Jaunted - Tag: cruises

Pirate Travel: Somali Bandits Still Sailing Weapons-Filled Tanker

ced138 — 2008-10-03T11:30:38-05:00

Those spokesman-having, gun-toting pirates are still holding the MV Faina and its cargo of Ukrainian tanks captive off the coast of Somalia. So you might want to hold off on reserving a bed on that cruise setting sail for the tropical coast!

Believe it or not, Seabourn Cruise Line, a high-end division of Carnival, sailed its ships through the area until late 2005, when it narrowly escaped a pirate attack. Smaller vessels also ply the waters, sometimes coming under attack like larger ships.

Danger lurks for land-based travelers to Somalia as well. The State Department continues to warn against all travel to the war-torn country. But various travel guides offer a bit more leeway, recommending that the most adventurous of us stick to the northwestern part of the country. Too bad, because there's not much to see in Somaliland, while some of the world's most beautiful beaches lay beyond the relative zone of safety in the south.

Related Stories:
· Somali Pirates Say They Will Fight Raid [AP, via Google]
· Pirates Report Progress in Talks [AFP, via Google]
· African Pirates Kidnap Boating Family [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wikimedia]

Houston: Post-Ike Travel: Houston's New Cruise Terminal Will Actually Get Some Use

pbb — 2008-09-17T11:05:29-05:00

Turns out the $81 million Bayport Cruise Terminal in Houston will actually get some use--and all it took was a Category 2 hurricane steamrolling Galveston! In the wake of Hurricane Ike, Carnival Cruise Lines decided to bypass the island, instead operating its ships Conquest and Ecstasy out of the brand new-but-unused passenger terminal closer to downtown.

BBC Inspiring New Generation of Cargo Ship Vagabonds

pbb — 2008-09-11T09:45:26-05:00

The BBC has set a shipping container loose on a year-long journey that the news service hopes will criss-cross the globe and teach us all a little something about globalization. The 40-foot can is currently in Scotland getting topped up with whisky before it leaves a DP World-operated port in Southampton. (DP World is the outfit that [in?]famously tried to take over a number of ports in the US in 2006.)

While there's no way to know where the Beeb's box will head next, it's easy enough to see where it is thanks to an on-board GPS unit and an ever-updated map.

Planning your own container ship travel isn't as hard as you might think, but it's not necessarily cheap. Budget roughly $100 a day--and pack a couple long books!

Related Stories:
· The Box [BBC]
· How to Travel by Cargo Ship [Matador]
· Freighter Travel FAQs [GoNomad]
· Container Ships Provide Offbeat Option [AP, via MSN]
· Cruises coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: runner310]

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]