…l add 42,000 new berths of capacity to cruising! The 7 ships from 2020 are Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady, Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Apex, Enchanted Princess from Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises’ Iona, Silversea Cruises’ Silver Moon, Saga Cruises’ Spirit of Adventure and Costa Cruises’ Costa Firenze In the first half of 2021, depending on timing of cruise resumption of course, we should see the following sailing: Viking Venus, Carnival Mardi Gras,…
…Queen Mary 2 Caribbean 2012/ 2013. 15: Queen Mary 2 Transatlantic 2012. 14: Queen Elizabeth Fjords 2012. 13: P&O Arcadia Russell Watson Theme Cruise 2011. 12: P&O Arcadia Europe 2011. 11: Queen Elizabeth Europe 2011 10: Queen Mary 2 Europe 2010. 9: Queen Mary 2 Transatlantic 2009. 8: Queen Victoria Europe 2008. 7: P&O Arcadia Caribbean 2007 6: P&O Aurora Europe 2007 5: Queen Mary 2 Hamburg 2006 4: P&O Arcadia Mediterranean 2005 3: QE2 Transatlanti…
…in the premium area: Celebrity, Princess, Holland America, Viking and now Virgin voyages. I find the smaller ship lines are especially good for me, and I like Oceania, Azamara and Windstar. Those are well geared for us 50 plus, don’t have any kids’ clubs or any facilities for kids (so, families tend not to go on those) and tend to have more interesting itineraries as can call at smaller ports. If you have the budget, all the ultra-luxury lines wo…
…tegory they compete with. So, that’s lines like Holland America, Princess, Virgin, Cunard, and P&O Cruises UK. I wasn’t as impressed with the food as I thought I would be. I found the menus large and the food on Disney good, but it wasn’t, in my view, as good as Celebrity or Virgin. It was probably on par with Cunard and Holland America, and is better than Princess and P&O. So, it’s kind of mid-range in the category, I guess. However, on the plus…
…uises While I knew I could book an adult-only cruise on lines like Viking, Virgin Voyages, and Saga. All offering regular cruises just without kids, my investigation revealed “Swingers” cruises for adults keen on partner swapping were also taking place on some of the best-known family cruise lines including MSC Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Celebrity, and even the ultra-luxury Silversea. Swingers I was amazed at how many options there are, s…
…and Marine Medical Solutions. At time of recording lines including Viking, Virgin Voyages, Ritz Carlton, SAGA, Azamara, Crystal, Disney, Windstar, and Sea Dream are listed as clients of those companies. Spa and Fitness Almost all cruise lines contract out their spas and fitness centres, and most to a company called OneSpaWorld. Based on their website, they currently operate spas for 21 cruise lines. This includes Carnival, Celebrity, Crystal, Cuna…
…ng or onboard the vessel” Once on board they then must pay for Wi-Fi, with Virgin Voyages seeming to be the only line that gives crew free Wi-Fi, bottled water which is sold inexpensively though with move to refillable bottles this should go, and then of course personal items like toiletries, cigarettes, chocolates, and so on from the Crew Shop or in port. Crew do not have to pay to get to and from the ship for most lines, their cabin which they g…
…Europe out of season in winter to get low prices there and then used transatlantic to get to Florida to then sail in the Caribbean for less as Europe prices increased going into summer. Limit Cruise Lines Most stuck to one cruise line for their living at sea. One reason was to build up loyalty to unlock perks on that line to push down costs. For example, Super Mario only cruises on Royal Caribbean to get high status which means he pays a much low…
…s heavily on the Caribbean including MSC Cruises with multiple mega ships, Virgin Voyages who operate all their ships in the region, Ritz-Carlton Yachts, and Explora Journeys. Second, not only are there more lines, but all are sailing more of their ships there. Industry data shows over 150 ships now sail in the Caribbean. That’s roughly half of all the ships in service. But not only are there more ships, every year those are bigger ships. And that…
…o the list of who they will match. This year, although for a limited time, Virgin Voyages is also offering status matching and including a wide range of airlines, hotels, and cruise line programs. Cruising In 2026? More Adult-Only Options One of the most appealing changes for many this year is the expansion of adult-only cruising, with more options than ever before. Carnival will be running more adult-only cruises in the Caribbean. These are casin…
…w places, although friends of mine came back from a 16 night Caribbean and Atlantic Crossing with stops in Europe only getting off in one port. They were the exception as they would stay up all night partying and used days to sleep and recover! If you have a hectic “port every day” cruise do build in some days you don’t have something booked as a take it easy and relax day. Based on my experiences of cruising, I think there are at least 3 approach…
