Sun King Cruises

26/11/2022

Dammit, Tequila! You screwed us again! 😛

01/08/2022

Finally, maybe they will stop going to Nassau.

Carnival Cruise Line is building an answer to Royal Caribbean's CocoCay and its new Nassau project.

19/07/2022

The agency announced the change on Monday.

07/04/2022

Excellent idea, and the article says why

In this opinion piece, we discuss why we think cruise lines should do away with daily gratuity charges and instead, roll them into the cruise fare.

06/07/2021

So we sell Disney, and look what's coming!

14/05/2021

Disney has a new ship coming, the Wish, which has a 'Wish Tower Funnel Suite' which looks like it will cost $25,000 to book.

04/05/2021

In a unified showing of support to encourage the resumption of cruising in the U.S., Carnival Cruise Line joined members of the Federal Maritime Commission, Galveston city and port officials and local businesses at the Port of Galveston to highlight the economic impact of cruising in Galveston and t...

02/05/2021

Let's do this!!

Port Canaveral on Friday became the first U.S. port to coordinate COVID-19 vaccine distribution to cruise ship crew members.

08/04/2021

This is long overdue. There is no reason to keep the industry shut down.

Florida's governor says the Sunshine State is "fighting back" against the year-long shutdown of the cruise industry.

02/05/2020

Royal's Ranger Cookie Recipe

Royal Caribbean is always bringing you a world of different flavors and culinary adventures, from fresh pasta made daily to freshly baked sweets like our Coconut Ranger Cookie. If you’ve never tried a ranger cookie, it’s an “everything but the kitchen sink” kind of recipe—you throw in what...

23/04/2020

Guy Fieri's The Ringer Burger

06/03/2020

Carnival is offering on board credit to those that choose to stay on their sailing this spring.

04/03/2020

As sent to my travel agency from CCL. Most already know Carnival has no control over any port that denies docking, but here it is spelled out again.

Another reminder: Crew members, especially cleaning crews, wear masks and gloves all the time on the ships and always have. So expect to see them and don't freak out.

"Dear Travel Advisor,

Our highest responsibilities include the health and safety of our guests and crew. We continue to work closely with public health officials, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), to monitor, screen and implement best practices to protect the health of our guests and crew as it relates to COVID-19 (coronavirus). Our monitoring, screening and operational protocols are designed to be flexible so that we can effectively adapt to changes as they occur.

We are following industry and public health guidelines regarding embarkation restrictions. Guests meeting the following criteria will be unable to sail:

If they have been to or traveled through China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, South Korea, or a location currently subject to isolation measures by government health authorities in the last 14 days prior to embarkation. This applies to municipalities in the Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto that are under travel restrictions by the CDC.
If they have been in contact with another person suspected of having COVID-19

If your clients meet any of this criteria, please advise us as soon as possible by calling 1-800-CARNIVAL so we can discuss this matter before they travel to the terminal for embarkation.

There are also certain guests that will be subject to additional screening. Please be advised that guests who have visited or traveled through the countries below will receive medical screening including having their temperature checked prior to boarding. Guests will be required to provide travel documentation and are subject to passport verification:

If they have visited Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand or Vietnam in the 14 days prior to embarkation.
For Italy, we are asking guests and crew to confirm they have not been to any of the municipalities in the regions of Lombardy and Veneto that are under travel restrictions by the CDC.

Some destinations on your client's itinerary may restrict or deny entry to ships carrying any person with symptoms of influenza and illness even if the symptoms do not meet the criteria set by world health experts including CDC and WHO – and would therefore not even be required to be evaluated or tested for the illness in the United States or most places around the world. While we will work to minimize these incidents, we do not have control over these decisions. Carnival will comply with all required guidelines that may be implemented by individual destinations that may require itinerary changes. We will make every effort to inform you of any new local policies as soon as the information is made available to us.

In addition to our usual procedures, we have implemented the following expanded protocols:

All guests must comply with standard pre-boarding health reporting at time of check-in.
Additional pre-cruise and in-terminal screenings and questionnaires will be administered, including pre-boarding medical evaluations, as needed.

Crew members are following these same guidelines and are subject to additional screening measures prior to boarding.
Enhanced on board and terminal sanitation measures with non-toxic materials are in place, in addition to our rigorous daily cleaning regimen.

Our onboard Medical Centers are staffed to handle a wide variety of staff and crew medical situations.

Any guest or crew member who exhibits symptoms of influenza or upper respiratory infection with fever are subject to isolation.

While your clients may see a few guests wearing masks, that is their choice, and it's important for them to remember that culturally, some travelers wear masks as a routine matter. If your clients see a crew member wearing a mask, it is directly related to a task they are performing and it is an authorized piece of safety equipment."

01/02/2020

We just heard of a twenty year old local boy who was killed riding a scooter in Cozumel.
Another reminder that senior staff members on cruise ships have told us many times that they spend their days in Cozumel dealing with passengers that are severely hurt or killed on scooters. You should not use scooters in Cozumel or any other vacation destination.

18/08/2019

We just booked guests in a gorgeous IHG resort in Phuket, Thailand.
Remember to use Sun King Cruises for your IHG bookings at Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza, Candlewood Suites, Staybridge Suites, Kimpton and Indigo hotels world-wide.

15/06/2019

Due to the recent deaths of US tourists in the Dominican Republic, it is strongly recommended by Sun King Cruises to avoid all travel to this country, including disembarking a Carnival Cruise to visit for the day.

01/05/2019

Private Cozumel Boat Tour: Discover the best spots of Cozumel away from the crowds. Fantastic beaches, crystal clear water, beautiful lagoons

01/05/2019

Sun King Cruises is celebrating our 15th birthday this year. 😁

16/11/2018

We are proud to offer private boat beach excursions in Cozumel. This tour is family run. All proceeds to directly to the people that operate the boat and their families.

Private Cozumel Boat Tour: Discover the best spots of Cozumel away from the crowds. Fantastic beaches, crystal clear water, beautiful lagoons

02/11/2018

1. I nearly booked Sunshine just this morning.
2. Her sister ship VICTORY did this once when I was on board with my parents. The rear pool emptied towards us and splashed against the side windows where we were sitting. Wild! The passengers did not freak out on our sailing though.

"Glasses and plates started to fall and shatter. At this point, it was pure chaos. Screams. Cries. Panic," says one passenger

01/11/2018

Carnival Cruise Line has removed the jogging tracks from Elation and Paradise and may be removing them fleet wide.
More details when they get back to us on this fiasco.

18/10/2018

Carnival is increasing the gratuity rates for all sailings starting Dec 1, 2018 according to this schedule:

- Standard staterooms: $13.99, per person, per day
- Suites: $15.99, per person, per day

Whether the crew gets to keep this increase remains to be seen. I'll know more once I ask the crew members. (Carnival keeps some of the gratuities and/or forces crew to use them on things like flights home. Yes, Carnival makes employees pay for their own flights.)

28/08/2018

We at Little French Key have been completely devastated. After an engineered bombardment of false negative campaign against this little corner of Paradise, encouraged by the local authorities, it was subjected to an arson fire this Sunday morning, August 26, 2018. Multiple locations, many struc...

28/08/2018

Tragedy struck one of the most popular cruise destinations in the Caribbean as fire swept through Little French Key, off the coast of Roatan, in the earning morning hours of Sunday, August 26.

31/07/2018

Carnival has announced the refit of Carnival TRIUMPH into a Sunshine class vessel. The new ship will be named the Carnival Sunrise.

09/02/2018

Sun King Cruises now books the following brands of cruises, hotels, airlines, and amusement parks:

IHG Hotel Group - Holiday Inn-Staybridge-Candlewood-Crowne Plaza-Indigo-Intercontinental - Global Experts
Spirit Airlines
Disney Parks and Resorts - Global Experts
Carnival Cruise Lines - Global Experts
Princess Cruises
Norwegian Cruise Line
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line
Disney Cruise Line

08/02/2018

Register here to most assuredly NOT win a Carnival cruise, but hey, maybe.....

Carnival cruise deals and cruise packages to the most popular destinations. Find great deals and specials on Caribbean, The Bahamas, Alaska, and Mexico cruises.

11/10/2017

Caribbean Update

List of closed Caribbean ports

12/09/2017

If you're a cruise vacationer open your wallet and give a few dollars to support the rebuilding of Caribbean islands impacted by the hurricane.

31/08/2017

Teppanyaki restaurant to open on Carnival Horizon: Travel Weekly

Carnival's new ship, Horizon, a Vista class vessel, will have a hibachi restaurant.
However, I must say, unless you plan on 100% relaxing and 0% partying on your cruise, Vista class vessels are to be avoided. The ship is just not mingle-friendly due to its layout spreading people into 50 different lonely and isolated corners.

Located within the Bonsai Sushi restaurant, the Bonsai Teppanyaki will have two cooking stations with seating for eight at each.

10/06/2017

A huge thanks to the Coast Guard and crews who keep us safe! And a very good reminder to please not use flash photography during an evacuation!

Good morning everyone, how are you ?

I want to talk a little bit this morning about a group of men and women who are such an important part of your cruise experience. You may not see them, you may, as you munch on your chocolate melting cake or laugh your buttocks off at the Punchliner Comedy even them a thought. Who ma I talking
about?
The answer is ……….. The United States Coast Guard.

I always feel that they are never in the spotlight until something goes wrong and their help is needed. But when their help is needed they can and they do make such a profound difference and sometimes that difference is between life and well, you know, the other one

This past week we have had three medical emergencies across the fleet that required medical evacuations by US Coastguard helicopters.

I won’t say what ships and of course I cannot say anything about the guests illness but what I can say is a huge gargantuan thank you to the pilots and the crew of the helicopters.

They hovered over the deck of a moving cruise ship to collect the guests, to fly them to hospital and for saving the life of someone who boarded the ship a few days previously win good health, ready to have the best of times.

Back when I was a Cruise Director I have been in many of these situations where we had to call for a Coastguard evacuation and having 50 tons of fuel-heavy helicopter hovering over lido deck aft is indeed stressful for the pilots and the captain and crew and, of course, the patient.

One of the announcements I made and CD’s Like Mike Donkey and Emma Mitchum make today was “ please do not take any flash photography because the flashes can hinder the pilots and can be dangerous of course.

And I know that despite what I asked when I was on the bridge and despite what CD’s like Malcolm Williams and Dr E Dee ask, there are always going to be guests who think to themselves “Bugger that, I’m taking pictures.”

This is because every single thing that happens in the world today is photographed and videoed and of course that includes anything “unusual” on our ships. These videos and photos are then either posted on the internet or sold to the newspapers. It’s the way of today’s world..

As you can see from the photo below that when this happens so many want to go outside and see the helicopter and the rescue.
Yep, that’s normal I guess but put yourself in the place of the family and put yourself in the minds of the pilots. If the CD says “please don’t take flash photography” please listen, don’t be the one plonker who ignores it.

And remember, it’s a request that comes from a United States Coast Guard pilot and not from a young CD who a few hours ago was dressed in a green wig, dancing on the bar in the atrium.

And please, as you raise your eye phones to the sky, take a moment to think of the guest or sometimes the crew member in that basket. Think of how scared they must be and think of the families left on deck.

United States Coastguard are not just there for emergency evacuations. They are there to inspect every ship to make sure it is sea worthy and in the case of the cruise industry to inspect the crew to make sure they are practiced and able to affectingly save your life, yep, your life and their own during an emergency.

They are also part of the rule book that Carnival adheres to without question. Did you know that USCG who require that each and every crew member hold a complete medical which are kept in the ship’s medical centre?

This shows that each of the crew is medically fit to serve on board. And of course the medical evaluations are also a requirement of Carnival as well because they provide full and complete medical coverage for every crew member.

Pretty much everything is included with the exception of breast enhancement or indeed reduction. I know this for a fact because I asked and Carnival said “No, we will not pay to have your breasts reduced, John.”

So then when you cruise I hope you never see them. I hope you never need them. But let’s today take a moment to thank the United States Coastguard for always being there for those in peril on the sea

Cheers and have a brilliant day

14/02/2017

Carnival PARADISE is now stopping in Havana CUBA for an overnight stay on sailings starting this June!

13/01/2017

Carnival Cruise Line to Reposition Ships in Three Key Homeports in 2018, Providing Exciting New Vacation Choices From Galveston, Port Canaveral and Miami

Carnival pulling Breeze out of Galveston and moving her to Orlando (Yasssssss!) Magic to sail out of Miami, and the overrated Vista is moving to Galveston.

Carnival Cruise Line will reposition three of its newest and largest ships to new homeports in 2018, expanding upon the exciting variety of cruise options available from Galveston, Te…