There was a time when preparing for a cruise meant shopping for new swim suits and flip-flops, and making sure you packed your sunscreen. For an Alaskan getaway, a rain jacket was in order.
That’s still true for plenty of cruises out there. But with the proliferation of themed cruises, a vacationer’s packing list might also include your favorite chef’s apron. Or a leather jacket to don when you hop onto a motorcycle in port. Or even a scraggly wig for the zombie prom.
Themed cruises are hot right now, says Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor in chief of CruiseCritic.com.
“My tip is, if there’s a theme cruise you’re interested in, book it, because it’s going to sell out,” Spencer Brown said.
(And from the perspective of the travel industry, they’re important, as an entry point for new cruisers. Fifty percent of vacationers who are new to cruising come through the door — or as she put it, “on the gangway” — via a themed cruise.)
As theme cruises grow in popularity, and the boats get bigger, vacationers will have that many more choices — and social opportunities, Spencer Brown said.
“They’re really fun ways to interact with people, and they’re ways you can interact with your hobby in ways that you can’t in a hotel,” she said.
Cruise Compete’s September trends report showed that the Caribbean is still a top destination for the cruise-bound. But river cruises are on the rise, too, said Katherine Burgess, a Durango-based independent agent with Avoya Travel, and it’s a good idea to book those in the fall.
Among her clients, European river cruises are big. “The most popular one is from Amsterdam to Nuremberg, or Budapest,” she said. Wine river cruises are also on the increase, she added.
And for those who have been on many cruises before? They’re heading into smaller ports on smaller boats, Burgess said. Or getting off the beaten path — that’s what she’s doing.
“My husband and I have a cruise planned from Dubai to Istanbul in April,” she said. “So that’ll be interesting.”
If you’re not ready for a Middle Eastern cruise but are looking for the next interesting thing, check out some of these themed cruises coming up this fall and winter.
On-board concerts
Dates throughout the year
sixthman.net
Sixthman puts on cruises that feel like a music festival aboard a ship, with autograph sessions and shows across several on-board venues every evening. And from Kid Rock to 311 to the blues cruise, Sixthman’s offerings reflect the breadth and depth of the music-fest-cruise trend.
What sounds can you cruise to this fall? The Kiss Kruise departs for the Bahamas on Oct. 31, and the Grammy Festival at Sea Women Who Rock cruise, which includes performances from Emmylou Harris, the Indigo Girls, Heart and Shawn Colvin, is slated for the first week of November. Both are aboard the Norwegian Pearl. (Let’s hope it gets a good scrub-down after the Kiss Kruise, which sounds rowdy.)
Top Chef at Sea
Nov. 15-22 (for the Caribbean)
celebritycruises.com/top-chef-at-sea
Top Chef at Sea aims to cater to cruise-goers’ inner gourmets with cooking demonstrations, lessons and even competitions. Celebrity Cruises served up Top Chef cruises to Alaska, Europe, Bermuda and the Caribbean this year, and since food cruises are one of the specialty-cruise categories that is super hot right now, look for even more in 2015.
History on the river
Departures Oct. 17 and 31
Civil War buffs will get a taste of American history from the decks of the American Queen as it follows the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers from Chatanooga to Memphis.
But this river cruise isn’t all Civil War museums and battlefields. There are stops at cultural centers, galleries and a Frank Lloyd Wright house.
Active cruising in Baja
January-March and November-December
un-cruise.com/mexico-cruises-bajas-bounty
With United, Frontier and Southwest all offering direct flights from Denver to Cabo San Lucas, a trip to Baja has become a no-brainer for Coloradans seeking sun instead of snowy slopes in the winter. Un-Cruise Adventures’ itineraries in the area on a 42-cabin ship mix more typical cruise amenities and activities (massages, whale watching, snorkeling) with hikes, kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding and even a desert burro ride.
Un-Cruise also offers themed cruising around Baja for those interested in birding, photography and marine biology.
Obstacle course cruise
March 6-9, 2015
thespartancruise.com
Obstacle course races have been booming in recent years. According to USA Obstacle Racing, 50,000 people participated in obstacle races like the Warrior Dash and the Tough Mudder in 2010, but that number grew to more than 3 million last year. In May, Outside magazine reported the formation of the International Obstacle Racing Federation, whose goal is to get obstacle racing into the summer Olympics.
So it’s only natural that these would extend to a cruise ship. (Why not? You have to train for the Olympics somewhere.) Spartan Races, which seems to have an event on every populated corner of North American land, is going to sea. The Spartan Cruise to the Bahamas is aboard Norwegian Cruise’s Sky and includes an obstacle race on a private island. There’s also a book signing with Spartan founder Joe De Sena.
Zombie Cruise
Nov. 2-9
zombiecruise.com
If being trapped at sea with zombies sounds like both the plot for a cult-classic B horror movie and the best vacation ever, this is the cruise for you.
The Zombie Cruise to the western Bahamas and Cozumel (aboard the Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas) includes makeup sessions with professional zombifying artists and a zombie prom. You can stay in shape while aboard by attending fitness classes designed to teach you how to defend yourself during the zombie apocalypse.
Suggestion: Go big with your green face paint. On a cruise, you don’t want the on-board nurse to have a hard time distinguishing whether you were going for scary makeup or are legitimately, queasily green in the face.
Meow Meow Cruise
Feb. 26-March 1, 2015
meowmeowcruise.com
Cat lovers, but not the cats themselves, are invited on this cruise aboard the Carnival Victory with stops in the western Bahamas and Cozumel.
Though the Meow Meow Cruise boasts scavenger hunts and karaoke, one has to assume the main entertainment will be showing other cat lovers pictures of your favorite feline friends back home.
And don’t fret, dog people, there is also a Woof Woof Cruise in the works. Same website, despite the different species … the pets themselves, this isn’t a commentary on the fundamental differences between cat people and dog people.
Jenn Fields: 303-954-1599, jfields@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jennfields
Pricing a cruise, and saving some cash
As an independent travel agent with Avoya, Katherine Burgess might seem biased when she says the only way to book a cruise is through a travel agent. But she’s doing you a favor.
“You get the best price with an agent, and you have someone who knows your name when you call and deals with all the little things,” she said. “The commission is built into the fare, so if you book directly with the cruise, you pay the same, but you don’t get the service.”
But even if you go it alone, she says, price your cruise out per person, per day.
“The major lines should generally cost you under $200 per person per day,” she said, while the premium lines should range from $200 to $500 per day, and the luxury lines “can cost anywhere north of $500 per person per day.”
She also noted that pricing is seasonal.
“You can go very cheaply the first weekend in December,” but during the holidays, she said, you’ll pay double.
Resort fees are starting to cut into that per-day rate as well. For example, she said, Hawaii is a popular cruise destination for Coloradans (“United has a lot of flights into Hawaii,” she noted), but she’s hearingabout clients getting charged resort fees once they’re there.
“The hotels are adding a surcharge per day for whatever is in there, whether you use it or not, like a beach chair, or Internet. This is hotels in these package vacations — you pay for airfare and hotel, and you get there and you end up owing more at your hotel.”
It’s something to watch out for — and ask an agent about, if you’re using one. — Jenn Fields
Shipshape
The Centers for Disease Control’s Vessel Sanitation Program “assists the cruise ship industry to prevent and control the introduction, transmission, and spread of gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses on cruise ships.”
Good idea.
Ships under the CDC’s jurisdiction include those carrying 13 passengers or more and U.S. ships with an international itinerary.
To check sanitation scores and reports for the ship you’re planning to board, cruise over to .
