Two questions I often hear as a solo cruiser: Do I get lonely traveling by myself? Am I afraid to travel alone?

The answers? Nope. And nope.

Although I enjoy being with groups of strangers or friends, I also love alone-time and cruise ships seem to offer the best of both worlds. When cruising by myself, I can choose to take part in group tours for shore excursions or get involved in shipboard games with fellow passengers. I can sit in packed theaters to watch shipboard entertainment, getting to know people seated alongside me before the programs start. Read more...

My aim was terrible. Instead of flying into the far distance, the cherry pit I was trying to spit tumbled out of my mouth and rolled down to my feet.

So much for the cherry pit-spitting contest at Lautenbach’s Orchard Country Winery & Market in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. Hard to believe but the record for the best woman cherry pit spitter is 38 feet, 3 inches. For men, it’s 48 feet, 1 inch. Read more...

ABOARD THE GRAND CLASSICA: Will it be black pepper crusted ahi tuna or Atlantic salmon or stuffed chicken breast or boneless beef short ribs braised in Merlot?

Those who know me have no doubt what I chose.

Yep, it was the boneless beef short ribs braised in Merlot with creamy mascarpone polenta and root vegetables. Read more...

Christopher Murphy didn’t hesitate when asked what he liked best about his two-night cruise aboard the Grand Classica.

“The bed in the wall,” he answered quickly. “That’s where I’m sleeping. The ship man said it is called a Murphy Bed. But it wasn’t named after me.” Read more...

Passengers will soon be able to cruise the popular Douro River in Portugal aboard Tauck’s new riverboat ms Andorinha.

The beautiful new riverboat will be launched in 2020. Andorinha will carry a crew of 36 and a passenger capacity of 84 guests, far fewer than other Douro ships of similar size which accommodate up to 112 passengers. Read more...

In 1989, Ilene Weiner and her husband set sail aboard the Fair Princess to the Caribbean. That was the beginning of an amazing journey and a long-lasting love affair.

Three decades later, Ilene is still cruising. She is now the most-traveled guest on Princess Cruises and just celebrated her 282^nd cruise, marking 2,500 days at sea. Read more...

Hawaii is one of those must-see destinations. But the price of a week on the islands can give some serious sticker shock! One great way to save some money and see many of the different islands that make up our 50th state is on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America. This US flagged ship is one of the only ways to cruise the Hawaiian Islands, offering round trip options from Honolulu, and has just gone through a 30 million dollar renovation. The upgrades are pretty substantial, too.

Summer’s quickly approaching and that’s the season to see Alaska. So many Alaska tours jump off from Seattle on their way to Alaska which is a destination unto itself. So a lot of people spend an extra day in the Pacific Northwest, and with so much to see and do, we thought we’d help narrow down the options to the very best that the city has to offer.

It’s been a rough year for Costa. But after a year with a lot of bad news, Costa seems to be ending the year on a very positive note, starting the construction of their newest upcoming ship, the Costa Diadema. True to its name, the future flagship of the Italian cruise line will be a crown jewel of the industry too.

The Diadema will be the largest Costa ship at sea, weighing in at about 135,000 gross tons. That’s about 15% larger than the biggest Costa ships out there, and when totally full, it will hold nearly 5,000 passengers. Details are pretty slim right now, but given all the flash of Diadema’s predecessors, we know this will be a pretty neat ship. The ship is scheduled to make its debut in the fall of 2014, and as more information comes out, we’ll be happy to share it right here.

A lot of people are talking about Carnival’s new pricing promotions. Starting today (December 3), Carnival is making changes to the way that they structure fares. What’s changing? Not a lot, but the change in how things price might be a little confusing – so we thought we’d help! Here’s a handy guide to the new types of fares that Carnival is offering beginning today.