<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0">
<channel>
<title>IBTimes.com RSS Feed  - Lifestyle</title>
<description>International Business News  - Lifestyle</description>
<link>http://uk.ibtimes.com/lifestyle/rss/</link>
<copyright>All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com</copyright>

<image>
	<title>IBTimes.com RSS Feed  - Lifestyle</title> 
	<width>120</width> 
	<height>30</height> 
	<link>http://uk.ibtimes.com/lifestyle/rss/</link> 
	<url>http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif</url> 
</image>
  <item>
  <title><![CDATA[Family Cruise Discounts]]></title>
  <description><![CDATA[No more sitting on the fence! With summer just a short time away, now is the time to book a family cruise for your summer vacation. While there are many deals available on most cruises this year due to the economic climate, the following focuses on those offers especially for families. ]]></description>
  <guid>http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/20090331/family-cruise-discounts.htm</guid>
  <link>http://uk.ibtimes.com/contents/20090331/family-cruise-discounts.htm</link> 
  <pubDate>Tue, 31 Mar 2009 08:39:29 EDT</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
  <title><![CDATA[Cruise Search Methods]]></title>
  <description><![CDATA[ The Internet has taken the cruise search to new levels: Today, you can not only book a cruise online, but you can research every aspect of your cruise before you make a final decision.]]></description>
  <guid>http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/20090326/cruise-search-methods.htm</guid>
  <link>http://uk.ibtimes.com/contents/20090326/cruise-search-methods.htm</link> 
  <pubDate>Thu, 26 Mar 2009 09:16:00 EDT</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
  <title><![CDATA[Royal Caribbean and Universal Orlando Offer Package Deals]]></title>
  <description><![CDATA[Royal Caribbean International and Universal Orlando Resort are introducing the "Way More Than a Cruise" vacation package. Bookings for Way More Than a Cruise are open for travel starting March 31, 2009.]]></description>
  <guid>http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/20090317/royal-caribbean-and-universal-orlando-offer-package-deals.htm</guid>
  <link>http://uk.ibtimes.com/contents/20090317/royal-caribbean-and-universal-orlando-offer-package-deals.htm</link> 
  <pubDate>Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:51:51 EDT</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
  <title><![CDATA[Free Airfare to Europe for MSC Cruises Yachtclub Guests]]></title>
  <description><![CDATA[MSC Cruises is offering US and Canadian guests free roundtrip flights from designated gateway cities when they book MSC Yacht Club accommodations by April 30, 2009. This offer is...]]></description>
  <guid>http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/20090311/free-airfare-europe-msc-cruises-yachtclub-guests.htm</guid>
  <link>http://uk.ibtimes.com/contents/20090311/free-airfare-europe-msc-cruises-yachtclub-guests.htm</link> 
  <pubDate>Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:31:54 EDT</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
  <title><![CDATA[Disney Starts Building Two New Cruise Ships]]></title>
  <description><![CDATA[Disney Cruise Line announced on Monday, March 2, that construction has started in Germany on two new ships currently scheduled to sail out of Port Canaveral, FL. Disney already....]]></description>
  <guid>http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/20090304/disney-starts-building-two-cruise-ships.htm</guid>
  <link>http://uk.ibtimes.com/contents/20090304/disney-starts-building-two-cruise-ships.htm</link> 
  <pubDate>Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:01:28 EST</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
  <title><![CDATA[New NCL Megaship, NCL Epic, Profile Revealed]]></title>
  <description><![CDATA[Norwegian Cruise Line today unveiled the first images of its new 153,000-gross ton, 4,200-passenger Norwegian Epic, the company's largest and most innovative Freestyle Cruising ship to date. Currently under construction at STX Europe in St. Nazaire, France, the contemporary, balcony-rich, 19-deck ship will be 1,068 feet long, 133 feet wide, with a draft of 28.5 feet when completed in May 2010. ]]></description>
  <guid>http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/20090304/ncl-megaship-ncl-epic-profile-revealed.htm</guid>
  <link>http://uk.ibtimes.com/contents/20090304/ncl-megaship-ncl-epic-profile-revealed.htm</link> 
  <pubDate>Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:55:25 EST</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
  <title><![CDATA[Seven Seas Mariner: The Long Cruise Challenge ]]></title>
  <description><![CDATA[It used to be Radisson Seven Seas. Now the company has changed to Regent, but more on that later. As far as the product is concerned, by either name it's a truly luxurious experience.  ]]></description>
  <guid>http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/20090223/seven-seas-mariner-long-cruise-challenge.htm</guid>
  <link>http://uk.ibtimes.com/contents/20090223/seven-seas-mariner-long-cruise-challenge.htm</link> 
  <pubDate>Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:28:34 EST</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
  <title><![CDATA[Family Cruise Message Board FAQ's]]></title>
  <description><![CDATA[]]></description>
  <guid>http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/20090216/family-cruise-message-board-faqs.htm</guid>
  <link>http://uk.ibtimes.com/contents/20090216/family-cruise-message-board-faqs.htm</link> 
  <pubDate>Mon, 16 Feb 2009 19:00:00 EST</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
  <title><![CDATA[Why People Love Carnival]]></title>
  <description><![CDATA[Site search
Search for:   
Categories
CruiseMates Blog (RSS) 
Kuki (RSS) 
Paul Motter (RSS) 
Rita (RSS) 
February 2009 M T W T F S S 
Â« Jan     
  1 
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 
23 24 25 26 27 28   

Tags
Carnival Carnival Shares cruise cruise bargains cruise bruise cruise complaint cruise costs cruise economy cruise message cruise message boards Cruise News October 10 2008 cruise prices cruise problems cruise sales cruise ships cruises on sale cruise tips cruising Cunard Delta Queen Deutsche bank Disney first-time cruiser fuel supplements fuel surcharges hidden costs Holland America hurricane. Kuki Mega ships message in a bottle NCL Norwegian Cruise Oasis of the Seas Orient Lines Paul Kandarian politics Queen Mary 2 Royal Caribbean shipbuilding 
Blogroll
Cruise Reviews by Cruisers 
Why People Love Carnival
Written by: Paul Motter

I just returned from the John Heald Blogger's cruise chock-a-block full of Carnival Cruise Lines lovers. This is to be expected since hundreds of the people on board were fans of the erudite Carnival ambassador, cruise director John Heald. Heald waxes on daily shipboard life at his www.johnhealdsblog.com blog site. Hence the name "Blogger's Cruise."

The site has become so popular that he can attract hundreds of people to book a Carnival cruise simply by announcing he will be onboard to host special events and indulge in a great deal of Carnival Fun Ship mayhem, John Heald style.

Naturally, when you get a lot of people on board a ship who are there primarily because they love the cruise line you are going to hear their opinions as to why they love it. They are also going to mention anything they don't love about the ship.

I have to say, despite the image and rumors about Carnival Cruise Lines people, you will be hard-pressed to find a more dedicated group of cruisers to any one cruise line. The people sailing on this cruise love Carnival, and I will tell you whyâ€¦

Carnival is hands-down the most successful cruise line ever. Over the years the company has made enough money to swallow up much of its competition including Princess, Holland America, Cunard, the Italian cruise line Costa Crociere and the small luxury line Seabourn. Carnival currently has 22 ships in operation with two more, the biggest Carnival ships yet, on the way and already being booked. Add in all the ships of the five other Carnival Corp. (the parent company to Carnival Cruise Lines) cruise lines and you have a total fleet of 85 ships in service today, with more on the way.

Carnival Cruise Lines, the Fun Ships, created this cruise empire and made CEO Micky Arison one of the world's 100 richest people. When still only about 17% of the U.S. population has ever even been on a cruise, for Carnival to have that kind of success they must be doing something right, right? Right.

What do Carnival cruisers love about Carnival? Based on the comments I heard repeatedly here it isâ€¦

First of all, Carnival Cruise Lines has surprisingly good food. Food is important to cruisers because its included in the cruise fare. That means that the better it is the more value you are getting for your vacation dollar. Carnival offers delectible appetizers, salads, soups and entrees nightly. You can get a flat iron steak any night of the week - no extra charge. And they aren't skimpy - averaging over 10 ounces, shrimp cocktails with real prawns, not those mealy keyring-sized shrimpy shrimp. Caeser Salad with freshly grated parmesan and crunchy croutons, lobster tail with hot drawn butter. Dessert is Chocolate Melting Cake, so popular over 88,000 portions are served every week on Carnival ships.

I have heard seasoned cruise professionals say Carnival has the best food of any cruise line. Syndicated radio food and travel expert, Pierre Wolfe (www.pierrewolfe.com) says Carnival's alternative dining spots are truly the best anywhere - with food better than cruise lines costing 10 times as much as Carnival cruise.

Great food. What else has Carnival got? Carnival has fun. Every night in the Carnival dining rooms the waiters sing and dance for you. They interact and act goofy, but in fact they are smart. One thing I have noticed lately on other cruise lines is waiters who do not speak very good English. I was on Holland America and endured a waiter who had an infuriating habit. He would pretend he heard me when in fact he did not - every time. I ordered an appetizer on an "audible." - just deciding I wanted it at the last minute. I asked him for it and he mumbled back to me something that sounded like what I had said - so I nodded my head. That plate never arrived. Neither was their an apology for that because he didn't hear me. This was typical for the cruise.

Our waitress on this recent Carnival Blogger's cruise was a true jewel. A delightful young lady from Thailand who was incredibly efficient - never missed a beat, pretty and fully conversant in English. First, lady waitresses are rare on cruise ships, and being a guy I like them. But most important, she was not the exception, Carnival waiters are not just service people, they are a big part of the Carnival experience, they also talk to you, sing and even dance for you, every night. Yes, it is a little corny, but they don't overdo it and even the most curmudgeonly cracks a smile eventually. Most people love the antics. It is emblematic of why carnival is known as the "Fun Ships."

Carnival room stewards are also equally professional, but not nearly as intrusive. This is how I prefer it. I don't really want my room steward to stick around and ask me a lot of questions like "you go to shore today?", "you have fun?", "you have good time, right?", "good, good time." That's just me, a lot of people love interacting with their room stewards, but because I have worked on ships I know these people are very nice and professional, but their lifes are in reality very different from ours and in fact they don't really relate to our feelings as much as one might think. That is not a bad thing - just life in the real world.

Still, back to the point, one reason Carnival crew and staff people are exemplary is because Carnival has excellent employee retention. This gives each employee a consistent opportunity to learn and contribute to the Carnival time-proven "Fun Ships" formula. A proven formula applied consistenly gives Carnival the competitive edge; fun times with great food and service. Also at a great price.

]]></description>
  <guid>http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/20090217/why-people-love-carnival.htm</guid>
  <link>http://uk.ibtimes.com/contents/20090217/why-people-love-carnival.htm</link> 
  <pubDate>Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:00:00 EST</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
  <title><![CDATA[Regent and Oceania to Repay $3.1 Million in Fuel Supplements]]></title>
  <description><![CDATA[Regent and Oceania to Repay $3.1 Million in Fuel Supplements
Several newspapers in Florida are reporting that the state's attorney general had received "several hundred" complaints about the entire cruise line industry concerning fuel surcharges being charged to people after they had already paid their cruise fare in full.

Two cruise lines have already agreed to refund about $3 million to consumers nationwide. Oceania Cruises agreed to pay more than $2.1 million in restitution and Classic Cruise Holdings, which does business as Regent Seven Seas Cruises, will pay more than $1 million.

Under the agreements, all consumers who were retroactively charged a fuel supplement by the companies will be refunded the full cost of the surcharge. It should be noted that several other cruise lines also imposed fuel surcharges after cruises had already been paid in full and entrusted travel agents to contact the guests and ask them to pay the additonal fee. In many cases, if people refused to pay they were told their cruises would be cancelled and their money refunded.

Some of it will come in the form of onboard credits for consumers who have not yet sailed, the state said.

"Our guests and our residents deserve the most accurate information about the costs of their vacations," Attorney General Bill McCollum wrote ina statement. He added that the agreements will "uphold Florida's reputation as an attractive vacation destination."

Consumers may file complaints with the Attorney General's Office by calling the fraud hotline at 1-866-966-7226 or by visiting http://myfloridalegal.com.

]]></description>
  <guid>http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/20090204/regent-and-oceania-to-repay1-million-in-fuel-supplements.htm</guid>
  <link>http://uk.ibtimes.com/contents/20090204/regent-and-oceania-to-repay1-million-in-fuel-supplements.htm</link> 
  <pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:00:00 EST</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
  <title><![CDATA[Cruise Reservations - Basic Requirements]]></title>
  <description><![CDATA[For beginning cruisers, here's a primer on the essentials: passports, transfers, cruise tickets and what's included in a cruise reservation.]]></description>
  <guid>http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/20090129/cruise-reservations-basic-requirements.htm</guid>
  <link>http://uk.ibtimes.com/contents/20090129/cruise-reservations-basic-requirements.htm</link> 
  <pubDate>Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:17:32 EST</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
  <title><![CDATA[Cabin Categories: Which are Most Popular and Why]]></title>
  <description><![CDATA[Cruisemates readers have different reasons for selecting one type of stateroom over another, and it isn't always related solely to price.]]></description>
  <guid>http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/20090129/cabin-categories-which-are-most-popular-and-why.htm</guid>
  <link>http://uk.ibtimes.com/contents/20090129/cabin-categories-which-are-most-popular-and-why.htm</link> 
  <pubDate>Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:15:21 EST</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
  <title><![CDATA[The Before-You-Cruise Checklist, Part 2]]></title>
  <description><![CDATA[Here's what to take care of during the days just before your schedule departure. Part 2 in a guide to planning your cruise vacation.]]></description>
  <guid>http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/20090129/before-you-cruise-checklist-part-2.htm</guid>
  <link>http://uk.ibtimes.com/contents/20090129/before-you-cruise-checklist-part-2.htm</link> 
  <pubDate>Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:10:42 EST</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
  <title><![CDATA[The Before-You-Cruise Checklist]]></title>
  <description><![CDATA[Part 1 in a guide to all the odds and ends of planning for your seagoing vacation.]]></description>
  <guid>http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/20090129/before-you-cruise-checklist.htm</guid>
  <link>http://uk.ibtimes.com/contents/20090129/before-you-cruise-checklist.htm</link> 
  <pubDate>Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:05:16 EST</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
  <title><![CDATA[Crystal Cruises]]></title>
  <description><![CDATA[With home offices based in Los Angeles, Crystal has long been a favorite of the well-heeled West Coast crowd (though actually a subsidiary of Tokyo-based NYK or Nippon Yusen Kaisha).]]></description>
  <guid>http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/20090129/crystal-cruises.htm</guid>
  <link>http://uk.ibtimes.com/contents/20090129/crystal-cruises.htm</link> 
  <pubDate>Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:01:46 EST</pubDate>
  </item>
</channel>
</rss>