Behind the Caribbean and Europe, Alaska is the third largest cruise market. People go to Alaska to see thundering glaciers, whales, wilderness, mountains, and wildlife. They want experience a culture influenced by Native American and Russian history and the turn-of-the-century gold rush. They want to embark on high adventure excursions like dog sledding, zip-lining, white water rafting, and kayaking. They want to see bears in the wild, fly over glaciers in a helicopter, ride on a train, hike, go salmon fishing or live the “World’s Deadliest Catch.” Alaska is one of those “life-long” dream destinations and is listed in the book, “1,000 Place to See before You Die.” It’s “America’s Last Frontier” and “the Land of Wonder.” It’s no wonder why Disney would want to cruise there. Pixar Studios couldn’t create more colorful backdrop of dramatic scenery.

Disney ships have 10 decks and pay homage to the grand era of the ocean liner, with Art Deco and Art Nouveau themes featuring touches of Disney magic. They have 877 staterooms and accommodate 1,750 passengers. Staterooms are configured especially for families – many of which are able to accommodate 4 or 5 guests in one stateroom. They all have plenty of extra storage and most have scenic ocean views, balconies and split bathrooms to make getting ready for the day or dinner much easier.

Several youth activities and clubs promise age-appropriate fun for kids from 3 months to 17 years old. There is a multitude of dining options, and Disney’s unique Rotational Dining system offers a fun way to enjoy most of them. Entertainment includes original Disney Broadway-style musicals and the latest Disney Digital 3-D movies. Adults get a taste of nightlife with nightclubs and lounges that offer dancing and entertainment.

And, if that was not enough to whet your appetite. Disney currently has two ships under construction at the Meyer Werft Shipyards in Germany. The two, 122,000-ton ships, Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy, will each have 1,250 staterooms carry 4,000 passengers. They will be two-decks taller than the Disney Magic and are scheduled to arrive in 2011 and 2012.

For more information call your personal cruise consultant at 1 -800- I CRUISE (800 427-8473)  or click here: DisneyAlaskaCruises

“The response to the Celebrity iLounge and to the iPad menus in Qsine was so positive, we knew our guests would relish yet another opportunity to capitalize on the latest technology in an entertaining, enriching way,” said Celebrity’s Senior VP of Hotel Operations Lisa Lutoff-Perlo. “Celebrity’s ‘Designed for you’ platform is built on our commitment to listen to our guests and offer experiences inspired by them and their sophisticated travel desires.”

A new addition to Celebrity’s extensive “Celebrity Life” series of onboard entertainment and enrichment activities, the iPads on each Solstice Class ship house floor plans of every deck on the ship, with select works of art flagged on every deck. A guest simply touches the screen to select the work of art he or she would like to learn more about, and the screen transitions to full details about the piece, including the title of the work, artist’s name, medium used, description and image. In addition to the art tour application, the iPads also present guests with the opportunity to explore digital versions of each Solstice-Class vessel’s in-stateroom art catalogs.

With more than 14,000 works of original, contemporary art on its three Solstice Class ships alone, Celebrity Cruises is the holder of one of the world’s largest corporate collections of contemporary art. Throughout the ships, a vast range of mediums is represented, including glass, acrylics, oils, photography, digital prints, video, etchings, sculptures and collages. Approximately 15 percent of the art on each Solstice Class ship is site-specific or commissioned artwork, such as the signature living trees in enormous vases suspended within the Solstice Class ships’ sweeping, airy Grand Foyers.

Celebrity’s new iPad art tours will be available on Celebrity Solstice beginning August 15, and on Celebrity Eclipse and Celebrity Equinox beginning August 21. The tours currently are in English, and also will be offered in Spanish by the end of this year. Celebrity will add German and French versions in 2011.

You can enter to win a free iPad when you download the Cruise Finder iphone app at www.iCruise.com/CruiseFinder and automatically qualify for the 4 or 5 night Celebrity Cruise Drawing.

All of Carnival’s aft show lounges will be converted to comedy clubs with a special stage and branded glassware, menus, employee uniforms and other items featuring the Punchliner Comedy Club logo.

The club will offer five 35-minute shows on multiple nights per cruise, with at least two comedians performing each night. The two early-evening shows provide family comedy while the later shows are for adults.

Both established comedians and rising stars are scheduled, with approximately 10 shows per voyage on short cruises and approximately 20 shows per cruise on longer sailings.

While comedy performances have always been part of Carnival’s entertainment lineup, the concept was taken to another level aboard Carnival Dream Comedy clubs are currently also available on Carnival Glory, Carnival Pride and Carnival Sensation, with the concept being incorporated into the remainder of the fleet over the next several months.

Your iCruise.com Personal Cruise Counselor can find just the right Carnival Cruise that is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.  Call (800) iCRUISE   – (800) 427-8473.

Cruise Finder puts more than 200 ships and 12,000 itineraries right at your fingertips.  You can search in a variety of different ways at the touch of a button.  But wait, there’s more!  Hot Deals, deck plans, stateroom layouts, port driving directions and weather forecasts make researching and planning your cruise vacation a snap.  You can even request a no-obligation quote for your favorite ship.

Don’t wait another minute.  Go to www.icruise.com/cruisefinder for this FREE download.  And while you are on the home page be sure to scroll down to and sign up for our newsletter.  By doing so, you will be automatically entered to win one of 4 Apple iPads that will be awarded during the month of August.  No purchase necessary.

The iCruise Cruise Finder is one more way that we keep you in touch with the wonderful world of cruise vacations.  Click, Call or Connect.  We are ready to help you explore the Seven Seas!

The Epic will be one of those ships that is sure to attract a legion of loyal followers.  And yes, some people may not find the ship to their liking.  I am not sure why this is such an issue on the various “cruise enthusiasts” boards.  Come on folks, there are enough ships and diversity in the marketplace to suit almost everyone.  So, in my humble opinion, just who should cruise on the Epic?  Anyone who desires an  entertainment centered experience combined with exceptional freedom of choice and non-traditional onboard programming options.  Families will also find the Epic a good choice due to the range of family-friendly staterooms and extensive children’s program options.  Solo travelers also have new option on Epic with more than 100 Studio staterooms that accommodate one person without a single occupancy surcharge (Finally! How cool!)

Entertainment on the Epic is the game changer for NCL.  They have done away with the traditional “Las Vegas Style” floorshows and in fact they did away with the huge main show lounge.  Instead, there are a multitude of venues featuring an incredible variety of shows.  Instead of creating new shows, NCL invested heavily in bringing aboard popular and well known acts from shore including Blue Man Group, Legends in Concert, Howl at the Moon and Cirque Dreams.  Close your eyes while relaxing at the Fat Cats  Jazz club and you might think you are on Bourbon Street.  During dinner at the Manhattan Club (one of the included restaurants onboard) there is live entertainment including vignettes from the longer Legends in Concert show.

Staterooms on the Epic are chic and curved (see image below) and have a brand new bathroom concept that takes a little getting used to.  Every ocean view staterooms has a balcony.  Thinking of super sizing your cruise?  Then consider one of the 60 suites in the private Courtyard Complex which is really a ship with a ship.  This private area (key card access) boasts a separate pool and sun area, dining room, spa and fitness center, and bar and lounge.

Dining on the ship is also of Epic proportions.  There is a choice of 20 restaurant venues.  Some are included in your fare and some require a cover charge of up to $25 per person.  My favorite was Moderno, a Brazilian style Churrascaria serving a delicious variety of meats delivered tableside.  The very popular Cagney’s Steakhouse and Le Bistro have been brought over from the other NCL ships and the always sold out Teppanaki has been tripled in size to accommodate demand.   There are 19 actual dining locations plus room service and 24/7 Pizza delivery  ($5 charge).  I found O’Sheehans,  a pub style bar and grill,  became the central focal point of the ship and good place to meet.  The pub serves complimentary comfort food 24/7.

Some posters on the various cruise forum boards tend to whine a little about “charging for food on a cruise”.   Here is my take on NCL Freestyle.  There are still several “free” restaurants (like other cruise companies) and there are also optional, extra cost alternative dining choices (like other cruise companies).  NCL just has a lot more choices when it comes to alternatives.  So, they have not taken anything away but instead have added more dining options.

In my next posting, I will discuss the children’s programs and more details about some other trendy features on the Epic.  If you are ready to experience this ship for yourself, there is good news.  iCruise has many Epic departures on sale now including upgrades to deluxe balconies.  We are also featuring the Epic in one of our Cruise Combo packages that includes the choice of a free hotel and parking in Miami or free bus transportation from major Florida cities.  Call 800-iCruise (800) 427-8473 now before word gets out about this revolutionary ship and it becomes fully booked.

New Wave Staterooms are Groovy!!!

So many things are happening on Norwegian Epic that passengers might have to book a second week to relax after all the action.

Some experiences are unique at sea. Patrons in the Epic Theater’s front-row seats slip on plastic rain ponchos for protection from the Blue Man Group’s antics, while people clamor to get into the SVEDKA Ice Bar where the temperature is a frigid 17 degrees F.

In a big top tent, diners slice into filet mignon as a pirate sword-fights on a tightrope during Cirque Dreams & Dinner. Elvis, Madonna and Tina Turner impersonators serenade passengers as part of the Legends in Concert show. Passadors slice meats from tall skewers in the Brazilian-style Moderno Churrascaria. Whole pizzas are delivered shipwide for $5.

In Norwegian Cruise Line’s first Aqua Park, passengers swirl around on floating inner tubes in an orange and yellow bowl resembling a giant juicer on a ride that’s called the Epic Plunge. They can also test the first rappeling rock wall on a ship. There are six bowling lanes on board, half in the Bliss Ultra Lounge and half in O’Sheehan’s, the 24-hour pub.

‘As you walk around the ship, people are saying this is completely new. It’s different,’ said NCL’s Andy Stuart, evp global sales and passenger services. Epic is going to bring new customers to cruising and new travel agents to selling NCL, he predicted.

Sales efforts target families with expanded Kids Crew facilities, a teen lounge, Nickelodeon at Sea programming and three-, four- and six-berth accommodations and inter-connecting rooms across categories from Courtyard Villa to economy.

The lavish Courtyard complex stretching across two top decks is expected to draw a new market of upscale travelers with a private restaurant and a bar/nightclub added to the mix. ‘It’s on the edge of being hedonistic,’ Tillberg Design’s Fredrik Johansson told Seatrade Insider.

And solo travelers are courted with the 128 Studios that sport ‘a very, very cool design, unexpected on a ship,’ as Stuart put it.

They’re compact—the bed takes up most of the space—but visually interesting with one padded upholstery wall, mood lighting that can be adjusted from rosy to a cheery yellow and a large round window facing the corridor that belies the fact these are all inside rooms. The bathroom and storage facilities are cleverly designed.

Studio passengers have keycard access to a two-story lounge with wood floors and trendy seating. Imagine a chic youth hostel for singles 30 and up, but with an espresso machine, bar service and big-screen televisions.

All of Epic’s outside staterooms come with a balcony. These ‘New Wave’ rooms with their curving walls have a radically different look than the standard boxy, cruise-ship cabin. They’re sleek and stylish, like a sophisticated boutique hotel. Elemis toiletries, tea/coffee makers and interactive, flat-screen televisions are among the appointments.

The New Wave rooms’ controversial separate toilet and shower stalls, enclosed in fogged glass, ‘take some getting used to,’ NCL ceo Kevin Sheehan acknowledged. There’s a curtain for privacy—though it doesn’t enclose the small sink, positioned in the room.

The accommodations are a calming refuge on a very busy ship. One other sanctuary is the ample Mandara Spa. Here are 24 treatment rooms, some with balconies for relaxation before and after treatments or, on Caribbean itineraries, for outdoor massages. A hydrotherapy courtyard, thermal suite and new offerings like a personalized body scrub selection created by a spa mixologist are other features.

And Epic sports NCL’s first dedicated spa staterooms that include free access to the thermal suite. There are 39 of these, with an attractive Asian design motif, and particularly gorgeous are the eight suites that come with an in-room whirlpool.

Seatrade Insider heard high praise for Moderno Churrascaria, the noodle bar Shanghai’s and the authentic Memphis blues band that plays Fat Cats, the dedicated jazz and blues club.

‘One of the main things I like about the ship is that despite its size, there are a lot of intimate areas,’ said Ramón Santos of corporate meetings and incentives specialists Landry & Kling Inc. in Miami.

Among his top picks are the sophisticated dinner-dance venue, the Manhattan Room; the Cirque dinner show, which he called ‘a highlight’; the expanded Teppanyaki restaurant, where he praised the food quality; the Courtyard complex (‘exciting’); the Aqua Park with ‘so many things going on,’ including bungee jumping and an attraction called Gravity Blast; and the SVEDKA Ice Bar.

That popular spot has limited hours because the room needs to freeze for 16 hours each day. Up to 25 patrons at a time can don fur-lined parkas to slip inside and sip vodka drinks.

‘I wish I had four times the space. We’re doing waiting lists with four and six pages a night,’ said Corey Shannon, corporate beverage operations manager for NCL.

Very few people stay the full 45 minutes, he added. It’s c-o-l-d.

Note from the Cruise Professor:  The books are open and cabins are selling fast.  Book yours now at www.iCruise.com or call 800-iCruise (800) 427-8473.  Be sure to ask your Personal Cruise Expert about our exclusive Epic Cruise Combo package that includes a free hotel.

Always a balmy 17 degrees at the ICE BAR!!!

There are many single parent homes with small children.  Here’s a great idea.  Team up with a friend or relative who might also be solo parenting and take a cruise with all the kids.  Moms or Dads can enjoy the adult features of the ship while the kids participate in the children’s program on board.

Probably the most difficult age group to accommodate are teens aged 15 to 17 because is it not “cool” to be in a kids program.  While there are still programs for these tweens, it is my experience that they usually meet in the program and then hang out together around the ship.   And it all works out!

We think family cruising is such a great opportunity we have even “hired” our own Director of Kids Cruising.  Click on the video below to meet iCruise Sally as she gives her perspective on the Oasis of the Seas.  Sally will be visiting other ships in the future and providing her feedback to you.

Your iCruise.com personal cruise expert can explain all the options available for family cruising and help match your and your kids with the right cruise (at the right price).   Call us today at 1-800-i Cruise (1-800-427-8473) and get ready to sail off on the family vacation of a lifetime!

After launching on Allure of the Seas, the Animation-themed activities and amenities will be incorporated into Royal Caribbean’s renowned entertainment programs on Oasis of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas, with some of the studio’s most popular feature films – “Shrek,” “Madagascar,” “Kung Fu Panda” and “How to Train Your Dragon” – anchoring the integrations.

Year round, “celebrity” characters including Shrek, Fiona and Puss In Boots of “Shrek;” Alex, Marty and the Penguins of “Madagascar;” Po of “Kung Fu Panda” and Hiccup of “How to Train Your Dragon” will engage guests of all ages, day and night, with unique experiences, including exclusive special events and energetic parades, as well as through interactive character meals in the main dining room, and of course plenty of photo opportunities. Royal Caribbean’s younger guests who choose to participate in the complimentary award-winning Adventure Ocean children’s program will relish in an exhilarating new lineup of activities, games and adventures rooted in the popular Animation movies.

What’s more, the phenomenon of 3D movies will be introduced to the open ocean when Royal Caribbean installs the 3D screens in the ships’ theaters. The new addition will give guests the opportunity to experience both new and longtime favorite Animation movies on the big screen.

Taking the strategic alliance even further, Royal Caribbean will celebrate the addition of Allure of the Seas to the cruise line’s 21-ship fleet by inviting the Animation cast of characters to take the stage in the AquaTheater, the impressive outdoor venue located at the stern of the ship, to perform a one-of-a-kind aquatic based show full of acrobatics and high-diving stunts. In addition, Royal Caribbean’s popular ice-skating venue on Allure will feature the characters from the recent hit film, “How to Train Your Dragon” in a spectacular ice show for guests. The experience on the Royal Caribbean ships is included in the world-class entertainment programming at no additional costs to guests.

The cruise experts at www.iCruise.com  can arrange your next Royal Caribbean cruise on the new Allure of the Seas or any of the 20 other ships in the fleet. Call them at (800) i CRUISE   (800-427-8473)