Travel&Vacation

For the mere act of transporting us from shore to shore we can thank Carnival Cruise Lines. But for making this cruise a special cruise, about you and me and the music, and not just an ordinary cruise, we have to thank Simple Man Cruise. And for the money they’re laying down to charter this wonderful cruise, we have to thank Sixthman. This cruise turned out to be four days of nonstop music and sun and fun. I even told my editors I’d need a week to recuperate when I got back. They thought I was joking! Obviously these wankers have never been on one of the Simple Man Cruises. Billed as the Simple Man 2009 Cruise, it was hosted by Lynyrd Skynyrd. We were due to cast off at 1600 hours, and when we weighed anchor it was to the sound of music on the Lido Deck. But you could hear the
(Read the full post about ‘Music Review … with a Cruise Thrown In’…)

DENALI NATIONAL PARK, Alaska (AP) — It was near the end of a six-hour bus tour of Denali National Park that we got a good, long look at a bear eating his way through a field of berries. Elsewhere in Alaska, my husband, two sons and I had watched whales spouting near Juneau, eagles along the Chilkat River, and waterways in Ketchikan and Skagway so full of salmon they could barely move. But we’d headed to Denali knowing that the park’s 9,400 square miles are home to just 350 brown bears. We hoped to see them, but we were prepared for the possibility that we might not. And therein lies an important point to keep in mind if you’re planning a trip to Alaska this summer. There are no guarantees you’ll see wildlife, but you can improve your chances if you’re patient and if you put yourself
(Read the full post about ‘Wildlife encounters in Alaska’…)

The world of cruise parent companies can be mind-boggling. You may not know it, but Carnival Corporation owns not only Carnival Cruise Lines, but Holland America, Princess, Seabourn, Windstar, Costa, Cunard, and other international lines. But the giant corporation is soon to be one cruise line short, when it sells Windstar to Ambassadors International (the parent company of river-cruise specialist Majestic America Line).

Technically, Windstar is a subsidiary of Holland America, but as Carnival owns Holland America, it has the right to sell Windstar if that’s the best plan for the company. “Windstar is an outstanding and unique cruise product and has garnered an extremely loyal following, however, Carnival Corporation & plc’s growth strategy is focused on expanding our core growth
(Read the full post about ‘Carnival will sell Windstar to Ambassadors International’…)