It's hardly a revelation, but new features on ships are rarely as earth-shaking (or water-churning) or revolutionary as cruise lines make them out to be. And, often, when they do live up to the billing, you know it's going to cost extra.
I stared for a time at the museum-case model that portrayed early Abu Dhabi as a sandy flat with a loose scattering of mud huts, on which the most sophisticated architectural feature were the goat pens. I half expected to see tiny figures swinging crude stone tools.
''Out of sight!'' That was Clint Pezoldt of Miami's comment on learning he was the winner of the random drawing for an NCL (www.ncl.com) weekend cruise. The three- and four-night cruises from Miami, aboard the 2,000-passenger Norwegian Sky, begin July 14.
WEEKEND CRUISE SERIES
I was sitting at the bar in the karaoke lounge on the Carnival Fascination when a 30-something woman buying a glass of house red introduced herself.
EARNINGS
Cruise operator Carnival reported second-quarter earnings held steady as soaring fuel costs offset strong revenue growth, but the higher fuel prices forced the company to lower its full-year forecast.
Royal Caribbean International's 220,000-ton Oasis of the Seas will begin service Dec. 12, 2009, sailing 19 seven-night cruises from Port Everglades to the eastern Caribbean. Bookings for the ship, which will be the world's largest, will open Sept. 3, 2008. Ports of call will include Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; and Nassau, Bahamas.
Cruise operators Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International plan some surprising innovations on their new ships.
The Caribbean remains a top destination among cruisers, and more are bringing their children along for the journey, according to a new survey by the Cruise Lines International Association.
At a typical price of $1,699 per person for seven nights, including round-trip airfare from the United States, the all-inclusive European river cruise along the Rhine or the Danube is fast becoming the top travel hit of 2008.
It looks like another big year is on tap for Alaska cruising. Last season, nearly a million visitors cruised Alaska's waterways, and 2008 may well bring even more travelers eager to view and experience the state's wilderness waterways, glaciers, forests, snow-capped mountains, wildlife, picturesque port cities and native Alaskan culture.
Miami-based NCL, the parent of Norwegian Cruise Line, stands to receive at least $70,000 from Sunrise if the company creates 140 jobs in the western Broward County suburb.
Somewhere in the Caribbean between Mexico and Grand Cayman, folk and country stars Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin and Shawn Colvin sing backup vocals for singer and guitarist Buddy Miller.
Hop a cruise for the weekend, and you'll find hue-changing martini bars, swirling four-story water slides, sushi and lobster and duvet-covered beds spread with high thread-count sheets.
EUROPE
On a sunny July day, my wife and I followed a guide along well-worn dirt paths into hilly grasslands toward the dramatic windswept western coast of the small Isle of Muckle Roe in Scotland's Shetland Islands.
What's not to like -- from a kid's perspective anyway. The way they see it, a cruise ship is vacation heaven, better even than a theme park.
All cruise lines have upgraded the ships they use for weekend cruises from South Florida. Among the improvements: CARNIVAL Carnival recently refitted the Carnival Imagination, which sails from Miami, spending $31-plus million to revamp staterooms, refresh the spa, refashion the teen club and redesign the pool decks with a four-story water park separate from the main pool area and a separate adults-only ''serenity'' outdoor space. (All eight of its Fantasy Class ships, built in 1990s, will receive...
ITINERARIES Three-night cruises leave Friday afternoon, returning early Monday, and usually sail to the Bahamas or a private island.
The following list includes cruise lines sailing to and from Miami, Port Everglades and Port Canaveral, between June 1 and Sept. 7 on cruises lasting one night or longer. This information has been provided by the cruise lines and is subject to change and cancellation.
THE ELVIS CRUISE Aug. 28-Sept. 1 from New Orleans; www.theelvis.com; 800-704-3034. Ship: Carnival Fantasy Artists: Elvis impersonators and the TCB Band, the Imperials, the Dempseys, Ronnie McDowell, Terry Mike Jeffrey & Band, Andy Childs, Ruby Wilson.
Don't tarry. Thanks to new Homeland Security regulations, passengers must be on board 90 minutes prior to sailing. More tips: Speed up the boarding process by submitting your passport number and other information online in advance.
China has done its best to ruin the scenery on the Yangtze River. Smog blots the sun. Factories dot the shores. And the construction of a giant dam has flooded the Three Gorges, the famed river passage through towering limestone and sandstone cliffs.
CRUISE LINES
NCL, changing course again, unveiled plans to base the Norwegian Sky at the Port of Miami, offering three and four-day Bahamas cruises beginning July 14.
CRUISE LINES
Cruises are often social vacations, and Royal Caribbean wants to tap into that community energy by creating an online social network for its customers.
COVER STORY
hen Miami banker David Schwartz takes his family to Europe this summer, they'll pick up a Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines ship in Barcelona, Spain.
COVER STORY
As U.S. cruise operators pursue ambitious European expansions and European lines add their own new ships and itineraries, the old continent has more cruise options this year than ever.
CRUISE BRIEFING
It's difficult to truly appreciate smoking restrictions on cruise ships until you've sat in the late-night dance club on an Italian ship packed to the ceiling with 300 chain-smoking Italian high school students.
CRUISE SHIP REVIEW
Most ships cruising out of the United States sport burger bars, pizza stands and a casino cha-chinging with slot machines; passengers from other countries are expected to blend in. On the Balmoral -- a newly refurbished and lengthened ship operated out of Miami by Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines -- tables are turned: British styles and customs prevail, and North Americans are encouraged to fit in.
CRUISE LINES
Carnival's first-quarter profit fell 17 percent due to rising fuel costs, a drag on operations that also led the cruise giant to lower full-year profit guidance.
It looks like another big year is on tap for Alaska cruising. Last season, nearly a million visitors cruised Alaska's waterways, and 2008 may well bring even more travelers anxious to view and experience the state's wilderness waterways, glaciers, forests, snow-capped mountains, wildlife, picturesque port cities and native Alaskan culture.
It was one of those rare, perfect moments: My husband, Paul, and I were stretched out in lounge chairs on the ship's deck, holding hands under a star-lit sky, a bag of popcorn between us. (Well, maybe our hands were touching while in the popcorn bag, but still!)
