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Portland Things to Do with Kids: 10Best Travel Reviews

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Portland, Oregon has been a growing city for years with many young people relocating here to start a career. These people have gone on to marry and have children and the city has continued to evolve to accommodate the needs of families. With this growth, Portland has truly become a fantastic destination for families.

Portland, Oregon was already home to one of the best zoos and best science museums in the nation, but now it is home to so many more things to do with kids.

Part of the planning for Portland’s city parks has been making sure they are kid-friendly and fun. That is why Portland has so many unique parks for kids like Director Park, a park with a  fountain for the kids to play in.

Just like the city parks, many of Portland’s community centers have been updated and remodeled within the last decade. We have included the Mt. Scott Community Center because it has been updated and has an awesome indoor pool now.

No matter what activity your kids like to do Portland is sure to not only offer that activity but likely to have multiple places that offer that activity to choose from. 

No. 10: Blue Lake Regional Park

Blue Lake Park is a large recreational park located in Fairview less than twenty minutes from downtown Portland.

There’s a small admission fee of $5 per car to enter the park. Inside the park, there’s an exciting splash pad for kids that’s open any time it’s over 70 degrees. Near the spray ground, is a sandy beach on the man-made lake, Blue Lake. A small section of the lake is marked off for swimming. This area is shallow, but only for those over the age of five. Sometimes there is a lifeguard on duty.

Also found at Blue Lake Region park is a playground, picnic tables, a Frisbee golf course, archery ranch, and a nature area.

 

Meagan’s expert tip: If you plan on visiting more than twice buy a seasonal pass. It’s good for Oxbow Park as well.

No. 9: Pips & Bounce

Central Eastside

Pips & Bounce is a ping pong bar. That’s right an entire bar dedicated to ping pong with 10 ping-pong tables and hundreds of paddles. You can reserve a table in 30-minute increments, or take your chances and just walk in. Families with kids can come in and play until 9 PM. You and your kids will have so much fun playing ping pong with each other. And do not worry about not being able to play, most people are not that good.

Pips & Bounce serves typical bar food in addition to salads, pizzas and sandwiches. They have a kid’s menu too. They have various specials running everyday including a happy hour Monday – Thursday.

 

Meagan’s expert tip: Call ahead of time to reserve a table. The last thing you want to do with kids is wait for a ping pong table to open.

Photo courtesy of Meagan Wristen

No. 8: Punch Bowl Social

Downtown

Punch Bowl Social is a decked-out bowling alley inside Pioneer Place Mall. The bowling lanes are spread out through the facility to give you a more private experience. They also have private karaoke rooms where only you and your friends will be able to hear whether or not you can sing. There are three bars spread out around the restaurant. They have pool, darts, ping pong, shuffleboard, and there are vintage arcade games like ski ball.

The restaurant is open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They have tasty options like Chicken & Waffles, Cauliflower Nachos, and the Alabama Chicken Sandwich

Happy hour is from 3 – 6 PM every day. Plus, they run seasonal specials all the time.

 

Meagan’s expert tip: Call ahead of time to reserve a bowling lane or karaoke room.

No. 7: Playdate PDX

Alphabet District

Playdate PDX is a 7,500 square foot indoor play place for children near the Pearl District in downtown Portland, Oregon. Upon entering children are greeted by a castle where once inside there are all kinds of fun including an interactive light floor where kids can play games like Dance Revolution and make musical sounds.

There are also lots of slides, including slides with bumps for extra fun. In addition to all of that fun, there is a ball room, where they can shoot small plastic balls at each other and at the punching bags. They have rings for kids to play on, tubes to roam through.

For parents, there is a cafe with adult beverages, wifi, and plenty of seating.

 

Meagan’s expert tip: Check out their website to see upcoming special events like face painting or jugglers and don’t forget to take socks.

No. 6: Washington Park

Financial District

Washington Park is next to downtown Portland and home to one of the best playgrounds in the city. This park offers residents and visitors 130 acres of lawns and gardens, with trails that connect to Forest Park and the Pittock Mansion. The park is also home to the Oregon Zoo, Hoyt Arboretum, Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial, International Rose Test Gardens, Japanese Garden, and World Forestry Center.

Additional park amenities include ball fields, lighted tennis courts, picnic areas, historical public statuary and fountains, a large and fully accessible children’s playground, and the Rose Garden Store. Public restrooms are located at the Rose garden and the playground.

 

Meagan’s expert tip: Visit the rose garden during the summer months to see the roses in full bloom.

No. 5: Oaks Park

Oaks Amusement Park is one of the oldest, continuously operating amusement parks in the country. Built in the early 1900s, Oaks Park is a collection of classic entertainment, smaller thrill rides, and an indoor roller rink.

Hidden away in Southeast Portland, the park is tucked in-between the Willamette River and the Sellwood neighborhood. Its location provides for a secluded, country feel. Surrounding the amusement park are large grassy picnic areas overlooking the river and Portland’s Southwest river shore. While the outdoor rides close during the winter months, the famous roller rink is open year-round.

Oaks Amusement Park is also home to the Multnomah County Fair held in early summer.

 

Meagan’s expert tip: Miniature golf fans will find what may be the best course in Portland.

No. 4: Director Park

Downtown

Director Park is a public piazza right in the heart of downtown Portland. This park sits on top of an underground parking garage. Here they have a large fountain feature that doubles as a splash pad for kids on hot days. Director Park offers free activities for all ages year-round like concerts, art events, trivia nights, chess, plays, cooking, and more. They have a super-sized chess game kids love to play. The parks and rec department have an office here that has board games you can check out.

It’s a great place to spend your lunch break. They have plenty of sitting with chairs and tables sprinkled throughout the piazza. There are also concrete benches to sit on. Elephants Café has a location here that serves lunch and dinner. They also sell drinks and ice cream.

 

Meagan’s expert tip: Pack a picnic and plan to hang out a few hours.

No. 3: Mt Scott Community Center & Indoor Pool

Southeast Portland

Mt. Scott Community Center & Pool is home to another one of Portland’s remarkable indoor pool facilities and it also has an indoor roller skating rink. Their pool offers an open swim time every day in addition to lessons. The pool has a lazy river, two slides, a hot tub, a zero-entry pool, and a 6 lane lap pool. Mt. Scott also has a nice size playground outside and a traversing bouldering wall inside.

The community center also offers various classes for all ages. The best part of play here is that everything they offer is extremely affordable, especially on family night.

 

Meagan’s expert tip: Visit on a family fun night when they offer even more activities for free.

Photo courtesy of Meagan Wristen

No. 2: Oregon Zoo

Financial District

Spanning 64 acres in Washington Park, the massive Oregon Zoo offers children the chance to see their favorite animals up close and is one of the largest attractions in Oregon. Here, more than 1,000 animals reside in natural, expertly designed habitats like Cascade Canyon Trail, home to black bears, bobcats, bald eagles, and river otters.

Other exciting exhibits include the Pacific Shores, which features sea otters, polar bears, and sea lions. Also, on most days they have a live bird show on the main lawn.

Kids especially love the Zoo Railway, a winding one-mile ride around the grounds’ perimeter. Kids also love seeing the elephants and the lions.

 

Meagan’s expert tip: Pack a picnic lunch and eat during the bird show.

No. 1: Oregon Museum of Science and Industry

John’s Landing

Known by the acronym OMSI, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is a favorite family day trip for locals and tourists alike. Kid’s will find a wide range of interactive exhibits that both educate and fascinate. Younger children have a whole exhibit hall geared towards hand-on exploration called The Science Playground, built for kids 6 and under.

Science labs throughout the museum encourage experimentation that deepens visitors’ understanding of life, the world, and the universe. Aspiring astronomers will love the Kendall Planetarium, the largest and most advanced planetarium in the Northwest.

The Omnimax theater has a five-story high domed-shaped screen creating an incredibly immersive Imax movie experience. Visitors also have the rare opportunity to tour a vintage Navy submarine, mored in the Willamette River directly behind the museum.

 

Meagan’s expert tip: Visit on the 1st Sunday of the month for $2 admission.



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Could a river cruise really make the ultimate girls’ holiday?

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The Grottenbahn — aka the “Dragon Express” grotto railway — in Linz, seemed the type of old-school analogue fun you only really encounter in certain corners of the world these days. Inside an old fort tower at the top of the 1,768-ft Pöstlingberg mountain to the west of the Austrian city, the train’s front was shaped like a huge dragon’s head with wings.

There was nothing “express” about it though. Three slow laps of a circular track built into a man-made cave in Edwardian times, it chuffed out dry ice and tooted into the tunnel. Meanwhile, to the sides, a dozen tiny dioramas depicted frankly nightmarish scenes of grotesque dwarfs, giant grasshoppers and weird mushrooms inspired by Grimms’ fairytales.

The surreal attraction is really designed for the under-10s. Which is why two middle-aged women laughing hysterically on board — conspicuously not accompanied by any children — really stuck out like a sore Tom Thumb on a Monday in March.

My pal Mill and I have been friends since we studied music together at university and lived in a flatshare for several years in our twenties — an experience neither of us could have predicted would come in handy for sharing a cabin on a river cruise ship a quarter of a century later.

Laura, right, with her friend, Mill, outside the Grottenbahn in Linz

We’d been intending to take a trip for years, having seen each other grow across the decades via two marriages (me) and two sons (Mill). A seven-night Danube Waltz route through central Europe on the 190-passenger Viking Egil was spot-on, taking in places we’d studied during our degree: Bruckner’s Linz, Schönberg’s Vienna, Liszt’s Budapest. A cultural holiday through four countries sliding from genteel city to city but with enough home comforts to satisfy two always-on-the-brink-of-burnout fortysomethings. The toy railway set the tone early doors. Neither of us will regret skipping Linz’s fancy Ars Electronica Center in favour of howling until even our calves hurt on a novelty train.

Our cruise had started two days before in the Bavarian city of Passau — the first of six on the river route — reached by flying to Munich and transferring 90 minutes by road. Even though the city was nicknamed the Venice of Bavaria, my expectations for it weren’t high compared with those for other big hitters on the route, including Krems an der Donau, Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest. The day was grey and misty, with sombre bells pealing on Sunday morning from the city’s 53 churches, as we stepped out in our group of 15 or so, for the first of the daily walking tours included in the fare.

Our guide Ugar Yolci — who studied law at the University of Passau and was well versed in the city’s Napoleonic and gothic history — ricocheted us around the key sights with a sense of humour. We learnt about the colour coding of shop fronts from a time when few could read: pharmacies are green, bakeries pink and breweries yellow. We wandered down a narrow lane, Höllgasse, just off the Danube to see visible tide marks on the medieval buildings from floods that subsumed the city in 2013.

Laura travelled aboard the Viking Egil, which can carry up to 190 passengers

After the floods, many moved out of the city to the countryside. “The city centre is very affordable. You can get a flat for £780 a month and there’s a young and ambitious population here,” Yolci explained. “But what I love about living in Passau is how safe it is. Last summer I left my bike unlocked for days outside the train station and nobody stole it. It was old, I was hoping somebody would.”

On board Egil we easily got into a groove. We were up for breakfast at 7ish — part buffet with some à la carte options — and off the boat for a morning walking tour. Back for most lunches then afternoons exploring, or reading and lazing on the yacht-style Aquavit terrace at the stern. Our smart cabin on deck three also had a lounge area, big sliding doors facing the balcony and enough drawers and hangers for the incalculable volumes of Zara frocks we’d brought with us. The bathroom’s underfloor heating was a welcome upgrade on our student days.

Discover our full guide to cruise holidays

In the airy restaurant, with communal tables of between six and eight, we could sit where and with whom we liked. The other passengers were mostly couples and mostly Americans, with a few Brits and Canadians in the mix and dinners made for lively conversation between Republicans and Democrats. We rotated around retired folk who worked in finance in Chicago, farmers from Wyoming and a multigen family from Illinois.

Meals like burgers and grilled salmon were always on the menu but, each evening, different local specialities peppered the selection according to the destination. There were marillenknodel (apricot dumplings) in Austria and halusky (savoury dumplings) in Slovakia. It all appeared like a really good neighbourhood bistro with regionally sourced ingredients and delicate presentations.

Evening entertainment was high quality too. At Linz a professional violin and piano duo from the Anton Bruckner Private University performed a set of Mozart and Elgar classics, while in Bratislava, local opera singers and musicians belted out Puccini to Bizet arias.

I barely felt the ship moving — at under ten years old it should be a smooth ride — but that’s important when you’re on a river that can twist and meander, especially through the Wachau valley. The most beautiful stretch was before Krems an der Donau, with sights like the baby-blue tower of Dürnstein Abbey unspooling on a perfectly sunny morning.

A trip to the baroque Göttweig Abbey is part of the itinerary

ALAMY

At Krems our first stop was Göttweig Abbey, a ten-minute coach ride south, dating from the 18th century after a fire destroyed the medieval original. We toured the magnificent baroque building with its frescoes designed to trick the eye. As this is a working monastery, we were graciously ushered from the ornate chapel at midday for prayers, leaving plenty of time to buy wines produced by the monks in the gift shop.

More great Danube cruises

Which got us in the mood for that afternoon’s excursion to the winemaker Mörwald’s (from £90pp). Erhard Mörwald and the winery’s dirndl-donning guide Trinka Stumpfer were as sparky as their wines on board our ship: Mörwald and his family supply 100,000 bottles a year to Viking. They took eight of us on a tour around the vaulted brick cellars that Erhard built by hand. Billed as a wine tasting, it felt more like an all-dayer thanks to stealth pourings of grüner veltliner and schnapps. I left with yet another bottle of the region’s zweigelt in my rucksack.

One of the misunderstandings levelled at cruises is that you can’t get under the skin of a place in a day, but I’ve never found that to be true. While I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve visited Vienna on city breaks, I’d never cruised to the Austrian capital and this trip was an opportunity to see a part of town that was new to me, accompanied by a local expert. After docking at Handelskai, in the 20th district, we joined a private ebiking tour with Lucia Zakova, who guided us out beyond the city’s boundaries and into the countryside of Lower Austria (£147pp).

“It’s too early in the season to go to Donauinsel on the new Danube,” explains Zakova, about what is one of the city’s nudist river beaches, “so we’ll take a different route.” We chugged out to Klosterneuburg, a monastery on the edge of the Vienna Woods, for a glorious three-hour round trip with the winsome moss-green Danube always to our side. The brand new bikes, more powerful on Vienna’s hills than my car, made it easy.

The cruise also includes a two-night dock in Budapest

GETTY IMAGES

A two-night stop in Budapest marked the end of the trip. This was the appeal of Viking’s west-to-east Danube route, as it finished in a city new to us both. One benefit of staying on a river ship was not having to choose between hilly Buda or flatter Pest because Egil docked slap between the two, underneath the Szechenyi chain bridge.

On the first morning we joined the group tour, for a whizz around the city via coach to the gold-frescoed joy of Matthias Church. Then Mill and I made our own musical pilgrimage, walking from the dock through the city centre, past the synagogue, to the Franz Liszt Memorial Museum, dedicated to the 19th-century composer famed for his solo piano works. The tiny, two-room museum is in Liszt’s old flat where he lived in the 1880s, on the first floor of Budapest’s former academy of music. Despite being a committed Roman Catholic, Franz was an absolute hound who never married, instead having two long-term romances. His daughter Cosima went on to marry Richard Wagner.

The best river cruises for solo travellers

Liszt’s collection of grand pianos, housed in a small space, is impressive and includes a fine walnut “composing desk” — a table with a nifty pull-out three octave piano tucked inside — built for him by his friend Ludwig Bösendorfer, a sort of 19th-century Elon Musk. Even if romantic piano works aren’t your bag, the elegant original bookcases from Liszt’s time and Thonet chairs are worth a detour (£8; lisztmuseum.hu).

Our final morning, a Saturday, brought torrential rain. From the window of our cabin we could see the tempting Gellert Thermal Baths and we made a run for it, drenched before we’ve even got in the 36C pool.

Take a relaxing dip in the beautiful Gellert Thermal Baths

SHUTTERSTOCK

Inside, the baths were more beautiful than myriad Instagram posts could ever render, with church-like vaulted ceilings, stained glass and original colourful tiles as we flitted about from pools to saunas and steam rooms. We’d both booked Aroma massages as a treat. It was the opposite of relaxing. We spent about 20 minutes being slapped about by a Hungarian woman in a room that looks like a dental surgery but it did push out lingering knots (massage £23, entrance £23; gellertbath.hu).

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While this trip served up lots of intellectually serious moments (classical music performances, Jewish history and quirky museums) it also brought what we both needed so badly: a lot of impromptu laughs at some of central Europe’s most joyously unexpected experiences.
Laura Jackson was a guest of Viking, which has seven nights’ full board from £1,695pp on a Danube Waltz itinerary, including flights, departing on November 22, 2026 (viking.com)



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I visited the ‘otherworldly’ National Trust beach tourists avoid

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The scary stories about Sandymouth didn’t stop us from exploring one of Cornwall’s best-kept secrets

I visited the suspiciously-quiet Sandymouth Bay(Image: Emily Chaplin/BirminghamLive)

There’s apparently more than 300 beaches in Cornwall. Call me a rebel, but the beach I was most excited to visit during my first ever trip to the Cornish coast was one tourists are warned to avoid. Sandymouth Bay is a National Trust-managed beach, tucked away behind winding roads and sheep-grazing hills. It’s only a 15 minute drive from Bude, which is where we were staying on our recent staycation.

Read more: I revisited the ‘old school’ Birmingham pub I’d been avoiding for years

The unspoiled stretch of rock and sand is usually quieter than Bude’s main beaches, possibly because of the notoriously-steep walk from the car park down to the sand, which puts some people off from visiting. When we arrived mid-morning, the close-to-empty car park had me slightly worried we’d been too quick to dismiss the accessibility warnings from other visitors online, but the stunningly-rugged setting convinced us to pay for parking and explore some more.

The steep steps down to the beach put some people off from visiting (Image: Emily Chaplin/BirminghamLive)

We headed down the rocky path, past the quaint stone hut that houses the beach cafe. Alternative routes veered off up grassy hills and disappeared. Not long later, we were met with a red ‘take care’ sign, warning about the steep steps down to the beach, caused by big tides and swells moving the rocks, it said, but the conditions really weren’t as bad as we’d expected. I didn’t have much difficulty getting down the steps in my sandals, put it that way, but I could see how those with limited mobility might struggle. As a landlocked Brummie deprived of salt air, it doesn’t take much more than a patch of sand, a sea view and somewhere to buy an ice cream for a beach to impress me, but this one had to be one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen. The towering cliffs were broken up by miniature waterfalls, which came trickling down into rock pools and formed spindly streams in the sand. There isn’t much beach when the tide is high, but we quickly found a quiet spot where the sand cut deeper into the cliff to set up our towels.

The beach was unusually-quiet for a sunny day in July(Image: Emily Chaplin/BirminghamLive)

The place was so peaceful, it felt otherworldly. There were no arcades, donkey rides or donut vans – it isn’t that kind of beach – just solitude and calm.

We effortlessly wiled away a few hours, reading our books, swimming in the sea (which had noticeably less seaweed in the shallows than other beaches we visited) and snoozing in the sun while listening to the waves crashing and waterfalls trickling. By lunchtime, the beach was somewhat busier, but nowhere near crowded, and the tide higher. We had to paddle our way back round to the steps. I’ve found National Trust cafes to be hit and miss in the past, but lunch at Sandymouth Cafe exceeded our expectations and the view from the outdoor seating area was spectacular.

The pasties were as good as any we tried during our trip and the food in general was reasonably-priced.

We had an ice cream and a chocolate tiffin for afters, but we could have had a sandwich, jacket potato or burger instead, or a full English had we got there earlier. There were free-to-use toilets here too.

We didn’t catch the beach at low tide, but we read that it reveals a full mile of golden sands.

Visitors can take the two-mile route to Crooklets Beach at this time of day. Sandymouth is also a hit with surfers and wildswimmers.

It felt like we’d discovered a hidden gem. What were the chances of finding a beach that stunning, free from tourist crowds on a sunny day in July?

I couldn’t help but wonder if the scary stories online about those ‘treacherous’ steps might be the work of protective locals, hoping to keep the beauty of Sandymouth to themselves.

Either way, it has to be one of Cornwall’s best kept secrets… but it might not stay that way for long.



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Your Say On Princess Packages “Try Staying On The Gold Coast For A Family For Five Nights With Food, Drinks And So On. A Cruise Is Still The Best Value Holiday”

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Cruise Passenger readers always have plenty to say about what’s going on in the Australian cruise community, and in the broader cruise community. In Your Say, Cruise Passenger looks at the issues our readers are writing to us about on our blogs, posts and newsletters. 

This week brought news that Princess raised its Princess Plus package by about 20 per cent and its Princess Premier package by about 30 per cent.

For Princess cruisers, the range of benefits were cut, and they’ll now be receiving less benefits for more money if they do opt for their Princess packages on future cruises. Full information on the changes can be found here.

The package changes certainly divided our community. Princess packages have been regarded as great value for some time. Have the new benefits changed all that?

Some Cruise Passenger readers stood up for Princess. Ken Anderson noted that Princess is “still better value than other lines”.

Matt Butterfield made the point that a Princess cruise is still coming out cheaper than many other types of holidays: “Yet it’s disappointing, but not a deal breaker to cruise Princess. Try staying on the Gold Coast for a family for 5 nights with food, drinks and so on. A cruise is still the best value holiday.”

But cruiser Warren Goodall says this move could spell the end of cruises with Princess for him and his wife.

“Disappointing changes. My wife and I are elite passengers and occasional drinkers, (usually zero alcohol beer through the day and the odd whisky at night. The old price was about right but the new prices, and the caveats recently placed on the ordering system, now make this a less than friendly package. It seems Princess is moving away from being a comfortable and pleasant cruise experience.

“Time to look at Viking cruises – smaller ships, no casino, no art auctions, tours included for every port, complimentary drinks at lunch and dinner.”

Another Cruise Passenger reader Peter Hill feels similarly, recently having made the change away from Princess.

“Surprise, Surprise, Surprise Princess continuing to nickel and dime. They treat their customers purely as consumers. “After over 25 Princess cruises we voted with our feet and money and went to another line, glad we did. Princess management needs to change. Yes they are increasing profits but at some stage their current philosophy will come back to bite them.”

Cruiser Gary Bryant piled on the sentiment: “Princess is getting as bad as the airlines with all the nickel and dime of their clientele.”

Linda Thom said more types of drinks will be counted towards the 15-drink limit for the plus beverage package, not just alcoholic drinks.

“Not happy about the tea and coffee being counted as one of your drinks. The price of coffee and tea is a big difference than the price of a cocktail. You could have 2 coffees for the price of a cocktail.”

Outside of the Cruise Passenger ecosystem, there’s been plenty more said about these packages.

One cruiser commented on the post of a popular cruise blogger: “My last couple of cruises were spoilt by the overwhelming feeling of being little more than a captive marketing opportunity. I’m currently looking at other ways to holiday. These penny pinching changes just add to the feeling of being gouged at every opportunity.”

Other cruisers mentioned they aren’t so sure if they’ll be continuing with the package.

“I always bought the Plus for the Coffee, and Water. The alcohol was just a bonus. I am going to have to start doing that math at this point. It almost forces you into buying the Premium Package now.”


Changes to Carnival’s loyalty program

Comments are still rolling in around loyalty programs. One of our readers said he would be looking at alternatives after Princess stopped homeporting in Melbourne.

“I am in Elite group on Princess and gained it after only 13 cruises. However, I am not too worried about any changes as I will no longer be sailing with them until they change their attitude to Melbourne Australia!

“Just because the Government increased the port charges, Princess stopped home porting in Melbourne, despite the fact it is us, the passengers, who finally pay the port charges by a surcharge on fares. All we can get now is Disney, and who wants to sail with a load of kids?” Michael Lucas.


Royal Caribbean’s year-round cruising

In the last few years, we have speculated about Royal Caribbean’s potential for year-round cruising. But with the announcement of their new private island Lelepa in Vanuatu, it seems like it may be closer to fruition than speculation.

One of our regular readers MH has made a good point about Royal Caribbean’s potential plans.

“RCL, like most companies, will very rarely deny anything in the future, as they have nothing to gain, but a possibility to lose if plans change. So their response is in line with that, rather than suggesting anything positive.

That said, given the cost and it being unused, it would make commercial sense to operate it year round. Doing it only part time makes it like ski slopes – much more expensive, meaning less commercially desirable – and there’s no need to ‘leave money on the table.” MH


Are cruise line bans becoming more intrusive?

Cruise line bans are increasing, with Carnival Cruise Lines accused of banning hip hop music. Are cruise lines’ rules over the top, of necessary as cruising becomes more popular and ship sizes grow? Our cruisers don’t think so.

“As an elite passenger with Princess our last cruise on the “Coral” came a close second to our world cruise on the “Oriana”. The reason being the “Coral” is a smaller ship and the majority of passengers were elderly. Courtesy at the lifts etc needed to be seen to be believed. No one pushing you out of the way to gain access to areas, no one running around corridors at all hours. Crews cannot enforce rules that have already been set down so how are they going to enforce new ones..I fear cruising will never be the same as it has been in the past.” Elaine Armstrong.

“Rules are fine, unless they’re deliberately aimed at making you pay the cruise lines inflated onboard prices. Preventing someone taking a couple of packets of potato crisps onboard, then offering them in the shop for 4 times the price is blatant gouging.” Ken Roberts


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