Author: Cruiser Evan
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Repositioning Cruises: The Basics
Here is a problem for cruise lines: they can’t offer cruises to some regions of the world all year, but they also don’t want the ships dedicated to this region to remain unused until the next season. The resolution to this problem is the repositioning cruise, a voyage that repositions (as one might suspect) a ship from one cruising territory to another. Repositioning cruises, which are also called “repo cruises” and “transitional cruises,” provide cruise lines with the additional benefit of allowing them to send their ships from one side of the world to the other while still making money from passenger fares. But the passengers benefit too, as the fares for repositioning cruises are often substantially discounted (relative to standard cruises). Our sense is that repositioning cruises tend to fly under the radar of the average cruise vacationer – a lot of people are not even aware of them – so we’ve outlined repositioning cruises below in case any of our readers are interested in pursuing them. Read more […] -
Family Cruise Packages
There is a lot packed into the phrase “family cruise package.” Obviously, someone looking for family cruise packages is considering (or at least researching) family cruises, but they could also be hunting for some sort of discount or other deal, as the word “package” seems to suggest. (When someone books a fight-and-hotel package, for instance, they often do so for the savings.) So, we have two questions to address: can booking a family cruise package save you money, and why might you want to take a family cruise? Read more […] -
Seabourn Cruise Line: An Overview
Seabourn Cruise Line is a luxury cruise line whose fleet of six ships sail all over the world. Despite being founded relatively recently (1986), Seabourn has a somewhat complicated ownership history, but as of 2001 the cruise line has been entirely owned by the world’s largest cruise ship operator, Carnival. Of the various cruise lines owned by Carnival, it is the smallest by market share at .3 percent, but as an operator of luxury ships it targets a niche audience. Seabourn Cruise Line was originally based in Miami, Florida, but in 2011 it transferred its operations to Seattle, Washington. Read more […] -
Azamara Club Cruises
Azamara Club Cruises, often called “Azamara cruises” or just “Azamara,” is a relatively new cruise line owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises, the second largest cruise ship operator (after Carnival) in the world. Azamara Club Cruises advertises itself as the “best small luxury cruise line,” but they haven’t always attached the word “luxury” to their brand name. Just a few years ago, the company held a press conference to announce a name modification – from “Azamara Cruises” to “Azamara Club Cruises” – and during this conference they said they prefer to label themselves “upscale,” as opposed to luxurious. Regardless of how the cruise line is classified, though, their services are certainly a cut above the industry average and their vacations have lots of enthusiastic fans. Read more […] -
Costa Cruises (Costa Crociere): An Overview
Costa Cruises, or Costa Crociere in Italian (it’s based in Genoa, Italy), is not a cruise line that has escaped our attention. We’ve written about the Costa cruise line several times in the past, both explaining general features of the cruise line and covering the headline-making incidents its cruise ships have been involved with recently. The latter have dominated most conversations about Costa Cruises over the last year or so, so we thought we should look at the basic facts of company, explaining again the cruise line behind the unfortunate recent incidents. Read more […] -
Crown Cruise Vacations
Crown Cruise Vacations is a travel agency based in Princeton, New Jersey that was founded in 2008. As its name implies (Crown Cruise Vacations), the agency focuses on cruises, although they do offer a few land-based vacations through various tour companies, as well as some miscellaneous travel services. As a relatively new travel agency, we thought we should supply some basic information about it. How do you use Crown Cruise Vacations? Do people use Crown Cruise Vacations? And what can they do for you? Read more […]
