BY ARTHUR FROMMER King Features Syndicate From Kenosha News

Although passengers on large cruise ships occasionally are stricken with the norovirus, the activity of cruising remains enormously popular among the vacationing public. And because a number of Caribbean hotels and islands have been removed from the general vacation inventory for the coming winter, the cruise industry is predicted to enjoy one of the best Caribbean winters in its history.

As you’ve undoubtedly read, the cruise lines have been able to alter their upcoming winter itineraries easily, thus stopping only at islands that were either unaffected by recent hurricanes or were easily repaired. And because those undamaged islands are already heavily booked, most cruise ships also are heavily booked.

So if you are anxious to enjoy a winter cruise in the warm Caribbean, you must act now. You must leap to your telephone; if you do not, you will discover that many Caribbean sailings are totally full and thus no longer accepting bookings. Act quickly, or you may be out of luck.

As if to balance that news with more promising Caribbean developments, the travel press has licked its chops over the news that in just two years from now, the famed Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic will be entering the Caribbean cruise business with a brand-new Virgin Voyages cruise ship.

If you have flown on the soon-to-be extinct Virgin America (which recently merged with Alaska Airways), you will have had some glimpse of how Richard Branson’s new cruise ship will be designed. It will be ultra-modern, filled with red and purple colors, and will not accept children under 18. It will be totally adult in atmosphere, with all the often-risque connotations of a totally adult enterprise.

Because of the following that Richard Branson enjoys, it already is heavily booked. People are rushing to place $500 deposits to ensure their place on a ship expected to sail in just two years. And I say all this without actually knowing the ways in which Branson’s ocean cruise ship will differ from others. But based on previous experience, what Branson does will be different, indeed.

You have been advised.

Arthur Frommer is the pioneering founder of the Frommer’s Travel Guide book series. He co-hosts the radio program, The Travel Show, with his travel correspondent daughter Pauline Frommer. Find more destinations online and read Arthur Frommer’s blog at frommers.com.

For more on this story go to: http://www.kenoshanews.com/arthur-frommer-some-predictions-about-the-coming-winter-cruise-season/article_0dbeba4d-8655-5647-a6fb-5dd745b0fdfa.html

IMAGE:Branson at the UK Drugs Policy: Taking the Lead Internationally discussion at
Chatham House in March 2015. Wikipedia