Into the Forest on Crystal Cruises
I am sailing on the 106-passenger, high-design Crystal Bach on the upper Rhine River, enjoying all the luxuries you would expect of top-end line Crystal River Cruises. Dining is extraordinary, suite accommodations are hotel-like with views and a butler who brings treats. I’m pleasantly plump and h
48 Hours In: Happy Havana
For many visitors to Havana, the city may seem frozen in time, but if you look beyond the fading facades of its elegant past, the Cuban capital is changing rapidly as a young generation of Habaneros pulls it toward the future. Everywhere you turn, colonial-era buildings that had fallen into disrepai
6 Must-Sees In Cadiz, Spain
Most cruise passengers whose ships call at Cadiz, a White City in the Costa de la Luz (the Coast of Light) in the Andalusia region of Spain, immediately head out of town. It’s understandable, as the nearby treasures of Seville and the wines of Jerez de la Frontera beckon – I myself visited Sev
TRAVEL TIPS: Ajaccio, Corsica – a Hidden Gem in the Mediterranean
Perhaps you remember hearing the name “Corsica” in your high school history class, since the island is the birthplace of one of Europe’s most well-known historical figures: Napoleon Bonaparte. The French emperor was born right in Ajaccio, so the city is packed with history and offers visitors
Editor-in-Chief Awards 2019
2019 Editor-in-Chief Awards As editor-in-chief of Porthole Cruise Magazine, Bill Panoff travels a lot. So each year, he reports back on his favorite travel experiences around the world. Here are this year’s picks of those who left amazing impressions in terms of service, quality, and memorable mom
5 Reasons to Pre-Cruise at Disney’s Bay Lake Tower
Through the years when our family has sailed from Port Canaveral on such lines as Carnival, Disney, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean, we have always spent some time in Orlando pre-cruise. And why not? By doing so, we are already near the port on embarkation day so there is no stress if there are flight
Cruise Deal of the Week – December 28, 2018
What better way to ring in the New Year than a week spent living like royalty? Princess Cruises is ready to make the dream a reality with their Anniversary Sale running through the weekend. One of the most historic and recognizable cruise lines, Princess Cruises currently has all destinations on sal
For Shore: Your Daily Tot on Tortola
If you’re going ashore in Tortola, why not go rum hunting? The Caribbean has the perfect climate to grow sugar cane, and during the colonial period plantations sprouted among the islands. It wasn’t long before someone noticed that the byproducts of the refining process – molasses – ferme
A Classic, Reborn
The largest passenger ship to ever homeport in West Palm Beach, Bahamas Paradise Cruises’ Grand Classica joined the smaller Grand Celebration this past March in providing a convenient daily cruise service to Freeport, Bahamas. The 52,926-grt, 1,680-guest vessel is impressive enough for her basic f
TRAVEL TIPS: New Zealand’s Slice of Scottish Paradise
Did you know that New Zealand has its own little piece of Scotland? That’s right, you can go Down Under and visit Dunedin, the city whose name is actually the Scottish Gaelic word for Edinburgh. Cruise ships head to Scotland in the spring and summer months, but if you’re looking for the United K
Ship Shape on Norwegian Bliss
Take a calorie-burning indoor cycling class, work on your abs, or find your Zen in a yoga session on the 4,000-passenger Norwegian Bliss and your instructor just may be Henry Berry, a former rugby player from England’s Lake District. Having worked as a personal trainer and run his own boot camp on
Cruise Ship Review: AmaWaterways AmaLea
The charms of the cities and villages of the Danube are a joy to discover. Aboard the new AmaWaterways AmaLea, this pleasure is multiplied. This is the 10th ship of their Certo class, and as AmaWaterways has evolved, they’ve incorporated the latest technology, architectural flow, and attention to
Leiding Lady
Browsing Grenadian fashion designer Raquel Leid’s Mt. Sealey Garden collection is like taking a Caribbean vacation. The sunshine yellows, turquoise blues, and emerald greens of her fruit- and flower-motif fabrics reflect the hues of the islands. And the styles, which float away from the body and f
TRAVEL TIPS: Doha, Beyond Skyscrapers & Shopping Malls
In recent years, the Middle Eastern country of Qatar has become a major world power, and its capital Doha is a metropolis, complete with massive geometric skyscrapers that light up the Qatari sky at night. Thanks to the discovery of oil in this small country, located on the Arabian Peninsula, Doha h
Soul Strutting At Sea
Ready to boogie, get funky, and feel the groove with soul music royalty? Then take “the hippest trip at sea” via the Soul Train Cruise. The 7-day Caribbean voyage produced by StarVista LIVE on Holland America Line departs from Orlando, Florida, and offers a mix of music, nostalgia, television hi
Heading Ashore: 9 Things to See in Rome
For most cruise passengers sailing in the Med, a call at Civitavecchia, Italy, the port of the Eternal City, means that, as the saying goes, “All roads lead to Rome.” It will necessarily be a long day on those roads – it is about a 45-minute to one-hour’s drive (or longer, depending on traff
48 Hours: Vancouver – Have a Gas in the City of Glass.
The enchanting city of Vancouver is located on the west coast of Canada and takes her rightful place as the largest city in British Columbia. She sits nestled amongst beautiful, snow-peaked mountains, brims with numerous luscious parks, and is touched by the deepest of oceans. For at least 14,000 ye
Cruise Ship Review: AIDAperla
Total Immersion on AIDAperla Those smiling red lips and exotic Cleopatra eyes on the bow make AIDA’s cruise ships the most strikingly dramatic-looking ships in any cruise port, from China to Miami to the Mediterranean. Yet outside of Germany, AIDA is almost unknown, even amongst cruise-lovers. I w
Dalmatian Coast
Tauck, the New England based touring company, has had more than 90 years experience organizing escorted trips to more than 70 countries. So it was no surprise that its evolution and expansion from luxury river cruising to small ship ocean cruising has been such a success. As it does with its river c
TRAVEL TIPS: Going to Goa
Goa is probably best known as India’s place to party, but this small state is packed with beauty and history. Goa has been through many changes, and each phase of its history is still engrained in its modern-day culture. India’s smallest state was once a Portuguese colony, and then it became
