CELEBRITY ANNOUNCES 'TOP CHEF' LINEUP

Fans of Bravo's "Top Chef" are in for a treat as part of the Celebrity Cruises "Top Chef at Sea" program. Celebrity announced the latest lineup in a press release this week:

"Thirteen former chef’testants of Bravo’s Emmy Award-winning series “Top Chef” will set sail on four exclusive Celebrity Cruises vacations beginning in July 2014 as part of the “Top Chef at Sea” experience. The Celebrity Cruises and Bravo partnership gives fans the opportunity to vacation with their favorite ”Top Chef” alums and experience their dishes, including complimentary cooking demonstrations, interactive Quickfire Challenges and other activities. For a more exclusive experience, guests can choose to enjoy private cooking classes and events hosted by the chef’testants.

'DYNAMIC DINING' TO DEBUT ON 'QUANTUM'

We are accustomed to expecting the unexpected from Royal Caribbean, and their latest "wow" is about the dining options coming on Quantum of the Seas -- due in November. Take everything you know about traditional cruise dining and throw it out the window. With Quantum, Royal is debuting a new concept they call "dynamic dining." No more set dinner times, or one general dining room. Passengers will have a choice of five different dining experiences, and are free to choose when they dine as well.

Quantum will also feature three venues from celebrity chefs: Michael Schwartz, a Miami restaurateur already well-established on Royal's Oasis-class ships and known for his farm fresh approach to cooking; Devin Alexander, best-selling author and TV personality known for healthy eating (NBC's "The Biggest Loser"); and Jamie Oliver, the famous Brit "Naked Chef" who will bring his famed Italian eatery to the seas for the first time.

As you'll see in the following videos, they have put as much thought into the ambiance and experience as the food itself. If it all works as planned, passengers will be in for a culinary adventure like none other. -- Gerry




Here's more on Jamie Oliver:



Check out Wonderland -- "a feast for the senses":



Michael Schwartz's first "gastropub":

POLITICS ASIDE, NCL STANDS FIRM

Commentary By Bob and Sandy Nesoff
Special to Cruising Squared

Our first cruise was nearly 40 years ago on a ship that was state­of­the­art at the time, Norwegian Caribbean Lines Starward.  Today NCL is known as Norwegian Cruise Line to reflect its greater reach and the Starward would be considered antiquated.

Since that time NCL has been a favorite of our and we’ve watched its growth with a personal affection. It is known for its modern ships, numerous amenities and the care and concern for its passengers. It also holds passengers in great respect.

Norwegian Jade

Our fondest memories are of the ship’s staff entertaining our young children and making the cruise  an  especially memorable one for them. As grown women today they still remember the experience they had sailing into such diverse ports as Port au Prince in Haiti, the Bahamas and Jamaica.  The staff, from a multitude of nations, were as one.

FIRST STEEL CUT FOR NORWEGIAN 'ESCAPE'

Norwegian Escape is taking shape. Norwegian reported this week "the first piece of steel was cut at MEYER WERFT in Papenburg, Germany today for the construction of Norwegian Escape, the first of two new Breakaway Plus Class ships for Norwegian Cruise Line, set for delivery in fall of 2015." Earlier this month, Norwegian announced that Norwegian Escape will home port year-round in Miami and sail a seven-day Eastern Caribbean itinerary starting November 14, 2015; visiting Tortola, British Virgin Islands; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; and Nassau, Bahamas. Additional information about Norwegian Escape can be found at www.escape.ncl.com or on our Facebook page at www.ncl.com/facebook.

TOP BEACHES FOR 2014

Number one beach: Baia do Sancho - Brazil (Trip Advisor)

One thing we Floridians know about is beaches. We have over 800 miles of them. Travel website TripAdvisor also knows beaches, and they are out with their list of Best Beaches 2014 list, as chosen by their millions of readers. Of course, "best" is always subjective, but nonetheless, it would be hard to go wrong on any of these. Just grab a folding chair, an umbrella and your drink of choice, and voila! You're on vacation. Happy Friday, all! -- Gerry

THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF 'QUANTUM'

It isn't hard to find the "Wow" in Royal Caribbean's newest ship, Quantum of the Seas. But behind all that "wow" are nuts and bolts -- lots and lots of them. Let's take a peek behind the ship-building scenes:

'BRITTANIA' WILL REFLECT THE VERY BEST

Contributed by Brian Wilson
UK Correspondent - Cruising Squared

Brittania (CAD Drawing)

The British Cruise Market has seen substantial growth in recent years and P&O have just laid the keel of their new liner – Britannia that will represent the best of the best for P&O Cruises.

Britannia will reflect the very best features from P&O’s current fleet, combining design, quality and innovation to create P&O’s best ship to date and will become the largest ship ever built exclusively for the British cruise market. It is certain to provoke excitement with a fantastic range of signature P&O Cruises features.

Whether you’re a “Brit” or not, Britannia will be one of the “must go to” ships in the future. Her base will be Southampton in the summer and the Caribbean in winter. 

Britannia’s maiden voyage will be in March 2015. In her first year, she will visit 57 ports in 31 countries, travelling some 90,000 miles

Here are some basic facts – the “stats” and “things to do”

'ESCAPE' HULL ART UNVEILED

Norwegian Escape hull art (Norwegian)

News continues to flow from the Cruise Shipping Show in Miami this week. Here's the latest release from Norwegian:

"Norwegian Cruise Line announced [Wednesday] that Guy Harvey, widely recognized as the world’s finest marine wildlife artist and champion of ocean conservation, has been named to design the signature hull artwork of the line’s largest ship to date, Norwegian Escape, scheduled to debut in October 2015. At an event this morning at Cruise Shipping Miami, the artist revealed his custom design for Norwegian Escape’s hull, which features an underwater scene of marine wildlife. Norwegian’s newest ship is Harvey’s largest canvas to date, at 1065 feet in length, with his artwork spanning from the hull to the aft featuring two undersea scenes that blend seamlessly.

"Though recognized most recently for his floor-to-ceiling murals at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport and at Nova Southeastern University in Florida, Harvey is best known for his dynamic gamefish T-shirt designs. His original paintings have sold for tens of thousands of dollars and today, reproductions of his art, often seen on magazine and catalog covers, are offered as limited edition prints and can be found on a wide variety of clothing and gift items. Harvey maintains his art studio in Grand Cayman, where he lives with his wife and two children.

• "Also at Cruise Shipping Miami, Norwegian announced that Norwegian Escape will homeport year-round in Miami and sail a seven-day Eastern Caribbean itinerary starting November 14, 2015; visiting Tortola, British Virgin Islands; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; and Nassau, Bahamas. At approximately 163,000 gross tons and 4,200 passenger berths, Norwegian Escape will join the fleet in October 2015."

STAYING SAFE AT SEA

There is one part of every cruise that no one really looks forward to -- the muster drill. While we may not enjoy it, we still know it's an important part of staying safe at sea. But when it comes to safety, that's only a small slice of the safety measures the cruise lines enact. That's the topic of this week's video from Royal Caribbean:

10 HOTELS WITH STUNNING VIEWS

Traders Hotel, Kuala Lumpur (TripAdvisor)

TripAdvisor's latest is "10 hotels with stunning views." They are located in places from Finland to Chile to Kuala Lumpur. Even if you can't hop a jet and try one for yourself, it doesn't hurt to daydream a little, right? Happy weekend, all! -- Gerry

PROOF THAT CRUISE SHIPS ARE BIG

Yes, we know cruise ships are big, but there's nothing like a photo to really put their size in perspective. Here's just that, courtesy of Cunard. Aside to the captain -- watch that first step! -- Gerry

"On Sunday (March 2), Cunard captured dramatic photographs of Captain Kevin Oprey, Master of Queen Mary 2, standing beneath the flagship’s soaring hull a mile off the coast of Bali during the ship's World Cruise in her 10th anniversary year. The amazing images by James Morgan show Captain Oprey surveying the scene from the top of Queen Mary 2's bulbous bow, an underwater projection that minimizes the creation of bow waves around the waterline when the ship is under way. Two safety craft were standing by during the photo shoot, but Captain Oprey remained sure-footed throughout."

CARNIVAL LEGEND BACK WITH NEW FEATURES

Credit: Carnival

Here's news from Carnival about the innovations and changes on Carnival Legend, which sails from Tampa:

"Carnival Legend recently returned to service from Tampa with a variety of new and exciting innovations, including a WaterWorks aqua park featuring the exhilarating Green Thunder water attraction, as well as a Twister slide, a children’s spray park and more.

"Also new is the tropics-inspired RedFrog Pub, a full-service sushi restaurant called Bonsai Sushi, the Cherry on Top confections and novelty shop, and two new entertainment options, Playlist Productions and Hasbro, The Game Show, all of which were added during a multi-million-dollar makeover in Freeport, The Bahamas.

"New features on Carnival Legend include:

STAYING FIT AT SEA

A lot of cruisers take full advantage of the fitness centers aboard cruise ships, like the one in the video below from Royal Caribbean. Full disclosure here -- we aren't among them. But because we get our exercise walking from the deck chairs to the bar, there's more machines available for you! Take a look:

A NEW KIND OF CRUISE SHIP FROM BRANSON?

Here's an intriguing little tidbit from the news this morning: Sir Richard Branson, the British business mogul who has launched scores of "Virgin branded" businesses, from music and mobile to airlines and consumer space travel, has his eye on entering the cruise industry, according to this report from Middle East news agency AMEinfo. They quote Branson: “We are looking at a very different kind of cruise company. We’re trying to create the kind of cruise ship that would be attractive to the kind of people who would never consider a cruise at the moment." Sir Richard, tell us more ...