Daily Travel Deal – Royal Caribbean Cruises starting at just $229 + bonus credit

by Scott Carmichael on

Royal Caribbean is currently offering a huge variety of very nicely priced cruise packages, starting at just $229.

That low price actually gets you a 3 night/4 day cruise from Miami to the Bahamas (and back).

To make the deal even better, they’ll also throw in a $25 on-board credit on select dates, making the final price just a couple of bucks over $200.

That $200 includes all your meals, entertainment, pool access, rock climbing, 9 bars, a casino, movie theater and a fitness center/spa. That means you get an all inclusive vacation for just $68 a night!

If you have a little more time (or money), you’ll find a nice lineup of other cruises including 10 nights in Alaska for $1049 (with a $200 on-board credit) or even a 12 night transatlantic cruise from London, via France, Ireland, Iceland and Canada to Boston for $1099.

Of course, these prices are all based on an inside room, but in my experience, if you plan your ship time well, you’ll only be using the room for sleeping. Upgrades to an oceanview room start at just $50. As with most travel deals, availability will be limited, and not all dates will be available for the lowest price.

Check out the entire lineup of Royal Caribbean cruise deals here. If you’d prefer to keep both feet on solid ground, be sure to check out the top 5 travel deals!

Man overboard! Passenger falls off Bahamas cruise ship

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The Coast Guard has given up its search for a 39-year-old Norwegian Cruise Line passenger off the Bahamas. The man fell off the boat early yesterday morning, approximately 60 miles north of Nassau. Though he hasn’t been identified, other passengers saw him take the plunge.

Other cruise ships in the area contributed to the search for this lone moron passenger. But, at 8 PM yesterday, the Coast Guard said it was suspending the search after having scoured 590 square miles.

Clearly, it pays not to get too close to the edge of the ship … unless being on a boat isn’t your idea of going out to sea.

UPDATE: Our hearts go out to the family of the victim. We are sorry for your loss.

Details about the Cunard ship the Queen Elizabeth

by Jamie Rhein on

The maiden voyage of the Queen Elizabeth, Cunard’s latest cruise ship endeavor, won’t be until October 12, 2010 when it sets sail from England for the Canary Islands. Details about what the ship will feature have begun to be revealed.

It sounds fancy–more than fancy. Polished wood, marble, artwork that depicts the royal palaces, and special dining rooms for people who have paid more money add to the luxury of ocean travel. The ship’s design incorporates aspects of the QE2 and the original Queen Elizabeth.

In this USA Today article about the ship, one line made me laugh a bit. The senior executive for Cunard said that the ship would make passengers feel “‘right at home.'”

Yes, I know he means that people will feel comfortable despite the ship’s wow factor, but whenever I’m around marble and polished wood, I’m reminded about how it doesn’t seem like my home at all. For me, that’s one reason to take a cruise. The photo is of the Garden Lounge that was designed to evoke an image of Kew Gardens’ conservatory.

You can start booking tickets on the Queen Elizabeth on April 2nd. Here’s the booking link.

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.

Australian cruise ship mistakes tuna fishermen for pirates

by Josh Lew on

Everyone was on edge aboard the MV Athena as it passed through the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday night, local time. The gulf has become a hot spot for pirate activity. Earlier in the week a large cruise ship on its way from Rome to Singapore, outran pirates after they opened fire from their skiffs. So when a group of boats surrounded the Athena, the captain ordered passengers off the deck as crew members prepared for the worst. The captain reported to the relevant authorities that 30 boats had surrounded his vessel.

However, no shots were fired and no attempts to board were made. That’s probably because the “pirates” were actually not pirates at all. They were fishermen in search of tuna. A spokesperson from Classic International Cruises Australia, the company that owns the Athena, explained the situation.

“The captain followed all security measures as far as readiness on board for any eventuality by placing fire hoses around the decks and continually liaised with all authorities. It has been confirmed that the approaching small ships were a tuna fishing fleet.”