“Some people have been on the Queen Mary 2 making the same crossing many times before. But I’ve got one over on even those who are grizzled veterans of the North Atlantic crossing. I have boldly gone where no one has gone before on the Starship Enterprise,” quipped the affable … Read more
We met new friends singing around the piano bar; laughed in George Lopez’s comedy club; performed karaoke; and danced at Liquid Disco. And that was just the first night of our eight-day Carnival Breeze Eastern Caribbean cruise. Once you cross the threshold, you enter the party zone! Breeze cruisers will … Read more
I have been on at least a dozen cruises and sometimes feel it’s the only way to travel. I love the feeling of closing my eyes, and when I open them, I’m in a different place. Recently one cruise in particular profoundly affected me in a variety of ways. The … Read more
The picturesque towns of the Mediterranean have long been immortalized on the silver screen since Brigitte Bardot lounged on a St. Tropez beach in And God Created Women, and Cary Grant and Grace Kelly played cat and mouse along the Cote d’Azur in To Catch a Thief. One of the … Read more
The captain had some bad news. The Grande Mariner, our cruise ship, was not going anywhere today. Docked at colorful Navy Pier in Chicago, and ready to head out on an adventure on Lake Michigan, it was stationary for the day and would remain so. The lake was apparently experiencing … Read more
A smörgåsbord is a type of Scandinavian meal with a wide variety of hot and cold dishes served buffet style. What could be better than to accompany it with a cruise on the Baltic Sea to a smörgåsbord of Scandinavian islands? We recently did just that on Celebrity Cruise’s Constellation … Read more
You won’t find Broadway shows, expansive swimming pools, or numerous theme restaurants on the yacht “Safari Quest” with Un-Cruise Adventures, but that’s just the way the passengers on this small luxury yacht like it. With cabins for just 22 passengers and crew, the yacht is the perfect size for comfort … Read more
It was like a magic carpet ride. Except that I was riding a rolling blue tapestry of three mighty waterways in Norway – the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea. Heading south along the coast from Kirkenes near the Russian border to the old Hanseatic city of … Read more
In Grand Cayman you can snorkel with stingrays; Costa Maya, in Mexico, attracts thousands of cruise passengers for kayaking and windsurfing; and in Barcelona, wine tasting and Basilica tours take center stage. These are just the tip of the iceberg (glaciers, fjords and rainforests, too) as far as the assortment … Read more
On a recent balmy night just before sunset, we set sail on Classic Harbor Line’s “Around Manhattan Architecture Tour.” Hosted by the American Association of Architects/New York chapter (AIANY), the cruise highlights the city’s iconic buildings, bridges and landmarks and helps place Manhattan in an architectural perspective but with a … Read more
Most of us know little about the prohibition era except that it took place in the twenties, bootleggers made gin in bathtubs and people went to a speakeasy to drink and party. Now that that’s all very far behind us, why the fascination with it? Well, for one thing, 2013 … Read more
I’m in Norway, a place that in summer is part of the “land of the midnight sun.” But I’m visiting in the dead of winter, embarking on an 11 day cruise headed toward the Arctic Circle. Is my timing off? Not at all. I’m on a hunt — a hunt … Read more
It was our 45th wedding anniversary and the maitre’d in the Norwegian Star’s opulent Versailles dining room was pouring us champagne. This was the most romantic of settings for our special event. I felt like I was in a dream … and the dream had come true. After toasting a … Read more
I’m in a “junk” boat navigating mystical waters where thousands of craggy outcrops rise up like humps on an enormous underwater dragon. The mounds are shrouded in mist, making the scene surreal. A floating village suddenly appears as though it rose from the depths. Dogs bark on the docks and … Read more
Perhaps you’ve seen the film or at least the overplayed cigarette lighting scene on an Oscars telecast. Bette Davis as Charlotte Vale, heiress to be from a prominent Boston family, has a tragic nervous breakdown, gets shipped off to a sanitarium, loses 50 lbs. and is handed the offer of … Read more