New Ship: Regal Princess

After a five-year building sabbatical, Princess Cruises conceived two sisters with the arrivals of the Royal Princess (June 2013) and the Regal Princess (May this year). The 17th and 18th ships in the Princess fleet are unlike any others, as new ships usually are, and the people at Fincantieri have made this baby "premature." It's… Continue reading New Ship: Regal Princess

New Ship: Norwegian Getaway

The first new ship of the New Year is almost ready to sail. A week from now, the Norwegian Getaway sails a 1-day mini-inaugural cruise to Southampton followed by a 2-day cruise in British waters, before heading across the ocean on its "real" inaugural to make its permanent home in North America. Launch date: January… Continue reading New Ship: Norwegian Getaway

Blankets of Gratitude All Around Cunard

One of the feel-good cruise stories in 2013 was the tale of the woman who was in trouble rowing her boat across the Atlantic Ocean. Some of us would think that's an oxymoron…because being in the middle of the ocean in a rowboat would be trouble, period. The young woman, a French-Canadian named Mylene Paquette,… Continue reading Blankets of Gratitude All Around Cunard

The storm clouds that turned into a sunny season

Every year, the experts (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, more commonly known as NOAA) make projections for the "hurricane season" — how many are anticipated, how many will graduate (?) from being just tropical storms, and how many of those will have names (that's bad). And every year, as your guardians of all things… Continue reading The storm clouds that turned into a sunny season

Monday Night Football — not the REAL Attraction

Princess Cruises is promoting the fact that passengers can now watch Monday Night Football on 11 of its ships, all of them with U.S.-based departures. Watching NFL games on a big screen on a cruise ship is nothing new.  The first time for us was a game between the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks. It… Continue reading Monday Night Football — not the REAL Attraction