A Brief Guide To Cruise Line Loyalty Programs

Photo courtesy of Thinkstock

It pays to be a frequent cruiser because cruise lines reward travelers the more times they sail with a particular brand, and sometimes there are even reciprocal benefits across various companies.

Costa Cruises just recently updated its CostaClub program with a new entry Ambra Club tier for welcoming new cruisers and top Perla Diamante Club tier with impressive perks like home luggage pick-up and delivery, immediate embarkation, a "super upgrade" from an inside cabin to a suite, dedicated onboard booking staff, free access to the Club Restaurant, front-row theater reservations, dedicated limited-capacity excursions and a 20 percent discount on Privilege Departures for 2016.

"The new CostaClub is an important investment by Costa in terms of ideas, energy and resources, and all based on a passion for innovation and for people that provide inspiration and guidance for our work every single day, putting our guests and their desires in the spotlight," said Neil Palomba, president of Costa Cruises. "From when the CostaClub began 15 years ago, our most loyal guests have taken more than three million cruises with us. We listened to, gathered together and analyzed their opinions and their needs and worked intensively together with onboard personnel and travel agents with the objective of creating the best system of benefits in the cruise world."

So, now let’s take a look at the loyalty programs available from the other mainstream cruise lines and the membership perks that come with them.

Carnival Cruise Line ~ VIFP Club

Carnival Cruise Line features its VIFP (Very Important Fun Person) Club across five tiers starting with Blue. With your first sailing, you get members-only offers and a member e-newsletter. Upon your second sailing, you will receive a complimentary one-liter water bottle delivered to your cabin as a Red member. Benefits only snowball from there as you accrue more sailing points, one per cruise day. You hit Gold at 25 points or days which earns you an appreciation drink on cruises longer than four days in length as well as a Gold VIFP pin.

Things get way more exciting at 75 points or days for Platinum members. They get priority check-in, boarding, disembarkation, guest services, and spa and restaurant reservations; a complimentary cocktail party and a beverage at sea-day brunches; a logo gift; several bags of complimentary laundry and more. At 200 points and Diamond level, members receive the additional benefits: guaranteed restaurant reservations, special captain invites, a one-time cabin upgrade or a free third or fourth guest, one-time complimentary specialty restaurant meal for two, unlimited free laundry services and more.

MSC Cruises ~ Voyagers Club

MSC Cruises’ Voyagers Club also offers five membership levels starting at Welcome with one booking. There you receive an e-newsletter, private online area and onboard infopoint. From there, points are achieved dependent on a combination of cruise accommodations and sailing days. Points can also be achieved by spending on certain prepaid services and onboard costs.

At just one point for the Classic level, members begin receiving an unrestricted 5 percent cruise discount plus up to 15 percent savings on Voyages Selection Sailings, a welcome back cocktail, onboard offers and more. At 2,200 points for Silver, added perks include a $50 onboard credit, a milestone reward and stateroom fruit basket.

Privileges escalate most at Gold (4,300 points) and Black (10,000 points). Gold members get a bonus one-hour thermal area session; complimentary gift, photo and birthday cake; and priority tender disembarkation; and Black members additionally receive a complimentary specialty restaurant dinner for two, spumante, chocolate-covered fruit and chocolate ship; late stateroom checkout; priority cruise disembarkation; free dance class and party and more.

Where things get particularly interesting is that MSC Cruises offers a Loyalty Match program wherein the line will mirror similar benefits of other cruise lines, hotels and tour operators you have repeat status in.

READ MORE: Which Hotel Rewards Programs Are the Best?

Norwegian Cruise Line ~ Latitudes Rewards 

Latitudes Rewards are available to Norwegian Cruise Line loyalists across four tiers. All levels are point based with one point tallied for every cruise night and additional single points for each night in a suite or The Haven, when making a reservation nine months or more in advance and from a Latitudes Insider Offer booking.

The entry Bronze level starts at one point with special sailing offers, magazine, multiple onboard shopping and internet discounts, a rewards representative, cocktail party, ship pin and priority pier checkin. At 20 points and Silver, members also get photo and spa discounts, evening cabin chocolates and a ship officers gathering.

Once you achieve 48 points and Gold status, members additionally receive priority tender and cruise disembarkation, a welcome gift and a 25 percent discount on a laundry service bag. The perks ramp up again for Platinum members at 76 points with chocolate-covered strawberries; concierge service; and complimentary Le Bistro dinner and wine bottle for two, behind-the-scenes ship tour, sparkling wine in the stateroom and a bag of laundry service.

Plus, special milestone gifts are awarded to guests for achieving 250, 500, 700 and 1,000 points.

Royal Caribbean International ~ Crown and Anchor Society

Royal Caribbean International has an extensive six tiers in its Crown and Anchor Society program based on points, one earned for every cruise night or double points when in a suite. With just three cruise points, you can achieve Gold status including base perks such as a newsletter, exclusive rates, onboard offers, a Welcome Back Party, priority check-in, a private departure lounge and more.

At 30 points for Platinum, members add on an exclusive top tier event, onboard-use robes, a signature pin and balcony and suite stateroom discounts; at 55 points for Emerald, members again add on a welcome gift and choice of beverage; and at 80 points for Diamond, members tack on more extras like milestone recognition, a chef’s choice gift, priority departure and excursion and spa waitlisting, Diamond Lounge access and nightly Diamond event, an entertainment tour and more.

Diamond Plus members with 175 points get the added benefits of more behind the scenes tours, another personalized gift, Concierge Lounge access, priority theater seating and more; and as they rack up to 340 points, they also get reduced single supplement fares, a meal with an officer and upgraded bathroom amenities. Even more gifts are provided to members when they hit 350 and 525 points.

At a whopping 700 points for Pinnacle Club, members receive bonus exclusives like a personalized lapel pin and a Pinnacle Club Gold Card with privileges. Achieving 700 and 1,050 points also comes with a cruise certificate valued at a seven-night cruise in a balcony stateroom, and at 1,400 points and 350 points thereafter, a cruise certificate worth a seven-night cruise in a junior suite.

Plus, reciprocal benefits are granted within Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited company brands. That is, Platinum and higher members receive comparable perks in Celebrity Cruises' Captain's Club and Azamara Club Cruises’ Le Club Voyage and vice versa with some restrictions.

Source: www.travelpulse.com, JASON LEPPERT

Travelore Cruise News: Azamara's First World Cruise To Visit 61 Ports In 29 Countries

Azamara Club Cruises' first-ever world cruise is set for 2018. The 102-night cruise onboard Azamara Journey will begin in Sydney on March 7 and end in London on June 17, visiting 61 ports in 29 countries along the way. Of the 61 ports stops, 18 will be late-night stays and 14 will be overnights; there will be eight AzAmazing Evenings included.

Highlights of the journey include Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Dubai, Muscat, Barcelona, Lisbon and Amsterdam. Plus, passengers will be in France and Monaco during high-profile events -- the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix.

Full world cruise passengers will receive free round-trip airfare, complimentary Internet, $1,000 in onboard credit, a free bag of laundry every seven day and excess luggage reimbursement up to $500, as well as a one-night, pre-cruise hotel stay in Sydney.

--By Dori Saltzman, Editor www.thecruisecritic.com

The 2015 Best Cruises

The cruise industry has bounced back after some high-profile safety and health scares. In fact, this year's passenger levels are expected to hit a record. To help travelers choose safe, high-quality cruise vacations US News & World Report today released its ranking of the 2015 Best Cruises. For the second year in a row, Disney holds the lead as the No. 1 Best Cruise Line for Families and the No. 1 Best Cruise Line in the Caribbean. Silversea Cruises makes its debut on the list as the No. 1 Best Cruise Line for Romance.

The 2015 Best Cruises features rankings and information on 15 cruise lines in five categories: Best Luxury Cruise Lines, Best Cruise Lines for the Money, Best Cruise Lines for Romance, Best Cruise Lines for Families and Best Cruise Lines in the Caribbean. Travelers can search for cruises and itineraries specifically by destination, budget, cruise line and traveler type to find cruises that best suit their individual needs.

"The cruise industry is booming – their efforts to revamp their image and win over new types of travelers by launching new ships and innovative entertainment experiences are paying off," said Liz Weiss, travel editor for U.S. News. "We aim to help travelers sort through their options and identify cruise lines and ships that best suit their needs."

U.S. News ranked cruise lines using a methodology that factored in expert evaluations of cruise ship quality, reputation among travelers (as expressed through reviews and ratings collected by Cruiseline.com) and results from health evaluations conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. News editors analyzed data for 148 ships across the 15 major cruise lines that were included in the rankings. The top three cruise lines in each ranking category were awarded a U.S. News "Best" designation.

2015 Best Cruise Lines

Best Cruise Lines for the Money
#1 Royal Caribbean International
#2 Disney Cruise Line
#3 Carnival Cruise Lines

Best Cruise Lines in the Caribbean
#1 Disney Cruise Line
#2 Royal Caribbean International
#3 Carnival Cruise Lines

Best Cruise Lines for Families
#1 Disney Cruise Line
#2 Royal Caribbean International
#3 Celebrity Cruises

Best Cruise Lines for Romance
#1 Silversea Cruises
#2 Crystal Cruises
#3 Azamara Club Cruises

Best Luxury Cruise Lines
#1 Crystal Cruises
#2 Silversea Cruises
#3 Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Azamara Club Cruises Offering Free Companion Airfare On More Than 100 Voyages When Booking In June And July 2014

Traveling is always more real when you can share it with someone. And Azamara Club Cruises is inviting up-market travelers to share a destination-immersive adventure with that special someone by offering complimentary companion airfare when they make a booking in June and July 2014. Whether it’s reveling in the Sambadrome at Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival; delighting in the hospitality of charming European ports and towns where larger ships cannot reach; exploring the bustling metropolises of the Far East; or discovering Australia and New Zealand during Azamara’s inaugural season in the region, up-market travelers have a choice of more than 100 voyages aboard the cruise line’s boutique ships, Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest, to take advantage of the special offer. 

With Azamara’s distinctive longer stays and more overnights in port, guests can enjoy night touring in some of the most intriguing destinations in Asia, Northern and Western Europe, the Mediterranean, and South America and the West Indies, as well as on trans-oceanic crossings. Azamara guests can fully immerse themselves in a destination’s nightlife and savor its authentic culture and flavors when other cruise ships have departed. For more information and the complete list of applicable voyages, please visit www.AzamaraClubCruises.com/Free-Airfare. 

For all new individual bookings and named group bookings made with full deposit from June 2 through July 31, 2014, U.S. and Canadian travelers who book a Club Oceanview or higher-category stateroom on voyages departing from December 2014 through 2016 will receive complimentary coach-class airfare for the second guest when the first guest purchases air through Azamara. Guests must register offer code “FreeAir2ndGuest” in their reservation at the time of booking and the offer is only applicable for select U.S. and Canadian international gateways. The complimentary companion airfare offer is subject to availability and additional restrictions may apply. 

Azamara Club Cruises offers distinct destination-immersive experiences for up-market travelers. The cruise line uniquely features voyages with longer stays and more overnights at ports to provide guests the opportunity to experience night touring at some of the most compelling destinations in Asia, Northern and Western Europe, the Mediterranean, South America and the West Indies, and Australia and New Zealand, as well as on trans-Oceanic crossings. Aboard every voyage, guests are treated to AzAmazing Evenings, an authentic, exclusive and bespoke grand event that showcases the unexpected colors, culture and flavors of a destination at night. Guests also can choose a range of enlightening and immersive tour options with Azamara’s Land Discoveries (shore excursion) program, including more intimate and fascinating experiences hosted by a local through Insider Access, and after-dinner tours that showcase the best of a destination as seen by night through Nights and Cool Places. On board the intimate Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest, guests receive exceptional and personal service and fine cuisine , as well as more inclusive amenities, such as included gratuities; complimentary bottled water, sodas, specialty coffee, and teas, as well as complimentary boutique wines from around the world, international beers and select standard spirits in the ships’ bars, lounges and restaurants when open; complimentary self-service laundry; English Butler service for suite guests; and shuttle transportation to city centers in ports, where available. 

For more information, travelers can call their travel professional, dial 1-877-999-9553, or visit www.AzamaraClubCruises.com. Connect with Azamara Club Cruises on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AzamaraClubCruises, on Twitter @AzamaraVoyages or follow President and CEO @LarryPimentel.

The Newest Innovations And Amenities For Cruising That You Should Know About.

Some of the most exciting holiday innovations are now happening at sea. Here's our pick of some of the best new innovations and experiences afloat, from aerial viewing pods and sky-diving simulators to hot-air ballooning over Antarctica

The world's first aerial attraction at sea, North Star, will be launched in November on Quantum of the Seas 

From top-deck picnic lawns and sky-skimming viewing pods to planetariums and vertical-drop water slides, cruise ship design has been undergoing a revolution. What’s more, these days increasingly your holiday can come to you.

Last year set a record for the number of passengers starting a cruise in the UK, with more than 100 ships cruising into British ports. Later this summer one of the world’s biggest cruise ships, Oasis of the Seas, will visit the UK when it completes its first mini-season of sailings around the Mediterranean. Anthem of the Seas, another Royal Caribbean International ship, will be based in Southampton following its launch next spring. And Princess Cruises will bring Royal Princess – christened amid much fanfare by the Duchess of Cambridge – to these shores next spring for a series of trips round the British Isles.

Royal Princess broke new ground with its top-deck SeaWalk, a glass-bottomed walkway that arches around the side of the ship 128ft above the water. This year’s launches have included NCL’s Norwegian Getaway, which offers a pair of free-fall racing slides and a ropes course. It also has the first ice bar at sea and more dining options than you can shake a fork at.

“It’s no longer enough to be offering something as good as you get on land – it’s got to be better,” says Andy Yuell, the director of SMC Design, the company behind a number of NCL ships.

River ships are also in the vanguard. New line Emerald Waterwayslaunches this month with a pool area that converts to a “cinema” at night, and Uniworld's new SS Catherine has a whimsical, jungle-themed "lounge pool" tucked into a corner of the ship’s Bar du Leopard. Of course there are plenty for whom entertainment and gimmicks matter not. Some passengers board cruise ships to travel with an acclaimed lecturer or historian, a marine biologist of the ilk of Jean-Michel Cousteau (Paul Gauguin Cruises) or simply to explore where independent travel is difficult – Papua New Guinea or the Galápagos Islands, for example.

^{"Lounge pool" on board Uniworld's SS Catherine}

Recent additions to itineraries include Kamchatka in the Russian Far East, the White Sea and an extended route along the Ganges east of Varanasi. Some of the world’s topography – the sinewy nooks and crannies of the Kimberley in north-west Australia, coastal Norway or Alaska – simply cries out for waterborne travel. Here we offer our pick of the latest innovative features, equipment and excursions available on board this year.

Shore bets

No longer the preserve of the wealthy or adventurous, polar travel has become increasingly popular. Once in the Arctic, visitors can camp out on the ice, go kayaking, admire the views from a hot-air balloon or take part in cultural exchanges. “Opportunities abound for cultural learning with the people of Sisimiut (Greenland), Spitsbergen (Norway) and other communities dotting the Arctic landscape,” said a spokesperson forQuark Expeditions. Quark is one of only two operators in the world that take travellers to the North Pole for a once-in-a-lifetime journey that includes helicopter flights above the Arctic Ocean.

^{Exploring Antarctica with Quark Expeditions}

Back in warmer climes, Azamara Club Cruises took a fresh approach to destination immersion with its “AzAmazing Evenings”, introduced two years ago. It now offers 38 of these exclusive events in venues including amphitheatres and gardens in Italy and the Caribbean.

Viking River Cruises offers private tours of the Hermitage in St Petersburg long after the doors have shut on the day’s tourists, whileHurtigruten passengers are the only guests permitted to visit Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim and see all 9,600 of the Steinmeyer organ’s pipes being retuned. Passengers who book with Crystal Cruises are welcomed into homes and villages on Easter Island, in the Amazon and in “Zulu country” – and on shore excursions in St Petersburg and Sochi they can travel on the ship’s visa, avoiding the expensive and time-consuming business of applying for one in person.

Aerial thrills

The world’s first aerial attraction at sea, North Star, will be launched in November on Quantum of the Seas. A single viewing pod attached to a mechanical arm will take cruise-ship passengers for a 15-minute ride 300ft up that affords 360-degree views, both at sea and in port. What’s more, unless you want to go the whole hog and book a sunset proposal or some such, it’s free.

If that doesn’t float your boat, try “flying”. RipCord by iFly simulates the experience of skydiving by suspending passengers above a wind tunnel inside a 23ft-tall glass chamber.

^{The iFly experience will feature on Quantum of the Seas}

Other adrenalin-pumping diversions include the FlowRider surf simulator and a climbing wall, while the indoor SeaPlex centre boasts a flying trapeze and the first bumper cars at sea.

The Balinese bed

How many times have you promised yourself that you’ll sleep under the stars? Sail to the Caribbean, Asia or the Mediterranean with SeaDream Yacht Club and the on-deck Balinese Dream Bed (there are 10 in total, including two twins) is yours for the night. After a dinner of, say, grilled halibut served with gingered white asparagus and caviar beurre blanc, you’ll return to pillows and duvets and stars. This is the ship on which the captain might invite passengers to join him on a mountain-bike ride in Funchal or announce over the tannoy following an impromptu anchor-drop mid-Aegean: “We’re going to delay our departure because everyone’s having such a nice time.”

Exploring the deep

Some ships carry helicopters for flights to remote waterfalls or volcanoes; others are equipped with marine platforms and scuba gear. The expedition-cruise company Lindblad goes a step further by offering a glimpse of life 500ft below the surface of the sea courtesy of one of its ROVs (remote-operated vehicles), which sends high-definition video back to the ship.

^{A glimpse beneath the surface from a Lindblad Expeditions ship}

Lindblad has recently acquired a second ROV for exploration in the Galápagos Islands. This is in addition to a full fleet of ocean-going kayaks, Zodiacs and scuba gear. Sailing to remote spots in Arctic Svalbard, the Azores and Patagonia, among others, Lindblad-National Geographic ships sail with a video chronicler on board. “We’ve noticed a growing interest in photography,” says the line's president, Sven Lindblad, “and ships also travel with a National Geographic photographer on each sailing.”

Of lawn and legend

Crystal Cruises unveiled the first living wall at sea in 2012, but the real game-changer was a thumping great park on board Oasis of the Seas. Dense with tropical foliage, trees and seasonal blooms, Central Park is an incongruous but pleasing addition to life on the ocean waves, made possible by turning a typical cruise-ship superstructure on its head by splitting the aft to create airy, open spaces. Celebrity Cruises employs full-time lawnkeepers (on its Solstice Class ships) to groom and water half an acre of real grass, on which guests can play boules, picnic or lounge about.

I can sea clearly now

Probably the most talked-about feature in 2013 was the SeaWalk, a new feature on board Princess Cruises' newest ship, Royal Princess. If you can’t face the jelly-leg-inducing walk, pull up a stool at the SeaView Bar, which also extends over the waves.

^{SeaWalk on board Royal Princess}

Cantilever mechanics don’t stop there. Guests staying in the Reflection Suite on board Celebrity Reflection have access to unrivalled views in the most talked-about shower at sea: an all-glass one that extends over the side of the ship. Decorum (in respect of passing ships) and modesty (for the user) are maintained by the use of “intelligent glass”, a material that responds to levels of sunlight and employs a one-way tint. But the prize for the most off-the-wall exhibitionist gimmick surely goes to the Rising Tide on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas: the bar is actually a lift that slowly ascends through several decks as you sip your caipirinha.

Yes, chef

Jamie Oliver is the latest celebrity chef to take to the seas, with a Jamie’s Italian opening exclusively on board Royal Caribbean’s forthcoming ships, Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas.

Next year, the biggest cruise ship ever built for the British market will woo passengers with a range of top chefs when it sets sail on its maiden voyage. The culinary line-up on board P&O Cruises' 3,600-passenger ship Britannia includes Marco Pierre White (the godfather of modern cooking spends 40 days each year at sea with the line) and Atul Kochhar, the wine connoisseur Olly Smith and, new to the star-studded firmament, the master pâtissier Eric Lanlard and the television chef James Martin, who will open a Cookery Club, the first cooking school on board a British ship.

Elsewhere you’ll find Geoffrey Zakarian (Norwegian Cruise Line), Le Cirque (Holland America Line), Nobu (Crystal Cruises) and Todd English (Cunard).

Take me to the river

Around 25 river ships are due for completion this year; 18 of them were launched last month by Viking River Cruises. On board this new generation of stylish river ships you will find flat-screen televisions, iPads and butlers (Scenic), and bicycles (AmaWaterways). From them, you can join private tours of world-class galleries, evening trips to the ballet and exclusive performances in former palaces.

Viking was the first to introduce Western-style ships on the Yangtze river and to design purpose-built ships to navigate the Elbe. It also introduced quieter, hybrid engines – something that most river cruisers now take for granted. In terms of ship design, it’s neck-and-neck between Viking’s sleek and graceful Longships and Scenic’s chic and contemporary Space Ships.

This year’s standout development however, is in the four-star river cruising category, where a new generation of “Star” ships is about to launch. Emerald Star will boast a heated pool covered by a retractable roof that transforms the space into a cinema. Its owner, Scenic Tours, installed the first full-sized balconies on river ships and then pioneered all-weather “balconies” by installing a floor-to-ceiling glass frontage that can be lowered to a halfway point in fine weather but enables continued use of the space when closed.

Time out

Each new vessel seems to outdo the last in the provision of wellbeing facilities (look out for the Salt Room, state-of-the-art spinning bikes and the Thermal Suite on the new Norwegian Breakaway and the mega-spa on Tui Cruises’ forthcoming Mein Schiff 3). A few cruise ships take their spas so seriously that it’s possible to eat, sleep and think “spa” on board. Celebrity Cruises’ AquaSpa is the apotheosis of this trend; other ships are offering spa suites.

Launched last May, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ Europa 2 houses 16 dedicated Spa Suites, each featuring a generous 108 sq ft veranda, a daylight-filled hydrotherapy shower with integrated steam sauna and – the pièce de résistance – a whirlpool tub with sea views. Consider, too, the Haven Suites on Norwegian’s Getaway and Breakaway ships, or the spa suites on board Seabourn Sojourn, Odyssey and Quest, where guests access the cabins via a spiral staircase in the lobby of the spa.

Follow us on Twitter: @TraveloreReport

Contributed by Teresa Machan, The Daily Telegraph.

Stay Connected And Save Money While Cruising

Contributed by Stewart Chiron

Cruising is one of the greatest and best value vacation options available in the world today. You can go almost anywhere at a fraction of what it used to cost. Big ships are bringing millions of people closer together.

I remember being in New York for a TV news interview and I was going to be talking about Royal Caribbean's upcoming Freedom of the Seas, which at the time, was going to be become the world's largest cruise ship. Just before leaving my hotel for the TV studio, Royal Caribbean one-upped themselves when they announced Project Genesis which evolved into Oasis Class. Ship size when from 154,000 tons to 225,000 tons.

My initial thoughts were they should have called it Project Exodus instead of Genesis. Moving almost 10,000 people at a time was more reminiscent of an exodus. Many people enjoy cruising because of the concept of "getting away from it all." Royal Caribbean came up with a way to take everyone with you. Staying connected has become more important than ever before.

Besides shore excursions, shipboard purchases and gambling losses, communication expenses can really put a dent in any budget. In the old days, the telegraph and Pony Express were the most cost effective ways to communicate. Today, passengers can bring their cell phones, but the costs can easily mount up. Telling your kids to go play on the internet can easily cost you $45 per hour.

Keep in-mind, cruise ships are using satellite technology not extra log extension cords nor super high powered microwave towers.

When a cruise ship is about 12 miles off-shore, the ship's cell tower kicks in and the fun begins. Check your phone's display as it should read "Cellular at Sea." The good news, your cell phone will cost much less than the ship's in-cabin satellite phone which can cost up to $20 per minute. If you have AT&T, Verizon or Sprint, you'll pay $2.49 per minute while the extremely special customers with T-Mobile are gouged at $6 per minute.

AT&T's WMS subsidiary, which supplies most cruise ship cell towers, just launched new cruise ship calling packages with Royal Caribbean Cruises LTD and its three cruise lines,Royal Caribbean International, Azamara Club Cruises and most Celebrity Cruises' ships. Hopefully, more cruise lines will get with the program! Hint, hint...

The new packages just launched encourage passengers to stay connected while out-at-sea. Bring and use all of the latest gadgets like laptops, cellular connected tablets like Samsung's Note 10, Apple iPads and smartphones on-board your cruise ship to communicate. I recently upgraded to Samsung's Galaxy S4 and took it for a test drive on cruises in Europe and the Caribbean. Like Samsung's commercial says, "It's the next big thing." It's super wifi capabilities, quad band processor, amazing, upgraded camera captures many captivating pictures and videos.

It's fun to immediately share experiences with family and friends back home as the excitement unfolds but it can be expensive which is why this new AT&T packages are worth checking into. Go ahead and talk, text and use data knowing exactly how much it's going to cost in advance. I enjoy sharing my photos while traveling on Twitter @CruiseGuy.

New AT&T packages:

$30 package includes 50 minutes of talk time. ($.60 per minute, $1 after)
$60 package includes 50 minutes of talk, 100 text messages
$120 package includes 50 minutes of talk, 100 text messages & 100 MB data

Keep in-mind, this discount program is currently ONLY for AT&T customers sailing on Royal Caribbean, Azamara Club Cruises and most Celebrity Cruises' ships for now.

Some of the best deals on using your wifi enabled devices including cell phones when cruising or travelling internationally can be found ashore. AT&T and Verizon, for example, offer generous international data roaming plans. AT&T's lead-in program starts at $30 for 120 MB of data while Verizon offers $25 for 100 MB. Sprint, well, you may want to switch to AT&T, starts at $40 for a meager 40 MB. T-Mobile is $15 per MB. Comparing at 100 MB, T-Mobile will cost you $1500. It's clear that Sprint and T-Mobile's customers don't travel much internationally by their archaic, unrealistic, 20th Century, non-competitive pricing plans.

Accessing the internet from your cell phone while ashore can save you a lot of money when cruising or travelling internationally. (Not with Sprint or T-Mobile. Leave those phones at home, in your cabin's safe or switch to AT&T.) Let's say you took a fabulous photo at Rome's Colosseum, glaciers or whales in Alaska and wanted to share with family, friends, Twitter and FaceBook. You can upload the pictures right there as well as stay current on your emails and not miss a beat.

I know every article includes swapping out SIM cards that you can buy internationally. I'm going in a different direction as I like to use my phone, number, etc. My advice is to give Google Voice a try. Signing up and getting a Google Voice phone number in any US area code is FREE. Forward your cell, home and yes, even office, if you want, to your Google Voice number. If you don't want to pay for all those "unimportant" phone calls, set preferences to ring right to voice mail. In a few minutes you'll receive an email with the voicemail transcribed (not 100% accurate, but pretty good) along with a link to listen to the message if necessary.

Think of all the calls and voicemails you won't be dinged for while travelling internationally. How many times do you see people on their phones telling their friends who called to say hi that they're out of the country and just got hit for around $2 per minute? This is a smart way to control your phone and costs and eliminate receipt of unwanted or unnecessary phone calls.

If you plan on making a lot of local calls while travelling internationally, bring along one of your old non-data phones that you can stick an international SIM card into that you can purchase anywhere.

Many have tried to use Skype to make phone calls. It works, sometimes. But, yes, most cruise ships block Skype because of the large amount of bandwidth needed. MTN Satellite Communications, the internet provider on most cruise ships, created its own App, MTN Satellite Connect @Sea, that can be downloaded for free from Google Play Store or Apple's iTunes for Android and Apple phones, which is a viable low cost option to make phone calls using wifi enabled devices while cruising. It hasn't been officially launched yet, so The Cruise Guy gave you another inside tip!

One additional option, which I've also had great success with is magicJack. The new majicJack Plus doesn't need a computer to work as they too have an App that can be downloaded free from Google Play Store or Apple's iTunes to be used on Android and Apple devices. Every call to/ from majicJack to the United States is FREE! Your only cost is data.

With proper planning, you can make a big difference at reducing your international communications bill, so plan wisely. Consider the ship and land based plans offered by AT&T. They'll save you money!