Photo Essay: Captains of the Seas

We’ve only met, over the years of cruising, one ship’s captain we didn’t like — and that's likely because he never gave us the chance to like him (“I don’t do interviews”). This is a colony of mostly men who are all personable, often funny, always accommodating and forever fascinating. These are our top ten,… Continue reading Photo Essay: Captains of the Seas

The World Of Carnival — And More

  The accepted definition of the word “carnival” — at least in North America — is as follows: “a traveling amusement show or circus.” Unless you cruise on a Carnival ship. And then, maybe it does mean “a traveling amusement show or circus” — and much more. With that in mind, here are some “more” things… Continue reading The World Of Carnival — And More

Escape For Cruising Parrotheads

Time for a confession. Maybe even an apology. I've known since Friday that Jimmy Buffett’s people had made a deal with Norwegian’s people. As someone who’s supposed to be relaying cruise news to you, I was a little slow on the uptake. It took me a couple of days to recover. You don’t even have to… Continue reading Escape For Cruising Parrotheads

Cruise Critic Editors' Best Of…Cruising

  Anybody who has been on more than a few cruises is inevitably going to be asked: “What’s your favorite…ship…destination…cruise…port…activity…restaurant…?” There are no correct answers, given that everybody’s cruising taste is different in every area. Sometimes, it’s incredible how much stock all of us put in recommendations of others, qualified or not. Cruise passengers pay… Continue reading Cruise Critic Editors' Best Of…Cruising

Frequency of lightning at sea

Friends and cruise writing colleagues of ours, Harry and Joan Shattuck of Houston, just returned from two weeks on the Nieuw Amsterdam, Holland America’s flagship. During their cruise, the ship was hit by lightning, which you would think happens about as often as planes are hit by lightning. Almost never, right? Yesterday, Cruise Fever reported… Continue reading Frequency of lightning at sea