Undercover Boss’ Norwegian Cruise Line Episode to Air on Jan 2, 2011

Wouldn't you love to boss around your boss? Giving orders to the top guy might be even more satisfying. Each week that happens when "Undercover Boss" follows a different executive as he or she leaves the comfort of the corner office for an undercover mission to examine the inner workings of their companies. While working alongside their employees, they see the effects that their decisions have on

Adventures by Disney Sets Sail with Disney Cruise Line To Offer Unique Travel Tours in 2011

Award-winning travel companies Adventures by Disney and Disney Cruise Line have once again teamed up to offer immersive vacation opportunities for families aboard select Disney cruise vacations in 2011. The Adventures by Disney experience is available as an add-on booked in advance of the cruise that features privately-guided tour packages in Mediterranean or Alaskan ports of call or a pre-cruise

Dancing With The Stars At Sea

If you love cruises and ballroom dancing and were a Brady Bunch fan, get set for the ultimate experience that combines all three. Now you can sail with Dancing With The Stars contestant Florence Henderson and her pro partner Corky Ballas. This special Inaugural Ballroom Dance Celebration at Sea 2012 not only includes Henderson, of The Brady Bunch fame, but also two of the Brady ‘kids,’ Barry

Carnival Adds Fun To New Year’s Eve

With Christmas behind us, the new year is less than a week away and it’s time to think of resolutions and hopes for the future. Each year people from around the globe write their wishes for the New Year on pieces of official Times Square New Year’s Eve confetti. Whether it’s a personal goal, a dream for the future, or doing something for the very first time, these wishes will be posted on the

Carnival Cruise Lines Kicks Off 2011 With A Simple Question: ‘Hey America, Didja Ever?’

It seems that every traveler these days has a bucket list of things they want to do and places they want to see. To help them achieve their goals, Carnival Cruise Line hopes to inspire people to experience new things and make their lives happier and more satisfying. For instance, “Didja Ever” zip line across a rain forest? Catch air on a wave runner? Jump into an impromptu performance of Thriller

Celebrity Cruises Gives St. Kitts A Vote Of Confidence

You may recall reading St, Kitts: Will Seabourn Sojourn Call There? in a recent story here on Cruise Diva's Blog. My apprehension about a change in Seabourn Sojourn's Nov 30-Dec 10 Yachtsman’s Caribbean itinerary was due to an attack on cruise passengers by armed robbers in mid-November. The robbers, who ambushed a tour bus carrying passengers from Celebrity Mercury, blocked a road and boarded

Merry Christmas

One of our favorite traditions when we lived in Lousiana was to listen to The Night Before Christmas, Cajun-style. Cruise Diva would like to share it with you.Merry Christmas To All!

NCL to Take Europe by Storm in 2012/2013

Norwegian Cruise Line is bringing “homeland cruising” to a homeport near you, provided you live in Europe. The line has announced its largest European deployment ever for the 2012/2013 season with four Freestyle Cruising ships, including two that will remain positioned in Europe year-round. Norwegian Spirit will join Norwegian Jade sailing year-round in Europe beginning in April 2012. This is

Holland America Line To Explore Hawaii & Tahiti in 2011 & 2012

In fall of 2011 and winter of 2012 two Holland America Line ships, ms Westerdam and ms Rotterdam, will sail three 30-day “Circle Hawaii, Tahiti and Marquesas Islands” explorations, visiting beautiful and picturesque islands throughout French Polynesia and the Aloha state. Best of all, there is no long flight across the Pacific to endure. Westerdam’s voyage sails round trip from San Diego,

Presenting The Exclusive MSC Yacht Club

Perhaps one of the best kept "secrets" afloat was conceived and launched by MSC Cruises, one of the world’s youngest cruise companies and the market leader in the Mediterranean, South Africa, and Brazil. It's the MSC Yacht Club, a unique experience to the cruise industry that seldom gets the recognition it deserves.Purpose built around an uncompromising vision of comfort on two of the company’s

Norwegian Declares ‘Free Upgrades For All’ During Wave Promotion

To celebrate Wave Season a bit earlier than normal (it usually doesn't begin until after the first of the year), Norwegian Cruise Line is launching its “Free Upgrades For All” Sales Event. All new reservations booked through March 27, 2011 on select sailings on any of the line’s 11 Freestyle Cruising ships will receive an up to a four-category upgrade, along with e-coupons in on-board savings of

Cunard Line Encourages Fans to Vote for Its Inaugural Float in The 2011 Tournament of Roses Parade Viewers’ Choice Awards

Cunard Line encourages its global fan base to vote for its inaugural float entry, “A Grand Celebration at Sea,” which is eligible for a Viewers’ Choice Award at the 122nd Rose Parade presented by Honda. For the third year in a row, the Viewers’ Choice Award will allow Rose Parade fans to choose their favorite float by voting online and, for the first time ever, via text message.Viewers will be

The Holidays Light Up During Winter Nights & Lights At Miami Seaquarium

If you're arriving in Miami to spend some time before your cruise, or plan to remain in the area after you disembark your ship between Dec 18 and Dec 30, here's an idea to help you get into the holiday spirit. In a dazzling display of holiday splendor, Miami Seaquarium will transform into a winter wonderland for its annual Winter Nights & Lights Celebration. Complete with nightly snowfall, a Kids

Food Network Challenge Competitors Face Off After Cruise on the Carnival Dream

Get set for some "Dream-y" sugar conconctions with a cruising ports-of-call twist this weekend. Carnival Cruise Lines recently hosted four of the country’s top pastry chefs on a 7-day cruise aboard the Carnival Dream during which they experienced a series of exhilarating and memorable shore excursions that provided inspiration for their extraordinary creations to be featured on the Dec. 19th

Carnival Cruise Lines Cancels Additional Carnival Splendor Voyages as Repairs Continue

Ship Now Scheduled to Re-Enter Service Feb 20, 2011As we suspected, the initial announcement of plans to return Carnival Splendor to service next month were a bit premature.Carnival Cruise Lines has now cancelled additional departures of the damaged ship including the Jan 16, 23, & 30 and Feb 6 & 13, 2011 voyages to allow for additional repair time following an engine room fire aboard the vessel

A Message from Royal Caribbean About Brilliance of the Seas

A picture is worth a thousand words and most vacationers, including cruisers, pack their cameras and camcorders to capture their travel highlights. Passengers aboard Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas probably caught more dramatic images than they anticipated last Sunday as the ship encountered heavy weather while making its way to Alexandria, Egypt.Captain William Wright, Senior Vice

Cruise Wear: Look So Right in a Sarong

Cruise Diva is always on the hunt for new apparel items to add to her cruise wardrobe and has discovered the Boomerang Sarong: a Sarong So Right™ and ideal for cruise travel. These figure flattering sarongs can be worn day or night—at the beach and as a pool cover-up on board, or even for dinner with a coordinating solid color top. Where ever you wear one, you'll feel fashionable, comfortable,

New Cruise Review: Celebrity Century

The review of a first-time cruisers' experience aboard Celebrity Century reveals unmet expectations on a short Western Caribbean itinerary and some misconceptions about cruise travel.Identified only as Robindebbieusa in email to Cruise Diva, the reviewer says, "My purpose for writing this review is to try to help someone else who is in a similar position to me, having travelled extensively and

Cunard Appoints the Line’s First Female Captain

Many passengers are anxious to meet their ship's captain and some eyebrows may be raised when they are greeted aboard Cunard Line's Queen Victoria by Captain Olsen.When Inger Klein Olsen assumed command of Queen Victoria on Wednesday, Dec 1st, she made history by becoming the venerable shipping line's first female captain. Captain Olsen’s first task at the helm of Queen Victoria was to take the

Celebrity Cruises To Introduce More Avant-Garde Features On Celebrity Silhouette & Celebrity Reflection

How do you make the best even better? Celebrity Cruises believes you break the rules, stay ahead of the curve, and provide what vacationers want most.. often before they even say they want it. That belief is vividly reflected in the distinctive, luxurious, vacation-enhancing venues Celebrity will introduce on the fourth and fifth ships in its award-winning Solstice Class fleet, Celebrity

Seabourn Sojourn: At Sea

From the moment we stepped board Seabourn Sojourn, we felt the difference. We weren’t mere passengers—we were guests. We’ve learned the true meaning of pampering as the staff aboard Seabourn Sojourn has spoiled us with constant, yet unobtrusive service. While Mel and I consider ourselves low key and low maintenance, the crewmembers have gone out of their way to satisfy our every whim—even whims

Seabourn Sojourn: At Sea

Food and cruise travel just naturally go hand-in-hand and for us the breadsticks symbolize the excellence of the meals on Seabourn Sojourn. Everyone loves them and every night they are perfect—crispy and flavorful. They’re so good that many guests would like to take the breadstick baker home with them.Seabourn Sojourn has four restaurants. The Restaurant is the main dining room where the

Seabourn Sojourn: “Caviar in the Surf”

As we tendered ashore for Seabourn’s signature “Caviar in the Surf” Beach Barbeque our expectations were high and they were met from the moment we stepped on the dock at Isla Catalina. To say that the officers and staff of Seabourn Sojourn know how to throw a party is an understatement.Whether full sun or shade was your preference, there were lounge chairs available beneath umbrellas (or not) for

Seabourn Sojourn: A Day in St. John

Perhaps my expectations were a bit too high due to St John’s reputation as the idyllic unspoiled US Virgin Island, but I admit to being somewhat under whelmed by our time there. After tendering ashore to Cruz Bay from Seabourn Sojourn we shared an open-air taxi ($6 per person each way) with some fellow passengers to Trunk Bay beach where the admission charge is $4 per person. The facilities are

Seabourn Sojourn: A Day in St. Kitts

Although we’ve visited St Kitts in the past we’ve never really ventured outside Basseterre, the capital and port city. This time we chose “The Best of St. Kitts” shore excursion offered by Seabourn in order to see the island properly. After a drive through town, our first stop was in the middle of a rainforest at the Botanical Gardens of Romney Manor. Not merely beautiful, the site also holds

Seabourn Sojourn: A Day in St. Barts

Since we’ve been to St Barts several times, instead of spending a lot of time ashore today, I plan to take advantage of one of the semi-undiscovered spots to relax aboard Seabourn Sojourn. All the way forward on Deck 6 is a door leading to the bow and a seldom used hot tub. While at anchor today, it’s the perfect perch with the island’s lush green hillside as a backdrop.Otherwise, there’s not a

Seabourn Sojourn: A Day in San Juan

One of the beauties of our Seabourn Sojourn itinerary is that we are in port on days when other cruise ships aren’t. We’re sharing the dock in San Juan with only one other ship, Regent Seven Seas Voyager, and there isn’t a mega-ship in sight. With beautiful weather and Old San Juan totally uncrowded, we took the opportunity to visit to both forts, San Cristobal and El Morro, and do a bit of

Seabourn Sojourn: At Sea

Nothing defines cruise travel like a day at sea and we have two of them to start our sojourn through the Caribbean as well as two to end it, with daily port calls in between. Although Seabourn Sojourn sailed “full,” with only one empty suite (someone missed the embarkation in Port Everglades), it’s never a problem finding a spot to relax, either by the pool or in the lounges. We arrived fairly

Where’s Cruise Diva? Aboard Seabourn Sojourn

“This Is My Yacht”—that’s what the documents say for the Yachtsman’s Caribbean cruise on Seabourn Sojourn and I’m setting out to discover if that’s true. So far, so good. Embarkation in Port Everglades was a snap and we settled into our verandah suite after a short wait in the Grand Salon where we enjoyed snacks and beverages.When the luggage arrived, it became apparent how generous the storage