The Star Princess was scheduled to arrive in Valparaiso Chile two days post earthquake where she was to debark those on board and embark new passengers.  Absolutely no useful information was forthcoming from Princess regarding passenger who were scheduled to embark.  Princess naively (this is charitable) believed that the airport would be closed for only 24 hours.  Don’t forget, this was an 8.8 quake, more than twice the energy of the Haiti earthquake.

Even if the airport opened, doesn’t it make sense that it would be used for relief workers and supplies?

We had clients scheduled to sail on that sailing.  Princess promised to call when they had a plan.  They never called.  This means that either they did not have a plan or they lied to us.

Repeated calls convinced us that Princess spent more time determining how to rip off clients rather than take care of them. 

Princess – You are an embarrassment to the cruise industry.

Two Die from Rogue Wave

A 26 foot wave struck the Louis Majesty off the coast of Spain.  Two passengers died when windows were blown into the ship.

The Louis Majesty catered to European passengers and likely had few if any US citizens aboard.  Some of you may have sailed on the ship when she was the Norwegian Majesty.  She had many sailings out of Philadelphia.

Royal Caribbean “Sales Event” – Must Be Booked by Tuesday

3/20  Independence of the Seas  8 night E Carib from Ft Lauderdale –  Balcony $1049; Oceanview $599; Inside $499

3/20  Sereade of the Seas  7 night S Carib from San Juan – Balcony $799; Oceanview $499

4/3  Independence of the Seas  8 night E Carib from Ft Lauderdale – Balcony $799; Oceanview $559; Inside $519

4/24  Navigator of the Seas  12 Night Egypt and Med from Rome – Balcony $1499

5/2  Freedom of the Seas  7 night W Carib from Pt Canaverl – Oceanview $649; Inside $549

Celebrity Cruises “Exciting Deals” Must Be Booked by Tuesday 

3/20   or 4/3  Summit  7 night S Carib from San Juan – Concierge Class $699; Veranda $649

3/29  Mercury  11 night E Carib from Charleston – Veranda $1349; Inside $699

4/4  Solstice  7 night E Carib from Ft Lauderdale – Verandah $749

4/9  Mercury  10 night W Carib from Charleston – Veranda $1199; Inside $699

4/19  Mercury  16 night Westbound Panama Canal – Charleston to LA – Balcony $1399; Inside $799

4/25  Infinity  15 night Westbound Panama Canal – Ft Lauderdale xto San Francisco – Oceanview $1149 

5/10  Infinity 11 night Alaska San Fracisco to Vancouver – Veranda $1199; Oceanview $949

 6/13 Pennsylvania Resident Special Rate   Summit to Bermuda from Cape Liberty- Concierge Class $1287.75 including all taxes and fees.

Holland America “5 Day Flash” Promotions

3/31  Zuiderdam  10 day Panama Canal R/T Ft Lauderdale – Verandah $999; Oceanview $799; Inside 4699

Apple Vacatiions Supersale Starts on March 5th

7 night all-inclusive (food, drinks, transfers, airfare) as low as $599.99

MSC Cruises

10/29  Splendida  7 night Med from Rome – Airfare and taxes included from $1817.53

Princess Cruises For Summer and Autumn NYC Depertures

Northeast Motorcoach Sale – $79 Round trip from Philadelphia, Baltimore, Wilmington or Washington

Forget driving in New York City.  Take the bus and leave the driving to someone else.

Almost 25% of the passengers aboard the Celebrity Mercury were felled by a gastrointestinal illness. The symptoms include diarrhea and vomiting and last from 1 to 2 days.  This illness has become associated with cruise ships even though the vast majority of cases occur on land.  Schools are notorious for spreading the disease.  The upside of our recent snowstorms was that schools were closed for an extended period.  The number of children who reported symptoms of gastrointestinal illness was down sharply.

 While the symptoms are unpleasant, the illness is rarely serious.  If you report the illness while on board, you will be confined to your stateroom and will be compensated (in the form of a future cruise credit) for the days that you were confined.

 Reduce your chances of getting a gastrointestinal illness while on board your cruise by washing your hand every time you enter your room and before entering any food area.

Cruise Prices going Up

Carnival Cruises announced that they will be increasing prices on peak season cruises.  The increase will take effect on March 22^nd.  As few words to the wise “As Carnival goes, so goes the rest of the cruise industry.

The cruise industry is a very pure example of supply-demand at work.  Prices are exceedingly low now because of the recession and because many new ships have been built.  Therefore we have low demand and high supply.  You will see far fewer new ships in the future and the economy is improving so demand will overtake supply and price will go up. 

The press has seen her and loved what they saw with a few exceptions. The criticisms had nothing to do with the ship. It had to do with the many items that were extra charge. An example would be cupcakes. They are sold in one of the shops. Premium ice cream is also extra cost. Is this a big deal? Probably for most people, it is not. The major activities are free including the Wave-Runner, Ice skating and the zip line.

For those not familiar with the ship, here’s the scoop. All cruises ships (until now) have a superstructure built on a hull. Picture a barge upon which a “hotel’ is built. This is the normal ship. Now picture the Oasis of the Seas. It is a big wide barge with two hotels built on her – one on each side of the hull. Between the hotels are Central Park and The Boardwalk, both open to the sky. These are completely unique to cruising. One can stroll on the winding paths in Central Park and ride a merry-go-round on The Boardwalk.

Speaking of unique, this ship has “cabins” that are two stories high with a living area on the lower deck and sleeping quarters above. One of these loft suites is over 1500 square feet. There are 38 different categories of accommodations available on the Oasis so choosing your room can be a daunting task.

If you must be the first to cruise on the newest and best, be prepared to pay a premium price. Rates on the Oasis run about 20% more than on older ships. If you can wait a year or so prices will come down, unless of course, inflation kicks in – then all bets are off.