It’s a large winged bird. It’s a sailing ship. It’s a giant’s eyelid. It’s a sea creature rising from the deep.

It’s Auditorio de Tenerife, the landmark theater perched along the Atlantic Ocean in Santa Cruz, largest of the Canary Islands and a popular cruise ship stop. 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...

Gravely injured when a cannon ball crushed his legs, the warrior endured several excruciating surgeries without anesthetics. Warned to prepare for death, the nobleman spent his bedridden time reading whatever was at hand.

“The only books he had were about the lives of the saints and Christ,” says Mikel Mugalari. “Then a miracle happened. He didn’t die. He had a conversion. He decided to live his life for God.” Read more...

PONANT is committed to protecting the environment with state-of-the-art technologies, improved waste and waste water treatment, programs to raise the awareness of travelers, and future plans that are increasingly innovative in terms of sustainable development. Read more...

While most people were settling down for the night, Elvis Presley would slip into the nondescript building and sit at a well-worn piano.

For the next couple hours, Elvis would warm up by harmonizing on gospel, often with the Jordanaires. Then he would get down to the serious business of recording songs. About the time the sun came up, Elvis would call it a night. 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...

Whether you choose a Mediterranean cruise or an expedition into Antarctica, you will always find the exceptional levels of service for which PONANT is renowned. Customized and attentive, PONANT provides the privileged feeling of sailing aboard your very own yacht. 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...

Streets are draped in mourning. Wailing “widows” in fishnet stockings and miniskirts lament loudly. Paraders dressed as popes, bishops and nuns bless onlookers and each other.

It’s “El Entierro de la Sardina” or the “Burial of the Sardine” in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, capital of the largest of the Canary Islands. It’s when a gigantic 30-foot papier mache fish is carried through city streets and thrown on a massive bonfire. As the huge fish goes up in flames, fireworks light the night to signal the official end of Carnival. Read more...

Andrew Jackson loved his home so much that he chose to be buried there with his beloved wife Rachel. Some say that the man known as “Old Hickory” keeps watch over his Tennessee plantation.

“Many people don’t think that he has ever truly left,” tour guide David said. “General Jackson had such a strong personality that I think he has stayed around to watch over his home.” Read more...