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What’s better than Titanic 3D?

Written by T.I. Cruiser on April 11, 2012 · Leave a Comment

For many cruise aficionado’s, Titanic 3D is about as good as it gets. I mean we all loved the movie the first time around and love the idea of being able to immerse ourselves even further into James Cameron’s masterpiece. For some a significant percentage of cruise junkies Titanic 3D will be enough, but for others its not even close to the ultimate Titanic experience, there has to be something better. How about being able to experience Titanic in 4D (or 5, 6 or 7 “D”, does it go that high)? Of course no one in their right mind would want to actually experience what life was like during the final moments onboard White Star Line’s RMS Titanic, we just want to feel like we were there. This brings us to the Fred Olsen’s, “Balmoral” cruise ship which is currently engaged in a Titanic memorial cruise.

Titanic Memorial Cruise

On Sunday 1309 passengers (roughly the same number of passengers as the Titanic) boarded the ship in Southampton on a mission to retrace the route the RMS Titanic sailed on fate journey in 1912. Although many of the passengers have dressed in period garb, the voyage is meant to be more of a memorial than an adventure. The problem is up until this point it this particular sailing has been everything but smooth.

For second time since the ship left its Southampton port of embarkation it has experiences a delay. The first delay which occurred Monday was due to excessive winds and 30 foot waves in the Irish Sea. The second delay which happened on Tuesday happened when the ship had to turn around so that a helicopter could perform an emergency evacuation of a passenger. Now I’m not the most spiritual person in the world and have yet to figure out just how this universe works but I can tell you one thing. If I am on a Titanic “recreation” cruise where bad things keep happening I would not only count the lifeboats daily, I’d also make certain I have my muster routine down to a science.

MS Balmoral Arrives in Cobh, County Cork, Ireland

Back From a Week on the Caribbean Princess

Written by T.I. Cruiser on March 20, 2012 · Leave a Comment

Last week I had the pleasure of spending time onboard the Caribbean Princess. It really was a fantastic vacation although I would be hesitant to call it a cruise since the bulk of our time was spent in San Juan. If you are wondering what I am talking about when I say “the bulk of our time was spent in San Juan”, what I mean is our ship broke down.

Although I flew down to San Juan, Puerto Rico during the middle of the previous week, I boarded the ship Sunday March 11, for a Southern Caribbean cruise. We were to arrive in St. Martin at approximately 10 am that Monday, but didn’t actually make it there until 2:45 pm on Monday. There was something wrong with the port propeller which severely hampered the ability of the ship to make it from point A to point B. We stayed overnight in St. Martin as experts were flown in to assess the damage. Upon our return from port on our second day in St. Martin we were informed we would be returning to San Juan for the rest of our vacation week.

At first the sting of a long anticipated cruise vacation being transformed into a 3 day cruise, capped by a 4 day stay in San Juan’s newest floating resort was a bit much. However, after the Captain announced the compensation package the cruise line had put together, the sting quickly subsided. Passengers were told we would be getting a full refund of our cruise fare, as well as a cruise credit equal to 25 percent of what we paid for our modified cruise.

Now, I have been on cruises that have been impacted by hurricanes in the past but this was the first time one of my cruises has ever been cancelled. I was expecting at least a partial refund for the cruise but no additional compensation. When the announcement was made I was “blown away” by the fact that I would now be spending the remainder of my week in an incredible “hotel” in one of my favorite cities, completely free of charge. So, although I would be hesitant to say this past cruise was a success, I will say any time you get to spend a week being waited on “hand and foot” it was a successful vacation.

Fire Disables Costa Allegra

Written by T.I. Cruiser on February 27, 2012 · Leave a Comment

Ever since last when the Costa Concordia ran aground off the coast of Italy, the cruise line has been in the news. Today the spotlight is once again focused on the cruise line after a fire on board another one of its ships. Currently the Costa Allegra, sister ship to the Concordia, is adrift near Alphonse Island about 200 miles southwest of the Seychelles. It seems that a fire broke out in the generator room disabling power to the ship.

The Allegra left Madagascar on Saturday carrying 636 passengers and 413 crew members on board. It is being reported that everyone on board the ship is safe. Local Authorities as well as cargo ships in the area have been alerted and rescue efforts are now beginning.