Cruise ships and mojitos seem to go together in my mind. On a cruise, I am often heading to some sunny island and the cocktail is a cold refresher.

Legend says that the mojito was Ernest Hemingway’s favorite drink. But the origins of the sweet and sour concoctions go back much further than that. Read more...

The little boy ahead of me at the Aviarius wasn’t too sure about this. Hold out his hand with bird seed and let a bird alight to eat it from his hand?

“What if it bites me?” 5-year-old Aaron of Florida asked his mother. After watching other people do it, Aaron bravely stuck out his hand and was immediately visited by a small bird. Read more...

This is a double tough trivia question. It’s actually two questions in one and cruisers are most likely the visitors who have seen this popular photo spot.

First question – Where is this bench and why?

Second question – What book/movie does this bench commemorate? As an extra, do you know who wrote the book? Read more...

This bit of trivia may be a toughie because many of you probably weren’t even born when this song was popular.

The quiz is to identify what quartet sang the powerhouse song. Released in 1975, the song quickly soared up the hit charts.

Although I was around when the song originally came out, I also got to enjoy it one evening aboard the Celebrity Summit. Using no stage set or props and with only powerful voices and excellent lighting, the ship’s performers soon had passengers singing along with them. Read more...

I don’t even drink coffee. So what was I doing sitting at Café al Bacio on the newly renovated Celebrity Summit?

I was enjoying the ocean view and sipping a chilled Tia Cappuccino. Yes, it did have expresso in it, but the yummy drink also had Tia Maria Liqueur, Tito’s Vodka, creamy foam and salted caramel. Read more...

“The stage has no curtain,” the woman seated next to me whispered when we sat down in the new Celebrity Edge Theatre.

She was right. Not only does the new Celebrity Edge Theatre not have a curtain, the stage itself extends into the audience.

“This is a very different theatre than you are used to on a ship,” said Richard D. Fain, chairman and CEO of Celebrity’s parent company, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “The in-the-round design puts everyone closer to the stage.” Read more...

I entered Eden several times and each time it looked different. In the morning, it was a good place to sit quietly, sip a Coke and go over my cruise notes.

In the afternoon, two dancers were offering interpretive movements, an aerialist twirled overhead and a sitar player created some mood music. Read more...

ABOARD THE CELEBRITY EDGE – Certainly the most talked-about dining experience on the new Edge is Le Petit Chef. Sort of like a movie that you eat. The basic theme is that four teeny chefs are competing to create the best culinary treat for a meal that I actually get to eat. Read more...

ABOARD THE CARNIVAL VICTORY – In my first day aboard the Carnival Victory, I noticed the lengthy food lines, packed swimming pools, crowded bars and difficulty finding seats to watch the nightly Dive-In Theater movies. But I also found a way to beat some of those lines – dine early. Read more...

I could write a book about what has been called the “most anticipated new ship of the year” but let me share a few – besides the Magic Carpet – of my favorite discoveries aboard the Celebrity Edge.

First the fast facts: the 14-deck Edge is the first ship designed entirely in 3-D. The Edge can carry 2,918 passengers and has a crew of 1,320 from 60 countries. Read more...