While major ocean cruise lines build ever larger ships so huge that they virtually guarantee long lines, over crowding and an impersonal journey, river cruise lines offer a vacation experience that is congenial, engaging and relaxing.  River cruising is gaining popularity among discerning travelers looking for a relaxed and intimate European vacation.  And since their ports of call are in major cities along notable waterways, it’s convenient to add a short river cruise to any European itinerary.

The Mozart cruise aboard the deluxe Amadeus Royal, is described as ‘a musical odyssey’, visiting cities in Bavaria before making it’s way to Vienna Austria where Mozart lived most of his short adult life.  There will be numerous opportunities to learn about the life and times of Mozart as well as enjoy special performances of his compositions while gliding past magnificent scenery.  This is truly a journey that will lift your spirit and make your heart sing!  Visit eWaterways.com for the full details.

In the past few years two Italian based cruise lines have made a dramatic entry into the Caribbean marketplace with new ships and a continental flair.  MSC and Costa Cruise Lines  have each sailed their sparkling new cruise ships across the Atlantic to offer a unique style of cruising to North American passengers.  To attract your attention, these cruise lines are offering dramatic discounts on their sailings this winter.  You’ll also have the advantage of paying in US dollars rather than the Euro when the ships are in Caribbean and US waters.  Here’s a glimpse of the great deals available on these two European based cruise lines.

MSC – Is the world’s fastest growing cruise line with the youngest and most modern fleet of ships afloat. You may not be familiar with MSC yet, but they are well worth getting to know.  MSC is one of the few family owned cruise lines in existance, and their owners are dedicated to sharing old world Italian ambience.

Until the end of December you can take advantage of their Buy One, Get One at 50% off promotion (which includes President’s week sailings).  This makes for a perfect winter escape for the entire family.  Book one stateroom and get the adjoining room at a 50% discount.  If you all want to be in one room, you’ll be happy to know that kids sail free.  A quick look at Cruise.com shows sailings from $444 per person for a 7 day cruise!

You might also enjoy one of their imaginative theme sailings this winter season.  January 16 and February 6th are Baseball Greats Cruises, January 9th is a Polka cruise, January 23 is for Latin Music lovers, and January 30th is a Comedy Cruise.

Based in Naples, but now owned by Carnival Cruise Line, their fleet of 15 ships sail the world “Italian Style”. They offer sailings to Eastern Canada, Bermuda and the Western Caribbean designed for North American passengers.

Take a look at these prices!!! Sailings this winter have been discounted by up to 73% off brochure listings. Three voyages in January start at a mere $299 per person – incredible! Visit the CostaCruise.com website and click on the Hot Deals tab for the best pricing.

Arrivederci!

The Ice Bar – inspired by the famous ice hotels in Sandanavia, this frozen iced vodka chamber is embedded with LED lights that the glow blue, green and purple to simulate the Northern Lights. A limited group of 25 passengers will be decked out in fur coats, gloves and hats as they experience the ultimate chill at 17 degrees fahrenheit. The room is full of life-size sculptures, bar, walls, tables and stools – all made of ice. But fear not, the place will be red hot with the hottest techno beats.

The Posh Beach Club – Adult passengers will be able to purchase a POSH pass for one day or an entire week of frolicking in this luxurious outdoor entertainment complex. By day, guest will laze on white-cushioned day beds and private cabanas along side a 35 foot cascading waterfall, while funky beach music plays in the background and spiked snow cones are served. At night it’s pure sizzle as guests dance outside under the stars all night long or lounge on a POSH bed with bottle service on silver trays.

The Halo – a heavenly Uber Bar. This bar will be very exclusive, open only to Garden and Courtyard Villa guests. That’s right Villa accommodations on board ship instead of a standard cabin! The Halo will showcase the best of the best the ship has to offer, from fine liquors to dazzling gems. Private gaming tables will offer baccarat and blackjack – all you James Bonds out there, here’s your chance to take part in private gaming without going all the way to Monaco.

Bliss Ultra Nightclub – features NCL’s signature bowling alley at sea and has a decadent Las Vegas nightclub feel. This will be a high-energy ultra lounge with plasma screen showing music videos, shadow dancers and non-stop music. There will also be White Hot Nights where guests are encouraged to wear all white outfits including specially designed “white hot” shirts and feather boas. And if that’s not enough action, there will be gaming tables with dealers.

Spice H2O – a spicy outdoor amphitheater infused with Latin and Asian influences at the back of the ship. There will be a huge LED screen displaying video images of charging bulls, flamenco dancers, and even tap dancing Geishas (that’s a new one on me)! At night the lounge becomes an Ibiza-inspired beach club with thumping live entertainment and dinner served on lounge beds or at tableside.

Phew, I’m exhausted just writing about it. Never mind a cabin….just hang out in all the clubs and catch a wink on those lounge beds. Guests will be able to purchase Beyond the Velvet Rope packages to gain access to all the exclusive clubs on board. Norwegian Cruise Lines is clearly on the cutting edge of cruising with their new F3 series ships. You probably won’t find Grandma and Grandpa anywhere in sight!

So how do you find small group touring or private guiding in a cruise port? Read on to find all the resources you’ll need.

Step 1 – Visit your cruise line’s website and scour their brochures to read all about the cruise excursions they offer and at what price. If you’ve sent away for the Tourist Bureau’s visitor’s guide for the area you’re sailing to, that’s a great place to look for local independent tour companies and guides.

Step 2 – Visit PortReviews.com and get the skinny on what other cruisers have said about the excursions that interest you.

Step 3 – Time for serious research. Visit some of the following private shore excursion websites to read up on excursions available and to comparison shop:

ShoreTrips.com
PortTrips.com
PortPromotions.com
PortSideTours.com
Viator.com
MyExcursions.com

Step 4 - Now that you are well versed in what’s available, choose three excursions that are your ‘must see’ items. Compare those three adventures for price, content and group size among the online sites and the cruise ship offerings and reserve at the best source.

IMPORTANT: If you reserve a shore excursion with anyone but your cruise line YOU are responsible for arriving back to the cruise ship in plenty of time before it’s scheduled departure. Be sure to double check the exact hours you will be in port. If you are delayed, the ship will depart without you and you will have to make your way to it’s next port on your own. You may want to advise the front desk what private guiding company you are out with in case they need to determine your whereabouts.

Step 5 – On days that you haven’t reserved a tour in advance, consider teaming up with some new friends you’ve met on board and hiring a local taxi to take you to the sites that interest you. This works particularly well in the Caribbean where taxi charges are well marked in cruise ports and lines of taxis are waiting to greet each ship.

How ever you decide to explore your cruise ports, I hope you have the opportunity to meet some local citizens and get a glimpse of their lives away from the hubbub of the cruise terminal. After all, that’s really why you traveled all that distance.

#1 Drink Passes – Most cruise lines will offer to sell you drink passes when you go through the check in process (both for soft drinks and/or cocktails). Now, if you’re traveling with children who will be downing sodas and Shirley Temples all day long, the soda pass is probably a no brainer. For everyone else consider your drink consumption carefully and do the math. So with that in mind, I usually wait until I’m on board and see how much my cocktails of choice actually cost and then make my decision at leisure. Typically any waiter or bartender can also sell you a drink pass. You can also save money by taking advantage of free cocktail receptions on the ship. There will always be a Captain’s welcome party, an art preview reception, etc. Forget the shots with dessert – they’re just trying to pad your bill!

#2 Wine and Cocktails – We bring some wine and vodka with us. Many cruise lines allow you to bring wine on board – and I believe in don’t ask don’t tell. I find neoprene bottle pouches make great packing for bottles in the middle of the suitcase and take up no space when empty. I also bring along or buy a thermal travel mug to fill with orange juice at the breakfast buffet (to go with that vodka), or ice tea or whatever. If you’re a beer drinker, you may find it’s less expensive to order a six pack from room service (store in your mini fridge) rather than purchasing bottled beer at the bar. Bring along a zip up coozie for the bottle if you want to tote it around.

#3 Shore Excursions - Do your homework, there’s no excuse for paying too much. You’ll find descriptions and prices for shore excursions on your cruiseline’s website as well as in the final documents. Visit online shore excursion websites to comparison shop. Give these a try: ShoreTrips.com, Viator.com, PortTrips.com, Port Promotions. Alternatively make some friends on board and team up for private excursions. Some cruise lines host a meeting for folks who are members of CruiseCritic.com. When members get together they all compare notes about shore excursions and team up for private excursions. Just be sure that when you go off on your own, return to the ship early so there’s no danger of missing it’s departure – being back on the ship by departure time is entirely your responsibility and they WILL leave without you, so always plan accordingly.

#4 Shopping – Wander through the cruise ship gift shop and take note of the price points. You may find that items on the ship are less expensive than in port tourist shops – smoked salmon in Alaska for example. Read the daily news brief and look for gift shop promotional sales. If you are on a repositioning cruise, you may find that the cruise ship is changing their gift shop stock. For instance when returning from Europe to the Caribbean, all the Europe branded items will be put on sale.

#4 Casino – Suffice to say, the odds of winning on a cruise ship are dramatically less than in an onshore casino. Plan on loosing a predetermined sum of money or don’t go in. If you want to spend some time in the fun casino atmosphere, but not risk loosing your hard earned funds, participate in the group card game lessons.

#6 Technology – Resist the temptation of using your cell phone on the ship. You will likely be paying $3 a minute or more. Look for the fine print in your cabin about pricing. Wait until you get across the gangplank to power up and make your calls. Most cruise lines offer an internet access package – usually costing about $250-$300 for the length of the cruise. Do you really need to read your email that badly while on vacation??? If you want to check it just once or twice, visit an internet cafe (or public library) while in port and you’ll pay far less than on the ship.

#7 Photos – Put your disposable or digital camera in your pocket and snap away all through the ship. Pass it to your waiter and shipmates and ask them to take your picture. Make a deal with each other in advance that you will purchase no picture from the ship’s photo gallery unless you BOTH look wonderful. When leaving and reboarding the ship, we breeze right by those silly photo ops with mascot characters – plleeease!

#8 Dining – One recent trend is to have specialty restaurants on board that require advanced reservations and additional cost. Now, I feel I’ve paid enough for the cruise and the dining room food had better be really good, or I won’t be back with that cruise line again. So for me, paying extra for a fancy Italian meal or steak dinner (which can’t be cooked on open flame) just doesn’t have maximum appeal. My recommendation is to wait until mid-week and see what the reviews are like by your fellow passengers and then make your decision.

Learn to take full advantage of room service which is included free of charge. Put in a standing order for a wake up pot of coffee, order a cheese tray for enjoying the sunset on your balcony, or a late lunch to be waiting for you when you return from your shore excursion.

#9 Spa – Watch for Spa treatment promotions to be announced for days at sea. Many times you can get reduced rate treatments during mid-day hours when most passengers are ashore on shore excursions. Don’t be afraid to ask at the desk if the treatment you want is reduced at a certain time during your cruise. AND don’t buy those spa products – they are just taking advantage of your relaxed and vulnerable state. Many ships now offer teeth whitening as a spa service – so if you’ve always been wanting to have it done, check the cost at home and see if the shipboard service is a bargain.

#10 Art – just say no. Enjoy the art preview cocktail hour, but keep your hand down during the auction unless you have seriously blank walls at home you’re trying to fill. If you think you might want to purchase an art piece, it would probably be worth a stop at the internet cafe to do a quick scan of EBay and see what a similar piece would sell for off the ship. It’s important to remember that on top of the auction price you will pay a 15% buyers premium AND shipping. Then remember, if you get it home and it doesn’t look right – there’s no simple way for a return. Refer to my first bit of advice!

With a little advance planning you can have a truly memorable cruise without being faced with a huge bill at the end. Happy Sailing, and please share some tips with us about how you’ve saved money while cruising.

Major Online Booking Sites : VacationsToGo, Cruise.com, Cruise Brothers, Cruise Direct, Cruises Only, Moments Notice, 11th Hour Vacations

Last year I booked a cruise with VacationsToGo and got a spectacular deal – an outside suite for the cost of what others were quoting for a standard cabin. They were informative, professional and all went smoothly. I’d use them again anytime.

Once you’ve zeroed in on a few cruises and cruise ships that look good to you, check them out on the cruise review sites to see how others have enjoyed their vacation.
Cruise Review Sites: Cruise Critic, Cruise Mates, Cruise Reviews, Port Reviews

Finally, don’t forget about your local travel agency. Agencies belong to consortium’s that enable them to reserve bulk space on cruise ships and sell certain sailings at discounted prices. Different agencies will have promotions for a variety of cruises. They are a great resource, and your agent will likely have been on quite a few cruises and will be able to help you choose the one that will match your lifestyle the best.

Bonus Tip: Save big bucks by booking your cruise as a “category guarantee”. This means the price you pay guarantees that you will be in that category or better, but you won’t have an exact cabin assignment until you receive your documents. Booking this way can save you SIGNIFICANT dollars and you may even end up with a better cabin than you booked.

The 15 day cruise departs from Miami and makes stops in Puerto Chiapas, Mexico, Grand Cayman Island, Cartagena, Columbia, Caldera, Costa Rica, Acapulco and Cabo San Lucas and transits the Panama Canal. Final destination for the cruise is Los Angeles. Crystal Cruises is a luxury cruise line that has for 12 consecutive years won “World’s Best Large-Ship Cruise Line” awards by the readers of Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler magazines. Fare prices begin at $4,495 per person and all cabins are ocean view with balconies. You can find more information at Crystal Cruises.

What a way for a baseball enthusiast to start the new year!