Cruise ships today are much more than just hotels on water. They’ve got on-board waterparks, golf courses, gyms, spas, and well ... just about everything you can find on land in addition to beds for thousands.

But just how do they manage running all that stuff while the boat’s at sea? It's something we've always wondered, and fortunately cruise lines are starting to realize that we’re curious. ]]> BS 2009-07-29T08:59:25-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/17/9125/87064

Where are re-runs of The Love Boat when you most need them? Cruise travelers these days have never had it so difficult, what with the threat of possible Norovirus and Swine Flu outbreaks, not to mention the occasional occurrence of people mysteriously falling overboard. The latest news, that a man has stabbed his wife to death this week while onboard the Carnival ship Elation, doesn't threaten the whole ship but it does make for one creepy cruise.

After sailing away from San Diego for a 5-night cruise to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, ship authorities were called to the couple's cabin to investigate a domestic disturbance. After finding the wife already deceased, the ship announced "gray star"—supposedly crew code for a murder onboard—and placed the woman's body in the ship's morgue and her husband in the brig, or ship's prison.

The murder happened on the final day of the cruise, which makes us sad that the husband didn't find comfort in the wise words of someone like Love Boat bartender Isaac, who always managed to say the right things to make couples iron out their differences and disembark happier than ever. Perhaps the cruise lines put the advice-dispensing bartenders on the newer ships?

Related Stories:
· FBI Investigates Murder On Cruise Ship [NBC San Diego]
· Husband arrested in woman's death aboard cruise ship [LA Times]
· Cruises Coverage [Jaunted]

[Elation Photo: Lisa Andres]]]> JetSetCD 2009-07-17T09:32:12-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/13/203335/712

Can everyone please welcome the cruise lines to the 21st century? If airlines, notoriously security-focused as they are, can successfully board and fly their passengers who have checked in via a self-service kiosk, then why can't ships do the same for cruisers? Finally, after Costa Cruises saw the light last year and installed some kiosk check-ins, Carnival has come around to allowing their passengers to check themselves in as well, but only at the Port of Miami.

Veteran cruisers know that along with the unlimited buffets and blue water of a cruise, one must endure the grueling discomfort of a lifeboat muster drill and the wait to simply board the ship. You check your luggage, get loaded with pamphlets on shore excursions and a map of the ship, and finally claim your ID/onboard credit card, and all you want to do is collapse into the closet that is your ship-side bedroom.

Now, using the self check-in kiosks, you can zip through the formalities, even set up a cash account for onboard purchases, and finally exchange your checked-in confirmation for your stateroom key. To use this new machine, however, you must pre-register online and be a US or Canadian citizen or from a visa-waiver country. Checked bags can be left with the porters and you are free to board and partake in the farewell Lido buffet, one of the grandest traditions in cruising.

Related Stories:
· Carnival Introduces Self-Service Cruise Check-In Kiosks [CruiseCritic]
· Carnival Launches Self-Service check-in at Port of Miami [Travel Weekly]
· Cruise News [Jaunted]

[Photo: CruiseCritic]]]> JetSetCD 2009-07-14T08:44:17-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/6/19/132110/307

The launch of Pet Airways proves that pet lovers know no downturn in taking care of their furry friends, but even when they leave them behind, they do so in style: A post on the L.A. Times' "California Consumer" blog predicts that based on last year's numbers, Americans will spend more than ever boarding their pets when they're on vacation. That's right, they're still going on vacation for long enough that they can board their pets! While the foreclosed have no homes, pampered pets have two.

So where are all these creature comfort providers going? On Carnival cruises, it seems! The world's biggest cruise company won the second-quarter earnings report by posting a smaller than expected sales loss for the quarter that included the swine-flu scare.

Despite a minor outbreak of H1N1 on one of its South Pacific routes last month, Carnival managed to keep occupancy up by discounting tickets while reaping the advantages of lower fuel costs over last year. ]]> egw 2009-06-19T13:28:34-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/4/24/10106/4387

Carnival Cruises just booked a huge number of passengers, and it won't even have to take them anywhere: The cruise company has been hired by Canadian police to house security personnel during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The three ships will serve as floating hotels to ease the city's housing shortage by allowing some 4,000 private guards to cabin up. The police had earlier contracted with a rival company called Cruise Connections, who is now suing them for allegedly backing out to try and get a better deal -- recessionomics at work!]]> egw 2009-04-24T14:28:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/11/4/144933/059

After having a ball in Dallas, Carnival Cruise Lines brought its outsized publicity machine to Philadelphia this weekend, with an attempt at the record for world's largest piņata. While the company did get a Guinness nod, Carnival postponed the actual smashing of the burro because of "safety concerns." What an enormous let down!

Still, smart of the cruise line to not endanger the dental and overall health of the more than 10,000 people who showed up to watch the piņata meet its fate--and get a share of 8,000 pounds of candy.

The piņata will eventually get what's coming to it, though: Carnival promises the smashing will be part of a new ad campaign hyping its enormous ships. When exactly will filming commence? Carnival hasn't set a date.

Related Stories:
· Carnival Breaks Record for World’s Largest Piņata [Official Site]
· Carnival Hyping Enormous Ships With Enormous Gimmicks [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-11-04T15:00:07-05:00 39.9378550 -75.166750 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/29/112520/00

If your cruise line boasts a 3,006 passenger vessel so big it can't transit the Panama Canal, it would make sense that your publicity stunts involve big things. Carnival Cruise Lines took two record-breaking, 36-foot-wide beach balls to the streets of Dallas recently, dropping them off buildings into a crowd of thousands.

Next up is a piņata smashing in the streets of Philadelphia on November 2. The six-story candy carrier will be suspended above the intersection of South Broad Street and Washington Avenue and destroyed with a wrecking ball. Carnival will be filming the fun for a commercial, as 8,000 pounds of sweets shower the crowd.

Related Stories:
· Possible Phillies Parade Displaced by Giant Piņata [Philly Edge, via]
· Cruises coverage [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-10-29T11:30:03-05:00 39.9378550 -75.166750 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/