Cruising to the French Riviera

Ever since I was a child I can remember the French Riviera as being synonymous with luxury and glamor. It was the place where royalty and movie stars went to vacation. It was also the location for numerous films including Hitchcock's “To Catch A Thief” and several James Bond movies.

It wasn't until I first went there that I realized why this place attracts people who could go anywhere in the world. It is simply a beautiful combination of sea, mountains and charming looking towns. The light is soft, not too harsh. The weather is mild, not too hot and not too cold. A really nice combination.

Since it is on the sea, the French Riviera is a good cruise destination. There is no single large port. Rather, the ships now call at several different ports along the Cote d”Azur.

From any one of these ports, it is not difficult to explore the attractions of the area.

Nice is known as the capital of the French Riviera. It is the largest city. However, it is a pretty town with lots of Belle Epoch architecture from the days when it was the place where European royalty and aristocrats came to spend the winter. And there is its long seaside promenade, Promenade des Anglasis, where everyone goes for some relaxation by the sea. Our photo briefing about Nice is at

http://www.beyondships3.com/nice.html

Monaco may be the world's second smallest country but it is one of the richest per capita. Set by the sea at the base of sheer cliffs, not surprisingly, it looks like all urban centers would like to look. And since it is so compact, it is easy to get around and see the sights and visit the luxury hotels and shops. Our page about Monaco is at http://www.beyondships3.com/monaco.html

Not all th attractions of the French Riviera are in big cities. St Paul de Vence is a walled-village perched a top a hill. It looks much the way it has looked for centuries i.e. the way it looks in the paintings done by various masters over the years. The village does attract a lot of tourists but it is still possible to walk its narrow Medieval streets and be entirely charmed. Our photo briefing on St. Paul de Vence is at http://www.beyondships3.com/st-paul-de-vence.html

One of the most frequented ports on the Riviera is a small town that does not even have a dock where modern cruise ships can dock. Instead, passengers tender into town from the ships anchored in the bay. But it is a beautiful bay. And the town itself has a small town charm that makes it attractive to wander. Our photo page on cruise port Ville Franche is at http://www.beyondships3.com/cruise-port-villefranche.html

Talking with Norwegian Breakaway's Captain and Hotel Director and guitarist Slam Allen

This week we are featuring several articles in which Norwegian Breakaway speaks for herself.

First, we have an interview with Breakaway's captain, Evans Hoyt. Captain Hoyt brought Breakaway into service. The captain is the CEO of a cruise ship, not just a ship driver. Therefore, we asked Captain Hoyt to give us the big picture of what Breakaway is all about. In addition, since he is an experienced mariner, we asked him to speak about Breakaway from a nautical perspective. That interview is posted at http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-breakaway-interview-captain.html

Second, the person in charge of all of the services that immediately impact guests - - dining, bars, accommodations, entertainment - - is the Hotel Director Sean Wurmhoeringer. Having sailed with Sean before, I know his focus is very much on hospitality. Breakaway has some fabulous hardware but how do you offer hospitality on such a large ship? http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-breakaway-interview-hd.html

Third, Breakaway is very much about entertainment. One of the featured entertainers on Breakaway is blues guitarist Slam Allen. Already an established recording and performance artist before he went to sea, Allen developed a star following on Norwegian Epic. He is now doing the same on Norwegian Breakaway. I spoke to Mr. Allen about his music, his career and performing on Breakaway. http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-breakaway-slam-allen.html

In addition, we have a review of the Ocean Blue specialty restaurant on Norwegian Breakaway. This is a new venue which Norwegian has developed in partnership with celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian. While Norwegian heretofore has had an excellent line-up of specialty restaurants, Ocean Blue takes it to a new level. The review is at http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-breakaway-ocean-blue.html

Norwegian Breakaway Profile and Photo Tour

The reason why Norwegian Breakaway is an important ship tends to be obscured by her size, all of the new features aboard the ship, the Peter Max painting on her hull and by Norwegian Cruise Line's decision to base its new ship, not in Florida but rather in New York City. She is an important ship because she is a further refinement on a new model of cruising.

Traditionally, an evening on a passenger ship involved going to dinner and then a show in the ship's theater or show lounge. When you did these things was pretty much dictated by the cruise line. Everyone was assigned to one of two seatings in the main dining room. There were two shows each evening geared to the dinner times, i.e., a show for the early seating and a show for the late seating. All of this generally worked fine but there was not much freedom of choice.

Several years ago Norwegian Cruise Line put a deep crack in this model by dispensing with the assigned seatings in the main dining room and giving guests the option of coming to the dining room when they wanted. They also built an array of specialty restaurants on their ships so that guests did not have to go to the main dining room at all if they choose. Nearly all of the major cruise lines followed with their own flexible dining systems and by adding specialty restaurants to their ships.

While guests now had freedom of choice with regard to dining, their options with regard to entertainment remained somewhat limited. Although there was always a piano player in one of the bars or a band in one of the lounges, the big entertainment event of the evening remained the two shows in the main theater.

The first ship to break from this was Oasis of the Seas in late 2009. She was followed a few months later by Norwegian Epic and then by Oasis' sister ship Allure of the Seas. What these ships did was give guests quality entertainment alternatives. The show in the main theater was not the only entertainment event going on each evening. In addition, the shows in the various entertainment venues were repeated, usually at different times, over the course of the cruise so that a guest does not have to worry that if I don't see the show tonight, I'll never get to see it. Under this new model, guests have freedom of choice not only with regard to dining but also with regard to entertainment.

Norwegian Breakaway builds upon Norwegian Epic. Among the entertainment offerings are full productions of Broadway shows, a Cirque Dreams dinner theater, a comedy club featuring Second City, and blues concerts by recording artist Slam Allen. There are also the usual entertainment additions such as live music in the bars, films, game shows, karaoke and deck parties. Lots of choices.

Breakaway is not just a re-make of Epic. Most notably, she has an open outdoor promenade with restaurants and bars. This feature opens the ship up and works not only in port but surprisingly well at sea in the warm weather. Not to forget dining, Norwegian has added a new specialty restaurant, Ocean Blue, developed with Chef Geoffrey Zakarian. This is an upscale seafood restaurant that has the same New York sophistication as Chef Zakarian's venues in the City.

Thus, Norwegian Breakaway is not just another new cruise ship.

Our profile page for Breakaway, with menus, daily programs, deck plans and other information is at http://beyondships.com/NorwegianBreakaway.html

We also have a photo tour that takes you through the ship's public areas, open decks and accommodations. It is longer than most of our ship photo tours because there is so much to see on Breakaway. The photo tour begins at http://beyondships.com/NorwegianBreakaway-Tour-1.html

More next week on Breakaway.

Carnival Splendor Revisited

The first time that I saw Carnival Splendor was a few months after she entered service in 2008. She was doing a series of Caribbean cruises from Miami before heading around South America to her new home port, Long Beach, California. This year, she returned to the East Coast to take up station as Carnival Cruise Lines' year-round ship in New York. In between much has happened to the ship including a fire that attracted media attention and subsequent repairs and upgrades that did not get much news coverage. Consequently, I felt it was about time to go back and look at the Splendor again to see what kind of cruise experience she is providing these days.

Carnival Splendor is a unique ship in the Carnival fleet. Her design can be traced back to Carnival Destiny. However, no other Carnival ships are this variation on the design. She lies between Carnival's Conquest class ships and the line's latest ships, the Dream class. As a result, Splendor has more features than the original Conquest ships but not as many as the Dream class.

One feature that makes her well-suited to sailing year-round from New York is that her main pool area has a retractable glass roof. Consequently, her pool deck is still usable during cold weather sailings from New York. Another notable feature is her large spa area, a precursor to the spas on the most recent Carnival ships.

Her interior décor is more flamboyant than the newer ships. It is the work of Carnival's long time designer Joe Farcus. The object was to lift the guests out of the ordinary and into a holiday world. Along with the strong colors and unusual shapes are some intellectually interesting features such as the giant half hull models of the original Queen Mary and the Normandie in the Liner Lido Pool area.

Overall, I found Splendor little changed from the way she was in 2008. Also, as in 2008, her passengers seemed to be clearly enjoying themselves. Why not, the food was certainly quite good.

Our updated profile of Carnival Splendor is at http://beyondships.com/CarnivalSplendor-Profile.html. We have also updated our photo tour of the ship with many recent photos. http://beyondships.com/CarnivalSplendor-Tour-1.html

A new feature is a menus page with copies of menus from Splendor's two main dining rooms and from her specialty steakhouse. http://www.beyondships2.com/carnival-splendor-menus.html

We also have a new daily programs page with programs from a recent cruise. http://www.beyondships2.com/carnival-splendor-daily-programs.html

Finally, we have added a new photo essay with exterior photos of the ship in New York. http://www.beyondships2.com/carnival-splendor-in-new-york.html

Cruising to Tuscany

Tuscany is a fabulous cruise destination. It has beautiful countryside, historic cities and great art. The only problem is that it is all inland.

The vast majority of cruise ships offering cruises to Florence and Pisa stop at Livorno or Leghorn as it used to be called. It is an industrial port which suffered badly from bombing during World War II. As a result, there isn't that much to see in the city itself and the busy movement and storage of cargo makes the port less than ideal for passengers on cruise ships, especially the large ships that dock in the midst of the cargo area.

However. Livorno's location and the fact that it is a transportation hub make it a great jumping off point for visiting Pisa and Florence. http://www.beyondships3.com/cruise-port-livorno.html

With Florence, the issue is how much of the city's treasure can you see during a port call. Even if you did not have to travel there and back from Livorno, there is far too much to see to see in one day. Each of the city's great art collections could take up a day. However, the historical center is quite compact and it is possible to glimpse most of Florence's most renown locations in a short time. In fact, as described in my article, it is possible to see much of Florence during a cruise ship's introductory shore excursion to Florence. http://www.beyondships3.com/walking-through-florence.html

In Pisa, everything that most visit want to see is located in the Field of Miracles. This Renaissance era complex was built as a religious complex and was designed to have an other worldly feel. If you ignore all the tourists posing for photos of themselves holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa, this area still has a unique beauty. Our photo article about visiting the Field of Miracles is at http://www.beyondships3.com/visiting-the-field-of-miracles.html

Visiting the Royal Yacht Britannia

With a new baby expected any day now, many people are thinking about the British Royal Family. Accordingly, it seems fitting to look at the Royal Family's ship, HMY Britannia.

The Britannia was built in the early 1950s not to be a pleasure boat for the Royal Family but to assist the monarch in her duties as head of state by acting as a mobile base of operations during her visits to foreign lands. Among other things, the yacht allowed the Queen to host receptions and banquets under the British flag while she was abroad. And the list of foreign heads of state that visited Britannia during her 40 years of service is quite impressive, including four United States Presidents.

Inside, Britannia does not overwhelm you would grand salons and opulence. Rather, she is decorated like a British country house from the first half of the 20^th century - - chintz, white painted walls. She did not even have a swimming pool much less hot tubs, saunas, or other staples of the mega-yachts that you see today.

As a ship, Britannia was obsolete by the time she retired in 1997. Officers on the bridge spoke to a separate wheelhouse via metal tubes, she was one of the last ships with a riveted hull, and she was a steam ship. Since so little was changed over the years, she is a time capsule of the technology of the immediate port war period.

Today, Britannia is open to the public and is a popular shore excursion during cruise ship calls in Edinburgh, Scotland. She is moored at the Ocean Terminal in the historic Port of Leith, not terribly far from the center of Edinburgh.

There are several reasons Britannia has become a popular attraction. First, as mentioned earlier, she is interesting because of her older technology. Second, she was the scene of historic events and hosted many famous people. But, I think most importantly, the ship is of interest because of the glimpse she offers of the Queen and the Royal Family. Britannia went directly from being a royal residence to being a museum ship. As a result, she did not have to re-created. Moreover, many of the contents are on loan from the royal collections.

Our article about Britannia begins with an introductory piece that tells the ship's story and provides some information about visiting the ship today. Then we have a multi-page photo tour that includes not just the royal apartments but also the areas where the officers and crew lived and worked.

The article on Britannia begins at http://www.beyondships3.com/visiting-royal-yacht-britannia.html

Celebrity Eclipse, a superior cruise ship

Celebrity Eclipse is a superior cruise ship. She is one of five Solstice class ships built by Meyer Werft for Celebrity Cruises. All of these ships are nicely designed with attention to detail. They also offer a very good array of dining options ranging from casual to healthy to classic fine dining. In addition, they offer a good program of reasonably sophisticated entertainment and activities even though the enrichment program is not as cutting edge as it was just a few years ago. They are also good ships from a nautical perspective.

Of the five ships, Eclipse seems to win the most awards and I am told receives the highest marks from guests. Why this is so is not glaringly obvious. While there are some differences in the décor and the features, the five ships are very similar. Yet, people seem to like Eclipse best. As Cruise Director Sue Denning observed: “It has a nice heart.”

Immediately after she was built in 2010, Celebrity sent Eclipse to Southampton. Her mission was to break into the British market. Sister company Royal Caribbean International had done so a few years before but Celebrity was still relatively unknown in the UK. Furthermore, there would be a lot of competition from other cruise lines.

The ship has been quite successful and now has a substantial following in Britain. I asked Hotel Director Tom Brady and Ms. Denning to explain just how Eclipse managed to establish Celebrity in the UK. Our conversation is posted at http://www.beyondships2.com/celebrity-eclipse-hd-cd-interview.html

One of the things that has made Eclipse a popular ship both in the UK and when she sails of Miami in the winter months is the ship's dining. Accordingly, we have added a Celebrity Eclipse menu page with copies of menus from the various dining venues and a dining slideshow. It is at http://www.beyondships2.com/celebrity-eclipse-menus.html

We also have a review of the Tuscan Grille specialty restaurant - - a mixture of Italian cuisine and an American steakhouse. http://www.beyondships2.com/celebrity-eclipse-tuscan-grille-review.html

As mentioned earlier, another Eclipse strong point is the entertainment. Therefore, we have a new slideshow showing some of the entertainment offerings on a recent cruise. http://www.beyondships2.com/celebrity-eclipse-entertainment-slideshow.html We also have a new page of daily programmes from Eclipse listing each day's activities and entertainment. http://www.beyondships2.com/celebrity-eclipse-daily-programs.html

Finally, we have a video showing Eclipse departing from Southampton. http://www.beyondships2.com/celebrity-eclipse-soton-video.html