Fitness A Popular Travel Option Says Survey, Cruise Lines

by Chris Owen on

Fitness centers have been a standard amenity at hotels, resorts and on cruise ships for quite some time. Used or not, those facilities boast some of the latest equipment along with programs designed to maintain physical fitness on the road. Results of a new survey suggest a growing variety of reasons to work out while traveling, something cruise lines know all too well.

“Among those that exercise on vacation, 31% say their primary motivation is to maintain their fitness regimen,” says Travel Daily News reporting results of a TripAdvisor survey of 1,400 travelers. “A further 28% do so in order to avoid gaining weight, while the third most popular reason for exercising on holiday is to capitalize on having more free time to work out (14%).”

That’s no news to cruise lines that remain focused on adding healthy travel and fitness options. In an ongoing effort to move away from endless buffets where lifting a fork might be the only exercise their passengers engage in, things are changing. It’s those last two reasons, “avoiding weight gain” and “using free time,” that have cruise lines scrambling to add the latest features to ships.Carnival Breeze, the latest ship from Carnival Cruise Lines, features a SportSquare Sky Fitness Center with two ropes courses, a multi-purpose sports court for basketball, volleyball and soccer, a two-level mini-golf course, in addition to all the latest fitness equipment.

Passengers on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas can jog their morning mile against 360-degree ocean views from the ship’s Sport Deck running track. The line’s fleet-wide Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness neighborhood supports a healthy lifestyle, combining the latest in aesthetic skin treatments, traditional spa services and workout programs. Last year, Royal Caribbean invited guests to participate in the line’s first “Royal 5K St Maarten run,” now an annual event.

Under construction now for a June 2013 debut, Princess Cruises latest ship, Royal Princess will have features that directly reflect an increased interest in fitness by cruise passengers.

“Many of our passengers are very active on vacation,” said Jan Swartz, executive vice president for Princess Cruises. “These new facilities will offer them state-of-the-art equipment and cutting-edge classes to keep up – or even step up – their fitness routines at sea.”

To make that happen, Princess Cruises is adding a private aerobics studio that will host a selection of fitness classes, including TRX Suspension Training, MyRide indoor cycling, a Body Sculpt Boot Camp and Chi Ball Yoga.

Like other lines, Princess is also adding a top-deck sports court called Princess Sports Central, offering a collection of court games, lawn activities (they will have grass growing there), basketball, tennis, volleyball, badminton and a batting cage. Golfers will find a driving range facility, and a simulated laser shooting range offers a new onboard activity.

“While most Americans will spend at least some of their vacation relaxing, many now balance their fun with fitness, as TripAdvisor’s survey shows that a significant number of travelers also prioritize personal health on their trips,” said Brooke Ferencsik, director of communications at TripAdvisor.

Responding to the call, fitness experts are focusing on short, easy workouts designed with the traveler in mind, with or without fitness facilities available like this TRX suspension trainer that fits in a suitcase and provides a total-body workout:




[Photo: Princess Cruises]

Themed Cruise Vacations Heat Up With More Choices

by Chris Owen on

Themed cruise vacations are special sailings when groups or organizations charter a ship, bringing like-minded travelers together to share their passion. Themed cruises appeal to groups of people varying from very broad interests like motorcycles and rock music to smaller, more specific interests like Harley-Davidson motorcycles or the Beatles. These events at sea are so popular that several repeat each year.

The Cruise for Beatles Fans (formerly known as the Beatles Tribute Cruises) is bringing back their star-studded cast of Beatles friends and musicians on a sailing of Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas.

During the seven-night Eastern Caribbean sailing, guests will be enjoying private concerts, Question and Answer sessions, and picture and autograph sessions with the special Beatles guests. In addition, passengers can enjoy Beatles Trivia and Name That Tune contests.

The fourth annual Cruise for Beatles Fans sails March 3, 2013, and stops in Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas, Phillipsburg, St Martin and the Nassau, Bahamas. See Music In M’Ocean for details.

The Rock Boat sails for the thirteenth time as the longest running music festival at sea on February 24, 2013. The Rock Boat host Sister Hazel will be joined by Alternate Routes, Bronze Radio Return, Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers, Good Old War, Will Hoge, NEEDTOBREATHE, Ponderosa, Ben Rector, Red Wanting Blue, Rusted Root, Saints of Victory, DJ Soulman, Yacht Rock Revue and many more artists to be announced.Featuring non-stop music and two days on Norwegian’s private destination island in the Bahamas, this musical marathon will showcase both fan favorites and emerging talent across multiple stages around the ship as well as intimate activities with artists and collaborations between musicians that won’t be seen anywhere else but onboard this ocean-based traveling circus.

“We had no idea that The Rock Boat would become the family of guests and artists that it has become when began in 2001. We are fortunate to be able to host some of the most promising new artists each year and are so excited to have NEEDTOBREATHE back for an encore performance,” said Sixthman CEO Andy Levine.

The Rock Boat sails on Norwegian Pearl February 24 – March 1, 2013, from Miami to Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas.

Themed cruises are not just about music either. Sailings are planned that focus on food and wine, history, intellectual pursuits, photography, film and sports. ThemeCruiseFinder has details on these and more.


[Photo: Sixthman]



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Cruise Ship Wreck Removal Underway Amid New Questions Of Cause

by Chris Owen on

It’s been nearly seven months since the cruise ship Costa Concordia grounded off the coast of Italy, leaving 32 dead. After lying on its side since the January 13th grounding, Costa Concordia will next be stood back up, re-floated and towed to an Italian port. But what looks to be a simple operation will involve the coordination of several salvage companies and cost millions.

A big part of the salvage plan to remove the wreck calls for 30 watertight boxes, called cassions, to re-float the ship in one piece. Once the ship has been stabilized, caissons will be fixed to the upper side of the hull and gradually filled with water as part of the operation to right the ship.

Using a system of hydraulic jacks fixed to an undersea platform, the ship will be brought upright, underwater. When the ship is upright, caissons full of water also will be fixed to the other side of the hull. Then the caissons on both sides will be filled with air to re-float the wreck as we see in this simulation.


Salvage operations began with the removal of fuel from the ship to address environmental concerns. Once the wreck is removed, the focus goes back on to the seabed with a cleanup operation devised to conserve the marine environment. The preliminary stage is expected to finish by the end of July, followed by the ship stabilization phase in August.

Looking back, history will remember the Concordia event as more of a near miss than a Titanic-like disaster.

Looking forward, via an Operational Safety Review performed by the cruise industry, improved safety measures have been put in place to prevent an incident like this from happening again.

This week, new information revealed in an Associated Press report raises more questions. The black box stopped recording before the ship was evacuated. Watertight doors, designed to keep the ship afloat, were left open. Unauthorized maps were found in the bridge.

Did these new discoveries have something to do with the wreck? That is unknown at this time so stay tuned as this story continues.

[Flickr photo by EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection]

First Gay Cruise To Visit Casablanca Turned Away

by Chris Owen on

Currently sailing on what was promoted as “the first gay cruise to visit Casablanca,” gay and lesbian passengers on a chartered cruise were turned away by Moroccan authorities over the weekend. The Problem? Morocco’s Islamic religion and the laws of the North African country punish homosexuality.


Holland America Line’s 2106-passenger Nieuw Amsterdam was chartered by RSVP Vacations for a seven-night, round-trip Mediterranean sailing to Barcelona that began June 29 and will end July 6.

The RSVP website highlights each stop on the itinerary, saying “we’ll be the first gay cruise to visit Casablanca, Morocco’s most famous coastal city,” inviting those on the special sailing to “bargain in the New Media markets, explore the Hassan Mosque, or head over to magical Marrakech.”

RSVP Vacations specializes in organizing tourist trips for gay and lesbian travelers. As FoxNews confirmed, on Saturday, RSVP’s agent in the port of Casablanca reported, “the authorities have cancelled the scheduled July 1 visit despite having previously confirmed it.”


Scheduled during the call in Casablanca was a visit to the Hassan II Mosque (pictured) and to several traditional marketplaces in the city.

After the stop in Casablanca, the ship was scheduled to sail to Cadiz, also in southern Spain, and then to continue on to Ibiza in the Balearic Islands, then to the eastern Spanish city of Valencia before ending in Barcelona.

Sunday, the ship docked in the southern Spanish port of Malaga after Moroccan authorities prohibited it from making its scheduled port of call in Casablanca.

[Flickr photo by Alex E. Proimos]

Eco-Travel Might Be Cool With Floating Resort

by Chris Owen on

Let’s face it: eco-travel is a tough sell to many travelers. Especially considering that our impact on the environment is commonly not a big factor when planning a trip. Still, as more travelers have begun to realize the importance of preserving the environment, the need is there. In the future, eco-travelers may have a green cruise option in the Solar Floating Resort (SFR) concept.

Powered entirely by solar photovoltaic panels that cover it like a skin, this sleek boat/resort/luxury submarine is just the sort of place Italian industrial designer Michele Puzzolante imagines.

“Solar energy technologies such as photovoltaic panels could provide a third of the world’s energy by 2060 if politicians commit to limiting global warming,” says Puzzolante on her Solar Floating Resort website.

Puzzolante’s SFR relies entirely on non-polluting solar power and uses modular manufacturing techniques currently being used in the naval and automobile industries, kind of like LEGO pieces.

The whole thing can be put together in a matter of weeks and can be used for terrestrial as well as floating applications as we see in this video.