Why Should You Cruise…

Let's look at the numbers…almost 16,000,000 people will cruise this year alone, and this number continues to grow each year. That’s a lot of people! That’s more than many countries have! And when you compare that number to the much smaller numbers from just a few years ago, you can see just how incredible this number, and this growth in the cruise industry, is.

But there is something else that is interesting about this number. It shows you just how much growth potential there still is for the cruise industry. Currently, under 5% of Americans (the largest passenger group for the cruise lines) have taken a cruise…this is kind of sad. People don’t seem to know the many great reasons that a cruise is a wonderful vacation option.

Now of course…I am going to try and use my humble blog to change that….prepare for one of my legendary long articles! :D

But before that, a disclaimer...regulars will know this, but anyone new might not. I myself have never cruised (NOT BY CHOICE!!! I WILL CHANGE THIS SAD FACT SOON!). Everything, I say here is based on years and years of learning, reading, reviews, and my obsession with the cruise industry! Continuing now...

First of all, there is the, ahem… “bang for your buck” factor. People don’t always realize it, but cruises offer an incredible deal...more so than many other vacation options, if not all others. A week long cruise can cost you as little as a few hundred dollars per person (as an example, Royal Caribbean International is offering 7 day cruises for as little as $499 out of New Orleans on one of their largest ships, the Voyager of the Seas). But more than the small price, it’s what’s included that makes this really amazing! Your cruise fare includes everything you will need to have a great vacation, such as your cabin and all cabin services, great food in the ship's main dining room and other venues, wonderful theater shows and other entertainment, all the many different amenities that modern cruise ships offer, great service, and the transportation between the different exotic ports that you will visit on your cruise! I think I should also note that luxury cruise lines (even though they are more expensive) often include even more…like airfare, excursions, transfers, and alcohol.

Often times, and especially when the economy is down (like right now), the cruise lines will offer discounts and other incentives such as onboard credit (essentially free money for you to spend onboard) and many others.

Also one other thing I would like to note about price, cruise lines base their prices on double occupancy (the idea that there will be at least 2 passengers to each cabin). This can be both a good and a bad thing for passengers. The positive is that a 3rd and a 4th person will be charged a smaller fare than the first two occupants of a cabin (meaning that while two parents will spend, say, $500 each, their two kids will sail for less if they are in the same cabin). On the negative side, if you are a single cruiser sailing by yourself, you may have to pay an extra charge to occupy a cabin on your own (though this policy changes from each cruise line)…the good news, though, is that many new ships are being built with singles in mind and now have single cabins (such as NCL’s Norwegian Epic).

Moving on…

Cruising offers some of the most incredible destinations on earth! As the cruise industry continues to grow internationally, new destinations continually open up. From such time honored places like the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Alaska or the Mexican Riviera, to other somewhat less developed places like the South Pacific, Australia, Asia, South America, Antarctica, and the Middle East; cruising offers one of the best ways to see some of the best destinations…and in some cases the only real way to see them.

An example…

One of the best destinations in the world (in my opinion) is the glorious Norwegian Fjords, and if you ask me, the best way to see them is from the decks of a cruise ship. Imagine sailing leisurely through one of Norway’s incredible fjords with the huge mountains towering thousands of feet above you on either side, reflecting off of the beautifully smooth waters…all as you watch, from your deck chair, the acres and acres of vividly green forest, farm lands, and meadows clinging to the sides of these mountains, the mighty glaciers, and the perfectly picturesque villages pass slowly before you. It is one of the most incredible experiences in the world, in one of the most beautiful places in the world…definitely on my bucket list!

But this is just one of the many different places of almost unimaginable beauty, that you can see on a cruise! Places such as the South Pacific, Vietnam, the Amazon, Alaska, and even the heavily touristy Caribbean, can all rival Norway.




NEXT POINT!!!!

One of the great things about cruising is the options! There is a perfect cruise somewhere for just about everyone! All that stands between you and the perfect cruise, is making the right choice.

While all the different cruise lines offer a great product of their own, making the right choices when booking your cruise is absolutely essential. Your choices can either make or break your cruise, and this is where a lot of people can make mistakes (and one of the good reasons a travel agent is not a bad idea). The cruise industry offers hundreds of choices to potential passengers, and this can be confusing to first timers. “Which destination? Which ship? Which cruise line? What date? What cabin? What price?” are all important questions (they can all affect how well your cruise goes) that you will have to answer.

Being a shipgeek, for me the first question is pretty much always “which ship?” (then I figure out the others later), but for those of you who are sadly not, shipgeeks, I would suggest having other questions answered first…

-Have an idea of where you want to go.

-Next think about what kind of cruise you would enjoy: a fun, sometimes party cruise, like those offered by Carnival; something more laid back, trendy, and sophisticated like Celebrity Cruises; a little more upscale, but still casual cruise like Princess Cruises; something that recalls the history and romance of ocean travel like Cunard Line (*geek squeal), or some much more luxurious and intimate like Seabourn Cruises, or Windstar Cruises.

-Think about how much you are willing to spend…this will also help you choose a line.

-Try and find a date that works best for you. Keep in mind the different times of year will have an effect on your cruise. For example, there will be much more kids and families during the summer months, than other times of year.

-After choosing a ship, choose a cabin. Keep in mind the destination. Some places like Norway, or Alaska, almost beg for you to have your own balcony, or at least a window. Some other itineraries, not so much.

Make the right combinations of choices and you are sure to have a great cruise. One bit of advice though…don’t be afraid to try new things, like picking a cruise line or ship you would not normally choose; especially as you start to cruise more and more. Many people are often very pleasantly surprised when they try new things in the cruise industry…just don’t be too reckless at first, you could over do it!

Next!

While, at least in my super shipgeeky opinion, any day at sea is better than most on land, but being a shipgeek means that when it comes to ships, I am pretty easily satisfied (I know…not much of a comfort when I am singing cruising’s praises). But don’t take my opinion, take a look at the numbers! According to CLIA’s (Cruise Lines International Association) 2011 cruise market study, 94% of people who cruised this past year had a satisfying cruise experience. That's a pretty good number, almost 15,000,000 people! And I should note, most of those were not shipgeeks (sad for them).

Moving right along…

Cruise are more accessible than ever! Especially if you are in the US. The cruise lines are making efforts to place ships in departure ports that are easily accessible by car to millions of people, with more than a dozen such ports all over the country. The idea is that now, you can cruise without having to deal with the hassle of flying…now you can just drive, park, and cruise!

Next…

There is a cruise line and cruise ship for everyone now-a-days. I already touched on the subject of cruise line choices above so let’s talk more about the ships. The largest ships today are up to 5 times larger than the Titanic! So you can be sure that they have a ton to do! Pools, surfing machines and water parks, ice skating, rock climbing, classes, lectures, restaurants, theater shows, and more, are all available to you! And with extensive facilities dedicated to babies, children and teenagers, you can be sure that younger cruisers will be very well entertained, and looked after. And with many other amenities targeted at an adult crowd, such as spas, clubs, dances, comedy clubs, casinos, and more, you can be sure that you will also always be entertained…of course, you can always just enjoy yourself doing absolutely nothing!



Next and last for right now...

The timeless romance of sailing the ocean! Really, is there anything more romantic than the idea of slowly walking the decks of a passenger ship arm in arm with your loved one, as you sail off into a beautiful sunset, with the sounds of the waves and distant music filling the incredibly fresh ocean air? Or, how about dancing together in your finest clothes, to Big Band music, inside a grand ballroom, in the same way that people have been doing for more then a hundred years? Or maybe your idea of romance is simpler than that? Maybe you prefer just sitting on your private balcony with your love, champagne glass in hand, as you watch the ocean and occasional island pass by.

For centuries, people have been captivated by the romance of being at sea, and while it may seem that this romance would be lessened on the huge mega ships of today, it's not. In fact, in some way’s it is more romantic than ever! The industry is full of romantic experiences, like walking through Oasis of the Sea’s gently lit, “Central Park,” at night, or eating dinner al fresco on the deck of a Windstar Cruises' sailing ship with it's white sails billowing above you, or even watching a wonderful fireworks display mid-ocean, like on Disney Cruise Lines. Ah romance!

Anyways, there are many other reasons that a cruise is a great vacation option…you only have to unpack once but you still get to see multiple places, the food (!), almost everything is taken care of for you (even your flight arrangements, if you opt for such), and it is a great way to sample all these great destinations!

No matter how you slice it, a cruise is a great option when considering a vacation! Keep in mind all that has been said above, and make the right choices and you, your friends, partners, and/or family are sure to enjoy yourselves!

"It isn't that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better."
-Sir Francis Drake

Cruise Lines, Good or Bad? Onboard Safety…

If you look on the Internet you will see several sites with the purpose of “exposing” the cruise industry. These websites allege that the cruise lines have committed and continue to commit many crimes, such as disregarding passenger safety, lack of transparency, underpaying their employees, covering up onboard crimes, environmental harm, or even not paying US taxes. When you read these websites they can sound very convincing and fair. They don’t sound like they are only telling you half truths or a twisted truth…they just sound like everything they say is right. While reading these website you really might start to question the cruise lines ethics and practices, maybe they are bad companies who care absolutely nothing about anybody.

Well all I can say is this…while not everything these websites say is false, they really only tell you a half truth, if even that. Many times the truth is twisted to serve the purposes of the website's author. I have read, on many occasions, flat out lies, mis-representations and totally absurd allegations pertaining to the cruise lines and the cruise industry as a whole. I think it is very important to keep in mind that many of these sites, which accuse the cruise lines of throwing out ethics, are written by maritime lawyers whose money comes from prosecuting against the cruise lines.

In this article I will try and present to you a fair and unbiased argument in defense of the cruise industry. Yes I know…it must seem impossible for someone like me (a shipgeek) to be unbiased when it comes to the industry that I love so dearly, but let me assure you that I will try (THE CRUISE INDUSTRY ROCKS MY SOCKS!!!)……um…….ahem…starting now...
Like I said above, some of what these site say has a certain amount to truth to them. Like any company, a cruise line is out to make a profit for its employees and shareholders, and at times the cruise lines have made mistakes…sometimes big ones.

Today though, I am going to focus on just one of these complaints against the Cruise Lines…others will come in later articles.

One of the allegations that I have heard several times is that the cruise lines do not care about passenger safety. They say the Cruise Lines only care about the bottom line and not the safety of passengers and crew. One site even says that the cruise lines incorporate outside the United States in order to avoid US safety regulations. They will site things like norovirus outbreaks, overboards, and onboard crimes to support these claims. These claims are really dubious at best (the ‘incorporating outside the US to avoid US safety laws’ isn’t even dubious...it’s ridiculous!), in fact, in regards to cruise ships, they are hardly even that.

The facts are thus…the cruise industry is regulated by several strict governing authorities including MARPOL (a international treaty which governs ship pollution and waste management - the USA and all other ‘flag states’ that the cruise lines use, are signatories and therefore subject to this treaty ), IMO (a United Nations agency charged with making sure ships are safe, secure, as well as governing pollution) and SOLAS (“Safety Of Life At Sea” an international treaty that governs all safety aspects of ships). The cruise lines meet and very often exceed the regulations set down by these agencies. On top of this, cruise ships are subject to inspections from government agencies – like the US Coast Guard – which make sure the safety onboard the ships is up to par. Other agencies – such as the CDC – also inspect cruise ships to make sure that health standards are maintained. If a cruise ship fails these inspections, they will not be allowed to carry any passengers.

And despite what these sites may say, cruise ships can be subject to the laws and safety regulations of any country they call in…for example, the US.

Like I said above, one site says that the lines are avoiding US safety laws (what's funny to me is that a few months back when President Obama signed a cruise ship safety bill into law, this same website went on and on about how the cruise lines had to start making some changes due to it…but I thought the cruise lines weren’t subject to US laws??) however, this is not true. While, yes, the flag state of any ship (((usually The Bahamas, Bermuda, Panama or Malta with cruise ships))) has ultimate control over their ships; a ship is subject to the laws of any port or country in which it calls, especially if it’s carrying that country's citizens (when you go into a foreign country, aren’t you subject to their laws? …same with ships). The aforementioned law that was signed by President Obama governs all cruise ships carrying US passengers from US ports …this law regulates cruise ship safety in and outside US waters, so if you are a cruise line and you want to sail out of the US and carry US passengers (which most lines do as the US is by far the largest cruise market)…well then, you are subject to this law. I should mention though, that even with this law being passed, the cruise lines where hardly affected. Why? Well because the cruise lines have already been doing what this law says for years now. This new law just makes the cruise line’s own safety standards official.

In short, the claim that on a cruise you are sailing on a foreign ship, with no safety regulations, is hogwash. Pure and simple. Furthermore, the claim the cruise lines don’t care about your safety is also hogwash. The cruise lines realize that the safety of their passengers and crew is a good investment (((would you want to sail on a line that had a reputation for a lack of safety?))) and one that they have invested millions into. Indeed, the cruise lines track record shows this…out of the over 15,500,000 people who will cruise this year, very few will have any kind of safety issue. One little tidbit for you as an example of a lines dedication to safety… in Cunard’s 170 year history, it has never been responsible for the loss of one human life…this is the same also with the other major cruise lines. Also, it’s not like these companies are run by a bunch of heartless people who don’t care about anyone else. I also don’t see what the benefit would be to running an un-safe ship.

A lack of safety would open the cruise lines up to lawsuits, bad reputations and a loss of business. Not to mention that a cruise lines most valuable asset, the ship itself, would be open to damage and destruction if it was run in an unsafe manner.

In conclusion…the cruise industry is not made up of a bunch of saints as it has made its fair share of mistakes, even at times, safety mistakes. I won’t deny that…but I will say one thing… your safety is still, in fact, very important to the industry. You are an investment, and for that reason your safety must be protected. That’s why over 15,000,000 people will cruise safely and happily this year alone.

Anyways, sorry about this rather quickly put together article, its probably not the best, but I hope it gets my point across.

Fighting Cruise Misconceptions

It’s a sad thing, a really sad thing, but can you believe that some people don’t have any desire to cruise? In fact many people WILL NOT cruise. Why? Some had a bad cruise previously (I have heard some rumors, that this phenomenon, “bad cruises”, does actually exist…though I have my doubts), some people are afraid of stepping off land, and then there are even more who buy into the ridiculous misconceptions about cruising and the cruise industry. DON’T LISTEN TO THOSE MISCONCEPTIONS!! CRUISING IS GREAT!!!! GREAT I TELL YOU!!!! ……really I am not biased at all. ;)

This blog is here for one sole purpose, to express my love of the cruise industry, ships and cruising. I feel that because of this, I must fight this beast of wrong ideas and misconceptions. If someone sees this article, and decides after reading it, that they will forget about their baseless reservations, and cruise, well then, I will have made a difference in the world, and sent someone on a great vacation! However, that said, I always try and be honest with you, my readers, about the realities of ships and cruising…the good, the great, and the ugly (which I will admit…there is sometimes ugly in regards to cruising).

The funny thing about some of these misconceptions is that they, in fact, have historical basis. Ideas like structured schedules, tiny rooms, violent seasickness and nothing to do, all had some truth back in the olden days. Admittedly, though, there are still some small traces of this around. For example, structured schedules...they do still partially exist on some ships, but not in the way some people fear. On a cruise you can do what you want, when you want, but there still is a schedule in the sense that onboard activities, shows and sometimes dinner, happens at a set time. In the case of dinner, many cruise lines will assign you to either early, or late seating schedules, meaning you either eat at 7:00, or later at 8:30 (I made up those times by the way, the actual times vary), and this is only in the main dining room.

A few years back, NCL started a new concept in cruise ship dining that they called, “Freestyle Cruising”. With this new concept, NCL did away with the traditional big main dining room and seating times, opting instead, for many smaller restaurants. This in turn allows their passengers to eat where they want, when they want, and with who ever they want (I think I should point out that many, if not most cruise lines, may assign you to a table shared with other passengers, though you can opt out of this), much like land based restaurants.

There are a lot of difficulties with this concept (NCL found that out the hard way), like longer wait times to be seated, more restaurant staff, and other organizational problems that I won’t go into right now. That said, Freestyle Cruising has overall been successful with passengers, and NCL seems to have found its groove in regards to it. Though there were problems at first, NCL is now getting pretty good reviews, and people seem to like the Freestyle concept.
Now due to its success, other cruise lines have launched their own (but scaled down) version of it. Basically when you book your cruise, you can opt either for traditional seating arrangements, or you can opt for to eat when it suits you (as long as it’s during dinner hours). There are many people on both sides of the issue, who like it one way or the other. My point in telling you all this is to show you that while, yes, there is still a schedule onboard ships nowadays, there is also flexibility and choice.

On to my next misconception, tiny rooms, or cabins, as I call them (some say staterooms)... Cruise ship cabins can be small. The standard hotel room that most people are used to, are bigger (sometimes by a lot) then the standard cruise ship cabin. The reason for this is obvious…space on a ship is limited; therefore, cabins are made to be compact. This does not mean, however, that you will be cramped or uncomfortable in one. Actually quite the opposite is true. Cabins are designed to be compact, yet still feel roomy and bigger than they actually are, while being very comfortable. Some are small (and feel that way) but I think that is the exception. Also worth noting, unless you have an amazing suite, you really won’t be spending a lot of time in your cabin anyway.

(Above photo, Norwegain Epic's single person 'Studio Cabins' are small at only 100sq ft)

This tiny room misconception though, again has some historical basis. There are some old ocean liners, and even older cruise ships, that had/have cabins that are legendary for their small size. QE2 (Queen Elizabeth 2) had rooms that accommodated 2 people, their stuff and a full bathroom all in just 100sq ft…that is pretty tiny. These tiny tiny rooms though are simply not the case in the modern cruise industry anymore (except for maybe the Norwegian Epic SEE HERE http://shipgeek.blogspot.com/2010/06/epic-update.html). Small and compact rooms, yes, but not tiny.

Ok next!!!! Seasickness...Once described as “not sick, but going to be”, seasickness is miserable and does still happen. The problem is that no matter how big a ship gets, if Mother Nature wants to throw that ship around, it can, and unless you have your sea legs and a strong stomach…you can definetely get seasick. But fear not, there is hope for those with a weak constitution!

For the most part, ships always try and avoid harsh weather, thereby keeping the ship on flat, calm waters. On top of this, ships are built today with advanced stabilization technology, such as stabilizers. These mechanisms are basically wings that jut out from the hull of the ship below the waterline, in rough weather. When the ship starts to roll, these wings (or fins as they are more usually called) pivot and move which forces the ship into a counter roll, cancelling out the ships rolling motion. Stabilizers are able to cut a ships roll by over 90%! After this, if you still find your self feeling queasy, there are several other ways to fix that…

All cruise ships have a hospital onboard and a doctor(s) to oversee it. In the event that someone gets seasick onboard, the doctor can give you a shot that will help you. The only negative side effect is that you might start to feel drowsy after awhile. Other than the doctor, there are several drugs on the market that will help, such as less drowsy-Dramamine, Bonine, or for some people, Benadryl. With these medicines, drowsiness can still be a side effect, which some people don’t mind, but there are also some other solutions. Seasickness patches work very well for some people and do not cause drowsiness. One woman I met recently down in San Pedro (she herself is prone to seasickness) swears by them. On top of that there is also ginger, or ginger pills, which I have heard is one of the most reliable solutions.

It should be noted that everyone is different and no one thing, or drug, works for everyone. You have to figure out which one works best for you. It's also important to note that most people (even those prone to it) never get seasick on a cruise. Cruise ships are extremely comfortable and steady nowadays.

There are many other misconceptions about cruising. I won’t write about them here, as I wrote about them in a previous article (SEE HERE http://shipgeek.blogspot.com/2011/01/man-goes-overboard-fire-norovirus.html).

Though I will mention a couple more I do hear a lot....inceberg and tidal waves...Some people are afraid of cruising because they have seen Titanic and the Poseidon movies, and are convinced that this could happen to them. First of all, the Titanic disaster happened almost 100 years ago (just over 99 years to be precise) and ship design and ship safety have come a long way since then. You will not crash into an iceberg and sink and die like the Titanic (on most cruises the only ice you will see is the ice in your ice cold fruity drink). Secondly, the Poseidon movies…please, take these movies with a grain of salt. Cruise ships have been hit by rouge waves before and have come out fine. Even little ships have been hit and survived. Rouge waves will not flip your ship like in the movies. It will list momentarily but flip it will not. Not to mention that the size of the wave in the movies is pretty much impossible (or at least a wave 200 ft tall has never been recorded).

Interesting fact is that the RMS Queen Mary was the ship used in the original Poseidon Adventure. In the movie the ship flips over but in reality this wouldn’t have happened. The Queen Mary while serving as a troop ship during WWII, and carrying thousands and thousands of soldiers, was broadsided by a huge 90ft rouge wave. The ship leaned over very close to the tipping point (about 52 degrees over…about 3 to 4 degrees from her estimated “point of no return”), but in the end was able to right herself, and continue on with her voyage with no fatalities (though there were a few injuries I believe).

And while there are a couple of cases of modern cruise ships getting hit by rouge waves, like the Bremen (which lost power and propulsion for 2 hours) or the small Caledonian start, (which was damaged but sailed on) this is really, really unlikely to ever happen on your cruise. In both these cases, both ships survived, no one was killed and both are still cruising successfully.

That’s it for right now. While I am not sure if my arguments here are enough to convince people that cruising is fun, and most of all safe, at least I have tried. And I hope that the people who see this blog, will consider a cruise vacation. Just go and relax. Be smart but don’t be worried that at any moment you might get killed by a 300ft wave. You won’t, I promise you. And if you are afraid of icebergs...cruise in the Caribbean. Problem solved (even though you are perfectly safe even in icy waters)!

I would suggest, though, that you don’t go to Hawaii for your vacation………you might get blown up by a volcano. ;) ;)

(One of Royal Caribbeans great Voyager Class ships anchored at RCI's privet resort, Labadee)

Rambling's New Facebook Page

Hello my dear readers!

In response to the blog's ever growing number of readers, I have decided to start a facebook page for it!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/ShipGeeks-Unite/163786533672134#!/pages/ShipGeeks-Unite/163786533672134#!/CruiseCritic

By "liking' this page you will be able to stay current on all things to do with the blog, the cruise industry, Cruise news, and ships in general. You will also be able to interact with other ship and cruise geeks from all over the world.

Having this facebook page allows me to be more consistent in my updates to you. While I will still have the blog (which I promise I will try and update more frequently), you can always pop on over to our facebook page for the latest and most current industry news, and commentary, as I will be updating it everyday.

This also gives you, our readers, the chance to communicate with me and other shipgeeks....so don't be shy! On top of that you can use our facebook to connect to the cruise line's and other cruise and ship related entities' facebook pages.

Have fun and thank you for supporting my blog!

-Mark

Carnival in Australia, Los Angeles in Decline...

Big news in the industry right now... The other day it was announced that Carnival is abandoning me for…for…Australia! The Carnival Spirit, which Carnival recently announced it would be sending here to L.A., has been assigned to Australia from October 2012, where according to rumor, she will be sailing on voyages of 8 to 12 days.

This is actually probably the biggest news of the past couple of weeks (OF COURSE I MEAN OTHER THEN CUNARD NEWS!!!) as this is a pretty big step for Carnival, and for the Australian based cruise industry as well. For Carnival as a company, it is a big step because it is the first time Carnival has permanently based a ship outside of North America, Carnival’s main market. It is also one of the first times Carnival has really really reached out to a demographic other than North Americans. Carnival has based ships (temporarily) in Europe for a few cruises, but even those were strongly targeted at Americans wanting to cruise the Mediterranean. This time is will be mostly Australians and New Zelanders.

For the Australian cruise market this move also represents a large leap. In recent years the Australian cruise market has been growing and growing fast. As a response to this growth, the cruise lines have been sending more and more capacity down to Australia, either to be based there for a season, or just to make a few calls. Bigger and newer ships, such as the Queen Mary 2, usually only call at Sydney (or other Australian ports) as a port-of-call, and until now have never really been based there permanently. Up until now, Australian cruisers have been left with older, hand-me-down ships that are too old for the American and European cruise market. The largest cruise line serving Australia, P&O Australia (a sub-brand of P&O, a subsidiary of Carnival), has a fleet totally made up of older hand-me-down tonnage from various lines under the Carnival Corp. umbrella. The leftovers if you will…

The Carnival Spirit, on the other hand, while not the newest or the biggest in Carnival’s fleet, it’s still modern and it certainly will be the largest, and newest, to serve Australia and it’s a big big step up from the current selection out there. This just goes to show how much the Australian market has been growing! Cruise lines don’t send their better ships to a small meaningless market; they are reserved for important markets and destinations where they can be supported.

The Carnival Spirit was built in 2001 as the first (second if you count Costa Cruises fleet) in Carnival’s new Spirit Class of ships. It has since become one of Carnival’s most popular and nicest ships. Australia has scored big with this one! (photo at left "CARNIVAL SPIRIT" by flickr member "steamboatsorg" - Franz Neumeier, www.cruisetricks.de )

How do I feel about this though…well…I am happy for Australia…but at the same time I hate it! This ship has been deployed in California (which for those of you who are just joining, is my home state) mostly, for a while now…oh, and in Alaska in the summer months. In a few months, Spirit will be starting a season based out of L.A. doing the Mexican Riviera. Lately though, Los Angeles, San Diego and Long Beach have fallen victim to a declining cruise market :( due to several things, including fear of drug violence in Mexico, the Jones Act and a lack of destinations. Several ships have already left (such as yesterday when Mariner of the Seas left - sniff, sniff ) and headed to other destinations like Europe. Soon Norwegian Star will be leaving as well, and now here goes the Spirit along with them.

So in that sense, I hate it. I hate to see another ship leaving Los Angeles. I want to see my homeport doing well in the cruise business (in cargo operations, L.A. is still one of the most powerful ports in the world). I do think within a few years the cruise industry in California will pick up again (California is one of the largest cruise markets in the USA), but in the mean time, it’s sad to watch the decline.

On a happier note for L.A., the Disney Wonder will be here (and stay here for a few months) on Friday, which I will be there at the port for. On top of that, the QV and QE will be out here next week! (PLEASE PLEASE ALLOW ME TO VISIT THEM, CUNARD!!!...I love you!) Los Angeles, as well as other ports in Southern California, are great ports in great cities! I think that this fact will eventually help turn the tide for L.A., and bring the ships back.

In the end, both Los Angeles and Australia are going to be important players in the future of the cruise industry…that’s what I think anyway.

(Above photo -"Los Angeles Maritime Museum" by flickr member "karenpeacock")

The Dream is here…the Disney Dream that is…

Well it is now January 6, 2011 and I think it is time to move on with what's new in the shipping and cruising world, besides there is not much more to say about the CUNARD!!!! Float in the Rose Parade….IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!....ok now I will stop. There is

nothing more to say ….See?...Nothing.

There is however some stuff to be said about Disney Cruise Line and even more so, the new Disney Dream…

The day before yesterday (January 4th for me) the newly completed and delivered Disney Dream, (we will call it DD for short…that way I don’t have to write out Disney Dream every time I want to make reference to the Disney Dream, because lets face it, even thought this article is about the Disney Dream, writing Disney Dream over and over again will probably get tedious and I don’t want to wear out the name Disney Dream by writing Disney Dream again and again so from now on Disney Dream will no longer be Disney Dream but will be (at least in this article) “DD”….I am rambling now aren’t I? Anyways, back to my rudely interrupted sentence…) arrived at Disney Cruise Lines (DCL) home port of Port Canaveral, Florida. And I must say….FINALLY!! (photo above- Disney Dream docked at DCL's cruise terminal in Port Canaveral, Fl)

It seems like (to me at least) that the cruising and shipgeek world have been waiting forever for this new ship to finally arrive. DCL announced their plans for 2 new ships back in February 2007 and didn’t even start construction until 2 years later in March 2009. Finally about a month ago the ship was delivered to DCL, that’s over 3 years that I have been waiting! (I guess it really isn’t that long in retrospect…but it seemed long).

(photo at right- early rendering of Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy along with Magic and Dream)

Anyways, let's talk about the ship. Disney Dre…..I mean, DD is the first in a new class of ship, of which there will be 2, DD and Disney Fantasy, being built for DCL. Disney’s last ship the Disney Wonder came out over 10 years ago in 1999, which itself was an identical twin (on the outside) to her sister ship the older, (by one year) Disney Magic (my favorite in DCL’s fleet). Those two ships were the first in Disney’s Cruise Line venture, and basically the first in the industry to be designed from the keel (bottom or back bone of a ship) as family oriented cruise ships.

Over the last 12 (almost 13) years of operation for the line, DCL has gained a reputation for a very high quality product with everything from their ship's food, to their service and even to their custom built terminal, receiving very high praise.

And despite what you might think, even though this is a Disney company and you would think that kids would be all over the place and out of control, this has never been the case for DCL. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. With the great design and amenities for different age groups, Disney has managed to keep kids controlled, well behaved and very entertained in their own dedicated areas. At the same time adults have many of their own spaces to relax and enjoy their cruise while still being able to have that Disney-ness in their cruise.

I hardly ever hear any major complaints about the line, in fact there is only one thing that I know has plagued (if that’s the right word) DCL, and the only thing that I know that has kept people away from the line…the prices. DCL is considered to be part of the mass market segment of the cruise industry, like Carnival, Royal Caribbean and NCL, and you might think that their cruise fares would reflect that…not the case. Much like the Disney Parks, DCL is somewhat over priced which in my opinion is only partially justified. Why? I will tell you…there are 2 reasons for this expensiveness, 1) Disney can charge more just because they are Disney, people love and have an emotional attachment to the brand and will pay A LOT of money for it. 2) Disney really does offer a high quality product despite being mass market (that whole “Disney Detail” thing is true). Their ships are immaculate all the time (which is not an easy or cheap accomplishment), their design is great, their food is great (from what I have heard), their entertainment is some of the absolute best in the industry (not surprising when you consider what Disney is) and the product as a whole is good. But like I said, that all comes at quite a pretty penny (for a mass market line that is). Don’t get me wrong…I love to see a company that is popular and doing well…I just wish I could afford it. :o

Anyways, I am going on too long about DCL, this article is supposed to be about DD.

DD represents a large expansion both in size and capacity for Disney. The ship is over 40% larger than its older fleet mates, and can hold over 1600 more passengers (4000 which means on some cruises the ship might seem crowded). And while the ship has much of the same things the older Disney ships have it will be introducing several new things to DCL and to the industry as a whole.

For example…
-I’ll start with the biggest and most obvious, the “Aquaduck”, a water slide rollercoaster like thing that will take its riders (who sit in an inflatable inter-tube) from a starting platform high in the aft funnel, over the side of the ship, down the length of the pool deck, through the forward funnel and down to the end of the ride. In total it is over 760ft long. (photo below- "Aquaduck" rendering)

-Inside staterooms will have a large round LED ‘‘porthole’’ showing a high definition video feed from cameras located around the perimeter of the ship. It will be just like a real window (except its only 2D) showing what’s outside the ship, like weather conditions. Also at times you will see Disney characters float past, like the Starfish from “Finding Nemo” (who will stick to your ‘window’) or the house from “Up”.
-There are several new restaurants onboard. The most significant, in my opinion, is the upscale venue, “Remy”, a French cuisine restaurant decorated in beautiful Art Nouveau style and based off of Disney and Pixar’s hit movie, “Ratatouille”. (photo at right- rendering of Remy)
-And besides that, the only other thing I can think of off the top of my head is a scavenger hunt thingy. Somehow using the art work around the ship Disney will send their passengers on scavenger hunts.

There is more but I just can’t remember off the top of my head and anyway, its not just about the new stuff. Its also about the tried and true.

A few of the things that will carry over from the older ships, Wonder and Magic, are…
-The restaurant “Animators Pallet” an eatery centered around Disney’s animation. On the original ships the room is covered in black and white animator cells, sketches and drawing that as the courses are served change to color (a very cool effect, actually). On Disney Dream, the room will have screens all over the wall, where diners will see Crush the turtle from “Finding Nemo” appear and interact (talk) with them. (Personally I prefer the original Animator’s Pallet over this new-fangled thing but it is still pretty cool.)
-Huge 18ft x 30ft LED screens over the family pool area.
-A family friendly design.
-Adult only spaces (which is nice for parents, couples and singles, with all of whom DCL is very popular).
-Rotational Dining. This is a dining concept Disney started with their older ships where passengers rotate between 3 different restaurants every night (including Animator’s Pallet).
-Three separate pool areas; one for Adults (Quiet Cove Pool), one for families (The Goofy Pool) and one for younger kids (The Mickey Pool) which features a water slide.
-Split bathrooms in the staterooms.
-A very Disney-esque style of design and cruising.

On the outside the ship is a gorgeous modern, kind of dumbed down, interpretation of old ocean liners. When I say ‘dumbed down’ I mean that her lines have been cleaned up and simplified so the ship resembles the sort of cliché ocean liner that you see in generic travel pictures (un-like Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 which is a real ocean liner and who’s looks reflect that fact), this isn’t a bad thing though because it really is a beautiful ship.
The Stern is a little odd from behind (not really very pretty like her older fleet mates that have some beautiful sterns) and her funnels could be a little bigger and the forward one should be taller (it is shorter so the air flow to the real working funnel, the after one, is undisturbed ) but other then that I can’t find much fault with the exterior of this ship. (photo below- early profile drawing of Disney Dream Class)

The inside is interesting to say the least. In general she is Art Deco on the inside with a Disney twist. Other spaces are a little more stylized but not in a tacky sort of way. My favorite room would have to be the Lobby for its Art Deco style. (photo at right- Dream's lobby)

The ship was built by Meyer-Werft shipyards in Papenburg, Germany and believe it or not was actually built inside a gigantic building called a building shed. She was built piece by piece by placing huge sections of the ship together in the dry dock and welding them together to form the ship (most people find this absolutely amazing). On October 30th, 2010 she was launched (meaning she was taken out of the building) to much praise and fanfare. The remaining work was carried out else where (like Hamburg) after her sea trials, which I hear went smoothly and she was finally handed over to DCL on December 9th 2010. (photo at left- Disney Dream being pulled out of the building shed, Oct 30th, 2010)

Now she’s here waiting to start her maiden voyage to the Caribbean on January 26th and a very, I am sure, successful and lucrative future beyond. I am very excited about her; yes I know…I am excited about every ship, along with the rest of the shipping, cruising, Disney and ShipGeek world. She will be a grand addition to the Disney Cruise Line fleet and I can’t wait to see the reviews on her.

I will now finish this overly long (my longest so far I think) article by saying that my only wish in regard to this ship is, I wish Disney would lower the price, or at least allow me to do a visit so I could see the ship! Or if not that I wish they would let me at least visit the Disney Wonder when she is out here in Los Angeles in just a few days! PLEASE DISNEY?!!!....I am wishing upon a star!! PLEASE!...pretty please? :D

I will write more on Disney Dream as soon as there is more to report so stay tooned!

Carnival's New Breeze. Carnival Breeze

A few days ago the world witnessed the miracle of conception….the conception of a cruise ship that is! That’s because Carnival’s new baby, the Carnival Breeze has been put in the oven…in more technical terms the keel of Carnival Breeze has been laid in the dry dock at the Fincantieri Shipyards in Monfalcone, Italy.

Breeze will be the newest ship in Carnival’s Dream Class of ships being number 3 in the group and number 17 of the Destiny Class of ship, from which the Dream Class evolved. Sized at 130,000 grt (gross registered tons), the Breeze will be the largest ship ever built at Fincantieri and will feature all of the staple features of the Carnival Dream and the currently unfinished Carnival Magic as well as a few of her own features that Carnival has yet to release. (Picture below - Side view of Dream Class ship)

This is great news for Carnival and the industry as a whole. Why? Well, because its means even in our tough economic times the cruise industry continues to grow and that Carnival is strong enough to be able to support additional ships and passenger capacity. In the last year or so ship building has really slowed down so it is good to see at least some ships being built. Hopefully shipbuilding will pick back up to its pre recession glory!

Back to the Carnival Dream, I do have a few comments I would like to put out there. I will start with the negative ones, that way I can leave you on a good note. First of all, I have a problem with the way Carnival builds new ships because they repeat the same design over and over and over and over again (in the shipgeek world this is call cloning). For example, the Breeze is the newest in a long line of Destiny Class ships and their derivatives (Carnival Destiny was the first in the class FYI), Breeze is number 17 in fact. The reason for this repetition actually makes very sound economic sense. By not designing new ships all the time, Carnival is saving hundreds of millions of dollars because designing new ships is not cheap. One other benefit is that it gives Carnival a very consistent product. (Photos at above- Breeze's keel bing laid in dock)

I guess I really shouldn’t complain too much about that though. The Dream Class ships are very close to the Destiny Class in terms of design and layout but even so they are different enough that they can’t really be considered clones of the Destiny Class. They are quite a bit larger and have many things that the Destiny Class dose not, like wrap around promenade deck, “cove” balcony cabins, new public spaces and cantilevered whirlpools, just to name a few. Also the exterior appearance of the two classes is similar but also quite different. So basically, while I can’t complain I do kind of wish that Carnival would design something really new for itself.

Other then that there is really nothing to complain about. The ship will do very well for Carnival and many new cruisers and Carnival loyalist will love her. The Carnival Dream, Breeze’s older sister, already seems to be doing well so I imagine that this new ship will be just as popular.

One thing I haven’t decided if I like or not is her insides. Carnival hasn’t released pictures of what they will look like yet but they have said that the bulk of the interiors will not be designed by the legendary Joe Farcus, the man who has designed the interiors of all Carnival ships since Carnival’s first ship the Mardi Gras. His designs are colorful and whimsical and really are very Carnival Cruises-ish.

To be completely honest, I have never really been a fan of his design’s. I mean, I like them well enough, I am just not crazy about them though and I never really have been (actually there are a few spaces I do really like). But now with this new ship and its new designers I suddenly feel un-sure and surprisingly sentimental over Mr. Farcus. How can it be a Carnival ship without Joe Farcus?? Will it seem like a Carnival ship?? I don’t know. Now I kind of feel sad that old Joe seems to be on his way out from Carnival. My only consolation is that he will continue to design Costa Cruises new ships (Costa Cruises is a European line that Carnival owns).

(Photo at right- Joe Farcus)

Who knows, maybe this ship will turn out to be great! I hope so!

At the end of the day, despite the issues, though I am very excited about this new ship and her sister ship, the Carnival Magic, which will be out sailing this coming year (then again I am excited about every ship as I love them all!!). They are going to be very nice ships and will definitely provide the great cruise vacation experience that Carnival is known for.

Cunard’s Newest ship, The Queen Elizabeth…

Last month Cunard took delivery and put into service its newest ship the mv Queen Elizabeth, named after the original RMS Queen Elizabeth of 1940.

Before I go on, I actually all ready wrote an article on the subject, that I never got around to posting on here. Here it is….

“”Last week Cunard (hehe…..I love Cunard!!!) took delivery of their newest ship, the “Queen Elizabeth”. Now let me say here, right now before anything else is said, that I LOVE Cunard with passion! They are my favorite Line and are by far the greatest in the world with a history that spans over 170 glorious years! (If anyone says their line is better kick them in the shin…hard). My favorite ships in history are Cunard ships, like my all time favorite, The Glorious, The Beautiful, The Perfect, The Way Better Then The Normandie (though she was great too), The Incredible, The Sexy…The R.M.S. QUEEN MARY!!!! Cunard is great…I love them.

Ok now, that being said, I have to admit I am somewhat divided on this ship. First there is the part of me that loves all ships no matter what. They are all beautiful in their own way (yes….even Norwegian Epic). Looking at the current pictures of this ship’s interiors I have to say they look pretty nice and no doubt this ship will do well for Cunard and their parent company Carnival Corp. From a purely ship-critic stand point there is nothing really to complain about, but from a Shipgeek stand point and that of a die hard Cunard-geek I have to say I have some problems with this ship.

My problems are thus… First of all, the name, the name Queen Elizabeth is very significant and historical for Cunard. Two of their greatest ships (and two of the greatest ships in history) have held that name, the original Queen Elizabeth of 1940 (sister ship of the Queen Mary) and the very very famous QE2 (Queen Elizabeth 2). That doesn’t seem like it should matter but it does. Those 2 ships were both unique and beautiful. They were important. This new ship on the other hand is not really on the same level, it is 11th in a long line of Carnival Corp. ships of the same design, the Vista Class (which includes the beautiful Queen Victoria), and is really just another cruise ship. Now there is no problem with that, I love even regular cruise ships, I also really like the Vista Class but considering the history behind the name and the company I would have hoped for something a bit more special then this. Above picture "Queen Elizabeth and Waverley" by flickr memeber "andywsx"

Another problem I have with it is the interiors. Like I said above they are actually pretty nice but there is still on problem I have with them….they are practically carbon copies of Queen Victoria’s interiors! Now, again, don’t get me wrong, I love QV (Queen Victoria) and her interiors however I do have a big problem with them being copied over to the QE. When QV came out, Cunard said her interiors recalled old ships like the Lusitania or the Mauretania and was “Edwardian” (like the Titanic for you non-shipgeeks) in her style. Now the QE on the other hand, Cunard says is styled in the same way the original Queen Elizabeth was,…as an art deco ship. But if the interiors are basically copies of QV’s Edwardian interiors (with really minor modifications) then how can the ship be art deco? Really, looking at the pictures there is only one room on the ship that stands out to me as art deco, the main dining room, but even there its really more of an 1980’s art deco then one meant to recall that of the 1940’s QE.

One other problem I have, and I admit this is more petty then anything, is I find her rather unattractive. The Vista Class is actually quite lovely; QV for example is very good looking. This new ship though has a large structure on top above the bridge and a built up stern (to allow for more cabins and therefore more revenue) which in my opinion gives her a resemblance to Norwegian Epic (poor Norwegian Epic has set the standard for ugly in the industry).

I think, had Cunard given this ship another name like Caronia, Mauretania, or any of the other names from Cunard’s past fleet, this ship wouldn’t bother me. I guess to put it simply I just don’t find it worthy of its name or the history behind it. If you’re not a shipgeek you probably would not understand. I know Cunard is a business and has to do what make the most sense for their guest and their business but still I can’t help but feel this way.

Cunard’s flag ship, the RMS Queen Mary 2 or 2004, holds one of the most important and historical names in Cunard history and indeed, maritime history as a whole and in my opinion she is totally worthy of it. She’s a beautiful and unique, one off design. She’s an actual Ocean Liner (as opposed to a cruise ship, depending on your definition of an ocean liner), she sail the historic transatlantic route between England and New York and she actually is Art Deco like her beautiful predecessor the Queen Mary. She’s proof that a new Queen Elizabeth could have been really special. The Picture above shows the difference between Queen Victoria's profile and Queen Elizabeth's

Well now that I have had my rant…I have to say that I do, in fact, like the QE. She’s a perfectly nice ship, one that I would not hesitate to sail on or hesitate to encourage others to sail on. I am sure Cunard will be very happy with her. I am also sure that many loyal Cunard passengers will enjoy her. Hopefully I will be able to get aboard her someday…maybe if I am lucky, when she comes out here to Los Angeles in a few months on her Inaugural World Cruise!! Wink wink Cunard!!””


….Ok there you have it but now that its been a month since I wrote this and a month since this all happened, I have new things to say about this ship.

First of all I have to admit that even though I stand by everything I said in my above article, this ship has started to grow on me (I have never been able to resist a ship in Cunard livery). The more I see of this ship the more I notice little things about her that I like, Little differences between her and her sister Queen Victoria and little details that Cunard has added or changed on her. I won’t go into detail but I will say that I really do hope to someday sail on this ship and I really really hope that I will somehow be able to visit this ship when she is here in Los Angeles and then write about that visit... *WINK WINK CUNARD!!

Here are some links for you….

http://www.cunard.com/Ships/Queen-Elizabeth/
http://www.cunard.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Queen_Elizabeth

Cruise News and My Thoughts on it...

Hello!

Guess what…..I have a cold. And because of this cold I have more time to write today on my sad little blog. Like I said in my last blog post, work has been taking up a lot of my time lately (who would have thought that soil, not dirt, can take up so much of your time?) and has been keeping me from my blog and you…the few, the sad…my blog readers.

Anyways…One of the sad things about my absence is that a lot has been going on lately in the cruise industry, and I am late on reporting it. Things like, Cunard’s new ship has being launched and put into service, the largest cruise ship in the world leaving the ship yard, Disney’s new Disney Dream being launched in Germany (its gorgeous BTW), new ships have being announced and this week a bad engine room fire on the Carnival Splendor leaving the ship crippled off the coast of Baja California, have all happened since I last wrote an article on here.

Now that I am sick and not at work I have time to comment on all these things….

I will be writing each article in its own post so I don’t write one huge and overwhelming article that will scare anyone reading it away.

Above picture "QUEEN MARY 2 in MONTE CARLO" by flickr member " Reinhard_Schuldt"