Your trusted source for the latest cruise news and travel advice.

By The Cruise Web, Inc.

If you’re a die-hard cruiser, you are probably well aware of all the growth in the industry and all the new ships that are rolling out. If you are a casual cruiser, you are in for a shock because cruise lines are now adding many more ships to their fleets, and these ships are jam-packed with interesting and innovative features.

We’ve compiled a handy overview of all the newest ships, including their key features and an exciting itinerary.

Royal Princess
Christening Date: June 13, 2013
Godmother: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge (a.k.a. Kate Middleton)
It’s been five years since Princess  introduced a new ship. With such a long wait, they are making sure to get every detail right on the Royal Princess, which is their largest ship to date with 1,780 passenger cabins and room for 3,600 passengers. The Regal Princess, the Royal Princess’ future sister ship, will have many of the same features and will debut in June 2014.

Key Features:

• SeaWalk, a glass bottom walkway where you will hover 128 feet above the ocean
• Four water and music shows with dancing fountains, movie screens and live performers
• A tea tower and tea sommelier to help you make your own personal blend of tea

Featured Itinerary: Grand Mediterranean – Barcelona to Venice (12 days)

[Read more →]

By Erica Kritt, Social Media Coordinator, The Cruise Web, Inc.

The Norwegian Breakaway was packed with great fun features, but my colleagues and I discovered a lot of intricacies that you just may not know about until you experience the Breakaway in all her glory. Here’s a list of helpful tips to use when you are onboard.

Electricity
I stepped into my cabin and I tried to turn the light on to go to the bathroom, then I tried to turn the TV on, nothing. I called up the front desk to let them know our cabin didn’t have any electricity. They told me all I had to do was put my room key into the silver apparatus by the door (pictured to the right) and all the cabin’s electricity would work. This is a handy little trick that a lot of cruise lines are now utilizing to help save energy. Remember, if you leave any cameras or phones charging, once you take the key out there will be no electricity going through your outlets. [Read more →]

By Seth Woodward, Assistant Marketing Manager, The Cruise Web, Inc.

Last April, I had a chance to experience Bermuda on a 7-night Carnival cruise aboard the Carnival Splendor. I had an amazing time and experienced a bunch of ‘firsts’ along the way, but let’s begin with an overview of my itinerary: our cruise departed from New York City on a Tuesday with a direct course for Bermuda. We arrived at King’s Wharf in the Royal Naval Dockyard on Thursday morning and spent a total of three days in Bermuda before returning to New York, and reality.

This was my first cruise aboard Carnival Cruise Lines so the two sea days in the beginning of my trip were perfect because they gave me plenty of time to explore the ship. I was pleasantly surprised by just about every aspect of the experience, including the food in the main dining room. I’m not a picky eater so I’m pretty easy to please, but even my friend and the other guests at our dining table enjoyed the various meal options. And Carnival certainly lived up to its reputation for having “Fun” ships with a youthful atmosphere where no one takes themselves too seriously.  But as fun as the ship was, I was itching to explore Bermuda when we made port Thursday morning. [Read more →]

By Rosalind Smith, Director of Business Development, The Cruise Web, Inc.

New ships are often brighter, bolder and pack a bigger punch, so we picked Viking’s Three-Alarm Firecracker Chicken, a delicious dish that definitely has a kick to it. This recipe is courtesy of Viking Cruises, which is debuting new  vessels from rivers to oceans to rivers again. The cruise line known for its river cruises christened 10 Viking Longships to sail the rivers of Europe this year. Next year they have plans to roll out another 12 Longships and they have also announced the introduction of two ocean sailing ships, the first of which, the Viking Star, will make its debut in 2015.

Having made this recipe for lunch the other day, a word to the wise  – don’t enhance the heat. This dish is deceptive, at first it has a sweet flavor and then bam, that fire ignites somewhere deep inside! I happen to love a spicy dish,  so I would make this recipe again in a heartbeat. Not only did it have a great flavor, but it was quick to make. By the time I finished chopping the peppers, the 10 minutes of marinade time had nearly elapsed. [Read more →]

A compilation by The Cruise Web employees.

With only two days to explore an 18-deck ship with 27 dining options, a handful of different performances and a full on water park, you better believe we at The Cruise Web were a little overwhelmed while on the Norwegian Breakaway. After the initial shock of just how beautiful and new this ship is, we all  made as many reservations for specialty dining and performances as possible and set out to discover all that we could.

Now that we’ve returned and can fully process the experience, we asked everyone on our staff that was aboard the ship to fill in the blanks to this sentence:

“________________ was my most favorite part of the brand new Norwegian Breakaway because ______________________ .”

Read along to find out what our staff of expert cruise consultants and cruise support staff thought were the best aspects of the ship!

Karolina S.
I’ve been on several ships and have seen some pretty cool things on cruises, but I have to say the coolest part of the Breakaway is the free-fall water slide.  There’s just nothing quite like having the floor drop out from underneath you, sending you shooting down a water slide that actually sends you upwards at one point! This is by far my favorite part of the Breakaway. [Read more →]

By The Cruise Web Inc.,

The Norwegian Getaway will feature the Broadway hit Legally Blonde on all of her sailings. This seven-time Tony nominated show ran on Broadway for a year and was based on the hit-movie starring Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods. The show uses fun songs and dances to tell the story of Elle, a blonde girly girl who follows an ex-boyfriend to Harvard to win him back, but in the process surprises everyone by succeeding in her classes and finding a new love.

The show will be performed in the ship’s 787-seat Getaway theater. [Read more →]

By The Cruise Web, Inc.

Viking River Cruises has announced that cruisers will soon be able to cruise the oceans, the Viking way. The company, which has been a leader in the river cruise industry, wants to bring their destination-centric approach to ocean cruising. Their ocean cruises are planned to offer passengers more night-time in port and more over nights than most cruise lines. Viking’s ocean cruises will also include the same inclusive amenities as their river cruises with complimentary beer and wine at lunch and dinner, complimentary wi-fi, room service and a self-service laundry facility. [Read more →]

By Austin Gambino, Marketing Assistant, The Cruise Web, Inc.

After spending a few days on the Norwegian Breakaway, I thought it would be nice to share my onboard service review, and what I believe you can expect from future cruises. Before you book a vacation, and more importantly choose a cruise ship, it’s important to speak with your travel agent about the style of service you can expect to receive onboard, as well as the right environment to go with your vacation needs. Hopefully, the following review of the Boarding Process/Service, Room/Cleaning Service, Restaurant Service and Casino Service will assist you in your future cruising plans. [Read more →]

By Erica Kritt, Social Media Coordinator, The Cruise Web, Inc.

The Norwegian Breakaway is quite a ship, and there are  28 dining venues to choose from, so I was delighted when one of our cruise consultants made a dinner reservation for a few of us at Le Bistro on our last night on the ship. I have to say, living in the suburbs, it’s not often you find a french restaurant, so it was exciting to get to experience the food from a country famous for its beautiful landscapes and decadent cuisine.

Le Bistro is one of Norwegian’s signature specialty restaurants appearing on all of their ships except for Pride of America, which has her own french cuisine restaurant called Jefferson’s Bistro. Not only was the food delicious, the restaurant evoked a Parisian bistro. On the Breakaway, the entrance to Le Bistro looks and feels like a cobblestone street and there is “outdoor” seating where you can get a great view of 678 Ocean Place, the heart of the ship. Inside the restaurant the lights are low, making for a wonderfully intimate atmosphere. The plush seats and clean white tablecloths evoke a simple elegance. [Read more →]