Norwegian Breakaway at six months; Cruise destinations Fecamp and Etretat France

It has now been six months since Norwegian Breakaway entered service. She is one of the most innovative ships to debut in recent years so I decided to return and see how the ship was doing after half a year in service. After all, there is no guarantee that doing something different will make people like you.

Having sailed on Breakaway last June, we were not surprised to find that the ship is working out as well as Norwegian Cruise Line had hoped. People seem to like the ship. She offers a lot to do and the format of the cruise allows you a lot of choice in deciding what to do and when.

This is even more so than the other Norwegian ships, excepting Norwegian Epic, which was the forerunner of Breakaway. Under Norwegian's Freestyle system, you always had plenty of choice with regard to when and where to eat. However, the evening's entertainment centered around the shows in the theater as on other cruise ships. With Breakaway and Epic, you have several quality choices as to entertainment as well so the evening does not revolve around the show times in the main theater.

There are other innovations on Breakaway such as her outdoor promenade that has bars and restaurants on it. Another bold move was to station Breakaway year-round in New York rather than in Florida. Such ideas seem good but I was interested in finding out how they are being received by the cruising public. So we spoke with Breakaway's Hotel Director Hugo Vanosmael about Breakaway at six months. It is at http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-breakaway-six-months.html

To go along with this article, we have added a new photo essay of Breakaway sailing out of New York on her first Bahamas cruise. Fall days can be particularly good for photographing ships sailing from New York because there is less humidity and haze. The photo essay is at http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-breakaway-photos.html

Switching topics, we have added a new shore excursion experience to the Northern France section of Beyondships. http://www.beyondships3.com/northern-france-overview.html This one is about touring the Alabaster Coast region of Normandy. In particular, we stopped at Fecamp and Etretat.

In Fecamp, we went to the Benedictine Palace. This elaborate building was erected in the late 19^th century to house the factory that makes Benedictine liqueur. A visit takes you through the process of making the liqueur and there is an opportunity to taste some at the end. However, the Palace also houses a fine arts museum that focuses on Renaissance and Medieval art. Thus, a visit is more than the typical tasting experience that you have at most wineries and distilleries. The page on Fecamp is at http://www.beyondships3.com/france-alabaster-1.html

While the experience in Fecamp was enjoyable, the highlight was Etretat. Etretat is a popular resort town located by the sea. It lies in a depression in a coastline that is otherwise made up of vertical chalk cliffs that tower over the sea. You can climb up onto the cliffs or admire them from below on the stone-covered beach. Thus, if you like natural beauty and/or hiking, Etretat has much to offer.

For art lovers, this place is of special significance. The cliffs have been painted by many famous artists. However, they are best known from the numerous studies done by Claude Monet, the leader of the Impressionist movement. Signs indicate where Monet stood to make some of his paintings. Moreover, there has been little change to the area in the century or so since Monet did his paintings.

Our page on Etretat is at http://www.beyondships3.com/france-alabaster-2.html

If you are cruising to Northern France, you will probably call at Cherbourg or Le Harve. We have added a new cruise port page about these ports. http://www.beyondships3.com/northern-france-cruise-ports.html

Photos of sail powered cruise ships; the first cruise ship; and a cat at sea

There is something graceful and attractive about a sailing ship. In addition, the notion of plowing through the waves under sail at sunset on a tropical evening has a great romantic appeal. Not surprisingly, therefore, a number of smaller cruise lines offer voyages on cruise ships that are primarily sailing ships.

Within the sailing ship category, there are a variety of ship styles ranging from very traditional ships such as Sea Cloud, first built as a yacht in 1931, to more high tech ships such as Wind Surf, which has computer operated sails. There is also a difference in the number of passengers ranging from 68 on Sea Cloud to over 300 on Wind Surf. Along the same lines, there is a difference in the number of contemporary cruise ship features, which roughly corresponds to the size of the ship.

Of course, none of the sailing cruise ships are anywhere near the size of the cruise ships operated by the major cruise lines. Accordingly, they market themselves on such things as informality and luxury. They also point out that the uniqueness of the sail experience and their off-the-beaten track itineraries.

Our new sailing ship galleries present exterior photos of six sailing cruise ships: Sea Cloud and Sea Cloud II http://www.beyondships2.com/sailing-ship-gallery-1.html; Royal Clipper and Star Clipper http://www.beyondships2.com/sailing-ship-gallery-2.html;Wind Surf and Club Med 2 http://www.beyondships2.com/sailing-ship-gallery-3.html.

We've also added two new FAQs. The first deals with the question of what is the biggest cruise ship. http://www.beyondships2.com/faq-what-is-the-largest-cruise-ship.html We answer the question and explain why it is so. We compare the size of these ships to some of the great ships of the past. There is also a chart of the top ten largest passenger ships now in service.

The second answers the question what was the first cruise ship? http://www.beyondships2.com/faq-what-was-the-first-cruise-ship.html Of course, ships have been transporting passengers since the dawn of history. But what was the first ship to be built for the purpose of taking passengers on recreational cruises? The answer is somewhat surprising.

Finally, we have added our first book review. All At Sea With Truffles was written by Sheila Collins, who is a frequent cruiser on Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean International. She is also the author of a popular series of humorous books about a cat named Truffles. In this volume, Truffles goes to sea on a ship that is clearly drawn from Celebrity Eclipse and Independence of the Seas (Eclipse of the Seas?). It is a witty and perceptive look at cruising and human nature. Our review is at http://www.beyondships2.com/cruise-book-review-truffles.html

Cruise destination Edinburgh Scotland

Why take a cruise to Edinburgh, Scotland? Several reasons.

First, there is the atmosphere of the City. Edinburgh was never an industrial factory town like so make town and so has not been saddled with a core populated with closed and disintegrating factories. Yes, they had to do some urban renewal in the last half of the 20^th century but that was more in the nature of refurbishment than starting over. As a result, Edinburgh's grand neo-classical buildings and Georgian residences set the stage for a lively environment. Add to this a long tradition of fostering intellectual and artistic achievement and the presence of a lot of young people studying there and you have an exciting and fun place to be.

Second, there is a lot of history there. Edinburgh has been around for a long time and it has not been an uneventful story. For example, it was the setting for the story of Mary Queen of Scots. A beautiful and intelligent woman, she became Queen of Scotland by birth and was Queen of France by marriage. She also came close to obtaining the throne of England. However, she lost the French throne when her first husband died. Then marrying twice more, each time for love, she lost the Scottish throne in the process. Fleeing to England, she sought the protection of her cousin Queen Elizabeth but was executed after being implicated in a plot to assassinate Elizabeth and take her throne. Along the way, her second husband had her secretary murdered because he was convinced that Mary was having an affair with him. Then her second husband was himself murdered, probably by the man who became her third husband. And to top it off, she had a baby who eventually became the first king of England and Scotland. Who said history was dull?

Third, Edinburgh is a tourist friendly city. Most of the major attractions including the castle that looms above the city on a volcanic mesa and the current Queen Elizabeth's Scottish palace, are within walking distance in the center of the city. In addition, there are pubs, shops, and numerous other things to do especially during August when the major festivals are staged.

We have added an Edinburgh section to Beyondships with photos and information about visiting the city. http://www.beyondships3.com/edinburgh-scotland.html This includes a page devoted to the three cruise ports that serve Edinburgh. http://www.beyondships3.com/edinburgh-scotland-cruise-ports.html

We also have separate feature articles on the amazing Edinburgh Military Tattoo http://www.beyondships3.com/edinburgh-scotland-military-tattoo.html ; on visiting Edinburgh Castle http://www.beyondships3.com/edinburgh-castle-scotland.html ; on visiting the Queen's palace Holyroodhouse http://www.beyondships3.com/cruise-destination-scotland-holyroodhouse.html ; and on visiting the Royal Yacht Britannia, which is berthed in Edinburgh. http://www.beyondships3.com/visiting-royal-yacht-britannia.html

Five Essential Things To Know About Ocean Princess

 This week I am writing about Ocean Princess. I recently did a cruise on her around the British Isles that was just outstanding. Service, food, shore excursions - - all were handled very well. In addition, the staff was genuinely friendly and interested in making sure the guests enjoyed themselves.

Of the 18 ships now in the Princess Cruises fleet, Ocean Princess may be the least well known. So I was thinking are the five essential things to know about this ship?

1. Ocean Princess is one of two small ships in the Princess fleet - - 30,277 gross tons carrying about 670 passengers. Together with her near identical sister, Pacific Princess, they are the line's Explorer class.

2. Although she is much smaller than the rest of the Princess fleet, she offers a decidedly Princess Cruises experience. She has a Sabatini's, she has a steakhouse specialty restaurant, there is a captain's reception with a champagne waterfall - - in short all of the hallmarks of a Princess cruise.

3. Of course, due to her size, she does not have as many attractions and venues as the larger ships. As a result, she tends to attract more mature, experienced cruisers who are interested in the sophisticated and elegant environment that she offers.

4. Ocean Princess is one of eight ships originally built for Renaissance Cruises. When Renaissance went bankrupt the eight ships became dispersed over several cruise lines. None of these cruise lines has changed them very much. Although Princess does not do so, some of the lines market these ships as luxury cruise ships.

5. As implied in the name Explorer class, Ocean Princess goes all over the world, visiting small ports that are not on the itineraries of bigger ships as well as the more popular ports. Her cruises tend to be long, often several weeks. Indeed, the officers and crew kept referred to the 8 day cruise that I was on as a “short cruise.”

We have lots more about Ocean Princess in the Ocean Princess section of Beyondships. http://beyondships.com/Princess-OP-Profile.html This includes:

An updated photo tour of the ship. http://beyondships.com/Princess-OP-Tour-1.html

An interview with Captain Carlo Servillo and Hotel General Manager Arturo Calise http://www.beyondships2.com/ocean-princess-captain.html

An insider dining guide to Ocean Princess with comments from Executive Chef Guido Jendryztko and Maitre D'Hotel Lugi Pascale http://www.beyondships2.com/ocean-princess-dining-guide.html

A new menus page with menus from the main dining room and the ship's two specialty restaurants. http://www.beyondships2.com/ocean-princess-menus.html

A new daily programs page with copies of the Princess Patter and other informational leaflets distributed aboard. http://www.beyondships2.com/ocean-princess-daily-programs.html

A new photo essay showing exterior shots of Ocean Princess in various European ports. http://www.beyondships2.com/ocean-princess-photos.html