It’s easy to long for the way things used to be, but equally easy to miss great advancements in front of you while looking behind you.  More dining options, larger cabins, cashless cruising, and more.  We may not think about these every day, but you’d quickly long for them if you stepped (or sailed) back in time.

I was somewhat “born into cruising”, my experience coming about in the way that someone whose parents have a cabin in the mountains will always head to the hills to relax and reflect – but my relaxation had a midnight buffet and a muster drill.  I’m fortunate, and this fortune has offered me a long-term view of cruising that few are lucky enough to have.

I’m sitting now in the serine solarium aboard the Harmony of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship.  This ship is similar to some of the earliest ships I sailed, in that it floats, and the people in charge are known as “officers”.  A lot has changed... Read more about The "Good Old Days" of Cruising Were Nice, but Today's Cruising Is Even Better

Miami-based Carnival Corporation & PLC, the world’s largest leisure travel company and parents to numerous cruise lines announced that they’ll be deploying new connectivity to their ships which will be enabled by SES Networks.  

The service – delivered in connections with SES networks – will use geostationary earth orbit and medium-earth orbit constellations, managed services, and shipboard technologies to deliver reliable and high-speed connections at sea.  By combining multiple sources of bandwidth, over different bands and different satellite systems, connected to an “unprecedented volume” of shipboard access points, the aim is to deliver guests what they want when they want it, regardless of... Read more about Carnival Corporation to Keep Cruisers Connected With MedallionNet ™ - “Best Wi-Fi in Cruise Industry”

If you participate in our interactive broadcasts you may have seen us in Peppers of Key West back in May.  We were visiting on our Cuba cruise and had a great time with our friends and the staff as we tried some of the hottest sauces around.  It was a fun broadcast to watch, so we've included it later in this post.  Why are we bringing this up now?  As you're probably aware, the Florida Keys, like several places, were dealt a devastating blow by Hurricane Irma, and Peppers of Key West, a great local business, is donating 25% of all sales through September 30th to local charities helping those in the Keys most impacted by the storm... Read more about Laugh at Our Periscope, Get Awesome Spicy Stuff, & Help FL Keys Hurricane Victims

Carnival Corporation & PLC announced today that they’ve signed a memorandum of agreement with Fincantieri shipyard to bring a new vessel to Cunard Line.  The yet unnamed vessel will be the largest in the Cunard fleet with an expected delivery date in 2022.  While the new ship will be the 249th to fly the Cunard flag in Cunard’s 178 year history, she will only be the fourth ship in the current fleet, alongside Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Mary 2... Read more about Cunard Line to Be Graced with a New Ship in 2022 - Largest in the Fleet

Advice for your next cruise can come from many places - even a first timer who hasn't yet embarked can discover information that can help guide us.  Experience does count for quite a bit though, and few have more experience cruising than cruise ship captains.  What are their favorite European ports?  What tips do they have to share with other travelers? Read more about Cruise Captains Know Best - What are their favorite European ports and best tips?

We've been fielding a ton of questions about cancellations and changes relating to Hurricane Irma.

Safety is paramount, but that doesn't mean that you're not wondering your vacation's fate if you're booking in the coming days.  First head over to the Hurricane Status Board where we're trying to keep track of changes.  There we've also got a link to our article explaining how cruise lines safely hand hurricane season.  If you still have questions, feel free to reach out on Twitter or Facebook, and stay safe.

  Read more about We're tracking cruise modifications and cancellations on our Hurricane Status Board page

Great memories are made on cruises.  Whether a family get-together, a honeymoon, or just a trip with friends – we all like to have photos to help preserve these memories, and most of us carry a camera around all the time (in our phones of course).  Does that leave a place for shipboard photographers or are they just an interruption at dinner and embarkation?  Let’s dig into the pros and cons of this offering and learn a bit more about it… Read more about Cruise Ship Photographers - Picture Perfect or an Unsightly Blur?