Cruise Radio: Weekly Cruise News & Travel Tips

A review of Carnival Cruise Line's newest mega-ship Mardi Gras. This was a seven-night Western Caribbean sailing from Port Canaveral. This is a special interview because our guest is legally blind and his wife is blind. We go into detail about Carnival's special needs department and how the line accommodates ADA requests.

Richard Simms has cruise news:

• The CDC has extended and modified the Conditional Sailing Order
• Carnival Cruise Line's newest ship Mardi Gras was officially christened
• Carnival Radiance is officially in North America
• Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady comes to the aid of distressed boaters off the coast of Florida
• A former cruise ship is now the largest floating nightclub

Listener Question: I read in one of your articles that on Mardi Gras, you can use the Hub App to order food and have it delivered anywhere on the ship. I always get hungry halfway through a show... can I have a snack delivered to the theater?

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A review of Princess Cruises Majestic Princess. This ship was built for Asia and has been sailing in the region since 2017, until the pandemic. In the summer of 2021, Majestic Princess start sailing Alaska, and then was repositioned to Los Angeles. Next summer, the ship will head back to Alaska offering seven-night voyages to the last frontier.

Richard Simms has cruise news on:

• The verdict from the MSC Cruise collision with a riverboat in 2019 in Venice
• Royal Caribbean launches first world cruise, how much does it cost?
• Celebrity Cruises goes heavy on Europe in 2023
• A former Carnival Cruise Line ship heads to the scrapyard
• Cruise lines prepare for the international travel ban to be lifted on November 8.

Listener Q: Does the Royal Caribbean Ultimate Dining Package work for all the venues onboard, even the a la carte.

Thoughts or questions? [email protected]

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A review of Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Encore. This ship was launched in 2019 and only sailed a couple of months before the cruise industry shutdown. William and his family sailed this seven-night cruise to Southeast Alaska from Seattle.

Richard has cruise news on:

• Grand Turk could see cruise ships by the end of 2021
• More Carnival Corporation cruise ships returned to service over the weekend
• San Francisco reopened to cruise ships this week
• Nearly 250,000 guests have sailed Carnival Cruise Line over the past three months
• Another cruise line adds a second world cruise

Listener Questions:

If you've got a minute could you tell me if the Covid home test for Royal Caribbean can be done anytime during the day/night. We are heading to Miami 2 days before sailing and need to be at the airport by 9:00 a.m. Thursday (sailing Saturday). Would be nice if we could use the test kit around 7 a.m. — Carol We are sailing Mardi Gras and have a question about Carnival Kitchen. How much does it cost, what is involved, and how do we make reservations for it? Is this like a chef's table experience?

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A review of Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas. This was a four night cruise to Perfect Day at CocoCay and Nassau, Bahamas from Miami, Florida.

Richard Simms has cruise news.

Listener Q: What is the best cruise to take to see if I even like cruising?

Thoughts or questions? [email protected]

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On this episode with talk with Tom McAlpin, CEO and President of Virgin Voyages. Virgin's newest ship Scarlet Lady is finally home in PortMiami where she is about to start sailing revenue cruises on October 6.

Sheri Griffiths from CruiseTipsTV stops by to give her first impressions of Scarlet Lady.

Richard Simms has cruise news:

• The State of the Industry address at SeaTrade Cruise Global
• Royal Caribbean will start allowing pre-cruise testing at pier for a fee
• Norwegian Breakaway is sailing again out of New York City
• Virgin Voyages gears up for Caribbean sailings from PortMiami
• A cruise line teams up with a submarine company

Listener Q: What is the best way to use my onboard credit?

Thoughts or questions? [email protected]

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Kirk just returned from a seven-night Alaska cruise on Celebrity Millennium from Seattle, Washington. We get a full review of sailing Alaska in 2021 and if cruising to the last frontier is different.

Richard Simms has cruise news:

• Carnival backtracks on pierside pre-cruise testing
• Royal Caribbean pulls a cruise ship from China, moves to the US
• Proposed Alaska bill would stop mandatory Canadian port calls
• MSC Cruises returns to Divina from Port Canaveral
• A beer company is teaming up with cruise lines to help train staff in a new era of bars

Listener Question: What is the feedback from cruise passengers taking the at-home COVID-19 test? — Anne

Thoughts or questions? [email protected]

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Carter and his wife recently returned from a cruise aboard one of MSC's newer ships, MSC Meraviglia.

In this interview, they talk to us about the boarding process, dining, entertainment, and how MSC has adjusted things since COVID. They also detail their experience on MSC's private island in the Bahamas, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve.

Richard Simms has cruise news:

• Virgin Voyages's Scarlet Lady is back in the USA
• Carnival Cruise Line revamps its Have Fun. Be Safe. policies for the casino
• One-third of Norwegian Cruise Line's ships are sailing again
• Carnival gives more testing options
• Royal Caribbean updates sailing protocols on all cruises through October 15.

Listener Question: What is the best option for taking my pre-cruise COVID test before embarking from Port Canaveral, Florida on a seven-night cruise? — Mark

Thoughts or questions? [email protected]

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In August, Daniel and his eight-year-old daughter took a four-night cruise aboard Disney Dream — their first cruise in 20 months. He joins us on the show to discuss how embarkation differed from the last time he sailed, the dining experience, the entertainment quality, and the sailing's double-dip at Disney's private island Castaway Cay.

Thoughts or questions? [email protected]

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In the episode, we interview Kerry about his seven-night Western Caribbean cruise aboard Norwegian Gem. This was the first Norwegian Cruise Line ship to depart Florida since the shutdown in March 2020.

Kerry also discusses what life was like on board during the seven-night voyage and the kind of health protocols the company has in place.

We also learn what it was like being in the Caribbean while a hurricane is spinning around.

Thoughts or questions? [email protected]

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Cruise writer Dave Monk recently took one of Virgin Voyages' first revenue sailings ever out of Portsmouth, England. Sailing a four-night "cruise to nowhere" aboard the line's first ship, Scarlet Lady, he had plenty of time to explore and check out its various offerings.

In this interview, he offers his impressions of this trip vs. his first time on board last year, the dining options, whether the ship REALLY doesn't have a buffet, and what amenities the ship has for passengers to enjoy.

Dave also discusses who the cruise line's target audience is and goes over how to decide whether or not a Virgin Voyages cruise is right for you — because it's quite different than any other cruise line in the world.

Thoughts or questions? [email protected]

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Get in-depth cruise news and industry insight at www.cruiseradio.net.