The first cruise I ever took was the 1976 inaugural tour of the Mississippi Queen. The paddle wheeler went from New Orleans to Cincinnati for my memorable voyage.

A favorite of cruisers, the Mississippi Queen was dismantled and sold for scrap in 2011. A sad loss for her many fans. Read more...

When a shaman wearing a loin cloth and feathered headdress welcomed us, we knew this was not going to be a typical museum visit.

It wasn’t. Our tour of Kakaw Chocolate Factory in Costa Maya, Mexico, was entertaining, informative and delicious. The three guides were excellent actors who seemed to delight in the characters they were playing – the shaman, Sister Rita the nun and Dr. Adamstein the mad scientist. Read more...

Patsy Cline saved the memories of her life. That memorabilia, after being locked away for more than half a century, is now being seen at the Patsy Cline Museum in Nashville.

“Patsy Cline was very sentimental,” said museum founder Bill Miller. “I think people will be really surprised at what we have in the museum.” Read more...

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...

The shifting landscape beneath me seems to be pulling me down into its clutches. Creatures with tall spindly spider legs and long elephant trunks gallop across the horizon.

Alice Cooper appears from nowhere. Wait – was that really the shock rocker? What is Alice Cooper doing in my dream? Read more...

The tantalizing sizzle of hamburgers frying on a griddle sure caught my attention. I don’t even like hamburgers but I had to try one of these tempting beef sandwiches.

After all, this is the famous Guy’s Burger Joint on the Carnival Breeze. Created in partnership with Food Network’s spiky-haired Guy Fieri, the poolside restaurant is hopping each day. Read more...

Standing like ancient druids, the round stones mark the hopes and dreams of children from different nations. Erected decades ago, the messages are even more important today.

“It was meant to be something positive, something that would stand here to remind the world that we all should be friends and live in peace,” tour guide Brenda said. Read more...

When Joe Chambers discovered that Jimi Hendrix’s apartment from his seminal years in Nashville had been razed, he decided that the Tennessee city should not lose another piece of music history.

“If people will make a trip to his grave in Seattle, why wouldn’t they go to see where he actually lived?” Chambers wondered. “That’s what really triggered me to having some kind of museum here.” Read more...