Celebrity Cruises will build its largest ship for the last of the five-vessel Solstice series. Celebrity Reflection will be about 3 feet wider than other Solstice vessels to expand restaurants and public areas, and to carry an extra passenger deck with cabins and suites connected to the spa, the cruise line announced today.
Voyages end. Our bubble of civility burst in Miami, as Azamara Journey docked after two weeks at sea from Rome. We arrived in Miami, about 600 of us aboard the cruise ship (right, docked in Tenerife) that had become a temporary home. An old friend once described traveling in luxury as being a part-time millionaire.…
Nearly two weeks into our voyage across the Atlantic, from Rome to Miami on the Azamara Journey, we have grown into a community. We began this cruise traveling separately. On our first morning, many of us, singles and couples, tentatively chose an empty table for breakfast on the fantail, outside Windows Café. Now, we are…
As we sail across the Atlantic toward Miami from Tenerife, in the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa, the ocean often seems nearly flat, but the swells are powerful enough to rock our 694-passenger ship. It’s not a violent movement. It is a motion that never stops. During the first crossing night, as we…
Aside from some turbulence in the Mediterranean the first night out of Rome – the TV on my cabin wall swiveled back and forth for hours – we faced gently rolling seas and chilly air on our way toward the Atlantic at Gibraltar. We made port stops at the walled city of Cartagena, Spain, and at…
When choosing a hotel room for a short stay in one of Europe’s major travel destinations, location is always the key for me. Yes, I want a clean room in a friendly place. But I start with location, which, for a budget room, usually is near a train station or a subway stop. Some of the…
I have moved from a small, quiet luxury vessel, plying the mostly placid seas of the Dalmatian Coast. Now, I am sitting among 3,000-plus passengers on a giant ship making a crossing in the November winds of the Mediterranean between Spain and Africa. What a contrast. My previous ship, the Seabourn Odyssey, carrying about 400 passengers,…
Among the occasional advantages of advancing age are the opportunities to return to special places, destinations with meanings from the past. I suspect that I look to see what has changed, and usually I have changed the most. In my first visit to Athens and the Acropolis, images from books, study, and expectations came alive for my…
Never give up the opportunity for a extra day in Paris. My work/play tour schedule ended on a Saturday afternoon, with no need to be in Frankfurt, Germany, before Monday. So, I grabbed an October Sunday in Paris for myself. No plans, no schedule. Rain would mean museums. Sun would dictate a long walk. On…