Travel Maven blog

Bidding for travel bargains at SATW

If you like to travel and bid for bargains, the annual auction by the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) is a fun two-fer.

This year's auction is up, online, with bidding until 10 p.m. MDT on Friday, November 20.

Top items range from cruises on the Royal Clipper from Barbados and on Maine Windjammer's Stephen Taber, to a Germany getaway with roundtrip tickets on Air Berlin and four nights for two persons at hotels in Berlin and Dresden.

At SatwAuction, you will find deals on goods, hotels, resort and vacation packages in the U.S., Canada and abroad. Values of donated items range from $50 to $3,962.

Cruise passengers bob in the Atlantic

News from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean: Passengers on a trans-Atlantic cruise aboard the SeaDream II jumped overboard for a dip last week.

The 56-passenger cruise ship, one of two luxury vessels owned by SeaDream Yacht Club, was on a route from Spain to Puerto Rico.

Passengers said they wanted to swim, said SeaDream II’s Captain Terje Willasen.

 "At dawn on Thursday October 15, I knew that this was the day. The seas were as still as a pond,” said Willsen.

At latitude 26 degrees, 28 minutes, longitude 39 degrees 40 minutes, 958 nautical miles from the Azores and 1541 nautical miles from San Juan, a group of passengers slipped into the ocean from the ship’s special stern Marina and bobbed about in the sea, before continuing their journey to San Juan.

SeaDream calls its two small ships mega yachts. Information from SeaDream.com

Culinary excellence on Celebrity Equinox

One of this year’s sleekest new cruise ships stakes its reputation on style and food.

Celebrity Equinox, second of five new ships planned by Celebrity Cruises, poses the question: Can a big ship provide service and dining that is equal to a vacation on land?

So far, the answer is yes. Reviews have been solidly positive for the Celebrity Solstice, which debuted last year, and its twin sister, Celebrity Equinox, which began cruising in Europe late July and will be in the Caribbean out of South Florida this winter.

Both ships sport a sophisticated contemporary design, fine art collections, and a group of specialty restaurants that have drawn raves from critics and passengers. 

See: Cruising on the Celebrity Equinox at TheTravelMavens.com

Above, mother and daughter from Surrey, England, snuggle in a tented nook on the Celebrity Equinox. 

Royal Caribbean raises rates on new Oasis of the Seas

Prices have fallen this year on most cruises to the Caribbean, but one ship -- the new Oasis of the Seas --  is raising rates, says Mike Driscoll, editor of Cruiseweek, a cruise industry newsletter.

Oasis of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world -- with 16 decks to carry at least 5,400 passengers in 2,700 cabins -- arrives in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in November 2009. Cruises to the Caribbean begin in December. 

As the delivery date draws near, Oasis' pricing continues to rise, reports Driscoll. Now Oasis is an anomaly: a high-priced big ship in the Caribbean.

From research through travel agents by Driscoll:

When Royal Caribbean began accepting bookings in August 2008 for a 7-night cruise February 20, 2010, Oasis  inside cabins were priced at $999 per person for two people, outsides at $1,209, balconies $1,329, Junior Suites $2,179, and Crown Lofts $4,229.

This month, says Driscoll, inside cabins on that cruise have climbed by $250 to $1,249, outsides by $100 to $1,309, balconies by $70 to $1,399. Junior Suites are up $1,000 to $3,179, Crown Lofts up $900 to $5,129. 

Looking ahead a few months, prices in August 2009 for a June 12, 2010, departure on a 7-night cruise were $1,299 for inside, $1,529 for outside, $1,679 for balcony, $2,899 for Junior Suite, and $5,679 for Crown Loft. 

Information on Oasis

Information on CruiseWeek

For the latest on cruises, destinations and insights for travelers, go to TheTRAVEL MAVENS

Cruising without putting on a life jacket

After 30 years of mandatory lifeboat drills on dozens of cruise ships, I have just finished a cruise on which -- for the first time -- I didn't have to wear one of those bulky orange life jackets. 

No, I didn't break the rules. Royal Caribbean has a new plan for the mandatory mustering of passengers, which is the exercise designed to prepare for emergencies such as abandoning ship if it hits an iceberg or something.

On the new Oasis of the Seas, which debuts in Florida in December, life jackets will not be placed in passenger cabins. Instead they will be kept at muster stations, the place where passengers would go in an emergency to gather for boarding a lifeboat. The plan, no doubt, was the result of the size of the new Oasis, which will be the largest cruise ship in the world.  

Cruise passengers ignore sea pirates

To heck with the pirates, cruisers are not walking the plank, reports Cruiseweek, a newsletter for the cruise industry.

Editor Mike Driscoll writes that when the Crystal Symphony leaves Dubai this week en route to Athens, the first port of call is Salalah, Oman, followed by a May 22-24 cruising across the Gulf of Aden, site of frequent pirate attacks on vessels. 

Are clients worried?

One luxury travel agent told Cruiseweek that while the pirate attacks certainly haven't helped business for cruises going through the region, the "surprising truth" is it doesn't seem to bother those experienced travelers who booked the sailings in 

the first place.

A verification of this view can be found in the response to Crystal's offer of a complimentary three-day overland as an option for passengers when the ship goes through the Gulf (getting off in Oman and reboarding in Egypt). Some 90% opted to stay onboard.

Speedy ships are safer

"Most of our guests have been realistic," says Crystal President Gregg Michel. "They know that Crystal Cruises' greatest concern is for their safety."

 

Michel, who is also chairman of CLIA, contends, "Despite all of the media attention, the risk to cruise ships in this area is considered to be minimal. To the best of our knowledge, no successful attacks have occurred on ships traveling at 15 knots or more."

Crystal Symphony will be traveling at a speed well in excess of 15 knots, and it is very maneuverable. "Of course, we have taken a number of additional precautionary measures," adds Michel. "We've continued to communicate with guests about our practices before the cruise and will be during the cruise."

For information on Cruiseweek

For the latest on cruises, destinations and insights for travelers, go to THE TRAVEL MAVENS.COM