Category: Ocean Cruising

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Sail to Europe in Style: Queen Mary 2 Transatlantic Crossing Review

May 5 to May 12, 2024

I have always wanted to go on a Transatlantic crossing since the Queen Mary did them in my childhood. She was the epitome of class, awesomeness and wealth. We finally decided now was the time!! We had several considerations – #1 I had wanted to do it for most of my life, #2 We were going to Europe this summer, #3 What an awesome way to avoid jet lag (which gets worse as I age) and #4 The cost wasn’t much more than the one way plane fare. (And we could relax, eat and sleep for 8 days to get used to the time change, just enjoy the ship and no TSA or airline hassle.). Of course we chose an inside cabin as the only thing to see for nine days was water. The cabin was very comfortable with a reasonable amount of space. Lots more than even the best first class seat on an airplane.

Before we get into the details, I wanted to point out that in all the cruises we have done, we were never really sad and disappointed to leave the ship. In this case we both were. There was just something about the ambiance, class, and the “Britishness” of the experience that was special. If you have the time to do this, do it. It is by far the best way to get to Europe.

The Queen Mary 2 docked in Southampton, England and on the date we choose, also went 2 more days to Hamberg, Germany. We decided to go all the way to Hamburg since it fit with other things we were planning. 

Boarding in New York was easy. We let Cunard arrange our air travel which was one less worry for us. We flew into La Guardia which used to be a horrible airport. They have redone the entire terminal and what a nice airport now!! Clean, nice art, nice shops, nice people, etc. Our Cunard representative was waiting in the baggage area for all of us who arrived on that flight. Unfortunately, Mike and I had barely made the flight in Charlotte but our luggage didn’t. It was still in Charlotte and would be put on the next flight. Not to worry, the Cunard rep took those who arrived with us to the ship and we waited at the terminal until the next flight arrived. Our luggage was there and the Cunard rep was there with us.

We boarded a Sprinter van with the others who had arrived when our luggage did. Straight to the ship and breezed through check in at Cunard and to our well appointed cabin. The Queen is one of the ships now using Starlink for Internet and it worked well.

Our dining time and cabin class put us in the main restaurant – the Britannia Restaurant for meals. It is very nicely decorated with subtle colors, which I prefer. Cunard assigns you a table for the duration of the voyage but you do have the option to change tables or sit with others when and if you prefer.

We met lots of people doing the entire voyage – New York, Hamburg and back to New York. When we got to Southampton, same thing, people doing the voyage across the Atlantic and back. Of course, not all, but lots of them were.

The ship gains one hour most days. She doesn’t gain it during the night like most cruise ships, she gains it at noon. The captain came on then and told us lots of ship facts – speed, depth below us, approximate location, temperature, weather, etc. He always ended by saying some quote. The last day it was, “There are good ships, there are wood ships, there are ships that sail the sea. But the best ships are friendships, and may they always be.” An Irish toast.

The buffet is good and they have various stations – bread, salad, grill (for eggs cooked to order, hamburgers, etc.), desserts, drinks, etc. Like on most ships but not quite a extensive.

We had room service twice a day and chocolates every night. There must have been a fair number of German’s onboard. They made announcements in English then in German.

We had cloudy, cool weather for the first few days. But, that was OK. We had lots to explore and do without going outside. Other people did walk. They had a deck where you could walk around the ship, 3 laps were 1.3 miles. At the prow of the ship, the had what looked like sculptures. They were called “The Captain’s Cufflinks” and were actually spare propellers for the ship. I would hate to be the one replacing them mid ocean, but they did have people who could do that if needed!

The Queen has one of the largest libraries at sea, about 10,000 books. It works like a library too since they have two staff for the library and you have to check the books out. The library is at the front of the ship with seating and ocean views. The shelves are gorgeous wood with glass fronts. There is also a Planetarium.

Queen Mary 2 is an ocean liner. It is not a cruise ship. An ocean liner is built with speed, agility and hull strength to transport passengers across oceans. They have a deep, streamlined v-hull that can withstand tough conditions. Cruise ships can certainly cross the ocean but they are mainly built as floating hotels and for entertaining guests. The Queen Mary 2 has a normal cruising speed of about 30 knots. Most cruise ships have an average speed of 21-23 knots and you can feel high seas easier on cruise ships. On Queen Mary 2, we had about 30 feet seas occasionally and we only felt a slight rocking motion. 


There are lots of activities during the day. We went to most of the dance classes. They were taught by a male and a female professional dancer. The first day was the Cha Cha Cha. Just a little much for us, non dancers. Next day was a slow waltz. It didn’t seem too slow to us! Next was the Fox Trot, then another Latin dance, Rumba, then line dancing, and we gave up. They had a different class every day of the voyage.

They also have Zumba, putting competitions, bridge lessons and games, aerobics, art classes, trivia games, enrichment lectures from guest lecturers from well known historians and artist, Quoits tournaments, croquet, darts competitions, movies, shuffleboard, table tennis, paddle tennis and more. They also had movies as well as music shows in the Queen’s Room. There are several pools and hot tubs – all heated. One pool has a retractable cover they can open when the weather is nice. There is a kid’s program and pools for kids. There is a spa and a casino.

Entertainment was offered most of the afternoon and all evening. There were several very good pianist, each with different song themes – blues, country, classical etc., a harpist, a Folk Duo,  Harmony String Trio who were excellent, a Jazz Trio, a Dixieland Jazz group, an excellent Queen Mary 2 Orchestra, a Queens Room Quartet, etc. Lots of music whenever and wherever. The Royal Shakespeare Company was onboard with an enhanced program of theater productions and workshops. Evenings they had music in many venues and shows in the Royal Court Theater. – musical and comedians mostly, but they were good. One night there was a tribute to the big bands, which of course meant lots of dancing.

And the BEST activity – the British know how to do Afternoon Tea!! They set it up in the Queen’s Room with live music. The tables are in groups of 2-6, set with white linen, place  settings of a small plate, tea cups and saucers (all white Wedgwood), silver spoon for the tea saucer, fork and knife on the plate and real flowers. Strawberry jam was set out (individual jars, probably a hold over from COVID), sweeteners and cream for your tea. At 3:30, a line of servers with white coats, black pants or skirts and white gloves came out with silver tea pots and started serving.  Everyone clapped a cadence for them to enter. There were so many servers, it didn’t take long (there were several hundred people there). Then they all came out with little sandwiches on a tray. Everyone got sandwiches. Then they brought out the sweets platters. Then circulated with trays of more sweets and sandwiches. Then they brought out the scones!! Wonderful scones!!! With little dishes of clotted cream that was soooo good. And they keep bringing tea and all the other stuff until most people left. It was very coordinated and great!! It was awesome and they have it down pat!!

We always find our favorite place to sit and our favorite bar. This was no exception. We mostly sat in the Chart Room which has comfortable chairs and seating and is also a bar. We also checked out several other bars – the Golden Lion, the Champagne Bar, the G32 in the evenings for dancing, and Corinthia Lounge with a large area and comfortable seating where they did trivia games, etc. But we always ended up back in the Chart Room.

We ate at almost all of their venues. We ate in the Golden Lion, a British Pub. Excellent fish and chips and Sticky Toffee pudding. All the food was great!

The Britannia Restaurant was the main restaurant. The buffet was called Kings Court. It had a regular buffet, grill area with hot dogs, hamburgers, etc, a sushi area, an area for light meals such as salads and sandwiches, and another area for pizza. There is also a speciality restaurant called the Steakhouse at the Verandah. There is an area called Sir Samuel’s which had “light bites”. There are also separate restaurants for suite guests. The service was good and the food was good. Not the best we ever had on a cruise ship, but certainly very good.

Our first formal night was our second night on board. We will have 2 on our 9 day cruise. You don’t have to participate but most people who sail on the Queen enjoy dressing up and dancing in the Queen Room to a live orchestra. There are several themes for the formal nights. The fist night was “Black and Gold”. We had gold accessories and wore some black. Some people really went to a lot of trouble to go with that theme, but most of us just accessorized. Our second formal night was a “Masquerade Night”. We had fancy masks. Most people wore masks. Again, only some people went all out. Both nights were lots of fun. You got to see everyone dressed up and enjoy the dancing and music. 

Supper on formal nights was a step up. The first night we had Lobster Bisque, Chateaubriand and Cheesecake. The second one, we had onion soup and surf and turf – large shrimp and filet. It was good. Mike also had a lemon thing with a lemon cello topping.

The British Immigration representative came on board a few days out from Southampton. Everyone took their ship ID and passport to him. Everyone on board ship has to do this, even if they aren’t getting off in Southampton. Nice that we could do it on ship and not have to go through Immigration when we got to England.

The Queen also has Kennels. We couldn’t go in but we could see in and there was a walkway the dogs could go on with their owners. Cunard ships have always carried animals on board. Some worked for their passage, such as Britannia’s three cats finding the ship’s vermin. More exotic travelers have included an elephant, a hippo, a raccoon and a monkey. Some have even hitched a lift across the Atlantic, including one sparrow who forgot to disembark at Southampton and landed in New York. Dogs and cats continue to travel in style across the Atlantic on board Queen Mary 2. There are 24 kennels, lots of space to play and a dedicated owner’s lounge. So as not to cause any homesickness, British dogs find familiarity with a lamppost taken from the Cunard building in Liverpool and dogs from the USA naturally enjoy a New York City fire hydrant!

The 14th deck has a “Look Out”. You can see far out to the front of the ship. Cunard also has free laundry machines on every other deck; free soap, free washing machines and dryers. They even had irons and ironing boards for those who still do that (not me!).That was nice!!

When we arrived in Southampton, we had scheduled an excursion to Stonehenge. The other option was an excursion to Windsor Castle. Interesting note: We docked at the Mayflower terminal – one of five in Southampton. White Star (now Cunard) has always docked here. This is where the Titanic sailed from.

We left the ship on a bus and had a ride of an hour and 15 minutes. The guide said it was the best weekend in a long time. It was beautiful, sunny and mild. There were some interesting things on the way there – New Forest which is a protected area where animals have free reign – roaming horses, ponies, sheep, cows pigs, donkeys and deer. It was set up a long time ago with rules – no cutting trees, no fences and no hunting. The only one who has cut trees here was Admiral Cornwall. He had 2,000 trees cut to make one warship in the 18th century. Since 2015 it has been a National Park.

We passed Salisbury Cathedral which has the highest spire in England (in Salisbury). It is 404 feet. It is early English Gothic and took 38 years to build. Of note, the Salisbury Cathedral has the best copy of the Magna Carter in it. (Only 4 copies remain.) We also went through Hampshire, England where Florence Nightingale was buried in St Margaret of Antioch Churchyard.

Stonehenge is interesting!! Stonehenge dates to 3,000 BC so 5,000 years. Same age as the Egyptian Pyramids. It is surrounded by burial grounds.

I had been to Stonehenge about twenty years ago, and really wanted Deedee to see it. When I came there was no visitors center, just a fence around the site. Walk in, go anywhere you wanted. and next to no people. Now it’s overrun with tourists. Still very much worth the visit.

In 1918, the property was sold for 6,600 pounds. Today it is worth 51 million.

From the bus parking, it is a 5 minute shuttle ride to the stones or you can walk – about an hour for 2.6 miles. Summer and Winter solstice days are free admission and you can walk among the stones.

We took the shuttle bus to the rocks at Stonehenge. There were lots of people but the area around the stones that you could go in was large enough, people dispersed around fairly well. It was easy to get to the edge of the ropes and get good pictures. Then back to the Welcome Center which has only been there for 10 years. The buildings themselves were OK but the “decorative” stuff with the pipes on the outside were awful. They were supposed to represent the stones and help the building blend in to the landscape. I think it failed miserably and would have been better off without the decorations.

Back to the bus. There are 130 burial mounds around the stones. The people were buried in a crouching position. They can tell if a man or woman was buried there. Men had objects such as tools and weapons. Women had household objects and jewelry.

We returned to the port, we visited with an old friend of ours and Stony Truitt’s. Mike is a retired corporate pilot that flew Global’s and many other aircraft types all over the world. For a time he was Elton John’s pilot. He is also a precision watch maker, and is doing that in retirement. Mike took us to a delightful pub tucked away in a corner that would be difficult for any tourist to find, so was a local house. Wonderful food and great company

Southampton has 2 high tides and 2 low tides – called double peak high and low tides. It is a good shipping port because of that – there are 17 hours of rising tides. It is the largest container port in England.

Lots of people must have boarded in Southampton. The ship was definitely more crowded.

In Hamburg, Cunard arranged for a bus to take a us to the train station. We went from there to our hotel for the night. 

Overall, this was a fabulous way to cross the pond. We were never without something to do if we wanted, but most of the time, relaxing, reading and just unwinding were our preferred choice. We are both looking forward to finding an excuse to do this again.

Next up – Hamburg and Zurich.

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The Inaugural Cruise of the Celebrity Ascent

We were fortunate to get to sail on Celebrity Ascent on her Inaugural cruise from Fort Lauderdale in November, 2023. What an awesome ship!! This was the first time we have been on one of their Edge Class ships. Everyone whom we have booked on an Edge class ship told us how wonderful it was, and we can now confirm all of the positive reviews.

Boarding was the best we have ever experienced. A quick picture, scan the QR code, walk onto the ship. As fast and easy as our boarding was, I think it would go very smoothly on a regular voyage. Our cabin cards were waiting for us in a little package outside of our cabin. Very easy boarding! Getting off was just as easy. We carried our bags, so it was just a facial scan at customs, and we were done.

This is a 3,260 guest, double occupancy ship. There are lots and lots of very nice public spaces. The infinite balcony in our stateroom is awesome. More about that later. There are 8 speciality restaurants – Le Voyage Steakhouse, La Grand Bistro which serves French cuisine, Le Petite Chef which has the 3D table animation art form to add to your experience, Raw on 5, a seafood restaurant, The Magic Carpet for nibbles and drinks and dinner in the evenings, The Rooftop Garden Grill, and the Eden Restaurant which is an open kitchen restaurant. There are 4 main dining rooms, all serving the same menu for each meal. The ship also has several other complimentary dining – The  Eden Cafe which offers morning beverages and bites, the Spa Cafe and Juice Bar for healthy cuisine, the Oceanview Cafe which offers made to order breakfast and lunch with an international menu for dinner, Mast Grill for burgers on the top deck with an amazing view. The Retreat (an exclusive area) has 2 restaurants. Ascent has 9 bars, some on the top decks with gorgeous ocean views – a Martini Bar on Deck 3 and the bar on the Magic Carpet.

The Magic Carpet is a great place to sit and gaze at the ocean with a drink. It is a cantilevered, floating platform, surrounded by glass or open areas (except obviously against the ship). It juts out over the ship. It stops at 3 different levels during the day. It stops on the deck in front of the cabanas and becomes a pool deck extension, and it stops at one of the ships main dining rooms to serve as alfresco dining. In the evenings it stops on deck 16 to offer “Dinner on the Edge” dining.

Our cabin was very nice. We entered with bathroom to the right – good size room with a decent shower. Backed up to the bathroom is a large closet with shelves and hanging up space. Then a 3 person couch with desk and shelves across from this. Refrigerator with water on the top. Some shelving and a safe. Then the king size bed with small built in tables on either side with usb ports and drawers.

Our stateroom, as do most of the veranda staterooms, had an infinite balcony. We were interested to see what this was. It was pretty impressive – with the push of a button, the top of the window slides down until you have an area very much like a normal balcony on a ship. But, it is protected so no wind, it’s shady, and you have opened your room up to the outside! It gives more space in the cabin and is useful even when the water isn’t conducive to sitting on the balcony. 

The balcony area can be closed off with panels that can be opened or closed at the touch of a button. A plus on this ship, as far as I am concerned, slightly in front of the window is a black out curtain that rolls up into the ceiling and lowers to the floor, with a switch.

We stopped by our muster station and got that done in about 5 minutes. Our first lunch was at the  Oceanview Cafe, the buffet. There are about 10 huge stations there not counting the dessert and bread stations. Anything you could want almost, even grilled steaks, Mexican station, etc. It was a huge spread!!

We started  our exploration on deck 16 and worked our way down. (Deck 17 is for The Retreat guests.) Deck 16 has part of the jogging track and a hot tub. Deck 15 is the “Resort Deck”. It has the rest of the jogging track, the Rooftop Garden Grill, the Rooftop Garden area, the Sunset Bar, and the Fitness Center. The Fitness Center had lots of equipment.  We stopped at the Sunset Bar, what a fabulous area – several levels, mostly outside areas with a few covered areas, lots of little nooks for privacy or joining a few other couples. Part of it is a Rooftop Garden with lots of greenery. There are several float pools that are cantilevered over the ocean.There are some really neat pluses on this ship – infinity hot tubs look out on the ocean, most with glass panels, there are lifts to get handicapped people into the pools, lots of green spaces with chairs to have some quiet time, lots of lounge chairs under a cover, etc.  

Deck 14 has the Mast Grill, ll Secondo Bacio (a coffee bar and fresh squeezed juices), the Oceanview Cafe (the awesome buffet), the Spa, the Solarium which is an adult only pool and lounge area, SEA Thermal Suite, Spa Cafe and Juice Bar, and where the Magic Carpet was at the time. There is also the Main pool with a terraced deck. It has a huge silver octopus on one end of the deck, very nice.

Decks 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 were all cabins. Deck 6 was mostly cabins but also the Eden Restaurant which is multilevel. Deck 5 is the Theater (multilevel), The Club (a hub of activities and social interaction, morning, noon, and night), the Steakhouse, The Club, Shops, more of the Eden Restaurant, The Eden Bar, Raw on 5 Restaurant and the Grand Plaza which is multilevel.

Deck 4 had more of the Grand Plaza (this is really a nice space, multilevel and great places to sit), the rest of the Theater and the Eden Restaurant, Le Grand Bistro Restaurant, Cypress Restaurant and the Cosmopolitan Restaurant, where we ate our dinners. The Casino is also on this deck.  Deck 3 had some staterooms, the rest of the Theater and the Grand Plaza, the Martini Bar, Tuscan Restaurant, Normandie Restaurant and Camp at Sea for the kids. Deck 2 was where the Magic Carpet goes for passengers getting to the tender boats and the medical facility.

There are no water slides, etc. for the kids. There is a Camp at Sea group for 13-17 year olds, one for 10-12, one for 6-9 and 3-5 if they are potty trained. The programs look like most cruise ship programs but they do use Stem Programs (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The are also autism friendly. They base their programs on the interest of the children participating on the cruise, so it changes a little with each cruise.

The shows in the Theater were done twice a night – 7:30 and 9:30. The first night, the show was “Bridges”. The daily happenings paper said it was “a celebration of human connection set against the backdrop of some of the world’s most iconic bridges from London to Venice, New York, San Francisco and Sydney, featuring a scenic bridge as the centerpiece that transports the audience to breathtaking locations.” It was a well done musical.

The second night was “Awakening” which is “a captivating, sensory experience taking you on an eye opening journey through a showcase of surreal dreams, awakening your sensed to explore a world where anything is possible”. Not something we enjoyed but lots of people really liked it. I think our biggest issue was with how dangerously loud the sound was. I measured over 117db at one point. They have another show – Residency which is a Las Vegas style music show. We didn’t get to see that one.

We didn’t use the Casino but it was large. It is non-smoking which I thought was unusual but great. They have over 200 slot machines and 150 game tables.

I was amazed at the choices at the Oceanview Cafe. Breakfast was everything you could think of plus stations for cook to order food. They even had my favorite – sausage gravy and biscuits and grits. One lunch buffet had one station (out of the 10 or so) with only seafood – lobster, shrimp (boiled, fried, grilled, etc.), crab legs and more!! It was awesome!! We ate suppers in one of the main dining room, the Cosmopolitan. The food and choices were great! Each main dining room has the same menu.

Everyone was friendly, nice and very service oriented. We couldn’t have had better service in the restaurants, bars, shops, or anywhere. It was an awesome, great experience!!

Celebrity has a party on board called “Shine the Night”. You were to wear a metallic outfit if you had one for a party on the Resort Deck. Lots of music and some surprise music performances. It was fun!  There were also several places that had music and  dance floor. There was a piano bar, game show of trivia, lots bar tastings, lots of music options, art shows, shop options, spa options, pickleball, dance, yoga and other fitness option classes, live music, wine and liquor tastings, dance parties, comedy shows, All the activities you find on most cruise ships with their own spin. 

The ship was very pretty. The colors were subdued with tan, white and black with red and blue accents. No in your face purple, orange, etc. Very subdued and nice. They were just starting to decorate for Christmas too, which I loved. The “elves” came during the night and did gorgeous greenery with white lights and red decorations on railings, beautiful trees, etc. It was starting to look a lot like Christmas!

This ship has brothers as co-captains. One of the things the ship did for us was to take us out in the life boats and go around the ship for pictures, I’m sure they don’t usually do that, but they did for us. It was wonderful! The life boats have individual seats for passengers, which was nice. One of the captains was piloting one of the life boats, He was driving around in figure 8’s, racing the other boat, and just generally having a good time, as did all of the passengers.

We really enjoyed the trip and seeing the ship. We will be going on more Celebrity cruises, especially the Edge Class.

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The Concorde in Barbados

A couple of years ago we sailed on the Windstar Windsurf from Barbados. We stayed a couple of days before boarding, and came across this wonderful museum called the Concorde Experience. This was an amazing place, as there is a Concorde that can be toured. This is a video of our tour in the Concorde. Unfortunately, it closed in 2019, and certainly has been closed during the pandemic. We are hopeful that it will reopen. If it does, please stop by, you will love it.

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The Nordic Heritage of Viking Ocean Cruises

Viking Ocean cruises is known as the best cruise line in the world. They have won this award every year since the inception of the ocean fleet. Part of that is the attention to detail evidenced in the design of the ships and the interior spaces. This video gives an excellent insight to how Viking promotes and honors the tradition of the Nordic ancestors that gave the name Viking to this cruise line.

Being in the business of providing guests to Viking to partake of these ships is something we always look forward to. We have never had a guest return from any Viking voyage, be it on River or Ocean without singing the praises of the entire experience. Deedee and I are devoted travelers on Viking, and we are so looking forward to our Christmas Cruise on the Danube later in 2021.

Please watch the video, and I’m sure you will come away with a new understanding of why Viking Cruises is what they are.

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Recording the Viking Theme

I came across this video from Viking cruises about recording a new theme for the Viking Cruise Lines. It happened at Abby Road studios, and so has a link back to the times when so many noteworthy albums were recorded in that space. It is a very interesting look inside the recording and mixing process. The video shows the immense amount of work and talent needed to transform the notes on paper to a finished, polished recording. Remember the musicians have not seen a note of this until the first run-through. Simply amazing. Take a look, I think you will find it fascinating.

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When Cruising Returns

When cruising starts back you will see some changes. No one is being specific but they are giving some idea of the things to expect. The cruise lines are working with health experts and elected officials to return using the best and safest path for passengers and crew. There will be a “new normal”.

Ships will likely not return with full capacity. There will be limited capacity so physical distancing will be possible. There will probably be floor markers for distancing as well as plexiglass barriers and spaced out seating. There will also be areas of the ship that will restrict the number of guests allowed in at a given time such as bars, restaurants and entertainment venues.

Embarkation and debarkation will be staggered to limit the number of guests in an area. Masks (with your mouth and nose covered) will likely be required in public spaces and in situations where physical distancing isn’t possible.

Health screenings will be more comprehensive and required before boarding. Temperature checks will be commonplace – upon boarding, upon returning from a shore excursion and probably occasionally at least the first few days onboard. Some lines may require negative COVID-19 test result prior to boarding as many tourist destinations are currently doing. Crew members will be tested routinely.

Some cruise lines will do away with the beloved buffet. Some will have the buffet but it will be served to guests by PPE equipped staff. Frequent hand washing is one of the easiest ways to help prevent spread of disease so there will be more hand washing stations and hand sanitizer dispensers throughout the ship.

Shore excursions will be set up differently and likely limited in what a guest can do in a port. One cruise line that is already cruising in Europe for example, requires guests to participate in only their shore excursions and are not allowing them to go off on their own. They mean it too – one family group went off on their own after leaving with the ship excursion and when they returned to the ship, they were not allowed to re-board and their luggage was packed and brought out to them.

Muster drills will probably be via an electronic device (I’m in favor of that!) with guests visiting their assigned assembly stations to confirm their participation. This will be set up in a way to avoid the mass gathering in the ship. But they will have ways of checking your participation so don’t think you can get out of it!

Cruising will be different when we get back to it, but it will still be a great way to travel and still have fun!!

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Port Fees and Taxes

What are Port Fees and Taxes on a cruise? Port Fees and Taxes are something you pay every time you cruise. It isn’t normally included in the quoted price of the cruise. Like gratuities, it is an additional cost of the cruise. This fee may include any and all fees, charges, tolls and taxes imposed on the cruise line, by governmental authorities, as well as third party fees and charges arising from a vessel’s presence in a harbor or port. 

Each time a ship visits a port, the local authorities charge the cruise line a fee in exchange for the right to dock there and the various services associated with the ship’s visit. These fees include inspection fees, environmental fees, security services as well as docking fees and  a fee for each person on the ship whether or not they visit the port. Those costs also vary from one port of call to another. A per passenger fee is generally called a head tax. The cost covers the passengers using the local port and typically goes toward maintaining facilities that tourist use – dock improvements, police, etc.
Then there is the pilot fee. Every time a ship docks at a port, even if it is just to change berths, they are required to have a local pilot on the bridge to guide the ship. The boat that approaches the ship as it is coming in has the pilot onboard.
Port Fees and Taxes include U.S. Customs fees which covers the cost of paying the people who are at the custom desks and all the people guiding you around in the port.
Every time the Center for Disease Control does an inspection, they assess a fee based on the ship’s weight for the cost of the inspection. And the United States Public Health does unannounced inspections twice a year. The cruise line is charged for this inspection also.
In short, there are a myriad of things the cruise line has to pay for that gets passed along to the passengers. Each port has a different fee. You are assessed the fee based on the inspections done on a regular basis, security and custom people as well as what each port charges for docking.
Remember the cruise line pricing for a cruise does not include the Port Fees and Taxes. Just figure that cost into the price of your cruise when you are working out your budget.

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Awesome cruise on the Carnival Breeze!

We sailed on the Carnival Breeze September, 2019. The ship leaves out of Port Canaveral. It holds 3,690 passengers and was built in 2012 with her recent refurbishment in 2017.

The first thing we did on the ship was eat at Guy’s Burger Joint. What an awesome burger with amazing toppings and fantastic french fries! A great way to start our cruise.

We found several great places on the ship to just sit, people watch, read and be on the ocean. On both sides of Deck 5, outside of Ocean Plaza, are chairs and tables with umbrellas which are very comfortable. The pool deck aft of the Lido Marketplace Buffet Restaurant is also nice and has some covered chairs and lounge chairs to sit in. The Serenity Deck on this ship is the aft part of the ship, deck 15. Adults only with lots of lounge chairs but not shade.

We were scheduled to go to Bermuda where we had reserved a tandem electric car to explore the island. But, Hurricane Humberto went there a day or so before we left port and Hurricane Jerry was on the way there. So, they diverted us to San Juan, Puerto Rico and Amber Cove, Dominican Republic. Guess that is what you get when you schedule a Caribbean cruise during hurricane season. But, although we didn’t go where we expected, it was still a fun cruise and the ports were great!

What are the odds!?!? We were still on the way to San Juan when Hurricane Karen popped up and was headed directly for Puerto Rico, to arrive about the same time we did. And, the early morning we were to get there, there was a 6.1 earthquake 5 miles offshore of San Juan. Were we  being told something? Fortunately, the hurricane was downgraded to a tropical depression and slowed so it didn’t get there until after we left. The people who were awake felt the earthquake but it didn’t cause any damage and no tsunami. 

We had fun there walking around San Juan. We heard about a coffee shop in Old San Juan, very close to the dock, called Cuatro Sombras. Wonderful coffee and pastries! We highly recommend it!

Next stop – Amber Cove, Dominican Republic. No beach access but the pool was nice with a swim up bar and a water park. Lots of shops, but we thought they were overpriced.

Grand Turk is pretty with the colorful buildings you expect in the Caribbean. There is a Margaritaville there, nice pools and beach access with lots of lounge chairs. The sand is very soft and white. There are also many water activities, paddle board, lots of boat rides, etc.

One day we went to our normal spot on Deck 5. There was a young couple there with their one year old son who was just learning to take his first steps. The kid was cute as a button. There were several of us grandparent types sitting in the chairs. We were encouraging him and clapping for him. He would grin, clap back to us, then try even harder to perfect his walking. Have to say it was the best show on the ship.

Another interesting thing we got to do on the ship – the head chef took us on a tour of the largest galley on the ship. It was a real learning experience. Seemed like miles of stainless steel cabinets, neat as a pin, and busy. There were separate areas for prepping all the food – salads, entrees, desserts, sides, etc. And even separate dishwashing areas for china, glasses, utensils, etc. You should have seen the size of the chocolate bar they use for the Carnival Warm Chocolate Melting Cake! They make 22,000 meals every week, not counting the pub meals, barbecue and pizza. There are 190 chefs onboard. That’s a LOT of cooking!! 

We had both entrees the night we had shrimp and filet; also the night we had lobster and prime rib. Plus we had the Melting Chocolate Cake and Creme Brûlée each time it was offered. They are both awesome!

The Italian Restaurant on the ship, Cecina del Capitano, is fantastic! And if you can get in, on the days they have a pasta bar, it is also wonderful. You get a choice of pasta, sauces and added items such as mushrooms, peppers, onions, grilled chicken, shrimp, etc. Then you pick your bread. It was ready in 5 minutes and was very good. Then you could go to the buffet for dessert.

Speaking of the buffet for dessert,  the last day they had the Chocolate Extravaganza – lots of different chocolate cakes, desserts and there was a chocolate fountain that fruit, marshmallows, etc. could be dipped in. If you like chocolate, this was not to be missed!

In addition to the Guy Fieri’s burgers, the BlueIguana Cantina had a great taco bar, burritos and a few several breakfast choices. Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse had great barbecue, chicken, mac and cheese, slaw, collards and baked beans. The pizza on the ship was good too. You could take what they had or you could ask for specific toppings and they would fix it for you. The Carnival Deli also fixed wonderful sandwiches.

We really had a good time and enjoyed the cruise immensely. We will certainly have no issues putting our clients aboard the Carnival Breeze.

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Impressions of the Sky Princess

Sky Princess

In our business, we get to try lots of ships and preview many more. We do our best not to sail on any given ship more than once or twice. It’s important that we have a broad base of knowledge about the offerings from all the cruise lines. In this way we can speak from personal experience about the ship, crew, dining, and entertainment.

During the first week of December this year, Deedee and I had the privilege of being invited to an inaugural sailing of the new Sky Princess and to attend the naming ceremony after the cruise. This was a short three day cruise for the travel advisor and trade press community, so they were obviously putting their best foot forward. Having said that, this is an awesome ship.

In many ways it is a new look for Princess. Much cooler colors tending towards blues and muted tans instead of the dark woods and browns of the older ships. A very pleasing new color scheme without moving away from the understated elegance that Princess has always eschewed. 

  • Public Spaces

Our cabin on this cruise was a balcony on deck 17 mid ship on the port side. A category BD for those of you that follow such things. Again a much cooler color scheme than before. First thing is the bed. Not sure what they have done, but it was the best sleep we have had in a long time. Not to stiff, not too soft, just right. The duvet has a sheet under it which made Deedee very happy. The bathroom was not huge, but the shower was a reasonable size, although still with that damn shower curtain. The closet and drawers were redesigned, with much better ability to organize stuff. This is one of the better additions to the cabin. A decent sized desk with lots of outlets and USB ports plus some beside the bed. Yeah!! No couch in the balcony cabins, you have to go to a mini-suite or above for that. Decent sized balcony fo two people. Overall, very pleased with the cabin.

A unique feature with Princess is the Ocean Medallion. This little disc comes to you a couple of weeks before you board and is your ticket to everything that is available on the ship. Boarding is so much simpler, because you just walk up to the desk, the system reads your medallion and its done. From there, you show it at the ship and you’re in. The medallion opens your cabin door when you get very close. The little screen welcomes you and as you approach the door the door handle has a red ring. When recognition is complete that ring turns green and the door is unlocked. The medallion is your onboard purchases device, and works with the ocean medallion app. We were at the adult pool and wanted a drink. We called up the app, ordered the drinks and the waiter brought them right to us a few minutes later. This works because the system knows where you are. Meeting up with friends is also a snap, as the app can tell you where other folks in your party are on the ship. Very cool tech, and it works as advertised the majority of the time.

I also have to comment on the ship’s wifi. Best I have ever had on a ship. Now compared to land based broadband, thats not saying much, but it is reliable, and Princess doesn’t charge by the hour or gigabyte. It’s open and running 24/7. Wifi calling on the phone worked perfectly, and email and most online websites did as well. It is still satellite based, so there is a good deal of latency. When lots of people are on it, it can get SLOW, but that’s just how the technology works. 

All of the mainline large cruise ship providers now spend a lot of time and funds on the entertainment piece. Princess is certainly no exception. The broadway shows we saw were outstanding. Full of energy and great dancing. Singers were first rate. There was a show based on video games that I wasn’t certain I would like, but in fact was dazzling with the sets and visuals, and very entertaining. Comedy shows were excellent with several very good comics highlighted.

On a three day cruise, there wasn’t nearly enough time to try all the dining venues, plus we had some times we had to eat with our Cruise Planners group. We did try the buffet on the Lido deck, and it was very good. Pretty much like every other buffet on a ship. Two pizza places. One in the atrium, and the other on Lido. Of course an ice cream spot. The specialty restaurant we did get to try was Sabatini’s. We are both suckers for great Italian food. Our previous encounter on the Crown Princess left a bit to be desired. Princess has revamped the menu, and it was excellent. The dishes leaned a bit towards the Tuscan region with a smattering of Southern Italy and Sicilian available. Well prepared with great presentation, along with a wonderful wine selection. Excellent, attentive staff. Hopefully the Crown Grill measures up.

The main dining rooms were very stylish with the new color schemes and decor. Excellent service for dinner and breakfast. The menu’s were very good with delightful pairings of dishes and wines. No issues at all. 

A common problem on most ships is the lack of deck chairs around the pools and decks. On the Sky, we never felt like we were squeezed out of finding a couple of places to sit, even on sea days. The adult pool on deck 17 was by far our favorite. There were not a lot of kids on board, but we never saw one at the adult pool. In fact, this is not really a ship to entertain children. No water slides, or laser tag. There is a kids area, but its all interior space. Lots of eateries and bars all over the outside areas, and of course you can get just about anything brought to you with your medallion.

OK, I admit to being a classical music fan, and somewhat of a scotch snob, so having an amazing string quartet, and a wee dram in the atrium every evening before dinner was an absolute joy. The ladies were from the Eastern Europe countries, and were conservatory trained. It showed. The ensemble playing was superb, and the selections from Mozart to Bussoni, plus some more popular tunes were performed with emotion and precision. Did I mention that the Macallan 15 was very good as well.

Not being a gambler, the casino was not a big deal for us, however it was fairly large and looked like it had a great variety of table games and machines.

Bottom line. This is likely the best ship in the Princess fleet at the moment. Next year, the Enchanted Princess launches in Europe and is the sister ship to the Sky. As with any ship and crew, there were a few hiccups, but the overall experience was absolutely top notch. This is a ship that, as travel advisors, we will have no problem recommending to our clients.

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Interesting Things about Your Cruise Ship Cabin




 

  1. Keep your cruise papers organized. Carry a few magnets with you on your cruise. The walls of your cabin are magnetic and you can use the magnets to keep the paper you need for that day out of the stack.
  2. The bathrooms could benefit from a scented air freshener so bring one with you (not candles or anything that needs to be lit). You can hang it on the shower or towel bar and help cut down on bathroom smells. 
  3. There is room under the bed where you can store your suitcases. Some lines store extra linen there but you should be able to put most of your luggage under the bed. 
  4. Bed configuration should be specified before your cruise but if you find it is not to your liking when you get there, you can ask your cabin steward to have it changed. They can be single beds or queen/king bed.
  5. Other furniture in the room is pretty set with where it is. Most tables, etc. are heavily weighted so the don’t move in rougher seas.
  6. The tap water in the cabin is safe to drink. Ship’s water systems go through rigorous filtration and testing which is overseen by U.S. And European health agencies. So, you don’t need to carry lots of bottled water.
  7. Expect a little smaller room than your average hotel room. But they have it well arranged to utilize the space you have as well as lots of storage nooks.