All-You-Can-Drink Alcohol Policy

One of the appealing things about cruising, it seems to us, is that there are really no surprises. You sail somewhere for seven days. You spend seven nights in the same bed. You eat 21 or so meals, and you pretty well know what the quality will be, give or take a pork chop. Drinks… Continue reading All-You-Can-Drink Alcohol Policy

Cruising Notes on the Boats

The Right Price………………………………………………………….$499 Ship: Royal Caribbean Voyageur of the Seas Departure: May 1, 14 nights, Transatlantic (Galveston to Barcelona) Ports: Ponta Delgada, Azores; Malaga, Spain; Cartagena, Spain Bonus: Balcony $799 Contact: Royal Caribbean * * * We’re pretty much CNN junkies, so when we awoke to the devastating news of the earthquake in Japan yesterday,… Continue reading Cruising Notes on the Boats

Youth on Board Navigator of the Seas

The first time we saw Patrik Dahlgren, he was walking beside an 11-year-old boy doing laps on the deck of the Navigator of the Seas. The boy could have been his son, because they appeared to be the right number of years apart, but he wasn't. He was a boy who had volunteered to help… Continue reading Youth on Board Navigator of the Seas

So Who's Really in the Fog in Texas?

News item: A blanket of fog kept 60 vessels from moving in or out of the Houston Ship Channel… If you haven’t heard, the vessels included cruise ships. If you haven’t heard, some passengers were livid. And if you haven’t heard, the only time fog is generated by anything or anyone but Mother Nature it’s… Continue reading So Who's Really in the Fog in Texas?

Big Week at hand for Falmouth

This won’t make headlines anywhere outside of Jamaica, but maybe it should. The cruise port of Falmouth, beset by a myriad of delays, will open this week and Voyageur of the Seas and its 3,000-plus passengers will descend on the beleaguered Jamaican town. Is Falmouth ready? It wasn’t last May, when the first cruise-ship arrival… Continue reading Big Week at hand for Falmouth