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Much to the delight of local officials, Carnival Cruise Lines has announced a return of its ships to Baltimore, Maryland, and Norfolk, Virginia, in 2015. The line had earlier said it would drop the ports, due in part to increased costs of operating under new federal emissions standards. Carnival has since developed new scrubber technology to …
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A Norwegian Deal Norwegian’s “Spectacular Bonus Days” promotion, now through February 12, brings upgrades and other savings on Norwegian Getaway, Norwegian Breakaway, and Norwegian Epic. Norwegian Getaway officially debuts next month on year-round cruises from Miami, but this week is serving as the floating Bud Light Hotel for the Super Bowl. With the promotion, book an outside stateroom …
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As top luxury lines make tweaks and plan for the future, some interesting trends are emerging. Free Wi-Fi All-inclusive line Crystal Cruises recently announced that members of its Crystal Society (repeat guests) would get the perk of 60 minutes of complimentary Wi-Fi each day of their cruise, beginning in the fall of 2014. That’s seven …
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Jennifer Hudson, Lady Antebellum, Daughtry, and even such classic rock groups as Foreigner and Chicago, will soon be performing live on Carnival Cruise Lines ships, as part of a first-of-its-kind shipboard concert series. For a fee, passengers will be able to see the popular acts perform in the ships’ main show lounges. At a press conference in New …
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Entertainment Aboard MSC Divina from MSC CRUISES on Vimeo. This week I’m cruising aboard MSC Divina, the newest ship to sail year-round cruises out of Miami. The big attraction of the 3,600-passenger, 1-year-old MSC Divina is that it’s not your typical American-style cruise ship. It’s Italian. That means a pasta course at dinner, perfect espresso, a surprisingly elegant …
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One of the most anticipated ship redos this year is the transformation of Seabourn Pride into Windstar Cruises’ Star Pride. Operator of three upscale sailing ships, Windstar bought the 212-passenger motorized yacht, along with sister ships Seabourn Spirit and Seabourn Legend, last year. Star Pride will be the first to debut under the new ownership; an inaugural cruise is set for May in …
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The 2014 State of the Cruise Industry forecast from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) predicts a good year for cruising, of course, but there are some also some juicy tidbits in the report. CLIA’s 63 member lines are expecting 21.7 million passengers this year. That’s up from 21.3 million cruisers in 2013 …
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Looking to increase shore excursion bookings (particularly by first-time cruisers) – and to compete with third-party operators who sell tours at ports – Carnival Cruise Lines has launched an industry-first shore excursion best-price guarantee. It works this way: If you book a shore excursion through Carnival and then find a similar tour advertised to the general …
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With a bunch of innovative features including a complex of cabins for solo travelers and Blue Man Group performing on board, Norwegian Epic made a big splash when it debuted in 2010. Spending the summers in Europe and winters in Miami, the innovative, 4,100-passenger Freestyle ship has since received accolades on both sides of the pond. Europe will …
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Something is new in the fresh sea breeze and it has to do with the Grammy Awards. You know, as in award-winning musicians. And both Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival Cruise Lines are name-dropping. A while back, Norwegian announced that the new, Miami-centric Norwegian Getaway – which was officially delivered to the cruise line today …
