There is a ton of information “out there” about travel,  from professional coverage on destinations to first-hand accounts of a particular resort.   There is a lot of disinformation too, and I regularly get questions from clients about travel tales that may have been true once upon a time, but aren’t anymore, or they never were true in the first place.  So, here, I discuss some of the popular travel myths and the reality of the tale.

Invoke Rule 240 and the airline HAS to compensate you for a delayed flight!  There actually is a “Rule 240″ and it does state that passengers with delayed or cancelled flights are to be put onto the next available flight.  But, airline deregulation in the late 1970′s made this rule obselete.  Having said that, some airlines may have their own version of Rule 240 that can get you results – check their contract of carriage to find out.

Staying in a hotel over the weekend costs more than staying during the week.  The conventional thinking is that most people who travel do so over a weekend, thus prices are higher.  This may be true for some hotels in some cities: hotels that cater to leisure travelers, primarily, will be more expensive on the weekend during the week.  But, this is not true for all hotels.  The reality is that most hotels, especially those that cater to business travelers, have a big drop in room occupancy (and thus, revenue) over the weekend because their travelers have gone home, and they offer lower rates then to lure in leisure travelers.

Drinking bottled water is safer than drinking tap water.  You might be surprised to see this one on the list.  You might be even further surprised to learn that according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, at least 25% of bottled water is just tap water.  (The Dasani brand bottled by Coca-Cola is one such example: it is simply water sourced from the Atlanta, Georgia municipal supply)  If you travel to an area, like Mexico, where tap water may be disagreeable to you, drinking bottled water itself is not always safer – check the bottle’s label and ensure the water is filtered.  Some water may be labelled as “spring water” but that doesn’t mean it’s been filtered in any manner.  Also, you will need to ensure your bottled water arrives securely bottled.  Some hotels and restaurants refill water bottles with tap water in an effort to keep their costs down.

A cruise is all-inclusive.  There was a time when the price of your cruise literally paid for everything on board, and even today, some cruise lines hold to that model, though they tend to be the high end ultra luxury lines.  For the average cruiser, the price of the cruise does not cover everything.  Soft drinks, alcohol, dining in some specialty venues on board, and some activities will usually incur additional charges.

Your hotel card key can be used to steal your identity.  A common belief is that hotel keycards contain identifying information such as credit card numbers, names, and addresses.  This is because most hotel keycards contain a magnetic strip on them that can store information, just like a credit card.  However, keycards contain two bits of information: a code to unlock your hotel room door, and your valid dates of stay.  Some cards also allow access to facilities like fitness centers.  No other identifying information is put on hotel keycards.  If you are still nervous about it, report lost or stolen cards right away, and when you check out of the hotel, take the keycard with you or cut it up like you could cut up an expired credit card.  (Some folks use hotel keycards as souvenirs of their stay.)

Airplane Photo Credit: Global Jet/Flikr Creative Commons

What is the difference between a boat and a ship?  I like calling cruise liners boats, but should I be calling them ships?  Most often, it’s the people who live and work on ships that get their feathers ruffled by hearing their vessel called a boat.  There is no difference between a boat and a ship; at least, not officially.  Unofficially, it’s generally accepted within mariner circles that anything larger than 60 feet in length is a “ship.”  Since most cruise vessels exceed this figure by a considerable amount, they’re called ships, and anything less is a boat.  Using “ship” instead of “boat” can be seen as a sign of respect towards mariners and the vessel itself, although one would not be incorrect to use “boat.”

Photo credit: Port of San Diego/Flikr Creative Commons

PRE-CRUISE
I always recommend arriving at the port city at least one day in advance of the cruise. Not only does this give you some breathing room in case of travel delays, but it helps prepare you for your cruise by giving you some time to begin relaxing! I stayed at Candlewood Suites Fort Lauderdale Airport/Cruise (1120 W. State Road 84, Fort Lauderdale) a few short minutes west of the port entrance and took a complimentary shuttle from the airport. The location was good for exploring the city a bit or as a home base for checking out Miami on a day trip. There were several fantastic restaurants nearby, but the Candlewoods come equipped with a kitchenette and basic kitchen accouterments – great for extended stays! After a restful sleep, I caught the hotel’s cruise port shuttle the next morning.

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Port Everglades

EMBARKATION
I was on the hotel shuttle at 11:30 AM, and was at the pier by Noon. I  dropped my luggage with the pierside handlers: on my last cruise, I took my luggage on board myself, and ended up lugging it everywhere with me until the staterooms were ready.  I highly recommend dropping it off! The check-in process was smooth and while I did have to wait in line a bit, it was very minimal. By 12:30, I was on board the ship and ready to begin the cruise! The staterooms weren’t ready for occupancy until 1:30 PM, giving me time to grab a quick lunch at the Lido Deck buffet before beginning my exploration of the ship.

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Sailaway from Port Everglades

DECOR & DESIGN
The Carnival Splendor is a very nice ship laid out in an easy to understand fashion, with a few small quirks thrown in. It’s not typical of Carnival layouts, as it was originally a build intended for Costa Cruise Lines. The decor is quite pink with a slight Art Deco flair, but after the first day or so it really begins to look decent and not so outlandish. Carnival is famous for its use of neon and other “unusual” colors, but everything fit together well and anything that jumped out at me initially didn’t bother me after a short while. I enjoyed the decor in the lounges and the dining rooms – the stateroom decor was decidedly hotel-room vanilla, which suited me just fine as most of the time I was there, I was either changing clothes or sleeping!

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Carnival Splendor Atrium

FOOD & DINING
At the time I sailed her, Carnival Splendor did not participate in Carnival’s Anytime Dining service. As such, guests were assigned to one of two main dining rooms: the Black Pearl and Gold Pearl Dining Rooms. One is located mid-ship, next to the Lobby, and the other is at the back of the ship. The aft Dining Room, the Gold Pearl, was used for breakfast and lunch table service on Sea Days, with both Dining Rooms open for dinner service at 6:15 PM and 8:15 PM.  Now, Carnival Splendor DOES have Anytime Dining, and those guests are generally seated on the upper levels of the two dining rooms.

The Lido Deck boasts an extensive buffet area, consisting of two “main course” lines, a Mongolian Station, 24-hour ice cream stations (cones or sundaes), and a dessert bar. One deck up was a Rotisserie station serving rotisserie style chicken, corn on the cob, macaroni and cheese, and other down-home favorites.  Because it was “hidden” from the rest of the buffet food areas, not many people knew about it – the line was almost always shorter! Next to the Lido Pool was a 24-hour Pizzeria and a hamburger/hot dog station. The aft pool area had a grill used for Tandoori-style cooking as well as a Deli station. Last, but not least, The Pinnacle reservations-only supper club on Deck 12 was available for a cover charge. Along with room service offerings available in the staterooms at no extra charge, all these options made it difficult to go hungry!

Food on this cruise was generally pleasant, filling, and presented well. I ate every evening meal in the Main Dining Room and each night we had different selections. Regardless of what I chose, the food was delightful. The pizza was okay, but it wasn’t the best pizza I’ve had on a cruise ship, contrary to many other reviews I’ve read. The hot dogs and hamburgers were nothing special, just tasty, filling, and hot. The Tandoori station was one that I tried a couple times, but it wasn’t a favorite. I like some Tandoori-style cooking, and what I chose was good and well-prepared. The Deli station made sandwich wraps, panini-style sandwiches, and other items. I didn’t use it very much but the chicken wrap I had was fun to eat. The Lido buffet food was standard buffet fare – each day was a different nation focus: one day was Mexican, the next was Italian, and so on. Some of the food didn’t look appetizing to me, but the fruit, desserts, and basic standards were always plentiful and tasty.

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Main Dining Room Table Setting

STATEROOM
I had an interior stateroom on Deck 2 Aft. This is generally not a good location for people who are bothered by engine noise or vibrations, but for me it was not an issue. I enjoy interior staterooms because the darkness allows me to fall asleep quickly and stay that way. Yet, it is a slight hassle to wake up and wonder if I’m just waking up in the middle of the night or if it’s really daylight outside.

The stateroom was laid out well, with a mini-bar, in-room safe, bed, two nightstands with lamps, a makeup table with ample lighting, a chair and ottoman, small table, two upright closets for hanging clothes, an upright shelf unit for folded clothing, and three drawers for extra space. I did not want for storage space for any of my clothing or luggage pieces. The bathroom was also more spacious than I expected. Plenty of shelving for my toiletries, and the towel racks were placed well for quick access without being in the way. The shower was small, again not as small as I had anticipated. Carnival provides shampoo and body wash in the showers, both of which I sampled. Although I prefer my own, they were good scents and did the job well. The bed was comfortable and I was able to move about the stateroom easily while I got ready for the day or evening or when I just wanted to relax before bed. The stateroom TV was a flat-screen mounted to the wall, and offered CNN news channels, a few on-demand movie channels, TNT, a kid’s channel, Cartoon Network, and a couple of ship channels. One was used to replay events that occurred, like contests or cruise director talks. The other was used to replay highlights of the trip and ports of call which would be available on the ship’s DVD.

I managed to sneak a peak at a couple of ocean-view and balcony staterooms, and they were also laid out well. Most balconies on the port or starboard sides of the ship are rather small, with just enough room for two chairs and a small table. Yet, balcony guests I spoke to really enjoyed having them.

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CREW SERVICE
I enjoyed the service provided by the crew. My room steward, Arnold, was from the Philippines and was nearly a foot shorter than I. He always greeted me with a “GOOD MORNING, SIR!” in a happy, chipper voice and a smile on his face. My stateroom was always cleaned well, and the turn-down service at night was very nice as well. I always had a towel animal waiting for me, as well as the next day’s schedule and a couple of bed chocolates.

Dining room service was fantastic. Our headwaiter, Zvonimir, was from Croatia and bent over backwards to take care of our needs. A couple of times he went above and beyond: during one dinner, I had thoroughly enjoyed a bowl of chilled strawberry bisque, and asked if the chefs planned to serve it again before the end of the cruise. Although it never appeared on the menu again, Zvonimir made sure I had not one but TWO more bowls of it. That was really good stuff! The Maitre’D, Konstatin, was very good and efficient at his job. He, along with the dining room staff, always gave us a couple of songs and dances each night before dessert was served, and it was always fun and entertaining and always resulted in a new burst of energetic table talk afterwards.

The bar staff was pleasant, social, and very good about cleaning up their areas. My only service complaint was with the Lido dining room staff – they seemed to be slow in clearing off tables, especially ones next to the windows which were always in high demand. The buffet servers did well in keeping food on the line and assisting guests with it.

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ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES
During the cruise, there were three revue shows featuring the song and dance crew, one night was a comedian, one night was a hypnotist, and the last night was the Carnival Legends. The revue shows were excellent – the performers did not miss a single beat in all the dances they did, and the vocalists were fantastic. The first revue show featured a Latin Fiesta tribute to Latin music and dance. It was a pleasant show, and my least favorite. The second revue show featured songs with a beat – a very up-tempo show that closed out with a shower of confetti over the audience. The last show, called Vrooom, was a tribute to the Top 40 through the decades, with renditions of Y.M.C.A., Madonna’s Like a Virgin, Queen’s We Will Rock You, the Beatles, Elvis, and more. This one had the most costume changes, the most set changes, theatrical lasers and sparks, and also ended in a shower of confetti over the audience. This was also my favorite show mostly because I knew the songs better. The audience really got into Y.M.C.A. and it made it a really good time. The main shows were scheduled twice each evening, one show for guests who dined at 6:15 PM and the later one for guests dining at 8:15 PM. This helped to ensure that guests wouldn’t miss a show because of dinner!

The comedian, Tommy Drake, was funny and entertaining. He had an R-rated show later in the cruise but I wasn’t able to enjoy it because the lounge ran out of seating. I did not see the hypnotist but reports from fellow cruisers said he was good and put on a very entertaining show.

Daytime activities included games like Bingo, Bean Bag Toss, and Carnival Survivor where guests had to complete challenges a la the TV show, until only one was left. There were also competitions like Pool Olympics, the Hairy Chest Competition, and of course, BINGO! The entertainment staff worked very hard to ensure that guests had plenty of options, both on sea days and on port days. The lounge singers and lobby musicians were all talented and many have been on past cruises so some guests knew of them and were excited to have them again.

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Nighttime Activities

OTHER PUBLIC SPACES
The Royal Flush Casino is well outfitted with slot machines and table games, as well as a couple of video poker terminals, and at least one video Texas Hold ‘Em Poker table. I didn’t play in the Casino myself, but guests I was sailing with did, and reported that the payouts were fair.

The piano bar was small and intimate, and a popular place for many each evening. The disco nightclub was open in the evenings, and at times was reserved for the teen club patrons. The Splendor boasts an excellent coffee shop counter where you can get your daily latte or cappuccino and such, along with delectable desserts – I had a slice of Fat Chocolate Cake: four layers of yummy chocolate cake with lots of rich chocolate frosting. After seeing it in the window for four days I just couldn’t help myself, but it was worth it. Note: purchases at the coffee shop are an additional cost.

The sushi bar was open in the evenings, and was set up like a pre-dinner appetizer style counter. It wasn’t as busy as I expected it to be, but I heard pleasant things about it.  I did not sample anything because I didn’t want to fill up on sushi before dinner!

In addition to all that, the ship boasts a decent-sized library, jazz lounge, cigar lounge, and wine bar. I didn’t frequent these spaces but my initial peeks into them revealed well-appointed and spacious rooms artfully decorated.

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Robusto Cigar Bar

OUTSIDE PUBLIC SPACES
The outside decks were pleasant. I was disappointed that the Promenade deck was not wrap-around. There was a walking/jogging track around the iconic funnel, and on sea days it could get windy up there. It did not bother me as I did walking each morning – it was actually kind of fun to be buffeted about by the winds but more petite and lightweight guests had an issue with it.

Deck 14 hosted a decent mini-golf course, which was extra challenging on sea days with the wind and ship motions adding a new spin to the game. Next to the Lido pool was the giant Seaside Theatre, a big screen TV showing movies, news, and more throughout the cruise. One of the NFL playoff games was televised on it; President Obama’s inauguration was televised there also. They played many recent movies – one evening, I caught the most recent Indiana Jones movie, which I had seen before, but it was still fun to watch. During sea days they played one movie early on, and another one later and even threw in some kid’s movies (Kung-Fu Panda, anyone?) here and there. There was plenty of seating, lounge chairs, and tables throughout the ship. The lounge chairs weren’t comfortable for long periods of time, unless you were lying down. Sitting up in them to watch a movie or read a book wasn’t very comfortable.

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Splendido Lido Pool

SPA
Carnival has a good spa – the Cloud 9 Spa. Located forward on Deck 11, it has a gymnasium with weights, treadmills, and etc., along with treatment rooms, a thalassotherapy pool, thermal suite, and more. The gymnasium was open to all guests, but most of the spa was reserved for guests in Spa staterooms unless a cover charge for the day was paid. Guests I spoke to who used the spa facilities reported it to be top-notch and well worth the money.

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PORTS OF CALL
San Juan: We arrived in the afternoon, and left at midnight, so there wasn’t a whole lot of time for anything. Luckily, the ship docked at Old San Juan, so it didn’t take more than a few steps to get to things. I walked around Old Town with its cobblestone streets, small shops, and old cathedrals and just enjoyed myself.
St. Thomas: I really enjoyed St. Thomas. I took an aerial tram up to Paradise Point overlooking the harbor, where I got a great vista view. St. Thomas is a shopping haven, but since I’m not a big shopper, I was worried I wouldn’t find something interesting to do.
La Romana: This port was rather basic, as it’s a new one for Carnival. There is nothing to do at the port itself – once off the ship, it’s necessary to get an excursion or transportation to other areas like Punta Cana or Santo Domingo in order to experience the Dominican Republic. I took the day as an off day and stayed on board catching up with my reading. It turned out to be very relaxing for me. Shore excursion reports from other passengers were mixed – some liked them, others thought they were a waste of time.
Nassau: In lieu of an organized excursion, I took a water taxi to Paradise Island, home of the famous Atlantis Resort. I purchased a day pass to the resort to look around the grounds and see the renowned aquarium on the property. It was a rather fun day for me that went by all too quickly.

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Port of St. Thomas

DEBARKATION
Carnival offers a self-assist or general debarkation. The self-assist is at 7:00 AM and is great for those who want to get off the ship early and can handle their entire luggage. That was too early for me, as my flight didn’t leave until after lunch, so I opted for General Debarkation where you set your bag out in the hallway during the night and retrieve the bag again after you get off the ship. After a leisurely breakfast on the Lido Deck, I was able to depart the ship at about 9:30 or 10:00, and by the time I got my luggage, passed Customs, took the Carnival transfer back to the airport and passed through TSA security, I still had 1.5 hours before my flight time. I’d say the debarkation process went fairly smooth, although I don’t enjoy the melee of trying to find bags from general debarkation. The space provided for that at Port Everglades is not very large at all.

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OVERALL
Out of a possible 5 stars, I would give this cruise a 4.5. It certainly exceeded my expectations in many ways, and didn’t meet them in others. I’m used to staff I encounter frequently remembering my name, or seeing my name on my card and using it which happened only once. The ports of call were good, but I would have preferred more time in San Juan (certainly more DAYLIGHT hours) and in Nassau. I’m looking forward to experiencing another Carnival sailing soon!

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PHOTO GALLERY
Enjoy the rest of the photos I have to share from the trip!

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Cruises depart from the United States each weekend, hundreds of them, many of them bound for hurricane-prone areas like the Caribbean islands, Bermuda, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Mexican Baja coast.  What does a cruiser need to know about hurricanes & tropical storms, and how they can affect the cruise experience?

There are usually two main occurrences if a hurricane or storm threatens a cruise itinerary:

1. The cruise could be canceled
2. The itinerary itself could be altered in some way

Obviously, the cruise lines do everything possible to prevent a cancellation of the cruise.  This costs them money: typically, if the cruise is canceled, the passengers are entitled to a full refund.  Plus, the cruise line loses out on the potential revenue from that cruise, including drinks, shore excursions, and more.

So that leaves changing the itinerary.  Some cruisers choose their next cruise based on the ports it visits; those folks tend to be the most upset when the itinerary is changed.  Cruise lines will often substitute an alternative port or add in an extra sea day if storms threaten the original route.  Here’s where it gets a little tricky: the cruise line has the right to do that.  Even better, they aren’t required to provide any compensation for missed or changed ports of call, but many times they provide shipboard credit, partial refunds, or other compensation as a gesture of goodwill.

I always highly recommend travel insurance for any cruise, but especially more so during hurricane season.  Travel insurance provides a safety net for trip cancellations or interruptions or other situations that can turn a vacation experience sour in a red-hot minute.  Check out my post about travel insurance for more details.

One caveat – while most travel insurance policies provide coverage for severe weather, including hurricanes, disrupting travel, they often don’t provide coverage for cancellations just because the itinerary changed unless a “purchase for any reason” rider is purchased along with the policy.  Keep that in mind, especially if the ports of call on your cruise are important to you.  Regardless of which travel insurance policy you select, be sure to read any and all fine print so you know exactly what is and is not covered.  Many times, travel insurance must be purchased before a hurricane is officially named, so it is vital to purchase this as early as possible, preferably at the same time you provide a deposit for your cruise.

The bottom line is that cruising during the hurricane season really isn’t all that bad if you are flexible with changes that may occur.  By sailing during this time, it’s important not to get hung up on missed ports of call or shore excursions and just go with the flow.  If that’s not something that you are willing to do, you should consider cruising during other times of the year.  Your cruise experience, and that of your fellow cruisers, will be much better for it!

Sudden storms can often cause cruise ships like the Carnival Triumph to hit stormy waters, but often they are avoided.

Cruise Stateroom

My cruise stateroom is a guaranteed stateroom.  What does that mean? Most of the time, when you book a cruise, you are able to select your stateroom.  You can decide if you want to be in the front, middle, or back, or if you want to be high up on the ship, or lower.  Using tools like the ship deck plans (and recommendations from your trusted travel advisor!) you find the right location for you.

Often, cruise lines will offer a lower rate if you agree to accept a guaranteed stateroom.  This means you are guaranteed that category of stateroom, or better.  For example, balcony staterooms can have 4 or more different categories – each category features a different location on the ship, with the most popular categories being the most expensive.  If you book a guaranteed balcony stateroom in the lowest available category, the cruise line guarantees you will receive a balcony stateroom in that category OR one in a higher category.  You lose the ability to pick your stateroom, and you can be placed anywhere the cruise line has space for you.  You will not find out your actual stateroom assignment until close in to sailing; many times, when your documents are ready, but sometimes you won’t find out until sailing day when you arrive to check in for your cruise.

Booking a guarantee stateroom can go either way for you – you can luck out and get an awesome stateroom location for a lower price, or you could get the stateroom that no one else wants!  But, sometimes, the cost savings is worth it.

Cruise Stateroom photo: ckramer/Flickr Creative Commons

Alexandria, Egypt - Some rights reserved by A.M. Kuchling/Flikr Creative Commons

In recent days there has been civil unrest in Egypt, including rioting in the streets and violence where people have been injured and killed.  Many cruise lines, large and small, call on ports in Egypt and cruisers scheduled to visit those ports have reason to be concerned for the status of their cruise itinerary.  Here’s what I know so far:

• Political unrest seems concentrated on the major cities of Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez.
• The military has closed the Pyramids at Giza, a major attraction for cruise passengers and is taking steps to protect other national treasures.
• Uniworld River Cruises has cancelled tours arriving in Egypt up to and including February 12, 2011.
• Avalon Waterways has cancelled cruises departing January 29 and February 1.
• MSC is diverting two ships, the Splendida and Magnifica, from Alexandria to Limassol, Cyprus & Haifa, Israel (respectively).  Splendida is also adding Izmir, Turkey to its itinerary.
• NCL has diverted the Norwegian Jade from Alexandria to Istanbul.

The U.S. State Department has used a travel alert to Egypt.  Hopefully this will not last too long, and the situation can be resolved as peacefully as possible so tourism, one of Egypt’s biggest industries, can resume.

Diamond Princess

In 2007, I sailed the Diamond Princess, part of the Princess Cruise Lines fleet.  She can accommodate a little over 2,600 passengers and 1,000 crew; with a space ratio of 43, I always felt like I was one of a few hundred, rather than thousand.  The Diamond Princess’ public decks were laid out to ensure good traffic flow, and the decor around the ship was not glitzy and funky, but rather understated with a touch of elegance.  I easily felt like I was on a premium cruise line, and had paid much, much more for the cruise than I had.  I enjoyed the Crooner’s Piano Bar, which featured a very pretty woman playing a piano and singing in a sultry voice; in my mind, it brought to mind the dinner clubs of the 40′s and 50′s that are so often portrayed in movies.  I was most impressed with the Skywalker Nightclub; this lounge-by-day and disco-by-night was located on Deck 17 aft – the highest point on the ship.  It offered great views of the ship’s wake, as well as forward views.  We had one night there was wet weather, and it was entrancing watching the waves from Skywalker’s.  The staterooms were comfortable, and had the right

Calypso Pool

amount of space.  I liked the atypical layout where the closet area was out of sight of the bed area – it helped to make the stateroom feel larger.  My favorite part of this cruise was the dining experience.  Breakfast and lunch was available at the Horizon Court buffet on the Lido Deck, and we enjoyed pizza, hamburgers, and hot dogs at the Trident Grill near the pool.  Dinner was a fancy affair in the International Dining Room, where we were served each night by a terrific waitstaff.  We could have chosen Princess’ Anytime Dining at one of four themed dining rooms, but we are fans of Traditional Dining.  The ship boasted two specialty restaurants: a steakhouse and an Italian ristorante, but we never got around to dining at either place.

Overall, I was pleased with the ship’s appearance inside and out – it was obvious the ship was built well and cared for properly.  I would not hesitate to sail on her again if the chance came up.  The ideal client for Diamond Princess, and in fact, Princess Cruises as a whole, would be the cruiser who has a slightly refined taste but doesn’t have the budget for the premium or upscale lines.  Also, the person who appreciates quality service, quality gourmet food, and entertaining activities onboard and off would be a great fit.

Interested in sailing on the Diamond Princess?  She’s heading back to Alaskan waters beginning in May 2011.  Check out this sample itinerary below, for a 7 Night Southbound Alaskan Cruise in June:

Day 1 – Depart Anchorage, Alaska (via Whittier) at 8:30 PM
Day 2 – Scenic Cruising at Hubbard Glacier – 3 PM to 8 PM
Day 3 – Scenic Cruising at Glacier Bay National Park  – 10:30 AM to 8:30 PM
Day 4 – Call in Skagway, Alaska – 7:00 AM to 8:30 PM
Day 5 – Call in Juneau, Alaska – 6:30 AM to 4:00 PM
Day 6 – Call in Ketchikan, Alaska – 10 AM to 6 PM
Day 7 – Day at Sea
Day 8 – Arrive in Vancouver, British Columbia at 7:30 AM

You can visit Alaska on board the Diamond Princess starting at $749.00 per person and up.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Adzr2TtACO4

Steve is a Princess Cruises Certified Expert and can assist you with planning your cruise on the Diamond Princess today! Call 417-597-4216 or email to info@journeysbysteve.com, or fill out our nifty online form.

Voyager of the Seas Facts

Visit any website or read any brochure that details passenger cruise vessels, and you will often see a small list of ship facts somewhere, and one of those facts is something called “gross registered tonnage”, abbreviated GRT.  Why the heck would you need to know how much the ship weighs, and how on Earth do they even calculate that??

It’s Not About Weight

For starters, the gross registered tonnage is not a measure of the weight of the ship.  Rather, it is a measurement of the revenue-producing areas of the ship, where 100 cubic feet of space equals 1 gross registered tonnage.  This measurement is used to determine what port fees the cruise line will pay for that ship to dock at a particular port.  A larger GRT value means more revenue-producing space, which means a larger ship, which means higher port fees.

I know what you’re thinking now – if this is something that is used for cruise line operations, why would the average passenger be concerned with it?

Space Ratio

Some people like really large ships, such as Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas.   Other people are spooked by the idea of cruising with so many people at the same time, feeling they would be crowded onto the ship like sardines in a can.  But, just because a ship is large does not mean it is crowded.  You can get an idea of how much space there is per passenger by determining the ship’s space ratio.

Here’s the simple formula:

Gross Registered Tonnage
——————————–   = Space Ratio
No. of Passengers

Obviously, a higher space ratio means there is more space per passenger, and therefore is less crowded.  Most cruise vessels are in the mid-to-high 30′s; some luxury or premium lines are at 40 or higher.  If you are due to sail on a vessel that is less than 36, be prepared to be cramped!