Cruising to Saint John Canada; Carnival Triumph Photo Essay

The first time I went to Saint John, New Brunswick in Canada was in the early or mid-1990s on QE2. While QE2 always received a good reception when she called at a new port, the populace of Saint John was extremely eager to welcome the ship to their city. Indeed, the mayor stood by the gangway and shook hands with each passenger who got off the ship. There was a bag piper and other people in costume handing out tourist literature. That evening when the ship sailed, the entire town appeared to have come down to the harbor to watch. Police sirens screamed and the fire department shot streams of water into the sky. It was quite a send-off for a relatively small city.

The next time I was there was also on QE2 and was probably the ship’s second call in the port. The weather was not as nice as it had been the first time and deteriorated during the course of the day. In those days, passenger ships had to berth at the container port on the opposite side of the harbor from the city. There was no cruise terminal or shelter on the quay. Nonetheless, a welcome committee braved the elements out on the pier.

By evening a thick fog had rolled in and one could not see more than a few feet from the side of the ship. I remember thinking that there would be no send off this time. However, as the ship pulled away from the berth and sounded her horn. A loud cheer arose from the other side of the harbor. Flashing red lights reflected against the fog and sirens blared. They were out there again and not just one or two hardy souls but seemingly the whole town.

Saint John has come a long way since then. More than 200,000 cruise ship passengers visit there each year. Last year, the city opened an $11 million cruise terminal that is in the heart of town. And although the whole town no longer comes down to watch the ships sail, the locals still have a very nice welcoming attitude toward cruisers.

Saint John is not London or Paris. It is a small Canadian city. It is conveniently located for ships doing New England/Canada cruises out of New York or Boston not far from the U.S. border. However, there are reasons to stop here beyond satisfying the requirements of the Passenger Vessel Services Act. (The Act requires foreign flag vessels to stop in at least one foreign port).

Outside of town, the area is largely unspoiled and there are interesting natural wonders. However, the real charm is inside town. It is a mixture of the old and the new. But the overall feel is one of a small friendly community, something which is all too rapidly disappearing.

My photo tour of Saint John appears at http://www.beyondships.com/Ports-StJohn.html

When I was putting together the material on Saint John, I came across a series of photos of Carnival Triumph in Saint John Harbour. In the autumn, Saint John has days where the light is incredibly clear and crisp and these photos were taken on the evening of such a day as the setting sun placed Triumph in deep contrast. Even though Triumph is no longer doing the Saint John itinerary, I thought these photos showed her off rather nicely and so I thought I would share them in a brief photo essay. It is at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalTriumph-photo-essay1.html
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Three Perspectives on Carnival Glory

One of the things I like to do is to have the people who actually operate the ships talk about their ships. I think that this gives you a more personalized view of the cruise experience as well as information about what goes on aboard the various ships. By analogy, one can enjoy a book or a painting without talking to the author or the artist but an interview can sometimes provide insights that enhance the experience.

This time, we have three perspectives on Carnival Glory.

Hotel Director Anuj Khosla is in charge of most of the services that directly impact the guests - - the accommodations, the dining, the bars, the shore excursions etc. I asked him to speak about why people who are considering a cruise vacation should select Carnival Glory. This conversation is at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalGlory-art-HD.html

Cruise Director Jorge Solano is responsible for the entertainment onboard the Glory. A popular cruise director as well as a professional comedian, Solano brings great enthusiasm to his assignment. I asked him to talk about the entertainment onboard. http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalGlory-art-CD.html

Finally, Captain Agostino Fazio is the master of Carnival Glory. A veteran captain, I asked him about his career at Carnival and how the line has changed over the years. In addition, I asked him to talk about the big picture, to share his vision for Carnival Glory. This article is posted at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalGlory-art-captain.html

My hope is that these conversations with members of the senior tea on Carnival Glory will give you something about the ship beyond what can be found in the brochures or in the reviews.

Profile and Photo Tour of Carnival Glory

My subject this time is Carnival Glory. Glory is a large cruise ship - - one of Carnival Cruise Lines’ Conquest class. She is not the biggest ship Carnival has but not the smallest by any means. Rather, she is one of five 110,000 gross ton ships which are the real backbone of the Carnival fleet.

In putting together a new profile and photo tour of the Glory, I was struck by just how a large ship gives guests so many choices. Take the open decks for instance. Following her most recent re-fit, Glory now has an adults only retreat area with premium deck chairs, hammocks, a hot tub and a bar. If luxuriating relaxation does not interest you, you can ride down a three deck high waterslide, plunge into a nearby pool or unwind in another hot tub which is adjacent to this pool. If that is not appealing, how about relaxing in a deck chair and watching a movie, concert or sports event on a 12 by 22 foot LED outdoor screen. There is also another pool and two more hot tubs near by as well as a bar and a Mongolian Wok buffet station. People looking to be more active can use the jogging trail, the basket ball court, the volleyball court, the mini-golf course, the golf practice net or play shuffleboard. Then there is another pool with two more hot tubs that is under a retractable glass roof. It also has deck chairs, a bar, a grill and the ship’s pizzeria. If none of this is appealing, there are also the indoor facilities including a large spa, restaurants, bars, theaters etc.

One could go through a similar list for all the dining options. However, the point is that a ship of this size gives one considerable latitude in designing ones vacation.

Of course, there are more people on a large ship than a small ship assuming that both ships are in the same market category. (A large premium ship can have less passengers than a smaller mass market ship). But then on a smaller ship, there is less space and less facilities and so there is more concentration of the people.

Carnival Glory is a mass market ship. In fact, the original vision behind Carnival was to open up cruising to everyman. To this end, the line aims to provide good quality facilities and service at a reasonable price. Over time, it has evolved from being a party oriented line to being a family focused line, although there is still considerable emphasis on having fun.

Carnival Glory is currently winding up her first summer season homeported in New York, where she was sailing to Canada and New England. In the next few weeks she will move down the East Coast doing cruises from Norfolk, Virginia and then Charleston, South Carolina before taking up residence in Miami for the winter. Next Spring, she will follow the same route in the reverse direction.

Beyondships new and updated profile of Carnival Glory is at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalGlory-profile.html and the photo tour with dozens of new photos is at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalGlory-Tour-1.html

Talking with Celebrity Summit's Captain; Review of Summit's Specialty Restaurant

Rounding out our update on Celebrity Summit are two new articles that approach the Summit experience from two different angles.

First, we have my interview with Captain Nikolaos Frantzis, the master of Celebrity Summit discussing the ship from a nautical perspective.. Captain Frantzis was for many years associated with Celebrity Mercury and came to Celebrity Summit earlier this year. From a nautical perspective, Mercury follows the traditional cruise ship model whereas Summit is very much based on the new model. Thus, Captain Frantzis is in a very good position to explain such things as the difference between a ship with a traditional propeller system and one with an azipod system. My conversation with Captain Frantzis is at http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Summit-art-captain.html

Second, we have my review of the specialty restaurant on the Summit. The Normandie restaurant on Summit is out of the ordinary because it purposely tries to invoke the atmosphere of the 1930s ocean liner SS Normandie. It even has artifacts and art work from the liner. The Normandie was perhaps the most elegant and sophisticated ship ever built so a restaurant seeking to recall that ship has to perform up to a very high level. Thus, in assessing the Normandie Restaurant, it was not just a question of whether it was good or not but a question of whether it lived up to its namesake. My review of the Normandie is at http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Summit-review-Normandie.html

This week Cunard announced that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will be naming Cunard’s new ship, the Queen Elizabeth, on October 11 of this year. This is, of course, quite an honor and underscores Cunard’s unique position in the industry.

Of course, just because Cunard is planning to call its new ship Queen Elizabeth does not mean that that will be the ship’s name - - at least if one goes by historical precedent. In the late 1960s, Cunard built a new ship to replace the original Queen Elizabeth, which had been built in the 1930s and which had served with distinction in war and peace. The plan was to call the new ship Queen Elizabeth in tribute to the original ship. The original Queen Elizabeth had been named after the Queen Mother, the current monarch’s mother, and so Her Majesty was asked and agreed to name the new ship. However, at the naming ceremony she surprised everyone by saying: “I name this ship Queen Elizabeth the Second.” If the ship’s godmother had been some movie star or minor member of the nobility, this last minute addition might have been overlooked but the monarch’s words cannot be overlooked. Consequently, the new ship became the Queen Elizabeth 2.

While Her Majesty’s addition to the planned name sparked years of debate over whether the ship was named after the original Queen Elizabeth ship or whether it was named after the monarch, I think most people would agree that it was a good move. QE2 instantly had her own identity that was distinct from that of the original ship. One can only wonder whether she would have become such a legend in her own right without that departure from the plan.