Featured Cruise Articles
& Reviews
Where's Cruise Diva?
Just back from an Eastern Caribbean cruise aboard Norwegian Cruise
Line's fabulous Norwegian Epic. Follow along on Cruise Diva's Blog
and watch for our wrap-up.
•
Embark Like A Norwegian: Day One
•
Norwegian Epic: Home Away From Home
•
A Night Out On Norwegian Epic
•
Luck of the Irish on Norwegian Epic
•
Epic Entertainment on Norwegian Epic
•
Fun With Nick on Norwegian Epic
•
Norwegian Epic’s “Spicy” Retreat
•
A Really Cool Time Aboard Norwegian Epic
Cruise Review
—
Frequent cruisers & Cruise Diva
contributors, Mary and Vincent Finelli share the enjoyment of
a pre-holiday cruise aboard Celebrity Cruises'
Celebrity Eclipse and offer their impressions of the
third of Celebrity's hugely successful Solstice-class ships to
launch since 2008.
New
Ships for 2012
— A look at what's on the horizon for the
coming year. Once again, Disney Cruise Line kicks off the
introduction of new ships with the launch of Disney Fantasy,
pictured here at left.
Port Review: Queen of the St. Lawrence
—
Pat Woods explores
Québec City during a Canada/New England Discovery
cruise on ms Maasdam and relates why Holland America Line guests
rate it No. 1 out of the 300 ports the cruise line's ships visit
each year. We think you'll agree.
Cruise
Review
—
Our reviewer Ed Schlenk
welcomes us aboard
Celebrity
Equinox for
a Mediterranean cruise and transatlantic crossing. As a
bonus, he shares an online album of ship and port photos!
Norwegian Cruise Line Rewards Past Passengers:
Updated 12/5/11
— Newly renamed Latitudes Rewards,
Norwegian's past guest program now offers enhanced benefits. Get
the
details here.
Carnival Cruise Line Rolls out Fun Ship 2.0 Initiative
—
While new features will dramatically transform the onboard
experience, some ships will have them sooner than later and some
ships will have more elements than others. Cruise Diva has the
Details
and the
Implementation Schedule.
Luxury Cruising Around the World
—
Cruise Diva invites you to come along
on an exclusive World Cruise segment aboard Silversea Cruises'
newest vessel,
Silver
Spirit.
Traveling, Security & the Age of Facebook
—
Whether you are going on a
cruise, to Disney World, or just visiting out-of-town family for a
few days, take heed of this expert advice.
Select
Your Cruise Ship Cabin
— Will it be Inside or Outside? Balcony Stateroom or Suite? Take a look at
the accommodations available before choosing yours.
Air
& Sea: Solutions for the Landlocked
— The facts
about cruise line Air & Sea Programs and missing the boat.
REVISED August 2011: Smoke on the Water
— Can you smoke on
your cruise ship? Cruise Diva outlines the cruise lines' updated
smoking policies.
“Sea-lebrating”
Special Occasions — Join Georgina Cruz as she and her
husband Humberto mark the 40th anniversary of when they met by
taking what they like to call a “sea-lebration” – a cruise instead
of a big party or other way of celebrating.
No
two cruises are identical. Are your expectations realistic? Discover
What
to Expect On Your Cruise.
Cruise Travel Do's & Don'ts:
You know you can't bring your cabin steward home with you,
but what you may take might be a bit confusing. For
instance, you can take the fruit basket, but not the fruit.
Cruise Diva clears up what
You Can & Can't
Bring Home.
"My
cruise was ruined!"
Sadly, there’s no such thing as a perfect vacation and
things can go just as wrong on a cruise as they do on land. Take
matters into your own hands and learn the seagoing rules for
Effective Complaining.
Cruises,
the Social Network Way to Travel
— While a cruise is a great
vacation for families & friends, it isn't necessary to have a
ready-made group of acquaintances in order to feel comfortable
on a cruise.
Catch The Communications Wave At
Sea
— The Internet, WiFi-enabled laptop computers, and cell phones
deliver
Tech Savvy Cruise
Travel. Cruise Diva looks at the services offered by
major cruise lines.
Cruise
Travel Cost Control:
Those boarding passes/room keys... ultimately,
they are "Sail 'n Spend" cards.
To keep your vacation budget from sinking, Cruise Diva offers
Money Saving Tips
that you can use when planning your
cruise as well as once you are on board. We also clear up the confusion
about
What's Included In Your Cruise Fare (and what isn't).
You have to get to port before sailing, so we take a look at
Air & Sea
Programs
and how you can save time, money, and
aggravation on flights.
Cruise Planning & Preparation—Things To Do:
For smooth
sailing, follow Cruise
Diva's
Cruise Planning Timeline as a part of your
pre-cruise preparation strategy.
Paper
Luggage Tags?
While most passengers have no complaint about printing
e-documents for their cruise, luggage tags printed on paper are a cause for
concern. As frequent cruiser George Hall said recently, "Someone
will have to explain to me how these paper tags stay on through the
process." Cruise Diva has had occasion to print out and use the
paper tags and offers suggestions for how to keep them securely
in place:
Luggage Tags,
Then & Now
Recent Cruise
Reviews:
Celebrity Eclipse;
Celebrity
Equinox;
Crown
Princess;
Silver
Spirit;
Norwegian Jade;
Carnival
Freedom;
Celebrity Summit;
Carnival Magic;
Azura;
Golden Princess;
Crystal
Symphony;
Carnival Victory;
Sea Princess;
Nieuw
Amsterdam;
Allure of the Seas;
Disney Dream;
Norwegian Epic;
Norwegian
Jewel; Seabourn
Sojourn;
Carnival
Pride;
Celebrity Century;
Crown
Princess;
Ryndam;
Queen
Elizabeth;
Norwegian Epic;
Emerald
Princess;
Emerald
Princess;
Veendam;
MORE
REVIEWS...
Booking A Cruise At The Pier
—
The cruising urban legend that will not die.
A cruising travel necessity...
Have DUCK
Tape, Will Travel — this is NOT your father's duct tape. Don't leave
home without it.
It's
your duty to shop, but it won't be free! Before you
board your ship, get Cruise Diva's strategies for smart
Shopping on Your
Cruise Vacation and also learn
how to snag some
No-Cost Souvenirs.
About those flip-flops... you'll have to sail on Celebrity Cruises'
Solstice to sink your toes into them.
The True Confession of a pack-aholic.
That would be your Cruise Diva. Learn how I overcame my pack-aholism
with a streamlined strategy for
Packing
It In
Consideration, Courtesy,
Civility — Pack your best manners and
observe the three C's at sea with CruiseDiva.com's
Cruise
Ship Etiquette.
Cruise
Line Brochures
— What do they say?
~ How
to read them & get the information you need
~ What are the
Brochure
Buzz Words
Going Ashore
—
Sightseeing can be a large add-on expense to a cruise vacation. Should
you choose Shore Excursions vs. Independent Touring
? Cruise Diva offers
decision-making suggestions and helps you
Decipher Excursion
Descriptions.
Cruise Lines'
Private Islands
—
Established to provide a beach break on an island (or part of one)
reserved for their exclusive use, most are located in the Bahamas chain
of "home" islands and included in certain Caribbean itineraries.
Timing
is Everything
— Insure smooth sailing on
Embarkation Day
by
following Cruise Diva's arrival tips.
Fodor's
Caribbean Ports of Call 2011
is all you need to plan your days ashore, PLUS a cruise primer section and
cruise line profiles by Cruise Diva, Linda Coffman
Get other top picks in Cruise Guidebooks
&