Cruise Screen

Review of Costa Costa Concordia by miwend (09 May ‘07)

We went on the Costa Concordia for 11 nights around the Med. The Itinerary appealed to us as it encompassed Cyprus, Greece and Egypt and 11 nights, although not quite long enough was a good length of cruise for a quick break.

Getting to the Ship is not one of Costa’s strong points and some work needs to be done as this is the First Impression you have of Costa, we were told just to go to the Cafe around the corner for an hour and wait to be called, no real personal service was forthcoming. Once on the Ship however it became clear that this was a beautiful Ship, brand new, very clean and big.

Our Balcony Cabin was a good size with a good use of space and with all of the usual Cabin Facilities. One small criticism is that for English people there is only 1 English speaking TV channel (BBC World), not greta if you have to occupy the kids whilst you are getting ready. Our Cabin Steward was excellent, in fact if all of the Costa Crew were as attentive we would have re-booked on the spot, sadly though Service is something that Costa needs more work on, especially if it is going to Charge the prices it does for both the cruises and the extra’s.

The food and service was only adequate in the main Restaurants and even worse in the buffets. No variety of food was served from 1 day until the next with the only highlight a Hog Roast and Pasta special on the last sea day. At 4.5 Euro’s for a 330ml bottle of Beer the drinks prices were excessive with a 15% on top. Wine prices are similarly excessive. The only value was the X-L Cocktail of the day Automatic tipping cannot be taken off, it is added to your bill whether you like it or not and considering the Service not value for Money.

Cosat do try hard however to get you a good ‘Whats happening Guide’ and also a good back home leaflet every day and considering the complement of passengers were mainly German, French, Italian, English and then Spanish, Costa tries hard to keep announcements down. Excursions were very good, all of the ones we went on were well taken care of.

Entertainment again considering the language barrier was also OK in the main but again some of the headline performers needed shooting, at least we would have had some fun with them My verdict is that Costa are trying to be P+O/Princess style cruises when in fact they are P+O prices with higher priced extras and only 3 star service and food. Both P+O and Princess do not charge the prices Costa do for their drinks and extras and give far superior service www.idealcruises.com

7 Day/Night Eastern Caribbean

Michael J. Czarnecki

Celebrity Cruises is a mass-market cruise line that has made a steady and determine evolution from premium to luxury, and is delivering a quality of service far above that which is usually considered mass-market.

June 17, 2000, the date Celebrity Cruises’ Millennium made her maiden voyage, must have been a very exciting day for Celebrity as it was the first of four Millennium-class vessels that have come to define a whole new level in cruising, “premium with a taste of luxury.” At 91,000 gross tons and occupancy of 1,950 passengers, the Millennium proves that a premium cruise vacation is not reserved for only those guests aboard the smaller, pricier cruise lines.

We cruised aboard the Millennium from December 7th to the 14th, 2003, on a 7-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Ports of call included Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic; San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, USVI; and Nassau, Bahamas. The deep blue hull of the four Millennium-class ships is a nice change from the usual white ship hulls and rightly gives an air of distinction to these ships.

The Greek Officers aboard the Millennium are lead by Captain Iordanis Adamidis, Master. Unlike some ships on which the captain and officers are seldom seen in the public areas, we observed Captain Adamidis and his officers mingling with the guests and dining at the various onboard venues. We met with Captain Adamidis on the bridge of the Millennium. In 1972, Captain

damidis joined Chandris Cruises. (The Chandris Group founded Celebrity Cruises in 1989.) He has sailed the majority of Chandris Cruises’ vessels and has been the Master of every Celebrity ship except the Constellation. Aboard the Millennium, special arrangements can be made through the Photo Gallery for guests to pose for a picture with a member of the ship’s personnel of their choice.

Winnie Hung, the Social Hostess aboard the Millennium, is an outstanding example of a person in this position. Winnie is an outgoing individual with an abundance of energy. She not only took the time to meet with us personally but also arranged for us to meet with several other staff members and to tour the bridge.

Boarding a ship with the capacity of 1,950 passengers can be trying at best but Celebrity Cruises seems to have solved this problem as demonstrated on our October 2003 cruise aboard the Constellation and again on this Millennium cruise. Upon arriving early at the pier in Ft. Lauderdale, we were quickly taken into a seating area to wait for boarding. During the wait, we were very impressed with the Celebrity Cruises’ representatives who moved from person to person assisting with filling out last minute paperwork and answering questions. Their answers were thorough and their explanations clear. Their multilingual talents were also impressive. Following a short wait, we proceeded to the Priority Check-in for Celebrity Captain’s Club members. In a matter of minutes, we were checked in and boarded the ship. Once onboard, as with all Celebrity ships, we were greeted with a glass of Champagne (or if you prefer, juice).

Staterooms
The Millennium has 975 staterooms, 80% with oceanviews and 76% of those oceanview rooms having verandas. We were in a Category 2A veranda stateroom (170 sq. ft. room plus 38 sq. ft. veranda). One entire wall was glass and included a sliding glass door to the veranda. The light colored room furnishings and large window/veranda door gave the room a light airy feeling. The veranda was large enough to accommodate 2 comfortable non-reclining chairs and a small table.
At the veranda end of our room was a convertible love seat, oblong coffee table, writing desk/chair with 110/220 electrical outlets, and a large mirror above the desk. The queen size bed that could be converted into two single beds was in the center of the room with nightstands (containing two drawers each and reading lights on each) on either side of the bed. The beds rounded corners at the foot allowed for more useable space between the foot of the bed and the floor to ceiling mirror on the wall at the end of the bed.

A built in corner-shelving unit held the 20” interactive television with a small shelf below the TV. The refrigerator/mini-bar (not complimentary) was stored behind a locked wooden door at the bottom of the corner-shelving unit. The stateroom attendant will unlock this for you at the beginning of your cruise. One double closet with numerous wooden hangers made storage space for hanging clothes more than adequate. An additional single closet with a small safe, 2 shelves and 6 drawers greatly increased the storage space. Other amenities in the room included complimentary use of bathrobes and a direct dial telephone with voice mail.

In the bathroom, a large storage area under the sink and two glass triangular corner shelves made for considerable storage space for toiletry items. The shower area was large with a convenient wall-mounted shampoo dispenser. Located above the bathroom counter was a wall-mounted body lotion dispenser and wall-mounted hair dryer. A crystal-look covered container was refilled daily with cotton balls and cotton swabs.

Our stateroom aboard the Millennium was smaller by 21 square feet than our stateroom aboard the Constellation. Fortunately, this size difference was accomplished by using the extra space we had at the veranda end of our room on the Constellation rather than by taking space away from the bathroom size or closet area. The smaller square footage of our Millennium stateroom was barely noticeable. The more noticeable difference in the room sizes was a decrease in the desk space (top and shelf storage areas). Also, there was no floor to ceiling shelf unit next to the desk as was on the Constellation.

In order to avoid disappointment regarding your stateroom size, you should ask your travel agent for the actual measurements (not just the square footage) of the room in which you are booked, keeping in mind that this size includes the bathroom and closet space. Later when you are home, measure off an area by which to judge the room size. If you feel this area is going to be too small for your needs during your cruise, buy up to a larger stateroom before getting on the ship as there may be no availability in the larger stateroom categories once you are onboard. On embarkation day on the Millennium, we saw several incidents of guests attempting to upgrade their accommodations solely because they said the room they had purchased was smaller than they expected. Some were disappointed as there was no availability within many categories.

Celebrity Cruises continues to have some of the roomiest and most comfortable stateroom afloat. All staterooms no matter what the category, include a direct dial telephone with voice mail, individual safe, hair dryer, Egyptian cotton towels, complimentary use of bathrobes, complimentary 24-hour room service and refrigerator/mini-bar (not complimentary). The 20” interactive television allows guests to play casino video games, book/review shore excursions, order in-room movies ($8.99 each) and order room service. There are also several music channels on the TV including rock, jazz, classical and country.

Because the Millennium was the first of the 4 ships built in that class, it has accommodated more passengers and thus is a bit more worn than the others. In our stateroom, a metal plate that should have surrounded one of the electrical outlets was missing, the plastic hooks were broken on our bathroom waste can causing it to open wide enough to hit the toilet stool, and our stateroom carpeting was worn and stained in some areas. Fortunately, staff has worked very hard to maintain the Millennium’s appearance, and overall, it is still one of the nicest looking ships afloat.

If you are booking a balcony stateroom, ask your travel agent to try to book you into one of the staterooms that have a larger veranda size than most in the same category. For example, staterooms 6048 and 6053 have largest verandas in Category 2C due to a widening in the hull of the ship. We were in Category 2A, stateroom 8146, and it had a larger veranda than most others in that category. The same is true in each category for those staterooms with a triangular shaped veranda. Although Celebrity Cruises’ reservationists do not have this information and will tell your travel agent that the larger looking verandas on the brochure deck plans are not accurate, believe us when we tell you that on the Millennium, the brochure deck plans are accurate.

As part of Celebrity’s “Taste of Luxury”, they have added the Celebrity Concierge Class (Category CC). These staterooms are what were formally Category 1A veranda staterooms on the Sky Deck with plush amenities and priority services being added. Benefits for those guests in the Celebrity Concierge Class include fresh fruit and flowers, personalized stationery, oversized bath towels, priority luggage delivery, extended room service, a Hansgrohe massaging showerhead, and many other extra amenities. Aboard the Millennium, guests could schedule a personal viewing of a Concierge Class stateroom. You should try the Concierge Class if you are one of those people who cruise in nothing less than a veranda stateroom but want to experience a bit of luxury.

Public Areas, Activities and Entertainment
The essence of the Millennium’s sophisticated elegance lies in her three-deck atrium with its onyx staircase, softly backlit to present a warm welcoming glow. Pillars of soft white drapery surround the staircase. Many of the inside public rooms, as well as small intimate seating areas with great sea views, are located around the atrium’s perimeter on Decks 4 and 5. The shore excursion desk, guest relations desk and onboard bank are centrally located on Deck 3. Six glass elevators just off of the atrium provide oceanviews as you move from deck to deck. Many of the atrium perimeter rooms have glass walls looking out onto the atrium. The rest of the Millennium radiates out from the atrium area. For such a large ship, the Millennium is beautifully laid out and easy to get around. Almost as surprising, we seldom encountered long lines or congestion.
One of our favorite stops in the atrium area was the Cova Cafe di Milano, an area inspired by the outdoor Italian cafés. Coffees, lattés, and cappuccino are served to guests at candle-lit tables. Complimentary pastries and snacks are served in the morning and afternoon.

Also located in the atrium area is Online@Celebrity, the 24-hour Internet Café. The 20 laptop computers at Online@Celebrity are configured in such a way as to provide some privacy for each user. The only time the Internet café is closed for general use is during computer classes conducted for guests who wish to sign up. The Internet cost of .75 per minute is somewhat higher than we have experienced on other ships, however, packages are available that lower the cost down to .50 per minute.

The Millennium’s 11 passenger decks are packed with interesting and fun spots including Cards, the card room located in the atrium area that was extremely busy on our cruse due to a large number of Bridge players; Words, a two-story library; Notes, a music library with individual state-of-the-art listening stations and Apple® iPOD rental for personal use around the ship; a small but very comfortable cinema that shows first run movies; and The Conservatory, a beautiful garden area with its own floral boutique and area for flower arranging demonstrations.
The pool area on Deck 10 is very comfortable with a wide walking and sitting area on Deck 11. Deck chairs and space was abundant, even on sea days. The main pool area includes both a shallow and a large pool along with four whirlpools. A glass covered Thalassotherapy pool area just off of the main outdoor pool area was surprisingly seldom crowded. Each afternoon at sea, sunbathers were presented with cold towels, ice water and iced tea. To further heighten the pool experience on the Millennium, at 2:45 p.m., a parade of tuxedo clad assistant waiters paraded and provided sorbets that had a very cooling effect.

Celebrity Cruises’ custom-branded AquaSpa(SM) by Elemis is without question one of the best spa programs in the cruise industry. It provides guests with a serene environment where touch, texture and architectural design come together to cleanse and rejuvenate the body, mind and spirit. The 25,000 sq. ft. AquaSpa(SM) facilities include 16 spa treatment rooms, a full service beauty salon and a fully equipped fitness area. The Pilates and Yoga classes are very popular even though a small fee is charged.

Activities throughout the daytime and into the early evening include Bingo, a variety of seminars on such subjects as gemstones, health/fitness, flower arranging, and ports of call, many trivia contests and mind-teaser games and a wide variety of sports activities including a full-size basketball court, compact football, ping pong, paddle tennis, volleyball, jogging track, shuffleboard and a state-of-the-art golf simulator. Park West Gallery, an art gallery based in the United States, displays a large collection of art works from world-renowned artists as well as new artists with art auctions being held on several days throughout the cruise. The Emporium, Millennium’s duty-free specialty boutiques that line the corridors of Deck 5, have a large selection of souvenir items as well as jewelry and clothing with most shops having very reasonable prices. An activity that drew a large crowd one evening was a nicely presented fashion show in the atrium, a great three-deck location for such an event.

Celebrity Cruises has joined some of the more upscale cruise lines in presenting Enrichment Speakers. Political Analysis, Steve Schier, was on the Millennium and presented several lectures encompassing the presidencies of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Children, what children? In spite of the fact that they were seldom seen or heard, there were a large number of children on our cruise. The programs for children and young adults aboard the Millennium are well organized and seemed to be enjoyed by the children (as well as their parents). There is a teen club, The Tower, along with an area for the younger children, the Fun Factory.

There are 10 lounges/bars aboard the Millennium, each with its own distinct style and some serving specialty drinks, such as the Martini Bar and the Champagne Bar. Michael’s Club, at one time a cigar bar, is now a piano club. Throughout the ship we found numerous lounges/bars tucked away with a large variety of seating arrangements ranging from areas that could accommodate a large party to areas where two people could quietly talk. Two of our favorites were the Ocean Café Bar, a small outdoor but covered bar on Deck 10 aft, and Cosmos Nightclub (and Disco), a lounge on Deck 11 forward with panoramic views and lighting over one of the dance floors that slowly changes colors. Other lounges/bars aboard the Millennium include the Mast Bar, Riviera Pool Bar, Rendez-Vous Lounge, Fortunes Casino Bar and the Extreme Sports Bar. Starting early each evening and continuing late into the night, a wide variety of live music ranging from piano to guitar, from harp to string quartets can be found in the lounges and atrium area. We especially enjoyed the acapella singing group “Sea Tones” consisting of four young men who sang songs that took us all down memory lane. In addition to the large selection of live musical acts, a very funny late night comedy/juggling act was presented by Thien Fu, and of course, there was the late night disco.

The Celebrity Theater, the main show lounge aboard the Millennium, is designed exactly like that aboard the Constellation and, again, is one of the best planned show lounges we have seen. The main area and stage is on Deck 4 with more veranda seating on Deck 5. Seating is angled down to the stage in such a way as to make for clear viewing from almost anywhere in the theater. The production shows presented by the Celebrity Singers and Dancers were outstanding. Our favorite was “Classique: A Musical Odyssey”, a musical review with several different styles including classical and pop.

Dru Pavlov, Cruise Director, performs the undaunting job of overseeing all onboard activities on the Millennium. He is a marvelously talented gentleman who has a knack for putting guests at ease and seems to be able to be in three places at once. During a private meeting with Mr. Pavlov, we asked about the production company used aboard the Millennium. Mr. Pavlov stated that Celebrity is beginning to have their own production company to produce their stage shows in-house. They have found that land-based production companies tend to produce shows that are geared for land-based audiences. By producing their shows in-house, the shows are geared to cruise guests.

Two of the Millennium’s “Taste of Luxury” concepts are worth special mention. “Elegant Tea” was served on two occasions during our cruise, once in the Metropolitan Restaurant for all guests and once in the Olympic Restaurant for Captain’s Club members. It was a jacket required activity with all the pomp and circumstance of high tea on the ultra-luxury cruise lines. The other “Taste of Luxury” was Davanti, a boutique in which you can be fitted for custom-made clothing.

Dining
Celebrity Cruises has a well-deserved sterling reputation in the area of dining, and our experience on the Millennium only served to further reinforce this. Celebrity continues to offer both assigned meal seatings and a variety of alternative dining options. Under the guidance of Master Chef Michel Roux (who happened to be on the Millennium during our cruise), Celebrity’s culinary delights are made from scratch and seasoned with fresh herbs. The Millennium shines when it comes to food quality, presentation, variety and service.

The ultimate dining experience aboard the Millennium is the Olympic Restaurant. It is named after the White Star Line luxury liner RMS Olympic that entered service in 1911 and was a sister-ship to the ill-fated Titanic. Original panels from the RMS Olympic displayed in the Olympic Restaurant are a feast for the eyes. Reservations are required and should be made early in the cruise as limited seating does not allow for all guests to partake in this experience during a 7-night cruise. Even with a $25.00 per person charge, we strongly encourage you to try this elegant dining experience. The service, lead by the Maitre d’ Dominique but with an entire team of waiters and much tableside preparation, makes for an unforgettable evening.

The Metropolitan Restaurant, the main dining room that accommodates two assigned meal seatings, is a two-story (Decks 4 and 5) masterpiece with a gorgeous aft view. Evening meals are exceptional and are enhanced by live music.

The Casual Dining Boulevard on Deck 10 encompasses several areas and provides a variety of food options during the majority of the day and evening. The Ocean Café has breakfast and lunch buffets that include omelet and pasta/sandwich stations along with theme lunch buffets of Oriental, Mexican and Italian food. During the evening, the Ocean Café becomes a casual dining alternative complete with waiters and white tablecloths. Reservations are suggested, and there is a $2.00 per person charge. Guests choose from a several course menu. Although the menu selection is not as extensive as in the Metropolitan Restaurant, the food quality, presentation and service are still top notch. According to Sharon, the lasagna she had one evening at the Ocean Café was the best she has ever tasted. Other food options available at the Casual Dining Boulevard are a pizza/baked pasta station, soup and salad buffet, Sushi Café, and an ice cream station.

Because we used the pool almost daily during our cruise, we became very familiar with the Riviera Grill located on Deck 10 next to the pool area. That wonderful scent of outdoor grilling lured us to the delicious burgers, hot dogs and French fries on several occasions. Pizza was also available at the Riviera Grill. The location is great as it is close to the Ocean Café if you prefer to dine indoors. For the more health conscious guests, the Spa Café located in the Thalassotherapy area offers healthy spa-inspired foods such as healthy breakfasts and light meals, including smoothies. The Spa Café is located in a low traffic area and was often less busy than other dining areas.

Let’s not forget the 24-hour room service! The breakfast menu aboard the Millennium includes a variety of choices for a full breakfast, including omelets. If you make your breakfast room service order by phone or by leaving the order card on the outside of your door at night (rather than by ordering via your interactive TV), we found that you could make additions and enhancements to you order. For example, we asked for items such as fruit yogurt, bananas, and ham and cheese omelets (rather than plain omelets ). Each of our requests was honored with no hesitation. Lunch and dinner room service choices range from pasta and sandwiches to steak. We received all of our room service orders promptly and with a pre-notification telephone call to let us know that our order was on its way to our room.

Do you know about Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Escape(SM)? Celebrity EscapeSM are Celebrity’s cruises exclusively for guests over the age of 21. They are for parents who need a vacation from parenting and for guests who like to cruise without children on board. These cruises include extended hours for the pool and the AquaSpaSM, late night comedy acts including an adult themed show, a romantic Valentine’s Night at sea and an enhanced room service breakfast menu.

Do you know about Celebrity Cruises’ Captain’s Club Membership? One of the best cruise past passenger clubs is the Captain’s Club. The Captain’s Club membership is now free as opposed to the former $35.00 membership fee. There are three levels to the club based on the amount of sailed cruises, Classic Member, Select Member and Elite Member. Each level adds rewards and benefits. Priority boarding, complimentary wine tasting and one-category upgrades are just a few of the benefits. A welcome packet and invitations to various private events are delivered to your stateroom throughout your cruise. If you have cruised with Celebrity Cruises before and are not a member of the Captain’s Club, join now. It will enhance your next cruise aboard Celebrity Cruises.
http://www.cruisereport.com/

A Cruise That Care Forgot
Cruise Diary
by Linda Coffman

Carnival Fantasy docked in New Orleans

You might wonder, why take a second cruise on the same ship?

In our case, the ship was the same, but the cruise experience was quite different. We sailed on Carnival Fantasy just last year from Port Canaveral and this time we were set to embark in New Orleans.

From our home in east-central Georgia we have a number of embarkation ports within a days’ drive and New Orleans is by far the easiest for us, being Interstate all the way. Your mileage may vary, but taking to the road can prove to be a less stressful, lower cost alternative to air travel. With long airport check-in and security lines and frequent flight delays, in some cases we arrive at our destination sooner by driving than flying!

Pre-Cruise
After a day on the road, we spent two nights in New Orleans. It’s always wise to arrive in any embarkation port a day early to offset any last minute delays or travel glitches and our timing meant we were able to enjoy some New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival highlights as well as our cruise.

Embarking
If there’s such a thing as the “perfect” port in which to embark, it’s New Orleans. Carnival Fantasy was docked at the Erato Street Cruise Terminal, which opened in September of 2006. The facility includes a 1,000-vehicle secure parking garage where luggage to be delivered to the ship is offloaded inside—there’s no struggle with curbside confusion. Once in the terminal, passenger services are state-of-the-art and we were processed swiftly.

Carnival Fantasy—bow & ship’s bell*

Shipmates
It’s no secret that southerners are overwhelmingly polite and we found our fellow passengers to be exceptionally courteous. Compared with our last Fantasy cruise, there were less passengers on board, but the ship was still “full” with 2,168 (120 of which were under age 18). While passengers were mostly from southern states, we met a small group from New Mexico, another from California, and couldn’t miss a large group of Red Hat Society members. Our tablemates were four delightful ladies from Kentucky who arrived in New Orleans by train, while a high percentage of others drove to port from both close-in areas and surrounding states.

On Board Carnival Fantasy
The Ship
At 70,367 tons, Fantasy was a big step up in ship size for Carnival in 1990. She also introduced a lot of the glitter and neon glitz which became synonymous with a Carnival ship. Although large in size, when compared to today’s mega-ships, she seems much smaller. However, that size is ideal for her present 4- and 5-night itineraries. There’s still plenty of room to roam, while an advantage is that she’s easier to get to know.
 
Carnival Fantasy—Sun Deck
As we discovered last year, Fantasy received numerous upgrades during her last drydock in the fall of 2005. For teens 15 to 17, there is Club O2, their own no-adults-allowed party space. Spa Carnival has been expanded and the indoor whirlpools removed to make way for an aerobics room beneath the skylight. A miniature golf course is located in the center of the oval jogging track on Sun Deck. The secondary show lounge was reduced in size in order to expand Camp Carnival facilities, which were once woefully small. The more compact Forum Lounge is primarily used for art auctions and evening karaoke and Camp Carnival is now bright and cheerful.

To make Fantasy-class ships even better, Carnival recently announced a $250 million “Evolutions of Fun” refurbishment program, during which the line will update each ship’s name as it appears on the vessel’s hull, as well as in printed materials. When Fantasy enters drydock for future upgrades, the name ‘Carnival’ and the company’s logo will be combined with the ship’s name to provide an updated look and feel. Other planned “Evolutions of Fun” enhancements are an expansive children’s water park, a new design style and features for the pool areas, and the creation of a Serenity adults-only deck area. Alas, the guilty pleasure of the “topless” sunbathing deck is a thing of the past.

Nights Out
In a nod to our embarkation port, Fantasy embraced Big Easy style by staging a Mardi Gras. The celebration kicked off in true Big Easy parade tradition—complete with beads tossed to the revelers—as good times rolled from lounge to lounge along the promenade. With specialty drinks available at each stop along the way, it was a big hit with participants, even those accustomed to the real thing.

No less animated were American Idol aspirants who took to the too-loud karaoke microphone in the Forum Lounge every night from early evening until late. For passengers relaxing in the adjacent Majestic Bar, the arrival of singing “regulars” was groan inducing. We will concede that some of them put on pretty good performances in the Guest Talent Show, though. While we could understand why lip-sync’ers weren’t welcome, why do they not allow tap dancers?

Aside from a hopping piano bar, the most popular hot spot during our cruise was Cat’s Lounge where the superb band kept the dance floor packed. Oddly, the disco was deserted whenever we passed by.
http://cruisediva.com/

Mediterranean Cruise Review 

Silversea Cruises 

By Durant and Cheryl Imboden  August is the worst possible month to visit the Mediterranean. You can’t escape the tourist crowds, air conditioning may be unavailable or unreliable, service often suffers because of overworked staff, and you’re likely to go home more exhausted than you were before your vacation. Or so we’d always thought. 

A few years ago (in August of 2002), we went to Southern Europe for a different kind of summer holiday–a 12-day Mediterranean cruise aboard the M/V Silver Whisper of Silversea Cruises. Despite our apprehensions about visiting Greece and Italy in August, the experience was a pleasure for several reasons:  Our cruise took us to several fascinating, out-of-the-way places that were uncrowded–even in August–and which we might never have made the effort to visit on our own. 

In Venice and other popular tourist areas, we could retreat to our air-conditioned ship when we needed to escape the crowds and the heat.  Getting from place to place was easy–no crowded roads, no jam-packed trains, no hauling luggage or hiring taxis. We could sit in our deck chairs, relax on our veranda, or sleep in our comfortable suite while Captain Igor Bencina and his crew took us to our next destination. 

Service was attentive, friendly, and unhurried, with no tipping expected. Overall, it may have been the best service we’ve experienced aboard a ship or on land.  At the end of our cruise, we went home relaxed and wishing we were booked on the Silver Whisper’s next voyage. The ship and its crew had exceeded our expectations–something that’s all too rare in an era when hype is seldom matched by reality. 

In this article, we’ll tell you about our Mediterranean itinerary and life aboard the Silver Whisper. We’ll help you decide whether a Silversea cruise is right for you, and we’ll point you to cruise reviews and other Web sites where you can find more information on the Silver Whisper and Silversea Cruises. We’ve also put together a Silver Whisper Photo Gallery with captions that go into detail about the ship and the Silversea cruise experience.  http://europeforvisitors.com/ 

From Linda Garrison,
Your Guide to Cruises.

Cruises make wonderful family vacations. Large cruise ships cater to all ages and many offer interesting and/or educational age-specific children’s programs. With over 60 cruise lines and almost 300 cruise ships to choose from, selecting the right cruise line for your family is often difficult. For most families, a large ship offers the greatest variety of activities.

1) Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Cruise Lines advertises itself as the “fun ships”, and the cruise line has a variety of family-friendly amenities at its fleet-wide Camp Carnival. Carnival has scheduled onboard programs for ages 2 through 14, special shore excursions for teens, and even baby sitting (for a fee).

2) Celebrity Cruises
The Celebrity X-Club Youth Program offers family friendly cruising and activities for kids ages 3-17. Children can learn more about the world by exploring science and nature or just have fun participating in the wide variety of activities from talent shows to slumber parties. Celebrity offers in-room babysitting for a fee.

3) Costa Cruise Lines
Costa is the Italian branch of Carnival Corporation, and the ships are designed for both Europeans and North Americans. The year-round Costa Kids program offers daily activities for kids 3-17, and has youth counselors. Good choice for families who want their kids to interact with those from other countries.

4) Crystal Cruises
Crystal is a luxury line that offers a supervised children’s program whenever a large enough group of children will be onboard (holidays, summer vacations, etc.) Grandparents and parents who prefer an upscale line, but who wish to take their kids (or grandkids) along might enjoy this sophisticated line. Crystal does not set the youth program activity schedule until the ship knows the ages and numbers of kids who will be sailing.

5) Cunard Line
Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth 2 are two of the largest cruise ships afloat. They have a British flair for their children’s programs, including real children’s nurses and trained British nannies. The ships also have a teen center.

6) Disney Cruise Line
Anyone who loves Disneyworld or Disneyland will love Disney Cruises. The Disney characters entertain the kids on the ships, and there are numerous family activities. As such, the ships are much like a theme park at sea, and are geared towards family cruising. The ships have supervised children’s programs year-round for ages 3 through teens.

7) Holland America Line
Holland America’s Club HAL provides year-round supervised children’s programs for ages 5-12. Some of the Holland America ships have programs for ages 3 through teens. The ships have daily activities and a “just for kids” shore excursion on its Half Moon Cay Caribbean island.

8) Norwegian Cruise Line
NCL’s Kid’s Crew program has a playroom staffed with youth coordinators year-round. Activities are scheduled when the ship is at sea and in port for kids ages 2-17. Fun things to do for kids include dancing, arts and crafts, treasure hunts, costume-making, and games.

9) Princess Cruises
Princess expanded its youth program in 2002 to provide age-specific activities for kids 3-17. The ships also include learning activities on science, wildlife, and conservation. Teens will enjoy many of the same things they love at home–Nintendo, movies, Karaoke, and giant screen TVs. Younger kids will find plenty to do in the youth center. Princess also has full-time youth coordinators and group babysitting.

10) Royal Caribbean International
Royal Caribbean International has big ships with non-stop activities for children. The ships have those famous rock-climbing walls and ice skating rinks. The RCI supervised year-round youth program, Adventure Ocean, is targeted to kids 3 to 17 in five age groups. It promises to be both fun and educational. Group babysitting is also available.
http://cruises.about.com/