Articles

Cruise

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Holiday Travel in 2020: Safer Places to Go, Places to Stay, Road Trips

It sometimes feels like Covid-19 stripped us of the most precious parts of our humanity. Thanks to the virus, theater, dance, and music performances are too dangerous to attend, as are…

Article / Passportable

Royal Caribbean Calls for Volunteers for Test Sailings

As Frommer's reported a few weeks ago, the Centers for Disease Control has stipulated some changes for the giant cruise lines. If they want to start regular U.S. sailings again, they…

Article / Cruise

You Can Take a Tiny Sub to the "Titanic" Shipwreck—for $125,000

Starting in May 2021, OceanGate Expeditions will take small crews of "citizen scientists" in a 5-person sub to see the Titanic at the bottom of the ocean.

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Celebrity Cruises Goes All-Inclusive: Drinks, Wi-Fi Now Included in Fare

When travel collapsed, one of the first things that happened was the airlines stopped playing some of their petty pricing games with customers. Suddenly, when they realized they…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

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…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

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…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Pauline Frommer: A Worthy Vacation Rental Search Aggregator Has Arrived

Fewer travelers may be hitting the road right now, but among those still traveling, the top accommodation choices have shifted dramatically from a year ago. As I wrote last week, more…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The QE2 Returns to Service as a Hotel While the Queen Mary's Prospects Sink

In a recent YouTube video about why and how ships get scrapped, maritime historian Chris Frame slipped in a striking fact. Comparing the remnants of Ancient Egypt with the golden age…

Article / Passportable

WATCH: Cruise Ship Captain Kate McCue Schools a Rude Commenter

Captain Kate McCue of Celebrity Cruises was already worthy of admiration—in 2015, she became the first American woman ever to captain a mega-ship. As if that wasn't impressive enough,…

Article / Passportable

WATCH: Spectacular Drone Footage of Cruise Ships Being Scrapped in Turkey

Maybe it can be argued that even before 2020, the cruise industry was reaching a saturation point. A long period of explosive growth perhaps forewarned that our cruise ship fleet was…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

When Cruising Resumes, You Won't Be Allowed to Roam Ports Alone

Large cruises that depart the United States have been paused since mid-March, but we now know one thing about their return. Guests will no longer be able to wander ports of call on…

Article / Passportable

Rare Pink Dolphins Return to the Waters Around Hong Kong

Style mavens have declared "sorbet pink" one of the fashionable colors for fall 2020. We're happy to report that the waters around Hong Kong are very much on-trend. Rare pink…

Article / Passportable

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…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Cruising Is Back! It's Been a Disaster: Crew on Three Lines Test Positive

It's no secret that many countries are doing better than the United States when it comes to containing Covid-19 infections. A few of those places thought they might be able to extend…

Article / Passportable

Your Chance to Tell the CDC What Cruise Ships Should Do to Fight Covid-19

In the wake of Covid-19, what would make you feel safe enough to take a cruise? Capacity limits on ships? Short itineraries? A reliable plan for dealing with outbreaks? Stockpiles of…

Article / Passportable

Tourist Overload: Venice Limits Gondola Capacity Due to Heavier Visitors

The number of passengers allowed at one time aboard the iconic gondolas of Venice is being reduced from six people to five. It sounds like a social distancing thing, but, in fact,…

Article / Passportable

Mayflower Replica Soon to Sail Home to Plymouth—How to Track It Along the Way

As the Broadway musical Hamilton has shown us, the more we learn about the founders of the United States, the better equipped we are to wrestle with today's issues (though some critics…

Article / Passportable

CDC Extends Ban on Cruising in U.S. Waters Into the Autumn

The Centers for Disease Control has again extended its ban on cruising in American waters. The previous ban was scheduled to expire on September 15, a few days before the official end…

Article / Passportable

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…

Article / Passportable

Two Top Cruise Companies Join Forces to Develop Safety Plan

Two top competitors in cruising, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian, have decided to put rivalry aside and work together to create a comprehensive safety plan that will enable the entire…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

American Queen River Cruises to Resume This Summer—But Are They Safe?

While most of the cruise industry has suspended sailings through the summer, American Queen Steamboat Company has announced that the paddle wheels on its river cruises will be turning…

Article / Passportable

Cruise Industry Suspends U.S. Sailings Through Sept. 15

USA Today reports that Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the most important trade group for the cruising industry, has voted to voluntarily extend the pause on U.S. cruise…

Article / Passportable

Holland America: Sorry, Canada and Hawaii, We'll Just See You in 2021

Holland America has just cleared its schedule of Hawaii and Canada cruises until 2021. Previously, the cruise line put a "pause on" (i.e., canceled) its Alaska, Europe, and East Coast…

Article / Passportable

Hurtigruten Will Go from England and Germany to the Northern Lights and Fjords

Don't sleep on Hurtigruten! The Norwegian ship line has been doing everything it can to become a household name outside of Norway, and not even the pandemic is slowing the effort…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The First Cruise Line Safety Plan Is Out: Acid Fogs and No Buffets

In April, the Centers for Disease Control extended a ban on large cruise ships calling on U.S. ports that is slated to expire in July. When the agency did that, it sent a strong…