Azamara Cruises - the two-ship brand launched in 2007 with the 694-guest Azamara Journey and sister ship Azamara Quest - today became "Azamara Club Cruises," with a newly refined focus, and a series of new attributes designed for upmarket, experienced travelers. "This isn't a strategy of going 'from good to great'," said Azamara Club Cruises President & CEO Larry Pimentel. "This is about taking an already great product and making it exceptional."

For 2010, Princess Cruises has added a 12-night cruise-tour designed for families including features that are not usually part of the package. Participants will have the opportunity to travel on a jetboat, pan for gold, take an interactive tour of Denali National Park and experience what Alaska is like in the winter.

The ‘Family Fun’ cruise-tour is offered at a 25% discount for all berths, so all members of the family are included in the special pricing.

Holland America Line beefed up its loyalty club with the Mariner Society Rewards Program, providing on-board discounts while sailing, special rates on select cruises, and reduced or free third and fourth passenger rates when booking future cruises.

Royal Caribbean International is reminding vacationers that they can enjoy the benefits of booking early and the peace of mind of receiving the best advertised prices with the line’s Best Price Guarantee program. By booking early, vacationers have access to a much wider selection of staterooms and availability on their desired departure date. If the guest then finds a lower fare advertised by Royal Caribbean for the same ship, sail-date and stateroom category, they can receive the difference in price as an onboard credit to spend on beverages, cocktails, spa services, specialty dining and other shipboard purchases. Any dollars not spent will be refunded at the conclusion of the cruise.

Delivering the very best in overall guest experiences is the central motivator behind the design of Royal Caribbean International’s newest ship, Oasis of the Seas. When she debuts in December 2009, the most cutting-edge amenities and activities ever seen at sea will be complemented with a variety of retail venues 13 stores, including open-air shopping that cover more than 10,000 square feet. With many products exclusive to Oasis, the shopping experience will be one of a kind in terms of both the items offered and the setting on the largest and most revolutionary cruise ship in the world. Guests of all ages and styles will find their retail therapy of choice in outlets that range from children and teen-favored shops to jewelry and duty-free stores for adults.

Many people shop for cruise vacations just on a cost basis. Looking only for pricing but overlooking the value and ignoring other essential facts, can make a big difference on your cruise vacation. Each line and cruise ship has its own personality and the

So the big day is here, and you’re ready to head to the airport. Here is some helpful information to make your life a bit easier that day. Get your flight's departure time promptly by using Google. All you have to do is type in your airline and flight

It’s funny. Networking has always been a social activity: happy hours, cocktail parties and business networking events. But those were in-person, up-close and dressed-to-impress types of events. These days we’re online a lot. And being online is more

It’s ok to laugh hard enough to become a choking hazard, to tear up a dance floor with moves no one’s ever seen before...

Dining options on Carnival Dream, debuting in September, range from a two-level casual eatery featuring a new Italian pasta station and a burrito bar to Ocean Plaza, an indoor/outdoor café and live music venue. In outlining the ship’s food selection,

Dancin’ in the Street. This show is a dramatic change for Carnival. It combines an urban feel with great special effects, including neon lighting and video projection, and employs the very talented Carnival Dream cast, with a focus on the “Fun Force

Some ships have spas. Celebrity’s must be called “Spaaaahs” because that’s what guests say when they leave a treatment. The actual name is AquaSpa® and without a doubt, it’s the most luxurious at sea. Choose from over 25 treatments from meditat

Want to finish your family vacation still speaking to your children? This question usually triggers the parental nodding of heads and not so fond memories of the last bonding trip. But not all family trips have to end up like a sequel to National Lampoon

Every year, there are approximately 2.4 million weddings. And of those, 16 percent are destination weddings. There’s no doubt that this trend is growing by leaps and bounds. Today, more and more couples decide to steer clear of traditional weddings and

When your family is on a cruise vacation, they get the chance to spend time together and say “why not” to a great number of activities and adventures. You can surrender to fun both onshore and onboard. Imagine enjoying a water park on a private island

The Explorations Book Club debuted on Holland America Line this past May of 2009. As part of the cruise line’s ongoing Signature of Excellence initiative, the club will launch with the popular novel "Like Water for Chocolate" on the ms Veendam

The initial response to the new Cruise West Voyages of the Great Explorers has been tremendous. Hundreds have booked so far on one of the 24 voyages, many on individual Chapters and two so far on the entire voyage. Many people have indicated that they wou

No offense to our friends at Coke headquarters in Atlanta, but Pepsi loyalists have won another round in the battle of the brands. Norwegian Cruise Lines recently announced that it was changing out its long standing exclusive use of Coca Cola products on

Princess has added a rare opportunity to its 2010 cruise tour lineup in Europe - a unique cruise tour designed to include the famed Oberammergau Passion Play, which is performed only once each decade in this small Bavarian village in Germany.

Royal Caribbean’s chairman, Richard Fain, has been a busy bee travelling back and forth from the Miami headquarters to the shipyard in Turku, Finland where the Oasis of the Seas is being fitted out. And he brought his camera with him on this last trip t

There was recently a rather large dust up when it was disclosed that a major cruise line had given away some free cruises to a core group of its fans who posted regularly on a large cruise community site. There were many cries of “foul” and “reverse

There’s all sorts of hoopla about the gigantic cruise ships that are being introduced over the next 18 months or so, but what about their smaller cousins in the deluxe and luxury sectors? It seems that growth spurts are not confined to the mega liners.

There’s no need to be embarrassed if you’re not an experienced cruiser and you come up with a humorous question onboard a ship. One thing is for sure… The more you cruise, and the more you learn about cruising, the more you love the experience and t

Summer just started and it seems a lot of people are putting off making their cruise travel plans. Well, sometimes it pays to wait and this might be one of those times. Cruise Planners has just announced its biggest sale of the year. We asked the cruis

Another “cutting edge” travel website was just announced. It leads to the question of “how many websites does a person need to visit to get information about travel offers?” Since we focus on the cruise business, let’s take a look at this par

If you don’t know a USB device from a motherboard and are otherwise “electronically challenged”, then this news from Crystal Cruises will be welcomed. The cruise line has announced recently that they are placing on-board technical concierges to as

Celebrity Equinox saw daylight for the first time Saturday, June 6, during her official "docking out" from Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. The 1,425-guest ship is the second in Celebrity's widely heralded Solstice Class fleet.

Important in business, real estate and even on cruise ships. How can you make sure that you pick the best location in your chosen stateroom category? A good answer for this question is to view the ship’s deck plans in the cruise line brochure or on th

Poker seems to be the answer. More and more cruise lines are adding Texas Hold ‘em poker to their casinos. Unlike other games on board, poker players compete against each other and the house takes a percentage of the pot also known as the “rake”. Mo

This year will be exciting with the introduction of 9 new cruise ships. The biggest and most discussed new vessel is Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas. Slated for her first voyage this spring, this floating city will rank as the largest cruise ship in