Tagged: cruise-lines

Cruisers, How Much More $$ Should You Budget for Added Fuel Charges?

You knew it would happen. Travel industry experts have warned that extra charges for fuel are coming. Cruises are not immune from the political mess that's strangling oil shipping in…

Virgin Voyages' New Airline-Style Tiered Pricing: Here's What Each Class Means

Virgin Voyages is bringing airline-style tiered pricing to its cruises. Starting Tuesday, October 7, the line will divide fares into three classes: Base, Essential, and Premium. The…

A 'Marvelous' Hack for Disembarking from a Cruise Ship Faster

First-time cruisers might be surprised to learn that getting off the ship at the end of a voyage isn't exactly a simple undertaking. More or less simultaneously, crew members have to…

MSC World America Ship Tour: What We Loved and What Was Meh

If you watched Super Bowl LIX or have been anywhere near a TV or computer screen since then, you’ve probably caught a glimpse of that ad in which actors Drew Barrymore and Orlando…

What Not to Bring on a Cruise: Surprising Prohibited Items

Going on a cruise sometimes feels like entering a parallel universe—after all, where else is it considered socially acceptable to have soft-serve ice cream and a beer for…

The Best Cruises You Don't Need a Passport For

If you’re among the 52% of Americans without a passport, you might think that taking a cruise is out of the question for you. But that’s not true—and we’re not only referring to…

Silver Nova Cruise Ship Review: What Silversea's All-Inclusive Luxury Cruising Is Like

June 3, 2024 Compared to mainstream cruises with their upcharges and theme-park-esque gimmicks, all-inclusive luxury cruises definitely have their charms. The staff knows your name and…

Sun Princess Cruise Ship Review: What We Love—and What Needs Work

May 8, 2024 Sun Princess, the latest addition to the Princess Cruises fleet, is the line’s largest ship to date, weighing in at 177,882 gross tons and able to accommodate 4,300…

Planning a Cruise: Follow This Timeline for Booking Dinner and Activity Reservations

Timing is everything when it comes to planning a cruise vacation. Once you’ve decided on the ship and itinerary and have made the down payment, the next step is knowing when to book…

Norwegian Viva Ship Tour: Pluses, Minuses, and Oh-So-Many Upcharges

September 5, 2023 The second installment in Norwegian Cruise Line's Prima class of ships is called Norwegian Viva, but the vessel is so similar to its predecessor the newcomer might…

What to Expect When You Take a Baby on a Cruise

When my husband and I took our 16-month-old baby on a cruise for the first time with Disney Cruise Line in December, we thought we had everything figured out by the end of that trip.…

Tips on Ships: Everything You Need to Know About Cruise Gratuities

Figuring out which service employees you should tip—and how much you should give—is a perennial head scratcher in travel. To help remove some of the guesswork, many cruise lines now…

Royal Caribbean Adds Ship in Bermuda to Serve U.S. Vacationers This Summer

Update, May 20, 2021: Citing the prospect of large cruise ships returning to the United States soon, Royal Caribbean canceled plans to cruise from Bermuda on Vision of the Seas. The…

Cruise Companies Are Still Touring Alaska This Summer—Without Cruise Ships

Barring the unlikely success of emergency legislation in the U.S. Congress, there won't be ocean cruises to Alaska this summer. Due to longstanding laws requiring foreign-flagged ships…

All-Inclusive Cruise Line Announces July Return with All-Bahamas Vacations

While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mulls whether to permit large cruise ships to restart voyages, another cruise line is moving ahead by bypassing America. The…

Some Ports Realize They May Not Want Cruises Back Once Covid Is Over

As Covid-19 recedes, vacationers may see major shifts in cruise itineraries. Citizens in major ports of call have tasted life without the presence of big cruise ships—and some…

Virgin Voyages Is Giving Away 1,000 Free Cruises

Before Covid hit—back in the Pleistocene era—huge excitement was building over the impending debut of the Virgin Group's first cruise ship, the Scarlet Lady, which promised to be a…

First Cruise Line Announces Vaccine Requirement—Will Others Follow?

Saga Cruises, a small, U.K.–based line that caters to passengers aged 50 and older, announced the world's first Covid-19 vaccine requirement for cruise passengers this week. In a…

Will Vaccinations Be Required to Cruise?

At a December 9 meeting with the Travel Leaders group, a multinational network of travel agents, Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Frank Del Rio announced that the company is looking into a…

Why Key West's Ban on Big Ships Will Change Caribbean Cruises

Once a quiet fishing village and quirky haven for writers, artists, and free spirits, the Florida Straits city of Key West veered toward tourist-trap territory starting in the…

Cruise Lines Need Guinea Pigs to Try Out Virus Safety Protocols on Voyages

The Centers for Disease Control, guided by watching European cruising restart and by reviewing recommendations from the major lines, has finally dropped its ban on cruises and released…

In a Covid First, Family Kicked off Cruise for Leaving Shore Excursion

Cruises out of the United States are still banned, but in Europe, where Covid-19 infections are under much better control, cruises are just beginning to resume. MSC Cruises was the…

EU Releases Safety Guidelines for Resuming Cruises in Europe

On the same day the European Union announced that Americans would be barred from entering member states due to the U.S. coronavirus surge, the EU also released guidelines for the…

Beware: The Travel Industry Is Clinging to Your Money

Times are tough. We all know it. A lot of us aren't sure where the money will be coming from in a few months—and among the least sure are the businesses that sell travel. That's why…

COVID-19 Cancellation Policy Finder for Airlines, Cruise Lines, Hotels, and Other Travel Operators

LAST UPDATED: AUGUST 3, 2020 CLICK HERE for our ongoing live blog of COVID-19 coverage with updates on the latest developments. For customers who need to cancel or change vacation…