The SXSW Of Cruise Travel Starts Monday

by Chris Owen on

Considered by many as the SXSW of cruise travel, Cruise Shipping Miami is an annual mega-convention that starts Monday in Miami, Florida. On hand will be cruise line executives and travel experts participating in panel discussions, workshops and more during the four-day event, on track to draw record attendance this year.

The four-day trade show highlights all the latest and greatest would-be cruise ship features that we might see in the future. Press conferences, including a “State of the Industry” panel, will surely address the ongoing issue of safety at sea as well as new, upcoming trends.

As cruise lines focus on differentiating themselves from one another, seminars on everything from expedition cruising to social media, environmental issues and refurbishing older ships. Gadling will be on hand, looking for answers to questions readers have raised since last year’s show.At the 2011 Cruise Shipping Miami conference, we investigated new things you might see on a cruise ship in the future, some of which made it – others not so much. Last year we saw a focus on new ports, top-deck features and safety issues in the wake of the Costa Concordia grounding. Gadling will be on hand this year as well, reporting back with a roundup of the conference and answers to your questions.

Have something you’re dying to know about cruise travel? Now is the time to ask with a comment below. Follow @CruiseShipping and the hashtag #CSM2013 on Twitter for live updates throughout the event.

Cruise Shipping Miami also features exhibits and demonstrations from destinations around the world. At last year’s show, Japanese Taiko Drumming was one such event as we see in this video.




[Photo credit – Flickr user Trondheim Havn]

Live virtual cruise lectures to offer a variety of topics

by Chris Owen on

When travelers choose a cruise vacation its often because they get to visit several different destinations bundled into an itinerary they find attractive. They may have traveled to those destinations on land before or simply dreamed of going there one day. Cruise line web sites do a good job of describing various ports of call as do online sources like CruiseCritic.com. Now, a major seller of cruise vacations is offering a live virtual cruise lecture series that gets up close and personal on a variety of topics.

“The cruise experience differs widely from cruise line to cruise line and from ship to ship. Our virtual presentation series will allow customers to learn about the different cruise opportunities from the comfort of their own home. Registration is free and a variety of topics are covered. We hope to give consumers a much better understanding of cruising and what the different options are to choose from,” said Jeanne Wyndrum, senior vice-president of Cruise.com, a major, reputable online seller of cruise vacations.

The program is designed to provide consumers with a unique venue to learn about the cruise experience from the comfort of their own home. A number of cruise destinations and topics will be covered. Virtual Cruise Lecture Series allows consumers, whether a first time cruiser or a seasoned sailor, to take a virtual tour of almost every aspect of the cruise experience.The a wide array of topics are being offered at the live presentations set up for 7:00 PM Eastern time starting August 2nd. Advance registration is required and allows viewers to ask questions and interact with program presenters.

Topics include specific destinations like cruising in South America or Asia as well as general topics like Winter cruising in the Caribbean, river cruising or information about themed culinary cruises.

Not able to attend at 7:00PM Eastern time? All cruise lectures will be available on the Cruise.com website for viewing later, just no asking questions. To take advantage of recorded sessions simply register for the presentation(s) of your choice. An e-mail will be sent after the presentation is completed with a link to view the recorded program.

Flickr photo by pmarkham

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