Allure Of The Seas
Somewhere in the Hawaiian Islands, the cruise ship called Rhapsody of the Seas is getting ready to introduce the Oasis-Allure look to cruisers on the West Coast of North America. Since their arrivals from their European birthplaces in 2009 and 2010, respectively, Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas have been confined [...]
She disappeared a year ago last month, without a whimper, without a wake. If we hadn’t visited Celebrity’s website this week to check on the size of its fleet, even we may have forgotten the passing of the Mercury. In horse vernacular, you’d say she was being retired to stud. Or maybe that should be [...]
The news yesterday that Royal Caribbean is exercising its option to build another new ship again begs the question: Has the cruise industry discovered the customer’s tolerance for big ships? The same cruise line that owns the two biggest ships “of the Seas”, the mighty Oasis and the equally mighty Allure. They carry about 6,000 [...]
We were having lunch with our friend and colleague Phil Reimer, author of Ports and Bows, yesterday. Somewhere between the breakfast burrito (yes, some people do have breakfast burritos for lunch but she doesn’t want to advertise it) and the Caesar salad, the subject of the Panama Canal came up (better the Canal than the [...]
Is biggest best when it comes to cruise ships? The answer will always be subjective, of course, but if you’re among the cruisers who like big ships and the frills and anonymity that comes with them, and if you’re interested in trying to catch a last-minute deal, read on. The seven biggest ships in the [...]
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: [...]
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. [...]
The new parents in our family (no, guess again) met when both worked for Starbucks, so forgive the new grandparents if we have a soft spot for the coffee giant. It should be mentioned, however, that our affair with Starbucks long pre-dated the day our daughter met her husband to be. Last year, we visited [...]
The following is to give you some perspective, and maybe even an occasional chuckle, about the size of Oasis (also Allure) of the Seas, the biggest cruise ships on the planet… If you cleared the top deck, you could play three pro football games at once, and even have room for a couple of rows [...]
What’s in a name? If the name is DreamWorks, just split it. The “Dream”…”Works.” As far as Royal Caribbean cruise ships are, it sure does. Last week, Shrek and Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda expanded their families. Or maybe Royal Caribbean expanded its family. The first time the famous DreamWorks characters appeared on a cruise [...]