Big Rescue for a Smallish Ship

This is just a nice story, in a world that sometimes doesn't have enough of them… A sailboat off the coast of Croatia was in trouble. Its sails were ripped, its engines weren't working and high winds had created swells large enough that the boat was in danger of capsizing. On board were seven passengers.… Continue reading Big Rescue for a Smallish Ship

More New Ships for Norwegian

As you may (or may not) remember, we've always had something of a soft spot for Norwegian Cruise Line. Not because it's better, nor bigger, nor friendlier…just because it brought us back to cruising. We've been on five Norwegian ships, almost half the fleet, but that's about to change because five will soon no longer… Continue reading More New Ships for Norwegian

The Bizarre World of Captain Schettino

While it's possible that Costa Concordia Captain Francesco Schettino will be convicted of manslaughter over the death of 32 cruise ship passengers, it's also important to remember something about a rush to judgment. The respected news agency Reuters carried a story headlined "Italy cruise ship's captain tells survivors: I'm sorry". In the story, there is… Continue reading The Bizarre World of Captain Schettino

Gavin MacLeod, The Captain and More

Part 3: The post-Love Boat Years The TV series The Love Boat ran from 1977 to 1986. For the quarter century that has followed, both characters have continued to entertain television aficionados and cruise ship passengers alike. While there's so much more to Gavin MacLeod than Captain Stubing, they share one majorcharacteristic. If the Captain… Continue reading Gavin MacLeod, The Captain and More

Gavin MacLeod…aka Captain Stubing

Part 2: The Love Boat Years On the way to being captain of The Love Boat (in real life, the Pacific Princess), Gavin MacLeod was flown to Mexico for his first rendezvous with the ship. "They said we'd take my bags to the elevator," he remembers. "I  said: 'Elevator?' I didn't even know there was… Continue reading Gavin MacLeod…aka Captain Stubing