Top Bon Voyage gifts

by Chris Owen on

Bon Voyage gifts and amenities are a nice little extra something that can really add to the enjoyment of a cruise vacation. Most lines have them available and some do a better job of it than others. Prices range from just a few dollars to hundreds and ordering is easy on the lines listed here. If you know someone going on a cruise, these make great holiday gifts.

Princess Cruises
Renewal of Vows package includes a ceremony presided over by the ship’s Captain, an Orchid bouquet and boutionnere for the ceremony, a comemorative certificate signed by the Captain, a bottle of Champagne, two Princess Cruises etched champagne glasses, a framed formal portrait and a 14-piece box of Godiva heart-shaped chocolates. $220

Carnival Cruise Line
Freshly Baked Cookies are big gourmet cookies made on-board in four varieties: Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Crunch, Macadamia Nut and Honey Raisin. $14.50

Royal Caribbean International
Classic Romance Package includes a bottle of chilled Domaine Chandon Champagne or Non-alcoholic Champagne and vanilla cupcakes upon arrival, a tray of canapés before dinner, and petit fours after dinner on the first formal evening; breakfast in bed one morning during the cruise, and a silver-framed, 8″ x 10″ keepsake portrait. $100

Celebrity Cruises
Chocolate Indulgence features a martini glass of 8 chocolate truffles poised atop a freshly-baked brownie. $15

Bon Voyage gifts can be ordered from third-party sources as well and often offer a wider selection to choose from. GiftBasketsOverseas.com does Bon Voyage gifts as well as gift baskets for pretty much any vacation.

Cruise lines head back to Alaska

by Chris Owen on

After turning a cold shoulder to an Alaska that seemed determined to tax cruise ships out of the market, many lines are heading to the land of the midnight sun with more ships, sailings and capacity. Today’s announcement by Norwegian Cruise Lines to position Norwegian Jewel on an inside passage itinerary from Seattle is the latest in a string of “Can’t we all just get along?” moves.

Joining Norwegian Pearl sailing to Glacier Bay from Seattle, Norwegian Jewel will sail Alaska’s inside passage replacing Norwegian Star that will sail to Bermuda for the first time from her new home in New York City.

Earlier this year the Alaska legislature, on the heels of a low-capacity season, voted to lower the prevously 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.

As some cruise lines head back to Alaska, others who have never been there before are joining in too.

Disney Cruise Line is sailing North with Disney Wonder as the line doubles its size by adding Disney Dream debuting in January and Disney Fantasy in 2012. Another first-timer, Oceania Cruises will send their Regatta on a series of departures from San Francisco, Vancouver or Anchorage.

It’s good to see the cruise lines and politicians play nice.

Flickr photo by brh_images

Cruise ship power outage found to be explosion

by Chris Owen on

Most of the passengers on board Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 were sleeping when the ship lost power on the morning of September 23rd. What was believed to be a brief power outage has now been identified as a more serious problem.

After a complete investigation, the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) ruled this week that the event was actually the result of an engine room explosion. In a report published this week the event was described as a “catastrophic failure” of electrical capacitors caused by gradual deterioration.

While passenger safety was not compromised the explosion, deemed strong enough to damage steel doors, adds to a call for improved cruise ship safety world-wide.

Maritime attorney Jim Walker notes “The reporting of this latest incident raises the issue of the safety of foreign flagged cruise ships, and comes after a string of recent disturbing mishaps.”

Earlier this week passengers were poisoned by potentially lethal hydrogen sulphide gas on Princess Cruises Sea Princess. On Holland America, a reportedly drunken passenger got into crew-only secured area and dropped the ship’s anchor. Carnival Splendor continues repairs for an on-board fire that canceled sailings between now and January.

While cruise vacations continue to be one of the safest methods of travel, these incidents have cruise lines taking a long, hard look at existing safety policies.

Flickr photo by Dawn Encido

New cruise ships on the horizon

by Chris Owen on

A testament to the popularity of cruise vacations, a bunch of new cruise ships are on the horizon and coming out in 2011, 2012 and beyond.

The recent worldwide recession has caused cruise lines to redeploy ships to more profitable waters with Royal Caribbean pulling out of the West coast US market altogether. But new ships on order, while slowed during recession’s lowest point, have returned with several new orders made in just the last few months.

  • Celebrity Cruises sails Celebrity Silhouette in the Fall of 2011 followed by another yet-named ship in the Spring of 2012
  • Costa Cruise Line’s new Costa Favlosa sets sail in the Summer of 2011 ahead of Costa Fascinosa in Spring 2012
  • Disney Cruise Lines new Disney Dream sails in January 2011, followed by Disney Fantasy in 2012, more than doubling the size of the Disney fleet
  • MSC Cruises continues to grow with MSC Fantastica in May 2012
  • Norwegian Cruise Lines, still high off the debut of Norwegian Epic last July has ordered two more ships to debut Spring 2013 and 2014
  • Princess Cruises also has two new unnamed ships on order, one for 2013 and one for 2014
  • Seaboun Cruises who just added Seabourn Sojourn this year, will add Seabourn Quest in May 2011

As the cruise industry continues to grow and mature, look for more new-builds and the refurbishment of older ships to add new-ship features during scheduled dry-dock maintenance.

Five facts about vacation relaxation: boys drink, girls read and nobody sleeps

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Everyone has a different approach to relaxation. Aside from the major activities at a destination, like hitting the beach or wandering the city, there are the things we do back at the room that help us unwind. What you do when your feet are up, however, differs for men and women … shocking, right?

According to the “Relaxation Report,” by Princess Cruises:

1. Men drink, women read: 32 percent of women read to relax, compared to only 18 percent of men. Liquor, on the other hand, appeals to 25 percent of men and only 15 percent of women as the top relaxation option. The story, in USA Today, also indicates that men will take beer over wine, at 41 percent to 27 percent, with women usually opting to sip wine instead of beer (45 percent to 27 percent).

2. Nobody likes bits and bytes: 97 percent of respondents to the Princess Cruises survey, 97 don’t hit the web as their primary way to relax, with 87 percent eschewing television for this purpose. Keep in mind, however, that this is only as the “primary” way to relax: it doesn’t mean people unplug when they get away.3. Sleeping sucks: 55 percent would rather get up early than sleep late when they’re on vacation. Men are more likely than women to do this, at a rate of 58 percent to 51 percent. I get the reasoning on this: you want to maximize your time at your destination!

4. Natural water is best: 67 percent of respondents like to chill at the beach, with 26 percent thinking a pool is better. This really doesn’t blow me away: beaches are far better.

5. Schedules are unacceptable: do you prefer a set itinerary? Well, you’re in the minority – 60 percent would rather take it easy and see what the vacation gives them.