Travel Maven blog

Tough economy forces cruise discounts

With some three feet of snow piling up outside my front door in Ohio, an email from Cruise Lines International caught my eye: Cruises are on sale, with discounts deeper than my swirling snow.

The reason: The U.S. economy is awful, but the world's cruise ships are still sailing.

Every cruise line wants to leave the dock with vacationers sleeping in each cabin. So prices tend to keep coming down until all cabins are sold. CLICK for list of cruise line discounts.

"Ships will cruise, and ships will cruise full," says Rick Sasso, president of MSC Cruises (USA).

MSC is the largest cruise line you may never have heard of. It's one of the fastest growing lines in the world, concentrating a majority of cruises in Europe, but also with two ships this winter in the Caribbean, the MSC Orchestra and MSC Lirica.

Left is the Savannah Bar on the MSC Orchestra.

MSC's fleet is mostly new ships; the newest, Fantasia, debuted in December (2008) in Italy.
 
Ever the optimist, Sasso sees the bad economy as an opportunity to add passengers who have never cruised. In difficult times, people vacation where they get the best value for their money, he said.

"People still want to go to Europe," said Sasso, in his Fort Lauderdale, Fla. office. "You can do a European holiday for half the price of a comparable vacation on land. And land prices in Europe are not coming down."

The best bang for your buck this winter, says Sasso, is a cruise on the Mediterranean Sea. The air fare is cheaper than in summer, the cruise is cheaper and the ports are less crowded.

"Don't worry about the weather," he said. "Bring a sweater. You didn't go to Europe to go to the beach anyway."

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Molyneaux is editor of TravelMavens.net. CLICK for articles on cruising, golf, Florida, Europe, adventure and travel gear and gadgets.

Ten romantic Valentine's Day retreats

Just in time for your Valentine, Hideaways International lists its 10 most romantic retreats in the world -- hotels and resorts from Portofino, Italy, to Bora Bora in French Polynesia.

Be forewarned: Hideaways International is a travel company that sells luxury accommodations. The Top 10, created by Hideaways president Mike Thiel, are expensive.

Valentine's Day is during the off-season on the French Riviera, so the weekend special at Chateau Eza, right, includes three nights, a romantic bath, a bottle of champagne and a Valentine's dinner for 2, starting at 580 Euros, about $750 for a couple. Now, all you have to do is get there.

For more romance, go to TravelMavens.net and click on World's 10 Most Romantic Retreats.

For a free subscription to Travel Maven, type your email address in the box at left, or click upper right to add an RSS feed.

Molyneaux is editor of TravelMavens.net. CLICK for articles on cruising, golf, Florida, Europe, adventure and travel gear and gadgets.

Coffee at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate

My new favorite Starbucks is in Berlin, Germany.

Twice in a week of January I sipped morning coffee and picked at a chocolate chip muffin in front of a big picture window facing the Brandenburg Gate.

In the mornings, before 9, the Gate was mine.

The morning sun lighted the Quadriga atop the city’s famed image where the Berlin Wall once stood, where cheering Germans celebrated its demise in 1989.

For half an hour or more, I sat alone at my window, though eventually folks on the way to the U.S. Embassy on the left, and the French Embassy on the right, stopped for coffee on their way to work. Coffee and a muffin are about $5.50. This Starbucks is easy to find, across the street from the luxurious Hotel Adlon and the S Bahn stop at Unter den Linden.

Later in the day, the square usually is packed with travelers and tour groups.

But in the mornings before 9, especially in the slow winter season, you may have it all to yourself -- the icon that drew Napoleon to steal a piece for France, that stirred the Nazis and became a symbol of worldwide hatred, that sat atop a wall through most of the cold war, and gleams today in a peaceful morning sun.

For planning a trip to Berlin (in English, click on British flag, left at top), CLICK

Information on Planning a trip to Germany

The Germany Page for vacation destinations

Back in Berlin again, 20 years after the fall of the wall.

Coffee at Brandenburg Gate

Poking about pieces of the old Berlin Wall

Guns, dogs, and fear along the old Iron Curtain

When East met West on peaceful soil in 1989

Lies and dreams east of the old Iron Curtain

Proof of the dreaded secret police of Leipzig 

Revolution in Leipzig with candles and prayers