Outdoors recreation

• February 23, 2017

  American travelers bump into Cuba’s rules on early cruise to southwest coast, but all runs smoothly later

  Passengers cruise, instead of snorkel, as Panorama II sails for Cienfuegos on Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic journey

• September 6, 2016

  Bigger waterpark, more outside dining, craft beers on Carnival Vista cruise ship

  When a major cruise line brings out its first new ship in four years, the design, style and atmosphere speak to how the company sees itself. From bow to stern, the new Carnival Vista screams, “I am Carnival.”

• January 31, 2016

  Best of new big cruise ships: Anthem and Escape

  In the heavyweight bout for the world’s best new big cruise ship, the winner will be in the eye of the beholder, because two competitive cruise lines each have taken a different tack to show who owns the hippest ship — Miami’s 4,248-passenger Norwegian Escape or New York’s 4,180-passenger Anthem of the Seas.

• November 23, 2015

  Living a dream-like suite life on a cruise ship

  A growing demand for bigger, grander suites Big, fancy, expensive suites, with butlers, are among the fastest growing accoutrements on cruise ships. Their size and number seem to increase with each new ship.    Silversea's Silver Spirit, docked at Rhodes, has Grand Suites that measure about 1,400 square feet, bigger than many apartments (Photo by…

• October 18, 2015

  SATW 2015 public auction for fun and exotic travel starts October 19

  Travel destinations such as Scotland and Tabago, a train ride across Canada, and activities such as scuba diving and kiteboarding top the bid lists as the startup approaches for the public auction conducted annually as a fundraiser by the Society of American Travel Writers. Browsers and bidders may log on to the SATW auction website:…

• September 22, 2015

  New cruise port, Amber Cove, to open on the north coast of Dominican Republic

  Passengers will begin arriving Oct. 6 at Carnival Corp.’s new cruise port at Amber Cove on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. As many as 350,000 cruisers are expected within the next year, the first regularly scheduled vacationers from the sea in about three decades.

• March 27, 2014

  Australia’s island retreat for lizards and wealthy sailors

  Fourth and last in a series from Queensland, Australia Lizard Island, a beachy piece of the 1,200-mile Great Barrier Reef, is named for its primary inhabitants. They are joined, especially in Australia’s winter, by sailors, fishermen, campers, and other world travelers drawn by the reef's bounty. Beach at Lizard Island Resort, Australia (Photos by David G.…

• March 24, 2014

  From Daintree to Cooktown, Australia’s history and tropical treasures

  third in a series from Queensland, Australia Daintree National Park in Queensland, Australia, is a world treasure. Most of the huge park is tropical rainforest, some of which has existed continuously for more than 110 million years. It may be the oldest rainforest on Earth. Some plant and animal species have been found nowhere else on…

• March 20, 2014

  Cairns, Australia, where crocs keep the beaches empty

  Much of what is accessible to travelers in northern Queensland, Australia, lies between Cairns and Cooktown. The primary reason to go to Cairns is to book a snorkeling or diving boat to the Great Barrier Reef,

• November 2, 2013

  Soft Un-Cruise adventure in British Columbia on an un-ship

  For a visit to Canada’s islands and inlets on the west coast of British Columbia, cruise on a small vessel. There really isn’t any other choice. Safari Quest cruises out of Princess Louisa Inlet, British Columbia, at slack tide (Photos by David G. Molyneaux, TheTravelMavens.com) The big cruise ships hurry out of Seattle and Vancouver,…