Day 2 of this second segment was a sea day, and the first of two back-to-back sea days as Rotterdam makes her way toward our first port of call on this itinerary, Willemstad, Curaçao. We’re scheduled to arrive there at noon on Monday, March 16. As I mentioned in the…

Poof. Just like that it’s time for the second leg of this back-to-back cruise aboard Holland America’s Rotterdam. If you’re just jumping in here, the previous segment was a 12-day Panama Canal sailing. This next cruise is a 9-day ABC itinerary… well technically a CBA itinerary since we’re visiting the…

Virgin Voyages is adding a new restaurant called Ariya to Valiant Lady, with the venue set to debut in May 2026 following the ship’s dry dock. The new concept will take over the Razzle Dazzle space at night while Razzle Dazzle continues serving breakfast and brunch during the day. Virgin…

It’s the final day of this 12-day adventure aboard Holland America’s Rotterdam, and we’re spending it at sea as we make our way back to our homeport of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Like I do in all of my cruise reports, the final day is when I give…

Day 11 of this 12-day Panama Canal cruise finds us at our final port stop, George Town, Grand Cayman. If you’ve been here before, or if you’ve followed along with my cruise reports over the years, you already know this is a tender port. There’s no dock for the ship…

Day 10 aboard Rotterdam and it’s another sea day. And when you’re on a sea day on a cruise ship, especially one like Holland America, the honest truth is there isn’t always a whole lot to report on because a lot of people spend the day doing exactly what sea…

After an incredible day yesterday transiting part of the Panama Canal and soaking in one of the most fascinating engineering marvels in the world, today brings us somewhere that feels like the complete opposite end of the travel spectrum: Puerto Limón, Costa Rica. Now when many people think of Costa…

Princess Cruises has quietly bumped up the service charge on onboard extras from 18% to 20%, which means passengers will now pay a little more for things like drinks, specialty dining, private group functions, and other optional purchases not included in the cruise fare. And no, this is not the…

Carnival Cruise Line is expanding a new dining option called Express Dining, giving guests a way to get through a multi-course dinner in the ship’s main dining room in under an hour. The program is already live on 15 ships and Carnival says it plans to have it available across…

Day nine aboard Holland America’s Rotterdam finally brought the moment many people booked this cruise for in the first place: our partial transit of the Panama Canal. If you’ve never experienced the canal before, it’s one of those things that’s hard to fully appreciate until you actually see it happen.…