Cruise Reviews, Ship Reviews by The Avid Cruiser

June 30, 200 nautical miles east of the Bahamas — The Crown Princess’ sleek hull slices the Atlantic Ocean’s gentle swells as our ship makes its way back to New York. Crown Princess departed Brooklyn’s cruise terminal last Friday morning, and here, on our return one week later, passengers are intent on savoring the last two days of a nine-day cruise. Continue Reading »

When he was but a nine-year-old boy, my son Alex reached into the Windex-blue waters on a sandy Bahamian beach and quickly withdrew his hand to proclaim, “Dad, I touched a stingray.” He furrowed his tender brow and added thoughtfully, “They’re nice.”

In doing so, he had ascribed a sweet, if somewhat inaccurate, characteristic to the stingray. Yes, the stingray was nice indeed, particularly with its barb blunted for safety. None of tragedy that befell animal lover Steve Irwin here. Off the coast of Australia, a ray’s barb had pierced his heart and stunned the world.

Alex, my daughter and I were in a friendlier place, a paradise really, free of danger and removed from the real world, an idyllic island created for us by a cruise line.

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Research shows that most people planning a trip to Alaska want to see two places: Glacier Bay National Park and Denali National Park. You can get to Glacier Bay aboard a cruise ship and admire the national park’s stunning scenery from the comfort of your balcony stateroom. But to get to Denali (a.k.a. Mt. McKinley), you’ll have to get off the ship, lace up your hiking boots, and trek inland. That’s where a cruisetour comes in. Continue Reading »

It’s time to begin thinking about 2009 world cruises.

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The trend continues to turn cruise ships into “dining destinations.” Continue Reading »

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Last week’s question: The photo above was taken four years ago, but where? Obviously in a shipyard, but one not accustomed to building cruise ships. There is a great story behind this photo. It’s a happy story despite some tragedy. Tune in next week for the answer and the story.

Answer: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Shipyard in Nagasaki, Japan. The ship is Sapphire Princess. It had originally been named Diamond Princess, but in October 2002, fire broke out, destroying much of the ship’s interior and naturally delaying Diamond Princess’ debut scheduled for July 2003.

Diamond Princess, however, was one of two new ships under construction. The shipyard was in the early phases on Sapphire Princess, which was to debut in May 2004, so workers sped up production on that ship and the names were swapped so that the Sapphire (formerly Diamond) entered service as scheduled and Diamond (formerly Sapphire) entered service several months (instead of a year or more) late.