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Carnival-Canaveral bond stronger
There was a time when the list of ships sailing out of Port Canaveral (near Orlando) was dominated by Disney. Those times have changed. Today, you will find Carnival with three ships, Royal Caribbean...
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Disney ‘cousins’ getting on board
For those who love all things Disney — and who doesn’t? — Mickey and Minnie and the entire Disney group of characters will have some company when the new family ship, the Fantasy, is launched in...
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Disney’s dazzles in any port
I’ve been sailing the Mexican Riviera on the Disney Wonder for the past week — my first time on a Disney ship with a full load of passengers (I was on the Dream for 24 hours when it was launched at...
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Sampler of Disney 2012 deals
Here are prices on some 2012 Disney cruises as promised in my newspaper column this weekend. All can be found at Disney’s website. January 3Port Canaveral return5 nightsDisney Dream (above)Ports:...
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Carnival figures cruise yardstick?
Very seldom will you find a lot of news here when it comes to the financials of cruise lines. I feel it’s better handled by writers of the business blogs and in the financial sections of newspapers....
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Where great cruise ships begin
PAPENBURG, Germany — You know the game our parents invented? The one to keep us quiet when were kids on those long drives: “Just count the number of Volkswagens, or signs, or…” Well, you know what I...
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Disney Fantasy — bow to stern
This is the third in a series of blogs on the Disney Fantasy, which will be christened in March and sailing by the end of that month. I am in Germany for a sneak preview. PAPENBURG, Germany — There...
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Vancouver a Disney port again
Great news for Vancouver! Disney has come out with a whole new series of cruises for parts of 2012 and 2013 and Vancouver is getting the Disney ship it lost to Seattle for 2013. This is huge news for...
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Fantasy, Dream the same but different
PORT CANAVERAL — Actually, by now I’m on board the new Disney Fantasy for its inaugural preview cruise. This three-day cruise will take us to Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island, followed by a full...
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When a Fantasy comes to an end
One side of me is disappointed that I am leaving the new Disney Fantasy, the other side of me is happy to be going home, after one launch in Europe and another one in Florida…and more coming up in a...
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Wonder-ful — Disney leaving Vancouver
Are you excited about having Disney sailing out of Vancouver this year? Have you planned a trip? Well, if you want to see Alaska on Disney from Vancouver, you better do it this year. It appears this...
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Cruise readers picking winners
Conde Nast, the upscale travel magazine, each year sponsors Reader’s Choice Awards for the best of just about everything in travel. As for cruising here are the freshly minted cruising awards for...
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A week like Valentine’s Day
This is National Cruise Week. It’s sort of like Valentine’s Day — mainly created to sell cruises, which is not a bad thing. Here is what some of the cruise lines are offering if you book this week…...
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Disney Magic on the move again
Disney has now showed its hand for the winter of 2014 and it appears a return to Galveston is not in the cards. The Disney Magic is returning to Port Canaveral (Orlando) for that winter, joining her...
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Disney going back to Europe
Disney isn’t going back to Galveston next year but Goofy, Mickey, Minnie and the gang are going back to Europe after missing all of 2012. From Barcelona, Disney will offer 4-7-and-12-day cruises and...
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Disney’s details for 2014
From time to time during the last couple of months, I have been detailing a few announcements by Disney as to the cruise line’s plans for 2014. Today, in one neat package, is what Disney is up to next...
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Major changes for Disney’s Magic
With the relatively new large ships Fantasy and Dream highlighting the fleet, Disney is spicing up its oldest ship. The Disney Magic was built in 1998 and a lot has changed in the construction of...
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Cruise-ship passengers counts on the rise to historic ports in Northern...
This summer cruise prices in the Mediterranean dropped, but not in Northern Europe. The results coming from ports there — especially for ships that sailed out of England, Amsterdam and Copenhagen and...
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Refurbishers adding the Magic touch to the oldest member in the Disney fleet...
The Disney Fantasy and Disney Dream are both new and now Disney’s first ship — the Magic was launched 15 years ago — has gone undergone a major upgrade. “We have many more years of experience now in...
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Trip to the shipyard a ‘trip’ for cruise writer
PAPENBURG. Germany — While the tour of Quantum of the Seas in her almost-finished state was a great experience, the chance to go inside the massive building in the Meyer Werft Shipyard ships are built...
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Dream turned over & Phil’s Pick
Phil Reimer–The Carnival Dream has been officially turned over to Carnival Cruise Lines. This is their biggest ship ever. The ship has completed all the tests, Carnival has paid the bill and now it’s...
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Old time rock and roll and more
Phil ReimerDid you dig the music of the 50’s and 60’s? Carnival Cruise Lines and Sixthman are putting together a cruise they call Malt Shop Memories. It’s a 4-night cruise aboard the Carnival...
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Disney has the details
Phil Reimer–Disney has released details today on its newest member of “Mickey’s” fleet, the Disney Dream. Disney’s Imagineering department have lived up to the challenge of being different. The Dream...
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Carnival Dream–kids and teens
Phil Reimer aboard the Carnival Dream — I should mention before I get started on the kids section of the Carnival Dream, we are cruising out in the Atlantic off N.Y. It is windy, wet and cool and we...
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Battle of the cruise lines
Phil Reimer–Here you go, the Cruise Critic awards as picked by Carolyn Spencer Brown and her team of editors. Keep in mind, their editors are in Europe as well as North America. I agree and disagree...
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Oasis of the Seas food and entertainment
Phil ReimerFrom the weekend papers:Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas success will be determined by the quality of the food and service. Much is free in both the entertainment and food...
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Epic going to Europe
Phil Reimer–Right on the heels of Holland America’s announcement that they will have seven ships in Europe next year, Norwegian Cruise Lines has announced that Epic, their latest and largest, will be...
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New from Disney
Phil Reimer– Disney Cruise Line is letting out information in small bursts regarding the new Disney Dream. The top open deck will feature an area for adults only, including a swim-up bar. Although...
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Royal Caribbean takes on Disney
Royal Caribbean just took another giant step forward in challenging Disney’s dominance of the family market. Shrek, Fiona, the Penguins of Madagascar, Po of Kung Fu Panda and many more will now be...
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Disney does Mexico ‘Kids Free’
The weakness of the Mexican market in Los Angeles is highlighted by the announcement this week that Disney Cruise Lines is offering a “Kids Free” campaign stretching from January 23 to March 20, 2011...
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Ships’ entertainment bar higher now
Since the mega ships have been piling on the entertainment, the cruise lines that don’t have megas are trying to catch up. What with Blue Man Group (Epic), Second City (Epic), the Broadway show...
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New ship coming for Norwegian?
Seatrade Insider is reporting this morning from independent industry sources on both sides of the Atlantic that the industry is buzzing about an alleged new-build order for Norwegian Cruise Lines with...
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Disney Fantasy ready for bookings
I know it’s still a long way off, but the new Disney Fantasy is now taking bookings for 2012. With the introduction of Fantasy to the fleet, Disney will have a fleet of four ships once the Dream is...
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New Norwegian ships on the horizon
Big news from Norwegian today — two new 4,000-passenger ships will be built in Germany and launched in 2013 and 2014, respectively. A rendering of the ships (above) was released by NCL today and, no,...
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Catching up on cruise news
Here’s a few items that I thought might be of interest and that have been waiting in line, for one reason or another, to get onto the Ports and Bows blog… Portland, Maine has had a record year with...
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Titans of Royal Caribbean, DreamWorks
The brass of Royal Caribbean International and DreamWorks sat down to talk to the media this week, the brass being RCI Chairman Richard Fain and DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. Fain is Chairman of...
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These three Queens going to New York
Let’s catch up on some news from the weekend… We will carry some pictures in this space but if you happen to be in New York on January 13, all three Cunard ships will be in port in New York. They are,...
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Oceania Marina’s Godmother qualified
Long before Entertainment Tonight’s focus was to elicit sensationalism, tears, the agony of Dancing with the Stars and rehab of the famous and not-so-famous, it covered the Hollywood beat in a snappy...
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Long and short of an Azamara Journey
All good things have to come to an end and, for me, it’s the completion of my cruise on the Azamara Journey, one of the Azamara Club Cruises two ships (the other is the Quest) on a cruise to Mexico’s...
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Disney’s Dream fit for a Godmother
It was, I believe, the late Irving Berlin who first said there’s no business like show business, and Disney proved it again yesterday with a spectacular show starring Grammy Award winner Jennifer...
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A cruise ship for little AND big kids
This is my second day aboard the Disney Dream, the newest happiest ship on water, and I’m sure there must still be a kid in me somewhere. I haven’t been cabin-bound despite the fact kids are...
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‘Little’ Marina big on activity
When the Oceania Marina pulled into Nassau, the first stop on its 4-day christening cruise, the first thing everyone noticed was there was lots of company — not just in the water…but on the dock, too....
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Disney cleans up Cruise Critic ‘Oscars’
When the upscale magazine Conde Nast Traveler picks you “first in show” and the No. 1 cruise social media site — cruisecritic.com — smothers you in awards, you must be doing something right. Both are...
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Right On…Disney departing from Dover!
Blimey! Disney Cruise Line is right on the mark with its 2016 summer schedule in Europe…at least as far as the British Isles is concerned. I have always wondered why cruise lines don’t have more ships...
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Star Wars at sea on Disney Dream
My grandson was in shock the day I told him Disney had bought the Marvel and Star Wars brands. All his heroes going to all that pixie dust. It just wouldn’t work. The more he fretted, the more I laid...
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Disney cruises full of news
I’ve travelled solo on several Disney ships, much to the chagrin of my grandkids who don’t buy the “really, I’m working” line. Lots of couples, sans kids, like taking a Disney cruise. Most tell me they...
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Cruise Critic 2016 Cruisers’ Choices
Here are the Cruise Critic Awards, selected by voting readers of cruisecritic.com, which happens to be cruising’s largest social media site. Do I agree with the readers? In some cases, yes. In many...
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New Disney ships coming…and guess when?
We knew sooner or later that the Walt Disney Company would announce plans for new ships. I just didn’t know it was going to be so far out. Like five years! I can’t remember the last time — if ever —...
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Disney’s cruising growth more calculated
Last week, my column was all about the boom in shipbuilding as cruise lines try to stay ahead of demand. Disney, on the other hand, is taking a more measured approach to growth. Usually just mentioning...
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Disney deployments for summer 2017
This is the time of year when cruise lines start announcing their cruise plans for next summer. The latest is Disney. Deployment of Disney’s four ships — the Dream, Fantasy, Magic and Wonder — for...
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