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Luxury vs Family Cruising Is Not Actually a Choice
Luxury cruising and family cruising exist in completely different universes. One features champagne tastings at 2pm. The other features someone screaming about chicken nuggets at 2pm. Luxury lines like Regent or Silversea include everything. Your drinks, shore excursions, specialty dining, gratuities, even laundry. You pay once and forget about money for a week. Family lines…
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Virgin Voyages Actually Delivers on Being Different
Most cruise lines claim to be revolutionary. Virgin Voyages might actually be onto something. They launched in 2021 with a simple premise: what if we built cruises for adults who think cruises are terrible? No kids under 18. Ever. The dining is genuinely good instead of buffet acceptable. The shows skip Broadway knockoffs for actual…
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Funchal Madeira Deserves More Than a Port Day
Most cruise passengers treat Funchal like a checkbox. They ride the cable car up to Monte Palace. They snap photos of the colorful buildings cascading down the hillside. Then they get back on the ship. This Portuguese island deserves better. Madeira sits 400 miles off the coast of Morocco like Europe’s tropical secret. The climate…
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The Real Math Behind Cruise Budgeting
Most people think a $500 cruise costs $500. Those people get surprised at checkout. The advertised price covers your cabin and meals. Everything else costs extra. Drinks, specialty dining, excursions, gratuities, WiFi, and spa treatments add up fast. Start with the cruise fare as your baseline. Then add $50 to $100 per person per day…
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Cruise News Roundup
Three stories caught my attention this week. Two involve ships getting bigger. One involves getting to them. Royal Caribbean announced their next Oasis class ship will debut in 2028. The unnamed vessel will be the eighth in the class and biggest cruise ship ever built. It will homeport in Miami and carry around 7,000 passengers.…
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Your Cruise Director Isn’t Your Friend
Every cruise has that one guest who thinks the cruise director is their personal best friend. They wave enthusiastically during every deck party. They know their name. They think they have a special connection. Here’s the reality check: cruise directors are professional entertainers. Their job is to make 3,000 people feel special simultaneously. That warm…
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The Thermal Suite Nobody Talks About
Most cruise passengers walk past the spa thermal suite without a second thought. They assume it costs extra money they don’t want to spend. They’re half right about the money part. The thermal suite is a separate area within the ship’s spa that houses saunas, steam rooms, heated ceramic loungers, and sometimes aromatherapy showers. You…
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River Cruising vs Ocean Cruising
River cruising and ocean cruising are about as similar as a kayak and an aircraft carrier. Both float. The similarities end there. Ocean cruising gives you massive ships with 3,000 passengers, rock climbing walls, and Broadway shows. You wake up in a different port every day or two. The ship is the destination. Royal Caribbean’s…
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MSC Cruises Finally Gets It Right
MSC Cruises used to be the cruise line Americans talked about in whispers. European style service. Confusing layouts. Dinner at 9:30 PM whether you liked it or not. That was then. MSC spent the last few years rebuilding their reputation in North America. They moved their newest ships here. They hired American cruise directors. They…
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The Azores Deserve Your Attention
Most cruise passengers treat the Azores as a fuel stop between Europe and North America. They spend four hours buying postcards in Ponta Delgada and call it cultural immersion. This chain of nine volcanic islands sits 900 miles west of Portugal in the middle of the Atlantic. The water is impossibly blue. The landscapes look…