Five Faves: Passage to Paradise
Porthole‘s Five Faves Passage to Paradise The ever-popular 7-night Western Mediterranean cruise itinerary typically includes ports in Spain, France, and Italy, treating visitors to ancient cities, diverse architecture, amazing art, and historic treasures. Churches and cathedrals play an import
This Ship Will Rock – Let’s meet 60 head-on: with the best music of the 1970s.
Monday Tuesday Mantra Cruise to the Edge? YES! … Cruise to the Edge? YES … Cruise to the Edge? YES! This Ship Will Rock Let’s meet 60 head-on: with the best music of the 1970s. Summer’s arrived! I say this as I’m sitting here, sweltering in a tank top, wondering if it might be time [&helli
Five Faves: Cruising Deep
Cruising Deep Five favorite attractions that go below the ocean’s surface The ocean is what makes the cruise – without it, a cruise ship is just a big metal hotel (though admittedly one with a really good buffet). If you’ve spent any time on board looking down over the rail, or even wading int
Interrupting This Program – It’s nice to know about the daily events on board … for somebody.
Monday Mantra Get with the program … Get with the program … Get with the program … Or not … Interrupting This Program It’s nice to know about the daily events on board … for somebody. I have a confession to make. When I’m on a cruise, I never read the daily program. Ever. Most [&hellip
Five Faves: Declare Your Independence – Five reasons to love a small-ship cruise.
Declare Your Independence Five reasons to love a small-ship cruise. There you are speeding through life and you think maybe it’s time to take your foot off the accelerator and slow down a little. You may have cruised before on one of those megaships that hold 3,000 and 4,000 passengers, all rushin
A Host with the Most – A romantic rendezvous worth cruising to.
Monday Mantra Shipboard romance? … Shipboard romance? … Shipboard romance? A Host with the Most A romantic rendezvous worth cruising to. True story. I was in Barcelona in November 2013 and spent a night, pre-cruise, at the lovely Hotel Duquesa de Cardona, a boutique property located acro
Working at Sea – Is It for Me?
Monday Mantra Unqualified … Unqualified … Unqualified … Working at Sea – Is It for Me? Could you be cut out for cruising career? Could I? It was love at first sight for cruising and me. Immediately, I loved being aboard a massive ship that delivered me to exotic ports. I enjoyed the camarade
Five Faves: Every day is Cinco de Mayo!
Porthole‘s Five Faves Every day is Cinco de Mayo! When in Mexico, you can drink as the locals drink all year long. Today is Cinco de Mayo! Before we start mashing fresh a.m. avocados and salting morning-margarita rims though, let’s unpack a little fact and ficción. FACT: Cinco de Mayo is tr
Mama’s Bahamas Drama
Monday Mantra Oh pleeeease …. Oh pleeeease …. Oh pleeeease …. Mama’s Bahamas Drama When someone misses the ship, there’s always more to the story. The first thing I did on Friday morning was switch on the TV news, but not to see what’s going on in the presidential race, who’s getting P
Where am I again? – On a cruise ship, good signage is a treasure.
Monday Mantra Get Lost…Get Lost…Get Lost… Where am I again? On a cruise ship, good signage is a treasure. I believe that there’s a special place in hell reserved for cruise ship interior designers who fail to place a prominent plaque or video monitor showing the direction of all public rooms
Five Faves: High Times – Five Favorite Cruise Ports to Celebrate 4/20 (Huh Huh)
Porthole‘s Five Faves High Times Five Favorite Cruise Ports to Celebrate 4/20 (Huh Huh) 4/20. For those who don’t know the significance of this number, we’ll fill you in. It’s basically a code word in the cannabis culture that essentially implies: It’s time to smoke pot. And for those
Five Faves: Dream Destinations Quiz
Dream Destinations A quiz for imaginative cruisers All of us have an ultimate dream destination, or maybe even two – the places that have something special that set them above the ordinary. There are so many amazing places to see … and so many incredible things to look forward to doing a
So Many Ways to Cruise. – To find the perfect trip, you have to explore.
Monday Mantra Decisions…Decisions…Decisions… So Many Ways to Cruise To find the perfect trip, you have to explore. When I was about 12 years old and just learning how to cook, I went to the supermarket to buy the canned tomatoes that a recipe called for. When I got there, I found a dizzying as
Five Faves: New Cruise Ships for 2016
PortholeTV spoke with five cruise line presidents and asked what cruisers can look forward to in 2016. Hear from Christine Duffy, Carnival Cruise Line; Rick Meadows, Seabourn; Jason Montague, Oceania Cruises/Regent Seven Seas Cruises; Orlando Ashford, Holland America Line; and Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, Cel
Italy … by Land! – Sometimes to go deeper, you have to leave the sea behind.
Monday Mantra Ciao Italia! … Ciao Italia! … Ciao Italia! Italy … by Land! Sometimes to go deeper, you have to leave the sea behind. Soon, I’ll be off to Italy! And here’s the newsflash … NOT on a cruise. That’s the part that totally baffles my friends who seem to think that just becaus
Sailing On – Beloved cruisemates never really debark
Monday Mantra Oceans Apart … Oceans Apart … Oceans Apart … Sailing On Beloved cruisemates never really debark. This week marks the one-year anniversary of the death of my husband Michael. Cruising brought us together — our wedding was even aboard ship — so I shouldn’t be surprised that e
Five Faves: Cities of Chocolate
Porthole’s Five Faves Cocoa Cruising Five favorite destinations for chocolate lovers For those of us who’ve been bitten by the chocolate bug, this is serious business — even globe-spanning. From the cacao tree’s original home in South America, its seeds have spread far and wide, used in
In the Drink – What does it really take to wind up overboard?
Monday Mantra Don’t Fall for It … Don’t Fall for It … Don’t Fall for It … In the Drink What does it really take to wind up overboard? Let me make this abundantly clear: You don’t just fall off a cruise ship. Some of the stories you read in the newspaper make it sound […]
Five Faves: Carnival Fantasy Flavor Faves
Porthole’s Five Faves Carnival Fantasy Flavor Faves Five great new tastes (and familiar ones too) When the recently refurbished Carnival Fantasy came out of dry dock, a quick 2-day cruise to the Bahamas before it returned to full service was the perfect opportunity to try the new food enhancements
Monday mantra – Drink up
MONDAY MANTRA Drink up! … Drink up! … Drink up! … The human brain. Astrophysics. The U.S. Federal Tax Code. Cruise Ship Beverage Packages. These are some of the things that mystify mankind. Not too long ago, only the ships of ultra-premium cruise lines such as Silversea Crui
