Please click on the links below for each ship’s full deployment details:

Allure of the Seas- Together with her sister ship, Oasis of the Seas, she holds the record for the largest passenger ship ever constructed, although the Allure is 50 millimetres (2.0 in) longer than the Oasis, making her technically the largest despite the fact that both ships have identical superstructures.

In the Winter 2013-14 Season, Allure of the Seas will sail these itineraries-

Freedom of the Seas- The namesake of Royal Caribbean’s Freedom class cruise ships, this one can accommodate 3,634 passengers and 1,300 crewon fifteen passenger decks and was the largest passenger ship ever built from 2006 until construction of the Oasis Class ships in late 2009.

In the Winter 2013-14 Season, Freedom of the Seas will sail these itineraries-

Independence of the Seas- is a Freedom-class cruise ship that entered service in April 2008. The 15-deck ship  is a sister-shhip to Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas.

In the Winter 2013-14 Season, Independence of the Seas will sail these itineraries-

Navigator of the Seas- is fourth out of the five Voyager-class cruise ships.  Once one of the largest in the fleet and still among the largest passenger ships in the world the ship measures 138,279 gross tons and can carry 3,114 passengers, plus crew.

In the Winter 2013-14 Season, Navigator will sail these itineraries-

Oasis of the Seas- The first of her class, and a sister ship to  Allure of the Seas , both vessels cruise the Caribbean from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  Oasis recently set a new record of carrying over 6,000 passengers.

In the Winter 2013-14 Season, Allure of the Seas will sail these itineraries-

Serenade of the Seas-  is a Radiance class cruise ship  and sisters include Jewel of the Seas, Brilliance of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas. Serenade is 90,090 tons, has 12 passenger decks, and holds 2,490 guests and 891 crew.

In the Winter 2013-14 Season, Allure of the Seas will sail these itineraries-

Photo Credit: slackley via Compfight

Chris Owen is a travel writer from Orlando Florida charged with sharing frank, inside information on cruise vacations with travelers. Certified a Master Cruise Counselor by the Cruise Lines International Association, Chris can be found via the popular travel blog, ChrisCruises.net and on the long-running cruise information website, YourCruiseDream.com.

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For those who don’t much care for Mom? Make it a solo cruise and wish her well.
For everyone else, invite yourself along on a cruise on any number of lines that has an onboard experience you will like sailing to ports that the whole family will enjoy.

Princess Cruises is celebrating Mother’s Day with a sale on great family cruise destinations from convenient home ports. The May 10-14 sale offers special cruise deals on voyages to the Caribbean, Panama Canal, Canada & New England, and Hawaii.

The Mother’s Day Sale offers passengers savings up to $700 per stateroom, plus up to $100 onboard credit on a total of more than 80 itineraries.

In addition to fare savings, passengers booking interior or oceanview staterooms can receive an onboard credit of $25 (cruises up to 9 days) to $50 (cruises 10 days or longer), and in balcony staterooms or above can get credits of $50 (cruises up to 9 days) or $100 (for sailings 10 days or longer). All onboard credits are offered per stateroom.

Examples of cruise deals include:

•  Caribbean cruise – 7 days: $799 balcony (was $949); $549 interior (was $599)
• Canada & New England cruise – 7 days: $999 balcony (was $1,299); $599 interior (was $799)
• Panama Canal cruise – 10 days: $1,599 balcony (was $1,649); $999 interior (was $1,099)
• Hawaii cruise – 14 days: $1,995 balcony (was $2,345); $1,295 interior (was $1,445)
• Panama Canal cruise – 14 days: $1,799 balcony (was $2,299); $1,099 interior (was $1,599)

All cruise prices are per person, based on double occupancy. The Mother’s Day Sale begins at 12:01 a.m. PDT on May 10 through 11:59 p.m. PDT on May 14, 2012 and is available to residents of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Reservations made during the sale require a non-refundable deposit.

Photo Credit: Shandi-lee Cox via Compfight

Chris Owen is a travel writer from Orlando Florida charged with sharing frank, inside information on cruise vacations with travelers. Certified a Master Cruise Counselor by the Cruise Lines International Association, Chris can be found via the popular travel blog, ChrisCruises.net and on the long-running cruise information website, YourCruiseDream.com.

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Carnival is bringing back their juiced-up version of the Military Discount that they offer on every ship and every sailing. (see details below)  Far from sailing, it usually is down at the bottom of pricing options, about a step higher than the Early Saver Fare, guaranteed to be lowest by the cruise line.

Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Cruise Lines also offer a military discount but it is more on the lines of a Senior discount or Resident discount, one aimed at filling unsold berths.  You won’t find it far in advance of sailing , more close-in and not as generous. Still, the effort is noted and appreciated.

Princess cruises is in the game on all ships, all sailings too with an onboard credit program for active and retired military personnel.  With Princess’ program  get an onboard credit ranging from $50 to $250 per stateroom, depending on the length of the cruise and is open to both United States and Canadian forces.  A recent post on Princess’ new blog, 50 Essential Experiences,  by Princess President and CEO Alan Buckelew prompted the line to action.

As mentioned earlier, Carnival Cruise Lines is honoring Memorial Day by offering a promotion throughout May that allows active and former military personnel to book up to three “Fun Ship” staterooms at discounted rates for themselves and their friends and family members.

Here’s the details you need to know:

• Reservations must be made between May 1-31, 2012, to qualify for this special offer, which is available in conjunction with a variety of three- to eight-day “Fun Ship” departures through April 30, 2014, including voyages to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexico and Europe.
• Voyages to the Caribbean, Bahamas and Mexico operate from 12 convenient year-round North American homeports along the east and west coasts and Gulf of Mexico.  Europe cruises depart from Barcelona, Spain.
• The promotion is valid for individual bookings only. Military personnel must provide proof of service. Eligible military personnel must sail to take advantage of this offer.  Certain other restrictions apply.

Photo Credit: Ian Sane via Compfight

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Let’s take a look at a couple of the best values we see out there today.

Starting today and for just five days, Princess Cruises is offering special cruise deals to destinations around the world, with their World of Savings sale.  Passengers can take advantage of savings up to $2,000 per stateroom, plus up to $100 onboard credit on specific sailings.  We like the way Princess does it because they don’t pay Hide and Seek with the special values.

These select September 2012 to January 2013 sailings feature the best of Princess’ worldwide cruise destinations, offering the opportunity to sail to exciting ports of call such as Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong, Sydney, and Rome; to explore the natural wonders of Alaska; or to enjoy the idyllic islands of Hawaii or the Caribbean.

In addition to fare savings, passengers booking interior or oceanview staterooms can receive an onboard credit of $25 (cruises up to 9 days) to $50 (cruises 10 days or longer), and in balcony staterooms or above can get credits of $50 (cruises up to 9 days) or $100 (for sailings 10 days or longer). All onboard credits are offered per stateroom.

Some specific examples of cruise deals include:

Alaska – 7 days : $999 balcony (was $1,649); $549 interior (was $874)

Caribbean – 7 days: $849 balcony (was $949); $549 interior (was $599)

Europe – 12 days: $1,599 balcony (was $2,790); $999 interior (was $1,790)

South America – 13 days: $2,099 balcony (was $2,395); $1,199 interior (was $1,495)

Australia & New Zealand – 14 days: $2,199 balcony (was $2,995); $1,299 interior (was $2,095)

Hawaii – 14 days: $1,999 balcony (was $2,345); $1,299 interior (was $1,445)

Panama Canal – 14 days: $1,799 balcony (was $2,299); $1,099 interior (was $1,599)

Asia – 16 days: $2,499 balcony (was $3,195); $1,499 interior (was $1,995)

All cruise prices are per person, based on double occupancy. The World of Savings event begins at 12:01 a.m. PDT on April 19 through 11:59 p.m. PDT on April 23, 2012 and is available to residents of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Reservations made during the sale require a non-refundable deposit.

For those willing to read the fine print and accept the restrictions, there are a lot of good values to choose from.  This week, Norwegian Cruise Line sweetened the already discounted deal with a new element: Free Shore Excursions for Kids

Book your 2012 family cruise today and every child 12 and under in your stateroom will receive free unlimited shore excursions, and all teens 13-17 get 50% off. Thats every child, in every port, on all sailings. You won’t find a better family vacation value anywhere! All shore excursions must be pre-booked in advance of your sailing.

That’s Norwegian’s Little Norwegian’s Explore For Free promotion and another sign that soft sales run deep.

Norwegian’s offer is for families who book a 2012 cruise from today through May 13, 2012, closing the window of opportunity more than ever.

Carnival Cruise Line‘s Summer Sale is a winner if we play it right too.

The “playing it right” element is the tricky part but not too tricky. Still, this is a good time to have a travel agent in your back pocket to sort through it all and be sure you get the best value.  Here’s why:

Basically, Carnival is offering up to 13 different rate codes to choose from.  Consumers can’t see those different options on Carnival’s consumer web site.  There are a limited number of qualifiers available to consumers, usually age, past guest affiliation, etc.  Travel agents can see all the different fares for any sailing in a number of scenarios then compare to be sure they get the best value.

That can be significant.

Let’s take the Summer Sale fare for a 3-5 day sailing.  We’ll use Carnival Paradise sailing from Tampa on 05-05-12 in the least expensive cabin category for an example.

Under the Summer Sale fare, the price this morning for a category 4B inside cabin is $1065.98 total for two including all port charges, taxes and fees.  Because it is booked under the Summer Sale fare promotion it also gets $100 onboard credit.  A good way to look at that considering the $100 onboard credit, good as cash on the ship, that brings the price down to $965.98 total for two.

Not bad.

But for a past guest, that same Summer Sale fare, minus the $100 onboard credit is $875.98, $90 less at the end price.

That’s one example of just how costly not using a travel agent can be.

Some other possible fares on the same sailing:

Senior Fare, least expensive cabin is a category OV, unassigned Oceanview cabin for $925.98
Military Rate, category 4B inside for $895.98

The deal is in there, we just have to know how to pay the promotions to our best advantage.

Chris Owen is a travel writer from Orlando Florida charged with sharing frank, inside information on cruise vacations with travelers. Certified a Master Cruise Counselor by the Cruise Lines International Association, Chris can be found via the popular travel blog, ChrisCruises.net and on the long-running cruise information website, YourCruiseDream.com.

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Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas. (photo: flickr/c_valentine)

Royal Caribbean announced today that in 2013 Explorer of the Seas will continue to home-port in Cape Liberty cruise port in Bayonne, NJ.

Explorer of the Seas’ summer and autumn 2013 line-up will feature 30 sailings to 17 ports of call on seven itineraries. Guest can sail to ports like Bermuda, Caribbean and Canada and New England from April through October 2013.

From April through August 2012, Explorer of the Seas will alternate five-night Bermuda and nine-night Bermuda & Caribbean itineraries. The five-night itinerary will feature an overnight at Kings Wharf, Bermuda, while the nine-night sailing calls at Kings Wharf; St. Maarten; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Labadee. From September through October, vacationers can choose a seven-night Bermuda itinerary, which uniquely features three days and two nights at Kings Wharf to enjoy more of the 181-island nation.

Explorer of the Seas also will offer guests a special Canada and New England sailing to catch the arrival of autumn and the changing of the leaves. Departing August 31, guests will call at Boston, Mass.; Portland and Bar Harbor, Maine; Saint John, New Brunswick; and Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Explorer of the Seas ranks as one of the world’s largest and most innovative cruise ships, featuring iconic Royal Caribbean onboard amenities such as an ice-skating rink, nine-hole mini-golf course, a rock-climbing wall, full-size basketball court and the Royal Promenade, a boulevard that runs nearly the length of the ship.

Source: Royal Caribbean

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We actually did things a little different on this day. TJ went to the island and explored Coco Cay while I stayed back on board the ship and explored all there was to explore on the ship. TJ, will be writing a blog all about Coco Cay once he gets back home and settled. I have been onto Coco Cay five times so I know all there is to know about it– its a blast!

 So this is how my day went.  The first activity I was going to check out didn’t start until eleven, I woke up and grabbed some breakfast and brought it back to my room and bummed. At eleven o’clock the adult free throw basketball competition started on the very back of the ship. Throwing the ball and trying to make it in the hoop had me realize just why I was always picked last in my high school sports teams.

After losing the competition (miserably) I made my way to the Windjammer Café (deck 11) to grab some lunch. Lunch was meatloaf, not my favorite but there was many other options to choose from: burgers, fries, hot dogs, deli meats, etc. After lunch I made my way down to the sound of music theater (deck 5 & 7) to watch “Star Trek,” and was surprised at how many people were in there watching. This was cool, on deck 5 where all the shops are, there was a jewelry blow out (50% off). A lot of the ladies were taking advantage of the deals…. I wonder how many husbands were surprised when the folio was delivered the next morning.

 At four pm, I went and watched the men’s belly flop competition. I needed that laugh! Overweight men belly first into the pool. My friends got back from Coco Cay about four thirty and we went and pigged out on some more food (pizza). Afterwards we went up to the Viking Lounge (Deck 14) and watched the boat sail away from the island. When the anchor is pulled up and those engines start roaring it starts sinking in that in a few short hours you will be back to reality – but we still had plenty of ground to cover! After enjoying a cocktail and watching Coco Cay fade away we went down to the casino. Now know that I have never in my life ever played a card game. Hell, even when all my friends would play drinking games with the cards I was probably on a computer somewhere. TJ, introduced me to this game in the casino called “Let it Ride.” A fun card game, lots of potential to win big and to lose big too. I broke even and walked away. I was able to play for 45 minutes before I got down to my initial investment. I think I will stick to those games instead of slots. I have never won big on slots.

 The farewell show was called “You Cant Stop the Beat,” it was entertaining, a lot of older artists (Neil Diamond, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson) music was played in there to play to the demographic of the passengers on the ship. The singers were amazing and the chorography was stunning. The one lady who sang Whitney Houston’s , I’ll always love you ….. she REALLY rocked it. After the stage performance was done the cruise director read this really funny top ten list of questions people have asked him on the cruise. I thought a few were hysterical …. Is the toilet salt or fresh water… do the crew sleep on the ship? At the very end of the top ten list the whole crew came out, waiters, servers, bar tenders, cabin stewards, and cooks and all waved to us. It was a very nice end of the cruise gesture.

The final night at dinner was Italian night and was it great. I had the garlic tiger shrimp and the rack of lamb as a main entrée. The servers performed a couple of Italian songs and you could tell a couple of them were like…. Riiiiiiight! I had too much packing to do so I didn’t stay for dessert. On the way out I passed out the gratuity envelopes and gave our waiter and extra twenty dollars. For someone who claims to be a light packer, I sure had stuff spread all over my room. If you were going to check the bags, they had to be outside your door by 11 pm. I always carry my bag off because I don’t want to take the risk of it being lost or mishandled. After I packed my room up, I got online and submitted my blog. One thing I didn’t really like about the ship is that to get on the wireless you had to go to a common area.

One thing I didn’t make it to was the Quest game show. This show is a hysterical and for adults only. Basically its an adult scavenger hunt. There is a kicker at the end though. They want all these guys to run up to the stage and then they blind side you and tell you it’s the “Miss Monarch” pageant.

Lights out 11 pm.