As we keep reminding our kids, because nobody else will, we were really ahead of our time as cruising parents. It was a couple of decades ago (exact year not disclosed, to protect revealing exact ages and getting us in exact trouble) and we decided on a family cruise, down the Mexican Riviera. Our sons [...]
Either there’s been a dip in the advertising by major cruise lines, or it just seems that way. Everybody’s just a little gun shy about promoting cruises when bodies are still being discovered off the shores of Italy. The cruise pendulum continues to swing towards river cruising, and there is no shortage of advertising these [...]
Having never watched one minute of one episode of Kate Plus 8, nor any of its iterations, we’re completely on the fence about whether it’s a good idea for Royal Caribbean to promote a cruise with Kate Gosselin. Evidently, others are not. Here’s a sampling of headlines emanating from the buzz created by Royal Caribbean: [...]
With a history that goes back almost 17 years, and a mushrooming staff of reporters and editors, it kind of goes without saying that Cruise Critic provides the most detailed, up-to-date information for you (and us), the people who love to cruise. What is not generally known about Cruise Critic is that it does not [...]
This isn’t exactly a blog about cruising, but it is about a “shore excursion” that you could take when in Los Angeles, as we did this week. The Grammy Museum. Okay, first you have to be interested in music, of course. Right now, it also helps if you’re interested in The Beatles…or at least in [...]
Our cruise blog teammate Phil Reimer, who has been writing about ships and ports and the eateries and people on both, has spent this week on the Carnival Liberty. His impressions are posted daily on his cruise blog, portsandbows.com. The Liberty is the first Carnival ship to go 2.0. In Celebrity’s world, this is called [...]
This is never included in the food-and-beverage announcements from cruise lines, but it seems to us they’re having some difficulty in (a) keeping their specialty restaurants busy and (b) dealing with complaints from passengers who feel they’re being nickeled-and-dimed every time they’re thirsty. As evidence of our supposition, we offer two items as evidence: 1. [...]
Norwegian announced some enhancements to its loyalty program, which is now called Latitudes Rewards, and it was accompanied by the usual blah-blah-blah, PR-crafted statement from company president Kevin Sheehan, who among other things said: “We are dedicated to making sure our guests have the best possible cruise experience and look forward to welcoming them back [...]
There is a reason that cruisers of all ages should be interested in what’s happening with Disney Cruise Line. That picture is the latest reason for us. They are called grandchildren, and they are special for all the reasons that grandparents already know. They come along just when “parents” think there won’t be a lot [...]
It should be said up front that when it comes to tipping, we belong to the sect that likes it included, doesn’t want to know, doesn’t care if it’s justified or not, and generally would rather not deal with it. In an industry — cruising — where the mantra is all-inclusiveness, why are tips the [...]