Time 2 Cruise

Royal Caribbean is due to take possession of the biggest cruise ship ever built in 2009. Code named Genesis, the ship will hold 5400 passengers. Like the new Airbus 380 for the airline industry, finding ports that can support such a ship is going to be difficult without modifications. For ports where ships do not dock but use tender boats to get passengers to shore, 5400 passengers could lead to long waits to get off ship. I have been to Cabo San Lucas a couple of times on ships that hold less that half that number of passengers, and unless we had a tour booked or some other priority to get off the ship, the wait to get off took over an hour with 2 tender locations being operated to speed up the process. But then again, when the ship is that big, maybe the ship itself is the destination and there is no hurry to disembark at the port of call. People have complained that the embarkation and debarkation processes feel like cattle calls now. I am thinking that when the ship launches...

Royal Caribbean has, for a short time now, had a place for members of the Crown and Anchor Society to log into and share experiences but the rumor is that they are looking into creating a full on social networking site. An employee of RCCL mentioned in a recent interview in the U.K. that it was a possibility . Royal Caribbean has said that they monitor message boards now and that word of mouth is one of the best ways that the product gets shopped. Having their own social networking site that was not for members of the C&A Society only would be a step in the right direction of creating a new buzz around the product line. As a frequent cruiser, and internet junkie, the thing that Royal Caribbean will need to do is market the online social networking site as as well as the cruise product to get some early interest if and when it goes live because I know from experience that some of the best laid ideas can die quickly if not marketed well. If they can build a great base for a s...

One of biggest complaints I hear is about the photographers on board ship. Some can be annoying when trying to get you to pose in front of their backdrop on most nights yet on formal night, when you are all dressed for the occasion, there is always a line for the better backdrops. The cost of the pictures gets some complaints as well ($10-$20 for the first print depending on size) but when compared to what it would cost on land to do a professional sitting its not that bad at all. On top of this, most cruise lines will fax or email you a release form so you can get copies made if you ask once back home. And now with it being the holiday season, it can be a great time to get some awesome family photos to send out. We did this last year. The ship we were on even had special Christmas related backdrops, and on non formal nights there really wasn't a wait. The only downfall is that the family pet gets left out of the photo well unless you or someone you know has some experienc...

There has been a lot of chatter among the cruising community about Royal Caribbean eliminating much of the live music on board. This cost saving measure seems to have a few people pretty upset when thrown on top of the other changes that have been recently announced. While I have seen no official announcement of the music change, nor would an announcement be required, word has been spreading fast on the cruise message boards. Members have been posting about recent cruises where CD's or some other type of recorded music has been playing in common areas on the ships that have been known for the live entertainment in the past. It's a shame for some areas, such as the Lido Deck where the live bands have been known to liven up the day on many of my previous cruises. Members on the Royal Caribbean message board on Cruise Critic have been questioning the cruise line a lot lately. This is not what Royal Caribbean should want to be hearing about their product when they are pus...

The news of the recent sinking of the MV Explorer, a small cruise ship cruising in the waters off the coast of Antarctica is going to put a damper on bookings for a while for all cruise lines. While how much damage news like this actually does will never be known its fair to say that a number of people will be wary of cruising. Its a shame that disasters have such and effect. This is not the kind of news I like to talk about at all. Luckily all passengers and crew were safely rescued by lifeboat. Its an incident like this that shows why the muster drill that all passengers go through before sailing is so important. For those that have never been on a cruise before, in the United States it is a requirement all passengers have to do regardless of how many times they have been on a cruise. I hear more than my share of people complaining in the middle of the drill how they have done this so many times in the past that they should be exempt. Better yet, the person or group of peo...

A new site called Socruise.com has recently pre launched with an official launch scheduled for January. Unlike other U.K. sites Socruise plans on not just advertising rates and discounts on cruising but also give detailed information on cruise lines, ships and cruise reviews. Their goal is to give customers a chance to set up personal profiles where they can upload pictures and details on past and future cruises. The site will also feature a blog to inform customers and users of the site of the comings and goings of the cruise industry. Time2Cruise wishes Socruise a great start and looks forward to the growth of the site.

It seems like today everyone knows someone who drives a hybrid car and talk of the next big thing is right around the corner for the automotive industry. So my question is whether or not an alternative fuel cruise ship would work? Cars get miles to the gallon but cruise ship fuel usage is in gallons per minute. Even when not in motion, the amount of fuel required to keep all the electricity flowing on board would give a hybrid car owner a heart attack. Again, back to my question, could it work? Would hydrogen be a possibility for a ship? Hydrogen production either uses water or creates water which is not a problem for a ship. But the logistics and safety makes that a difficult sell. The ships are already hybrids so to speak with the diesel electric generators on board dedicated to making sure you can run the hair dryers and watch TV in your state rooms. The next thing to question is bio diesel. With the amount of food that is prepared on a cruise ship, this has got to be the ...

One of the fun parts of a cruise is shopping while in port. Once off the ship, the area just past customs is usually lined with street vendors all ready to wheel and deal for your money. But just like out of Hollywood movie scene, there are also some shrewed individuals that may approach you with ill intent. The walk up to you and offer illegal merchandise or even drugs. The best thing to do is to ignore them and keep walking. Just stopping can to say no thank you can make the situation worse. This is because they have no intentions of selling you anything. Their goal is to get you to buy and then just by coincidence the local police will show up and arrest you for possession and broker a deal with you to not end up in jail. This con is common in many of the locations in the Caribbean and in Mexico. If something looks suspicious when you are in port its best to treat it as such and go the other way. Its better to be safe then sorry. This advice is very appropriate right now...

This past summer Royal Caribbean made an announcement on changes to their smoking policy tightening the rules on where smoking will be allowed on their ships. Just this past week, along with all the other cruise lines, Royal Caribbean has announced a $5 per day fuel charge for the first and second passengers in each cabin. Now the latest word is that RCCL will be making a major change to the dining menu. Starting in 2008 lobster will not be served on any of Royal Caribbeans ships. For many cruisers lobster has been synonymous with formal night when cruising. It is not known if this is a cost cutting move or for other reasons, but it will not sit well with the guests. A rumor is that they will be decreasing the number of live music acts on board the ships drastically as well. Again, these are all indicators of how the economy is having an affect on the cruising industry. In checking out a couple of the more popular message boards for cruising fans, I noticed that many Roya...

It seemed like no one wanted to be the first but now all the different cruise lines are jumping on board the fuel surcharge bandwagon. Windstar and Majestic can be added to the list with an $8.50 charge for anyone that has not paid in full by the 15th of December. Norwegian has added a charge for all cruises to Hawaii at $7.00 per person per day for the first 2 passengers in a cabin and $3.00 for additional passengers in the same cabin. This is the first announcement that will tack on the fee to third and fourth passengers. There are a couple cruise lines that have not made any announcements yet. I say give them time. Now that its becoming the norm to have the added fee it won't be long until they all are doing it. Just like when the airlines start to make drastic changes, it only takes one to get the ball rolling. The average couple can now look to spend over $100 more for a 7 day cruise in fuel surcharge fees alone. A family of 4 on a 14 day Norwegian cruise to Hawaii ca...