Right now, we’re riding the crest of cruise wave season, the heaviest time of year for cruise bookings and prime time to find steals and deals on ships both large and small. When you factor in that all your meals and much of your onboard entertainment is included in the cruise price, it truly is one of the best bargains in vacationing today.

Now I know there are a lot of people out there who think “cruise” and roll their eyes (are you one of them?), but as someone who previously doubted she’d ever be able to find anything to like about sea legs, I’ve been proven wrong again and again.

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Posted in Cruise Travel
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Karaoke might be the perfect ice breaker for travelers. Whereas 100 years ago, travelers used to gather around the inn piano for a good old-fashioned singalong, we now can find an instant sense of camaraderie beneath disco lights and the LCD screen. Plus, even if you’re a total bomb at the mic, the beauty of karaoke on vacation is that you never have to see any of your audience again.

Today you can find karaoke almost everywhere (except for North Korea, where they banned it in July). Finland, of all places, holds the world record for the most people singing karaoke together at one time (imagine 80,000 people singing heavy-metal hit “Hard Rock Hallelujah” in an attempt to usher in the “arockalypse” to Helsinki).

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member angelsil.

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Posted in Bars & Nightlife, Cruise Travel, Entertainment
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One of my duties at Travelocity is writing about cruises. Here’s the typical response I get when I announce this at dinner parties.

“Cruises”?! (Person chokes on a bite of food.) “Aren’t they for old people”?

If you tuned into the premiere of the modern-day TV classic America’s Next Top Model, then you would have seen Cycle 9 kicking off onboard Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas. There, the model hopefuls were coming down with seasickness, noshing on rich cruise cuisine while accusing one another of eating disorders, and even attempting to “work it” on the jogging track, much to the displeasure of runway expert Miss J.

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member PNelson

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Posted in Celebrities, Cruise Travel, Travel News
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Being sick while on vacation is beyond disappointing, and when it’s serious, you just want to beam yourself back home and into your own bed—even if you’re in a spectacular setting. That must have been what T.B. patient Andrew Speaker was thinking when he hopped on a plane home from Europe last month. While accounts vary as to how much he knew about how contagious he was, a case like this definitely brings up the risks of traveling among the public when you’re sick.

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Posted in Air Travel, Cruise Travel, Health & Wellness
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Whether I’m in the market for shoes or electronics or vacations, I’m a staunch believer in getting the biggest bang for my buck. I always shop around to make sure I’m getting the best deal, and I rarely let my impulsive, girly, gotta-have-it-now instincts take control. Call me cheap, but why dole out more cash than you really have to – for anything? Perhaps it’s this commitment to saving a pretty penny that has cultivated my appreciation for cruising.

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Posted in Budget Travel, Cruise Travel, Travel News
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Don't wear your lowriders on the FlowRider®! That's the best advice I can give you after checking out the surf pool on board Royal Caribbean International's newest cruise ship, Freedom of the Seas. This summer, I had the opportunity to scrape the surface of this floating skyscraper – its ice skating rink and boxing ring, the mini-golf and rock-climbing wall, its 22 bars and, yes, the fabled FlowRider, which became titillating in ways I don't think the designers intended.

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Posted in Cruise Travel, Entertainment
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