Spokesman Harrison Liu told us that the initiative was a trial to determine whether cruise passengers are interested in "paying a little more for the option of an organically raised cut of beef."

Now, Liu has contacted us to rescind information that we received from him and duly reported. The correction? The steak in question is actually not organic after all.

Liu says that the New York strip steak being offered in the main dining rooms on these two ships is "an all natural strip steak ... it is not organic." And here's another clarification. It turns out that the New York strip is a Black Angus steak after all. We were first told "yes" and then "no" (after which we promptly posted a correction); now, we're back to "yes." Oh, and a final newsflash: the steak is also being tested in [the alternate dining room] Chops, contrary to what we were originally told. There's no additional fee to try the all natural steak in the specialty restaurant, as it's included in the regular cover charge.

Cruises are attractive because they're all-inclusive, which once meant that all was included. Not anymore! Cruises are quickly devolving into luxury airlines, a slower, more expensive, way to get nickel and dimed as you try to get away from it all.

As always, the surcharges are entirely your fault. Cruise lines complain that you gluttonous cruisers are demanding more choices. Your steak needs to be natural, or organic, or whatever—you don't care as long as it's more expensive than the "variety meats" the rest of the floating swines are feasting on. Or, as we still can't believe a Celebrity Cruises VP once said: "When people go on vacation, they want to spend money."

Royal Mis-Steak: $14.95 Entree Not Organic After All [Cruise Critic via Tripso]
PREVIOUSLY: The Future Of Cruising: Botox And Data Mining

Leslie cc'd us on her letter to Carnival:

This letter is in reference to booking number 6K80R9. My name is Leslie. My husband, Stacey, and I have been trying to sail with Carnival for close to 3 years now. On our first attempt in October 2005, our port was obliterated by Hurricane Katrina. On our second attempt in September 2006, I had an emergent medical condition upon arriving to the airport related to my complicated pregnancy, thus I was unable to board the plane. I am very happy to say I did give birth in March 2007, and with a recent newborn, we have been unable to attempt to cruise until this year. We have been given the opportunity to take a space available cruise until September 2008.

My husband and I have tried on 2 separate occasions to sail according to the space available rules. Unfortunately on both occasions, Carnival was unable to confirm our cabins. We were previously informed that we would know, 2 weeks at the latest, prior to the sailing whether or not we will be confirmed. On both occasions (in February and June), they were unable to tell us "yes or no" until about 3 days before the sailing, making it EXTREMELY difficult and stressful for us. On both occasions, the answer was "no".

Here is my difficulty with attempting to cruise with this restriction. My husband and I are both hard working, full time employees. We now have a 16 month old child. We also live in the Midwest (Chicago, IL), where we are in no way close to any ports. We originally chose Carnival because it was highly recommended by friends and family and also due to the fact that it was very affordable for us. Of course we did not know we would not be able to make the departure based on my medical status at the time of our initial cruise. Unfortunately for us, we do not have the liberty of taking vacation at a 1-2 week or less notice. Our jobs require us to give ample notice prior to vacationing. This also entails finding childcare for our daughter, finding flights and possible hotels close to port the night prior to sailing. I don't know if you have ever tried to make arrangements this close to vacation time, but the costs are ridiculous without a 21 day advance notice. We have no family near us; therefore a relative from out of state must also make arrangements to watch our child in Chicago. This involves a lot of planning, time and energy, all of which we cannot afford. We are not retired and do not have the luxury of leaving for vacation on a moment's notice. Also as mentioned, we must fly to any port you sail out of because we are landlocked from the ocean in the Midwest. Taking all this into consideration, the cost of making last minute travel arrangements alone will greatly exceed the cost of what he have already paid for the cruise, thus now making it unaffordable for us.

I hope that you can understand our predicament. With the restrictions set forth for the space available cruise, it does not seem likely that we would ever be able to take this cruise, especially not by September of this year. Because we work very hard and now have a family to support, we do not want to lose the money we have paid either.

I am hoping that your company can help us out with this matter. I would like to again request a refund for our fully paid trip. If this is not possible, I urge you to please consider giving us a credit of the full amount that of our cruise that does not expire. We would like to request a credit $518 (we have already been refunded the $83.16 for taxes/fees). We also paid a $25 one-way transfer fee from Port Canaveral to Orlando airport which we obviously never used ($50 total for my husband and I). If given a credit that does not expire, this will allow us to rebook a cruise with ample time, and for us to make the appropriate flight and travel arrangements, and also to arrange for time off of work and childcare issues. In short, it will allow us to appropriately PLAN for a vacation. It has really been a struggle to utilize this vacation that we have already paid for. And on both attempts, where multiple arrangements were made in hopes of you having space for us, you were unable to confirm us. I don't feel that I am asking too much, as this is money that WE have already paid for.

I do understand the policies with missing cruises. It saddened us that we were not able to make that trip back in September 2006 however, such is life, where unexpected things occur. I really hope that we shouldn't have to be penalized for it (losing all the money for our vacation) simply due to an unexpected medical condition. Please reconsider this. I have spoken to multiple supervisors and company representatives over the past several years, but it does not seem that anyone can understand our difficulties.

Please contact me with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Leslie

Three years is a long time to wait for a vacation. A usable credit that doesn't expire isn't too much to ask.

(Photo: FredoAlvarez)

Reader Austin and his fiance will be married on May 22, and their honeymoon cruise leaves May 29... without them. Holland America says that Austin (23), and his bride to be, Kelly (20) are too young to sail. Austin says he wasn't told about this restriction when he booked and paid for the cruise.

Austin writes:

I don't know if you can answer or can help in anyway, but I'm desperate.

I booked a 20 day Mediterranean Cruise with Holland America back in February for my Honeymoon. My wedding is May 22 and the ship leaves May 29. I am 23 and my new bride to be is 20. I have paid for everything already, the airlines, hotel in Rome, and cruise.

However, they have just informed me that they are not going to let us sail because Kelly, my wife, is too young. We are 2 weeks away from our wedding!!! They didn't inform me of this before, nor do they say anything on their website. Because I am not over 25, they are denying us. On other websites, age requirements are waived for married couples if they are both over 18 and can show proof of marriage.

What should I do???

Well, Austin. We contacted Holland America for a comment on your situation but our requests for information were ignored.

We then took a look at their policy on passengers under 21 (which is on their website, but it's buried):

Guests under 21 years of age must be accompanied by a parent, guardian or chaperone who is at least 25 years old; one adult chaperone is required for every five people under the age of 21.

It seems that, unlike other cruise lines, they do not make an exception for young married couples. This is something they really should have told you when you booked the cruise.

We then took a look at their cancellation policy and have some more bad news, unless you paid for a "Cancellation Protection Plan" you may be in trouble. Holland America's website doesn't disclose how large the cancellation fee will be, but they do say: " Cancellation fees apply regardless of the reason for cancellation, including medical and family matters. "

We're not travel experts, so we're going to toss this one out to the crowd. Anyone know how to get Holland America to make an exception? Anyone want to be Austin and Kelly's chaperone?

(Photo: Todd Stewart )

UPDATE: It seems Austin and Kelly have a heroic travel agent:

WE ARE GOING ON OUR CRUISE!!!!!

My travel agent drove over to tell me the news, because she was so excited and couldn’t do it over the phone. She had got a call from her HAL rep at 8AM, 6AM Seattle time, who had been pushing this case with Holland America.

The HAL rep’s name was Alicia and I want to give a big thanks to her for really sticking it out for us. I know she had to reopen our case and go above and beyond to find someone who would listen. She said she got a call at 1AM from her director who was told that we would be allowed to board. I am so excited!!!

I can’t thank all of you enough, who kept posting all day yesterday and last night. There was so little hope because HAL had faxed over our cancellation notice yesterday afternoon and were only going to refund $400. But you guys kept talking and spurring debate on this arbitrary age requirement rule of being 25. I know they were listening to all of us, even if they didn’t say so.

If we had gotten no response by this afternoon, I had planned to start using all of your great ideas out there. I’m just so happy it didn’t have to make it to that stage. I’ve been on three HAL cruises with my family and always considered there service the best. That is why I selected them for my honeymoon. I’m so glad they didn’t let me down.

Alicia said it had made her day being able to come in to work early and make that call. It is her birthday too, so an extra Happy Birthday to you and a big thanks from us Alicia. Enjoy the flowers!

And thanks again everyone for your support, ideas, and help in this matter!!!

(Thanks, jamesdenver!)

Last Monday night, the Cortes family boarded the Majesty of the Seas for what was supposed to be a lavish, 5-night cruise. On Tuesday, the Cortes' 7-month-old Zoie, started getting ill and the ship's doctor was dispatched. With symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea, little Zoie was diagnosed with dehydration and the doctor said she needed immediate treatment, but off the ship. According to the family, a security guard gave them 10 minutes to pack their bags and leave the ship. "I asked if my wife could get out of her pajamas and there was no time for that. We had to leave," said Luis Cortes. The Cortes' speculate that the doctor suspected Norwalk virus since Zoie exhibited symptoms similar to the virus'.

At 11pm the Cortes' rapidly disembarked into Nassau and sought treatment at a local emergency room. However, Zoie was diagnosed with a cold, not the Norwalk virus. Additionally, the family said she had seasickness. The Nassau doctor deemed Zoie fit for travel, however the cruise ship had already left. "We had to find our way to the U.S. Embassy. All of this on foot. A family of five in this town we knew nothing about," said Cortes. The expenses that ensued were to the tune of $3000 for the cost of the emergency room, emergency passports (passports are not required on Caribbean cruises but RC recommends them), and plane tickets back to Florida. Royal Caribbean responded to WFTV saying that they were concerned because the child was so young and didn't want to take chances. Royal Caribbean is giving the family free vouchers for another trip, but will not reimburse the cost of the passports and tickets "because the family didn't purchase trip insurance."

We're not impressed, Royal Caribbean. It's difficult to understand why you would have to kick a family off the boat within 10 minutes because of a case of "dehydration." And now you won't even pay for the family's trip back to Florida? We would think that the reimbursement would be a small amount compared to the money you could be losing from any passenger with a slight cough who may now be afraid to board your ships. We understand that Norwalk virus is the bane of cruise ships but your knee-jerk reaction put this family through a boat-load of unnecessary grief. What would have happened if the ship was at sea? Plank time?

Update: According to Fox News, Royal Caribbean has recanted on not reimbursing the Cortes family. Royal Caribbean says, "Despite the company's strong disagreement with the manner in which the Cortes family's situation has been recounted in the media, as a gesture of good will, Royal Caribbean is providing the Cortes family with a refund of its cruise fare and reimbursement for its flights home."

Family Says Cruise Ship Kicked Them Off Boat Because Child Was Sick [WFTV] (Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)
Royal Caribbean International Statement [Fox News]
(Photo: Getty Images)

Earlier in the month, rival Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. said it would refund close to $21 million under a similar agreement.

The AG's office says it received hundreds of complaints from consumers who were charged the fees retroactively after cruises had been booked and deposits had been made. This (silly) settlement will affect about 1.1 million bookings, says the South Florida Business Journal. The Florida AG alleges that the surcharges were not properly disclosed.

Carnival agrees to refund fuel fees [BusinessWeek]
Carnival to refund $40M in fuel fees [BizJournals]
(Photo:herkie)

"Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises are the first cruise lines to step forward and take actions to resolve this matter in their customers' best interest," Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said in a news release. "This resolution will serve as a model for the rest of the cruise line industry and I expect the other companies to take this example and follow suit." ... The Attorney General's Office said the agreements were reached after the Economic Crimes Division received several hundred complaints about the entire cruise line industry, alleging cruise lines were retroactively charging a fuel supplement charge after cruises had been booked and deposits had been made by consumers.

In addition to investigating how the charges were disclosed, the Attorney General's Office said it looked into whether the charges violated an agreement from 1997, when six cruise lines agreed to not add any fees or charges aside from the advertised fare and any government fees to keep prices easy for consumers to compare.

The new agreements allow the fuel supplement as long as the charges are disclosed in a clear and conspicuous manner in advertising and bookings.

Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises will contact consumers eligible for refunds and must report to the Attorney General's Office on the status of refunds within 30 days.

The surcharge is still in effect for North American bookings made on or after Nov. 16 for brands including Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Cruises.

The surcharge is effective on voyages departing on or after Feb. 1, 2008 and only applies to the first two guests in a stateroom, not to exceed $70 per person per sailing.

Cruise lines to refund fuel surcharges [Orlando Business Journal]
Royal Caribbean to Drop Some Surcharges [CNNMoney]
(Photo:LinksmanJD)

Last minute deals are so great because they represent revenue that would otherwise be lost to the company offering it. The cruise ship will set sail with a full complement of crew and supplies regardless of the actual passenger count and an empty cabin represents a lot of lost revenue so selling it at a discount to the rack price is something they're very much willing to do. It's why hotels and airlines sometimes have last minute fares and discounts, an empty room or seat is lost revenue.

The flip side is the risk involved in waiting. If you really want to go on a cruise, say for your honeymoon, then you probably don't want to risk waiting for a last minute deal because a last minute deal may never come. For example, we booked our honeymoon flights for Hawaii several months in advance when the deal looked good to us (it'll run a little under $700 a piece from Baltimore to Honolulu, which seemed like a good price for the time we're going); we weren't willing to see if there was going to be a fare sale a month beforehand.

So, if you have a little flexibility, consider waiting until the "last minute," roll the dice, and maybe you'll go on a vacation you never expected - say to Iceland to ride some tiny horses and fight in the snow (I had a few friends do that, they have a blast).

Anyone snagged any good deals by waiting until the last minute?

Last Minute Vacations: Risk With Rewards [Blueprint for Financial Prosperity]
(Photo:Mr. Thomas)

At one point, with passengers assembled in the ship's theater, she said, "the attorney jumped up and grabbed the microphone away from the assistant cruise director and said: 'We're taking over the stage! We have a petition!'"

There was once a time on the bounding main when a captain would not kowtow to rebels armed merely with a petition, but the world is now watching everything. News accounts in London and elsewhere were following the plight of the storm-tossed Sapphire Princess.

"There was a big shouting match with the captain," she said. "One passenger was telling everybody he was captain of a yacht back home." He stormed the bridge with Google Earth printouts, she said, and demanded to show the captain how to navigate around the storm.

As the ship approached its final port, near Beijing, a few passengers threatened to barricade themselves in their staterooms unless they got $1,000 in chits and a free cruise. Resistance collapsed when the captain noted that the police in Beijing would probably not be in the mood for negotiation, Ms. Spencer Brown said.

Modern mutiny is not about careening headfirst into storms to scoop up trinkets from exotic locales. Like any customer response, its purpose is to escalate—albeit with outlandish drama—a complaint to decision makers who can offer a solution. The would-be pirates onboard the Sapphire Pricess didn't win a free tip or a grand of casino blow, but Princess did offer $250 for onboard spending and a 50% discount on a future cruise.

Growing Rebellion on the High Seas [NYT]
(Photo: The Associated Press)

Odds are, your cruise ship will help you repair or replace the item, but even then you should document the transfer of your ring to their staff with more photos and a written receipt, says Al Anolik, a travel attorney and author.

A couple in California had this problem with their ring, and then had the bad luck to never receive a repair or refund from the cruise ship once they got home. Luckily for them, a local ABC affiliate got involved and they managed to get a refund, but if your complaint doesn't make the newsworthy-cut for your local news' consumer segment, you'll be glad you've got lots of visual proof to back up your claim.

"Consumer Rights When Shopping Overseas" [abc7news.com]

Beyond those four questions, we previously covered nine specific instances when travel insurance might be worth considering. If you decide to get insurance, shop around for the best price, and read the fine print to make sure that the situation you have in mind will be covered.

Travel: To insure or not? [L.A. Times]
(Photo: HansNYC)

Spa treatments, traditionally seen by cruise lines as cash cows, will soon expand into Dr. Zizmor's territory with services like botox and dermabrasion. Some lines may even deploy botox cruises:

Such cruises could attract top-notch doctors with whom the passengers would feel comfortable, and they could create an effective learning environment. "Teaching and evaluating individuals before getting Botox on how to make healthy lifestyle changes that really matter — that's what's most important," Barber said.

For example, the software could detect a passenger who often orders cognac in the ship's bars but hasn't bought a bottle of cognac in the duty-free shop; that passenger could then be targeted with a promotion.

Botox ... no more laugh lines at sea? [MSNBC via Peter Greenberg]

Ohio Woman Missing From Cruise Ship [Washington Post] (via Elliott)

The culprit is the Jones Act, a Federal law established in the 19th century that prevents foreign ships from transporting passengers between U.S. Ports. The Millers of Ironton, Ohio ran afoul of it after missing their cruise departing from Seattle. The cruise was going to Alaska, so they hopped a plane to Juneau, waited for the ship for two days and boarded, where they were fined $600 ($300 each) for beaching the Jones act.

Better keep abreast of your obsolete 19th century law next time you go on vacation.

Federal Law Ruins Local Couple's Cruise [WTRF]