With a smooth swish, chef Loren Leflore spreads mile-high whipped egg whites on coconut cream pie. Then she invites a class member to use a culinary torch to brown the meringue. “You’re doing great,” she encourages the tentative torcher.

Next, Loren demonstrates how to make parmesan-crusted catfish and Delta hot tamales. All the while, we are snacking on fried dill pickle slices while awaiting the meal our instructor is preparing in the famous Viking Cooking School in Greenwood, Mississippi. Taste buds are delighted to be educated here. Read more...

With the success of its shipboard breweries, Carnival Cruise Line now offers another first. Carnival has become the first cruise line to can and keg its own private label craft beers.

Cruisers can now pop the top on 16-ounce cans of ParchedPig Toasted Amber Ale, West Coast IPA and ThirstyFrog Caribbean Wheat. The beer will be available to thirsty guests on all 26 Carnival ships. Read more...

This bit of trivia may be a toughie because many of you probably weren’t even born when this song was popular.

The quiz is to identify what quartet sang the powerhouse song. Released in 1975, the song quickly soared up the hit charts.

Although I was around when the song originally came out, I also got to enjoy it one evening aboard the Celebrity Summit. Using no stage set or props and with only powerful voices and excellent lighting, the ship’s performers soon had passengers singing along with them. Read more...

I don’t even drink coffee. So what was I doing sitting at Café al Bacio on the newly renovated Celebrity Summit?

I was enjoying the ocean view and sipping a chilled Tia Cappuccino. Yes, it did have expresso in it, but the yummy drink also had Tia Maria Liqueur, Tito’s Vodka, creamy foam and salted caramel. Read more...

The countdown to the new Royal Princess is on, and this week, Princess reveals what’s new and updated for the kids on board. After all, a great vacation for the families isn’t quite the same without great activities and events for kids to enjoy too! There’s a whole host of new features for the little ones on the Royal Princess. This time, the ship was designed with them in mind!

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.

It has been a busy week for corporate offices across the cruise industry this week. Earlier this week, Norwegian Cruise Line announced its plans to build another Norwegian Breakaway type-ship in the near future. Royal Caribbean announced its plans to build another Oasis type ship for 2016, and today Carnival announced another Breeze-type ship for delivery in 2016, and a new Holland America ship in 2015.

Cruising in the late summer and fall can be a fantastic deal. Part of that reason is because the weather doesn’t always cooperate – it is hurricane season after all. But the truth is that when a storm isn’t in your area, the weather is fabulous and the ports of call are as vibrant as they are at any other time of the year. However, there are some things that you can do to minimize the impact of a storm on your travel plans – even without changing your schedule. We’ve put together a list of three things that anyone can do to ensure the best possible experience for a cruise.

Cruising the Caribbean, its hard to get excited about those private island destinations sometimes. It might just feel like another day at the beach when in reality, the ship’s pool might work just as well. But cruise lines are making these private destinations a real attraction and something worth visiting. Royal Caribbean has Labadee, off the coast of Haiti, and they make the client experience very special. Here’s a quick video about all the fun that Labadee has to offer. We’ll see you on the zip line!

Many seven night Royal Caribbean sailings stop at Labadee, take a look at all your different options by clicking here.

For more videos about Royal Caribbean sailings, click here.

These days, it is sort of a given that Holland America Line has some of the best food at sea for the larger mass-market cruise lines. The buffet tends to be out of control good, the main dining rooms provide excellent food on a regular basis, and the Pinnacle Grill set an industry standard for fine dining at sea.  But this commitment to good eats isn’t limited to mealtime on Holland America Line ships.