1. New
York, New York!
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Once there was a city in the northeast
corner of the U.S. that was visited everyday
by gigantic, glamorous ocean liners. Kings,
queens, presidents, movie stars, dignitaries,
celebrities and sports heroes arrived on
and departed from those elegant liners as
throngs of politicians, paparazzi, and curious
fans lined the docks.
That city, of course, was New York. From
the 1920s to well into the 1950s, the city
that once welcomed the "Immigrant Class,"
now catered to the "Leisure Class,"
as thousands of vacationers made the trans-Atlantic
crossing each month. Late in 1958, an engine
put that era to a close; the jet engine.
Ironically, if it was jet travel that ended
New York's supremacy in ocean travel, it
is largely the public's hesitancy to climb
aboard those jetliners that's bringing it
back. With millions of North Americans within
an easy day's drive of Manhattan's piers,
the port of New York is booming again!
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| The turnaround has been fast and furious
as just about every cruise line today is taking
a big bite from the growing traffic fed by
the Big Apple. |
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• Bermuda:
Choose from Carnival, Celebrity, NCL,
or Royal Caribbean. New York makes a
perfect departure point for this mid-Atlantic
paradise of coral sands and sand traps
(Bermuda has more championship golf
courses per square mile than any other
place on earth)!
• Canada & New England:
Choose from Carnival, Celebrity, Crystal,
Holland America, NCL, Princess, or Royal
Caribbean. Itinerary lengths vary from
as few as 4 days to 12 or more, offering
a cruise for every body and every budget.
• Eastern Caribbean: Choose
from Carnival Celebrity, Holland America,
NCL, and Royal Caribbean (the newest
player in this market, now offering
9-night itineraries on their giant,
142,000-ton Voyager of the Seas).
• Bahamas & Florida:
NCL, the first cruise line to step into
the New York market in a big way, is
also the first with this all-new itinerary.
You'll see not only Nassau and NCL's
private beach resort in the Bahamas,
but have a day each at Miami and Port
Canaveral (the theme parks of Orlando
and the NASA Space Center).
• Nowhere: Sometimes, you
just gotta get away, especially from
the big city. A number of cruise lines
offer 2- or 3-night cruises to "nowhere."
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2. New Ships!
It's been a busy season at the world's shipyards. Despite a
sluggish world economy and often depressed tourist industry,
the major cruise lines have continued to launch new ships at
a surprising rate. Since it takes up to 2 years to construct
a cruise liner, most orders were placed when the economic picture
was a bit rosier. The result can be stressful for the cruise
lines' marketing teams, but cruise passengers don't mind the
competition for their dollars!
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Carnival Glory. July
110,000 tons. 2,976 passengers:
A sister to the instantly popular Carnival Conquest,
the Glory will be home-ported in Port Canaveral. Think
of the vacation opportunities, what with all the Florida
theme parks within a short drive! (If you don't think
of them, your kids will remind you!)
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Crystal Serenity. July
68,000 tons. 1,080 passengers:
We've waited 8 years to see how Crystal, the luxury
leader in the "large ship" category, was going
to top themselves. By the stats, they've done it with
the ultra-spacious Serenity. Every cabin has an ocean
view - and 85% have private balconies!
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Island Princess. July
88,000 tons. 1,970 passengers:
Look closely at this photograph. See those two
"jet engines" perched alongside her funnel?
They're part of the new propulsion system on this new
ship from Princess - a sister to the acclaimed Coral
Princess. The Island is fast, and 75% of her cabins
feature balconies.
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Oosterdam. August
85,000 tons. 1,844 passengers:
Jaws dropped when the first passengers stepped
onboard Holland America's all-new Zuiderdam last December.
Bright, open, colorful and spacious, she set the tone
for the line's new ships to follow. So, say hello to
her new sister, the elegant Oosterdam!
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Serenade of the Seas. November
90,090 tons. 2,100 passengers
Rocks and glass - an unlikely cruise ship combination
unless you're on Royal Caribbean! A wall of rock challenges
her "get out there" customers. Walls of glass
admit daylight (and romantic moonlight) into her 11-deck
atrium!
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3. New Love Boat Update:
What was to love about the old "Love Boat?"
C'mon, we know you can
sing them - the opening words to the Love Boat song:
"Love, exciting and new. Come aboard, we're
expecting you!"
That simple little tune - and the blockbuster TV
series that hosted it, put millions of vacationers
into cruise ships (and millions into the bank for
Princess Cruises)! But, all good things come to
an end; the original ship portrayed in the series,
the Pacific Princess, left the fleet last November.
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| Now that she's gone, we can talk about her. Here
are some of the myths surrounding the famous little
liner: |
• Her passenger staterooms were huge.
They weren't. The TV version of her passenger accommodations
stretched the truth by about 10 feet in each direction.
• She was, by every measure, luxurious.
She wasn't. There were no glass elevators, no balcony
cabins, no multi-level show lounges or dining rooms,
and a remarkably low passenger-to-space ratio.
• Everyone loved the Love Boat. They
didn't. Sure, in the 1970s the gleaming white Pacific
Princess was ahead of the pack but by the 1980s
and 1990s, she'd started to look a little tarnished
as newer, larger, more amenity-filled liners were
launched. |
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So, in late 2002, Princess purchased two new
ships from the defunct, premium line, Renaissance
Cruises. They renamed one of the ships the Pacific
Princess and the legacy lives!
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What's there to love
about the new "Love Boat?"
• She's new. That alone says a lot.
Built in 1999 with minor refurbishments in 2002,
Princess has a near-sparkling new Love Boat with
all the bells and whistles today's cruise passengers
expect.
• She's beautiful. Step onboard and
you instantly feel at home. There's a decidedly
upscale, "New Orleans French Quarter"
feel about her that extends from the wrought-iron
railings of the Upper Hall stairway to the deep-cushioned,
high back armchairs in the main dining room. |
• She's loaded...
with balconies and ocean views. Fully 67% of
her cabins feature private balconies. A whopping
92% of her cabins have ocean views. Both numbers
place the Pacific Princess above almost every ship
in the industry.
• She's affordable! Although sailing
the longer, more exotic routes Princess is known
for, the Pacific offers some mainstream prices that,
on a per diem basis, beats the competition almost
every time! |
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