Cruises Archives : Plane Sailing

Cruise ships are microcosms of life, and death

The Royal Princess became a crime scene. (Image: princess.com)

Updated on November 19 due to new information

When a 52-year-old American woman plummeted from the lido deck of the Royal Princess onto a lifeboat several decks below during a Caribbean cruise, it shocked her fellow passengers, the crew and cruise-lovers in general.

The woman died and a man, who was arrested by police when the boat docked at the island of Aruba, now stands accused of murder. It is alleged that he strangled her and threw her overboard.

Cruise-ship sinking: a case of hurtful fake news

Triumph didn’t overturn, in fact it’s about to be refitted and renamed. (Photo: Carnival.com)

A story doing the rounds on the internet claiming that a Carnival cruise ship has sunk has been described as a “prank”. But it’s more than that, it’s a lie that misleads would-be passengers and capitalises on a real tragedy.

A picture of the partly submerged Costa Concordia, on which 32 people died in 2012, was used with the story, which claimed the Carnival Triumph had sunk off the coast of Mexico.

Would you sail on the Titanic II?

On the surface — and I’ve used that phrase deliberately — it would seem like the worst idea ever.

But, according to news reports, the project to build an (almost) exact replica of the Titanic is now going full-steam ahead.

Would you sleep with a stranger to save money?

On Costa cruises, I’ve travelled solo several times with no supplement!

First up, this is not about school dormitories, hospital wards or backpacker hostels. Or about dodgy blokes renting out rooms in return for “benefits”. It’s about the choice offered to adult tourists to share a hotel room or cruise-ship cabin with somebody they don’t know.

While it’s not as common as it used to be, there are still tour operators who promise to pair-up solo travellers in the same room.

Queensland cruises into the future

Artist’s impression of the new Brisbane International Cruise Terminal. (portbris.com.au)

In common with keen tourists from around the world, Australians are taking to cruising like ducks to water.

The cruise industry is the fastest-growing segment of travel and tourism — and Queensland, my home state, is jumping on the bandwagon big time.

Titanic auction is a sign of an ongoing fascination

More than 100 years after the “unsinkable” RMS Titanic sank, a collection of over 5,500 items salvaged from its wreckage is about to go under the hammer.

That there are many bidders, private and public, for the collection speaks a lot about our fascination with grand ocean liners in general and the Titanic in particular.

Is it even possible to name a favourite travel experience?

Petra: one of the world’s may great destinations.

I recently got asked on Quora.com: Where did your favourite cruise take you?

I gave my answer and I stand by it — but, on reflection, I realise that it’s almost impossible to name a favourite cruise, or a favourite travel experience of any kind, because they are all so different. And that’s what makes travel fun and compelling.

Romance: should what happens on holiday stay on holiday?

Olivia Newton John and John Travolta sing Summer Lovin’ in *Grease* (1978)

“Summer fling don’t mean a thing. But, ah, oh, those summer nights.”
(Summer Lovin’, Grease, Jacobs/ Casey, 1978)

Many of us have had a holiday romance, but how many of those love affairs ever last? Maybe more than you’d think.

Why cruise-ship captains have the last call

Holland America’s Zuiderdam. (Credit: hollandamerica.com)

It is well known that a cruise ship’s captain can marry a couple at sea (under certain circumstance). It is perhaps less well known that he or she can also make, and enforce, the law of the high seas.

People who commit offences on board a ship can be confined to their cabin, “jailed” in the brig and expelled from the ship at the next port, with little or no comeback. The captain is the judge, jury and enforcer of the punishment.

Cruise ships can do better for solo travellers

Over on Quora.com, I answered this question: What would you change about the cruise industry or experience?

I gave a short response, which I’d like to expand on here. Continue reading Cruise ships can do better for solo travellers

Spreading it around: why cruise lines ban sick people

It seems like a case of damned if they do, damned if they don’t. Here’s a news story about a cruise line that’s under fire because it ruined a family’s holiday when it refused to allow two sick children to board.

And yet the same web site — and many others — regularly runs stories (such as this and this) about large numbers of passengers whose holidays are ruined because they got norovirus (“gastro” in Australian headline-writing parlance) on cruise ships.

Continue reading Spreading it around: why cruise lines ban sick people

Tourism opens up the world, don’t shut it down

If ever a headline were designed to boil my blood, this was it. And it’s in The Guardian, that bastion of liberal values.

Cruising makes travel affordable — and that’s a very good thing.

It says: “Only governments can stem the tide of tourism sweeping the globe“. As if tourism, one of the great forces of good in this world, were a disease that needed elimination.

Continue reading Tourism opens up the world, don’t shut it down

Five reasons not to believe all that travel advice

This might seem like a strange thing to read on a travel blog, but you shouldn’t believe everything you read, or hear, about travel.

Some things last forever, others change.

It’s a big, bad world out there, and not everybody is being entirely honest in their posts, newspaper and magazine articles, podcasts, vodcasts, tweets, instas, Facebook Live broadcasts and so on.

Continue reading Five reasons not to believe all that travel advice

Would banning cruise ships stop Venice from sinking?

Updated: October 30, 2018

A Quora user asked: “Should Venice limit the amount of big cruise ships coming to the city centre?”

Flooding is an ongoing threat to Venice, and as I write this update, three-quarters of the canal city has been inundated.

Continue reading Would banning cruise ships stop Venice from sinking?

Five reasons why your next holiday should be a cruise

Cruising is said to be the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry. It’s no surprise why.

In case you have reservations about making a reservation on a ship, here are some good reasons why sailing is the answer.

Continue reading Five reasons why your next holiday should be a cruise

Travel by numbers

A former colleague of mine has travelled to more than 100 countries. I don’t know if it’s his aim to visit them all, as others have done, but it’s a fairly impressive tally nonetheless.

And, as far as I know, he doesn’t just dash in and out. He takes his time to see the sights, meet people and go off the beaten track. My country tally is about half of his, but I don’t see it as a competition.

We all approach travel in our own way.

Continue reading Travel by numbers

The show’s the thing

People take cruises for many reasons. So, apart from the niche players in the market who cater to very specific interests, cruise companies have to design their ships to provide something for everyone.

That means paying close attention to the menu, the shore excursions, the amenities and, crucially, the entertainment program.

Continue reading The show’s the thing

Captain’s correct call

Along with other passengers on my recent cruise on the Pacific Aria to New Caledonia and Vanuatu, I missed out on two out of three scheduled port calls due to bad weather.

I could complain, I could ask for compensation — which wouldn’t be forthcoming, since this eventuality is covered in the fine print — but, while I’m disappointed that I didn’t get to see Noumea and Mare, I believe it was the right call.

Continue reading Captain’s correct call

The price isn’t right

As a solo traveller who likes cruising, I’m always desperate to find a fair deal in a market that’s clearly geared towards groups of two or more.

I understand why there has traditionally been a bias towards catering for couples and families, but times are changing and more people — young, old and in the middle — are travelling on their own. With this in mind, I sometimes get riled when a see “deal” that is patently biased against solo travellers.

Continue reading The price isn’t right

Peaceful, picturesque Port Vila

I’ve rarely felt more welcome than I did in Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, an island nation in the South Pacific about 1900 kilometres east of Brisbane, Australia.

The people I met were friendly and very proud of their country. Taxi and bus drivers eagerly volunteered information and pointed out interesting sights.

Continue reading Peaceful, picturesque Port Vila