At-Sea Flexible Dining: Take It Away

Freedom dining, my time dining, your time dining, personal choice dining — call it what you will. Most of the big cruise lines introduced this alternative to first or second sitting because passengers said they wanted more flexibility. People wanted to feel they had a choice of when they’d have dinner, just as those on [...]

Remembering Cruise Disasters: Tasteful or Tacky?

Just when we thought the media coverage of cruise disasters had moved on, it’s back to haunt us. The bizarre story of Australian mining billionaire Clive Palmer, who plans to build and launch a replica of Titanic to operate the transatlantic run between Britain and the U.S., was widely mocked when the announcement was made [...]

Venice vs. Cruise Ships: the Fight Goes on

Everybody loves Venice. But the question is, increasingly, does Venice love us? Locals, particularly those belonging to campaign groups that include Italia Nostra and the No Big Ships committee have long been up in arms about the close approach made by cruise ships sailing along the city’s Giudecca Canal to the cruise terminal.

Fees of the Future? We Think of More Ways You Could Flush Your Money Down the Toilet on a Cruise Ship

We recently spotted a suggestion on the Facebook page of Carnival’s cruise director, John Heald, that caught our eye. A passenger, Brianna P, was upset because she wasn’t allocated a window seat in the main dining room and wrote to Heald: “I am willing to bet that if Carnival started charging a fee for window [...]

Do We Leave Our Brains Ashore When We Cruise?

We’re always hearing about the daft things passengers ask crewmembers onboard ships. Corkers like “Do the crew sleep onboard?” are great fodder for the cruise director’s comedy spot. “What time’s the midnight buffet?” is another one gleefully trotted out by crew when regaling others with tales of the stupidity of cruise passengers.

Kids on a Cruise: 9 Things Every Parent Should Do

Kids in the pool, kids in the main dining room, kids in the theaters. They really bring out the worst — and best — in cruisers. As much as our readers debate the subject, there’s one thing most people agree on: It’s the parents, not the children, who are mainly to blame when the status [...]

Shore Tour Savvy: 6 Ways to Beat Bus Boredom

The big attractions in cruise destinations aren’t always near the ports. Or anywhere close. As a result, excursions often begin and end with a long bus ride, which doesn’t always show off the country at its best. A case in point: a five-hour journey going from Hanoi to the port of Hai Phong to join [...]

10 Warning Signs You’re In for a Bumpy Ride

Ship captains are notoriously understated in their weather forecasting. You know what we mean if you’ve ever sailed in foul weather: “You may feel the ship moving a bit” in the captain’s daily address probably means “The waves are going to be enormous and lots of you will be seasick.” So how are you supposed [...]