Cruise Lines Offering the Best Food

Now that we’ve outlined some of the things to avoid while taking a cruise in terms of avoiding over-eating - here is a good look  at some of the main cruise lines and what to expect from them in terms of the awards they have earned.



Prow’s Edge Cruise Magazine awarded 3 cruise lines (Crystal Cruises, Oceania Cruises and Windstar Cruises) with the Best Cruise Line Food aboard Luxury Cruise Lines 2012/2013 awards, and 3 other cruise lines (Holland America Line, Celebrity Cruises and Costa Cruises) with the Best Cruise Line Food aboard Other Cruise Lines 2012/2013



Cruise Critic singled out Oceania Cruises with their Best Dining award saying that “Oceania Cruises does an exceptional job on it’s cuisine”.



Cruise International recognized 6 cruise lines as having the best food. These are Celebrity Cruses, Crystal Cruises, Cunard Line, Holland America Line, and  Oceania Cruises.


Condé Nast Traveller recognizes Seabourn with very high scores for Best Food, Carnival Cruise Line has been recognized by CruiseMates as providing more for your money than any other cruise line, Crystal Cruises has been recognized for their outstanding on board restaurants by Howard Hillman’s popular Cruise Guide, and Best Food Awards have also been granted to Silversea and Regent.



And finally, after studying the various popular chat rooms about cruising and the quality of food at various cruise lines, it is clear that the repeated winners and favorites as far as those offering the best food are Crystal Cruises, Celebrity Cruises.



Overall - the three cruise lines consistently winning awards for the best food are Oceania Cruises, Crystal Cruises and Celebrity Cruises, followed closely by Holland America Line and Windstar Cruises.



Follow our next blog as we investigate the chat rooms in more detail and find out what is being said about food on cruise lines, and whether we should be taking these comments and awards very seriously!

CLIA National Cruise Vacation Week

An annual cruise event coming up again soon is CLIA’s National Cruise Vacation Week.

Planned to take place from October 21 to October 27, this special event offers the cruise industry’s most  exclusive promotions and features a wide array of special events and offers from twenty-five CLIA member cruise lines representing more than 200 cruise ships.

Planned special deals include up to $13,000 in bonus savings on a luxury cruise, $1,500 per couple savings on a river cruise in Europe, two-for-one pricing, free airfare, complimentary shore excursions, and up to $500 in shipboard credits.

Visit CLIA’s special NCVW page, www.cruising.org/vacation/welcome to find impressive potential savings as well as credits for shipboard spending valued at up to $500, upgrades to suites, or other incentives such as complimentary shore excursions, free airfare, free hotel packages, deposit waivers and more. 

Some of the cruise lines involved are AmaWaterways, American Cruise Lines, Avalon Waterways, Azamara Club Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Costa Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Cunard Line, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Hurtigruten, Louis Cruises, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Paul Gauguin Cruises, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, SeaDream Yacht Club, Silversea Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Line, Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection and Windstar Cruises.

Keep track of the Prow's Edge blog here for actual details of the special cruise deals.

Putting people off cruises

In January, in the aftermath of the Costa Concordia cruise tragedy, SodaHead.com – the web’s largest opinion-based community – ran a poll to determine if the general public was “less likely to take a cruise given the incident.”

At that time, according to the SodaHead poll, 27% of respondents said "YES, they are less likely to cruise."

After the recent fire on the Costa Allegra, SodaHead once again polled its members, and the results showed that a startling 47% of respondents were now less likely to cruise based on these incidents, a 20% jump in less than two months.

The age of the respondent played a factor in the results, as 53% of those over 65 are stating that they are now less likely to cruise, while 31% of those between 25 -34 are having second thoughts about getting on a ship.

Click here for the full poll results, with respondent demographics.

For more details about all cruise all over the world take a look at Prow's Edge Cruises Magazine

Costa Cruises Disaster with Costa Concordia

As our news item at the Prow's Edge Cruise Magazine News Pages points out, it has never been the role of Prow’s Edge Cruise Magazine to dwell on disasters at sea, no matter how large or tragic the event.

As ugly as the news item is, and despite the fact that we are all are aware that disasters can happen on cruises, no matter how wonderful and idyllic the cruise may seem to be, Prow's Edge has never dwelled on these events. Considering the huge number of cruises that are sailing all over the world every day without any bad outcomes, it seems unnecessary to dwell morbidly on such happenings.

This latest disaster with the Costa Concordia off the western coast of Italy late on Friday evening, January 13th is one of the more ugly cruise events to happen in a number of years.

Prow's Edge Cruise magazine has brought you the basic details at the Prow's Edge Cruise Magazine News Pages, but rather than dwelling on this in days to come, suggest that you follow your usual news services for more information.

Our sympathies go to all those involved in this horrendous event.

Costa Cruises Leads the Way in Environmental Social Fields

According to the sixth edition of its annual sustainability report covering fiscal year December 2009 through November 2010, Costa Cruises has made some great gains in both the environmental and social fields.

Improvements include an increase of 26 percent in the proportion of garbage (paper, plastic, glass, metal) recycled in ports, a reduction of approximately 11 percent in fuel consumption, a reduction of over 34 percent in the production of ozone-depleting substances from refrigeration and air-conditioning systems. In July 2010 Costa Cruises, through its partnership with World Wildlife Fund Italia, became the first and only cruise line in the world to participate in the pilot REPCET project, a reporting system aimed at reducing collisions between ships and whales.

Costa Cruises not only operates in accordance with prevailing environmental laws, the line sets more ambitious objectives through a management and control system that goes beyond the scope of mandatory requirements of local, national and international regulations, and proactively seeks solutions to improve environmental protection.

For more information about this and other tidbits about Costa Cruises take a look at the latest news entry for Prow's Edge Cruise Magazine.

Costa Cruises on Travelocity

Costa, Europe’s Number One Cruise Line, is now available on Travelocity, one of the world’s leading online travel retailers. Current 2010 itineraries and future 2011 routes from Costa’s global product may be purchased on the site or by phone with specially-trained Costa product specialists.

“Travelocity’s reach and audience will bring the niche aspect of Costa Cruises to a much wider range of travelers looking to plan their next cruise getaway,” said Maurice Zarmati, president and ceo of Costa North America. “They are a very well-respected brand in the industry with a team that is committed to understanding the key aspects and attributes of our product. We’re thrilled to be aligned with them.”

”We’re excited to be offering Travelocity shoppers the chance to now book a Costa cruise,” said Alex Goldman, vice president, cruises, Travelocity. “They offer such a unique cruising experience and we are looking forward to working with their team for many years to come.”

Costa, the Italian brand of Carnival Corporation, offers a “true European experience” to travelers, combining the charm of the old world with incredible innovations of today. This special brand of Italian warmth and European sophistication makes cruising with Costa much more than a voyage to a new and exciting destination – it’s an experience that creates lifetime memories that linger and make guests smile at unexpected moments. From delectable fresh pastas, warm cappuccinos, international guests who become friends from around the world and charming Italian greetings travelers hear such as “buongiorno” and “buonasera,” sailing with Costa brings the passion and vitality of Italy to sea.

For the latest news about the cruise lines and for the best in things all about cruising, take a look at Prow's Edge Cruise Magazine

THE NEW COSTA DELIZIOSA IS ON ITS WAY

Costa Cruises, named ''one of the top ten cruise lines'' by the readers of Condé Nast Traveler, is about to take delivery of her newest ship, the Costa Deliziosa.

If you want a preview of the Costa Deliziosa, take a look at www.costadeliziosa.com.



Photo courtesy Costa Cruises

The preview showcases the ship’s cutting-edge design, including the use of premium materials such as various types of marble and granite, stucco applied by spatula using the technique known as “spatolato veneziano,” decorative interior finishes including “parchment scroll lame,” refined Zebrano wood, Wenge timber, Murano glass and stylish polished and glazed steel.

In addition, you'll get to take a look at her innovative features including a 4D cinema, golf simulator and award-winning Samsara Spa. Also online is a preview of the famous works of art featured onboard from Arnaldo Pomodoro and Mario Donizetti, one of the most well-known contemporary artists in Italy.

The ship will be inaugurated in on February 23 in Dubai -- marking the first time a ship has been named in an Arabian city.

For more information about Costa Cruises visit the Costa Cruises profile at Prow's Edge Cruise Magazine at www.prowsedge.com/cruise-lines-costa-cruise-lines.html or visit the official Costa Cruises web site at www.costacruise.com/B2C/USA/Default.htm

COSTA ATLANTICA RECEIVES A PERFECT SCORE FOR VESSEL SANITATION

Following our many reports of health and safety at sea, and news of the awards and reports on cruise lines and cruise ships at Prow's Edge Cruise Magazine, news comes today of the perfect score for vessel sanitation for Costa Atlantica.

The Costa Atlantica, a member of the Costa Cruises fleet, once again received a perfect score for vessel sanitation in a recent inspection conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The inspection was held on September 26 during a stopover in New York, one of the port calls of the Costa Atlantica during the latter part of her transatlantic cruise. The cruise departed on September 16 from Savona and ended on October 3 in Québec.

The CDC inspections are part of the Vessel Sanitation Program introduced in the early 1970s for all ships that stop in a U.S. port. The inspections are unannounced and conducted by officials from the United States Public Health Service twice a year. The score, on a scale from 1 to 100, is assigned based on a checklist with 48 areas of assessment, evaluating hygiene and sanitation of food (from storage to preparation), water, shipboard personnel and the ship as a whole.

This is the sixth time that the Costa Cruises fleet has received maximum marks from the CDC inspectors. The first vessel to obtain the perfect 100 was the Costa Atlantica in 2001. She repeated this success in 2005, while her sister ship, the Costa Mediterranea, obtained a top score in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Costa is the only cruise fleet flying the Italian flag and therefore is the only line whose cruise ships are subject to more restrictive environmental, safety and social accountability regulations. Costa Cruises not only operates in accordance with the prevailing laws but also, where possible, seeks to preempt legislation, setting higher standards for itself and more ambitious objectives by means of internal procedures that go beyond the scope of mandatory requirements of local, national and international regulations.

For more information about Costa Cruise Lines visit the Prow's Edge profile of the cruise line at http://www.prowsedge.com/cruise-lines-costa-cruise-lines.html or visit the Costa Cruise Line web site at http://www.costacruise.com/B2C/USA/Default.htm