Porthole‘s Five Faves Passage to Paradise The ever-popular 7-night Western Mediterranean cruise itinerary typically includes ports in Spain, France, and Italy, treating visitors to ancient cities, diverse architecture, amazing art, and historic treasures. Churches and cathedrals play an important role in illuminating a city’s history and the region’s cultural past, thus are great …

Monday Tuesday Mantra Cruise to the Edge? YES! … Cruise to the Edge? YES … Cruise to the Edge? YES! This Ship Will Rock Let’s meet 60 head-on: with the best music of the 1970s. Summer’s arrived! I say this as I’m sitting here, sweltering in a tank top, wondering if it might …

Cruising Deep Five favorite attractions that go below the ocean’s surface The ocean is what makes the cruise – without it, a cruise ship is just a big metal hotel (though admittedly one with a really good buffet). If you’ve spent any time on board looking down over the rail, or even wading …

Monday Mantra Get with the program … Get with the program … Get with the program … Or not … Interrupting This Program It’s nice to know about the daily events on board … for somebody. I have a confession to make. When I’m on a cruise, I never read the daily program. …

Declare Your Independence Five reasons to love a small-ship cruise. There you are speeding through life and you think maybe it’s time to take your foot off the accelerator and slow down a little. You may have cruised before on one of those megaships that hold 3,000 and 4,000 passengers, all rushing to …

Monday Mantra Shipboard romance? … Shipboard romance? … Shipboard romance? A Host with the Most A romantic rendezvous worth cruising to. True story. I was in Barcelona in November 2013 and spent a night, pre-cruise, at the lovely Hotel Duquesa de Cardona, a boutique property located across the street from the city’s colorful …

Monday Mantra Unqualified … Unqualified … Unqualified … Working at Sea – Is It for Me? Could you be cut out for cruising career? Could I? It was love at first sight for cruising and me. Immediately, I loved being aboard a massive ship that delivered me to exotic ports. I enjoyed the …

Porthole‘s Five Faves Every day is Cinco de Mayo! When in Mexico, you can drink as the locals drink all year long. Today is Cinco de Mayo! Before we start mashing fresh a.m. avocados and salting morning-margarita rims though, let’s unpack a little fact and ficción. FACT: Cinco de Mayo is translated as …

Monday Mantra Oh pleeeease …. Oh pleeeease …. Oh pleeeease …. Mama’s Bahamas Drama When someone misses the ship, there’s always more to the story. The first thing I did on Friday morning was switch on the TV news, but not to see what’s going on in the presidential race, who’s getting Prince’s …

Monday Mantra Get Lost…Get Lost…Get Lost… Where am I again? On a cruise ship, good signage is a treasure. I believe that there’s a special place in hell reserved for cruise ship interior designers who fail to place a prominent plaque or video monitor showing the direction of all public rooms on a …