Denise Frantz’s Western Caribbean cruise on Carnival isn’t meant to be. First her plane is delayed, and then she’s denied boarding because of a paperwork problem. But wait! Didn’t Carnival make her airline reservations? Shouldn’t it help her now?
cruise
Lynn Prater missed her train.
To say that Michael Harr-Trueblood’s 10-day cruise aboard the Disney Wonder was disappointing might be an understatement.
Accidents happen.
When Michael Mihalik gets a phone call offering a free cruise, he takes the bait. But a $190 deposit later, he’s having second thoughts about this getaway. The company won’t refund his deposit. Should it?
t was Alicia and Dean Winicks’ first cruise — a seven-day sailing from from San Juan to Dominica, Grenada, Aruba, and back again on the Caribbean Princess last month.
Veda Robinson and Jackie Smartt were looking forward to their Carnival cruise last December. But they never made it on board. Smartt had packed the wrong ID, and the cruise line left her standing at the dock.
Cruises used to be billed as “all-inclusive” experiences. But as I report in my latest National Geographic Traveler column, some cruise lines seem enamored of the airline industry’s rich profits, derived almost exclusively from fees. This weekend’s question is simple: Should they go “a-la-carte” with their fares? (By “a-la-carte” I mean unbundling the cruise fare, [...]
Spend a little time on a cruise ship, and you’ll notice how germ-phobic the seafaring class seems to be. From the ever-present dispensers of Purell hand sanitizer to the employees offering antiseptic towelettes at the all-you-can-eat-buffet, they look as if they could show Howard Hughes a good time.
I’m writing this from the Vista Café on Deck 4 of the Disney Dream. But it’ll probably take half an eternity to post it, because the “high speed” wireless connection on the ship is significantly slower than what I’m used to on dry land.
Mike and Mary Burchmore thought they’d dotted all of their “i”s and crossed all of their “t”s when they booked their South American cruise on the Norwegian Sun.
I’m not a big fan of cruises, in case you haven’t noticed. But I am a fan of Kevin Sheehan after his appearance on the CBS show Undercover Boss.
Remember the Carnival Splendor, the ship that was marooned 200 miles south of San Diego for several days last year after a fire knocked out its power? Robert and Beverly Howell won’t ever forget it, because they were on the ship.
I’m a poster boy for Dramamine, the motion sickness medication parceled out to seasick cruise passengers. But all the pills in the world won’t cure the made-for-TV drama that’s been unfolding at sea recently.
Barbara Loffler had so much fun on her 10th anniversary Princess cruise that she and her husband decided to book their 20th anniversary vacation on the Love Boat, too. But it will probably be their last.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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