Florida Hotel That Doesn't Live Up To Its Name

Okay, maybe it is better to arrive in your port of departure the DAY before your ship leaves. That's our mantra, but sometimes we deviate from it — all for good reason — as we did this month en route to boarding the Allure of the Seas. We paid for our deviation, big-time. Flying from… Continue reading Florida Hotel That Doesn't Live Up To Its Name

Cruising With Teenagers — What a Trip!

In the never-ending pursuit of attracting families to ships, cruise lines are always searching for ways to appease the teenagers because, really, that's where the problem lies. Anybody who doesn't think so hash't parented a teenager. We love teens, of course. What parents today have to tolerate is what our own parents tolerated: that the… Continue reading Cruising With Teenagers — What a Trip!

This Big Three In Serious Port Competition

  Mention the "Big 3" in Florida and everybody will think you mean Lebron James, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade. These days, it's not that automatic, and not just because James was making headlines with his Decision 2.0 as to where he'll be bouncing and swishing basketballs. In the cruise world, for example, the "Big 3"… Continue reading This Big Three In Serious Port Competition

Common 'perceptions' or 'misconceptions' on cruising

We have members of our family (they shall remain nameless, in the interests of harmony) who would not go on a cruise unless it was free, and even then it would likely be kicking and screaming. They have probably been influenced as much by the "common perceptions" of cruising that can be heard anywhere, but… Continue reading Common 'perceptions' or 'misconceptions' on cruising

The Haitis of Mitch Albom & Royal Caribbean

LABADEE, Haiti — One of our heroes is a man named Mitch Albom, a Detroit sportswriter-columnist-novelist-screenwriter of immense talent who for the last four years has taken a personal interest in this Caribbean island devastated by an earthquake that killed 150,000 people and left three million homeless. Albom has made it his cause to help… Continue reading The Haitis of Mitch Albom & Royal Caribbean