Cruise lines seem to be in a continual game of one-upmanship. Royal Caribbean built an ice-skating rink aboard their vessels, Norwegian Cruise Line countered with a bar made entirely of ice. Carnival added a ropes course, and then Princess built a ship that has a glass-floored walkway that juts out over the ocean. With the latest announcements regarding the Quantum of the Seas, Royal Caribbean is upping the bar yet again. Read more...

When I was a little girl, I wanted to grow up to be a writer. Mission accomplished. When Marce Branniff was a youngster, her goal was to travel the world. Exactly what she is doing.

The two of us met on an Alaskan cruise aboard the Wilderness Explorer. I was writing about my adventure and Marce was the ship captain. Read more...

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. And the delicious breakfasts served on the American Queen make it easier to roll out of a comfy bed each morning on the river.

The library is a popular spot on the Carnival Breeze. Not only for the books, magazines and games, but also for the card-key operated wine dispensers and literary cocktails.

Maybe sip a Hemingway’s Papa Doble while enjoying a good novel?

Surprised? The Carnival Breeze does indeed have a bar in the library, along with a first for Carnival Cruise Lines – card-key operated wine dispensers. Makes sense to me. Read more...

We’ve been featuring the travel snapshots of the agents who work in our office. After all, we can talk about a destination til we’re blue in the face, but sometimes its just easier to share what we’ve experienced in pictures. Our travel consultant, Veronica, just got back stateside after an extended stay in Greece, and she fell in love with the country – and after seeing her pictures, its not hard to see why. Read more...

The woman next to me described it as climbing into a gigantic clothes dryer and slamming the door shut. She had a point.

In fact, visitors have been known to balk when it came time to scrunch into the space-capsule-looking gadget. Some prospective riders have turned and walked away when faced with the claustrophobic prospect. So why do it? Read more...

The announcements have been coming fast and furious with the new ships due out over the next couple years, and some of the biggest announcements dealt with the Godmother of the ship who christens and names the ship at its launch. The New York bound Norwegian Breakaway will have the Rockettes, Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas made a splash at the Oscars by naming Kristen Chenoweth, and this week Princess Cruises found a Princess of their own, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge – the wife of Prince William. But what makes a cruise line name a Godmother anyway? Read more...

It’s that time of year when cruise lines start announcing new itineraries and ports of call for the coming year or two, and this week Princess Cruise Line announced that it’s heading to Singapore with the Emerald Princess. Already a popular port of call, Princess will be the first major cruise line to begin using the Asian city-state, well known as a luxury travel destination, as a long-term home port. Read more...

A first-time Disney cruiser wondered about needing a bed rail for her 3-year-old son. Should the mother carry a portable railing from home or would one be available after she arrived on the ship?

Wanting to be prepared, the mother sent her question to a Walt Disney “moms panel.” Read more...

Here are some more snapshots from our staff’s travel history. This history is recent. Last week, in fact. Our agency Vice President, Jeff was in Amsterdam and sailed down the Rhine last week as part of the inaugural for Viking River Cruises’ 10 new longships. That’s not a typo. Viking River Cruises inaugurated 10 ships simultaneously last week. We’ll have more information on the new longships in this spot soon, so keep your eyes peeled. And in the meantime, enjoy our view of the Rhine! Read more...