Posted on 12/01/2013 2:23:10 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
The cruise-line industry is a rough business.
Every time a passenger ship leaves port with a guest cabin unoccupied, that's money the cruise operators are never going to see.
Last week Micky Arison, the longtime chief executive of Carnival Corp., announced that he will be stepping down; revenues at the world's largest cruise-ship line have been falling. Arison will remain as chairman of the firm, but a new CEO will step in.
Cruise companies have always had to contend with uncertainties in the economy, which sometimes make travelers cautious about planning leisure trips, and Carnival has faced widespread unpleasant publicity in recent years. The Costa Concordia, owned by a subsidiary of the corporation, ran aground and partially sank off the coast of Italy in 2012, killing 32 people.
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The way he explained it to us, he had parted company with the corporation that employed him; we got the impression that this was not voluntary on his part. He had been given some severance.
So, he told us, he had figured out a way, for a relatively small amount of money, to live, for a while, like a king. Like a sultan at sea.
He was now, he said, residing virtually full-time on cruise ships -- eating gourmet meals, lounging in the sun, listening to music and going to stage shows at night, sleeping in freshly made-up beds with the oceans of the world lulling him to sleep.
How could he do this?
Each week, he explained, he'd get on his computer and do searches for cheap, last-minute cruise deals. There are websites that specialize in exactly that....
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
cruises rock, Go out of San Juan (Aruba, Carosau, St Maartins, and St Thomas)
No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned. A man in a jail has more room, better food and commonly better company. — Dr. Samuel Johnson
Similar to what I asked the Airborne (paratroopers) recruiter at my Army training school when he asked if I wanted to jump from airplanes; “Is the airplane on fire?”
My idea of a vacation is to get away from the huddled masses —not be enclosed on a ship with a crowd. Just my own opinion on the matter.
Years ago, I worked with a woman who wouldn't travel any other way. She belonged to a cruise club that offered spectacular last minute deals to its members. Let's say Carnival had a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean leaving tomorrow, but there was 1 unsold cabin left. The cruise line would offer the unsold cabin to the cruise club members for dirt cheap and the club would pass the offer on to its members. This coworker did several cruises that way.
The disadvantages are that you have to be able to pick up and go on a moment's notice and you may end up with a less desirable cabin (interior cabin near the bottom of the ship, as opposed to an outside cabin or a suite on one of the higher tiers). But if you were willing to put up with some minor inconveniences, the price was worth it. The coworker took one cruise for $25. Normally, at high season, she would have paid thousands.
Yeah. If you have a flexible schedule you can book a last minute cruise very cheap. We were taking them from Port Canaveral in FL, because it was an easy drive from where we live.
Every year, I tend to note various Turkish resorts trying to stay operational in the winter months. So from November to April, you can go from Germany to a five-star Turkish resort, with airfare and food included (including beverages) for around $500 for three weeks.
The thing is...you can always tack on another week for $100. So you do the math, and you sit at a five-star Turkish hotel in the winter...for two months, for around $800. That’s the five-star room, wine and beer all day, and three buffet meals a day. Frankly, you can’t beat the deal. It’s cheaper than any lifestyle you’d think of.
You could even max out...four months of this...for $1,600. Course, you need to be on retiree status to enjoy months of this.
My boyfriend and I did a cruise to Maine and the Canadian Maritimes in October and we did a Caribbean cruise a couple of years ago. It is about the most relaxing vacation imaginable. Try Royal Caribbean or Holland America. Go for the mid-sized ships since they can go places the huge megaliners can’t. If you have the time and the ability, tru one of the repositioning cruises where the line is shifting ships from Alaska to the Caribbean or back again. They go through the Panama Canal and that’s supposed to be quite an experience. It’s a cruise that is definitely on our bucket list.
+ 1
I don’t think Mr. Johnson was talking about cruises when he wrote that. :)
I’ve been on three, paid for by work. All we paid for were tips for the shipboard workers and the flight to get there. One of them was actually on an ocean going liner. Which beat the crap out of what many of them do today. That would be loiter around off shore for gambling, and them hit a couple of ports.
The real danger of a cruise, is the amount of food you could consume in any given day.
Is the food really as good as I’ve heard it is? Is it much different on the different cruise lines? What’s the best place on the ship for a room? Which is the best company, in your opinion? Anyone ever been on one of those political cruises? Is there usually a doctor on board?
Or a repositioning cruise from Europe to the Caribbean...
I just did 16 days Barcelona to New Orleans...
I was alone, paid for 2, but about the same price I paid last year for 4 days on Disney in the Caribbean..
:)
No way I could live like the guy in the article.
Food varies by cruise line. We have been on several Royal Carribean cruises and 1 Celebrity Cruise ( both mid priced companies) and were very pleased. The sit down meals were pretty lavish, or you could do the buffets which were okay. Some now have specialty restaurants where you can get a real fine dining experience ( for a little extra cost). Best place is upper cabins, outboard near mid ships ( my opinion), least motion for the squeamish, although the stabilizers really limit the “ motion of the ocean”.
There’s always a doctor on board and available 24/7.
Haven’t been on a political cruise but plan to take a National Review cruise some day soon.
It’s not for everyone, but we like being able to unpack once, go sightseeing, and return to our room to unwind cocktails dinner, maybe the show and a little gambling....
Not much good for a Boozer. The beer is outrageously high on a Cruise ship.
We've had cabins towards the front of the ship and right around the middle. I've talked to people who cruise a lot and they say that with all the stabilizing thingies on ships these days there really isn't a lot of difference between cabins on different parts of the ship. I like the cabins with the veranda because I like to sit and watch the water go by.
I like Royal Caribbean and Holland America, but I've also heard good things about Princess and Norwegian. You couldn't get me on a Carnival cruise. On Royal Caribbean I would pick cruises that are on the smaller ships - the ones around 90,000 tons. I just can't imagine what it's like on one of those 250,000 ton monsters with 6000 passengers. I think the service on Holland America is just a little bit fancier than Royal Caribbean, but service on both is great.
There are always one or two doctors and a couple of nurses on board. I never had to use one so I don't know what it's like from an insurance standpoint.
I'd recommend people try cruising without any preconceived notions. People like or dislike it for their own reasons.
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