Author: Steve Ernst
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The Piano Bar Is the Room That Fills Up After Everyone Else Goes to Bed
There is a room on your ship that is empty at nine and packed by eleven. It has a piano in the middle and stools all around it. Most people walk past it every night and never once sit down. That is a mistake. The piano bar is the closest thing a cruise ship has…
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The Family Cruise Gets Harder When Your Kids Are Different Ages
A three year old and a fifteen year old want nothing to do with the same vacation. One wants a splash pad. The other wants to be left alone with friends and food. This is the family cruise problem nobody warns you about. It is easy to picture the family cruise as one happy group…
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Seabourn Is the Luxury Line Most People Have Never Heard Of
Seabourn carries a few hundred guests when a big ship carries several thousand. That is the whole idea. You are not one of the crowd because there is no crowd. The ships are all suite and all ocean view. Every room has a window or a veranda. There is no such thing as a windowless…
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Bonaire Is the ABC Island Everyone Sails Right Past
Most cruise itineraries in the southern Caribbean stop in Aruba or Curacao. Bonaire is the third letter in the ABC chain and the one people forget exists. That is a shame. Bonaire is not a place you visit for the shopping or the beach clubs. It is a place you visit to get in the…
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The Cruise Check In Slot That Fills Up While You Sleep
Online check in opens 45 days before your sailing on most major lines. That single fact decides how your first day goes. On Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, check in opens 45 days out. Carnival runs 14 days out for most guests. When you check in, you pick an arrival time slot at the terminal. Those…
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Cruise News Roundup for the Week of August 10 2026
Three stories moved the needle in cruising this past week. All three matter for real bookings, not just headlines. The biggest one is happening on rivers, not oceans. Record low water levels from prolonged drought and extreme summer heat are disrupting river navigation across Europe right now. When rivers run low the ships cannot pass…
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Cruise Ships Do Not Make You Sick and the Numbers Are Not Close
Everyone has an aunt who knows someone who got a stomach bug on a cruise. That story travels further than the ship ever did. The truth is boring, which is exactly why it never gets repeated. Norovirus on a cruise is rare. It is so rare that the numbers almost feel like a typo. Cruise…
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The Future Cruise Desk Is the Perk You Walk Past on Day One
There is a desk on your ship that most people never visit. It is usually near the shore excursion counter or tucked into a quiet hallway. It is the future cruise desk, and it is where the cruise line pays you to book your next trip while you are still on this one. The pitch…
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The World Cruise Is a Test of Time More Than Money
A world cruise is not a long vacation. It is a temporary way of life. You unpack once and stay unpacked for four or five months. People fixate on the price. That is the easy part to understand. The harder question is whether you actually want to be gone that long. Here is what the…
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Star Princess Is Doing Alaska for the First Time This Summer
Princess put its newest big ship in Alaska this summer, and most people missed it. Star Princess is running 7-day Inside Passage cruises roundtrip from Seattle right now. It is the first Alaska season for this ship. Star Princess is the second Sphere-class ship from Princess. It is the sister to Sun Princess, and it…