Cruise Along at Home
Monday Mantra View from the Bridge … View from the Bridge … View from the Bridge … Cruise Along at Home Let’s hear it for webcams! Aren’t we lucky to live in this age of high technology? Okay, I’m not delighted that we can be reached 24/7 but when we’re stuck at home wishing we [&helli
Cruise Ship Review: Victory I
V is for Victory Meet the small ship with big character: Victory I By Barry Vaudrin When it comes to small ship luxury cruising, there’s a new cruise line and ship for adventurers to consider: Victory Cruise Lines’ Victory I. Launched in July 2016, Victory Cruise Lines connects passengers with g
Design Time: Disney Cruise Line
Designing Disney Creative Imagineers use immersive experiences to tell a story. By Fran Golden Call it a coming of age for Disney Cruise Line. Not only does the family-centric cruise line have a fifth and sixth ship debuting (in 2021 and 2023), it now has its own high-level team of Walt Disney Imagi
Back Home Aboard QM2
A meaningful crossing aboard Queen Mary 2 By Ben Lyons The boom of Queen Mary 2’s whistle was meant as celebratory, heralding the start of a new voyage. To us, it was a mournful farewell to familiar shores. As we sailed away under grey skies from Southampton — and, more broadly, Europe — the d
Savvy Shopper: U.S. Virgin Islands
In the Bag How to be a savvy shopper when your ship calls on the U.S. Virgin Islands By Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon Shopping in “America’s Caribbean” (St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St John) definitely has its advantages, the biggest being that U.S. residents are allowed to bring back $1,600 of duty-fr
5 Fave Media-Themed Cruises
Porthole’s 5 Faves #WAKENEWS As the leading media authority on cruises and numbered lists, Porthole knows exactly how much the following media outlets 1) work tirelessly on land and 2) are gonna love partying at sea! For years, the editors of Porthole Cruise Magazine have daydreamed about char
Condo Cruising – MSC Seaside has the ultimate rooms with a view.
Monday Mantra Under construction … Under construction … Under construction … Condo Cruising MSC Seaside has the ultimate rooms with a view. There are very few cruise-related things that I have no desire to experience and I always believed a shipyard visit was one of them. I mean, yeah, it migh
Porthole Cruise News Briefs – Feb. 10, 2017
Porthole Cruise News Briefs – Feb. 10, 2017 Fashion luminary Iris Apfel will be among the style celebrities aboard Queen Mary 2 for the second annual Transatlantic Fashion Week, August 31 – September 7, 2017. The bold trendsetter with the signature round glasses will introduce a showing of a doc
5 Faves: Cruiser Friendly, Kid Approved!
Porthole’s 5 Faves Cruiser Friendly, Kid Approved! Five favorite onboard activities for children Today is Take Your Child to Work Day and mom is insisting it is not just a day off for us. So she assigned me (age 11) and my sister Jenna (age 7) to work together and write a blog about what [&hel
It Won’t Break the Bank, But…
Monday Mantra Guilty … Guilty … Guilty … It Won’t Break the Bank, But… Feeling nickel-and-dimed on board? Or are you a penny-pinching pro? If you ever doubt the goodness of mankind, eavesdrop on a conversation among cruise fans. Smuggling alcohol, swiping a towel, or sharing a beverage pac
Clothes-Optional Cruising — Uncovered
Monday Mantra The Naked Truth … The Naked Truth … The Naked Truth … Clothes-Optional Cruising — Uncovered What do you pack for a nude cruise? Not much. I’m really not comfortable writing about something that I, personally, haven’t experienced but in the case of nude cruising, I’ll make
Cough Drops and Cruise Dreams
Monday Mantra Aaaaachooo! … Aaaaaachooo! … Aaaaachooo! … Cough Drops and Cruise Dreams Here’s to good health and a good ship … and they can’t come soon enough! God, I feel awful. I’ve surrendered to the horrible head cold that’s made me miserable all week so I find myself
A Master Mixer’s Memoir
Monday Mantra Cosmo Guy … Cosmo Guy … Cosmo Guy … A Master Mixer’s Memoir A bartender who can get the cosmopolitan right has clearly been around — and is just as clearly going places. It started with a cosmopolitan, that concoction of vodka, Cointreau, cranberry and lime that few barte
Princess Cruises Offers More to Younger Cruisers
Princess Cruises Offers More to Younger Cruisers Cruise News – Jan. 12, 2017 Princess Cruises is expanding its Discovery at Sea program with new youth center designs and teen-oriented programming, including destination-themed experiences and MythBusters science activities. “As part of our Come B
Cruising into the Future
Monday Mantra Tech-yes or Tech-no?…Tech-yes or Tech-no?…Tech-yes or Tech-no?… Cruising into the Future Ready or not, here sails the Internet of Things! Last week, Carnival Corporation announced the launch of Ocean Compass, a quarter-sized gizmo designed to further elevate the cruis
“Game-Changing Guest Experience” to Launch on Princess Cruises This Year
“Game-Changing Guest Experience” to Launch on Princess Cruises This Year Cruise News – Jan. 4, 2017 Carnival Corporation has announced that it has developed the world’s first interactive guest experience platform that will bring a vacation to a highly personalized level of customized se
Resolve This! – A dozen ways to be a better cruiser in 2017.
Monday Tuesday Mantra Happy New Year! … Happy New Year! … Happy New Year! Resolve This! A dozen ways to be a better cruiser in 2017. It’s time for me to look ahead to a bright and shining new year and give some thought to what I might do to enjoy cruising even more in […]
Ship Review: Harmony of the Seas
Perfect Harmony Meet Royal Caribbean’s biggest and boldest adventure By Danielle Fear Royal Caribbean International’s newest, biggest, and fastest fleet member arrived in Southampton in May to huge crowds of adorning locals who weren’t out first thing in the morning to catch a glimpse of just
Design Time: Cruise Ship Bows
How the faces of cruise ships have evolved By Peter Knego With the passage of time, passenger ships’ bows have come in an assortment of shapes and sizes. To accommodate evolving aesthetics and technology, their form has morphed from sleek and clipper-like to vertical, raked, bulbous, and varying c
Savvy Shopper: San Juan
How to be a savvy shopper when your ship pulls into San Juan By Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon Puerto Rico’s capital is a shopper’s smorgasbord, with not only the Caribbean’s largest shopping mall (the 300-store Plaza Las Américas), but also its most luxurious at the Mall of San Juan, which has more
