Cruise Radio» port canaveral

Enchantment of the Seas cruise ship to Port Canaveral

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:41:28 +0000

Enchantment of the Seas. (photo: wiki)

Royal Caribbean International announced yesterday that the 2,446-passenger Enchantment of the Seas will replace the aging Monarch of the Seas in Port Canaveral on April 25, 2013, offering guests three and four night Bahamas itineraries.

Before home-porting to Port Canaveral year-round Enchantment of the Seas will go through Royal Caribbean’s signature Royal Advantage Program adding: an outdoor movie screen, Chef’s Table, ship wide WiFi, concierge club, diamond club, digital signage, flat screen TV’s and a nursery.

Royal Caribbean is transferring Monarch of the Seas to sister cruise line Pullmantar next spring.

Enchantment of the Seas will offer a 12-night Southern Caribbean repositioning cruise from Baltimore to Port Canaveral before kicking off service in her new Florida home.

Grandeur of the Seas will replace Enchantment in Baltimore.

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Disco Queens On The High Seas set to sail

Chris Owen — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:06:05 +0000

The Disco Queens on the High Seas Cruise sets sail from Port Canaveral on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas for 7 nights in September. But this is not your run-of-the-mill disco drag queen cruise. On board will be celebrity drag queens who will host and judge the very first Miss High Seas 2012 Drag Pageant for six lucky contestants.

Events taking place for this private group cruise also include a “Broadway on the Seas” Show with 2 performances from each of the special guests, a Disco Party (guests are encouraged to come dressed in their best “Disco” outfit), a Celebrity Impersonator Show and 2-hour open bar nightly.

“While on board, we will have entertainment every night with our own guest star drag queens,” Angela Dedomenico of Music In M’Ocean told us.

6 contestants will go through 3 rounds of competition including a Disco themed Evening Gown competition, Disco themed Swim Wear competition and a Disco themed Performance, all judged by the legendary Tommie Ross with a $1000 prize going to the winner.

Big names in the world of drag queens including Darcel Steven, Ginger Minj, Chantel Reshae and Aysia Black will be on board hosting events.

Ports of call on the September 16, 2012 sailing of Freedom of the Seas include Falmouth Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Royal Caribbean’s private destination at Labadee, Haiti.

Royal Caribbean adds 2013-14 Australian cruise departures(cruiseradio.net)
Royal Caribbean goes down under with bonus values(chriscruises.net)
Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas reports small engine room fire(cruiseradio.net)
Cruise sail-by no reason to condemn industry(cruiseradio.net)

Episode 17 – Cruising Trends 2010

admin — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 08:55:36 +0000

In this weeks episode we talk to the Cruise Guy, Stewart Chiron, about the cruising trends of 2010.

Dr. Steve Gyland joins us to talk about some of his 700+ days spent sailing the Holland America fleet.

Scott Lara joins us talking about the benefits of sailing out of Port Canaveral, Florida.

Carnival Dream Video

admin — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:00:12 +0000

On December 3, Matt Basford and Doug Parker did a walk through of Carnival Cruise Lines’ “Carnival Dream.” This was the very first embarkation day from Port Canaveral, Florida. Enjoy the video.

Disembark for Carnival Dream… a Dream!

admin — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:34:23 +0000

Just got off my phone with my folks and they said the disembark was ‘flawless’ on the Carnival Dream. They were in zone 9 and were still in their car by 7:48, and that’s with waiting for their luggage. The luggage was separated onto east and west conveyors (odd and even cabins).

They said self assist got to get off the ship somewhere around 7 am. Just thought I would pass this on. Good job Carnival!

The Carnival Dream was on its first embark from Port Canaveral and went out full, Dec. 3, on a 9 night a Eastern Caribbean itinerary. The ship goes to 7 night caribbean sailings effective Dec. 12.

Here is a video I made a few months ago on dismebarkation… enjoy!

Hotel Review: Port Canaveral

admin — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 23:06:46 +0000

When I go to a cruise port, I always check out the hotels in the area that may stick out to a potential cruiser. This journey was destination Port Canaveral, Fla., and this is what I found.

Country Inn and Suites

9009 Astronaut Blvd., Cape Canaveral FL 32920,

Reservations: 1-800-596-2375 US/Canada Toll-free

[cincopa 10524921]

This hotel is for you if you’re: a cruiser, a business traveler, if you need plenty of room for family activities, enjoy complementary breakfast, and comfortable beds.

This hotel isn’t for you if: you prefer an outside hotel room.

This property is located approximately 1 mile from the Port Canaveral and sits right off Astronaut Blvd. (you can see some of the cruise ships from the hotel)

The property offers amenities such as shuttle service to Port Canaveral, 24 hour business center, complimentary hot breakfast, heated jacuzzi, pool, childrens pool, arcade and fitness center.

My Experience:

I arrived at the hotel property at 11 am. There was plenty of parking and a well kept landscape. When I walked in, a friendly and courteous staff greeted me.

This Country Inn and Suites property is slated as the #1 Country Inn & Suites in North America ( includes Canada & Mexico with over 500 Country Inns ). They were named #1 because of their scores on cleanliness and friendliness by Carlson.

The inside and outside appearance of the hotel was immaculate! Always paying attention to detail, I noticed a member of the house keeping staff cleaning the base of the stairwell. Outside of a cruise ship, I have never seen a housekeeping department so kept and together.

My reservation was in the system and was booked through the property so check in was hassle free. Booking online though offers a low price guarantee.

My room ( 2 doubles) included:

-Complimentary Wired and Wireless High Speed Internet

-2 Phone Lines

-Desk with Ergonomic Chair

-Side Wing Lounge Chair

-Microwave

-Fridge

-Coffee Maker

-Iron/Board

-Hairdryer

One cool feature that impressed with was the fast internet and recycling receptacles in the room. Green friendly is good!

Dinner was at Fish Lips, a seafood restaurant that offers a great view of all the ships leaving port. After watching the three ships in port leave, we headed back to the hotel to do some online work. Talking to the front desk, they told me on weekends they offer complementary shuttle service to the area restaurants.

The hotel was very quiet and peaceful at night with no distractions.

I got an opportunity to meet the General Manager, Bud Burch. Mr. Burch was very informative about the property and answered all our questions on how the shuttle system operates from the hotel to the cruise terminal. The cruise package (park and shuttle) is per room and you can park your car on the hotel property (save the 15/per day at pier) and enjoy the shuttle service to and from the ship. In three years, the hotel hasn’t had one passenger miss their ship because of error. Very comforting to know.

This property also participates in the ‘Read It and Return’ program. Kids can rent books from the hotel and return it at their local ‘Country Inn and Suites’ once home.

The next morning we checked out the complimentary hot breakfast buffet, no complaints there. The buffet offered omelets, bacon, home fries, cereal, waffles, danishes, yogurt, etc.

Check out was a breeze and we were on our way. There is a gas station right next to the hotel too, in case you forget any of the little things.

Closing comments

A GREAT pre-cruise hotel and family friendly!

Carnival Sensation Review

admin — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:40:21 +0000

The Sensation in Nassau, Bahamas.

A friend of mine traveled on the Carnival Sensation, leaving Port Canaveral on Thursday, September 10, 2009 and returning yesterday (Sept. 13) for a three day cruise. This is one of the shorter trips: Port Canaveral- Nassua, Bahamas – Sea Day, and Port Canaveral. Everyone in the group was in their late 20′s.

The Sensation is a ship in Carnival Fantasy class, launch in 1993. Carnival added balconies to 98 existing staterooms on the 2,052 passenger Carnival Sensation during a 35 day dry dock in January 2009.

Here is the review of the Carnival Sensation:

Embarkation process was very smooth & quick from the time we got to security till we were on the ship was only about 15 min. The Terminal was very nice as was the staff. We did have to stop and fill out a health form with a few questions because of the dangers of N1H1 these days.

Food

As always, most of the food was delicious as always with Carnival. The Sensation has Mongolian BBQ as a lunch option on the lido deck restaurant, which was a nice surprise. The desserts left something to be desired but they weren’t bad.

Entertainment

The nightly shows were good, one 80′s themed(with a bit of Michael Jackson) and the second was R rated with lots of adults only material. The comedy shows were great both of them were R rated too.

Cabin and Dining Service

The cabins were average size for a fantasy class ship. The service was amazing the dinner staff made sure we were happy and since we were traveling on 9/11 they sang God Bless America in addition to their regular entertainment.

Public Areas

Kaleidoscope and Michelangelo’s were the dance clubs they were the average fantasy class size. Michelangelo’s had a live band that played until 1 am. Kaleidoscope was a top 40 and N themed dance club. I didn’t make it to the “Touch of Class” Piano bar but every time I walked by they seemed to be having a great time in there. Most of the ship was smoke free other than the casino and the open decks, there was a designated area on the Lido deck close to the bar for smoking as well.

Disembarkation

Disembarking was a breeze, we chose to do self assist so we carried our own bags. It took about 10 min. to get off the ship once we finished breakfast.

For a 3 day cruise it was a good time and I was entertained.
I am not a big fan of the overnight in Nassau, after about 3 hours I was done with the Island and headed back to the ship. If I would have planned better I would have headed over to Atlantis to party at AURA nightclub.

Thanks Levi for that review! If you have a review from a recent journey, I would love to add it!

Disney Wonder rescues Carnival Sensation passenger

admin — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:48:09 +0000

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A man was rescued Thursday morning after falling from a cruise ship based at Port Canaveral. The man was aboard the Carnival Sensation, and Coast Guard Petty Officer Nick Ameen said he was found about 20 miles offshore of Port Saint Lucie. Ameen said the passenger was able to tread water for about an hour before being rescued by another cruise ship, the Disney Wonder. The medical staff aboard the Disney Wonder found the passenger to be in good health, but they said he was physically exhausted

Disney Expanding Cruise Line

admin — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:59:48 +0000

(Tampa Bay Online) Construction of the Disney Dream, the first of two new Disney Cruise Line ships, has begun at a shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, with plans for the 1,240-stateroom vessel to begin service from Port Canaveral in 2011, the cruise line announced Wednesday. The Disney Fantasy will begin service a year later from the Florida port, with the combined capacity of the two ships more than doubling the capacity of Disney Cruise Line. An expansion project is under way at the port to accommodate the larger ships and additional guests. Disney Cruise Line also will expand its itineraries in summer 2010 from Europe. It plans to add Tunis, Tunisia, in North Africa and Malta to the ports of call for the Disney Magic sailings from Barcelona, Spain, to Italy and France. Disney Magic also will visit in northern Europe for the first time, with ports of call at Warnemünde, Germany, which is the gateway to Berlin; St. Petersburg, Russia; Oslo; Copenhagen; and Stockholm on sailings from Dover, England. Disney Wonder, which sails from Port Canaveral, will sail from the Port of Los Angeles beginning in 2011

Trip Review “Monarch of the Seas” July 3-6, 2009 — Disembarkation Day

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:43:31 +0000

We heard the ship docking about 6 am and it awoke us so we knew our journey was almost over.

If you want to carry your bags off, RCCL offers express departure between 730-830 am, so we decided to take advantage of that. Breakfast was available in both dining rooms, we skipped it though to give us more time. If you check your bags, RCCL offers something that other cruise lines I have traveled do not offer, you can stay in your room until your bag tag is called. Usually you have to be out of your room by 8:00 am. That alone sells me to come back to RCL… moving on.

About 7:45 we grabbed our bags and headed to deck four. Getting off the ship was well organized and flawless. We proceeded directly through the terminal and onto customs. Customs officials had two lines, one line for non citizens and the other for US citizens. We showed the paperwork and by 8:15 we were in the car and headed home. Stopped at cracker barrel to grab some breakfast and back home in Jacksonville by 11:00 am.

Overall it was a great cruise. One again the staff at RCCL outdid themselves. The staff was super friendly, acknowledged you by name, the ship was very clean, and the excursions were great!

Thanks to a fellow cruiser Meghann for the picture. She has a cool blog about all the food on the cruise ship… check it out ! http://graduatemeghann.com/