Curacao Mission Accomplished — Rijsttafel!

  WILLEMSTAD, Curacao — We used to meet friends regularly at an Indonesian restaurant to share a dish called “rijsttafel” until we became geographically undesirable…and the restaurant closed. Fast forward to this Caribbean island that’s closer to South America than North. With its Dutch Indonesian heritage, vowed one of us, there has to be a Curacao… Continue reading Curacao Mission Accomplished — Rijsttafel!

The Astronaut's Grand Turk home

GRAND TURK — Where else would you expect to find John Glenn but standing on a beach in the Caribbean? After all, the famous astronaut-cum-senator has put in his time and deserves to be, at 93, where the sun shines and the fresh ocean breeze makes it feel like paradise. That place is Grand Turk,… Continue reading The Astronaut's Grand Turk home

Dr. Seuss and Friends Carnival Specialty

Bookville, the first thing you see upon entering Carnival's Camp Ocean. All the Seuss books are there but don't try to remove any…a friendly alarm lets you know! Somewhere near that Hat, there's a Cat…and a place to cuddle up with a good book. That famous Cat In The Hat leads the parade down the promenade… Continue reading Dr. Seuss and Friends Carnival Specialty

Carnival Live Surprising Performers

This was Day 2 of an 8-day Carnival Freedom cruise and Jim Berra, the line's Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer, was talking about Jennifer Hudson. It's entirely possible that Jim Berra never thought his name would be linked to Jennifer Hudson's, but this was that day. The reason was Carnival Live, the concert series… Continue reading Carnival Live Surprising Performers

Baseball the Heart of Dominican Republic

  LA ROMANA, Dominican Republic — When it's your first time in (fill in the country), you never really know what to expect, do you? That's precisely how we felt about the Dominican Republic. And when you leave, as we did on the Carnival Freedom, you leave behind some things you didn't expect to see…or… Continue reading Baseball the Heart of Dominican Republic