Author: Steve Ernst
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Carnival Festivale Is the Family Ship That Traded a Roller Coaster for a Water Park
Carnival is building a new ship, and it is doing something none of its big ships have done before. It is skipping the roller coaster. Carnival Festivale is the fourth ship in the Excel class. That is the same family as Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration, and Carnival Jubilee. Those three all have a top deck…
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Ålesund Is the Norway Port That Burned Down and Came Back Better
Most cruisers pick Norway for the fjords. Then they treat the towns as places to wait until the ship moves again. Ålesund breaks that habit. The whole town center is built in one style, Art Nouveau, and there is a strange reason for that. On a stormy night in January 1904, a fire tore through…
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The Muster Drill Is the One Step That Delays Your First Drink
Every cruise has a safety drill you must finish before the ship leaves the dock. Skip it and the ship cannot legally sail. It is the one item on embarkation day that is not optional. The old version was a group event. You stood in a crowd with a life jacket while a crew member…
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Cruise News Has a Season and You Can Set Your Watch By It
Cruise news is not random. It arrives on a schedule most people never notice. Once you learn the calendar, the headlines stop feeling like surprises. They start feeling like reruns you have already seen. Late fall through winter is wave season. That is when the lines announce their biggest promotions of the year. Reduced deposits,…
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The Biggest Ship Is Not the Best Ship
Bigger is not better. Bigger is just bigger. That is the whole myth in one line. People fall in love with the mega ships because the marketing is loud. Waterslides, go-karts, a dozen restaurants, a neighborhood with a name. It looks like more for your money. Sometimes it is. Often it is not. Here is…
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The Escape Room at Sea Is the Activity Your Group Actually Remembers
There is an escape room on your cruise ship. Most people sail right past the sign for it. These are not gimmicks bolted on for a photo. Royal Caribbean built out a whole series called The Observatorium on ships like Independence of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas. You reserve a time slot, you…
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Luxury Cruising Is Not One Thing and Neither Is the Price
Luxury cruising sounds like a single idea. It is not. Two ships can both call themselves luxury and give you completely different vacations. Start with what the word actually buys. On a real luxury line the fare stops nickel and diming you. Seabourn includes all your meals, premium drinks, gratuities, and even caviar service in…
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Windstar Star Seeker Is the New Small Yacht That Actually Goes Somewhere
Windstar built a new yacht and pointed it at Southeast Asia. That is not where most big new ships go. Most of them go to the same Caribbean loop. The ship is called Star Seeker. It joins Windstar’s fleet alongside a sister yacht, Star Explorer. Both are small. That is the whole point of Windstar.…
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Muscat Is the Gulf Port Everyone Skips for Dubai
Most cruisers in the Arabian Gulf are looking at Dubai. Muscat sits down the coast, quieter and older, and most people treat it as a fuel stop between the flashy ports. That is a mistake. Muscat is the capital of Oman. Ships dock at Port Sultan Qaboos, with mountains rising on one side and the…
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Cruise Air Programs Are a Trap or a Lifeline Depending on One Choice
Every major cruise line will sell you a plane ticket. Norwegian, Carnival, Princess, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and more all run their own air programs. Most people either ignore them completely or book them without reading a word. Both are mistakes. Here is the whole thing in one sentence. Cruise air comes in two…