The Cruise Report With Cruise Specialists Cruise Reporter Ralph Grizzle

Queen Victoria IN Gamla Stan, Stockholm, Sweden

Today, Cunard Line’s Queen Victoria was anchored in Stockholm, Sweden, in the middle of the harbor that fronts Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s Old Town. The ship was a spectacle for all to see. A couple of years ago, I attended Queen Victoria’s christening ceremony and filed this report.

The Duchess of Cornwall. Camilla, who named Queen Victoria in Southampton  Read more... (1084 words, 7 images, estimated 4:20 mins reading time)

New York has nearly always been the final destination for European liners that began Transatlantic cruises in 1840. The city has seen ships bring waves of immigrants and scores of millionaires and movie stars. The Big Apple has welcomed the world’s greatest sailing ships, stately icons that symbolized a time of great glamour, elegance and tradition.  Read more... (208 words, 1 image, estimated 50 secs reading time)

Cunard’s impeccable White Star Service will make an intriguing east-west world voyage aboard the Queen Mary 2 starting January 2011, the fourth world cruise for the line’s flagship. Cunard’s 2011 world cruises — on the magnificent QM2 as well as the newer Queen Elizabeth — go on sale next week, and Cunard is offering some significant early-booking incentives.  Read more... (238 words, estimated 57 secs reading time)

Cruise-ship devotees may want to mark their calendars for Jan. 13, 2011, and make plans to be in New York Harbor that day. That’s because three luxury ocean liners from Cunard Line — Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria — will make their second Royal Rendezvous, three years to the day after the first one.  Read more... (152 words, estimated 36 secs reading time)

The new Queen Elizabeth will make her maiden world cruise for Cunard in 2011. Cunard’s 2011 world cruises — on the Queen Elizabeth as well as the flagship Queen Mary 2 — go on sale next week, and Cunard is offering some significant early-booking incentives.  Read more... (271 words, estimated 1:05 mins reading time)

Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 will be the place to see and be seen for filmmakers and actors connected with the Tribeca Film Festival. As the new official cruise line of this important New York film festival, Cunard Line will offer exclusive film programming aboard specific transatlantic cruises this year and next, and many of the actors, directors, producers and others involved with these films will be on board for discussions and presentations.  Read more... (159 words, 1 image, estimated 38 secs reading time)

Cruising clearly enjoys a strong and devoted following quite capable of recognizing a significant event. Cunard Line says it accepted reservations for all 2,000-plus berths in just 29 minutes on April 1 for the the October 2010 maiden voyage for the new Queen Elizabeth, easily making it the fastest-selling voyage in Cunard’s 170-year history.  Read more... (176 words, 1 image, estimated 42 secs reading time)

While true connoisseurs of luxury cruising may not accept a substitute for sailing on a small upscale ship, there are now pockets of luxury on almost every large premium and contemporary cruise ship afloat.

Recognizing that there are many cruisers with a taste for luxury but who appreciate big ship amenities (and often lower rates), or who may be traveling with families or in groups for whom bigger ships make more sense, most cruise lines now offer optional exclusive experiences to passengers.

On some ships it may be concierge service, or a special lounge, a pool deck cabana, or exclusive access to the spa or certain restaurants. On others, entire areas are blocked off for people in some of the ship’s best staterooms to have a private pool and deck area.

“I have many luxury clients who book families on the larger cruise ships because of the activities for their adult children and for their grandchildren,” says Bonnie Childs, a cruise consultant with Seattle-based Cruise Specialists. “This way they can show their families what cruise ships have to offer.”  Read more... (1842 words, 3 images, estimated 7:22 mins reading time)

I’ve just been looking over a press release about all the good cruise values being offered. There’s two-for-one pricing, kids sail free, early-booking offers — and more.

Personally, I think it’s a great time to latch on to some of the bargains and plan a get-away for the spring or summer. Following is a sampling of the offerings. Check with your cruise consultant. He or she may have even better value offerings.  Read more... (669 words, estimated 2:41 mins reading time)

January marks the month that cruise ships begin their longest sea journeys. While it’s too late to embark on such an epic adventure this year, it’s not too late to begin charting your course for a 2010 world cruise, when the lineup ranges from complete circumnavigations to port-intensive itineraries that visit many destinations but do not circle the globe.

You can get on a world cruise for as little as $20,000 per person for the more-than-100-day journey. Want to splurge? Top fares for the best accommodations exceed $350,000 — per person. Not surprisingly, nearly 50 percent of respondents to a national survey listed a world cruise as tops on their travel wish list.

For a full report on world cruises and what’s being offered in 2010, read on . . .

 Read more... (1653 words, 8 images, estimated 6:37 mins reading time)