Luxury Cruising Editorial

In 2023, 30 cruise ships from 11 different cruise lines scored a perfect 100 during surprise health inspections from the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program.

Unannounced health inspections are carried out twice each year for cruise ships that sail to and from U.S. cruise ports. Cruise lines do know when they will take place and ships must score at least an 85 to pass.

Three cruise lines had five ships score a perfect 100 this year: Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, and Norwegian Cruise Line.

Carnival Cruise Line had Carnival Celebration, Carnival Sunshine, Carnival Venezia, Carnival Conquest, and Carnival Panorama ace their health inspections.

Celebrity Cruises had Celebrity Millennium, Celebrity Edge, Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Eclipse, and Celebrity Summit all score perfect 100s.

Norwegian Pearl, Norwegian Joy, Norwegian Sky, Norwegian Bliss, and Norwegian Sun were the five NCL ships to score a 100 during the year.

Royal Caribbean, the world’s largest cruise line, had four ships that aced their health inspections. They were Allure of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas, Jewel of the Seas, and Voyager of the Seas.

Oceania Cruises, a premium cruise line from NCLH, had three of their seven ships score a 100. They were Riviera, Regatta, and their newest ship Vista.

Holland America Line’s Rotterdam and Eurodam were the two ships from the cruise line to hit the 100 mark.

Disney Cruise Line also had two of their five cruise ships ace their health inspections. They were Disney Wonder and Disney Fantasy.

Four cruise lines had one ship in their fleet score a perfect 100: MSC Cruises, Viking, Silversea Cruises, and Saga Cruises. The ships were MSC Seascape, Viking Octantis, Silver Moon, and Spirit of Discovery.

Cruise ships are scored on a 100 point scale with points deducted when there is a pattern of similar violations or one significant violation.

During the six to eight hour surprise inspections, eight areas of cruise ships are inspected. They are the medical facilities, potable water systems, swimming pools and hot tubs, galleys and dining rooms, child activity centers, hotel accommodations, ventilation systems, and common areas of the ship.

Cruise lines pay a fee for the inspections that range from $1,300 to $23,920 depending on the size of the cruise ship.

Since reports from the Vessel Sanitation Program are released a few weeks after the inspections, it is possible to see another ship or two added to the perfect 100 list for 2023.

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Two of Carnival Corporation’s cruise lines, Princess Cruises and Holland America Line, are offering early Wave Season deals that include up to 40% off cruises and other free perks.

Princess Cruises is offering up to 40% off cruises, free cabin upgrades, and 3rd and 4th guests in a cabin sail for free.

This sale includes cruises to the Caribbean, Alaska, Norwegian Fjords, Hawaii, and the Mexican Riviera. View Best Prices on Princess

“Right now, is the best time for guests to book the widest selection of Princess cruises to their choice of exciting worldwide destinations,” said Terry Thornton, Chief Commercial Officer at Princess Cruises. “The great savings available with our exclusive 2024 Princess Wave Sale, makes this the perfect time for guests to choose the Princess cruise and accommodations with the premium vacation experience unlike any other.

Holland America Line’s Wave Season deal is similar to the one from Princess but with a few changes. They are offering up to 40% off cruises, free balcony upgrades (balcony for the price of ocean view), kids sail for free, and up to $500 per stateroom in onboard spending money. View Best Prices on Holland America

To take advantage of the up to $500 in onboard credit, you must book by January 31, 2024.

“Not only is it the holiday season, but for cruising it’s Wave Season, making it the time of year when we put together our best offer with the most requested benefits and amenities,” said Beth Bodensteiner, chief commercial officer for Holland America Line. “We have some exciting new itineraries for 2024 and 2025, and guest favorites around the world continue to be prominently featured, like Alaska, Europe and the Caribbean. Our ‘Time of Your Life’ offer showcases these regions, making now the time to book.”

These two deals from each cruise line are now available and will run through the end of February 2024. They are available to residents of all 50 United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Bermuda and the District of Columbia.

Both cruise lines offer packages that include free drink packages, WiFi, gratuities and more to make your vacation more all-inclusive. The packages offer savings up to 65% off.

Villa Vie Residences, a new cruise line planning on launching in 2024, has purchased a cruise ship for their three and a half year cruise. The cruise starts at $99,999 for an inside cabin and $249,999 for a balcony stateroom. The voyage will visit 425 ports in 147 countries.

Villa Vie purchased The Braemar from Fred. Olson Cruise Lines, a 24,344 gross ton cruise ship that can hold 924 passengers. The cruise ship will receive a multimillion dollar renovation before entering service in May 2024 as Villa Vie Odyssey.

The cruise ship will turn into a residential vessel during the transformation with villas that will serve as residences. The ship was lengthened in 2009 and has eight passenger decks.

Villa Vie Residences CEO Mikael Petterson states, “The ship’s name symbolizes the company ethos of creating a community to share unforgettable moments of discovery on an extended journey, connecting people, places, and self.”

The 1,301 day cruise will sail from Southampton, England on May 15, 2024. The ship will circumnavigate the world every three and a half years, it will be a world cruise that never ends. The ship will stay in port for days at a time with the longest port stop being Singapore at 14 days.

Residences start at $99,999 for an inside villa (Monthly fees: $3,499), $149,999 for an ocean view villa (Monthly fees: $4,999), and $249,999 for a balcony villa (Monthly fees: $7,999). The monthly fees are based on double occupancy with a $1,000 discount for solo travelers.

Included in all residences are:

• Fully-furnished Living Spaces
• 24 hour Room Service
• En-suite Bathrooms with Toiletries
• Dedicated Area for Work or Study
• High-Speed Internet
• TV with Wide Selection of Digital Media
• Climate Control: Customizable Comfort
• Public Amenities: Unlimited Access
• Mini Fridge
• 24/7 Medical Support
• Housekeeping
• Laundry & Dry Cleaning
• Private Storage
• Food and Drinks

Villa Vie Odyssey will have a central business center with private offices and conference spaces. Starlink and Viasat 3 will allow for fast internet speeds on the ship.

The cruise ship will also feature an interactive and educational culinary center, as well as a pioneering golf around the world program complete with onboard golf simulator and tours and classes led by a Master PGA Professional.

If a cruise that’s over three years is too long for you, you can opt to sail segments of the cruise that range from 35 to 120 days. There will be 18 different segments to choose from.

Every three months, residents will earn one complimentary week for guests to stay onboard. For extended visits, there will be a small fee of $33 per guest, per day.

One of the things unique to the cruise line is its ‘for the residents, by the residents’ approach. As founders themselves, residents own the majority of the company’s shares and actively participate in decision making which included the naming of the cruise ship.

Travelers on the ship will be able to choose whether to own or rent their villa. Villa Vie Residences offers the opportunity to explore the world while living aboard a ship at a price comparable to traditional condominium ownership.

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For $89 per day, each resident will enjoy an all-inclusive lifestyle where rent, utilities, food, travel, and entertainment are all included.

For more information on Villa Vie Residences, you can visit their website at VilleVieResidences.com.

Do you need a passport renewed at last minute and don’t live near an in-person passport agency? This recently happened to me, and here is how I got my passport renewed in one week using a service called Rush My Passport.

As someone who travels a lot for work and pleasure, I had been dreading the time when my passport got within six months of expiration. Passport processing times for the U.S. Department of State had gotten out of control this year with a record demand for passports. Since many countries will not allow you in if there’s less than six months left on your passport, it basically becomes just a photo ID at that point. The cruise line I was taking (to The Bahamas) required a passport with at least six months left before expiration.

When I needed to get my passport renewed, processing times were 10 to 13 weeks for routine service, with expedited service at seven to nine weeks. This only includes processing times, not the time it takes to mail your passport out and for it to arrive in your mailbox. Thankfully, these processing times have come down over the past few weeks.

However, I only had a two to three week window between trips to get my passport renewed, or I’d have to cancel some work trips until I received a new one. This is when I came across a website called Rush My Passport.

If you have last-minute travel, you can get an expedited passport at an agency, if you can get an appointment. Since I don’t live anywhere near an agency, I had to weigh the costs of using Rush My Passport vs traveling to an agency. I’ll have more on that later.

Rush My Passport offers passport renewals in three to five days using their Emergency Service, but it comes at a cost. They charge $799 for Emergency Service and $499 for Priority Service (10 business days). This is on top of the government fee of $209.53.

I started to fill out the form for Emergency Service but stopped and questioned whether it was worth an extra $800 and if it was really legit. I mean, passports were taking two months to renew using expedited service and they were telling me they could get it to me in a week.

They sent me the following email right away with a discount code for 10% off to finish the application.

“It looks like you tried to place an order for an expedited passport. Our records show that your order is currently incomplete. You can resume your session by clicking here and receiving 10% off select services which will be applied at checkout.”

Since I needed my passport renewed, I finished filling out the form and saved $80 with the discount at 1:00 pm on Tuesday.

I went over to CVS and got fresh passport photos before heading home and filling out the passport renewal forms. It then tells you that you need to call in so an agent can go over everything you need to mail in. I tried to call but was never given the option to talk to an agent. I left a message twice but never heard back.

After an hour, I left a comment on Rush My Passport’s Facebook page and told them I needed to finish my application and that no one has called me back. Within five minutes, my phone was ringing with an agent who went over everything I needed to mail in (printed application, current passport, travel itinerary, photos, check for the U.S. State Department etc.).

Rush My Passport sent me an overnight FedEx prepaid shipping label so I drove over to Office Max at 5:30 pm and dropped off my envelope.

At 9:30 am the next day, I received an update that my package had arrived in Florida at Rush My Passport’s offices and they would begin working on my passport renewal.

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A couple hours later, I received an update that my photos I had taken at CVS were not going to meet the stringent Passport Agency protocol. It said “The background of the passport photo was not white and would be rejected at the agency.”  CVS used a white screen behind me but you could barely see some the lines on it. I assume it’s from being constantly pulled down and worn over time.

Since messaging them on Facebook seemed like the quickest way to get a hold of them, I sent them a message, and right away they asked me where I had them done. I told them I had them done at CVS and the photos passed their requirements.

They said they would take a second look at the photos to double-check. After a couple minutes, they told me they would try to submit the photos and would let me know if the agency had an issue with them. They then told me they made a change on their end and they could submit the photo as is.

Exactly one week later, I received an update saying my renewed passport had been shipped out and that I would receive it the next day. Their Emergency Service stated three to five business days and it was exactly five days, even with the photo issue that delayed it a bit.

While it came with a hefty fee, I was able to get my passport renewed quickly, much faster than mailing it in to the U.S. State Department. The fee does include overnight shipping when mailing out your passport and overnight shipping back to you.

Since I paid $720 for their service, it ended up costing me around $670 (since overnight shipping was included) more than I would have paid just going to the government myself.

The closest in-person agency to me is in Chicago, a 10 hour roundtrip drive. When I started to factor in the cost of a hotel stay, parking, fuel, and two days of lost work, it made sense for me to just use Rush My Passport.

Rush My Passport does offer four different expediting options. However, I would only use them for Emergency Service and if you needed a passport at the last minute. A couple of their options don’t speed up the time you get a passport, but they do guide you through the process.

I noticed that reviews were all over the place for Rush My Passport. People either seemed to be extremely happy and rated them five stars, or complained and gave them one star. However, I noticed that those who gave them five stars are those who used the Emergency Service, and the one star reviews were mostly those who choose the options where they don’t speed up your passport.

Just incase anyone is wondering, this is not a paid review. I paid full price and Rush My Passport did not know that I was going to write about my experience using them.

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Overall, I was happy with the service I received from Rush My Passport. They can really save your trip if you need a passport in less than two weeks.