How To Enjoy Getting To Europe

NAPLES, Italy — Anybody who has flown to Europe or back knows there’s no such thing as the perfect day (or two), even if you fly business class. Our trip to this southern Italian city was as good as it gets. If you leave from the West Coast, as we did, figure on being in… Continue reading How To Enjoy Getting To Europe

Norwegian Ship Hot Topic Again

  Rightly or wrongly, today we feel a need to come to the defense of a ship we love (Norwegian Epic) and a country we love (France). The Epic was built in France three years ago. Among the ship's crosses-to-bear, and there were many, was that three fires broke out during construction. Nobody came right… Continue reading Norwegian Ship Hot Topic Again

La Spezia to be Popular Cruise Port

  How do people who spend as much time as they can on cruise ships stumble of a new port? Funny you should ask. The port is La Spezia and, as you can probably tell from the sound, it's in Italy. Yes, we did stumble on what we now think is going to be a… Continue reading La Spezia to be Popular Cruise Port

Absentia Unfair to Costa Captain

One of the allegations surfacing about the captain of the Costa Concordia from its horrific accident is that he may not have been on the bridge, driving the ship. At the risk of sounding like we’re defending the captain, who is being blamed with much more than absentia, the possibility that he would not be… Continue reading Absentia Unfair to Costa Captain

Costa Crash a Wake-Up Call

When the starboard side of the Costa Concordia ripped open and listed in the waters off the coast of Italy this weekend, it was more than a wake-up call for cruise lines, captains and crews. If any of us who feel so safe and secure on cruise ships (and we do) needed a wake-up call,… Continue reading Costa Crash a Wake-Up Call