Cruises

Exploring the Ancient World on a Celestyal Cruise
By Bobbie Leigh The tony celebrity islands in the Aegean are beyond stunning. The rolling hills, cubist architecture, and white sand beaches are unlike anything you have ever seen. Keep in mind that Homer had it all wrong in the Odyssey. These are not wine-dark seas. In fact, they are

Windstar Cruises Star Breeze
by Geri Bain Windstar Cruises, which has three sailing ships and three motor yachts, has long been on my professional radar for its small ship, port-intensive sailings, so I was excited to experience the Star Breeze motor yacht with my 23-year-old daughter this fall on the 10-day Venetian Passageways sailing

From Beijing’s Great Wall to Nagasaki’s Peace Park
By Monique Burns Part 3: Holland America Asia Cruise We’ve sailed seven days aboard Holland America’s ms Volendam, and with another seven to go, my fellow passengers and I are halfway through our 14-day cruise to China, South Korea and Japan. We’ve crossed Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour aboard a traditional

The Best of Shanghai and Seoul with Holland America
By Monique Burns Part 2: Cruising Asia with Holland America En route to Shanghai, on our 14-day Holland America cruise through China, South Korea and Japan, we leave the great Chinese port of Hong Kong and spend the next two days sailing northeast through the South China Sea and the

Cruising Asia with Holland America: Aboard the Good Ship Volendam
By Monique Burns Part 1: Aboard the Good Ship Volendam Cruising Asia’s sun-dappled seas and moonlit straits on a 14-day journey aboard Holland America, my fellow passengers and I explore the great cities of China, South Korea and Japan. In Hong Kong, we view Victoria Harbour’s modern skyline from

Sailing on the Europa 2
By Gary Walther DAY ONE: The Hotel Detective is sailing on a sea of superlatives, The Europa 2, a 500-passenger ship belonging to Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. According to the 2016 Berlitz Cruising & Cruise Ships, considered the Bible of cruise guides. Europa 2 is the best ship in the world, “the

The Hotel Detective File: Crystal Serenity
By Gary Walther Altitude condenses eye-level chaff. From the Bridge Deck, the bow of the Crystal Serenity becomes an elegant geometry, circle-in-triangle with planes of blue as background. And a figure to yield perspective. Having space to yourself, though, is not a one-off on Crystal, whose ships are tops when

Cruising with Fathom
By Kay Showker So much attention has been showered on Fathom’s historic cruises to Cuba, they have overshadowed the new company’s earlier launch of alternate cruises to the Dominican Republic which better reflect the Fathom experience. Those travelers who say they want authenticity in their travels and to have an

Cruising the Arctic Aboard Hurtigruten
By Monique Burns For years, the Arctic haunted me. I longed to cruise those northerly waters, to set foot in that stark, mysterious land. I dreamt of tracking rare wildlife, from walruses and whales to reindeer and polar bears, and of following the flights of black-legged kittiwakes, northern fulmars and

Disney Dream is Better than Ever
Story & photos by Liliane Opsomer Inspired by the ocean liners of the 1920s, the Disney Dream, a 128,690-ton, 4,000-passenger vessel is a classic beauty. Equally classic are the entertainment, the delectable food, and the incomparable service. The ship just underwent an extensive enhancement and emerged with some quite impressive new