The Cruise Cafe

Welcome to Cruise Cafe. The great new place to find out the latest in the cruise business. Whether it be the latest specials, great new itineraries or information on cruise ships or cruise lines. Feel free to add comments on your experiences too. You can always find out more at www.CruiseCafe.com or by calling us at 1-800-788-2545. For the latest specials, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CruiseDepot.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Royal Caribbean Unveils New 2012 Cruises from Northeast U.S.

Royal Caribbean International announced last week new 2012 Canada, New England & Bermuda sailings from three convenient U.S. homeports, comprising a slate of itineraries ranging from five to 10 nights and providing vacationers more choices from the region than ever before. Enchantment of the Seas’ summer program will debut an entirely new program of six-night Bermuda and eight-night Bermuda & Northeast itineraries, sailing roundtrip from the ship’s year-round homeport of Baltimore. Explorer of the Seas will kick off a new seven-night roundtrip itinerary in September and October from Cape Liberty in Bayonne, NJ, featuring three days in Bermuda, as well as five- and nine-night Bermuda & Caribbean itineraries through the spring and summer. For its part, Jewel of the Seas will offer its ninth short season of roundtrip sailings from Boston on a roundtrip, seven-night Canada itinerary. Bookings for these cruises are now open.

Call us at 1-800-788-2545 or visit us at www.CruiseCafe.com for more information.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Princess Names New Ship Royal Princess

Princess Cruises will name the first of its 3,600-passenger newbuilds the Royal Princess, after the original Royal Princess in 1984, which was the first purpose-built ship for Princess. Fincantieri cut the first piece of steel for the newbuild, expected to launch May 2013, on March 15.

The new Princess ship will have an “open-deck sea-walk” that extends over the ship, further out than the bridge wings, with views 128 feet down to sea-level. The opposite side of the ship will feature a similar structure with a trendy bar.

Eighty percent of staterooms on the ship will be outside rooms with balconies.

Check back for the latest updates.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Carnival Ecstasy Moves to Port Canaveral This Fall

Carnival Cruise Lines announced a unique and exciting new “Fun Ship” cruise program from Port Canaveral, Fla.

The 2,052-passenger Carnival Ecstasy will operate four- and five-day Bahamas cruises from the Space Coast beginning November 7, 2011. The move further bolsters Carnival’s position as Port Canaveral’s largest cruise operator with three year-round ships carrying approximately 600,000 guests annually.

On the Carnival Ecstasy’s new schedule, two different four-day itineraries will be offered, along with two different five-day itineraries. Carnival Ecstasy will depart Thursdays on four-day ‘long weekend’ cruises visiting Nassau and Half Moon Cay or Freeport. Five-day cruises will depart Mondays and Saturdays and call at Nassau, Freeport and Half Moon Cay or Key West.

With Carnival Ecstasy’s new four- and five-day schedule, combined with year-round three- and four-day Bahamas cruises aboard Carnival Sensation and seven-day eastern and western Caribbean voyages on Carnival Dream, the line will offer an unprecedented array of cruise lengths and itineraries from Port Canaveral.

Prior to repositioning to Port Canaveral, the Carnival Ecstasy will continue to operate from Galveston, Texas through September 8, 2011 and then from New Orleans September 22 through November 5, 2011, as previously scheduled.

For more information and pricing on this fantastic new itinerary, please visit www.CruiseCafe.com or call us at 1-800-788-2545.

Sunday, March 06, 2011

Princess Cruises to Return to Port of Galveston for 2012-13
Caribbean Season

For the first time since 2007, a Princess Cruises ship will again set sail from the port of Galveston, offering cruises to the sunny Western Caribbean.

Crown Princess will offer 19 departures from Galveston between December 22, 2012 and April 27, 2013. The seven-day roundtrip Western Caribbean itinerary features ports of call at Costa Maya, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; Belize City, Belize; and Cozumel, Mexico.

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Royal Caribbean Schedules Trial Call for Allure in St. Kitts

A testament to the growing infrastructure and continuing appeal of St. Kitts as a vibrant, authentic Caribbean destination for leisure tourism, the St. Kitts Tourism Authority announces that the Allure of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International’s newest and largest Oasis-class cruise ship, will be calling at the island’s Port Zante cruise pier on December 30, 2011.

The announcement follows shortly after a round of sales promotion calls to Florida-based cruise lines by a delegation led by Tourism Minister, Senator Ricky Skerritt.

“Royal Caribbean International is delighted to bring the world-renowned Allure of the Seas to St. Kitts,” said Michael Ronan, vice president of Government Relations, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “While Allure of the Seas is the world’s largest and most revolutionary cruise ship, the ship’s ports of call are also very important to our guests. We look forward to bringing more of them to beautiful and vibrant St. Kitts.”

“Our arrival numbers have increased steadily over the past four years and I am especially pleased that the passenger satisfaction level for our destination has also been on the increase. The upcoming visit to St. Kitts by the newest and largest ship in the world, Allure of the Seas, will be a very special event for our destination.”

Royal Caribbean ships are currently scheduled to make a total of 45 port calls to St. Kitts in the 2011-2012 season, up from 20 calls in the 2010-2011 season. In the 2009-2010 cruise season, St. Kitts passed the half million passenger arrival mark for the first time in its history.