Thursday, November 13, 2008
Welcome New Readers!/Some Cruise News
First off, I would like to welcome you to my little blog. It seems I broke some news with Cruise Value Center's demise and although its an unfortunate event that brought you here, I hope you can find some advice and some news worth coming back for. In particular, given the reason many of you are here in the first place is because a major travel agency went under. If you aren't affected by this particular mess, you could easily be affected by another as the economy continues to crumble. Here's some information on how you can take steps to protect your travel investment.
Also, earlier this year, I talked about the different kinds of travel agents that exist and what you should expect from each. Remember all travel agents are not created equal.
Finally, if you are looking for the information about Cruise Value Center, just scroll down or click here.
Norwegian Spirit to get facelift
In other cruise news, "freestyle" cruisers NCL is bringing the Norwegian Spirit in for drydock this month and going to do a top to bottom refurbishment of the ship. Frankly, its about time. I had the chance to take a tour of the ship when it was in New York last summer, and I was less than impressed.
Although the public areas were a little faded, I thought that the space was tastefully decorated and generally OK. Big plus in my mind was the private karaoke rooms that were inexplicably located in their British pub type restaurant. This holdover from when the ship was Superstar Leo was one of the few features that set it apart from any other ship and was a genuine plus. Overall, the Spirit looked and felt generic but serviceable in the public space.
Then we got to the staterooms.
Norwegian rooms look and feel tiny, and on the Spirit the beds certainly didn't help. The comforters appeared somewhat threadbare, the beds seemed as though they were from 1998 and insanely small. Their "twin bed" looked like a kids bed to me. Some inside cabins had a pole through the middle of the cabin as well. Apparently structural, it would clearly prohibit putting the two beds together to make a full size bed.
The balconies felt small, tin-can like and poorly kept and the Penthouse suites were some of the most gaudy things I've ever seen. The bedroom area literally felt like an adult movie set, and the bathroom, inexplicably had no door. There's a lot of work to do on that ship and let's hope they get it right. Although I haven't been on the newer build ships recently, friends of mine who have say that the Freestyle 2.0 concept has made for some really nice accomodations.
The Spirit doesn't have the advantage of being built for freestyle, but any improvement should be a big one in this case. When the ship reenters service in ten days or so, we'll get the idea.
Also, earlier this year, I talked about the different kinds of travel agents that exist and what you should expect from each. Remember all travel agents are not created equal.
Finally, if you are looking for the information about Cruise Value Center, just scroll down or click here.
Norwegian Spirit to get facelift
In other cruise news, "freestyle" cruisers NCL is bringing the Norwegian Spirit in for drydock this month and going to do a top to bottom refurbishment of the ship. Frankly, its about time. I had the chance to take a tour of the ship when it was in New York last summer, and I was less than impressed.
Although the public areas were a little faded, I thought that the space was tastefully decorated and generally OK. Big plus in my mind was the private karaoke rooms that were inexplicably located in their British pub type restaurant. This holdover from when the ship was Superstar Leo was one of the few features that set it apart from any other ship and was a genuine plus. Overall, the Spirit looked and felt generic but serviceable in the public space.
Then we got to the staterooms.
Norwegian rooms look and feel tiny, and on the Spirit the beds certainly didn't help. The comforters appeared somewhat threadbare, the beds seemed as though they were from 1998 and insanely small. Their "twin bed" looked like a kids bed to me. Some inside cabins had a pole through the middle of the cabin as well. Apparently structural, it would clearly prohibit putting the two beds together to make a full size bed.
The balconies felt small, tin-can like and poorly kept and the Penthouse suites were some of the most gaudy things I've ever seen. The bedroom area literally felt like an adult movie set, and the bathroom, inexplicably had no door. There's a lot of work to do on that ship and let's hope they get it right. Although I haven't been on the newer build ships recently, friends of mine who have say that the Freestyle 2.0 concept has made for some really nice accomodations.
The Spirit doesn't have the advantage of being built for freestyle, but any improvement should be a big one in this case. When the ship reenters service in ten days or so, we'll get the idea.
Labels: cruise value center, cruises, meta, travel, travel agents
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Return of the Blog.
So I moved to New York City and intended on taking a brief hiatus from the blog. That brief hiatus basically turned into six months plus, because life got in the way. Recently though, I've wanted to share my experiences with travel again. I recently made it to London and sailed home on the QM2. And so much is changing in the travel world, its worth sharing. So we're back. Coming soon, you'll see a radically different look to the website as well. And a periodic podcast. Lots of great changes are coming, and I'd love to see you join me.
Thanks!
Roger
Thanks!
Roger
Labels: effects of travel, meta
