Tom Baker "World's Leading Large Ship Specialist"

Luxor on the Nile...

2009-07-02T08:38:00.001-07:00

The Nile River is the longest river in the world and flows from lower Egypt in the Mediterranean through Egypt, the great Sahara Desert, and into the Sudan. We will focus on Egypt and the wonderful cities created in ancient times during the times and ruling of the great Pharaohs.

Our Nile Cruise began in Luxor. It is really the Capital of the ancient cities with Karnak Temple, The Luxor City Temple, the Avenue of the Sphinxes, an amazing museum, The Valley of the Kings, Queens, Nobles, Queen Hatsepshut's Temple, The Colossus of Menmon, and so much more. It is a place that having two days stay (normal for a 7-day Nile Cruise), is just not enough. The visitor only touches on the history and antiquities of this major area of importance.
The history of Egypt is told rather matter of factly by guides of Islamic background who do not elaborate on details that are not in line with today's religion. Guides of other religions will likely focus on the details of ancient life in more detail making the civilizations of old seem less barbaric and more advanced. It is unique to hear different perspectives based on the guides personal insight. By the way, this is no different than any other travel experience or guide. Experience shared with the guest is largely based on the guides own input!

I must confess that Luxor is overwhelming but incredibly exciting. Not only does it offer great sightseeing and history but it sits along the busy banks of the Nile which is quite verdant, filled with gorgeous palms, plantings, flowers, and the amazing city of Luxor. This city offers great shopping, restaurants (not of US standard), and so much more.

A night visit to the Karnak Temple for the Sound & Light Show is a must see.

My favorite was the Valley of the Kings-but more on that tomorrow....

A Nile Cruise-How Do I Select My Boat?

2009-06-18T08:12:00.000-07:00

A Nile Cruise is absolutely the BEST way to see the historic and important sights of Egypt. Choices range from 3,4 or 7 days and sail from Luxor or Aswan. Luxor is generally a less expensive flight and a nice place to start your Nile adventure. Your stops shouls include: Luxor, Aswan, Edfu, Kom Ombo, and an excursion to Abu Simbel near the bottom of Upper Egypt.
There are nearly 400 boats plying these waters and a choice might be hard at a glance... Whatever you do, DO NOT pick a 4-star rated boat. It will be below standard and less than Motel 6 variety. You must pick at least a 5-star Standard boat which includes these fine boats equated to a standard Shearton Hotel- Emilio Travel’s Domina Prestige, Aurora, Sherry, and the Diamond. If you want a leap forward, pick a 5-star Deluxe boat which equates to a Hyatt, Marriott, or Intercontinental Hotel and includes these fine boats-Amarco 1, Radamis I and II, all of the Travcotel and Jaz Cruises boats, Sun Bay, and Sonesta Sun goddess. The highest category is 5-star Premium/Luxury which is the elite class of boats equating to Four Seasons and includes these fine boats-Abercrombie& Kent Sun Boat III and IV, Oberoi Zahra, Sonesta Star Goddess, and the Sonesta St. George.
My personal pick would be to stay in the 5-star deluxe category to esnure a perfect expereince and afforadable one for most. My personal favorite in this clas is the Amarco 1. It is the only boat that borders into the luxury class, offers a served dinner, has elevator lifts, and has accommodations for handicapped guests. It is priced more afforadably than osme luxury boats but has all the amenities. It also has won-BEST NILE BOAT for a number of years and was completely refurbished form top to bottom in September of 2008.
Going back to the experience though-one must keep in mind that most boats offer limited menus, buffet service for meals, have instant coffee, expect slower than normal service, being tied up with a number of other boats, sometimes a dusty boat-it's hard to keep them clean since it does not rain and there is always deisel fuel odors from other boats floating around outside. A Deluxe boat eliminates many of these issues but a knowledgeable agent can make the Nile experience GREAT for you if they know and have been on this cruise.
Regardless, this is an incredible, relaxed way to see Egypt. It is a refuge from the hustle and bustle of shopping, sightseeing, and a beautiful trip to take. The Nile region is absolutely beautiful. You can check out my pictures at www.CruiseCenter.Smugmug.com
Most boats have their Egyptologist/guides travel along with the guests to give more insight to guests informally on the boat and help planning any optional tours whch might include, hot-air ballooning in Luxor, A tour to a Nubian Villiage, a visit to the Valley of the Queens or Nobles, etc.. Also, when picking a boat, select one that was built in the last few years or recently refurbished or rebuilt to ensure top quality. The older and less refurbished the boat, the less likely it is you are going to be happy...
The other factor to keep in mind is that most beverages are not included. You will pay for coffee, juice, bottled water, and all alcoholic drinks during non-meal hours. This is standard practice in Egypt. Alcohol is quite expnesive too with drinks ranging $10-$20 USD depending on the grade of alcohol. The quality of bar service is also sketchy. This is an Islamic country where the government really disuades the consumption of alcohol, makes it expensive so the common Egyptioan will not consume, and also pricing keeps many tourists from purchasing. Egyptian alcohol is not very good but their beer is tasty. You may bring your own alcohol on the Nile boats and consume in your stateroom, however, you must purchase this at the arrival duty free airport shop at the Cairo International Airport and bring it in your packed suitcase.... That's a lot of extra work!!!
You are also limited in your luggage allowance to send through a total of 44 pounds via Egyptair's standard inra-Egypt flights. This sounds imposing but it is actually easy to do since you wearl light layers throughout the trip. You will want to save some room for exciting Egyptian souvenirs...
Tommorrow, I will cover the sights of the other ports of call-stay tuned!

Off To Luxor & The Nile...

2009-06-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

After 4 days in busy Cairo, it was a welcomereleif to fly to Luxor to board our Nile Cruise Boat. I will go into the Nile Cruise Boats later and tell you how to pick one...It's actually easy as the choices for high quality are few!
More on that later...

As most US tourists arrive in Egypt at alexandria or Port Said, their choices for sightseeing are limited to a day or two only with Cairo, the Primids at Giza (on the outskirts of this massive city), and the great Egyptian Museaum in the heart of Cairo being their only choice for seeing Egypt. This is a shame as the true beauty of this land is found deep into the heart of Egypt and found along the Wotld's longest river, The Nile!

Most Nile cruise programs begin in Aswan or Luxor. The choices are 3,4 or 7 days for the most part. I sugeest a minimum of 4 days, however, prefer 7 to really give the traveler a chance for some neede relaxation and the opportunity to absorb all the history, culture, and sightseeing one will take in.

Our flight to Luxor left on Egypt Air from the new and gorgeous Terminal 5 in Cairo. It was a quick 45 minute flight on a very clean 2 by 2 seat airliner that was clean, comfortable, and exceeded expectation. Once we landed in the barren sesert of Luxor, it was a quick 20 minute motorcoach ride to our Nile Boat found just outside historic Luxor. The city is lines with palms, bouganvilla, flowers, and is quite clean compared to Cairo. The Nile creates a fertile region around it with much verdant farm land, beauiful plam trees, and villiages. It is quite attractive and the stark reality of the barren rich gold sand of the Great Sahara Desert is always just beyond reach of this river oasis. The city of Luxor is know as one of the former kingdoms of the Great Pharohs. The Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple are two of the most remarkable sights to see. I personally thought the massive Karnak Temple with its massive carved columns and obelisks was an engineering feat beyond imagination. The Luxor museum is worth a vist, and shopping for the famed Egptian historical items of Papyrus, Gold, Perfume, and Alabaster are highlights in the tourist rich city. Visiting Luxor is like taking a step back in time. You feel a more relaxed atmosphere among the people. They are farmers, operators of smaller business, and in general leave you to feel that they are an era (or two) away from the lifestyle of Cairo. Taxis are ancient. My rides to local markets usually took place in non aircoditioned 27+ year old Peugot station wagons-LOL! Roadside transportation of produce and materials is by cart, donkey or camel...
The main city of Luxor is found on the East Bank of the Nile. It is here where most cruise boat companies tie up their boats. It is common for 4-6 boats to tie together which allows you to see how the "other half" live. It is sometimes confusing as you don't know your own boat until you arive in your own boat lobby and boats chnge position frequently making the changes to new boats docking against you an ever changing scenario. The issue of privacy also becaomes interesting when your boat is sandwiched between two other boats wherein your picture window or french balcony becomes a window to window view of another boats guest stateroom...
The Tourist Police are evident in Luxor with armed guard stops everywhere. The Nile Boat docks are also found in private cluster enclaves where the area is also heavily guarded for guest security. I found Luxort to be charming, safe, somewhat relaxed and highly recommend the night time Sound & Light Show at Karnak Temple along with the coveted West Bank tours to the incomparable Valley of the Kings, Queens, Nobles, Queen Hatsepshut's Temple, The colussus of Menmon, and More... I wil cover these exceptional tours on our return visit to Luxor at the end of our Nile Cruise as these were the sights that blew my mind...
Now, I have joined my Nile Cruise Boat. The Emilio Cruise-Domina Prestige. This five star-standard boat is one of the cleanest, most modern, offers some of the largest cabins, and top notch facilities of any boat on the Nile. It is only 5-years old and kept in good shape by its proud owners. The Domina Prestige has won more Gold Standard awards for its kitchen cleanliness than almost any other boat. As a matter of fact, it only needs one more Gold Standard Award to acheive the pinnacle Award-Platinum. There is only one other boat EVER to acheive that coveted title. The next blog will cover the Nile Cruise experience and we will continue on to more ports-of-call along the Nile with our Egyptologist guides and exciting Egypt experience...

My June Tour To Egypt-amazing!

2009-06-15T07:45:00.000-07:00

It has been a few weeks since my last blog but I have returned from a nile cruisetour to Egypt. I must admit that it was one of the most exciting trips I have taken in years.
Egypt is one of the few destinations filled with artifacts and a history going back more than 5000 BC. It is an exciting, rugged, harsh, hot, congested, but magical place.
I have only been to Egypt on three prior visits but this was my most comprehensive and complete to date. I am going to break this blog into sections to ensure I can cover the main components which are Cairo and The Pyramids, Luxor and The Nile Cruise, and the Nile Cruise Boat experience...
So let's start with Cairo...
After arriving in a 12:40am on my British airways flight from London, I was very happy to find my transportation and local guide standing beyond the medical screening area (checking for H1N1 Flu) holding a sign and handing me my Egyptian Visa stamp to clear Egyptian customs. It was a seamless process. He took us to baggage claim and within a half an hour, we are off in our heavily air conditioned mini-van towards our hotel in Giza on the outskirts of Cairo. We were booked a the 5-star Sofitel Le Sphinx Hotel just less than half a mile from the Great Pyramids. Our ride took nearly an hour in modest traffic and I was surprised that the streets were quite busy as it was Friday and the Egyptian weekend. We arrived about 2:30am and off to bed it was. The Sofitel is one of the better resort hotels at Giza. There are only three for American Tourist consideration. They are the Movenpick, Le Meredien, and the Sofitel. These are the 4-5 Star quality. The other hotel property option across the roadway from the Great Pyramids is the historic and luxury hotel called The Oberoi Mena House. To have a more luxurious option, one must go to a high luxury hotel deep in the noise and congestion of Cairo and does not offer the same convenience to the Great Pyramids.
The Sofitel was just fine although it felt like a throwback to the 70's with a few 21st century twists of decor thrown in for updating. It would not qualify for a 5-star hotel in the US (I give it a 4-star rating myself) but had a lovely pool area with attractive and beautifully landscaped grounds. My room had excellent and very comfortable European style bedding and great A/C. I was happy! While it is not advised to drink the tap water anywhere in Egypt, the Sofitel cleans and purifies its water three times before sending to a guest room. I used bottled water for brushing my teeth and drinking only. The hotel offered daily full buffet breakfast which was more European in style and filled with Egyptian specialties. I was really hoping for the Sofitel European touch, however, this property and its chefs are all Egyptian making the food closer to home than the Sofitel European standard. The food was adequate and plentiful in offering. The coffee was quite good. The Italian Restaurant seemed to please most of the guests and I thought it was just okay. A few of us ventured over to the Oberoi Mena House to its Indian venue called Mogul where the cuisine and service exceeded expectation. It was also quite pricey at $70 USD per guest including a nice wine-high for Egypt but not the US or Europe...It was worth every penny.
The next day our group of 44 was divided into two very nice motorcoaches where our two exceptional Egyptologists, both named Mohammed, would take us to deep into the congested, dirty city of Cairo-home to nearly 20 million inhabitants. Nearly 90% of the population are Islamic Muslims and practice the traditional robe and head covering for woman. The other 10% of the population are Christian and other religions. Cairo has thousands of Mosques and feels like a city torn on the edge of the 21st Century meeting the old world of 1000 years past. It is amazing and a cultural kaleidoscope. We won't even go into old Egyptian history as that is something beyond anything that exists today. We visited the ancient Citadel overseeing the city on a very clear day, the Mosque of Mohammed Ali (not the boxer), and then into the city for the Egyptian Museum-one of the BEST in World. This is the home to most of King Tut's Tomb artifacts and the great Egyptian history. It is a visit that is necessary but overwhelming. We had a short lunch on a Nile Boat and a visit to the ancient Bazaar of Khan El Khalili for some bargaining and shopping old world style, and then back the to Sofitel to beat the afternoon heat and a short rest before we took off for an evening trip to see the famed Sound & Light Show at the Pyramids of Giza.
The next day we were off early to see the ancient sites of Memphis, Saqqara. It was an amazing day and the Step Pyramid of King Zozer at Sakarra was the highlight for me. The weather in Cairo was hot with temperatures up to 96 degrees during the day but cooler at night down as low as 71 degrees. Later in the afternoon after lunch we had an afternoon visit to the great Pyramids at Giza where the group had a chance to ride camels in the barren desert. We had free time to walk around the great Pyramid of Cheops and then down to the Sphinx sitting at the foot of Cairo and the desert. It is amazing to see how the Egyptians have expanded the city deep into the desert. The land for about 80 kilometers around the Great Pyramids is protected desert to ensure that the area and tombs of this area are not built on. This is one of the Great Wonders of the World and worth a visit. No matter how many times one has been to Egypt, the Great Pyramids never seem to stop amazing even the most jaded of traveler. After this hot afternoon event, we headed back to the hotel to shower and freshen up for our dinner cruise down the Nile River complete with Belly Dancing and Whirling Dervishes...
Many of our guests who were first time visitors to Egypt were shocked at the prices for alcohol. As one must know, it is forbidden for Muslims to consume alcohol. The Egyptian government makes it difficult to bring alcohol into the country and thus, it is VERY pricey. A standard cocktail can cost up to $20 USD!
After our evening dinner cruise, we headed back through Cairo's horrid traffic where the streets, shops, and restaurants were filled with many of this cities 20 million inhabitants. It was amazing though to have both coaches have a police escort back to our hotel making the ride a bit faster than it could have been.... Also, most tour groups and motorcoaches will always have an armed escort on the bus accompanying the group traveling to ensure their safety. After all, there have been a number of terror related incidents and Egypt is doing its best to protect its millions of annual visitors and chief contributor to its economy. I must tell you that I felt safe at all times and the people of Cairo and Egypt were friendly and never made me feel uneasy. I am. however, glad to know we had the added protection at all times.
PART 2 is coming Next with a trip to Luxor and The Nile Cruise....

What Is The Difference?

2009-05-22T07:48:00.000-07:00

As many cruise lines slash fares to keep passengers vacationing at sea, it has become more and more confusing to determine the brand differentiation especially for the first time cruiser. While there are plenty out there who say "A Cruise Is A Cruise", I do not prescribe to that nor does the individual cruise line that has spent billions of dollars on branding and building specific types of ships that cater to different types of lifestyles, needs, and vacationers.

I did a cruise show this week and was horrified to find the number of brand samplers who have cruised the gambit from Carnival to Holland America and could not really determine what their own niche was nor did they feel they had proper advice on qulifying experiences to better enhance their vacation.

The cruise industry executives repeatedly tell me that there is a trend among internet purchasers of cruises to just buy cheap. This means in many cases the vacationer has no real guidance to qualifying their experience or finding the right choice. While some of you might say, I know what I want and can figure it out negates the true experience of an experince unbiased travel professional who has a career learning the ins and outs of the cuise busines and really understands the individual brands to help the guest make the right vacation, destination, and cabin choice for his vacation. By the way, the advise is usually FREE and much better than an online biased opinion or a direct cruise line booking who has one single agenda-sell that brand only.

I am going to talk about three large ship categories today. They are the Contemporary (mass market), Premium (upper market), and Luxury (high end), large ship experience and the lcruise lines in-order of quality (my opinion).
I will cover the nuances, strengths, and weakneses of each so here goes!

Contemporary-Mass Market Cruise Lines

Carnival-The Fun Ships
Strengths- affordable, relaible, excellent food, service, and entertainment, very good Camp Carnival for kids, always fun and vibrant with great live music onboard and fun casinos
Weaknesses- caters to a party crowd with many smokers especially on shorter cruise itnieraries, fleet is not consistent and has many older ships (Fantasy Class),
Best Ships To Sail On: Conquest Class or Spirit Class and the NEW Carnival Dream
Rating: 3-4 Stars

NCL-Freestyle Cruising
Strengths- Freestyle dining with many alternative fee based options, incredible suites and penthouses, spotlessly clean ships, fun atmosphere, chic Vegas style decor, and affordable
Weaknesses- service can be spotty, some of the older ships have tiny cabins and awkward layouts, entertainment varies from ship to ship.
Best Ships To Sail On: The Jewel Class and the New Norwegian Epic
Rating: 3-4 Stars

Princess- The Love Boat
Strengths- overall decor is consistent throughout the fleet, large ships with varied entertainment programs, affordable long cruise itineraries, food in alternative venues is excellent, Movies Under The Stars
Weaknesses: spotty service and food, some older ships need refurbishment, used to be a premium cruise line but lowered itself to compete directly against Royal Caribbean creating massive ships with up to 3600 passengers.
Best Ships To Sail On:The Coral or Island Princess and the smaller Princess ships (ex: Rennaissance Class)
Rating: 4 Stars

Royal Caribbean-The Nation of Why Nots
Strengths- excellent ship design, architecture, and layout, incredible facilities and array of cabins, best contemporary branding giving the impression of upscale for the mas market, excellent childrens programs, past passenger program, and untouched exciting onboard cruise atmosphere..Caters to all age groups
Weaknesses- some older ships are worn and tired, food is inconsistent ship to ship, company management is very arrogant and elitist-sorry!
Best Ships: Voyager and Freedom Class, and NEW Oasis of the Seas
Rating: 4-Stars
Premium- Upper Market Cruise Lines
Celebrity Cruises-Starring You
Strengths-gorgeous marine architecture, contemporary style, innovative cuisine, personal service, lots of fine attention to detail, constant refinement of product
Weaknesses-older ships are worn, brand gets confused often with parent company Royal Caribbean, and prices are often too low for quality product offered
Caters To: a more mature crowd 57+
Best Ships: Solstice Class and Millennium Class
Rating: 4-5 Stars

Holland America Line-A Signature of Excellence
Strengths- reinventing a traditional company into a relevant leader, warm and gracious service, excellent food, spacious cabins, well appointed, decorated, and quality enrichment programs like Culinary Arts At Sea, Onboard Lectures, Microsoft Digital Workshop,
Weaknesses- older ships needs refurbishment but works are underway, ships are too low key at night, entertainment is spotty, sometimes language with Asian staff can be a barrier, and prices are too low for quality given driving in a lesser caliber crowd at times. This causes the brand to suffer from differentiation.
Caters To: a more mature crowd 60+
Rating: 4-5 Stars

Luxury Cruise Lines (The Ultimate Experience for the Sophisticated Traveler)

Regent Seven Seas-Luxury Goes Exploring
Strengths- large ships catering to only 500-700 passengers in all-suites, all inclusiveness, open seating, elegant atmosphere, multiple dining options, casual country club dress code, high crew to passenger ratio, attempt to deliver a most personal guest experience. Equates to a Four Seasons Hotel and is expensive.
Weaknesses-service is sometimes spotty, ships seem like a ghost town at night due to large public areas and few passengers, and entertainment is VERY low-key
Caters to: 65+ and affluent to wealthy
Best Ships: ALL three are superb!
Rating: 5-stars

Crystal Cruises-The World's Best Cruise Line
Strengths- overall winner of top luxury awards in the entire travel industry for more than 15 years, superb food and service, large ships catering to well dressed crowd, exceptional alternative dining venues, the BEST enrichment program of any cruise line, excellent entertainment options, ships are spotlessly clean, very high crew to guest ratio. Equates to For Seasons/Ritz Carlton crowd and is expensive.
Weaknesses- standard cabins are smaller than competition, two seating’s for dinner, some itineraries are redundant to high number of repeat guests but this is due to it being only a two ship operation.
Best Ships: All-there are two and they are excellent
Rating: 5-6 Stars

I Went to Mexico During The Swine Flu...

2009-05-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

It was perfectly fine. I flew to Cancun to head down to the Riviera Maya, a newlt developed stretch of beach with upscale resorts about 20 miles South of Cancun. The noticeable difference was lack of tourists and an empty flight from Houston. Nobody on my plane wore a mask but I did see hand sanitizer. I left in the height of the flu pandemic as the news got worse on a daily basis from the WHO, the news from Mexico became less intense with far fewer deaths and cases than were initally reported. The disparity of reporting was so off the wall, I did not trut anytihng being said. The lack of cases in the US also caused me to wonder if this was really all that bad...

So, Bravely off to Mexico we went to samply the new luxury resort-Banyan Tree at Maykoba. This new resort is the first by the Asian chain of smal all villa resorts built in North America. Acapulco is opening soon... The Banyan Tree is Thai run and designed with only 132 villas ranfing from 1150-3000 square feet each. Each villa has a courtyard with a private pool and is situated on a natural mangrove offering a truly unique setting. This is not a typical resort. You get to your villa by boat, electic cart, or personal use bicycle. The resort is spread over a huge area and is part of a 600 acre larger resort that currently include a much larger Fairmount property, a Rosewood Resort, and a a World Class golf course. It is set in a dense natural jungle with mangroves teaming with wildlife and all resorts have beachfront access with swimming pools, restaurants, beach clubs, and glorious poweder sand beached no longer found in Cancun to the North!

The resort as all in the area had less than 10% occupancy. I was told tourism died overnight throughout Mexico with the closing of all bars, clubs, and most restaurants. The US government request for non-essential visits to Mexico did not help. There was alos not one confirmed case of swine in the Yucatan. The cruise ships, tourists, and everyone else stayed home... This recent flu event has caused catostrophic economic impact Worldwide as commerce slowed or stoped in many places across the globe due to the media fear created over false information.

So, all of this aside, I enjoyed the most glamerous resort with personl service, gourmet food incuding a fabulous Thai Restaurant sitting on a mangrove with crocodiles-ooh!, A stunning beach club for sunning, excellent shrimp tacos, a fantastic Thia spa with gorgeous Thai attendants, bicycle rides from my villa to the beach, walks along the beach at sunrise and sunset, naps in the pavilion next to the private plunge pool, and more gourmet dining-enough to satisfy the most discriminating palate. All in all it was a perfect 10 for a resort stay and NO SWINE FLU!

I encourage travelers to make the trek back and support Mexico whose economy has come to a halt. Go to their safe and hospitable resorts, stay away from those border towns though... PErhaps take a Summer cruise to the Yucatan to experience the beauty of Mexico's beaches and Mayan culture...

It was a wonderful stay for 5 days during a World Crisis....

Alaska-Is the Cruise Industry Coming To A Slow End

2009-04-23T07:48:00.000-07:00

2009 will prove to be the worst year for sales and revenues for the once incredibly popular Alaska cruise and tour business. While this is shocking, the reason is obvious. The great citizens of Alaska voted a per passenger head tax into existence two years ago with give intent to improve the ports, roadways, and infrastructure for tourism, however, that has not come to fruition. What has happened is that the cruise lines have incurred a huge tax burden which has cost them on the operating side and also have passed on a significant cost to the traveler. A 7-day Alaska cruise has taxes and government fees nearly twice that of any other destination. After a full year of this exorbitant taxing, business has slowed to a crawl... Cruise lines have had to drop prices to an all time low making an Alaska cruise less expensive than virtually ANY Summer Caribbean cruise. The demand is equally soft on the ever popular cruise tour (land and sea) portion of the cruise business too. The taxes have had such an impact on sales and revenues that all cruise lines with the exception of NCL have pulled a ship out of the market for 2010. It is expected that in 2011, capacity will be again reduced due to this pending tax crisis. I don't blame the cruise lines or the consumer for holding back. When shopping for cruises today, everyone is looking at the bottom line. When taxes are so disproportionate to other destinations, the decision for the guest to decide on other places to cruise or travel becomes easier. Oh, don't forget that reduced capacity creates business downturn for the Alaska ports-of-call, local business, tour excursion operators, and major ports like Seattle and Vancouver... Shame on Alaska for its greed and non-use of the taken tourist tax funds...

MSNBC Cruise Report-Good or Bad?

2009-03-25T14:14:00.000-07:00

I am amazed how many comments I had today about how people thought that the MSNBC Peter Greenberg report about the state of the cruise industry, filmed onboard the Norwegian Pearl, was actually a bad reflection of the industry. Actually, I felt differently. I felt it showed the business was run like a business with revenue goals to achieve profitability (smart move), a business that admitted its errors and losses with the Hawaii project (smart move), a company that showed a detailed behind the scenes look at a well run product (smart move), and a company that showed people have a great time and receiving GREAT VALUE for what they paid. The guests were HAPPY...Isn't that what counts too? In the end, my impression is that this cruise industry is a business for profit, it is faring better than many industries, and the revenues generated onboard help create profit and offset the sometimes very low cost of the cruise. The onboard selling of bingo, drinks, art, gold by the inch, etc. is nothing new. This practice has been around since cruising started. Nonetheless, I applaud NCL for opening themselves to most everything the media wanted for this "expose" and for showing a well run onboard product in the contemporary market. They also finally explained that Norvirus is a flu introduce by unwell passengers boarding a ship and spread 23 million times a year on land and not a cruise ship bug...Happy Cruising!!! It's still the best vacation!!!!

Of “Epic” Proportions

2009-03-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

With the announcement and unveiling of the massive superliner Oasis of the Seas coming this Winter, the cruise industry is seeing a radical change in maritime design and innovation. While this beomoth promises to be something unlike any cruise ship we have even seen, it creates a whole new window of opportunity for today’s traveler. It also sends experienced cruisers looking for intimate vacations to smaller cruise products like Azamara and Oceania Cruises where guests can travel with less than 700 passengers vs. the Oasis nearly 6000 passengers…
Today’s blog focuses on another superliner that will no doubt capture the public imagination as it offers a truly resort like atmosphere and also takes maritime design to a whole new level. The very innovative NCL has been unveiling its plans of the last several months for its forthcoming “one-of-a-kind”, 150,000 ton, Norwegian Epic. This 4200 passenger vessel is already taking the industry by storm by introducing a cabin concept that goes outside the traditional box. The new “wave” concept gives a curve to every cabin giving the appearance of more space. The ceilings are taller with a domed and back lit effect which also enhances the spacious feel. The “Wave” gives a very interesting look from a contemporary design flow and will undoubtedly be an exciting change for the cruise industry. Moreover, the traditional box like bathroom will be reintroduced into three separate components with a curved opaque glass wall with a shower stall on one side of the cabin and the toilet in another compartment on the opposite side. The sink will be in the cabin in an open area away from the bed and living area. While this is quite unconventional, it is becoming popular in new hotel room design around the World. The most interesting aspect is that this new design creates a far more spacious feel to the overall cabin upon entering.
The most interesting fascinating introduction will be a new very small 100 square foot Studio Stateroom that features ultra contemporary design , amenities, and mood lighting. These 128 studios feature a large porthole onto a cabin corridor and allows these budget conscious guests access to a 2-level “Living Room “ that has a concierge, special room service offerings, and more…
The newest feature of the Norwegian Epic is its new Ship within a ship sitting high atop the bridge called the Courtyard Villa. 60 exceptional villas and suites will have a private dining room, pool, gym, spa, and sunning area away from the activity and bustle of the rest of this ship. While NCL introduced this concept on the Norwegian Jewel Class a few years ago, this is taking the concept to a whole new level. It will clearly offer a ship within a ship concept with a capacity of nearly 200 guests occupying this massive and specially dedicated suite space…
NCL is the pioneer of great innovation and I will assuredly be talking about the Norwegian Epic as more and more features are introduced over the next two-months…

Make It a "Great Day Houston" Cruise

2009-03-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

We are launching a very exciting cruise today at CruiseCenter wherein the Channel 11-KHOU group will be filiming its daily TV show, Great Day Houston with Deborah Duncan, onboard the Carnival Conquest October 4-11, 2009. We are the exclusive event planners for this week long cruse that will feature and exceptional value added package that can only be purchased at CruiseCenter. The most excting part of this will be to be a part of the filming of 5 episodes filmed onboard and to be shown the following week in Houston, a series of private parties and funtions, VIP gifts, many opportunites to interface with Deborah Duncan and the cast of Great Day Houston, and much more... I will be on the Great Day show with my business partner this coming Friday to talk about the cruise so check us out. You can see more details on Khou.com and CruiseCenter.com...See you there!

A Bargain & Good Deal To Alaska This Summer

2009-03-16T05:59:00.000-07:00

Imagine sailing on an all suite 700 passenger ship that includes everything such as your deluxe verandah suite, all meals, tips, all alcohol, beverages, and wine with dinner, all shore excursions, roundtrip airfare from most US gateways, transfers, and a $900 onboard credit on top of that! It is possible for thirty five hundred dollars on the 6-star rated luxury Alaska cruises of Regent Seven Seas Mariner on many sailings this Summer.
Some might think that is pricey at $500 a day. But this includes everything from soup to nuts. Kids even sail for FREE. Compared to a suite on Holland America, Princess, or Celebrity Cruises-These cruise lines charge the same rate (more or slightly less) but do not include anything else beyond meals, accommodation, and onboard entertainment. The biggest difference is that this Regent Mariner offers a luxury product with open seating, casual ambiance, large ship with few passengers (the other mentioned lines carry 1900-2800 passengers). Regent takes care of everything-imagin no lines, pampering service, dine when you like in an atmosphere that is like a fine restaurant rather than a large convention hall, not having to wait in lines..Ahhh... If this intrigues you and you are a luxury seeker, this is exceptional value in travel for the exciting 7-day one way itineraries that travel from Vancouver to Seward (Anchorage) and vice versa. This deals ends very soon so if you are a suite cruiser-this is a deal just for you....

Tom's 25th Anniversary in the Cruise Biz...

2009-03-05T07:39:00.000-08:00

cannot beleive I woke up this morning consumed with the realization that I am celebrating 25 years in Travel this May.I started working for Ask Mr. Foster in May 1984 after I had returned from my ss Rotterdam World Cruise (a late college gaduation gift). Boy has the industry changed. We have gone from handwriting airline tickets and typewriters to email and the internet. I must confess I prefer today's less laborious technology ehich indeed makes work more efficent and communication instant. I almost sounded like a relic saying that-a dinosaur of sorts, I suppose... The god news is that I have had the great opportunity to watch this cruise industry grow at the time when all the new ships of the mid 1980's were being built and the industry grew from an elite form of travel vacation to offering a vacation for everyone. A cruise vacation today is affordable for nearly everyone or in these wicked times, those who are employed and willing to do so... I must add a note that has truly surprised me. As times are increasingly hard in this new economic era of down turn, the cruise ships are going out mostly full. My business partner Ellen and I were down on the Carnival Conquest on Sunday to see the ship after a serious rennovation and were happy to see the ship filled to capacity with 3600 guests coming from all walks of life. It gave me a glimmer of hope that things might be okay afterall. Americans use their entitlement to vacation for sure. I remember the recession of the 1970's growing up in LA and my grandparents talking about rationing household suplies to save money and lived through the 1980's as a young man entering the work force in another downturn. This current turn of course exclipses both of those but I know the American people are enduring and will find a way to prevail. Well, I'm 25 years later into this and look forward to see what the next 25 will bring. It's still a wonderful busines to be in and a career path for which I have no regrets. Happy 25 to me....

A TV Show at Sea for Houston...

2009-03-05T07:38:00.000-08:00

CruiseCenter is excited to announce that we will be partnering with a local TV station Channel 11 or KHOU to flm their daily show "Great Day Houston" onboard the Carnival Conquest this October 4-11, 2009. We will be filming their weeks show onboard the ship with their local star Deborah Duncan who is our local (Regis and Kelly). Deborah is a great anchor, entertainer, and singer. She has a large following and we will be offering this cruise for sale to the general public as well. It is going to be an excting week of filming and activity for those who participate in te event. I will eleborate more on this in coming blogs but get ready Houston, the Great Day Cruises is coming....

What If The Price Goes Down?

2009-02-24T12:46:00.000-08:00

The biggest dilemma today that clients are asking is-"What Happens to My Rate If The Cruise Line Drops The Fare I Paid After I've Booked?" The answer is simple. A good travel agent will stay in contact with the cruise line up through your final payment to ensure you get the BEST DEAL. We look out for your interest and ours. The travel agent of today has to be on his toes watching prices and deals as they come and go daily. It also means looking out for YOU, our annuity, to ensure our furture success and your total satisfaction. I just had a lady who booked a holland America cruise on their elegant Prinsendam that dropped Three thousand dollars per person for a European cruise. The rate was honored. Many cruise lines have even implemented a best price policy after final payment too to ensure guests and agents satisfaction. The one cruise line that has not complied is NCL. Shame on them...Please know the travel agent is your value interpreter and negotiator with the cruise line. A good agent stays on their toes and fights for your rights and rate-Always!!!! Happy Cruising...

"Let's Make A Deal"

2009-02-01T11:26:00.001-08:00

In this Topsy Turvy economy, it seems that the mode of negotiating for virtually everything is on the burner... I went to Macy's and save another 25% off my Holiday shopping after saving first 50% off. After that, I opened a store credit card just to save another 25% off that purchase. The middle savings came from asking the salesperson for a discount...
My valued clients ask me the same thing. Can I have something more? The answer is Yes and No. It depends on the cruise line and the deal... There are some factors leading to some additional opportunities where we can do more for you. It's not clear cut. I encourage you to ask for more details...
There is another piece of this Topsy Turvy puzzle taking place where the client asks me to go to the vendor and asked to be upgraded or receive an added bonus for being a past guest. Well this phenomenon, while increasing in activity, has not led to any granted requests by the cruise lines. This for the reason that pricing is already fair for most cruise product. Cruise lines use electronic measures to price cruises (up and down) based on supply and demand. Just like the airlines, pricing is fluid. Cruises continue to be a great vacation value and have been under priced for years. The value for cruises continues in 2009. Remember that incredible cruise from Panama I spoke about in a recent blog that is an 8-day cruise in April starting at a very low one hundred and forty bucks? Holy smokes!!!!

The Bucket List

2009-01-30T05:44:00.000-08:00

I don't know how many of you saw this movie but I really enjoyed it and found the bucket list of things that the actors wanted to see and doe before they left this planet, true to life for so many people I know...
We just dod a travel show in Cuero, Texas for about 90 people and I was surprised that so many people talked about their "bucket list" if you will, and places they wanted to see too. I suppose we all dream about the places we want to visit and keep our lists in our head or on paper.
I have a list a mile long of places I still want to see. It's amazing how I keep going back repeatedly toplaces like Italy, Egypt, Greece, Tahiti, Alaska, Mexico, and the Caribbean but have not been to the Rhine Valley in Germany, Cambodia/Vietnam, or the Arctic... That's just a token few of my missing points of desire to visit.
The most important point is to make sure you prioritze your list and see the things your heart desires. These will be the fond memories you will take with you forever. I remember a few short years ago when planning and extensive tour across India where I was telling my realtor about it and she piped in thatt his was her hearts desire since she had been a little girl. She ended up coming along, having her fiance surprise here by joining our small group in Jaipur, and geting engaged at the Taj Mahal..Not that's fulfilling a Bucket List dream...Don't miss your dream and start your Bucket List now... I owe this blog to a friend Steve who reminded me about this movie and desire for many yesterday afternoon....

Unpublished Cruises?

2009-01-25T16:57:00.000-08:00

Every now and then a one-off cruise itinerary is found where the cruise line has a charter, canceled dry-dock, or repositioning cruise that does not make it into the brochure. When this takes place, a good deal for the consumer is generally found.
This week I found one of those rare cruises. Royal Caribbean has an 8-day cruise on its Enchantment of the Seas sailing April 19-27, 2009 from Colon, Panama to Fort Lauderdale. This 8-day cruise offers the traveler a chance to fly to Panama and perhaps spend a day or two in exciting Panama City and tour the Panama Canal before embraking this ship sailing along Panama, Columbia, Costa Rica, Aruba, and then into Fort Lauderdale. The best part of this is Royal Caribbean has special senior fares from under two hundred bucks a peice for this program. Now the airfare roundtrip is a little more than a standard roundtrip Florida ticket but hey, it's off-the beaten path, exciting, and a deal of the year!!! I love these bargains and special finds.
Bargain seekers-go exploring and see what special programs you will find. They are out there for the taking.....

Why Am I The Leading Large Ship Specialist?

2009-01-21T05:48:00.000-08:00

I am asked daily by callers coming in from the Conde Nasr Concierge web site why am I The World's Leading Large Ship Specialist and why should they work with me vs. another travel agent or online agency...
That is a loaded question for sure. Not to brag but most travel specialists have not spent 25 years mastering a trade and studying ships to ensure that the advise I give a potential client is relaible, truthful, and accurate. It is things like reading reviews online for cruise ships as to which migh be performing better or worse given large inconsistencies in the huge fleets of growing cruise lines. Even those lines with the best reputations have soft spots where things go wrong. How often are ships refurbished? Where are the best cabins for noise, vibration, passenger flow and privacy? How many agents offer that candid information when discussing a cabin choice with a client?
I go on a ship and wander stem to stern looking for cabis with good value for the price, quietness, privacy, and size. These are important variables which are make or break with a client.
How many agents spend weekends flying to ports and touring ships to see how the ships are doing, how clients interact with guests, what type of clientele are sailing with particular lines, and sampling the product in a mini-cruise manner to ensure qualifying the guest to the right product is something an agent is capable of doing? These are all questions clients should as of their agents when booking a cruise.
I am thrilled to have Conde Nast's honor of the World's Leading Large Affordable Ship Specialist and while I don't know every ship out there, I can give an honest opinion on 95% of the ships sailing the World today... You will get an honest, unbiased opinion from Tom Baker....

What Is My Favorite Ship?

2009-01-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

Some travel professionals post that their favorite ship is the one they have currently or recently sailed on. That is a perfectly "politically correct" answer but not mine. I do have three favorite ships and for different reasons. While I enjoy cruising on all types of ships from large to small, these thre take top billing:
1) Crystal Serenity- simply the best and most spacious large LUXURY ship at 65,000 tons and only 1050 maximum pasengers. Her service, spaciousness, grace, and quality are second to none. This ship and cruise line continues to grace the finest accolades and award including Conde Nast Traveler Readers award as the BEST large ship. She deserves every one of her six-coveted stars!
2) Celebrity Solstice- this new entrant is quite different than her sisters and the largest ever introduced by Celebrity at 122,000 tons and 2800 passengers. The Solstice offers superb architecture and design and frankly, has the best cabin design I have encountered-period. With 85% of her inventory offering standard balcony cabins with 192 square feet and a balcony with another 53 sqaure feet, they are the best laid out cabins to date. Celebrity has raised its bar in this stylish ship and offers the best premium class cruising experience with 5-stars.
3) Queen Mary 2- As a long time Cunard fan, I love this ship as she was designed for true ocean travel and is an ocean liner that is unique. Her style is elegant but subdued and the history of her British seafaring roots are never far away on this 21st century grande dame. at 150,000 tons and carrying some 2800 passengers, she is is the fastest ship in the large ship class and great to take a Westbound crossing for six days from Southampton to New York.
I will add additional comments about why these three are my top favorites in further blogs.

The NEW MSC Fantasia-something Special...

2009-01-08T08:31:00.000-08:00

I just returned from Italy and the christening of MSC Cruises Newst ship, the 133,000 ton 1094 foor long, MSC Fantasia that carries 3200 passengers. She is almost as big as the queen Mary 2 and a gorgeous ship. You can check out my pictorial at CruiseCenter.Smugmug.com for more details on this wonderful addition to the cruise industry.
I really like MSC Cruises as it offers a different approach to cruising. The ambiance is European and the producrt is geared towards the International traveler. If one needs a strictly "American" ambiance, don't pick this line. It's a shame that more people aren't open to an international mix of passengers and trying different experiences. I think that most of the contemporary and premium cruise experiences today are a floating Vegas where you a nickel and dimed. MSC does not do that.
The MSC experience is elegant, low key, and the service is more European style (although most of the staff are Indonesian and Honduran), there is a subtle differnce. I equate cruising the MSC ships as traveling to an Italian hotel with a strongly European ambiance.
The big thing for most American's is the food being different as it does cater to European taste buds. I have found that the food is actually quite good except for the steak. The Italians know one thing-overcook the meat to death. This can be corrected to American palates by a travel agent in the know, and one who can tell their valued clients to ask for meat specifically to be cooked to their taste. I have found the breads, pastas,risottos, soups, salads, and desserts to be excellent. most of the fish and poultry are too.
The ships are spotless, elegantly decorated and nice cabins except for the lirica which does have smaller cabins. she is a delightful ship-nonetheless.
The smoking issue has not been a real problem or different than any other line. MSC allows smoking in only designated bars and deck spaces. Smoking is not allowed in the cabins or balconies. You may get a string whiff of smoke by going into a smoking room or passing through but that is no different from other ships or a Las Vegas Casino.
I find MSC Cruises to offer one of the most affordable cruise options with Kids under 18 sailing Free on all cruises! Also, they have GREAT itineraries.
If you are looking for something different, try MSC Cruises and the NEW MSC Fantasia is one of the best options in the Mediterranean...

2008-12-12T14:11:00.000-08:00

The New Celebrity Cruises Solstice

check out my photo review at http://www.cruisecenter.smugmug.com/

The most exciting, spacious, and innovative premium class ship has just been delivered to Celebrity Cruises. The Solstice is the first of five identical sisters being introduced by Celebrity Cruises over the next five years. After cruising on nearly 200 ships worldwide, it is rewarding to find a ship that raises the bar in the premium class (5-star) cruising market. The Celebrity Solstice is my NEW favorite ship for a variety of reasons. The following is my review by category and impression after a two-day introductory sailing for travel agents and travel writers November 12-14, 2008 from Fort Lauderdale.

The Ship:

At 122,000 tons, 1030 feet long, 121 feet wide, and traveling up to 24 knots, she is the most spacious ship I have even been on. Carrying 2850 passengers, one would think she would be quite crowded, but in fact Solstice is not crowded at all. This is because other ships of this size would carry 3500 passengers. Celebrity Cruises has mastered the use of open spaces incorporating large glass panels looking onto the sea, higher than usual ceilings in the public spaces, recessed foyer cabin entrances making the hallways open and easy to transverse, and wider walkways throughout the ship. From the outside, the Solstice hull looks more like a yacht with her raked and unique forward hull design. She is built with glass galore and her huge number of balcony staterooms make her exterior appearance grand and spacious. Solstice is indeed a large ship but Celebrity has wisely created dozens of intimate spaces for guests to enjoy what I expect to be the BEST premium to luxury cruise experience in the market.

The fact that this vessel has transcended the premium class experience and actually offers a luxury experience in many areas is demonstrated in the bold but elegant residential style décor, exquisite suites with butler service, numerous luxury boutiques, world-class art gallery, a permanent $20 million contemporary art collection, alternative gourmet (fee-based) restaurants, Aqua Spa cabins with successfully designed spa amenities and spa dining, and Celebrity 5-star service, taking premium class service to a level well above ANY of its competitors. This is an amazing feat during these economically challenging times. With Solstice, Celebrity has proven that a brand can successfully reinvent itself and transcend its image.

My impressions of this magnificent vessel:

Cabins:

Celebrity designed the cabin staterooms with a woman’s touch. This is unique as most maritime designers are male. The result is innovative design that will prevail on all 5 Solstice Class ships to be introduced over the next 4 years. Eighty-five percent of the staterooms have verandahs and offer 194 square feet of living space plus a spacious verandah with 54 additional square feet. These cabins are 30% larger than other Celebrity Cruises cabins and the bathrooms have been given 50% more space! The first departure from the ordinary is the recessed foyer entry shared by two cabins and the outward opening doors which allow more internal cabin space. Celebrity has created 121 adjoining family cabins by utilizing the recessed entry doors to create one single entrance for families traveling together, a huge advantage for families which maximizes cabin space.

The cabin entry is wide, revealing queen sized bed (or 2 twins) with elegant hotel bedding and plush pillows. The fabrics are rich shades of crème and burgundy or sunset tones. The bed is flanked by a large hotel style headboard with overhead storage. All corners, including the bed, are rounded for guest comfort. Other top quality features include granite counter tops, six full-sized drawers (yeah Celebrity), mood lighting options with dimmer switches, and a 32-inch flat panel TV with the most options of channel and music viewing I have ever seen on a ship. The televisions actually move out from the wall and rotate for ease of guest viewing. Lighting is excellent throughout. The closets offer excellent storage space with unique sliding wooden doors that close automatically. A full-size sofa located near the entry or verandah (my preference) completes the spacious Solstice living space. These are easily the BEST and most luxuriously designed cabins on any premium cruise line-period!

Cabin Bathrooms:

As mentioned earlier, cabin bathrooms are 50% larger than other Celebrity Cruises ships. These are the most spacious I’ve seen on any premium ship. They are well laid out with excellent lighting, storage space, and an attractive raised basin. All bathroom amenities are placed in an elegant burgundy colored tray. The spacious shower stalls have two sliding glass doors and a foot rest for ladies to use when shaving their legs. All Aqua-Class (spa cabins) have “luxury hotel” Hansgrohe shower heads and multi-spray jets.

The Celebrity Aqua-Spa and Solarium Pool:

Celebrity raises the bar with its exceptionally spacious spa located on two decks atop the Solstice. There is an enormous state-of-the-art gymnasium with top notch Life-Fitness equipment. Connected to the gym by spiral staircase are bow view spa treatment rooms, a fee- based co-ed Persian Garden Thermal Suite with Turkish saunas, and men’s and women’s dressing areas with a free dry sauna. There is an Elemis Spa products shop, a teeth whitening center, and acupuncture at sea center. One can have a massage, spa treatment, manicure, teeth whitening, and acupuncture all in one day-amazing!
The Aqua-Class cabins which are all adjacent to the AquaSpa have in- cabin spa amenities and aromatherapy, complimentary access to the Persian Garden Thermal Suite, a private Spa Concierge, and special “comfort plus” Hansgrohe showerhead. The exquisite Blu Restaurant featuring California style “health conscious” cuisine is reserved exclusively for Aqua-class guests. This cabin category is sold at a premium which is well justified by the Blu dining privileges alone!

The Solarium Pool located on the Resort Deck is one of the most elegant areas onboard with teak deck furnishings, a large swimming pool, floor to ceiling waterfall which has dancing water jets and changes colors at night, and the Aqua-Spa Café where healthy meals are served at breakfast and lunch. This entire area is covered by a massive glass canopy and is a wonder of maritime architecture.

The Lawn Club:

Covering some 14,000 square feet (nearly a third of an acre), this beautiful expanse of real grass will offer lawn bowling, miniature golf, and picnics on a lawn that incorporates incredible technology to deliver this unique park-like feature atop a modern cruise ship. My personal guess is that it will be an expensive proposition to keep the lawn alive and with high traffic, may wear out quickly. I’m uncertain that this will last long but Celebrity may prove me wrong…
The Lawn Club is anchored by The Hot Glass show featuring live glass blowing and the Corning Museum of Glass, a first-at-sea offering by Celebrity Cruises. The Museum’s glass exhibition is in keeping with the hundreds of gorgeous glass artwork items placed beautifully throughout the ship.

The Resort Deck Pool:

This stunning contemporary designed area boasts a large water feature complete with dancing fountains that guests can walk across, two swimming pools, and 4 hot tubs. Ringed by elegant deck furnishings, sofa beds, and large canopied shading areas executed in upscale style, the pool area appears to provide plenty of deck space and seating. There are a number of bars and lots of high-end residential style deck furniture to lounge on at various points throughout the ship which make Solstice seem more like a luxury resort rather than a cruise ship.

The Grand Epernay Dining Room:

The is the main dining venue onboard the Solstice, Grand Epernay, offers décor inspired by the future meeting art deco. This glorious dining room done in white, silver, and charcoal tones was designed by famed hotel and restaurant designer Adam Tihany who has created the most fashionable restaurants in America. In this stylish setting, guests enjoy a varied international menu at two sittings for dinner and open seating for breakfast and lunch. There are ample tables for 2-10 and the reinvented Celebrity menus will assuredly appeal to the most gourmet palette. This lovely dining room seats nearly 1400 guests at each seating but don’t forget there are nine additional venues to choose from should this not be your cup of tea. Each has imaginative menus designed by master Executive Chef Thomas Phennings and attentive, professional service delivered by Celebrity’s well trained 5-star multi-national staff. No Fee Required for this Main Dining Room.

Alternative Dining Venues:

Tuscan Grill – Steakhouse fare and Northern Italian gourmet cuisine are served in an atmosphere of subtle lighting, brown leather furnishings, and a contemporary barrel vault entrance. Reservations required.

Silk Harvest - An Asian fusion menu tempts guests to experiment with the unusual. Reservations required.

BLU - Aqua Class cabin guests are in for a treat! This stunning dining room serves California style “health conscious” cuisine for all three daily meals. Suite guests may also reserve a table on a space available basis on request through their Butler.

Murano – This intimate and exquisite restaurant presents a Continental/European style menu with French influence. As a bonus, some of Solstice’ most precious works of art grace this beautiful room. Reservations required.

Bistro on Five- This charming open café and creperie near the main ship’s lobby atrium features excellent casual French style fare all day and into the evening. No reservations required.

Café al Bacio & The Gelateria- At this very upscale coffee house and ice cream bar service can be to-go or seated. Pastries and tea sandwiches are also available. Fee: for coffees and ice cream. Pastries and sandwiches complimentary with beverage.

AquaSpa Café- Open to all guests, this is where you can take a delicious break from the more decadent offerings of the other ship’s restaurants. Healthy choice meals and light spa fare are served. No fee or reservation required for this venue.

Mast Grill & Bar- poolside burgers and comfort food. A popular lunch stop. No fee or reservation required for this venue.

Oceanview Café and Grill- This is the ship’s buffet but don’t expect your neighborhood cafeteria. Open for 3 daily meals, the café is comfortable and very well designed with high ceilings, a bounty of large floor-to-ceiling windows, and chic furnishings. The food offerings are to be celebrated—amazing variety and quality—and Celebrity has clearly taken buffet style service to a level that will appeal to the most sophisticated traveler. No fee for this venue. Reservations requested for dinner.

Room Service- Who doesn’t love room service, especially when it’s complimentary and available to all guests 24 hours daily? Aqua Class and Suite guests have additional room service menu items to enhance their experience. No Fee!

Solstice’s Incredible Onboard Art:

The Solstice’s public rooms shine with their display of her more than 5 million dollar art collection comprised of 855 pieces created by 98 artists. An additional 3875 pieces are in the staterooms alone! This museum quality collection of works by modern, contemporary, and old masters was acquired expressly for Celebrity by International Corporate Art (ICArt). Solstice can justly be termed a floating museum.

The Art Gallery:

In a departure from the mass market art commonly found on cruise ships, Celebrity has raised the bar to create a magnificent gallery selling original works of art and photographs by famed artists. Beautiful pieces ranging in price from $600 to $15,000 are displayed in a gallery near the higher end boutiques to create a carriage trade atmosphere.

Solstice’s Public Rooms:

Celebrity tapped top interior designers known for creating some of the world’s finest hotels, resorts, and restaurants to continue the stylish décor and well-designed layout found in her staterooms into the ship’s varied public spaces. The easy flow from each of these areas to the next is a pleasure for guests:

Crush - In a small alcove off the Martini Bar, Crush features a fascinating ice-filled table center where guests can also partake in caviar and vodka tastings.

Cellar Masters- This is the ship’s elegant wine bar where guests can consult with a sommelier and try various wines in varying price ranges from different wineries. A sophisticated wine dispenser allows guests to insert their onboard Sea Pass cards and pay by the ounce to taste specially selected wines. This unique wine-tasting experience is available at sea only on Solstice and offers opportunities to sample wines that cost up to $400 a bottle with the guest controlling the cost and their own consumption.

Ensemble Lounge- I love this gorgeous elliptical bar with superb residential furnishings. Live jazz music creates a special atmosphere here.

Passport Bar- Located near the Excursion desk with its yacht-like atmosphere and furnishings, this is one of the nicest meeting places onboard.

Galleria Tastings- This venue, found adjacent to the Art Gallery and high end jewelry store and gift shops, offers unique food and drink pairings in an atmosphere compatible with the luxury goods on display and for sale in this area.

Sky Observation Lounge- Located atop Solstice with ceiling heights of more than 20 feet, this ultra modern lounge with its high tech look and white leather furnishings offers a variety of live music options and a massive dance floor.

Celebrity Central- this multi functional 200-seat amphitheater set up delivers everything from Karaoke to late night adult theme comedy, cooking demonstrations, enrichment lectures, feature films, and more…

Quasar-This is the ship’s disco, late night dance club, and “happening” spot. This trendy club offers a South Beach atmosphere with space-age-style Plexiglas pod hanging chairs. The disc jockey sphere booth moves in and out of the club, making it a very engaging place to people-watch and dance the night away.

The Celebrity Theatre- Enjoy 3 unique full-scale production shows on a 7-day cruise in this large multi-level Roman Amphitheater-style theatre.

All in all, this is the best ship I’ve ever seen—I look forward to your blog comments

2008-12-05T09:04:00.000-08:00

Tuesday November 25, 2008

Mid Atlantic Onboard the Norwegian Gem

Today offered markedly different weather on our third full day crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The seas were incredibly calm once the Norwegian Gem passed the Azores at 5pm on Monday. Today offered clear skies and 79 degree temperatures. The seas were smooth and it seems that the entire passenger compliment was outdoors enjoying the sun, multiple dining options and live music. All of the sporting facilities were operating with the rock climbing wall, basketball court. It was just incredible. I started the day with a gorgeous brunch served by the patrons in the exclusive three bedroom 5400 square foot Garden Villa. It was wonderful to dine al fresco in the large open dining table in this massive enclave on Deck 14. The area Butler and concierge were in attendance to ensure the 20 or so invited guests had a wonderful meal and services provided to them. Afterwards, I took a stroll to the gym which was hopping with activity for some cardio looking to take off some calories from the delicious ricotta cheesecake eaten in the alternative La Cucina venue which charges $10pp the night prior. After the gym workout, I head to the elegant Thallasotherapy pool for a nice aqua massage. NCL has a huge area dedicated to this pool along with heated tile chairs, refreshments, and a large Jacuzzi tub. This spa area is flanked with male and female thermal suites and of course, the magnificent Ying and Yang Spa. After that it was time for bowling with my CruiseCenter clients and we all fared badly as there was some motion in the bowling lanes at the back of the ship which caused the bowling balls to stray off course rather humorously. It was great fun; however, the bowling attendant was unfriendly and did not have his act together whatsoever. He was rather apathetic to say the least. We all had great fun and our lovely bar waitress, Ursula, from the adjacent Bliss Ultra Lounge kept our cocktails refreshed and brought on great natural and tasty chips. Dinner was in the Japanese Tepanyaki venue which charges $25pp making it very pricey. We took some clients there for dinner. The food was exceptional and the BEST I have had in this venue compared to any other NCL ship. It was an incredible day all the way around with unseasonably good weather! This is still one of the best values in cruising and NCL has a terrific product to offer today’s casual resort minded customer!

Sunday November 23, 2008

At sea onboard the Norwegian Gem

As the Gem is starting her first full day across the Atlantic, I thought I would reflect on the first weeks cruise experience onboard the beautiful one-year old Norwegian Gem. Today is a balmy 66 degrees and we are off the Portuguese coast sailing at 20.1 knots in fairly rough seas and 30 knots. We are rolling pretty strongly this morning but the ship handles the seas well.

The Norwegian Gem

The Gem is a solid built 93,000 ton ship. She was built in Germany and the workmanship from the German yard is solid quality. This 4-star rated ship is one of the finest on the seven seas. The Gem offers NCL’s signature “Freestyle” cruise experience and is in line the today’s American travelers providing a quality, fun, and resort style cruise with more dining options than any other cruise line-period!

The ship is decorated in bright, vibrant colors with high quality furnishings, carpets, artwork, and appointments. The vibrancy of her décor is offset by dark warm faux wood paneling throughout the ship. She is spotlessly maintained and one of the cleanest ships one will find.

The ship is easy to transverse and has excellent flow with traffic areas only taking place near the main ship lobby where NCL sets up flea market sale of budget priced items and forces all guests to walk by the crowded area. It is annoying and the same issue takes place in the evening when the area is crowded by multiple ships photographers taking portraits. My impression is that there is a constant push to create onboard revenues by nickel and dime the guests. My biggest gripe is that NCL charges $10 per game for bowling. This has insulted guests hugely and they have boycotted the venue. The game was increased from $5 to $10 without notice especially since a cal to NCL Days prior to this cruise still verified the game cost was $5-shame on NCL here… This push for onboard revenues is no different for any cruise line today except for MSC which is relatively new and hasn’t figured out how to maximize onboard revenues. The spa has been totally underused and there are 20% off specials for all treatments every day. I’ve never seen this type of offer before. The elevators in the central bank are the most used and traffic is heavy here. There are never problems using the other stairwells or lifts both forward and aft. The ship has excellent outdoor space for sunning and sports. The pool area is filled with residential style furniture and one entire side of the ship is left for outdoor dining.

The Gem’s Cabins

NCL is in the process of a major overhaul of its product with its own designed Freestyle 2.0 upgrade initiative. The success of this is apparent in every aspect of the cruise. The bedding has been replaced or upgraded in every stateroom and the beds are the most comfortable I have seen onboard ANY ship. The Elemis spa amenities are found in every stateroom, however, the standard cabins receive those amenities in push button containers which appear cheesy to the guests. All mini-suites and above receive bottled Elemis products which are more attractive. Standard cabins are smaller than the industry average but the bathrooms are well planned and compartmentalized into the sections with a large sink in the middle, and the toilet and shower both having their own private areas with sliding frosted glass panels. I have toured every deck of this ship and would not recommend placing guests on deck 4 on this ship. Those cabins have portholes only and this deck is used for embarkation/debarkation which means there are always people moving en-masse past the cabins making for a noise environment.

Some guests are griping about the lack of storage space, however, this ship spends most of the year offering 5,7, and 10-day cruises to warmer climates where one might not need an abundance of clothes. This winter 13-day Europe/Transatlantic has had cool weather and requires much more clothing than a normal cruise-so take the storage issue with a grain of salt…

The Gem’s Suites

I highly recommend the traveler take a mini-suite or penthouse on this class of ship as these cabins come with even more storage space, upgraded amenities, and concierge service. The penthouse cabins offer butler service, suite in-room expanded dining menus, elegant and ultra-modern décor, luxurious bathrooms with glass paneled walls, and high end coffee/cappuccino makers-who need Starbucks? The balconies in all cabin grades are large, very clean, and have glass panels for excellent views to the seas. The forward cabins, however, offer balconies that are enclosed in steel for safety purposes.

The Gem’s Dining Experience

This ship has it all… The dining options are exceptional and the food quality is good to excellent. The biggest passenger gripe though is the Garden Café which is always packed and cannot seem to accommodate the huge number of guests who use it. I think this is due to the casual level of passenger not wanting a served meal. The food is excellent and variety unbelievable here. The guests in my group, however, have complained about lack of trays, assistance to tables, and having to go to their own drink stations for beverages. It appears that one needs a back up food ferrying system to avoid having your table cleared by overly ambitious cleaning staff who take plates away and reset tables once a guest gets up to go for a refill or another plate of food. I don’t know how NCL can correct this though having seen the huge demand by guests for this venue…

The Grand Pacific dining room appears to be the most popular with its no-jeans policy and gorgeous Pacific theme décor. The food is quite good and service seems to be the best here of the two main FREE dining options. The much smaller Magenta located a deck below is always packed with a waitlist. I don’t understand this behavior either since there are electronic boards throughout the ship showing the availability of all dining rooms, both FREE and paid alternative options. I would give the overall food quality, variety, and presentation an 8 out of 10. The guests though are complaining that the food is too fancy and the service too slow in the dining rooms. This comes from American’s express dining and fast food mentality.

All of the alternative fee based restaurants are quite excellent. The food is varied and cooked to order. The service is very good and ambiance is very good based on the theme of the venue. The fee based restaurants have been empty on this sailing and I am shocked. Having sailed on the sister ship, the Norwegian Pearl, in September, those alternative venues were full. This is not the case on the Gem where you can get in easily to every venue with no issues. I have encouraged our passengers to try these out for a special night but nobody seems to be partaking…

There is also an outdoor buffet are aft on the ship called the Great Outdoors which mirrors the indoor Garden Café and there is a buffet, grill, and huge BBQ area near the main pool offering incredible selections. This class of ship offers the most extensive dining options I have ever seen… NCL-kudos to you here!!!

I also think many of the avid cruisers who are older and experienced with traditional dining are having a hard time with the Freestyle concept. They are also overwhelming the two main dining rooms at 5pm each night lined up to get in when those venues open for dinner.

The Gem’s Service

The Gem’s service staff is mostly friendly but seem apprehensive in their service to the guests. While the staff is very good for the most part, there seems to be a fair number that are new and unfamiliar with the ship and its services. I’ve had no service issues whatsoever, however, many guests have expressed that they feel the service overall is apathetic. This is disappointing to me but I am very outgoing and talk to everybody so I always get smiles the front office staff are not empowered to make decisions and are basically clerks. The have no knowledge of group activities other than what is in the ships printed program. They also have difficulty communicating or responding well to guest’s questions or concerns. Where there is a legitimate issue, it requires going to the next level of management or higher for customer resolution. I also think because we had such a port intensive start to this itinerary, guests have not fully enjoyed the ship or its services.

NCL has placed comment cards on the beds of each guest every few days asking for feedback on improvements. The guests who have turned them in have been contacted by officers and improvements have already been made.

The Gem’s Entertainment

There is a wide variety of entertainment options; however, the quality of shows, comedians, and singers has not been the same quality as experienced on other NCL ships and cruises I have been on. The ships cast for the large revue shows is no longer the high quality Jean Ann Ryan singers and dancers which were New York-Broadway quality. This staff is weak and the new productions were flat. The Second City Troupe is also not funny. The comics are also a little weak. The live music seems lackluster too. Nonetheless, I will report back during this 5-day crossing to see how NCL handles the entertainment during these long (25-hour days) at sea…

The Gem’s Itinerary

Europe is best visited in the spring and fall when the lines of summer are not there and the weather is very mild. This is the best time to be here taking advantage of pre holiday sales. The Vatican and major tourist sites were not crowded and few to no lines. Florence was a dream with no lines at the Academia to see David and easy entrance into the Uffizi Gallery. The temperatures ranged in the high 50’s to 70”s every day. It does get cold at night but I absolutely advocate traveling to Europe this time of year.

The Gem’s Clientele

The crowd is mainly American and a middle class traveler. There is a large number of Spanish, German, Dutch, and British onboard too. It is not a sophisticated crowd and a very casually dressed crowd. Perfect for Freestyle Cruising! I am seeing a new trend of guests not purchasing onboard. All the onboard revenues seem to be down quite a bit over recent cruises I have been on just a few months ago. This is a first time cruise for many too which is shocking to me. A transatlantic Cruise is historically a coveted cruise of well traveled people. I think the VERY low prices offered on this sailing may have attracted a traveler who might not have gone to Europe but price pulled them into this itinerary and sailing.

Overall

NCL has a very good product and this “Jewel Class” of ship is among the best in today’s varied cruise industry. It is incumbent on the travel professional to explain the Freestyle concept in advance to ensure guests are not surprised by its unique cruise experience. This is a solid 4-star experience and offers an incredible value for the dollar. The Penthouses and higher offer a 5-star experience with amenities, services, and additional private dining options offered exclusively for those guests. The Courtyard area and its 12 VIP suites offer a totally luxurious oasis for the most privileged guests. NCL definitely has the best suites of ANY mass market company. Hooray to NCL here for creating a highly unique product and striving to improve its guest experience with constant attention and adjustments to its product on a daily basis.

Top 10 Likes Aboard the Norwegian Gem
· Freestyle Dining and variety of optional restaurants with top quality food
· Casual “Freestyle” Dress Code
· New Bliss Beds in the cabin are amazingly comfortable
· Overall Décor of the ship is fun and exciting
· Bliss Ultra Lounge with Bowling Alley
· Ship is incredibly clean with superb housekeeping
· Best Penthouses, villas, and suites of any contemporary ship
· Gym is open 24-hours a day
· Sony Wii games in the main lobby played on a massive wall screen
· Coffee makers in all cabins, high end coffee/espresso makers in suites, and availability of coffee throughout the ship using the Lavazza brand

Top 10 Dislikes Aboard the Norwegian Gem
· Nickel and Dime guests for bowling fees ($10 a game), Movies on TV as non are free other than TMC, Charging for Juice ($2 a glass) after meal times
· Cheap mall like atmosphere with flea market set up congesting the main ship lobby flow
· No trays for food in Garden Café. Guests who go to refill beverages or get additional food come back to find table cleaned and new guests sitting
· Entertainment has eroded and not the same quality as before. Bring back the Jean Ann Ryan singers and dancers!
· Penthouse furniture is highly uncomfortable and unusable although attractive
· Some staff are surly and unfriendly-the ship staff seem tired, worn out, or under trained
· Bar drinks are the most expensive of any contemporary line
· Front Office staff are ineffective and give wrong information
· Onboard gifts are not delivered with any consistency
· New towels are too large, stiff, and difficult to use