Mountain City's Travel Blog

Welcome to Wave Season!  Wave after wave of promotions, offers and perks that make booking your next – or your first! - cruise irresistible. Cruise lines compete to outdo each other during Wave, and that gives you the opportunity to save money, get some extra perks to spoil yourself – or sail into new cruise horizons! Navigating WaveWith all the different...

MSC Cruises and the MSC Foundation are sharing some good news for the world’s seas coming from the Super Coral Program at the cruise line’s private island in The Bahamas, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve. The Super Coral Program, working with off-site university partners since 2020, is dedicated to reversing the shocking worldwide decline in coral populations. New research supported by the...

Want to improve your memory, problem-solving skills and ability to focus? A recent study aboard a Transatlantic Crossing on the Queen Mary 2 found that even a few days at sea gives cruise travelers measurable and surprising cognitive benefits – in addition to relaxation. For over 180 years, British luxury cruise line Cunard has been sailing the fabled, week-long Crossing between...

Three cheers to the yachting lifestyle!  Emerald Cruises’ yachts are warm-weather cruising on a whole different scale: small! With only 100 guests, you feel like you’re aboard your own private yacht – that’s designed to make you feel immediately at home as you spend lazy days chasing the sun… and relaxing with something cold in your hand that reminds you:...

Is Antarctica on your travel bucket list? The White Continent is the ultimate expedition cruising destination: literally at the end of the earth, and able to be reached only by ship, with its epic scenery of glaciers, icebergs, and surprisingly rich wildlife, including several varieties of penguins, elephant seals, whales and more, Antarctica has remained just a dream destination for...

On safari in Africa, it’s the ‘Big 5’ signature species. But on the other side of the world, in another extraordinary landscape, the can’t miss, iconic wildlife is summed up on the ‘Big 15’ list. Many are found nowhere else on earth other than in the Galapagos islands. Their unparalleled biodiversity famously inspired Darwin’s theory of evolution. No wonder these remote...

There’s the North Pole… and there’s the “North Pole of Inaccessibility.” Ponant’s Le Commandant Charcot has done something no ship of any kind has ever done before. In the 21st century, it’s hard to imagine there’s a place on earth humans have never been, but close to the end of the 2024 Arctic cruise/ sailing season, the polar expedition cruise...

Sun Princess has arrived in Ft. Lauderdale for her first winter season after the 4300-guest ship’s inaugural Mediterranean season. The latest “Love Boat” to join the Princess Cruises fleet has arrived in her new homeport, to begin sailing a series of seven-day Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises, roundtrip through early April 2025. Guests are already raving about Sun Princess’ innovative design,...

New digital border processing and hall at SXM airport mean arriving for your next trip to the Caribbean’s famous twin-nation island will be faster, easier, and better than ever before. But you do have to get online and fill out the new forms before you check in to your flight to St. Maarten.Mandatory Digital Forms for Travel to St. MaartenSt....

If you thought sailing to small islands and boutique harbors in idyllic tropical places was just for billionaires in their private yachts, think again. Even you can feel like a billionaire on one of Emerald Cruises’ two new mega-yachts. We sailed aboard the Emerald Sakara on a ‘yachtsman’s itinerary’ from San Juan, Puerto Rico, weaving through the U.S. and British Virgin...

Atlas Ocean Voyages, the small-ship cruise line that expanded the concept of expedition cruising from remote, polar exploration to include concepts like its ‘Epicurean Expeditions,’ has debuted “The Explorer’s Table.” It’s a new, specialty dining option only available to guests on its ships in Antarctica and the High Arctic. An exclusive Omakase-style dining experience, The Explorer’s Table will present global culinary...

The first and only luxury hotel company to take to the sea has welcomed Ilma, its second newbuild, ultra-luxury ‘superyacht’. The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s latest small ship is host to fewer than 500 guests in its 224 ‘airy and intuitive’ suites, all with private terraces providing direct access to the sea. The Ilma also offers guests world-class dining curated by MICHELIN-starred...

During a spectacular naming ceremony in Civitavecchia – the port for Rome, Italy – Explora Journeys launched Explora II. The September, 2024 event marked the debut of the second of six ships by the lifestyle ocean travel brand of the MSC Group. Explora Journeys promises guests the opportunity to experience an “Ocean State of Mind,” connecting you with both the...

One of the most remarkable things about sailing aboard the Scenic Eclipse in the Antarctic is the contrast between the wild remoteness just outside… and feeling like you’re a guest at a chic boutique hotel in any stylish urban hot spot in the world. One minute, you’re in a zodiac heading towards a colony of penguins on an ice and snow-covered...

Windstar Cruises’ brand-new ship debuts in early 2026, and reservations have opened for Star Seeker’s inaugural season in Alaska, Japan and the Caribbean. The small ship cruise line last sailed in Japan and Alaska in 2023. Star Seeker is currently under construction in Europe and is scheduled to debut at the end of 2025 and join Windstar’s 6-ship fleet in January...

The pickleball craze continues! Not content to dominate community parks around North America, the sociable, ‘tennis light’ paddle sport is taking root in holiday destinations – not just on land resorts and hotels, but also at sea, and, in the latest twist, overwater! Pickleball on the Rivers of EuropeAmaWaterways made waves when it became the first river cruise line to introduce...

Gin is in! Cocktail culture is back, and one of the original ingredients of cocktails is having a renaissance, too. MSC Cruises has ‘tapped’ into the of-the-moment trend that’s seen a boom in types of gin and new gin cocktails. The cruise line is introducing new drinks fleet-wide to join in its lineup of cool summer sips. For many, fun and sophisticated...

Plenty of cruise lines swear they serve the best pizza. But only one cruise line can now claim to hold the Guinness World Record for World’s Largest Pizza Party. Over 60,000 slices of pie were served fresh from the oven over multiple ships across the Princess Cruises fleet simultaneously in July, 2024 to set the record. World’s Largest Pizza Party By...

Norway is so famous for its fjords, the Norwegian word has become part of the international travel dialect. In languages around the world, ‘fjord’ means a deep, natural sea channel reaching far inland, surrounded by dramatic cliffs carved millennia ago by glaciers on their way to the sea. According to Visit Norway, the word ‘fjord’ has Viking roots, relating to the...

Building family fun on a cruise vacation couldn’t be easier. When the new MSC World America launches in April, 2025, it will have an over 10,0000 square foot kids’ area, complete with an enhanced partnership with LEGO that will offer first-at-sea experiences. Plus the only over-water swing ride – the ‘Cliffhanger’ - towering over 160 feet above the ocean -...