Is Cunard Relaxing its Dress Code?

Apart from smoking and tipping, few other topics spark debate like what to wear onboard. It seems everyone and their great aunt has a view on whether you should dress up onboard. Which is why when Cunard — regarded as the most formal of all the lines — announced it is “loosening” its dress code [...]

The Best New Cruise Ship of 2013?

Wild swings in the vote. Furious campaigning. Baseless character assassinations. The occasion: Deciding which of 2013′s marquee new-builds cruisers would prefer to sail. It’s between the 3,600-passenger Royal Princess and the 4,028-passenger Norwegian Breakaway, two buzzworthy prototypes launching next year. Will it be Princess’ quiet, big-ship elegance or Breakaway’s NYC-inspired exuberance?

Face-Off: the Elephant vs. the Donkey

It’s election day, and for lots of Americans, that means we’ve finally come to the end of a tiresome season of fundraising, campaigning and debating. But others — both conservatives and liberals — can’t get enough of all things political, and the idea of sailing aboard a cruise ship filled with a couple thousand folks [...]

A Cruise Back in Time: Fares Then and Now

While reading an old copy of a book that once belonged to my travel-loving grandfather, I was startled when a makeshift bookmark fell into my lap. It was a yellowed advertisement for cruises — specifically, sailings aboard Cunard‘s iconic Queen Elizabeth 2 — torn from a USAir magazine, circa October 1982. Itineraries noted on the [...]

Is MSC the New Norwegian?

Over on Facebook and Twitter, we had some fun discussions about MSC Cruises and its newest ship, Divina, which departed from the shipyard at St. Nazaire, France, on Saturday. One Cruise Critic poster called the Switzerland-based MSC the Carnival of Europe. It’s not. Costa, which is actually owned by Carnival Corp., gets that nod; it [...]

Face-Off: Jigsaw vs. the Classics

Movie buffs unite! Well, sort of. Comes word that not only will Turner Classic Movies be hosting its second theme cruise in early 2013, but horror flick devotees will soon have a chance to get the inside deets on the cult-classic “SAW” films. Of course, we know that it’s possible to love films from both [...]

Face-Off: Carnival Magic vs. Carnival Dream

The stats would indicate a level playing field: Carnival Dream and Carnival Magic are both Dream-class ships, sharing the same super-size, 1,004-foot length and 3,650-plus-passenger capacity. Yes, Dream is about 20 months older than Magic, but at first glance they could still pass for twins. On second glance, more like fraternal twins separated at birth, [...]

Face-Off: Battle of the Cruise Ship Godmothers

It’s new ship season, so it’s no surprise that an influx of newly minted godmothers is coming to the fore. Last week, diva extraordinaire Mariah Carey christened Disney Fantasy. And in the past few days two more names have surfaced. Priscilla Presley will oversee next month’s launch of American Queen in Memphis, home to Elvis’s [...]