Lynn's Cruise Planner

START HERE - Custom Search For Cruises

This can be used to research / review cruises + get a feel for what folks are saying about their experiences on various cruise lines as well as specific cruise ships. This is perfect to pick a cruise departing from Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego or San Francisco for a short curise to Mexico or Canada. If you have a flexible schedule as many seniors, you likely can get huge discounts.

This page within their site is the one I mentioned that searches for "Just the cruise you want" by offering more advanced filtering options. Their prices seem OK, but I have never booked with them. Their search engine is the best I've found. My most recent search filtered for cruises with these parameters:

• Minimum of 7 days & maximum of 21 days
  
• Stateroom = "Cheapest Suite"
  
• Cruise Lines = Celebrity or Holland America or Royal Caribbean
  
• Departure Ports = Los Angeles or Long Beach or San Diego or San Francisco

The results were only cruises that met each of our 5 requirements. They have a more basic search page also like most of the sites offer but I find this one the best.

This page is great for doing research on a particular ship. Details for virtually every ship can be viewed here. Ships are listed alphabetically and grouped by cruise line. For example, if I want to explore deck plans for the Celebrity Infinity, I scroll to that listing & click the name. Once at that page, there is a tab toward the top labeled "Deck Plans". I can then select any of the 11 decks for a detailed look at how the cabins or public areas are arranged.

Cruise Critic - Message Boards, Etc.
The above site can be used to research / review cruises + get a feel for what folks are saying about their experiences on various cruise lines as well as specific cruise ships.

Cruises Only

Another site to check for cruises.

Holland America - Last Minute Cruises

Sometimes you can get a great deal if you buy a cruise at the last minute.

Travelocity - Ship Finder Page
This page is great for doing research on a particular ship. Details for virtually every ship can be viewed here. Ships are listed alphabetically and grouped by cruise line. For example, if I want to explore deck plans for the Celebrity Infinity, I scroll to that listing & click the name. Once at that page, there is a tab toward the top labeled "Deck Plans". I can then select any of the 11 decks for a detailed look at how the cabins or public areas are arranged.

Travel Insurance - Comparison & Quotes
This is another link that I find useful when buying trip insurance. In fact I just used their services to buy insurance for our upcoming cruise. I entered requested info then compared 12 different policies. I think you can compare up to 6 at a time. These are a few of the best pages I use when planning a cruise.

Helpful hints on trip insurance

Having just purchased trip insurance for our January cruise, I recall a discussion we once had on the subject. We always use a website that compares coverage & cost for a given trip. It’s called Insure My Trip, which you can visit by clicking on or copying & pasting the following link into your browser.

https://www.insuremytrip.com/index.html

Three key things we always look for as follows:

1. A.M. Best rating of A+ or A
2. Medical Evacuation of $500,000 to $1,000,000
3. Cost

When you enter the initial trip cost, primary destination, dates, etc. into the “See Plans & Prices” box at above link, you will be given a huge list of options. I start by checking off about 6 or 7 plans then click “Compare”. After noting the best 1 or 2 of this group, I may either decide to look at more or to end my search & buy.

Using the above process, I have used about 3 different companies over the years with the last 3 trips (including the one purchased today) being from TruTravel which has a rating of A+.

We never buy trip insurance from the cruise line or travel agent as we’ve found their prices uncompetitive with what we’ve paid using the above process.

I hope you find this information helpful.

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a significant modern commercial project and it is undergoing expansion to increase its capacity to service modern large ships. It has become an interesting destination for many vacation cruises. So we provide a number of references for your review.

By August 15, 1914 the Panama Canal was officially opened by the passing of the SS Ancon. At the time, no single effort in American history had exacted such a price in dollars or in human life. The American expenditures from 1904 to 1914 totaled $352,000,000, far more than the cost of anything built by the United States Government up to that time. Together the French and American expenditures totaled $639,000,000. It took 34 years from the initial effort in 1880 to actually open the Canal in 1914. It is estimated that over 80,000 persons took part in the construction and that over 30,000 lives were lost in both French and American efforts.

The current expansion project is a major undertaking. The program consists in the construction of two new sets of locks - one on the Pacific and one on the Atlantic side of the Canal. Each lock will have three chambers and each chamber will have three water reutilization basins.

The program also entails the widening and deepening of existing navigational channels in Gatun Lake and the deepening of Culebra Cut. In order to open a new 6.1 km-long access channel to connect the Pacific locks and the Culebra Cut, four dry excavation projects will be executed.

Wikipedia
Canal Museum
Expansion Project
Cruise Critic

The 1970s television show The Love Boat, featuring Princess Cruises' since-sold ship Pacific Princess, did much to raise awareness of cruises as a vacation option for ordinary people in the United States. Initially this growth was centered around the Caribbean, Alaska, and Mexico, but now encompasses all areas of the globe. Today, several hundred cruise ships ply routes worldwide. And even larger vessels are on the horizon. Plans are set for at least two cruise ships that will be 220,000 gross tons and hold 5,400 passengers each. For certain destinations such as the Arctic and Antarctica, cruise ships are very nearly the only way to visit.
Wikipedia

A sea of cruise ship bargains

Pop open the Champagne and break out the streamers: If you have ever contemplated taking a cruise, 2009 is your lucky year. Prices are stunning, experts say. "Discounting for cruises hasn't been seen on this scale since right after the 9/11 terrorist attacks," said Dennis Schaal, Travel Weekly editor and Ask.com online travel expert.

He calls it "a buyer's market" that doesn't end with deals: Cruise lines are sweetening the pot by reducing deposits, suspending fuel supplements, including free stateroom upgrades and offering kids-sail-free deals, onboard credits, free excursions and special rates for single travelers. How low do the prices go? Check out these recent deals (prices exclude taxes and fees):

* For $32 a day, explore the Chilean fiords, sail the Strait of Magellan and round Cape Horn on a 14-night Norwegian Sun South American cruise from Buenos Aires to Santiago, Chile (from $449 per person).

* For $44.75 a day, sail from San Diego to Baja on a four-night, round-trip cruise on Carnival Elation (from $179 per person).

* For $63 a day, take a 14-night, round-trip cruise on the Golden Princess from Los Angeles to Hawaii (from $882 per person).

One of the bonuses of taking a cruise is how far your dollar stretches. That $32- or $45-per-day cost buys a vacation that includes lodging, transportation, entertainment and food. It's one of the best buys available in travel, experts say. Some of the better buys are on Norwegian Cruise Lines, which has offered space on three- and four-night trips to the Bahamas for as little as $99 a person, less than $25 a day. It also has listed cabins on a 12-night Mediterranean cruise for as low as $39.91 per day, a total of $479 per person.
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Cruise lines introduce ships big and small, and drop prices

Vacationers who hit the high seas this year will find a treasure-trove of bargains -- and that's not all. At least 14 new ships, including the world's biggest behemoth and two intimate luxury vessels, plus innovative facilities and more U.S. departures, are on the way. A few trends, such as more fees for onboard activities and dining, may inflict mal de mer on the budget-minded, and fans of American river cruising will mourn the decline of their small niche.

New pricing: Cruise fares went into free-fall after last year's stock market meltdown, so now deals abound. Berths for less than $100 per day, a benchmark for bargains, are not hard to find. Besides fare discounts, some sailings come with free airfare, cabin upgrades, onboard credit and other money-saving extras. Many lines have relaxed deposit and cancellation rules, making it easier to get a refund if you decide not to go.
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Shimoda: Japan's Portal to the West

One hundred and fifty-four years ago, U.S. Navy Commodore Mathew Perry sailed into Shimoda Harbor, south of what was then called Edo, now known as Tokyo. Although his mission to have the Japanese government open up its ports to American shipping was diplomatic, his seven black gun-ships were not. Under this thinly veiled threat of superior force and an obvious willingness to use it, the Japanese authorities opened up selected "Treaty Ports" and thus abruptly ended nearly 300 years of isolation.  This week Diana and I sailed into Shimoda, tied up to the pier beneath the commemorative statue of Perry, and issued a similar communiqué: Open your ports to American sailing ships!

It is ironic that the Japanese would celebrate such an aggressive intrusion as Perry's, but Shimoda's fame and now fortune is tied to that event. A replica of Perry's paddle wheel ferries happy tourists around the harbor and even the manhole covers are cast with images of his ships. We watched busloads of Japanese tourists file past Perry's statue and bow reverently as if it were a shrine. And perhaps it is of sorts, for Japan's history pivoted around that moment. At the base of the statue burns a perpetual flame that symbolizes the enduring friendship between the United States and Japan. Next to it lies a plaque to honor Perry's home port and Shimoda's official sister city, Newport, Rhode Island.

In spite of our tumultuous past and ongoing issues, such as U.S. military bases in Okinawa, the Japanese love America. Until the recent economic expansion of China, they have looked more to the West than the Orient for their sense of national identity. Baseball, jazz, and jeans, they have bought into the breezy American Way. But they are extremely sensitive to our criticisms. In a small sushi restaurant we met a Japanese woman who has spent the last 25 years teaching Japanese studies in an American university. She asked me to taste a mystery-meat and guess what it was.

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Alaska Peninsula: Da Bears!

As we sailed our way up the achingly remote Alaska Peninsula, I became focused on, or Diana might say obsessed with, bears. The place is dirty with them. We took deep pleasure in sighting them from the safety of the boat, or from a comfortable distance on land, but I longed to experience the thrill and awe that only proximity can bring.  The Agrapina Bay estuary is a patchwork of chest-high grass and thick alder bushes, latticed with bear trails. Two hills lay beside each other in the valley’s center, creating a ravine that a prime salmon stream runs through.

It was a bit touchy making our way through the alder patches, but we reached the base of the hill without incident and began to climb. Now, exactly when does a bear sighting become a bear encounter? The hairs on the back of your neck are a good indicator. Bears have excellent sense of smell and hearing, but only moderate eyesight. The big bruin fixed those beady eyes on us, but as the wind was in our favor and we did not so much as twitch a muscle, he just couldn’t figure us out. He finally turned his attention to the succulent blueberries carpeting the tundra.

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