The 2,670-passenger Sapphire Princess, one of 17 ships in the Princess fleet in 2011.   Just how much could cruise fares decline in the wake of the Costa Concordia disaster? Cruise fans got a glimpse today as Princess Cruises announced a promotion for summer voyages in Europe and Alaska.   Princess’ new “Sizzlin’ Summer [...]

While airlift to Hawaii has increased significantly over the last year, the Washington Post is reporting that the islands’ cruise industry is also on the rise.   More than 104,000 travelers arrived in the islands on cruise ships—mostly from the West Coast—in the first 11 months of last year, the report says, noting that this [...]

Americans are confidently booking cruise vacations to Europe thanks in part to the declining value of the Euro against the dollar. In fact, 71.2 percent of Travel Leaders agents polled indicate they are booking European cruises for 2012, Travel Leaders says in its annual Travel Trends Survey. The vast majority of those cruises are Mediterranean [...]

The Rising Tide Bar onboard Oasis of the Seas.   The biggest complaint Royal Caribbean International gets when guests on the 225,000-ton Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas disembark is that “we didn’t have time to do it all,” says Vicki Freed, Royal Caribbean’s senior vice president of sales. With DreamWorks character [...]

Holland America Line‘s ms Volendam will sail to Asia in 2013 with a series of 14-day itineraries between Singapore and Hong Kong, China; Kobe, Japan, and Hong Kong, as well as roundtrip Kobe cruises.   These itineraries will give cruisers the opportunity to visit Vietnam, South Korea, Thailand and Cambodia. There will be nine voyages, [...]

  Royal Caribbean’s 3,114-passenger Voyager of the Seas.   The comeback of New Orleans as a cruise hub got a big boost over the weekend as Royal Caribbean returned to the city for the first time in four years.   The line’s 3,114-passenger Voyager of the Seas arrived in the Big Easy on Saturday for [...]

Effective spring 2012, the minimum drinking age for all alcoholic beverages on Royal Caribbean ships sailing from South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia and New Zealand will be 18.   To be clear, the current policy does allow 18- to 20-year-old passengers cruising in the aforementioned regions to purchase alcohol onboard — as long as [...]

  A rendering of Princess Cruises’ 2,670-passenger Emerald Princess.   Princess Cruises on Thursday announced a makeover for the Italian restaurants on its ships.   The line says the Sabatini’s eateries found on 13 of its 16 vessels will switch to an a la carte experience where diners pick each of their courses instead of [...]

  Princess Cruises’ 3,080-passenger Ruby Princess, which sails out of Fort Lauderdale during the winter.   Thinking about booking a cruise to Europe or Asia for the coming year? You’ll want to take a look at the latest offer from Princess Cruises.   The line today is rolling out a six-day sale on 70 sailings [...]

  Holland America’s 1,380-passenger Amsterdam during a port call in Sydney, Australia.   Holland America is planning yet another epic, around-the-world cruise for 2013.   The line today announced the 1,380-passenger Amsterdam would sail a 115-day, globe-circling itinerary out of Fort Lauderdale early in the year that includes more than 40 port calls in South [...]