In recent years the cruise industry has transformed itself from a fairly niche part of the leisure industry driven more by people looking to experience something specific - such as visiting a remote island that almost nobody else ever has, or exploring rivers farther than even many of the great exploreers dared to go back in the golden years of the British Empire. These men and women were true explorers willing to sacrifice creature comforts and service for the opportunity to do something nobody else had done. Today, though, the industry has expanded, and companies like Aqua Expeditions blend the excitement of expedition cruising with the comforts of ultra-premium luxury and service.

With the introduction of a new generation of cruise ships comes the opportunity to rethink conventions and try new things. Sometimes those innovations work... and other times they need some tweaking to get right. Norwegian Prima is a great example of this and it appears to be an indicator that Norwegian Cruise Line is moving in a new direction, where passenger comfort and enjoyment are just as important as bullet points on a feature list.

Carnival certainly seems to be taking things in a new direction with their newest ships by building out some fantastic new indoor experiences - even as they continue to develop fabulous open air ones too. Their next ship, Carnival Celebration will continue what they introduced with the French Quarter concept but this time it is featuring a two-deck zone they call The Gateway.

Princess Cruises hasn't been at the top of our list of cruise lines to feature here but I think that's about to change. We tried a Princess Cruise last month from Los Angeles to explore the Mexican Riviera - Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, and Mazatlan, and we had a great time. From celebrating National Margarita Day with a margarita crawl through the ship to late night trips to the Chopsticks Noodle Bar and even some time spent placing wagers via their mobile sports book, there were some cool experiences that we haven't had on other ships before.

Let's just start this post by saying that I do believe in the scientific method of review and research, trusting experts but also verifying information against those things that I know are true for my personal situation. Right now, "The Media narrative" is that cruises are dangerous, covid is spreading everywhere and cruise ships are simply disease incubators. In fact, I had a friend post just that as a Facebook comment the other day. So why then did I just spend my own money booking a seven-day cruise to Mexico?

Virgin Voyages is essentially the anti-cruise. Created by Richard Branson who had, at the time anyhow, never gone on a mainstream cruise vacation but was convinced he could introduce a product that would both disrupt and revolutionize the industry. This brash hubris has resulted in an incredibly fun experience that is truly unlike any other Caribbean cruise option available.

Holland America Line has suddenly become my favorite cruise line and I don't say that lightly. While we enjoyed sailing with them in the past, the new generation of Pinnacle Class ships combined with one of the best leaderships teams in the industry has transformed what was once considered "newly wed and nearly dead" into a vibrant and fun cruise line... while still maintaining it's heritage as one of the more traditionally styled cruise operators.

We had the extraordinary opportunity to not just do a short inaugural cruise on MSC Seashore, Miami’s newest cruise ship, but also spent an additional seven days exploring both the exclusive MSC Yacht Club experience as well as a Fantastico experience balcony cabin. This offered us a taste of both ends of the economic spectrum but the good news is that most of the great features are available to guys seeking a cruise vacation regardless of how much you spend on your stateroom.

Cruise vacations are a great way to get away from it all and enjoy some time on the high seas. But if your idea of relaxation is not being able to fit into your clothing, you might want to take this post on eating right and staying fit while cruising with you. We have some tips that will help you stay in shape while enjoying your vacation!

Are you hungry for something different when it comes to food on a cruise ship? Yeah, me too. While I love the tried and true mixture of buffet, main dining room, steakhouse, and Italian restaurant... variety is nice too. Virgin Voyages is a disruptor in the cruise industry. When you take a look at the food offerings, you will see why that is going to be very exciting for guests when Scarlet Lady starts sailing this fall from Miami.

I love cruise vacations. For more than a decade it has been a way for me to see parts of the world, experience new cultures, try things I wouldn't do back home, and just generally have a great time. During the more than 20 cruises that I've taken, I've also started to feel that while different lines offer unique features that might make me prefer one over the other for certain experiences, the reality is they are more similar than they are different. To change this would take some radical thinking and a brand with the confidence and tradition to be truly innovative. There is no other travel brand that could do this like Virgin and that's exactly what Richard Branson has done. They are attempting to be a disrupter in what - until the pandemic - was a thriving industry that boasted a 7% annual growth rate, the most of any leisure travel market segment.

Bigger is always better... right? Well not always. Sometimes simply making things better is better and that seems to be the direction that the designers at Norwegian Cruise Line and the builders at Fincantieri who have begun building the first of six new cruise ships for the line. You already know how much we loved the last few ships in the Breakaway and Breakaway Plus class because they brought "Mega Ship" features like race tracks and VR arenas to cruising. With the introduction of Norwegian Prima the direction is decidedly small, more refined, and more luxury focused. I'm sure there are tons of new features that we can't even imagine yet that they will be announcing before it begins sailing next year, but we're already pretty darn excited about what it represents.

Viking has announced an expansion of its Egypt fleet with Viking Aton, a new state-of-the-art river vessel. Inspired by the design of the award-winning Viking Longships® and built specifically to navigate the Nile River, Viking Aton is currently under construction and is scheduled to debut in September 2022. Sailing on Viking’s popular Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary, the new vessel will join Viking’s existing Egypt river fleet, which includes its identical sister ship VikingOsiris and Viking’s first owned and operated ship on the Nile, Viking Ra.

If you are as starved for positive cruise news and something other than more shuffling of the deck when it comes to schedules then you're going to love this update. Norwegian Cruise Line, our hands-down favorite large-ship cruise line for guys looking for a great experience is back at what it does best - great entertainment and having fun.

While we are still waiting on the CDC's no-sail order to be lifted, Princess Cruises is busy updating their plans for the summer of 2021 including the addition of cruises from Los Angeles.

While most of you think of the major lines like Celebrity, Viking, and MSC when it comes to Mediterranean Cruises, we met with the folks from Celestyal Cruises earlier this year and were impressed by the offerings that they are working on to bring a different feel to the market. They've been around for several years and as a Greek cruise operator offers an interesting perspective introducing guests to their backyard. With the introduction of Celestyal Experience - formerly Costa newRomantica - they have upped the game dramatically and this makes us even more excited.

Viking continues to be on a roll when it comes to introducing new ships and new exciting itineraries. The company has now announced that it will launch a new ship next summer for its popular Magnificent Mekong cruisetour. The vessel, currently under construction, is the 80-guest Viking Saigon℠ is scheduled to debut in August 2021, with cruise tours and the river cruise portion of the itinerary sailing between Kampong Cham, Cambodia and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.

The Mississippi River is a legendary maritime highway that allowed Midwestern states to prosper. From the 1800's to today, this river continues to generate incredible amounts of wealth leading to culturally diverse cities spanning it's 664 navigable miles. While not quite the romantic castles and palaces that you might find along European rivers, the Mississippi offers an opportunity to explore a different side of American history from a variety of angles including civil rights, food, music, industry, agriculture, and military heritage. I've had the fortune to explore nearly the entire length of this region on road trips but I can already tell you that traveling by boat would be the ultimate way to explore the "Mighty Mississip'!"

We were on hand tonight for Viking's unveiling of their latest product - Viking Expeditions. With their incredible success with taking over the river and small-ship ocean cruise market, Viking Expedition is poised to have the same disruptive impact. Most importantly, the positioning is clearly a move away from traditional expedition offerings where the experience is secondary to the destination, Viking promises to bring a similar experience that we love from the river and ocean product to expeditions as well - including features such as large comfortable bathrooms as well as accessibility and comfort. 

There's a whole other world beyond just the big feature-packed cruise ships from the big-name brands you are all familiar with and that's the small ship luxury market. While I love sailing on ships like Norwegian Encore and Oasis of the Seas, the reality is that for many people the ship itself is getting in the way of enjoying a cruise. There are too many people, not enough personal attention, and the food ultimately suffers because you are cooking tens of thousands of meals each day. Plus, when you get to port there's always a long line waiting to debark and then once on shore there's more crowds to deal with. One increasingly popular alternative is small ship luxury cruises like those offered by Crystal Symphony, so we visited her in San Diego to see what all the buzz was about.