Jaunted - Tag: Cruises

TS Hanna Spurs Cruise Ship Mutiny

pbb — 2008-09-05T11:20:02-05:00

We knew cruise mutinies were in for 2008! The latest is happening now on board the Carnival Miracle, which has detoured more than 1,000 miles to make a stop in Newport, Rhode Island instead of the Caribbean. Tropical Storm Hanna is to blame, but passengers, it seems, would rather plow ahead into the squall.

Says one Cruise Critic message boarder who dashed off a note titled "Mutiny on the Miracle":

I'm currently sailing on the Miracle [which] has had three itinerary changes in the last four days. Now I understand the hurricane changes things and they reserve the right to do so, but the attitude of the captain has caused passengers to [go] ballistic. People lined up for hours protesting the only way they know how: adjusting their gratuities down to zero! There was a lawyer oraganizing the melee...
People starting chanting REFUND, REFUND!

Interestingly, the message board thread has been removed. But like all undesirable news on the web, it lives on in the Google cache.

Update: We asked Cruise Critic for comment before posting this item, and the site's community manager just sent us a reply:

Nothing sinister going on; simply a thread that denegrated into namecalling, harassment and general off-topic nonsense.

So it was a mutiny on the mutiny thread? Trendy!

Related Stories:
· Hanna-Caused Detour Prompts "Mutiny" [USA Today]
· Cruise Travel: Mutinies Are in for 2008 [Jaunted]
· Cruise coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of the Carnival Miracle in happier times: Wikimedia]

CA: California to Cruise Ships: Clean Up Your Act

Victor Ozols — 2008-07-26T13:00:23-05:00

California is once again leading the country in environmental protection regulations, instituting last week the world's most stringent requirements on oceangoing vessels. Starting next year, ships within 24 nautical miles of shore will be required to burn low-sulfur diesel fuel instead of the cheaper heavy fuel oil, often called bunker oil, that's become the industry standard. The ruling will apply to all big ships, from container ships and oil tankers to cruise ships, and may well take a bite out of the cruise companies' bottom lines, resulting in higher ticket prices for cruises from California ports.

But it gets me thinking. With all the hullabaloo about green travel, you don't hear too much about green cruising. Sure, cruise lines have made efforts to not dump so much trash and sewage into the ocean and whatnot, but when it comes to the total amount of CO2 and general crud a big ship must pump into the air from its massive engines, it quickly becomes a topic we'd rather not dwell on when we're on vacation. I mean, aren't these behemoths essentially floating Hummers?

Norwegian Courting the Models-and-Bottles Crowd

pbb — 2008-06-19T15:00:02-05:00

One of the good things about going on a cruise is that pretty much everything is included. But Norwegian Cruise Line will shake that up when it starts collecting cover charges on its two new F3 ships in 2010.

NCL says the cover is less about making money and more about controlling capacity. After all, you don't want too many warm bodies in the Ice Bar, above, which will be kept at a frosty 17 degrees. At least a drink is included.

To spend even more, you'll wanna hit up Posh Beach Club, where it's yoga classes and spa treatments by day and bottle service and open-air dancing by night. You'll need a "Posh Pass" to ride the private elevator up to the club, and your drinks are extra on top of that.

While these aren't the only schmancy bars planned for the new ships, maybe two will be enough for you. After all, you don't wanna stumble overboard.

Related Stories:
· Full List of F3's Nightlife Options [Official Site]
· Nightspots on Norwegian's Next Ship [USA Today]
· The Nintendo Wii Cruise Sets Sail [Jaunted]
· Cruises coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: NCL]

Riga: Baltic Cruisers Get Extended Holiday

amandak — 2008-05-05T09:15:01-05:00

We're not big cruisers, and here's one more reason for us not to start: Cruise ships can run aground. The Mona Lisa ship, which is registered in the Bahamas but floats around Europe a lot, has got stuck on the bottom of the sea off the coast of Latvia.

After leaving the northern German port of Kiel, the Mona Lisa was headed for the Latvian capital Riga and got pretty close, but not close enough. Nearly a thousand passengers are now waiting around for a solution, as attempts to tug the cruiser off have so far failed.

With all the modern technology that cruising comes with these days, we're a little surprised that such accidents can still occur. We're also surprised that cruise lines leave the passengers on board to twiddle their thumbs until things start looking better.

Related Stories:
· Baltic Cruise Ship Runs Aground [CNN]
· The A to Ama of Cruising Europe [Jaunted]
· Where Did the Spirit of Nantucket Run Aground? [Jaunted]
· Latvia Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: alex__w]

Southampton: All Aboard! Helen Mirren's Big, Big Boat

egw — 2008-04-17T08:50:01-05:00

Dame Helen Mirren helped christen a boat in Southampton, England yesterday. The Ventura, which carries 3,600 passengers, 11 restaurant and a full theater, is the largest cruise ship in Britain right now, and it took a full team of Royal Marines to, at Mirren's signal, ceremoniously break a giant champagne bottle against its hull.

Mirren returned to England for the event from Reno, where she has been filming "Love Ranch," a movie based on the true story of a married couple who open a legal brothel together. Joe Pesci plays her husband and business partner, but her real-life husband Taylor Hackford is directing.

Ironically, this week is the 96th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, which departed from Southampton on its maiden voyage but would never make it to New York.

Related Stories:
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Cruises coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: ICYDK]

The A to Ama of Cruising Europe

amandak — 2008-03-25T09:45:01-05:00

While all those low cost carriers zipping across Europe make traveling fast and easy, there's still something to be said for the slow way: cruising around on Europe's rivers.

A number of the most comfortable boats wandering the Danube or the Rhine come from Amadeus Waterways and if you judge the industry by their big expansion plans, more and more of us will be stepping aboard a boat to experience Europe. With this year's launch of the Amacello and the Amadante, the Amalyra and the Amadolce due to set sail in 2009, and another two ships in 2010, travelers dreaming of a river cruise from Amsterdam to Paris or around the Black Sea will have more and more choices.

As far as we can see, the only limit to the Amadeus fleet will come when they can't think of any more names for their ships. Presumably there is a finite supply of romantic sounding names beginning with "Ama." Until then, they'll keep sailing.

Related Stories:
· 8 Europe River Ships by 2010 [Travelmole]
· Russian Cruises Canceled [Jaunted]

[Photo: zangezur]

Hot for Summer: Far-Eastern Russia

djk — 2008-03-24T09:15:01-05:00

Man, are we ever scared of the Russian Far East. We cower in fear when we fly over the Bering Sea on our trans-Pacific flights. Apparently it's not all nuclear waste and oil-soaked deep sea creatures over there, though, because Russia's Right Coast is just on fire for the 2008 summer season!

Strangely, we mourned for a second or two when adventure cruisers Quark Expeditions canceled their 2007 trip to the Russian Far East. Yes, we were morbidly ogling the itinerary. But picking up where Quark left off, Abercrombie & Kent has added a July sailing of its Clipper Odyssey ship from Alaska to the Russian abyss and back (if you're lucky).

And for the cruise-averse, Vladivostok Air will launch non-stop flights from Anchorage, AK, to Petropavlovsk, Russia, also in July. Scheduled passenger service between Alaska and Russia has previously been offered by Alaska Airlines and the mysterious Magadan Air.

Related Stories:
· Russian Far East and Kamchatka [A&K]
· Direct flights to Russian Far East offered this summer [The Arctic Sounder]

[Photo: leolo2u]