Author: Steve Ernst
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The Last Morning of Your Cruise Is the One Nobody Plans For
Everybody plans the first day of a cruise. Almost nobody plans the last one. That is the morning that turns a great week into a stressful blur. Here is what happens if you do nothing. The night before you get off, you put your bags in the hallway. The crew collects them. You will not…
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How to Read a Cruise Line Earnings Call Like a Travel Advisor
Every quarter the big cruise lines get on a call with Wall Street. They talk about bookings, prices, and how full the ships are. Most travelers never listen. They should. These calls tell you where prices are going before the price tells you. A cruise line does not raise fares out of nowhere. It raises…
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Your Cruise Loyalty Status Is Probably Transferable and Nobody Told You
You spent years sailing one cruise line to earn your elite tier. The priority boarding. The free drinks. The little pin. Then you looked at another line and figured you would start over at the bottom. You might not have to. Several cruise lines will match the status you already earned somewhere else. It is…
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The Chef’s Table Is the One Dinner That Sells Out Before You Board
There is a dinner on your ship that most passengers never see. It happens once or twice the entire sailing. By the time you hear about it, the seats are gone. It is called the Chef’s Table. A small group sits down for a multi course tasting menu run by the ship’s executive chef. On…
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All Inclusive Cruising Is a Real Thing and Also a Marketing Word
Every cruise line says it is all inclusive now. Most of them are lying by a little. A drink package and prepaid tips do not make a cruise all inclusive. They make it a cruise with a bar tab you paid up front. Real all inclusive means the bill stops at the fare. On Regent…
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Regent Seven Seas Is About to Get a Brand New Flagship
Regent Seven Seas Cruises has a new ship coming, and it is the first of a new class. It is called Seven Seas Prestige, and it debuts in 2026. It carries about 850 guests, which by cruise math today is tiny. This is the seventh ship in the fleet. A sister ship is already planned…
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Walvis Bay Is the Namibia Port Cruisers Sail Right Into and Never Talk About
Namibia has a cruise port. Most people do not know that. Fewer still could point to it on a map. The port is Walvis Bay. It sits on the Atlantic coast of southern Africa, and it is the main deep water harbor in the country. Cruise lines from Royal Caribbean to Cunard call there, usually…
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The Cruise Wifi Package Costs More Than It Did Last Year
Cruise wifi got more expensive in 2026. Several major lines quietly raised their internet prices in late 2025 and early this year. Some did it without telling anyone first. Here is where things actually stand. On Carnival, plans now run roughly twenty dollars to twenty five dollars per person per day, and the four device…
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How to Tell a Real Cruise Deal From a Fake One
Every cruise line runs a sale right now. There is always a sale. That is the first thing to understand about cruise pricing. A price that is marked down from something is not the same as a low price. The line sets the original number. Then it crosses that number out. You are meant to…
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The Higher Deck Cabin Is Not the Upgrade You Think It Is
People fight over the top decks. They assume higher means better. On a cruise ship the opposite is often true. A ship is a lever. The higher you go, the more you feel every roll and pitch. The lowest passenger decks near the middle of the ship move the least. That is where the motion…