Crown Princess

Owned and operated by Princess Cruises, the cruise ship Crown Princess is not only considered as a Grand Class ship, but it is also regarded as the gemstone of the Princess fleet. The 113,000 ton, 951 feet long floating city having accommodation facility for 3080 passengers sails the Caribbean during the winter season, and Europe for the rest of the year. So no matter which cruise you choose, you are sure to enjoy an amazing cruise ship vacation.

The awe-inspiring luxury liner is loaded with features that are quite amazing among the many cruise ships that sail the seas. Its superb piazza-style Atrium housing the International Café and Vines wine and seafood bar are acclaimed as the most striking extravaganza ever created in a contemporary sea-going vessel. Also, the innovative dining arrangement provided in the Crown Princess goes beyond the customary food venues like its Crown GrillSM or Sabatini’s SM, reaching the passenger’s own private balcony, being part of the ship’s ultimate balcony dining.

Here is what the Crown Princess provides for its valued guests.

• Art auctions for buying paintings made by renowned artists
• Scholarship@Sea® courses for brilliant students
• Movies Under the Stars® on deck movie theater
• Wedding-at-sea event officiated by the ship’s captain
• Nine-hole putting course and golf simulators
• 4 pools that include one that provides ‘swim-against-current’.
• Wrap-around Promenade Deck
• Sports Court and jogging track
• Asian-themed Lotus Spa® with ocean-view gym
• One of the decks dedicated to mini-suits
• Around 900 staterooms having private balconies
• Conference room with wireless Internet connectivity, PC with all peripheries and part time secretarial service
• Caribbean-themed Café Caribe specializing in local delicacies
• Two Specialty Restaurants – an extended Sabatini’s and the newly established Crown Grill famed for steak and seafood.
• One of the most lavishly appointed casinos afloat
• Skywalker’s Night Club-cum-Observatory

Carnival Legend

If you feel tired, worn-out and exhausted, it is time to take a 7-day roundtrip Caribbean cruise on board the legendary cruise ship Carnival Legend and forget about everything else.

The 88,500-ton luxury liner sails from Tampa in Florida, and visits the Cayman Islands, Mexico, Belize, Isla Roatan and Honduras before bringing you back to Florida. But by the time you are back home, you have regained all your vitality and verve – thanks to the exotic food served in the ship, and the relaxing environment provided onboard the fabulous ocean liner. Take, for example, the Carnival Legend’s Atlantis Lounge, an ideal setting for meeting co-passengers who may turn out to be equally eager to meet you. And as for creature comforts, its luxury galore! There are five different styles of rooms to choose from while the options include Ocean view, Interior, Balcony, Jr. Ocean & vista suits and, of course, the majestic Grand Suite, complete with deep pile wall to wall carpeting and swanky décor.

Feeling lucky? Why not try your hand at blackjack, poker, roulette and many more exciting games at the Carnival Legend’s Club Merlin Casino for a change? Chances are that you may win. Or check out the ship’s Piano Bar for ultimate relaxation. Sit back and do nothing but listen to the live music, request a song or else hum a tune that you like most.

And when you feel hungry, stroll around to any of the ship’s elegant dining rooms. Flexible time dining routine for which is the ship is famous for, will not disappoint you. Explore the special quality food menu that ranges from sushi to chicken cream sandwiches. As for ice creams, there are endless varieties and tastes. By the way, there is also an excellent steak house on board the Carnival Legend. Order your steak as you like – Done, well-done or under-done.

On board the Carnival Legend the central theme revolves round the great legends of the world. This spirit is carried out throughout the ship’s 16 Lounges, 12 Passenger Decks as well as the indoor and outdoor promenades. The Spirit-Class “Fun Ship” also has a 9-deck high Atrium, duty-free shopping mall, on board golf program, video arcade and an amazing 1,800 square feet children’s play area.

Enchantment Of The Seas

From Victor Hugo’s Toilers of the Sea to more contemporary Con Tiki expedition, people appear to have always been fascinated by sea voyages, especially when it is more oriented to fun than real life adventures. In the case of Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment Of The Seas however, the passengers can probably savor both. As a person enters the Enchantment, he/she is immediately confronted with the Centrum, a soaring seven-deck atrium that is studded with priceless art collections – a rare display for a cruise ship solely devoted to pleasure and pastime.

The Enchantment cabins, particularly the low-end ones measuring around 150 sq. ft. promise reasonable creature comfort, featuring a TV run through intra-ship channels mostly showing professionally produced promotional videos, a telephone, safe and toiletries. Hair dryers have recently been added for the benefit of the ladies. Storage space within the cabin is more or less OK while robes are provided to certain category of cabins only. Almost half of the ‘outside’ cabins of the Enchantment have balconies at different decks. As the liner travels through the open ocean, sitting in one of these balconies is sure to be an amazing feeling.

Breakfast and lunch is served in the ship’s Windjammer Café that also serves as an alternate casual dinner place - no reservation is compulsory. 24 hour room service can also be ordered by passengers. But there is a limited menu in this. The ship’s Solarium is famed for its hot dog and hamburger grill. The Royal Caribbean, nevertheless, prepares Ship Shape selection lists every night for the next day’s lunch and dinner menu which includes special items for the veggies.

The Enchantment’s prime enchantment venue is centered round its Orpheum Theater-Show Lounge which happens to be the most functional and intelligently designed structure ever created by the RCI. Since the seating arrangement is of the fixed type, adequate space has been left for enter and exit rows. The lounge also looks more neat and compact since peg tables have been replaced by beautifully designed peg holders inbuilt within the arm rests. In course of a week-long cruise, passengers are likely to view at least one show performed by a renowned entertainer, a couple of production shows, several evening time variety acts and, of course, a farewell feat.

Freedom Of The Seas

If you want to experience the ultimate in contemporary naval engineering and see what it can do in terms of convenience, ease and luxury, you must take a trip in RCI’s Freedom Of The Seas. This beautiful ship is second only to the legendary cruise ship Queen Mary 2. However, it has almost replaced the Queen Mary 2 as the largest cruise ship in the world with its gross tonnage of 160,000 as against the Mary's 150,000. Nevertheless, the QM 2 is still regarded as the longest cruise ship since it is 20 feet longer than the Freedom.

Even when you think of the features, all other multimillion dollar vessels will cut sorry figures before the Freedom Of The Seas. Where will you ever be able to find Onboard Surf Park at sea; Cantilevered whirlpools extending twelve feet beyond the flanks of the ship, H2O zone® Waterpark complete with interactive sculptured fountains and amazing waterfalls cascading through the deck? Then there is the most awe inspiring rock-climbing wall with a multitude of routes for scaling it and central spire you may swing around just for the heck of it. Also, think of the extensive WiFi feats offering you connectivity for your cell phones as well as broadband facility for your laptop. Book a voyage and see for yourself to believe these wonders afloat a ship.

Ever since its launching a few years ago, the Freedom of the Seas is sailing seven-night Western Caribbean itineraries from Miami and calling at Mexico, Cozumel, George Town, Grand Cayman, Montego Bay, Jamaica and Labadee, Royal Caribbean’s chosen destination.

Here is a list of some of the specialties of this great ship that awaits the pleasure of your visit.

• Full-size flat-screen TV in all staterooms
• Themed Bars and Lounges suiting your taste
• Adventure Ocean® youth themes
• ShipShape® Day Spa & fitness center
• Casino Royale

Majesty Of The Seas

Majesty Of The Seas is a sovereign-class cruise ship that is owned and operated by Royal Caribbean International and it was placed in service in April, 1992. However since then, the ship has been extensively renovated to change most of her innate features and several new features. As a matter of fact, the 73,941-ton Majesty Of The Seas was taken to a dry dock on January 12, 2007 for a multi-million dollar refurbishment program. The restoration process covered the ship’s public areas, pool decks, restaurants, shops, centrums and cabins while the additions included Johnny Rockets, the Compass Deli, Seattle’s best coffee, Freeze Ice cream, Latin Night dancing venue as well as other customary Royal Caribbean electrical and mechanical thingamajigs.

When the Majesty Of The Seas was finally pressed into service (3-Night Bahamas roundtrip Miami, Florida or 4-Night Bahamas roundtrip Miami, Florida), she was practically a new ship with tastefully refurbished staterooms, newly remodeled pool deck, enhanced Day Spa and Fitness Center and many more. To be precise, her current features include the renowned Viking Crown Lounge overlooking the pool and sun decks, an onboard fully equipped Casino, 11-passenger elevators, two of which are glass-lined and two major swimming pools.

As for onboard bars and drinking dens, Majesty of the seas have the usual marine-oriented Schooner Bar, A Touch of Class Champagne Bar, Boleros Latin Bar, Windjammer Café, Poolside Bar and On Your Toes Nightclub. Apart from these wonderful watering holes, this newly decorated ship boasts of a full-size Basketball Court and an adventurous rock-climbing wall. Also, the ship’s comfortable staterooms have been provided with luxurious bedspreads, flat screen TVs and 110 V/220 V plug points plus wireless Broadband connectivity for Laptop users.

Majesty of the Seas is currently commissioned by the Royal Caribbean on a 7-day cycle that covers two weekly voyages to the Port of Miami, stopping at Nassau (birthplace of the internationally famous black celluloid star, Sidney Poitier), Coco Cay, a private island owned by the Royal Caribbean and Key West, where the renowned American novelist and Nobel Laureate, “Papa” Hemingway completed the manuscript for his legendary work entitled “Farewell to Arms”. Surprisingly enough, even though another equally famous American writer, Tennessee Williams, author of yet another fictional masterpiece, “A streetcar Named Desire” lived in Key West during the same period, these two literary giants never met each other.

Nautica

The 30,277-ton Nautica is a very realistic cruise liner. It is not too big where passengers can lose their bearing, and it is not too small as well that makes a person jittery. To be honest about it, this ship best suits people who prefer a port-intensive itinerary, looks for a casual holiday on board a ship, are reluctant to pay additional charges for substitute restaurants and are non-smokers. Incidentally, Nautica’s port of call includes little known places like Guernsey, Palma de Majorca, Malaga, Oporto, Bordeaux and a few more.

True to her immaculate tradition, the price of spirits, wines, cigars, cigarettes and other modes of addiction on board the Nautica appear to have been kept at a higher level, probably in a vain effort to check inboard intoxication ! A great idea, no doubt, but whether it is applicable to people who have chosen a sea voyage primarily for relaxation remains a mystery.

However, the pleasures of the palate are guaranteed by most Oceania Cruise liners including the Nautica. The Grand Dining room opens at 6.30 in the evening and serves till 9.30 in the night, serving a grand assortment of victuals. However, it is always full and the acoustic arrangements in the room can hardly cope with the din, thus creating problems for a leisurely conversation. On top of that, 26 more tables (for two) have been currently added to serve more people in the already overcrowded dining room. The Terrace Café, adjacent to the pool deck, on the other hand, is a much more suitable place to enjoy your food in relatively tranquility. In fact, it is ideal for a leisurely breakfast where the servers hand out all that you may need in a friendly fashion.

The public rooms on board the Nautica have a typical “English inn-at-sea” feel. The spacious Horizons Lounge located at the bow section of the ship has extra large floor-to-ceiling windows that provide uninterrupted view of the open sea while strategically mounted brass telescopes allow inquisitive passengers to view in detail when a passing vessel appears on the horizon. Surprisingly enough, the no-nonsense vessel also has a well equipped Casino housed in her bosom while the Martini Bar attached to this gambler’s den boasts of a barman who has the credit of concocting 29 varieties of martini for the pleasure of his patrons.

Oceania cruise ship Nautica has 330 guest rooms, suits and penthouses aboard, most of them having verandas. However, the inside cabins on board the ship are indeed pretty undersized (160 to 165 sq. ft.). But the category C & D outsize cabins are large enough, sporting private balconies. Cruising in Nautica, by and large, can be called comfortable but not so very luxurious as compared to the other larger vessels.

Disney Magic

The cruise ship Disney Magic represents an excellent mixture of ocean liner magnificence with glimpses of the legendary Disney fantasy. It encompasses the thrills of sea voyage, intermingled with Disney touches that make it truly memorable for adults and kids alike.

Even though the Disney Cruise Line is regarded as perfect for families with children, the Disney Magic is provided with lounges that are quite suitable for couples as well. Three of these lounges are grouped together to form an entertainment profile that is lovingly called the Beat Street, and it is mostly for the adult passenger.

Sessions, the piano bar is very enjoyable. It has comfortable seating with mega-portholes offering a grand view of the sea rolling below.

The Diversion Sports Bar can be exiting when any major sports event is shown on ESPN. People mill around this bar to watch games on the giant plasma TV placed at a convenient corner of the bar for best viewing.

Rockin-Bar D is the third lounge in the Beat Street. While it serves as a place for family entertainment in the early evening, the scenario changes later in the night giving the shape of an adult disco.

Apart from these three, the other lounges on the Disney Magic comprise the Cove Café adult Coffee Bar, Promenade Lounge and the Studio Sea Family Club that almost resembles a television sound stage.

The food is good in most of the restaurants and bistros on board the Disney Magic even though the choices are usually limited. The hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza offered at the Topsiders, which is a buffet joint, are quite tasty and healthful while the dinner menu at the Animator’s Palate is exceptionally good. But here again, the options are fairly limited. However, dinner at Parrot Cay is most fun filled, more like Jimmy Buffet’s at City Walk but, to be honest about it, dinner at Lumiere’s is the best. By the way, passengers enjoying their meals in any of these restaurants seldom wear anything but ‘casual dress’ all the while.

The Disney Magic has 3 levels of suits that range from Inside Standard Cabin that sleeps 2/3/4; 1,029 sq. ft. Royal Suite with balcony that sleeps 7 while the Deluxe Family Stateroom that can accommodate four to five persons. The ship also has six different types of cabins, quite suitable for her passengers.

Island Princess

The Island Princess, as also her sister ship, Coral Princess have been especially designed to get through the Panama Canal (they usually traverse the Canal and the Gulf of Alaska) and hence, are comparatively smaller than the fleet’s bigger ships. However, these ships are still bigger than the mid-sized Princess-class ships that were so common during the nineties. But as a result, they enjoy the privileges of both, losing nothing in return. As a matter of fact, passengers feel more comfortable in navigating within the ship due to the re-sizing, which allows them better confidence in reaching their desired destinations than fumbling along oversize atriums.

92,000-ton Island Princess provides better facilities to its guests by shifting the public rooms to the lower decks and putting cabin decks higher up, which has allowed addition of more balconies to outside staterooms. This, incidentally, has also resulted in increasing cabin space on one hand and improving passenger flow on the other.

The food served in the Dining room and in the Lido Cafeteria featured in the Island Princess is typically Continental Ship variety comprising mostly Broiled lobster tail, Beef Wellington and the like. Passengers not used to such bland dishes prefer the Bayou Café to try spicy shrimp gumbo, grilled jumbo prawns, fried catfish or chicken and chorizo jambalaya amidst woody ambience. Those who feel still not very satisfied usually head for Sabatini’s for ultimate palate pleasure. But for those who insist on out-of-the-world savories, the Lotus Spa menu offers Chilled yogurt and Tamarind Soup sprinkled with grated lemon rind.

Interestingly enough, there is no dearth of invitingly intimate lounges on board the Island Princess, some with live music. Crooners, a Martini Bar mirrors the halcyon days of Rat Pack while the Churchill’s, a snug cigar lounge may remind one of early English country manors. The chunky nautical-themed Wheelhouse Bar (for no apparent rhyme or reason) holds many expensive original oil paintings.

The ship's Internet cafe, card room and library are mostly busy during days at sea. In fact, one may find himself/herself lucky in finding a place to sit. Because there are entrances from both the atrium and the midship elevators/stair tower, the locations are often used as passageways, not exactly ideal either for compute use or for reading.

As in other similar vessels, the captain of the Island Princes is empowered to marry intending couples in the ship’s Wedding Chapel while children are lovingly entertained at the Pelican Playhouse Children’s Center aboard the ship.

Celebrity Summit

Let us be very frank before we enter this classy cruise ship. It surely is not for everyone. Take a look at some of the Celebrity Summit’s guests if you do not believe me. They are mostly wealthy Americans who have already reached their summits whether in business or in calling. You may also come across intercontinental playboys looking for the ultimate luxury offered in an expensive sea voyage where champagne & caviar can be a routine fare.

The passenger list also includes a few world-travelers who have nothing else to do but to seek new source of excitement wherever available. However, this need not dissuade you to join a cruise aboard this 91,000-ton luxury cruise ship which appears to have taken some slices off the legendary liner, SS Normandie, known for her opulence and style. Nevertheless, try to bear in mind that the Celebrity Summit maintains a crew of 999 skilled hands to serve 1,950 passengers when the ship is fully occupied! That’s some remarkable ratio indeed.

Anyway, now that you have boarded the ship, there is no harm keeping your eyes open to see the signs of elegance all around you. The first thing that sure is going to catch your attention is a seven-foot high stunning bronze statue resembling the goddess Athena, created by Leon-Georges Baudry, the noted Art Deco sculptor that forms a part of poise in the two-level Cosmopolitan Restaurant of the ship. Although the restaurant earlier had fixed-time seating arrangement for serving food, passengers currently have the option of having the same anytime within certain hours.

Among some of the upscale restaurants on board the Summit is the Normandie alternative restaurant where they serve you with searing hot food items. Even though it involves a surcharge, the experience of a waiter in white tie preparing flambé entrees table-side can be quite exhilarating. Also, you get special items here that include Rack of Lamb en Croute, Chateaubriand steak and few more. The Lido Café, deck 10 on the other hand, offers casual breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, snacks, pizza and late night munchies right up to midnight. The Summit often lays out themed midnight buffets that attract jubilant crowd. 24-hour Room Service is a standard feature in the ship.

Celebrity Summit cabins include Deluxe Oceanview Staterooms (170 sq, ft.) with verandahs featuring two convertible beds, a sitting area and panoramic view floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors opening out to the balcony. Lower priced Interior Staterooms with sofa-cum-bed having sitting areas, nevertheless, prove quite comfortable too. All cabins, however, have interactive television, phone with voice mail, hair drier, safe and a mini-bar. Use of bathrobes is optional.