NEW CRUISE LINE

The ships, the 68-passenger Wilderness Discoverer and 60-passenger Wilderness Adventurer, will be deployed in Alaska for InnerSea's first season there, sailing one- and two-week Inside Passage cruises. The vessels formerly sailed for the now-defunct Glacier Bay Cruiseline. 

Dan Blanchard and Tim Jacox who own American Safari Cruises are launching a new line, InnerSea Discoveries, with two refurbished expedition ships formerly part of the Glacier Bay Cruiseline, which is no longer in business. The Wilderness Discoverer carries 68 passengers and the Wilderness Adventurer holds 60. They will sail the Alaska Inside Passage. 


The new line strives to be 'eco-friendly.' All cabins are above deck and have large windows, memory foam mattresses, flat-screen TVs with DVD players and iPod docking stations. The main lounge was designed to feel like a mix between a mountain lodge and a neighborhood pub. Both ships have a sauna, exercise equipment, a resource library, a DVD library, board games and a hot tub with a view. The ships offer complimentary yoga classes on deck. 


Apparently the first season is nearly sold out, so if you're looking for a more intimate cruise experience and less of a big party with hundreds of others you better go on line and check it out.


Meanwhile, I'm packing for my own amazing Alaska Cruise aboard the Norwegian Pearl and while I wouldn't mind checking out InnerSeas I love being able to share this with 50 of my fellow travel lovers and have the opportunity to meet many new people. Hey, I'm single and the more guests on ship the more likely I am to meet my match.

SHREK MEETS GAYLORD

Gaylord Entertainment has made a deal with DreamWorks Animation to bring the studio's characters to Gaylord hotels across the country. The Gaylord Palms Hotel in Kissimmee may hold the greatest interest for our family travelers. All the DreamWorks' cartoon characters, such as "Shrek," "Kung Fu Panda" and "Madagascar," will be part of the new program to compete with theme-park hotels by offering amenities such as character breakfasts, parades, meet-and-greet sessions, poolside activities and more. So far the plan extends only to entertainment and Gaylord is not planning on redecorating their rooms to fit with the child-oriented themes such as princess-rooms. More details and pricing to be announced this summer. The debut of the characters will be Christmas-time events, which begin in November.

Since last year you could experience these characters when sailing on one of the four  Royal Caribbean ships featuring DreamWorks characters. So, if you're looking for a new family experience and your kids (or you) are a fan of Shrek here are some new options for immersing yourselves in GREEN!