Mexico Robbery the Latest Blow

The cry that you hear from people who love cruising and who love Mexico — that would be us — is this: “Somebody do something!” News on the weekend that 22 Carnival passengers were robbed, at gunpoint, while on an organized shore excursion in Puerto Vallarta, has taken violence in Mexico to another level. Until… Continue reading Mexico Robbery the Latest Blow

Getting Married the Cunard Way

If we didn’t know better, we’d say with just a drip of sarcasm that the reason it took Cunard 172 years to do weddings on their ships, it’s because they wanted to get it right. The real reason, however, is that British law prohibited weddings on British ships. When one of its stablemates, Carnival, had… Continue reading Getting Married the Cunard Way

Reasonable Review of Concordia

In the old and never-ending wake of the Costa Concordia accident, there is a new perspective that’s worth acknowledging. It comes, courtesy of a show the Discovery Channel aired this weekend. A former cruise ship captain from California, Paul Leyda, was interviewed extensively on the show. In a story that appeared in a Bay Area… Continue reading Reasonable Review of Concordia

Norwegian…Egyptian winning jingle

When you’re No. 2 — or even No. 3 or No. 4 — you try harder. Norwegian Cruise Lines has plenty of experience, competing with bigger brands, all of which are part of cruise line consortiums…Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess and so on. When you try harder, you try everything. Quality of products, quality of service.… Continue reading Norwegian…Egyptian winning jingle

American Queen — Plus a Horse Race

In another life, as a sports writer, there were five big sports events I hoped to see before moving on to another profession. One of them was the Kentucky Derby. I made it, in 1978, when Affirmed left the favorite, Alydar, a length-and-a-half behind at the finish line of the famous Run For The Roses.… Continue reading American Queen — Plus a Horse Race