Not a lot of cruises start or end in Reykjavik, although a growing number of itineraries make this exciting little city a port of call on transatlantic and Northern Europe cruises. Nonetheless, Reykjavik can be an exciting stop over point for many European cruisers via Icelandair. In an effort to increase tourism, the airline which hubs in the island nation offers guests a chance to stopover for up to 7 days at no additional charge. Read more...

When I took my grandson Logan on a Disney cruise, he knew exactly what he wanted for a ship souvenir. And, as a 22-year-old college student, Logan was old enough to buy it.

“The Disney refillable beer mug is a great idea,” he says. “It’s much cheaper to have a beer every evening if you buy the mug. And you get to take the mug home so it’s a nice souvenir. Read more...

We’re all crowded around a long table at the Drumbo base camp. It’s everyone’s first night in Iceland, but if you’d seen the crew together, you might think we were old friends. Our guide, Gulli, is giving us the lowdown about the different types of adventures we’ll be partaking in over the next week. I’m not sure exactly what it is, but this adventure is already giving me the magical moments that I cherish about traveling around the world. The destinations are always amazing, but more often than not, its the people we meet along the way that make all the difference. Read more...

Golfing and cruising are two things that go pretty well together. Think about it, some of the best courses in the world are on islands, and accessible by ship – Bermuda, St. Martin, St. Thomas, to name just a few – and that’s not even considering all the great golf available in the British Isles and elsewhere in the world. In 2014, Celebrity Cruises is teaming up with the TOURAcademy to bring golfers on the high seas with a series of cruises designed to offer guests a chance to play amazing courses, improve their game and have a lot of fun. Read more...

The Mayans came from outer space. Or the Mayans were visited by aliens who shared extraterrestrial intelligence to create an advanced civilization on earth.

“Some people believe that,” says guide Alex Cab. “But neither one of those things is true.” Read more...

Niagara Falls is well known. Tourists come to see the majesty of these great falls, and people get married in that mist on a daily basis. And although the Falls on the US/Canadian border might be something impressive in its own right, there is a whole country full of awe-inspiring,  gorgeous waterfalls just five hours away by flight. Iceland is an island that is made for water features. Read more...

I’ve seen hair-braiding booths set up on beaches and cruise ports to serve passengers on ships.

But I had never seen a hair braiding station on a ship, unless it was in a spa. That was a first when I saw a braider busily at work on a Disney cruise.

Butterflies flutter before our noses. Bubbles dance through the air. Our seats jerk and tilt as we stop at the edge of an abyss. And a dinosaur blow snot in our faces.

A dinosaur? Yep, in Thrill Theater all kinds of adventures await through the magic of 3-D technology. The new “multidimensional” theater is now drawing eager viewers on the Carnival Breeze. Read more...

Jacob Marvel is so excited at the treasure he just got that he finds me in the crowd to share the good news.

“I will never ever trade it. This is my favorite,” the 9-year-old declares, clutching a red-white-and-blue image of a Disney cruise ship. Complete with Mickey Mouse’s legendary ears, the ship looks as though it is sailing on a deep ocean with stars sparkling overhead. Read more...

The Blue Lagoon. It’s become one of Iceland’s biggest tourist destinations and just a few minutes drive from the island’s international airport at Keflavik. The spa is well known for its milky blue waters, rich in silica, minerals and salt, as well as its naturally warm temperature (roughly 100 degrees all the time). But the story that you don’t know about the Blue Lagoon is that the spa/resort was a happy accident. Read more...