Big Easy — No. 6 in cruising

  Next month, it will be eight years since Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans. At the time, there was some doubt if the most famous city below sea level would ever recover. Not that this makes the recovery complete by any means, but the cruise news from New Orleans is all good. More cruises, more… Continue reading Big Easy — No. 6 in cruising

Florida Space Coast 'Ecsta…tic'

Every once in a while, it’s worth re-visiting what it means to a port when a cruise line decides to use it as a home port. The latest example is Carnival, Port Canaveral and the Ecstasy. When the world’s largest cruise line — now 23 ships strong — sent the Ecstasy to Florida, it gave… Continue reading Florida Space Coast 'Ecsta…tic'

Barcelona's Cruise Ship Bonanza

For months, we’ve been hearing about how European countries are on the verge of bankruptcy…first Greece, then Ireland, Spain, Portugal and even Italy. While it’s not exactly a bailout, cruising is giving Spain a shot in the arm, at least this week. Last Saturday, eight cruise ships delivered 31,000 passengers to Barcelona. This weekend, nine… Continue reading Barcelona's Cruise Ship Bonanza

New Zealand Cruise Economy Benchmark

The first, and biggest, cruise ship to dock in the Port of Lyttelton this season arrived this week. Lyttelton? It’s in New Zealand, in the region known as Canterbury, which means there must be an archbishop there somewhere. It’s just 10 minutes from Christchurch, 35 from Kaiapoi, 44 from Rangiora. It has 3,100 people, a… Continue reading New Zealand Cruise Economy Benchmark