See this at: calendarlive.com| Added on 05/28/06

By Beverly Beyette, Times Staff Writer WHILE other cruise ship passengers lounge in deck chairs, Douglas Ward is peering under his bed, running a finger along a deck to check for dirt, making a mental note at lunch that — horrors — the butter is in... See more

By Beverly Beyette, Times Staff Writer WHILE other cruise ship passengers lounge in deck chairs, Douglas Ward is peering under his bed, running a finger along a deck to check for dirt, making a mental note at lunch that — horrors — the butter is in packets, not in "proper little iced dishes." See less

Highlights: "Extras" on a seven-day cruise can easily cost a couple about $1,600, he says.

See this at: msnbc.msn.com| Added on 04/17/06

With the change of seasons come changes in cruise destinations, especially in spring and fall when cruise lines offer new itineraries in anticipation of warmer or colder weather. At these times, cruise lines move their ships from one home port to... See more

With the change of seasons come changes in cruise destinations, especially in spring and fall when cruise lines offer new itineraries in anticipation of warmer or colder weather. At these times, cruise lines move their ships from one home port to another in a strategic fleet movement that’s called “repositioning.” Of course, those ships don’t move around empty; instead, what you get is a “repositioning cruise” (or “repo cruise”) — a unique, one-way itinerary that is available only once a year. In spring, the most common repositioning itineraries are from the Caribbean to Europe or from the Caribbean to Alaska; in fall, these itineraries are reversed. Repo cruises to Alaska commonly include popular stops on the cruise line’s eastern, western, and southern Caribbean itineraries, a transit of the Panama Canal and stops along the Mexican Riviera. Silversea Cruises adds an interesting side trip to the Pacific leg, sending its Silver Shadow across the Bering Sea for a stop in Petropavlovsk,... See less