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Virtual Portholes To Make Disney Cruise Ship's Inside Cabins Less Sucky
Cruise lines and cruise goers long ago figured out two things about inside cabins. One, they suck. Two, installing web cams to stream outside views into the room TV makes them suck only very slightly less. But trust Disney to figure out a way to take the idea of outside web cams, create something unique, and then add a flair of animation magic for good measure.
Disney engineers started by creating rounded digital "virtual portals" on their new Disney Dream cruise ship, which bring high-def images of the horizon into people's cabins. Of course those will still looks kitschy and a little artificial, and there's really no way around that even with current technology.
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It's Rihanna On A Boat, As The 'Oasis' Floats
While we were having a little Thursday night drink near Times Square last night, Rihanna was performing in the Opal Theater on Royal Caribbean's newest, biggest, largest cruise ship ever: the Oasis of the Seas to celebrate the night before her first cruise out of the Fort Lauderdale.
Then, this morning as we mixed some instant cappuccino in our modest kitchen, the Oasis set sail from the US with 5,400 passengers for her first voyage, a preview cruise that included the Good Morning America gang. While going about our mundane day, it was weird to remove ourselves from the scene for a moment and think about what was taking place; that the 225,000-ton ship with 20-ish restaurants and a freaking Central Park with live foliage, was floating. And with pop culture personalities, no less.
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Hurricane Ida Is In Your Caribbean, Messing With Your Cruises
You know the cruising season has begun when the hurricanes and tropical storms lay into the Caribbean; it's just a hazard of the peak season. Still, this week we've been watching the progress of Hurricane Ida, which began way down in Central America and worked its way due north, eroding beaches in Cozumel and Grand Cayman before just not being downgraded back to Tropical Storm in advance of landfall in Mississippi.
Most affected by the storm were two inaugural sailings of Carnival ships, the Fantasy and Triumph from new home ports of Mobile, Alabama and New Orleans, respectively. According to CruiseCritic, each voyage is now delayed by a day, turning a 6-nighter into 5 and Triumph's 4-nighter into 3 with no port calls; it's now a "cruise to nowhere."
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VIA Rail Canada's 'Land Cruise' Kind Of Cheesy, Kind Of Worth It
VIA Rail Canada is hoping to convince budget-conscious luxury travelers to give up cruising on the oceans and instead head through the wilderness. The Montreal-based Canadian intercity train company is pushing tourists to embrace a four-night, three-day "land cruise" that will go coast-to-coast and provide meals and accommodations in between. The offer is making its way out through press releases and currently sits at the top of the official @viarailbuff Twitter feed. There are, however, a few minor glitches. Let's go to the blurb:
Though travelers can't expect casinos and nightclubs on board VIA Rail, many favorable comparisons can be drawn, including private sleeping accommodations, inclusive meal service and additional on-board amenities. Ready to "set rail"? VIA Rail's flagship service, the Canadian, which has been designated as one of the "World's Top 25 Trains" by the Society of International Railway Travelers... offers travelers one of the most comprehensive vacation options in Canada.
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Rihanna, Future Cruise Ship Performer?
Whoever said that cruising isn't cool? Okay, aside from us? Well, with the launch of Royal Caribbean's new megaship so ginormous it might as well be named the Death Star but is instead called Oasis of the Seas, the image of cruising might be taking a turn for the better. Of course, that is only if you like spending your vacation afloat with 5,399 others who enjoy all the bells and whistles of a traditional cruise times three.
Aside from a zip line, mini Central Park, AquaTheater and cupcake cafe, the Oasis is bringing Rihanna on board. No—not a lookalike, the real deal. Rihanna will do the first performance from her upcoing album "Rated R" on board the ship's 3-day preview cruise on November 19. The album doesn't release until Monday November 23, but the lucky press and invited guests on the preview cruise will get an early piece of the new RiRi stuff.
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Jump (Onto A) Ship With Real-Life Top Chefs
Sail away with Jacques Pepin
We interrupt your regularly scheduled Top Chef restaurant profile with food news of a different sort. Today, instead of highlighting an aspiring top chef, we're calling attention to a few names who earned their stripes after years in the industry and a consistent record of putting out great food. Nothing against the current crop of Vegas hopefuls, but there is something to be said for gaining cred in the days preceding reality television.
Some of these real-life top chefs, like Nancy Oakes of San Francisco's Boulevard and Jacques Pepin, will be joining 2010's Food & Wine Trails cruise roster, allowing fans to follow them to the ends of the Earth, in a manner of speaking.
As you can guess, deck volleyball isn't a high priority on-board. Travelers are there for tastings and pairings alongside some of the country's most famous wine makers, with stops at European cities and wineries—not one of those oh-so-perky family resorts you see advertised on television.
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Alaska's Nome Is So Hot Right Now
We know someone whose biggest travel dream is to visit the Alaskan town of Skagway while on a cruise along the Alaskan coast. It's hardly unattainable, with cruise ships hitting up Skagway and other towns like Sitka and Ketchikan all through the summer. But what to do once you've done the typical Alaskan cruise? Thanks to melting of the polar ice caps—or rather not, since this is a very bad thing, environment-wise—cruise ships are discovering ports further north than every before. Now you can add the Bering Sea town of Nome to your must-see in Alaska list.
The LA Times drives home exactly what a big deal it is for big ships to be calling in Nome: "More than 500 roadless miles from Anchorage, rugged tundra and frigid Bering Sea waters have a way of discouraging visitors." But after Nome spent $90 million dollars renovating their port to accommodate big ships, the temptation of venturing beyond the tried-and-true Alaskan itinerary is majorly attracting tourists.
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Hurricane Rick Swatting Cruise Ships Out Of The Way En Route To Baja
If there is something we know about traveling during the late summer thru early fall, it's to buy trip insurance. We're sure some cruisers and Baja vacationers will be finding out the importance of such policies as Hurricane Rick hits Baja Mexico and diverts ships away from holiday ports in order to avoid the 100 mph winds.
Although Rick has already crested in strength and now it peters down to a category 3 hurricane, let us remember that having a category anything storm crash your beach holiday is never positive. Judging the infographic above, Rick is zeroing in on Mexico like a frat boy with fantasies of cheap Patron. With the storm due off the coast from late today through early tomorrow, cruise ships are skipping visits to Mazatlan and possibly even Cabo San Lucas, adding insult to injury for the city that counts on these near-daily cruise ship calls.
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Carnival Cruises Drops Antigua Thanks To Drunken Brawlers
Are you anxious for winter to hit so that you can embark on a Carnival Cruise to Antigua, get drunk, and get your brawl on? Too bad, since six Brooklynites already went and spoiled your fun by doing exactly that and getting arrested. Not only were they arrested for getting into a fight with a cabbie and then assaulting the plain-clothes cops who tried to break it up, but their legal issues have turned Carnival off of the island for the time being.
Carnival's ships that sail the Caribbean—the group in question was onboard the Carnival Victory—will no longer stop at Antigua for the reason that they have "a desire to incorporate a new port of call." Right, we're sure that's the only reason, and that the detainment and guilty pleas of their brawling passengers had nothing to do with it. Carnival can try to keep up appearances, but the fact is that they are embarrassed; no cruise line wants to be pegged as the one that sails with shiploads of rowdy Brooklynites looking for a fight. Possible punishments for those under arrest include 2 years in jail or a $4,000 fine each.
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World's First Cougar Cruise Will Swab Your Decks And Shiver Your Timbers Alright
First there was the Samantha character on Sex and the City, then an entire generation of hot, over-35 single women started identifying themselves as cougars, and then there was the Cougar Convention. But now that Courtney Cox has gone an made the term quite official with her new show "Cougar Town," cougar parties are sprouting up all over, including on the high seas.
That's right; the "World's First International Cougar Cruise" is open for reservation, and the 3-night getaway cruise is basically just an excuse to drink copious whiskey sours and use an entire box of condoms in one long weekend. The boat ships out on December 3 from San Diego and returns on December 7 after making a port stop at Ensenada, Mexico and a "fun day at sea."
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Tis The Season To Start Booking Bahamas Cruises for $99
If you're looking for a cheap, quickie getaway, do it up right and go tropical. Set sail on a two-night cruise to the Bahamas for only $99. To make it a weekend-long trip, you can sail away on a three-night cruise for $149. Travelzoo is offering the two cruise deals through Dec. 22 for all you snowbirds and those who just plain hate raking up autumn leaves.
Nassau is the island destination for both round-trip cruises, and rest assured there will be a number of Nassau shore excursions to take advantage of those crazy-clear blue waters, including the Atlantis water park, snorkeling with tropical fish above the coral reefs and taking glass-bottom boat tours. When you board the MS Bahamas Celebration, run by Celebration Cruise Line—oh yea this is totally a party cruise—all meals and entertainment are included. This new cruise line features four restaurants, a two-deck nightclub, a casino, a full-service spa and two pools.
The two-night trips depart from Fort Lauderdale on Mondays and Wednesdays, while the three-nighters leave on Fridays. To snag this deal, you have to book it by calling (800) 314-5527 and mentioning Travelzoo.
Related Stories:
· Lower-Upper-Middle-Class Cruisers Aghast at Influx of Unwashed Masses [Jaunted]
· Pink Floyd Cruise Wishes You Were Here [Jaunted]
[Photo: bryce_edwards]
Tags: NYC-In-The-1950s / Retro Travel / New York City / Tourism Advertising / Ships / Cruise Travel / → All Tags
New York 1953 To Today: Transatlantic Liners Versus Cruise Ships
Times Square and Central Park attract tourists to New York City in droves, but what were the most exciting sights back in the 1950s? Thanks to an old tourist brochure from 1953, we're exploring back in the day versus today, for NYC tourists.
While no tourism brochure these days would use the phrase "your gay entree" unless we're talking about Damron or another gay-focused guidebook, this ad for transatlantic crossing on the storied French Line causes us to conjure up sepia-tinged fantasies of sailing out of New York harbor on a great ship, with goodbye party streamers flying all around and cocktails in a piano lounge.
By 1953, travelers had already mostly forgotten about the Normandie burning at dock in NY in 1942, and they would continue to sail until the early 1960s, when airplanes finally got the hang of elegant travel.
