ABOARD THE S.S. LEGACY – When Kevin Martin was a boy growing up in Missouri, his childhood ambition was to become a marine biologist or an archaeologist or maybe a doctor.

In a way, he has become all three.

“As a ship captain, I get to do a bit of all of those things,” Martin said. Read more...

It’s been a longstanding tradition for ships to have godmothers, a symbolic patron or sponsor through the ship’s life. The godmother symbolizes the spirit of the vessel.

In the mid-19^th century, it became customary for a woman of distinction to be selected for the ship godmother honor. Read more...

Here are 7 reasons to consider a family holiday cruise this year:

1.  Truly festive atmosphere – After Thanksgiving, the cruise lines get in the holiday spirit by decorating their ships from bow to stern. Some cruise lines spend in excess of $100,000 annually on holiday decorations. Christmas trees, lights, garlands and even artificial snow bring the festive season alive at sea. Hanukkah customs and celebrations also are observed. Religious services of all types are often held aboard. Read more...

Cruise vacations offer holiday sailings plus kid-specific programs, all within the inescapable confines of the cruise ship, allowing families to enjoy the holidays in a relaxed and fun freedom, says Crown Cruise Vacations President Ross Spalding.

There are a number of outstanding sailings for families. The specialists at Crown Cruise Vacations offer these sailings as examples of cruises to choose from for a high-seas family holiday: Read more...

ABOARD THE S.S. LEGACY – In keeping with its 1900s theme, the S.S. Legacy has a simple way to keep track of passengers who are ashore and those who are aboard.

Each time we leave the Legacy for a shore excursion, we look for our cabin number on a large magnetic board and move our little magnet from the “aboard” column to the “ashore” column. Read more...

If you’ve cruised the ocean wide, you’ve probably seen that tall “whale tail” decorating ships belonging to a famous cruise line. The red, white and blue funnel with fins on both sides is both decorative and useful.

For a bit of cruise ship trivia, do you know what cruise line uses the distinctive tail atop its ships? A hint – the name is often associated with clowns, appropriate enough because the cruise line’s vessels are often known as “The Fun Ships.” Read more...

ABOARD THE MSC DIVINA – Sandy Sherma could barely see over the steering wheel of her Formula One race car. But she put the pedal to the metal and off she went.

A few spinouts later, the Florida woman emerged from her sleek Ferrari and proclaimed, “Whew! I need a drink!” Read more...

ABOARD THE CARNIVAL FREEDOM – Are you a fan of rocking piano music made famous by the likes of  Jerry Lee Lewis? Maybe your tastes run more to 1980s pop from Cindy Lauper and Michael Jackson.

Or could be the smooth soul songs of Otis Redding that soothe you. Then there’s the feel-good beach music for island time with Jimmy Buffet, the Beach Boys and more. Read more...

ABOARD THE MSC DIVINA – Those little blue creatures known as Smurfs are now delighting youngsters of all ages on the new MSC Divina. The 3,500-passenger ship has a Smurfs-themed Mini Club (ages 3-6) and a Junior Club (ages 7-11),  as well as other fun-filled family activities with the ship’s giant Smurf mascot as the guest of honor. Read more...

Shore excursions are part of the fun of cruising. Going ashore and taking a tour is an exciting option on cruises. And, almost always, there are more tour options than I can do. Makes for hard choices.

But Carnival Cruise Lines has now come up with a cruise industry first to be sure passengers get the best shore excursions possible. Carnival just announced a guarantee that guests who book a Carnival shore excursion and find a comparable tour at a lower price will receive an onboard credit of 110 percent of the difference. Read more...