I found an item on Yahoo News today, and I think it’s appalling. Yahoo quotes the Wall Street Journal as saying some Las Vegas hotels are charging people up to $200 (that’s US dollars) to reserve a chair by the pool. Not a cabana. Oh, no. Those can cost $1,000. This is just for a chaise lounge or chair next to the pool (where it’s probably 100 Fahrenheit, by the way.) It’s disgusting, it’s greedy, and it shouldn’t be allowed. A lounge chair for $200? Why not charge for water from the shower? Or for adjusting the thermostat? Why not Read more
Royal Caribbean
Several cruise lines have cancelled planned visits to Russian ports following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, which operates Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, announced yesterday (Feb. 24) that it’s adjusting its itineraries and pulling out of Russia for 2022. Both Viking and Atlas Ocean Voyages also are adjusting their plans for Russia, while Royal Caribbean says it’s got a back up plan in place should it be needed. “The safety and security of our guests, crew and communities we visit is our top priority,” Norwegian Cruise Line said in an email Read more
By Jim Byers Member, Society of American Travel Writers Masks will no longer be required on Carnival Cruise Line ships starting March 1, putting Carnival in line with other major cruise lines. A news release issued by the company says masks will be recommended for guests but not required on board for sailings departing on and after March 1. “We have had a very successful restart of guest operations thanks to the support of our guests, the commitment of our shipboard team, and the effective protocols we have put in place,” Carnival president, Christine Duffy said in the release. “There Read more
Several ocean cruise ships were turned away from ports of call or were prohibited from letting passengers disembark in the Americas this week because of Covid-19 cases aboard, CNN reports. That’s nothing like the massive disruption when the pandemic hit in March of last year, but it comes at a time when the cruise industry was just getting back in the swing of things. An Expedia Group study released in late November found that there had been more than a 20% month on month increase in demand in Canadian cruise searches for travel in the fourth quarter of 2021 and Read more
How’d you like a nine-month, world cruise? Royal Caribbean has unveiled what it calls the world’s longest cruise, a 274-night marathon that begins Dec. 10, 2023 and ends the following Sept. 10, in 2024. Not only can you celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve at sea, you’ll visit all seven continents and more than 150 destinations in 65 countries around the world. Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas will sail in and out of Miami and also visit 11 “great wonders of the world.” A full 57 of the destinations will be new to Royal Caribbean, including Casablanca, Morocco, Shimizu, Read more
