Hard to imagine but Alaska doesn’t have any laws on the books to protect bears with rehabilitation programs. “Bullets are cheaper” I was told by the Fortress of the Bear staff member when I asked why the bears needed to be rescued. She told me a story of a hotel […]
The Oprah “Share the Adventure” Cruise to Alaska would be my first cruise “first date” on Holland America. I was a bit apprehensive knowing that Holland has a reputation for skewing older cruise guests especially to Alaska but figured that the O Magazine inaugural cruise to Alaska on Eurodam with […]
Leave it to my eleven (going on thirty) year old precocious niece to burst my Oprah bubble. I was showing my sister and mom my photo with Oprah from the O Magazine, Share the Adventure cruise to Alaska on Holland America’s Eurodam. My niece said “did you meet Oprah…and she […]
When I travel solo on a cruise, after the anger of the 200% fare wears off, I tend to overschedule myself to remain busy in the day and forget I’m alone on a ship of over two (or four) thousand people. It’s easy to blend in and become invisible if […]
I won’t lie, when I heard that my group was assigned to the Holiday Inn Miami West – Hialeah Gardens, I wasn’t thrilled. I was hungry and wanted the cookies at the Doubletree Hotel where other passengers were assigned. My inner hotel inspector (snob) was skeptical ranking Doubletree above a […]
I’m not sure who wanted to cry more, the Fathom staff that had spent months (and years) in preparation or the passengers who were excited to experience the new cruise concept of social impact activities in the Dominican Republic (the DR). It was an emotional 24 hours for everyone scheduled […]
What a difference a year makes! I could never imagine what lie ahead of me when I closed my office door saying goodbye to a job of over twenty years. The job elimination was not in my plans and yet here I was unemployed for the first time since I […]
Five years ago, I met Marco in Sorrento. Sounds like a great opening line to a travel romance novel and in some ways it is, I didn’t fall in love with Marco (he was married) but I had fallen in love with the Amalfi Coast twenty years ago on that […]
Walking around a travel expo floor can be overwhelming with so many travel vendors, destination marketing folks and travel products competing for your attention. Tables are lined with gorgeous marketing brochures to draw you in and the expert teams are there to answer questions and tell you about their offerings […]
Have you ever cruised and wondered if you should spend the extra money to upgrade your cabin? You read the descriptions and try to ascertain from the photos what the difference in cost and space really gets you? Well, for me who could only afford the inside cabin (reluctantly with the […]