Carnival: Sea trials for new cruise ship, Breeze, a success

The construction of industry giant Carnival’s next cruise ship passed a major milestone in recent days as the vessel successfully completed sea trials off the coast of Italy.

The 3,690-passenger Carnival Breeze, which will be one of the line’s biggest ships ever when it debuts in June, hurdled a battery of standard tests while sailing under its own power in the Adriatic Sea, the line says. A contingent of officers, technicians and engineers were aboard the vessel.

The 130,000-ton Carnival Breeze has been under construction for nearly two years at the Fincantieri shipyard near Trieste, Italy.

Read MORE: Carnival: Sea trials for new cruise ship, Breeze, a success

 

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All About Travel
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Riverboat cruising returns to the Mississippi with American Queen

By Jayne Clark, USA TODAY

As the American Queen paddle wheeler steams toward the city early one morning last week, all eyes turn toward Richard and Suzanne Martinez, who are strolling onto the boat’s forward deck resplendent in antebellum finery.

She’s a sweet Southern belle in hoop skirt hoisting a floral parasol. He’s a riverboat dandy in broad-brimmed planter’s hat and rhinestone horseshoe pin. Suzanne bought the get-ups on eBay to wear on the occasion of the venerated steamboat’s return to the river for the first time since 2008. But the Tavares, Fla., retirees figure they’ll get plenty of wear out of the costumes as they pursue and wave at riverboats from the banks of the upper Mississippi.

“We’ve been doing it for years,” Suzanne says.

“So, you’re, like, steamboat stalkers?” asks a fellow passenger unacquainted with the proclivities of hard-core riverboat fans.

Read More: Riverboat cruising returns to the Mississippi with American Queen

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All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
info [at] allabout-travel.com
405.384.3880

• The revival of the American Queen – steamboating the Heartland of America

• Inaugural of the American Queen Steamboat

• Making all her dreams come true, yours too with extreme adventure and travel

Travel Tidbits – The world’s weirdest festivals

Event Name: Baby Jumping Festival
Start Date: Wednesday, 6 June 2012
End Date: Wednesday, 6 June 2012
Venue: Castrillo de Murcia
Country: Spain
Category: Feast & Carnival

The world’s weirdest festivals
Some of the world’s most bizarre festivals, from tomato throwing to baby jumping… Telegraph (London)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where to Find Perfect Pork Dumplings in San Francisco
One thing that is an absolute can’t-leave-until-you-do-it priority–find an awesome Chinese restaurant… Conde Nast Traveler

 

 

 

Top five adventure cruise ideas
A new type of cruise has been gaining popularity amongst holiday makers with more adventurous spirits… Fox Travel News

 

 

 

Unsavory truths about airplane food
The cold, stale truth is out — “tasting good” is not a top priority for airline caterers, but rather food safety… CNN

 

 

 

 

Italy’s New High-Speed Train
It may not be faster than a speeding bullet, but Italy’s new Italo–which connects Turin and Salerno, as well as Rome and Venice–sure looks like one… Travel and Leisure

 

 

 

Child-free flying? Airline pulls April Fool’s prank
Feeling exhausted at just the thought of flying with children? Canadian airline WestJet proposed a humorous alternative in this April Fool’s commercial… MSN.com

 

All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
info [at] allabout-travel.com
405.384.3880

• Travel Tidbits – Love bluegrass music? This cruise is for you

• Year of the Golden Gate Bridge

• Making all her dreams come true, yours too with extreme adventure and travel

Rock band Kiss to play Norwegian Cruise Line ship

By Jason Merritt, Getty Images

Fans of the rock band Kiss are getting another chance this year to set sail with the group.

Music cruise organizer Sixthman has announced plans for a second all-Kiss-all-the-time extravaganza at sea to take place this fall on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Pearl.

The four-night Kiss Kruise II will kick off on Oct. 31 in Miami and include a call at Norwegian’s private island in the Bahamas, Great Stirrup Cay. It comes just a year after the first Kruise, which took place last October.

Read More:   Rock band Kiss to play Norwegian Cruise Line ship

All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
info [at] allabout-travel.com
405.384.3880

About All About Travel

Opened in 1978, All About Travel is located in the Oklahoma City area.  We are a family owned and operated company that has strived to provide our clients with the highest quality of service for more than 30 years.  Our agents can arrange all your travel needs from the individual hotel and/or car reservation to an around the world cruise.  Nothing is out of reach.

We can help plan your honeymoon, your destination wedding or the much needed getaway for two.  Don’t forget about your business, we can handle all the travel needs for your company as well.  Anything from an airline flight and hotel for a meeting or all the planning needed for your next company-wide seminar.  We can arrange hotel space for all attendees and meeting rooms for all purposes.

Our agents travel to many destinations on FAM trips (Familiarization trips) these trips are designed by tour operators and cruise lines to make certain that travel agents are up-to-date on popular destinations and cruise ships.

So the next time you need to, or better yet, want to travel…Let us help, it’s what we do.

• Travel Tidbits – Love bluegrass music? This cruise is for you

• Year of the Golden Gate Bridge

• Making all her dreams come true, yours too with extreme adventure and travel

The story behind Disney Cruise Line’s new shows

Kevin Eld is one busy man. As vice president for Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment, he oversees all forms of Disney entertainment, from parades, theatrical shows, fireworks, water shows and other spectaculars you see at its worldwide theme parks and resorts to the Broadway-style shows aboard Disney Cruise Line ships.

On the recent media preview cruise for Disney Fantasy, Eld attended all the shows in Walt Disney Theatre before heading over to the adults-only Cove Café to confer with colleagues, like Jim Urry, vice president of Entertainment and Port Adventures.

This cruise was all work for Eld. On Disney Fantasy, the five theatrical shows he leads in terms of creation, development and production include the Broadway-quality “Disney’s Aladdin — A Musical Spectacular,” “Disney Wishes” and “Disney’s Believe.” They are performed in the magnificent 1,340-seat Walt Disney Theatre.

He’s also responsible for the wild and frolicking “Pirates In the Caribbean” and “Buccaneer Blast” fireworks display on Deck Stage.

And, yes, so much more. Fortunately, he slowed down long enough to answer some questions.

Read Q&A: The story behind Disney Cruise Line’s new shows

All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
info [at] allabout-travel.com
405.384.3880

About All About Travel

Opened in 1978, All About Travel is located in the Oklahoma City area.  We are a family owned and operated company that has strived to provide our clients with the highest quality of service for more than 30 years.  Our agents can arrange all your travel needs from the individual hotel and/or car reservation to an around the world cruise.  Nothing is out of reach.

We can help plan your honeymoon, your destination wedding or the much needed getaway for two.  Don’t forget about your business, we can handle all the travel needs for your company as well.  Anything from an airline flight and hotel for a meeting or all the planning needed for your next company-wide seminar.  We can arrange hotel space for all attendees and meeting rooms for all purposes.

Our agents travel to many destinations on FAM trips (Familiarization trips) these trips are designed by tour operators and cruise lines to make certain that travel agents are up-to-date on popular destinations and cruise ships.

So the next time you need to, or better yet, want to travel…Let us help, it’s what we do.

• Travel Tidbits – World’s Most Mysterious Destinations

• The Claremont Hotel, Club & Spa – Spa treatment giveaway!

• Making all her dreams come true, yours too with extreme adventure and travel

Cruise ship review: Carnival Cruise Lines’ Carnival Spirit

What’s it like to sail on a Carnival ship? USA TODAY’s new cruise review site, VacationCruisesInfo.com, offers a glimpse this week in a new in-depth review of one of the line’s vessels, the Carnival Spirit.

Courtesy Carnival Cruise Lines

At 65 pages, it’s the most extensive appraisal of the 10-year-old Carnival Spirit ever to be posted online, and it includes more than 1,000 photos showing nearly every interior and exterior space of the ship.

Click HERE to go directly to the review, which was written by one of the site’s in-house, anonymous reviewers. As with all VacationCruisesInfo.com reviews, the reviewer traveled on the vessel incognito and at USA TODAY’s expense.

Overall, the reviewer gives the recently refurbished Carnival Spirit high marks, noting it “largely delivers good value for money,” though not everything about the ship drew praise. One complaint: There’s too much of a hard sell.

Read More by Gene Sloan: Cruise ship review: Carnival Cruise Lines’ Carnival Spirit

 

All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
info [at] allabout-travel.com
405.384.3880

About All About Travel

Opened in 1978, All About Travel is located in the Oklahoma City area.  We are a family owned and operated company that has strived to provide our clients with the highest quality of service for more than 30 years.  Our agents can arrange all your travel needs from the individual hotel and/or car reservation to an around the world cruise.  Nothing is out of reach.

We can help plan your honeymoon, your destination wedding or the much needed getaway for two.  Don’t forget about your business, we can handle all the travel needs for your company as well.  Anything from an airline flight and hotel for a meeting or all the planning needed for your next company-wide seminar.  We can arrange hotel space for all attendees and meeting rooms for all purposes.

Our agents travel to many destinations on FAM trips (Familiarization trips) these trips are designed by tour operators and cruise lines to make certain that travel agents are up-to-date on popular destinations and cruise ships.

So the next time you need to, or better yet, want to travel…Let us help, it’s what we do.

• Travel Tidbits – World’s Most Mysterious Destinations

• The Claremont Hotel, Club & Spa – Spa treatment giveaway!

• Making all her dreams come true, yours too with extreme adventure and travel

Carnival unveils first George Lopez comedy club on ship

By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY

Carnival Cruise Lines’ new partnership with comedian George Lopez kicks off today with the opening of a Lopez-branded comedy club on the Carnival Miracle.

By Bill Kostroun, Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Cruise Lines' new partnership with comedian George Lopez kicks off today with the opening of a Lopez-branded comedy club on the Carnival Miracle.

The Punchliner Comedy Club presented by George Lopez, as it’s being called, is a concept that eventually will go fleet-wide as part of the line’s massive “Fun Ship 2.0″ overhaul announced late last year.

Carnival announced in October that it had tapped Lopez as its new “curator of comedy” in a partnership that will see the comedian involved in vetting and hiring comedic talent for Carnival ships.

The new Carnival comedy club will offer five 35-minute shows on multiple nights during each voyage, with at least two comedians performing each night. Two early-evening shows will be aimed at families with later performances featuring saltier, adults-only comedy. The shows are accessible to cruisers at no extra charge.

READ MORE: Carnival unveils first George Lopez comedy club on ship

 

To plan your trip today:

All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
info [at] allabout-travel.com
405.384.3880

About All About Travel

Opened in 1978, All About Travel is located in the Oklahoma City area.  We are a family owned and operated company that has strived to provide our clients with the highest quality of service for more than 30 years.  Our agents can arrange all your travel needs from the individual hotel and/or car reservation to an around the world cruise.  Nothing is out of reach.

We can help plan your honeymoon, your destination wedding or the much needed getaway for two.  Don’t forget about your business, we can handle all the travel needs for your company as well.  Anything from an airline flight and hotel for a meeting or all the planning needed for your next company-wide seminar.  We can arrange hotel space for all attendees and meeting rooms for all purposes.

Our agents travel to many destinations on FAM trips (Familiarization trips) these trips are designed by tour operators and cruise lines to make certain that travel agents are up-to-date on popular destinations and cruise ships.

So the next time you need to, or better yet, want to travel…Let us help, it’s what we do.

• Travel Tidbits – World’s Most Mysterious Destinations

• The Claremont Hotel, Club & Spa – Spa treatment giveaway!

• Making all her dreams come true, yours too with extreme adventure and travel

Travel Tidbits – 15 hotels to stay in before you die

 

The Sphinx in Egypt (Courtesy Michelle Baran)

When Will Egypt Be Back On the Tourist Map?
Ongoing political violence and demonstrations in Egypt, including the killing of 24 Coptic Christians by security forces this past weekend, is making it hard for Egypt’s tourism industry to rebound … Budget Travel Online

 

 

Six Of The Best: People’s Museums
Some of the top folk museums from around the world… The Independent

 

 

 

 

 

Fly Guy: Why I prefer cruising to flying
Chances are you live within an easy drive of a cruise ship port… USA Today

 

 

 

 

 

Liberia's creative rail solution

Liberia’s human-powered wooden trains
Liberia has a unique transport system … CNN

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Oberoi Udaivilas at Udaipur is built in the style of a traditional Indian palace, with gold-leaf domes and sand-colored walls reflected in the waters of Lake Pichola and the hotel's pools. From cnngo.com

15 hotels to stay in before you die
Whether it’s balanced on the rim of a volcano or made of crystallized salt, the right hotel can provide you with a good year’s worth of bragging material… CNN

 

 

 

 

 

Bedrooms are spacious and come with at least one balcony. Some have a washer-dryer. By CHERYL LU-LIEN TAN

Hotel Review: Inn at the Black Olive in Baltimore
A small “green” inn, with spacious suites, in a once-industrial swath of Baltimore… New York Times

 

 

 

 
To plan your trip today:

All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
info [at] allabout-travel.com
405.384.3880

About All About Travel

Opened in 1978, All About Travel is located in the Oklahoma City area.  We are a family owned and operated company that has strived to provide our clients with the highest quality of service for more than 30 years.  Our agents can arrange all your travel needs from the individual hotel and/or car reservation to an around the world cruise.  Nothing is out of reach.

We can help plan your honeymoon, your destination wedding or the much needed getaway for two.  Don’t forget about your business, we can handle all the travel needs for your company as well.  Anything from an airline flight and hotel for a meeting or all the planning needed for your next company-wide seminar.  We can arrange hotel space for all attendees and meeting rooms for all purposes.

Our agents travel to many destinations on FAM trips (Familiarization trips) these trips are designed by tour operators and cruise lines to make certain that travel agents are up-to-date on popular destinations and cruise ships.

So the next time you need to, or better yet, want to travel…Let us help, it’s what we do.

• Travel Tidbits – World’s Most Mysterious Destinations

• Travel Tidbits – 5 Reasons to Travel with Kids, Ten things you didn’t know about New York and more

• Making all her dreams come true, yours too with extreme adventure and travel

 

 

Travel Tidbits – The best family-friendly voyages

Mustique: Where sustainable meets sybaritic
On this small private island, part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, eco-friendly is the new glamorous… Globe and Mail

 

 

Upping the ante: The Disney Dream liner includes the AquaDuck ride - a water-powered 'rollercoaster' by Kent Phillips

The best family-friendly voyages
More and more families are thinking of taking a cruise holiday so the cruise companies are trying harder to make them choose their particular ships … Daily Mail

 

 

 

 

Holland America ship to circle globe in 2013
Holland America is planning yet another epic, around-the-world cruise for 2013… USA Today

 

 

 

 

BRIAN J. CANTWELL / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Swim with sea lions in the Sea of Cortez
It’s a popular day-trip tourist outing to swim with the sea lions… Seattle Times

 

 

 

 

 

Scott Mason, left, pilots a paraglider over Pokhara, Nepal, with Anita Hjertas (Bob hitches a ride for a moment). Mr. Mason created the sport of parahawking, in which the paraglider follows a trained bird of prey to catch thermals. image by Julian Andrews/Whitehotpix

In Nepal, Gliding With a Feathered Guide
Parahawking, an adventure sport that combines falconry and paragliding, draws bird lovers and thrill seekers alike… New York Times

 

 

 

 

 

The Temple of Heaven is one of Beijing's icons from Travel Hoppers

5 World Heritage Sites You Should Visit in China
China is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. The United Nations well recognizes this, putting 41 sites in China on its World Heritage Sites list… Travelhoppers

 

 

 

 

 

To plan your trip today:
All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
info [at] allabout-travel.com
415.384.3880

About All About Travel

Opened in 1978, All About Travel is located in the Oklahoma City area.  We are a family owned and operated company that has strived to provide our clients with the highest quality of service for more than 30 years.  Our agents can arrange all your travel needs from the individual hotel and/or car reservation to an around the world cruise.  Nothing is out of reach.

We can help plan your honeymoon, your destination wedding or the much needed getaway for two.  Don’t forget about your business, we can handle all the travel needs for your company as well.  Anything from an airline flight and hotel for a meeting or all the planning needed for your next company-wide seminar.  We can arrange hotel space for all attendees and meeting rooms for all purposes.

Our agents travel to many destinations on FAM trips (Familiarization trips) these trips are designed by tour operators and cruise lines to make certain that travel agents are up-to-date on popular destinations and cruise ships.

So the next time you need to, or better yet, want to travel…Let us help, it’s what we do.

• Travel Tidbits – All About Cambodia

• Huntington Beach – Surf City USA

• Making all her dreams come true, yours too with extreme adventure and travel

Travel Tidbits – 5 Reasons to Travel with Kids, Ten things you didn’t know about New York and more

Axiom Photographic/*/Design Pics/Corbis

5 Reasons to Travel with Kids
Every parent knows that travel with kids is unpredictable, difficult, and in some ways limiting… Conde Nast Traveler

 

 

Silversea cruises is offering a $1.5 million cruise package for two, taking in 28 countries over four months.

World’s most expensive cruise
The world’s most expensive luxury cruise package is up for grabs … Sydney Morning Herald

 

The coldest shows on earth
Winter music festivals are attracting thousands of revellers, despite the chill factor… The Independent

 

New York offers plenty of surprises. Photo: Reuters

Ten things you didn’t know about New York
From Times Square to the Statue of Liberty, New York’s icons are recognised worldwide. But here are 10 things you don’t know about… Sydney Morning Herald

 

The world’s most dangerous islands
Eight deadly islands where you wouldn’t want to be washed ashore… Telegraph (London)

 

 

 

 

Bowled over by Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is the new Caribbean… Telegraph (London)

 

 

 

To plan your trip today:
All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
info [at] allabout-travel.com
405.384.3880

About All About Travel

Opened in 1978, All About Travel is located in the Oklahoma City area.  We are a family owned and operated company that strives to provide our clients with the highest quality of service for more than 30 years.  Our agents can arrange all your travel needs from the individual hotel and/or car reservation to an around the world cruise.  Nothing is out of reach.

We can help plan your honeymoon, your destination wedding or the much needed getaway for two.  Don’t forget about your business, we can handle all the travel needs for your company as well.  Anything from an airline flight and hotel for a meeting or all the planning needed for your next company-wide seminar.  We can arrange hotel space for all attendees and meeting rooms for all purposes.

Our agents travel to many destinations on FAM trips (Familiarization trips) these trips are designed by tour operators and cruise lines to make certain that travel agents are up-to-date on popular destinations and cruise ships.

So the next time you need to, or better yet, want to travel…Let us help, it’s what we do.