Carnival Miracle Damaged at St Kitts

Yesterday morning the Carnival Miracle smashed into the dock at Port Zante in St. Kitts.

None of the over 2,000 passengers aboard the Miracle were injured, but pics of the ship show some rather extensive damage - a 15 foot long gash in the side of the ships hull.

UPDATE, Friday, 11:30 AM ET: Carnival says it has repaired the damage to the Carnival Miracle, and the ship has set sail for Fort Lauderdale. The line says the ship is expected to arrive at its home port at 12:00 noon on Sunday, about four hours late.

It’s A ‘Miracle:’ Carnival Avoids Serious Damage In Docking Mishap

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Family fun with Club O2 for teens, Club Carnival for kids, and three swimming pools. Numerous dining venues from formal dining rooms, casual buffet restaurant to sushi bar and 24-hour pizzeria. Over 9 bars & lounges, 2 pools – one with a poolside stage perfect to take in the live band.

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Carnival Cruise Lines - 4 Night Western Caribbean - Starting at $219 (Interior) - $269 (Outside)

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Carnival Cruise Lines - 7 Night Eastern Caribbean - Starting at $629 Interior) - $679 (Outside)

Featured Cruise Deals

Norwegian Welcomes Solo Cruisers

"Solo Cruisers" have never been courted by the major cruise lines. However that is changing in today's cruise market which recognizes this is one area of marketing that has often been overlooked.

Major cruise lines charge solor cruisers a hefty penalty single supplement of 50% up to 100% to occupy a cabin alone. Cruise lines even offer a "find a roomie" service. While this may appeal to some, most solo travelers DO NOT want to share a room with a stranger.

Norwegian Cruise Line is one of the first major cruise lines to specifically court the "solo cruiser" market. The new Norwegian Epic has 128 "Epic Studios" designed for single occupancy.

All the studios are inside cabins, and some even have connecting doors to others. Each studio cabin offers a full-size bed, flat-screen TV, and small desk. Norwegian even offers a two-story "studio lounge" to meet other singles.

Epic's single supplement is 23 - 25%, which is obviously a much better deal than the other major lines.

New Silversea Flagship Christened

The Venetian Honor Guard flag bearers marching pierside with classical music played by a brass/string ensemble, the christening ceremony was conducted dockside at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.

The event was broadcast live on the Internet and a replay of the webcast will soon be available on the Silver Spirit blog at www.silversea.com.

A few hours after the christening, Silver Spirit set sail on its Grand Inaugural Voyage, a 91-day journey throughout the Americas.

The ship will visit 20 countries and 45 ports before spending the summer in the Mediterranean and fall/winter in the Caribbean.

Norwegian Hosts Cougar & Cubs Bahamas Cruise

Carnival Cruise Lines announced that it would no longer welcome Cougar related cruises, and now the country of Australia had denied entry for the Cougars.

“After the tremendous success of the world’s first International Cougar Cruise, we were excited about bringing this concept to Australia," said Rich Gosse, executive producer of www.cougarevents.com and chairman of The Society of Single Professionals. "We are shocked that all three major cruise lines in Australia have rejected our request for an Australian Cougar Cruise. If there had been problems on the first Cougar Cruise, we would understand being banned. But hundreds of our cougars and cubs onboard were well-behaved, and there were absolutely no problems. Alas, there won’t be an Australian Cougar Cruise, unless a willing cruise operator can be found."

After Carnival dropped the Cougars, Royal Caribbean moved in, and now Norwegian Cruise Line is also ready to set sail.

The Cougar Mexican Riveira Cruise takes place May 16-23, and departs from Los Angeles aboard Royal Caribbean International’s Mariner of the Seas to visit Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas.

The Cougar Bahamas Cruise takes place December 3-6, and departs Miami aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s (NCL) Norwegian Sky, which visits Nassau, Bahamas and Great Stirrup Cay, NCL’s private island.

How To Save Money On A Cruise Ship

One of the biggest appeals of a cruise ship vacation is its all-inclusive aspect.

Your meals, port stops, and on board activities are pre-planned and available for your enjoyment, pretty much whenever you feel like enjoying them. Unfortunately, a cruise ship's "all-inclusive" element doesn't mean it's an on board free-for-all.

All those port excursions, soda and alcoholic beverages, beauty services, and photos are made available for an extra charge.

Because your cabin key functions as an on board credit card, it's easy to go overboard with your spending. If you're not careful, you could end up with a hefty bill when your cruise ends.
Here are a few tips to save money while on board a cruise ship.

Read full article at - How to save money while on board a cruise ship

Carnival Enhances ‘Funville’ Web Site

Carnival Cruise Lines has revamped its web site, carnival.com, to include a new community and social media hub called “Funville.”

Funville offers visitors an opportunity to connect with other Carnival enthusiasts via forums, cruise reviews and games. Additionally, the site allows guests to interact with Carnival by reading and commenting on employee-written blog posts, view exclusive photos and videos, download.

Funville's “Action Cruiser” feature that allows visitors to create their own custom-made printable 3-D action figure. Located within the “Rally” section, the Action Cruisers are accompanied by Carnival-themed downloads and e-cards. Visitors to the site can also find an interactive aquarium where they can create their own colorful fish and play games such as Reef Racer, Flippaball and Finvasion.

Other areas contained within Funville include the “Fun Feed” featuring links to the popular blog of Senior Cruise Director John Heald and Carnival’s profiles on Facebook, Flickr and Twitter. The “Share” section houses blog posts from a number of popular shipboard personnel, including Captain Pier Scala, Cruise Directors Butch Begovich and Todd Wittmer, and Dance Captain Claire Heslop, each of whom share insights and experiences of their life aboard ship.

Carnival, the cruise line leader in social networking, has also redesigned its Facebook fan page, www.facebook.com/carnival, where visitors can watch videos, participate in on-line polls, send virtual cruise gifts to friends and create fun status updates.

www.carnival.com/funville

Norwegian Epic Set to Sail June 2010

The 153,000-ton, 4,200-passenger Norwegian Epic, will be the largest and newest Freestyle Cruising ship - and Norwegian Cruise Lines plans multiple inaugurals.

Onboard, guests will enjoy Blue Man Group performances, a three-waterslide AquaPark and 20 dining options. Interestingly, Epic boasts new 100-square-foot Studio accommodations; those cabins offer a corridor-facing window and shared access to The Living Room with seating, a bar, TVs and a concierge.

Norwegian Epic will operate alternating eastern and western Caribbean itineraries—with calls at Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico, and Roatan, Honduras, or at Nassau, the Bahamas, St. Maarten and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Dubai New Cruise Terminal

Next month Dubai will unveil its new cruise terminal in the Port Rashid complex. The new structure, built with the capacity to handle four ships simultaneously, is expected to give the city's cruise industry a big boost.

The terminal will be outfitted with services to make the lives of travelers easier, such as money exchange, ATMs, a post office, duty free shop, souvenir shops, gift shops, and a business center with Wi-Fi.

Visit www.dubaitourism.ae

Princess Cruises Wave Season Promotions

Princess Cruises is ringing in the new year with two ways for passengers to save on this summer’s vacation during the annual “Wave Season” booking period through February 28.


Travelers can choose to enjoy their own private balcony for the cost of an oceanview stateroom with the “Balcony Bonanza” promotion, and those planning travel to Alaska can save up to 25 percent on a land and sea cruisetour with the “Denali on Sale” event.

Balcony Bonanza -- Passengers will discover just why a balcony stateroom is the only way to travel for many cruisers. For the price of an oceanview stateroom, cruisers can enjoy the fresh air and sweeping ocean vistas of a private balcony on select summer 2010 cruises and cruisetours to Europe, Alaska or the Caribbean. Balcony Bonanza pricing begins at just $899 per person for a seven-day Caribbean sailing, with balconies on a 12-day Europe sailing starting at $2,799.

Denali on Sale -- Travelers who book their Alaska vacation with Princess can now can save up to 25 percent off select Alaska cruisetours featuring the state’s spectacular Denali National Park. All Princess cruisetour itineraries include at least two nights in the Denali area, with lodging at Princess’ own wilderness lodges, plus a cruise featuring the dazzling ice of Glacier Bay National Park.

The promotion features a variety of 10- to 15-night itineraries, including the popular Direct to the Wilderness rail service, which gets travelers to the wilderness faster, plus options in the Kenai and Copper River areas.

Passengers can also take advantage of Princess’ special roundtrip packages that include air from Seattle or Vancouver, and two family cruisetour options with special amenities and tours included just for family groups. Cruisetour fares for a 10-night vacation begin at $1,274 per person.

Additional information about Princess Cruises is available through by calling 1-800-PRINCESS, or by visiting the company's website at www.princess.com

Cruise Packing Tips

If you are planning to go on a cruise vacation some cruise packing tips might be exactly what you need to get the most out of it.

A cruise vacation can be one of the most joyful experiences in your entire life however knowing what to carry to your vacation is essential in order to avoid any unnecessary inconveniences.

Read full article

YACHTS OF SEABOURN - SEABOURN ODYSSEY

Seabourn launched the spacious luxury 450 passenger Odyssey in June 2009. All drinks and tips are included in the five restaurants, and 24 hour room service is available.

There is a large area for dancing, movies and other ship board entertainment.
Odyssey has spacious outdoor areas with two swimming pools, hot tubs, and ample seating for relaxation in the sun or shade.

This latest addition to the Seabourn family has one of the largest spa's in the fleet -covering two decks with seven spa treatment rooms. There is also a full gym.

Smaller onboard suites cabins are quite large measuring 295 sq ft, and the larger suites measure over 1600 sq ft. Approximately 95% of the suites have private balconies.

All cabins have flat screen CD/DVD TV's, separate tubs and shower, vanity and spacious walk in closets.

Odyssey sets sail January, 2010.
http://www.seabourn.com/

Disney Cruise Line Children's Programs

Disney Cruise Line has announced a change in its popular kids programming that is sure to please parents -- children no longer will be grouped by age, but by the activities they choose to participate in.

While Disney will continue to recommend activities that appeal to specific maturity levels and ages, all offerings in the Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab are open to children ages 3 to 12 on the Disney Wonder and ages 3 to 10 on the Disney Magic.

In addition to the obvious benefit of have a wider range of things to do, this change also makes planning easier for friends and extended families who vacation together and have children of different ages. That definitely would be a key point for my children and their cousins.

How could they not be excited by these possibilities with popular Disney characters?

- During the new Cinderella's Royal Ball, young guests can feel like royalty as Cinderella shows them how to be princes or princesses.

- So You Want to be a Pirate offers adventurous tales of the high seas, pirate training for young buccaneers, swashbuckling fun and a special appearance by Captain Hook.

- Children are immersed in the world of Disney- Pixar's Toy Story during Toy Story Boot Camp. Led by Corporal Green, toy recruits participate in interactive activities.
Other activities are hands-on sessions designed to appeal to children's sense of creativity and invention:

- In Ratatouille Cooking School, kids work together to bake tasty chocolate chip cookies.

- During the new Animal Tracking Series, children discover that conservation can be fun as they learn about endangered animals, create an animal tracking device and locate (plush) cotton-top tamarin monkeys using telemetry tracking on Castaway Cay.

- In Flubber, one of the most popular youth activities on Disney Cruise Line, children join Professor Goo in creating magical green goo and other interesting concoctions.

Other onboard youth activities include playful programs such as Mouseketeer Training and Little Einsteins for preschoolers; challenge-and solution-games like Stitch's Great Adventure and Detective School with Goofy.

High-action group activities such as Kim Possible, Cruise Control and The Challenge of Davy Jones; and unstructured free time to enjoy the youth areas, play on computers and spend time having fun with new friends.

And those are just the children-only offerings. Disney stage productions, family activities, first-run films in digital 3-D, poolside movies, deck parties, a family club and the Castaway Cay Family Beach provide even more opportunities for families to make memories together.