A lot of visitors and locals aren't aware that you can watch whales from Manhattan and Brooklyn in NYC. And I'm talking some major whale watching! I recently took a cruise from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn with American Princess Cruises, where we saw seven humpback...
Cruise & Sail
Searching San Diego for the Largest Mammal of All Time
I have dreamed for decades of seeing a blue whale - the largest animal that's ever lived (as far as we know at least). When I first investigated the possibility, the only places to see them were remote and usually in very cold waters. Since then, they have become much...
Viking River Cruise: Portugal’s River of Gold
Viking River Cruises have some of the most appealingly seductive television ads. Often, when watching them, I wondered how accurate they were. Well, after having experienced a Viking Cruise, I can honestly attest to the fact that the ads are not...
Quark Expeditions in Antarctica
The time has come...The Walrus saidTo talk of many things:Of shoes -- and ships -- and sealing wax --Of cabbages -- and kings --And why the sea is boiling hotAnd whether pigs have wings The Walrus and the Carpentera narrative poem by Lewis Carroll Through the...
A Viking Rhône River Cruise
On our fourth Viking Cruise - this time on the Rhône River in southern France - we encountered a meteorological phenomenon… rising water! One would have thought lots of water in a river would be a good thing - better than the lack of water that grounded river cruises...
A Paradise Beyond Imagination: Exploring the Galapagos Islands on a Luxury Motorized Yacht
Ever since my early school days and fascination with the groundbreaking scientific discoveries of Charles Darwin, I've always harbored a strong desire to embark upon travel to the Galapagos Islands, located six hundred miles off the coast of Ecuador. These remote...
Antarctica Adventure
The visit to Cape Horn, although physically demanding, was doable and exhilarating, and The Drake (waterway that leads to Antarctica) was unusually gentle with us, which gave us false hope that it would be smooth sailing ahead. Never underestimate the gods of wind and...
The Iconic Viking Star Western Mediterranean Cruise
To River Longship or Ocean Cruise Ship? Ah, that is the question… well it’s not a matter of life or death, but there are differences. We have recently experienced both with Viking so I have a perfect platform from which to compare. Our latest was the “Iconic...
Antarctica: Land at the End of the Earth
Well yes... we knew it was one of the coldest places on earth, and of course, there was going to be lots and lots of water that could, without a “by your leave,” turn into ice; but I wasn’t prepared for the wind! When I say wind I don’t mean the regular kind that...
Ushuaia – The Unexpected Treasure
Ushuaia is just a dot on the map at the bottom of Argentina. It is the town from which we were to board our Antarctic Cruise ship Ultramarine, the latest state–of-the-art expedition ship in Quark Expeditions luxurious ship line-up. Photo by Barbara and Manos...
Legendary Uniworld Rhine & Moselle River Cruise
Our 13-day Legendary Rhine & Moselle* River Cruise with the top ranked UNIWORLD Boutique River Cruise Collection began in Amsterdam, the capital of The Netherlands, with a canal sightseeing cruise. Amsterdam is surely one of the most under-rated capitals of...
Liming in Antigua
Antigua, the “Land of 365 Beaches” is in the middle of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, a few degrees north of the Equator. Its culture has been strongly influenced by the British Empire, of which the country was formerly a part. I visited the island in...
Viking Saturn Naming Celebration
VIKING really, really, knows how to throw a party! On June 2, 2023 the newest ship in VIKING’s impressive line-up of 100+ ships was named VIKING Saturn ata ceremony held at Pier 88 on New York City’s Hudson River. During the party, raconteur Chairman...
Latin Trails Galapagos Sea Star Journey Cruise
Anyone who has been to the Galapagos will tell you that it’s the trip of a lifetime. But cruising the Galapagos on a luxury yacht is the trip of a lifetime times ten. For five nights and six days, I had the opportunity to experience the Latin Trails Sea Star yacht,...