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Loyalty Program: Latitudes Rewards Norwegian Cruise Line As of: 5/December/2011 Platinum 76+ Gold 48 – 75 Silver 20 – 47 Bronze 1 – 19 Special milestone gifts are provided for guests who achieve 250, 500, 700 and 1,000 points. Earn 1 point for every cruise night. Earn 1 additional point per night for reserving a Suite or in The Haven.* Earn 1 additional point per night when booking nine months or more in advance. Earn 1 additional point per night when booking a Latitudes Insider Offer. *Full fare suites booked when reservation was originally made. Does not include mini-suites

Well, 2018 is racing to a close, and it was an incredible year for the industry. Let's take a look back at some of the incredible new ships that debuted in 2018! New Ships: Every year cruise lines seem to outdo themselves with the incredible ships they debut, and 2018 was one of the most incredible! From the largest ship in the world debut to the most innovative ship of our time. The Largest: Symphony of the Seas, debuted in May of 2018 making her the fourth Oasis-class cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean International. At 228,000 GRT, 1,188 feet long, and 215.5 feet wide Symphony of the Seas is the largest passenger ship afloat. In addition to bringing back some Royal Caribbean classics such as the Royal Promenade, Central Park, and the Boardwalk (made famous by her sister, Oasis). Symphony brings some new features including Laser Tag, Playmakers Arcade and Sports Bar, and Sugar Beach. Symphony has earned the "Best new Large Cruise Ship" title by the reader choice awards! Check out the Symphony here! The Most Advanced: Celebrity Edge debuted just weeks ago stunning everyone who sails on her. EDGE is Celebrity Cruises first new ship since 2012, and it was well worth the wait. The Edge is unrecognizable as a Celebrity ship as her design both inside and out is a first for this premium cruise line. From countless new restaurants, a cantilevered elevating bar and restaurant, a 22,000 square foot spa, and new staterooms the EDGE is "A total game changer." Check out the EDGE here! The others: Norwegian Bliss: The largest Norwegian Cruise Line ship to date the Norwegian Bliss is the third in the Breakaway Plus class ships and at 168,000 is one of the largest passenger ships in the world. The Bliss features one of the only go-kart tracks at sea, outdoor laser tag, and multiple full-size water slides. Check out the Bliss here! Carnival Horizon Carnival has stepped up their game. The Carnival Horizon might not be the largest cruise ship ever built, but she is one of the best ships afloat. The Horizon is beautifully laid out, features incredible restaurants, bars, venues, staterooms and has unrivaled service. I can not wait to be back on board. Check out the Horizon here! MSC Seaview: MSC Cruises is making waves in the North American market. MSC Seaside was built specifically for North America, and the reviews are incredible. From her chic exterior design to her dazzling interiors she is allowing the North American market to be more Mediterranean! Check out the Seaview here! Nieuw Statendam: Holland America Line is bringing elegance and innovation together on their newest ship Nieuw Statendam. The largest Holland America ship to date she allows guest to enjoy the classic elegance of an ocean liner and the innovation and excitement of a modern cruise ship! Check out the Nieuw Statendam here! These are just some new ship that we saw hit the ocean this year. 2019 looks to outdo 2018 with ship hitting the ocean such as Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas, Norwegian's Encore, Carnival's Panorama and even more ships being released by MSC Cruises, Princess, and Costa Cruises! Click here to check out all the new cruise ships coming in 2019!

As of October 2, 2018, Norwegian has released the new base price of their Unlimited beverage package to USD 99.00 per person per day! The beverage package on Norwegian includes soft drinks, beers, spirits, cocktails, wines by the glass and bottled or draft beer up to and including USD 15 during your entire cruise. Bottled water is NOT included in this package. Now in addition to the USD 99.00 per person per day, a 20% gratuity surcharge will be added to your package. Norwegian offers a promotion which the beverage package is included with your cruise fare, so the price of most Norwegian cruises now reflects an almost "all-inclusive." When booking NCL guests do not have to select the beverage package as their perk, four other perks are usually offered. Other perks include free 250 minutes of internet, free third and fourth person in the cabin, free specialty dining, or free shore excursion credits. After looking at all the perks the unlimited beverage package has the most cash value. I know you are asking the question and yes your cruise is the same amount regardless if you choose the beverage package with a value of USD 1,663.00 for two people (on average for 7-night voyages) or 250 minutes of the internet with a value of USD 105.00. So the choice is yours, but I know what I would choose. What are your thoughts on this price hike? Let us know in the comments below! To get a price quote on an NCL cruise click here!

Happy Monday, cruisetacular peeps! I hope you all have been enjoying the cruising stories I've shared over the past few weeks. I'm gonna take a break from them today, but know I'll have many more in the weeks and months ahead. In fact, I just finished my blog-writing schedule last night for the duration of 2013 and it's hard to believe another year is getting ready to close on us. Whew! Time is flying, wouldn't you say? I noticed a trend on my side of town and was wondering if you all have the same thing happening where you live? I was going through my closet the other day and realized I have an overabundance of cruise ship t-shirts. Many I wear to the gym, some I use as clothing changes when doing videos for my Youtube Channel and others are archived in plastic because they're so vintage. I have Carnival Cruise Line's m/s Celebration's inaugural cruise tee, Celebrity Cruises' m/v Horizon graphic tee and even Norwegian Caribbean Line's (now Norwegian Cruise Line) s/s Norway on a tee (you can view here). Many of you may have seen these shirts in a few videos I've done, but if you do the math something doesn't quite add up... Many of you may wonder how do I own shirts of cruise ships that are older than me? How did I find them? Where did I find them? Well, the answer lies in a hidden gem in my neighborhood - my local thrift store. Seriously, I find so many cool cruise momentous in there! It came as a suggestion from a friend of mine one day and ever since, I've been going there looking for cruise tees and sporting them like no tomorrow. Do you shop at thrift stores? I know many people "look down" on 'em, but they are truly loaded with treasures many others have trashed (you know how the saying goes). Feel free to share what you've found that's cruise related, in your local thrift store below. And if you've never been to one, you now have some motivation to not just look for tees, but also mugs, pins and host of other cruise collectibles (you never know what you'll find)! Keep cruising and grooving and be sure to rock your new 'thrifty cruise finds' along the way! See ya next Monday with more cruisetacular coverage!

Hey, y'all! If you read The Ocean Escape (my other blog) on Friday, then you would have seen I had a "big reveal" to make this past weekend of a cruise ship I would be on. If you followed me on the numerous social media sites I have over this past weekend, you may have noticed I broke away from Baltimore to visit, tour and have a blast on Norwegian Breakaway! It was so much and yes, she is truly all that and then some! I got to sample food from five of the specialty dining facilities onboard, as well as from the Garden Cafe (Norwegian's version of Lido). The coolest thing was walking around Ocean Blue on the Waterfront (an area of the vessel) and running right into a hot dog cart - how cool is that? I have a super funny video of some New Yorkers "shunning" me for putting ketchup on my hot dog which apparently is crime in the Empire State (they thought I was from Florida because apparently that's what people from Florida do...)? I may have even tried getting Norwegian Breakaway's Godmothers, the Rockettes, to let me do the can-can with them? Okay, that was all in my head. I also got to check out the spa, gym, water park (which is Spongebob themed for the Nick lovers), ropes course and even the ice bar! There's so much to share, and I don't have all my pictures and videos edited at this time, but they will be forthcoming - I promise! Norwegian Breakway was truly everything I thought she would be and then some. Innovative. Revolutionary. Gorgeous. Any word you can dish out to describe a ship, she's that, the bag of chips on the side and free drink to compliment the combo! Be sure to keep it locked to my Twitter Feed, Youtube Channel as well as Facebook and Instagram sites for so many pictures, videos and a cruisetacular insight about this fantastic vessel! Also, while in New York, I was able to see Aida Cruises' AIDAluna in port and got some video and pics with and of her as well! Lots of great content is on the way, so don't change the cruise channel just yet! Until we talk ship again, keep cruising and grooving!

Do you like my inflatable Norwegian Epic? I don't know why I brought it along on my last cruise, but I figured it would be great for pics like this one. So... yeah. That's the story behind the blow-up cruise ship. By the way, they're super cheap on Amazon if you want to get one! Happy Monday, y'all! Did ya survive that crazy Nemo storm? Man, did we get hammered here on the East Coast, but I'm happy to report that CM3K is alive, well and back to my old cruistacular troublesome ways. Last week I gave y'all the written recap of my cruise on Norwegian Jewel, and this week, I thought I'd show you some videos that may help you see what really goes down when I hop a ship now-a-days. From jumping in a hot tub when it was 36 degrees, to giving waiters the run-around in my favorite NCL grub stop-overs, to getting the crowd hyped again for Michael Jackson's top hits, a cruise with me never has a dull moment... and no two minutes are ever the same...ever! Oh, and I took The Ellen Show's Dance Dare to a new cruisemazing level by dancing behind people without them even knowing. Be sure to enjoy the video links below and don't hold back the laughs! Feel free to comment and tell me which videos are your faves! Dancing Behind People on A Cruise Ship (Ellen's Dance Dare) Freestyle Dining with Cruise Man 3000 "Beat It" live from Norwegian Jewel CM3K's Hot Tub Plunge @ 36 Degrees You're cruisetacular for reading, watching and following along! I promise updates will be on The Ocean Escape this weekend! Please be sure to keep the passengers and crew members aboard Carnival Triumph in your prayers as she is currently being tugged to Mobile, Alabama. May God continue to keep her, her passengers and her sailing paths safe and blessed! Until we talk ship next week, keep your cruisetacular smile beaming bright! Oh and before I forget, Happy Valentine's Day to all the lovers out there! ?

My first cruise of 2013 is nearly 72 hours away! I can smell the sea water, see the ship in my head and envision the cruisetacular adventure that awaits me this weekend aboard Norwegian Jewel! The gitty feelings and excitement seem to never leave me. Ever since my first cruise nearly a decade ago, I still get that pre-cruise rush and words can't describe the euphoria I feel at moment, but I suspect it will only become greater as Friday gets closer and closer. This will be my 29th cruise, 12th with Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) and 2nd on Norwegian Jewel and I believe this time around Norwegian Jewel will even be sweeter. I was blessed to enjoy sailing her inaugural voyage from Miami, Florida in 2005. But I feel this time around, it will be more rewarding. I'm bringing along my best friend from my college years who has never been on a cruise. What better way to break in my 2013 cruising streak than with NCL and my BFF? I think she is a little more excited than I am and you know what... that truly makes my heart leap for joy! It's such a good feeling to be able to bless someone who's never cruised before with what I'm dubbing as one of the most cruisetastic weekends ever! I already handed her the run down, "Bring your white for the NCL-famous White Hot Party; have your mouth ready to eat at some amazing restaurants; and don't be shy when it comes to dancing (because you know I'm ready to shake my groove thing)!" Y'all know I love to get my dance on when on the high seas and it's great to have a pal tag along who also shares a love for cuttin' a rug, deck and then some! So the cruise is completely sold out, but I've got a little room for you to tag along! Follow me on Twitter (@CruiseMan3000) for updates live from the ship! I can't wait to share the awesome adventures in store for us this weekend and come back with many more funny high seas stories I know y'all will join me in with many laughs! Do you still get excited about your upcoming cruises like it was the first time? Have you brought along cruising-novice friends to sail with you? Did they like it? Are they more addicted to cruising over you? What are your thoughts on sailing a ship more than once? Let's talk ship until I sail-away this weekend! For more coverage on this cruise and my previous voyages, check out my updates on The Ocean Escape by CM3K! See y'all next Monday with my post cruise recap!

Let's go back a few years when I sailed Norwegian Sun from Miami. Great ship. Amazing cruise. It was the morning I was supposed to disembark the vessel and I was a little sad. You know how after you have such a great time on a cruise, you don't want to leave? Yeah, that feeling was hovering over me like a cloud. In fact, another cruise was awaiting me that afternoon.This was the first time I decided to do a back-to-back cruise. You see, as soon as I disembarked Norwegian Sun, I was jumping in my rental car, driving north and boarding Regal Empress for a cruise to the Bahamas from Port Everglades. Very rarely do I remember my hunger pains (because I don't miss a single meal) but I vividly remember this day -- I was incredibly hungry! I got up, showered, dressed and made a b-line for the breakfast buffet. Things were going great. I got a table on the patio area, aft of the ship, had a nice a Miami breeze caressing my bald head and Mr. Sun (the real guy, not the ship) was having fun coloring me because I could sense the blackness of my skin getting darker with each minute -- but it was greatly welcomed! So I had my food there, enjoying everything from fruit to pancakes and even a piece of smoked salmon, but I still longed for something "extra." Then I remembered I got a glance of something on the buffet I have been eating ever since I was a child: cinnamon buns. Cinnamon buns are my guilty pleasure and since I was on vacation, I thought I'd indulge in one... or two. Plus, the sun was having too much fun with my skin (I thought I'd give him a break). So I got in line at the double-sided buffet, keeping my eyes on the pan that had the cinnamon buns in it. Mentally, I was already downing like two. As I got closer and closer to the pan, I realized the number of cinnamon buns started becoming less and less. I began praying, "Lord, please let me just get one. I just want one." My turn was next! Finally, I'll get to have one! And guess what? There was exactly one cinnamon bun left in the pan! So I grabbed the tongs, situated my plate and then... then... another pair of tongs comes into view. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. From out of nowhere, this older gentlemen, reached across two pans of food and placed his tongs RIGHT ON TOP OF THE ONLY CINNAMON BUN LEFT! Was this really happening? I had a decision to make: I could be the good Christian guy my mom raised me to be, or I could be the hungry Black man getting what he wanted at any cost. Well, since my mom wasn't around, and since my stomach started singing loudly, I decided to go for it. I looked at him. He looked at me, then he opened his tongs and clasped them around the cinnamon bun. I thought, "This guy CAN'T be serious, can he?" So I got my tongs and clasped it from the other direction... and began pulling it back. Next thing I know, the cinnamon bun is back in the pan and we keep pushing each other's tongs back. The people in line were laughing and I uttered, "This ain't funny! You don't know the code? Well let me break it down for you: S-T-O-P! You never come between a hungry Black man and his food! Didn't your momma teach you?" After saying that, the laughs reached new heights and I notice a crowd spectating this happening like it was the SuperBowl. Needless to say, I won the tongs battle and the man was so angry, he threw his tongs on the ground. Yeah! Who was hungry now? It wasn't me! But he should have known better not to challenge "Hungry Black Man 3000!" So I enjoyed my cinnamon bun, cleaned up my dining area and headed off the ship knowing if another person ever decides to challenge me with tongs on another cruise ship, they'll meet their match... and they better pray I'm not ravenous! So bring it! But seriously, don't you think that guy was rude? Reaching over those pans to get into the cinammon bun pan, then putting HIS tongs on [what was about to be] MY food! The nerve of some people! Good thing I did the Christian thing. Well, until next Monday's post, y'all have a cruisetacular week!

Norwegian Bliss ~ October 20, 2018 ~ Looking forward to making lots of new friends on this cruise while reconnecting with tons of old friends!