The Washington Post’s Travel Log blog has a post up about Norwegian Cruise Lines’ recent dinner dress code revamp. Once banned from evening meals, the cruise line has changed its policy to allow “nice” jeans and shorts, except in one restaurant each evening that will be reserved for folks who want to dine in a more formal atmosphere.

The change reflects the trend towards more casual dress codes aboard many cruise lines. And oftentimes, even when cruise lines request that guests dress formally for dinner, plenty of cruisers show up in t-shirts and cargo pants. While some lament the loss of the formal dinner dress tradition once synonymous with the cruising experience, there are just as many folks who prefer the dressed-down look.

For Cruisers, Denim at Dinner

Looking for last-minute late summer cruise deals to the Caribbean, Hawaii and Mexico? Check out this round-up from Market Watch:

Sail Away with Last-Minute Cruise Deals

For a some slightly morbid reason, I was intrigued by Cruise Junkie’s chart cataloging every person who has fallen off a cruise ship or ferry since 1995. According to the chart, the lines reporting the highest number of overboard-ees are Carnival (25) and Royal Caribbean International (17). Of course, those are two of the largest cruise lines.

I learned about the chart from World Hum, which, if you’re interested in this sort of thing, has a post up called ‘Man Overboard’: A Look at Cruise Ship Disappearances. Like I said, slightly morbid, but yet oh so intriguing.

Here’s an unusual cruise itinerary I ran across today: The Costa Marina ship with a 1,000 passenger capacity will set sail this winter from Mauritius (an island off Africa’s East Coast) and travel through the Indian Ocean, with stops in Madagascar, Mayotte, Kenya, the Seychelles, Jordan, Egypt and Savona. Prices for the 14-night cruise start at $1,879/person. Of course, that’s on top of the airfare you’ll have to purchase to get to and from Mauritius (not the easiest place in the world to reach). Certainly not your ordinary Caribbean cruise! You can kinda see the route in the image. Wish it was larger….

Costa Marina Mauritius Itineraries

Budget Travel’s latest issue evaluates major cruise lines and ranks them by age group, so you can determine which cruise lines, in Budget Travel’s estimation at least, will be the best for your family:

Best Cruises for Kids

For bookings made by September 15, 2007, Holland America is offering Early Advantage discounts on 2008 cruises and cruise packages. Some of the deals include:

- 7-day Caribbean cruise starting at $1049 for verandah rooms.

- 15-day Circle Hawaii cruise starting at $1,799 for an outside stateroom

- 10-day Yukon CruiseTour starting at $1,489 for an outside stateroom.

- 16-day South America cruise starting at $2,099 for an inside stateroom

Ask George: We are taking an Alaskan cruise on the Celebrity line’s Mercury ship and leaving from Vancouver. We bought the cruise online, and have some questions we thought you could advise us on. We are arriving in Vancouver a few days before the cruise and would like a suggestion about how to get from the airport to the city. How much does a taxi cost or is there an airport bus or public transit? Can you also suggest a good hotel that is near the dock we will be departing from?

Answer: I would take a taxi from the airport rather than the airport bus. A taxi will cost you no more than $35 and takes about 30 minutes. The airport bus costs $13 per person, but takes forever to get to the city and the service is poorly run: it operates every 20 minutes but if the bus is full, which it often is at peak times, you’ll have to wait another 20 minutes, and last time I took it there was no air conditioning. Adding to the misery, to reach some hotels, you need to transfer to yet another, smaller bus once you reach downtown. This is no way to begin the trip of a lifetime. As for your hotel, the Pan Pacific Vancouver is a top choice, especially since you’ll be able to walk from the hotel to where the Mercury docks through a covered passageway. By the way, the Mercury recently underwent a very pleasing renovation, and you’ll find the service, cuisine, and shore excursions on Celebrity to be first rate, so you made a good choice.

George Hobica is a travel writer living in New York City.

Do you have a question to ask George? Send us your question, and George may feature it in an upcoming column.

PlanetOut recently announced its 2007 Gay and Lesbian Travel Awards (sponsored by Travelocity). Drumroll puhlease. Here are a few of the winners:

– Destination of the year: Mexico

– Gay resort town: Provincetown

– Domestic destination: New York City

– International destination: Montreal

– Airline: American Airlines

– Cruise company: Cunard

– Hotel collection: Kimpton Hotels

– Gay resort: Island House Key West

– Tour operator**: Alyson Adventures

– Gay events: Amsterdam Gay Pride

P.S. The link above seems to be going to the 2006 awards, but hopefully they will update it soon with the latest winners….

Instead of gourmet meals, nightly entertainment and hundreds of other vacationers, some daring travelers opt for adventures aboard working freight container ships. Long days at sea, simple meals and relative solitude are part of what attracts the travelers mentioned in CNN’s Container Ships an Offbeat Cruising Option. Traveling the freighter way will run you about $100/day.

Bottled water that isn’t purchased aboard their ships, that is. Carnival Cruises announced earlier this week that it will no longer allow passengers to bring non-alcoholic beverages, including soda and water, with them on its cruises. The cruise line even says it will confiscate contraband beverages its staff finds in travelers’ luggage or rooms. Instead of quenching thirst on beverages from “the outside,” passengers may either drink tap water or buy bottled water and soda.

The cruise line says it decided to implement the new rule after passengers began bringing “excessive amounts” of non-alcoholic beverages onto the ships.

What’s next? No toothpaste and sunscreen not purchased on the ship? Sheesh.

Drop the Water Bottle!