Getting to Hawaii..And the World. Best Values!

Hawaiian Sunset
Photo By  Arvind Balaraman

     Barbi and I have been feeling sticker SHOCK at airline prices from Salt Lake City to Honolulu lately.  Fuel prices continue to drive up the cost of Jet-A, and thus flights from here to there.  I have a work associate who has a son serving as a missionary in Hawaii (I Know! Tough gig, huh?), and they would like to return there with him, after he is finished with his service time.  I mentioned to him that airfare from Utah is running between $939 and over $1,200 per person. GAG...Gulp!  Then he stated something I have always known.  "For that kind of money, I might as well cruise there and back."  Uh, YEAH!

     I know this might not be for everyone, especially those who don't have to penny pinch.  But if you have 2 weeks, why not consider a round trip Los Angeles cruise to Hawaii?  Right now, in April 2013, published fares on Princess.com range from $1,695 for an inside to $2,595 for a balcony cabin.  you catch a quick $250 flight to LA, board the ship, and relax.  Two weeks of pure bliss!  No 6 hour flights (Both ways), in a cramped coach seat, where the comfort was left in the terminal.  Here, you can drink a Mai Tai. Get a Tan.  Catch a show.  Watch a movie on the big screen outside.  Visit 4 of the Hawaiian Islands and Ensenada Mexico.  I am telling you, there is no more comfortable and value based way to visit Hawaii!

     Fly to Hawaii ($1,000), Stay in a 4 star resort ($200 per person/per day), Rental Car ($40 per person/per day), and $50.00 for meals per person/per day for 7 days, and stay ONLY on Oahu (Honolulu).   You would EASILY spend $3,000 per person for the trip.  No entertainment. GAS for the rental car is expensive. That is an average of $428 per person/per day.

     Fly to Los Angeles ($250), Board the Golden Princess (4 Star Resort all by itself) and unpack in your balcony stateroom $2,595. Cost would be $2,845 per person. That's $203 per person/per day (Half the price).  And you are not limited to just 1 island, but 4.  A total of 44 hours spend between all the islands port time.  Minimum 9 hours. You can do about anything while you are there.

     So, when considering travelling to a distant land, consider cruising there.  I have a friend who does not like to fly, so they are boarding a cruise ship this month in Australia and cruising to Vancouver, British Columbia.  Travel between New York and London in 6 days. (No Jet Lag There)  Ft. Lauderdale and Rome in 14 days. Ft. Lauderdale and Manaus Brasil.  Los Angeles to Santiago Chile.  Vancouver to Beijing China. No matter the destination, a cruise ship can get you pretty dang close.

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Keeping up with Cruising

The cruising industry (Not Tom Cruise) continues to grow and keep up with the ever changing world we live in.  And though there have been "Incidents" over the last year, more and more people are embracing the excellent way to travel that we know as a CRUISE!  Unpack Once! Visit many places without having to repack, go through an airport, schedule multiple hotels, etc.  In the last 5 years, because of cruising, Barbi and I have visited 29 countries, seen things we only dreamed of, and made long lasting friends.

• More people booked on Costa for the up-coming Easter weekend than last year!
• Carnival Destiny is going through a $155M makeover and being renamed the Carnival Sunshine, and will home port in New Orleans.
• The New Royal Princess debut's next year with some of the most exciting innovation in the industry.
• Carnival Sunshine departs the shipyard at Fincantieri in Italy in April 2013 with Carnival 2.0 in force on the ship, along with 182 new staterooms.
• Norwegian Breakaway enters service in April 2013 taking passengers on 7 day fun filled voyages to Bermuda from New York City.
• Viking took possesion of 4 new ships this year and have ordered 4 more for 2014.
• Barbi and I are escorting 400 people on 2 cruises this year to Alaska and Hawaii.

I mentioned Norwegian Breakaway and Bermuda in the news briefs above.  Some people don't want to be "stuck" on a ship for 7 days.  Well, Here is an excellent adventure!  On Norwegian's itinerary, you spend 2 days sailing from New York to Bermuda, then you are "Camped" there for almost 3 full days.  Take your time and explore every nook and cranny of this pink sand wonder.  Don't feel hurried to get back to the ship! When you are tired, come back to the ship to sleep.  It is there for you. Next day, enjoy! When you depart, there is only the evening and the next full day at sea, then back in New York City. Easy access to anywhere in the world from there!



Warwick Long Bay, Bermuda (Photo By Scott Cleghorn)



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Dreams of Paradise

     I found myself in a boat with some other fun life loving people, as we headed away from the dock at a high rate of speed.  As we headed out to sea, we encountered our first wave to pass over.  Because of the speed we were traveling at, we soon found ourselves airborne, soaring high in the air, traveling what felt like a mile.  With a loud splash and quite a thud, we landed in the water.  We started cheering and woot wooting, when the boat came to the next wave...a larger one.  This one propelled us even higher.  But unlike the other flight, the front of the boat started to shift and point downward at a sharp angle.  Similar to the experience of one of my youth scout leaders, John, who was sitting on the back of a large river raft that went over a huge wake of some class 5 rapids on the Snake river in Wyoming; which when the front went down, John and all of his large framed body was shot upward and over the bow of the raft; I also was thrown higher up in the air as the boat plummeted down, nose first into the water.  My friends were scattered over a small area, as I spread my arms out and started soaring over the area of the accident.  I saw others who were sitting at tables close by enjoying a lunch, so I called down to them: "Hey! Help!  Right there!  Can you help..." Marty! Don't you have an early morning meeting this morning?  Huh?  Wha...  Oh!  Can't I get that dream back?

     I love the sensation of flying in my dreams.  It is one of my goals (Bucket List ya know), to don a wing suit, jump out of a plane, and soar for miles and miles, before being forced to pull my parachute cord and land safely.  Thankfully we have near supersonic aircraft that can take us anywhere in the world in no time at all.  This means we can visit paradise anytime finances allows us to.  The other day, I received a promotional flyer from Princess Cruises detailing a 28 Day cruise itinerary that is round trip from Los Angeles, and visits Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti, and Bora Bora.  Talk about Paradise!  Tahiti has been on Barbi's bucket list for years, and has been a 30th anniversary wish of ours as well.  Well, Number 30 is 2014..3 years away.  We got time to plan and save money.  When the adventure is $75 per day, the saving is even easier.  We can do this one!

     Some people think paradise is a hot beach.  Some feel it is exotic adventure in the orient.  Others, it would be climbing a tall mountain.  Where is your paradise?  What is on your bucket list?  Do you like to fly in your dreams too?

Excitement for Cruising comes in Waves

     Anyone who knows me, know that I am passionate about cruising.  But nothing flames my passion more, for this excellent way to travel, than announcements of new ships.  Today, Princess Cruises announced the beginning of construction for their "Next Generation" ship, which will be appropriately named Royal Princess.

     Many got very excited anticipating the first sailing of Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas, which, because of its size, has had many nicknames applied to it.  It is a beautiful ship, but moving from a 3,600 passenger vessel to over 5,000 can create some logistical challenges.  RCCL continues to improve and make this and Allure of the Seas destinations unto themselves.  But this new Royal Princess, with it's beautiful sleek lines and amazing innovations will improve upon what the Love Boat has always succeeded in delivering, an incredible and romantic escape.

     Take a look at the information on the Royal Princess link above and see pictures on Flikr.  Also see the sneek peak video on http://www.princess.com/.  One of the innovations that excites me more than a zipline is the Sky Walk. A glass floored walkway suspended over the ocean from the top deck.  Movies under the Stars will have an even bigger screen.  In fact, a lot of things will be bigger...The Sanctuary, The Piazza, The fresh water pools.  Excited yet?

     I have always wanted to be part of a maiden voyage.  I believe this one will be it!  May 2013.  Since construction is in Italy, I would guess we will see a maiden voyage in Europe.  Who wants to go?  Let us know.  Follow us on Facebook and we'll include you in the invite.

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Cruising and the Motion of the Ship

     A good friend this week has asked me to help her plan a vacation to Italy for her 50th birthday.  I think that is an awesome place to go for a milestone celebration.  I know she does not like to fly, so I asked her if she would be interested in cruising there instead of flying there.  She told me she gets extreme motion sickness, so getting it overwith in 8 hours would be preferential.

     I had never considered this aspect that keeps people from cruising.  The perception that cruise ships constantly sway back and forth and side to side would keep even one who does fine in the air and in a car from boarding, especially if they were going to be on board for 8 days straight.

     When Barbi and I boarded our very first cruise, Norwegian Cruise Lines, in Miami 2000, we truely did not know what to expect.  We were attending a meeting in a room at the very front of the ship, that had windows looking forward.  When we left the shelter of the harbor and entered the Atlantic, the front of the ship almost immediately started to rise and lower.  It wasn't that we felt it, as much as we saw it.  But because of being fascinated by the sight, we soon found ourselves feeling queezie!

     There is an aspect of being on a ship that all sailors and seasoned cruisers will tell you about.  It is "Getting your sea legs."  On that first cruise, we were able to tough it out knowing we would be in Nassau the next morning.  Interestingly, as I now look back on that trip, the day after Nassau, we were not able to get off the ship at NCL's private Island because the seas were too rough, so we circled out in the Atlantic for the day.  I remember not feeling sick at all. Ahh. Sea Legs.

     Our 2nd cruise, on the Grand Princess in 2007, we came prepared with motion sickness medicine.  This would be a 7 day cruise, with the whole first day at sea, crossing the Gulf of Mexico.  As we left Galveston, we were out on deck watching the scenery pass by, knowing there would be no troubles since we took our little pills.  Two hours later, we were falling asleep.  The next day, again after taking the pills, we could hardly concentrate on what was at the buffet, we were so drowsy.  We at length determined this really sucked, and gave up on the pills to give it a go.  What motion?  This is awesome.

     There are 2 things at play here that I want to share. 

1. The first is the Sea Legs I mentioned before.  In all the cruises we have taken since, the first day has always been the only time motion has bothered us.  On subsequent days, we continue to notice it, but our bodies quickly adapt to the movement, and we move with the ship. We are the ship. The ship and us are one!  When we get off the ship, we continue to sway, even though the land under us does not.  This can be freaky and interesting at the same time.
2. Ship Design.  I have never been able to confirm this, but I strongly believe it had a lot to do with the differences between Norwegian 2000 and Princess 2007.  The Grand Princess has Wings!  Really!  They are really called stabilizers.  When the ship encounters swells that the captain determines is causing too much movement in the ship, he deploys the stabilizers.  These wings extend from the ship, giving the appearance of wings under the water, greatly reducing the movement of the ship side to side and up and down.

     Should you give cruising a try, but are worried about motion sickness, come prepared. Whether you take an over the counter pill, have your Dr. prescribe a patch, or you use pressure wrist bands, you always want to insure your vacation will be an enjoyable one.  I would also say, once you feel comfortable, try it without any of these items.  I believe you will find your sea legs quickly and you will begin to laugh as you try to walk down the hallway, but you cannot do it walking a straight line.  There is a cruise ship joke about that.  The drunk man can walk straighter than one who is not drunk.



Carnival Splendor Heading for Mexico



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What's new on the water?

     This year will usher in many exciting enhancements in the cruise industry, which will also bring with it, movement in technology, luxury, and grand achievements.  15 new cruise ships are scheduled for delivery this year. 

     Today we saw the christening of the Disney Dream, which is the first new Disney cruise ship in more than a decade.  But as with all things Disney, prepare to be amazed and entertained.  One of the best inclusions of technology is the virtual port holes on inside cabins.  HD cameras mounted on the outside of the ship, show a real time view of ocean.  Now your inside cabin has become an outside cabin.  Cool, huh?  Add to this the AquaDuck, a water coaster, and fun has just taken a new level.  She will call home port in Port Canaveral Florida.  Check it out...and don't forget to include some time at the Magic Kingdon since you'll be there.

     May 1 will debut the Carnival Magic.  With innovations never seen before, like a suspended ropes course, outdoor weight lifting area, dual water slides, and a 500 gallon dumping bucket, Carnival's mantra of "All for Fun, Fun for All" will deliver on that promise.  She will debut in Europe, but will call home Galveston Texas.

   In July, we all celebrate a new Solstice Class ship, the Celebrity Silhouette, with its home port in Bayonne, N.J.  It will be different from its sister ships with the Lawn Club Grill, Private alcoves, and an art studio.  The Caribbean will be even more exciting with this new ship.

     If you have ever considered a river cruise through some of Europe's most storied and romantic water ways, 7 of the new ships this year are made for traversing in elegant style.  Be on the look out for new ships through AMAWaterways, Viking, Avalon, and Uniworld.

     For small luxury cruising, Oceania, Ponant Cruises, and Seabourn will be adding new ships to spoil you rotten and take you places that the large vessels cannot go.  Here you will be treated like a king and not be part of a vessel that hosts thousands, but hundreds instead.  There is something valuable about that kind of intimacy, that everyone should experience.

     This is why cruising is so much fun, and always getting better.  Besides new ships coming out yearly, existing ships are in a standard rotation of being refurbished and improved.  As an example, Princess Cruises, in the last few years, has been revamping and improving their fleet of ships by adding Movies under the Stars, The Sanctuary (An adults only area) and updating interior areas, in addition to launching new ships in 2013 and 2014.

     In our experience, you can almost never go wrong by crusing as a vacation.  check it out!

01-20-2011 - UPDATE
     Oceania Cruises took delivery of the new 66,000 Ton, 1,250 passenger Marina yesterday.  1 Day til the maiden voyage.  Oceania Blog

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