Category: Cruise Planning
NCL BLISS FLOATS OUT TODAY!!!
The Norwegian Bliss is scheduled to float out today at 8am and leave the building dock at the MeyerWerft. She will then birth at the shipyard’s out fitting pier to be fitted for her funnel. The Bliss will remain in the shipyard to continue outfitting work, testing and acceptance procedures as well as approx. 1,600 crew members will be onboard starting their training until she makes her passage through the river Ems up the North Sea on the second weekend in March.
Norwegian Bliss is expected to welcome her first guests on her inaugural cruise April 2018.
Sharon at Sea
CARNIVAL PANORAMA COMING TO LONG BEACH
Yes, that’s right!!! The Carnival Panorama will call Long Beach her home port when entering service in 2019.
Carnival Cruise Lines made an exciting announcement today at the grand re-opening of the 146,000 square foot state of the art cruise terminal. The new 133,500-ton Carnival Panorama will be the first brand new Carnival ship deployed to southern California in 20 years.
As the Splendor that has recently arrived in Long Beach makes her way to Australia in 2019, the Panorama will take over. Carnival Cruise Lines is excited that this will bring great business opportunities now and in the near future.
Bookings are expected to start for the carnival Panorama at the end of March 2018.
Happy Cruising!!!
Sharon at Sea
PRE~CRUISE HOTELS IN SAN JUAN
NCL NAME’S NEW MEGA SHIP
Norwegian cruise lines has announced they will be naming their new ship the “Norwegian Encore” as she is scheduled to make her debut in October 2019. NCL has been working on the construction of their new mega ship in Papenburg, Germany. It will be included in, as well as the last ship in the Breakaway Plus class. Miami is scheduled to be the Encore’s home port.
SAN JUAN ~ POST HURRICANES
The Caribbean was hit hard this last season as hurricane Irma & Maria blew through the islands…
Although many Caribbean islands were untouched by the deadly hurricanes this past season, a few islands were left in shambles of destruction. One that took a massive hit was San Juan Puerto Rico. With the injured victims and death count still remaining uncertain, now the island continues working at recovering its loses.
Now over 100 days since mother nature hit Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican government statistics show that 55% of Puerto Rico have had their power restored, although that still leaves a devastating number of over 660,000 that do not have power. Most hotels, businesses, and restaurants are with power, many residential areas still remain in the dark. It is estimated that power will be fully restored to all areas of Puerto Rico by May.
The Luis Munoz Marin Airport in San Juan is open, and providing service for 27 different carriers. It’s accommodating over 70 scheduled international and domestic flights. Some of the smaller airports remain with limited service. Continue reading “SAN JUAN ~ POST HURRICANES”
THE HAMPTON INN BUSH INTL. AIRPORT ~ HOUSTON
We recently stayed at the Hampton Inn in Houston by Bush International Airport on JFK Blvd for one night on a post cruise stay. We did our research prior to booking and the property received mixed review, so we decided to give it a try and give you an honest review of our room and the general areas of the hotel.
Let’s start with our room. We booked a room with 2 queen beds and the price was very reasonable. Our room was neat and appeared clean upon arrival. It did have a slight musty smell when first entering from the humidity, although once we turned the air conditioning on, the smell went away. The carpet was freshly vacuumed. We did notice later in the evening that the lamp shades were fairly dusty, but other than that everything was clean. The bathroom was clean and had the usual Neutrogena brand shampoo, condition, and lotion amenities. The shower head was nice and worked great. The beds were comfortable for a short stay. Not overly plush, although we slept comfortably. There was no microwave or fridge in our room, although we already knew this before arriving. I believe some of the larger rooms may have them. It did have an alarm clock and coffee maker. Also the TV included some movie channels such as HBO, and the greatest thing was that it included the direct TV NFL Sunday ticket, since it was Sunday we took full advantage of it. This was the first hotel we have ever stayed that included this with no additional charge. Continue reading “THE HAMPTON INN BUSH INTL. AIRPORT ~ HOUSTON”
Royal Caribbean Increase!!!
Royal Caribbean has increased their cover charge at Johnny Rockets on select Oasis of the Seas sailings from $6.95 to $9.95. Quite a jump!!!
Although according to a Royal Caribbean spokesperson, it is just being tested to a small group of sailings and at this time there are no plans to add it to any other ships.
Sharon at Sea
BAGAIL TRAVEL TOILETRY BAG REVIEW
FORT LAUDERDALE TOP HOTEL PICKS
Need a place to stay in Fort Lauderdale before a cruise??? Here’s my top picks for a pre-cruise stay!!!