Nov 18, 2009 by Amber Nolan - 1 comment
Amber Nolan is on deck with the latest cruise deals, industry news, ship reviews, and advice on finding the perfect voyage to suit your personality.
If you’re thinking that this trend of over-the-top onboard entertainment is the new direction of the cruise industry: think again. One cruise line that has recently surfaced is traveling back in time by placing emphasis back on the ports of call. Voyages to Antiquity will soon be sailing the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Red Sea with a focus on the culture and history of each destination. Founded by Gerry Herrod, (who also introduced Ocean Cruise Line and Orient Lines), Voyages to Antiquity will offer nine unique itineraries aboard its boutique vessel, the Aegean Odyssey – which is slated to debut in May 2010.
I flipped on the car radio this morning as I was cruising down Ocean Drive heading for Port Everglades, and it was the talk of every morning announcer. The largest cruise ship ever would be arriving in Fort Lauderdale any minute after a rocky ocean crossing that had delayed its initial arrival.
I stepped on the gas.
As I approached the port, I could easily tell where the ship was arriving by the herds of passengers gathering on the top decks of other cruise ships trying to get a birds-eye view. I parked the car, hopped out and was immediately hit with the ocean spray from several fire boats escorting the Oasis of the Seas into the United States.
At 20 stories tall, the ship towers nearly half the height of the smokes stacks in the port – easily dwarfing her fellow cruise liners. In fact, I could not capture Oasis in her entirety in my camera lens and had to take a video instead. Take a look, but you have to see it first hand to believe it.
I’ll be onboard next Friday, November 20 to give you a sneak preview inside this floating metropolis.
It’s about time. After sailing with two family-friendly ships for the past decade, Disney has announced that bookings are now open for the newest addition to its own family – a 4,000 passenger cruise liner set to debut in 2011.
Despite the fact that Carnival just recently launched its own “Dream” ship, (see Carnival Dream Inaugural) Disney is naming its newest masterpiece the Disney Dream. We’ll let the “pre-used” name slide, after all Disney is known for dreamers and aboard the new ship is no exception. The creative team developed a 3-D digital movie theater, an interactive ocean lab for kids that lets them “navigate” the high seas, and a high-powered water coaster that sends guests soaring through a translucent funnel before making a 150-foot plunge.
On Friday Royal Caribbean’s latest masterpiece, the Oasis of the Seas, set sail from Finland on its maiden voyage to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The massive ship is five times larger than the Titanic and twenty stories high, which made sailing under a low bridge in Denmark a bit too close for comfort. Even after the smokestacks were lowered, Oasis cleared the Great Belt Fixed Link with less than two feet to spare.
Carrying a $1.5 billion price tag, the new ship is loaded with innovative entertainment options like an outdoor theater featuring acrobatics and high diving acts, a boardwalk, zip line, carousel, and – in the middle of it all – rests a living garden appropriately named “Central Park”.
The ship is expected to arrive in its home port of Port Everglades on Thursday, November 12 and will embark on a series of inaugural voyages before settling in to its routine schedule in the Eastern Caribbean.
For an up-to-date status of ship’s transatlantic journey, visit www.oasisoftheseas.com.
Spending time with family this Thanksgiving doesn’t have to mean visiting that wacky aunt’s house again for some of her homemade pumpkin pie. Instead, start a new holiday tradition by rounding up the troops and spending Turkey Day in the Southwest. Forever Houseboats is offering an amazing deal on boat rentals at numerous locations including Lake Mead, a scenic man-made reservoir located just 45 minutes from Las Vegas. The Thanksgiving Bird and Boat Package includes a houseboat rental for five days for the price of three – that’s a total of savings of 40 percent!
The waters of the Caribbean are home to a number of large cruise ships that offer popular itineraries, rock-bottom rates, and family-friendly features. However, for a more elegant, romantic voyage many travelers look to luxury cruise lines for intimate sailings with unusual ports of call – although the price tag will be significantly higher. This November, the British-based cruise line P & O is drastically reducing rates aboard the adults-only Artemis by as much as 71 percent.
Located off the northwestern coast of Africa, the Canary Islands have been attracting visitors for years, with its near-perfect climate and alluring beaches. Luxury cruise line Fred Olsen specializes in voyages to this Spanish-owned island chain and right now the company is drastically reducing rates on a number of its cruises. This 12-night voyage aboard the Boudicca is our top pick with rates starting from just $95/night.
When it comes to Thanksgiving, what’s not to love? It means time off from work, a chance to catch up with relatives, and of course, ridiculous amounts of delicious food (that someone else prepared). However, if Thanksgiving is scheduled at your house this year, the warm holiday glow may not be shining as bright. Before you start firing up the oven there’s another tempting option: This 7-night cruise aboard the brand new Carnival Dream will have you relaxing on a beach in the Bahamas instead of packaging up leftovers and cleaning dishes. With rates starting as low as $499, that guilt about ditching the in-laws will disappear the moment you step on the ship.
Despite romantic sentiment, major motion pictures, and irretrievably tight pants, pirates are still getting a bad rap.
Luxury cruise line, The Yachts of Seabourn has canceled a five-month series of cruises in the Indian Ocean and Africa due to increasing incidents of piracy. The 208-passenger Seabourn Legend would have delivered guests to Kenya and the islands of Seychelles, Madagascar, and Zanzibar on a series of 15 sailings in 2010 and 2011.
Despite these cancellations, the Seabourn Spirit is still set to depart from the Mediterranean in November 2010 and will sail through the Gulf of Aden to Dubai and Oman. Controlled zones – such as the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Aden – have driven pirates south and east to the Indian Ocean. According to Seabourn spokesman, Bruce Good, the risk of danger is much less in the Gulf of Aden than it has been in previous months.
Seabourn Cruises will not cancel the Legend’s 2010-2011 season altogether and will instead station the ship in the safer shores of the Caribbean. Guests are discouraged from bringing any pirate paraphernalia due to poor taste.
Italian-based Costa Cruises, operator of Europe’s largest cruise fleet (and a subsidiary of the Carnival Corporation since 2000), has just wrapped up its very first stint sailing the New England / Canada circuit. The inaugural fall 2009 cruises between New York City and Quebec onboard Costa Atlantica (pictured here on NYC’s Hudson River yesterday), fell surprisingly under the radar of American travelers, with an estimated three quarters of the ship’s clientele touting European passports. Still, in-the-know American cruisers were privy to an exceptional chance to mingle with European travelers in a delightful Italian-inspired atmosphere, right here stateside. While the last ship has sailed on the New England/Canada season, the Costa Atlantic has one more stateside sailing left before moving onto her Caribbean-cruise-season perch in Fort Lauderdale – at bargain rates to boot. Snag a cabin on the 13-night October 25 repositioning sailing from Quebec to Fort Lauderdale (with stops in Boston, NYC, Bermuda, and more) for as little as $449, or just $35/night! Read the rest of this post »
