Eurodam is a perfect name for a new cruise ship, especially in Europe during a summer when every American vacationing on the other side of the Atlantic is talking about the damn Euro. One Euro, the currency in most European countries, costs more than $1.50, so my cup of coffee earlier this month in Copenhagen,…
Real ships wear pink. And Carnival Cruise Lines’ newest vessel is as pink as you’ll ever see at sea. The Carnival Splendor, now on its inaugural voyages in Europe, is Carnival’s largest ship at 113,300 tons. That means more cabins (for 3,006 passengers), including 68 clustered forward at the spa; a larger children’s’ area and…
If you are lucky enough to be traveling in Stockholm, Sweden, through July 20, stop for few laughs in the downtown public square called Kungstradgarden. The snickers are coming from Doug Lansky's Signspotting Project as thousands of locals and travelers pass his outdoor exhibit each day. Lansky, 38, at right in Stockholm, is an American…
As Holland America Line readies to dedicate its newest cruise ship on July 1 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, I was thinking about the names of new cruise ships that give strong hints about the people who choose to vacation at sea and sometimes help us to understand the soul of a cruise line. I have…
You don’t have to pick up a golf club to be delighted by St. Andrews, Scotland. While St. Andrews, right, is the place that golfers go on pilgrimage to play the Old Course, it is also a bustling seaside and college town, home of Scotland’s first university, and a city with a violent history where…
St. Andrews, Scotland Playing golf is part of ordinary life in Scotland, where 550 courses tantalize even the most tepid players from the United States. If you are drawn to Scotland’s links, be aware that the game here is more serious and more strenuous than the typically casual American Saturday morning jaunt around the country…
If you are an amateur golfer who loves to play championship courses, England and Scotland have dozens of them. At a time when many of the top tournament courses in the United States are difficult, if not impossible, to get to play because of their exclusivity, the best courses of England and Scotland are open.…
When schedules go awry at home, we simply pick up our cell phones and make new arrangements. Instant communications are a given. But when traveling internationally, you may find that your U.S. cell phone either does not work out of the country or that it costs you more per minute than you are willing to…
This is Liverpool’s year. The city that sent us the Beatles in 1964 is having a year-long celebration as the 2008 European Capital of Culture, and it’s well worth a stop if you are touring England anytime during the next 12 months. The bash began over the weekend when ex-Beatle Ringo Starr returned home as…
In most of England’s hotels and inns, the "teapot" in each room is a plastic electric water heater. On my recent trip through northern England, the water reservoir in these pots seldom had been cleaned properly when I checked into my room, and some pots still contained water from the previous guest. Maybe the folks…