Travel Maven Blog ...... David Molyneaux posts from TheTravelMavens.com

Cruising on high-decibel Harmony, with turbulent waterslides and the Ultimate Abyss

By David G. Molyneaux and Fran Golden

Entrance to the Ultimate Abyss, where passengers slip into a pouch for a 10-story plunge to the Boardwalk on Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas

There comes a time when the current leader of “Who’s Got the Biggest Cruise Ship” does not mean much. A few yards of steel here, an extra deck plopped on top there, has little impact on the review of a new ship, as long as the added steel is well utilized.

You will hear a lot during the next few months about the size of Royal Caribbean’s new Harmony of the Seas. Harmony is, at the moment, the largest cruise ship in the world at 226,963 gross registered tons, carrying 5,497-plus passengers.

So what? It’s not that much bigger than the last queen of size, Harmony’s sister, Allure of the Seas (2010) that measures at 225,282 gross registered tons and carries 5,400-plus passengers.

Instead, the real questions are about experiences aboard:

Q: Is this a ship on which I want to lay down my hard-earned money to take a vacation cruise?

A: Yes, as long as you are looking for excitement, thrills, commotion, and top entertainment such as the ship’s showcase musical, “Grease,” which well deserves the standing ovations it is receiving in the 1,400-seat theatre, and a terrific show on ice called “1887.” The ice skating show, an original, is a love story through time and space set in Paris and inspired by the pioneer French sci-fi writer Jules Verne.

Q: Will I be wowed by life onboard?

A: Yes, not much doubt about that. Wows abound.

Bigger waterpark, more outside dining, craft beers on Carnival Vista cruise ship

Slip your cabin card into the slot and pour yourself a beer on Carnival Vista (Photo by David G. Molyneaux, TheTravelMavens.com)

When a major cruise line brings out its first new ship in four years, the design, style and atmosphere onboard speak to how the company currently sees itself: This is who we are, now. 

While some North American cruise companies are moving more upscale or appealing to a more global clientele, Carnival Cruise Line plows familiar North American waters.

The company continues to dance with the kind of ships that have brought success and profits, tweaking new vessels primarily to stay current with vacationers’ expectations.

In other words, says Carnival’s president, Christine Duffy, when you build a new ship, “Do no harm.”

The 3,954-passenger Carnival Vista, which began sailing the Mediterranean in May and arrives at its home port of Miami in November, fully fills its role.

WaterWorks on Carnival Vista (Photo by David G. Molyneaux, TheTravelMavens.com)

 From bow to stern, Vista screams, “I am Carnival.”

Best of new big cruise ships: Anthem and Escape

Norwegian, Royal Caribbean take different tacks on eating, drinking, entertainment

Tandem racing and free-fall waterslides or floating in a glass tube that feels like sky diving? Craft beers and tasty bites in a warehouse style sing-along keg room or a clubby pub bar? Oodles of outdoor dining choices or drinks mixed and served by robots? 

Waterslides on Norwegian Escape

In the heavyweight bout for the world’s best new big cruise ship in 2015, the winner will be in the eye of the beholder, because two competitive cruise lines each have taken a different tack to show who owns the hippest ship -- Miami’s 4,248-passenger Norwegian Escape or New York’s 4,180-passenger Anthem of the Seas.

No other competitor in the category of contemporary, mass-marketed cruise ships belongs in the ring with these two behemoths, though Carnival’s Vista and Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas currently are bulking up in European shipyards, five months away from entering the fray among 2016’s new ships.

SATW 2015 public auction for fun and exotic travel starts October 19

Travel destinations such as Scotland and Tabago, a train ride across Canada, and activities such as scuba diving and kiteboarding top the bid lists as the startup approaches for the public auction conducted annually as a fundraiser by the Society of American Travel Writers.

Browsers and bidders may log on to the SATW auction website:

http://events.readysetauction.com/satw/2015

View the catalog.

Create an account.

You may bid as often as you like

The auction starts October 19, 2015, It runs online until Nov. 8, 2015.

Items are donated to SATW. Items will be mailed directly to the winners following the auction.

If yours is the highest bid, for instance, you could be Honorary Duckmaster when you stay at the Peabody Memphis. Who knew?

 

Married at sea, a big splash on Regal Princess cruise

A month after my wedding aboard the Regal Princess, cruising in international waters near the Bahamas, I still am reveling in all the excitement.

All the passengers on Regal Princess were invited to the wedding and a champagne toast by British Captain Edward Perrin

Fran Golden and I were married during the first North American voyage of the newest ship in the Princess Cruises fleet. The cruise attracted a large group of media as well as the ship’s godparents, who were the lead members of the cast in the popular TV show, “The Love Boat.”

The result was that our wedding ceremony found its way into international tweets, Facebook timelines, and posts with pictures on websites around North America. Of course, it didn't hurt that Love Boat star Gavin MacLeod read an Apache Blessing during the ceremony.

Cruising guest stars on Regal Princess' Love Boat

As we get ready to sail from Fort Lauderdale on Princess Cruises, I feel like a guest star on the old TV show, “The Love Boat.”

My ship, of course, is not the Pacific Princess, the vessel I first cruised on, in 1983, between Acapulco and Los Angeles, during filming with actors Gavin MacLeod as Captain Stubing, Bernie Kopell as the doctor, Ted Lange as bartender Isaac, Fred Grandy as Gopher the purser, and Lauren Tewes as cruise director Julie.

That ship has been scrapped. But the old crew has not.

The “Love Boat” cast, invited back as godparents for the naming ceremony Wednesday on the newest Love Boat, Regal Princess, is here in Fort Lauderdale.