Cruises

Gerrie E. Summers on the canals of Venice. By Gerrie E. Summers As the gondola adjacent to ours moved slightly ahead, the musician inside picked up his accordion and began to play. “Che bella cosa na jurnata ‘e sole,” he sang.  At the time I had no idea what any

A balcony on the MS Europa. By Dalma Heyn When I tell you that the MS Europa is the only cruise ship on the high seas awarded not just five stars by the 2010 Berlitz Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships, but five stars plus, I know what you're going

A few years ago, if you wanted to take a cruise from a U.S. port, you didn’t have a lot of choices. If you were dreaming of the Caribbean, you would book a flight to Miami, Fort Lauderdale or Port Canaveral and then set sail. If you lived west of

By Mary Alice Kellogg I’m a sucker for tradition, graciousness in large quantities, dressing appropriately for this-could-be-a-movie moments, for scenery that makes my mouth water. All are reasons I’ve fostered a love of the rituals of cruising … and why I’ve also visited Bermuda on a regular basis for more

    On a June evening last year, a trove of sea life came to the auction block at Christie's at Rockefeller Plaza. Not shrimp and plankton, mind you, but rarer things. Like an oyster plate from the fabled SS Normandie, designed by Suzanne Lalique circa 1935. A life ring from the

        On any cruise ship, a balcony cabin is as good as it gets. That’s especially true when you’re sailing in the Caribbean, watching for whales in Alaska’s Inside Passage or skirting the Italian coast. Second best is an outside cabin. You won’t feel the breezes but you won’t

I saw the pod of orcas in the early morning, slicing through the wake of my cruise ship, the 102-passenger Spirit of Endeavour. The captain saw them, too, and he stopped the engines so we could get a closer look. What made the moment a world-class experience was the backdrop:

  Cruise line executives tremble when the name "Douglas Ward" is mentioned. Ward is the most fearsome critic in the cruise industry, a man whose words can remove the smiles from the faces of the most unflappable ship owners. If you’re looking for a family cruise, a romantic cruise or