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
Alaska Family Adventures
By Felicity Long Today’s cruise lines know a thing or two about entertaining families. But if you’ve been holding off on taking the kids to Alaska for fear there won’t be as many cool things to do as there are in the Caribbean, take heart. Chances are, whether you’re calling at Juneau, Ketch
Exploring on American Empress
Modern-day exploration aboard American Empress By Steve Leland I’d had Tina Turner belting out “Proud Mary” in my head since first planning this cruise adventure through the Pacific Northwest. The closest I’d ever been to a paddlewheel steamboat was the less-than-epic 100-yard, five-minu
Cruise Exec: John Delaney, Windstar Cruises
A Day in the Life of John Delaney, President of Windstar Cruises By Fran Golden You can always count on John Delaney, president of Windstar Cruises, to know what’s going on in the world. He’s an unabashed news junkie. “I have every news app that there is on my phone and my iPad,” he says. [&
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
Dish it Up: Guy Fieri’s Rojo Onion Rings Recipe
Guy Fieri dishes it up for Carnival Cruise Line By Janice Wald Henderson The first burger I demolished from platinum blonde, spiky-haired Food Network star Guy Fieri is burned in my culinary conscious. With beefy juice dripping down my chin, the improbably named Donkey Sauce slicking my fingers, and
Just Add Land: South Florida
Venture further to one of South Florida’s road trip–worthy hotspots. By Sharon Kenny When sailing from two of the world’s busiest cruise ports — PortMiami and Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades — vacationers often choose to stick around before or after their cruise to explore these amazin
Like a Local: New Orleans
Close the guidebooks and let a local lead the way through New Orleans By Beth D’Addono It may be known as the Big Easy, a moniker inspired by its laissez-faire approach to joyful overindulgence, but New Orleans is so much more than a stroll down Bourbon Street, with its baubles and beads, honkyton
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
Special Services at Sea
Special services at sea open the world of cruising to travelers By Susan J. Young For those with physical, medical, or developmental challenges, taking a cruise vacation may seem daunting or even unattainable. And while potential special-needs cruisers must carefully assess individual medical requir
Three Ways to Experience a Viking Cruise
Three ways to experience a Viking cruise Is there anywhere this cruise line doesn’t sail? When Viking River Cruises, an industry leader in river cruising with more than 60 river ships currently sailing, launched Viking Ocean Cruises in 2013 to launch a series of 930-passenger ocean ships, it opene
Vitamin Sea: Active River Cruises
A River Runs (and Bikes and Hikes and Swims) Through It Boomers are steering river ships to more active itineraries. By Ilona Biro Baby boomers realize that the secret to successful aging isn’t doing less, it’s doing more. And lately, they’re bringing that habit of regular exercise to everythi
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
2017 Editor-in-Chief Awards
Each year, Porthole Cruise Magazine’s editor-in-chief, Bill Panoff, has a tough time picking his favorites from the cruise and travel industry. With so many amazing options that await cruisers, these awards give kudos to those who go above and beyond in terms of service, quality, and memorable
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
A Day in the Life: Orlando Ashford
A Day in the Life of Orlando Ashford, President of Holland America Line By Fran Golden Orlando Ashford is in New York City for a press conference announcing the new partnership with the long-running public television show America’s Test Kitchen that introduces shipboard cooking shows designed spec
Cruise Year’s Resolutions
Cruise Year’s Resolutions: Tips on how to keep your travel promises this year By Felicity Long Ah, the New Year’s resolution. Every year we read articles warning us to avoid making promises to ourselves that we can’t keep, and every year we do it anyway. But instead of turning this annual ritu
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
Chef Nobu Matsuhisa dishes it up for Crystal Cruises
Chef Nobu Matsuhisa dishes it up for Crystal Cruises By Janice Wald Henderson Like Cher or Madonna, Nobu is one of those people who requires only a first name to be identified nearly everywhere in the world. Yes, Chef Nobuyuki “Nobu” Matsuhisa is that famous. At his eponymous restaurants worldwi
Just Add Land: Ultimate Italy
Explore more on Italian shores during a luxury land tour By Judi Cuervo It is morning and I am in the Tuscan countryside, gazing through the French window of my room at Villa Le Maschere, a 16th-century luxury property that Caterina de’ Medici, Queen of France, once called home. A dramatic stone s
