healthy and fun activities to choose from while onboard and the cruise lines have responded adds” CruiseOne’s Wall “The best part? Many of these offerings are included in the price of the cruise.”

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Princess Cruises 2012-13 salings to open with a bang

by Chris Owen on

Normally, cruise line ship deployment for upcoming seasons is a mysterious event that unfolds over time. Experienced travelers want to book as far in advance as possible but are often kept waiting this time of the year for next year’s deployment schedule to come out. This year, Princess Cruises, for the first time ever, is releasing all sailings for Summer 2012 through Spring 2013 at one time.

All sailings will be available to book starting March 17, 2011 at 3PM Eastern time. That is of particular interest to undecided travelers, trying to weigh options on where and when they might sail. Before, small pieces of the deployment puzzle would be doled out a little at a time over a period of months. Waiting for all options to consider might have meant losing out on the best stateroom selection or pricing.
Princess has good reason for this mass deployment schedule too. In the 2012-13 season, the line will have it’s biggest deployment ever in Europe with more than 125 voyages to the most popular places.

In addition, Princess will sail seven ships to Alaska with 21 cruisetour options. Normally we have to wait until the current season is almost over before knowing what will be offered for the next season. That’s huge and only Princess is doing it. That is a real testament to their commitment to the Alaska market that buyers should not forget when making a buying decision. No “wait and see what happens” attitude here, they’re ready to go right now. This is consistent with many reasons why Princess is the line to see Alaska with.

Earlier we reported that Crown Princess would be returning to Galveston….yes, Galveston, the home port with the fog problems but a hungry cruise audience. They have not sailed from there in years but join sister-line Carnival Cruise Lines who will debut shiny new Carnival Magic in the U.S. from the Texas port.

“We’ve received a great deal of feedback from cruisers interested in sailing from Galveston again,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises executive vice president. “So we’re excited to be returning in 2012 to bring our Western Caribbean sailings back to Texas.”

There must be some good things happening in Galveston for these two cruise titans to put such fabulous hardware in a location that has been considered secondary to traditional Florida homeports, let alone debut ports.

Continuing their “we sail more ships to more places than anyone else” thing, Princess has more voyages than ever to South America, the exotic Amazon, Asia, Canada & New England, the Panama Canal, Tahiti, the South Pacific and even epic cruises around the whole world.

If that’s not enough, Princess also has special Launch Savings of up to $200 per couple for members of their Captains Circle past guest club and the line has sweetened the deal for groups too, offering some of the most generous benefits of all cruise lines.

There is a lot going on at Princess Cruises these days for sure. Your travel agent can sort through all the options and help you find the best values for you. Be it your first cruise or your 100th, Princess has set themselves up for a record year of great values like no other line.

Princess Cruises to Galveston: Here we come again

by Chris Owen on

It was 2007 when Princess Cruises last sailed from the Port of Galveston but the Love Boat cruise line returns next year, offering 19 departures from Galveston between December 22, 2012 and April 27, 2013 with one of their most popular ships, Crown Princess.

“We’ve received a great deal of feedback from cruisers interested in sailing from Galveston again,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises executive vice president. “So we’re excited to be returning in 2012 to bring our Western Caribbean sailings back to Texas.”This is no shabby ship. Crown Princess is not an old rusty has-been with no place to go, on the way to the cruise ship glue factory. The 3,070-passenger Crown Princess offers greater capacity than Princess ships previously based in Galveston. The 113,000-ton vessel offers the line’s popular signature features, including a piazza-style atrium with International Café and Vines wine bar; the 300-square-foot Movies Under the Stars poolside theater; The Sanctuary, an adults-only “oasis of tranquility”; and a variety of dining, recreation and entertainment options.

“Welcoming back Princess Cruises and hosting Crown Princess is a great addition to the Texas cruise market. We’re excited that the return of Princess Cruises will offer our passengers additional options of cruise vacations sailing from Texas’ premiere cruise port,” said Steven M. Cernak, Galveston port director.

Things are looking up indeed for the Port of Galveston which will also get sister-line Carnival Cruise Lines shiny new Carnival Magic this year. New ships debuting someplace other than Florida are rare and Galveston seems to have what it takes to support the newer, larger ships.

Now if they can just control that pesky fog problem at the port, it should be an exciting season sailing from Texas.

Flickr photo by MoToMo

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Can Carnival capture the Magic?

by Chris Owen on

When Carnival Cruise Line’s 130,000 ton Carnival Magic debuts later this year the ship will have some pretty cool new features. Will those features live up to the name of the ship? Will they be Magical? Let’s take a look at what’s coming soon to a Galveston near you.


“What? A new ship in Galveston?” you ask.

Traditionally new cruise ships debut in Florida, older ships go to home-ports line Galveston, New Orleans or Charleston. This is a different direction to be sure.

“The commitment of a new ship outside Florida is pretty significant and is pretty rare,” Carnival spokeswoman Jennifer De la Cruz said. “We have built up our presence in Galveston over many years, and we have been able to do that because the Texas and Southwestern market is so strong for us.”

On board Carnival Magic will be some different features in the line’s newest ship. Let’s take a look at a couple of the really different ones.

The Lanai – In Southern-speak that means “covered porch”. But this is way more than that. Probably one of the most unique features on the ship, the Lanai takes the traditional cruise-ship promenade in a different direction. Outside. It’s a half-mile, open-air promenade encircling Deck 5. Described as an area where “guests can stroll while enjoying spectacular ocean vistas, curl up with a good book, soak up some sun in a comfortable deck chair, or relax in one of four cantilevered whirlpools that extend out over the ship’s sides” It sounds pretty cool.

The SportsSquare is Carnival’s stab at a rock-climbing wall/ fitness-oriented activity with a dose of the line’s trademark “Fun” element included. Adding to an industry-wide focus on fitness and health, this makes perfect sense and should be quite popular. The big draw here is SkyCourse where around 20 guests at a time can strap into a safety harness and choose from beginner or intermediate courses, traversing across rope bridges, swinging steps and beams suspended above the top deck, called the Spa and Sports deck. 20 different elements on the ropes course are each named after a notable bridge in the U.S.

Those two unique features alone would be a big change for Carnival. It appears that the line is looking at every department, leaving no existing space or feature “safe” from innovation and change.

RedFrog Pub – described as “offering a laid-back Caribbean vibe with island-inspired snacks and drinks”, including a private-label draft beer, ThirstyFrog Red, brewed especially for Carnival Magic Will be featured along with tastings of top-rated rums of the Caribbean and a collection of the regional beers

Cucina del Capitano (“The Captain’s Kitchen”) – Free by day, cover charge by night this is an Italian eatery we predict will become a signature venue across the fleet. The idea is that the place honors the Italian heritage of the line’s captains and the fact that all the ships were built in Italy. I’d be they learned a lesson or two from sister-line Princess Cruises Sabatinis’s up-charge restaurant and will apply that know-how here.

Huge Family-Friendly Spaces – more than 19,000 square feet of space catering to kids and families, including dedicated spaces for children (Camp Carnival), ‘tweens (Circle “C”) and teens (Club O2), with organized activities and counselors for each group. This is Carnival’s answer to Disney Dream and upcoming Fantasy’s possible world-domination of the kid market at sea. They made more space for their award-winning existing program as opposed to another partnership with an established cartoon brand.

Huge Adult-Friendly Spaces too called “Serenity” – a popular adults area on existing ships, Serenity offers comfortable chaise lounges and chairs, hammocks, colorful umbrellas and two whirlpools, along with full bar service. Look for this on just about any ship that does not have it in the near future. This wildly popular options for adults wanting to escape the kids fills up fast so get there early.

Cloud 9 Spa – All the traditional body stuff is right here. Fitness center, personal training, soothing thalassotherapy pool, thermal suite or just take in the elegant, serene surroundings.

Stateroom Innovations – Some different accommodation types appear on Magic, including two-bathroom (finally) cabins holding up to five guests along with connecting staterooms, cove balcony cabins closer to the water line (ala sister-line Cunard) and spa staterooms providing special access and benefits plus a hefty fine if guests get caught smoking.

Carnival’s Seaside Theatre – This huge LED outdoor movie screen made popular by Princess Cruises Movies Under The Stars. Once a controversial topic (“If I wanted to watch TV I would have stayed home”), now appearing on more ships as they debut or cycle through dry-dock.

Ocean Plaza – Carnival’s answer to Royal Caribbean’s Aqua Theater, this one looks to be a better solution than Norwegian Epic’s answer to Royal Caribbean’s Aqua Theater adding specialty coffees and sweets, milkshakes (I can see the line right now), and full bar service, specializing in martinis and mojitos.

Fun Hub –It’s a social network and comprehensive shipboard intranet portal that provides access to information on the ship’s services, facilities and daily activities. Carnival Magic will also offer bow-to-stern Wi-Fi and cell phone service. The ship also has an interactive micro-site which features a full-screen virtual tour, exclusive images and videos, construction footage and more.

Currently based in Texas, Carnival Conquest is scheduled to move to New Orleans along with Carnival Ecstasy and be replaced by Carnival Magic and the Carnival Triumph.