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

Cunard Return…Just a Few Years Later

“We are committed to Southampton as our main base, but Liverpool is our spiritual home.” Those are the words of Peter Shanks, Cunard’s President, after word leaked in the Liverpool Daily Post that the Queen Mary 2 may — that’s “may” — start sailing from Liverpool to New York on a one-off, sporadic basis. The… Continue reading Cunard Return…Just a Few Years Later

Splendor in the Seas…Maybe Not

We feel a little sorry for the Carnival Splendor. She’s not even four years old and already she’s been rejected, isolated, burned and — while it may be stretching the analogy too far — placed in the cruise ship version of a witness protection program. She came out of cruising’s womb at Fincantieri, Italy’s most… Continue reading Splendor in the Seas…Maybe Not

Anybody Ready for More Football?

Maybe it’s because a week after the Super Bowl, I’m already in football withdrawal…but after a little arm-twisting I convinced my better half (and I do mean better) that we should write about a cruise with a football theme today. It leaves New York for England on May 8, and it’s a re-positioning cruise for… Continue reading Anybody Ready for More Football?