Category: Cruise Ships
Forgotten Hero Ship: The Wreck of La Jenelle
The coast of Oxnard, California was stormy on April 13, 1970. Gale-force winds blew about and rocked the nearly 500-foot cruise ship until her starboard anchor began dragging. There was little that the two crew members aboard could do to stop it. Less than 30 minutes later, the ship grounded itself on nearby Silver Strand…
The Haunting of the QE2
The Queen Mary isn’t the only Cunard ship that’s said to be haunted. It’s said that Queen Elizabeth 2 also has a very healthy amount of ghostly activity. After the ship arrived in Dubai in November 2008, reports of weird activity began emerging. One of the workers aboard QE2 was interviewed by the Daily Mail…
The Top Five Most Beautiful Modern Cruise Ships
I know it’s popular for ocean liner aficionados to hate on cruise ships. I get it. Cruise ships often don’t have the clean, graceful lines of ocean liners. They have a very different look and feel about them. But I love them both…they’re different kinds of ships for different purposes. Are there some ugly cruise…
Cruise Mode: August 2024
Hey there! Long time no see! I sincerely apologize for the lack of posts lately. Life has been nuts since the end of June. Between being incredibly short staffed at work and dealing with some unexpected illnesses, I honestly haven’t had the time or energy to commit to this page. I’m hoping that that’s going…
Floating Pride: The First LGBTQ+ Cruises
I know…gay cruises are something of a stereotype. They’ve been the butt of many jokes over the years (I’m looking at you, Boat Trip). But the truth is that cruises are very popular with the LGBTQ+ community. Nowadays, passengers have a lot more freedom to openly express themselves and their sexuality. Cruise lines are only…
Friends of Dorothy: A Look at LGBTQ+ Meetups on Cruise Ships
If you’ve ever been on a cruise, have you noticed a “Friends of Dorothy” event listed on the daily schedule and wondered what it was? It’s a discreet way of advertising for a LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, queer/questioning, and more) meetup aboard. Or at least it used to be. Nowadays, “Friends of Dorothy” has…
Cruising Returns to Baltimore
In March, I wrote about the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse and its potential impact on Baltimore’s cruise operations. The MV Dali (the ship that struck the bridge following power issues) has been finally removed, and cruising officially returned to Charm City on Saturday, May 25 with Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas embarking passengers…
Going Beyond with Celebrity Cruises
My wife and I just got back from a five-day cruise aboard Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Beyond. Wow! What an incredible experience! This was our first time sailing on Celebrity and they really set the bar high. We’re looking at doing another one in 2026 and can’t wait! The entire time we were aboard the Beyond,…
Cruise Mode: April 2024
Hello everyone! Just wanted to let you know that my wife and I are going on a cruise next week. We’ll be sailing with Celebrity Cruises aboard Celebrity Beyond. It’ll be our first time sailing with them, and it’s an understatement to say that we’re excited! It’ll be a five-day Caribbean cruise with stops at…
The Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse & Baltimore’s Cruise Ship Operations
Like many others, I was dumbstruck when Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed on March 26, 2024 after being hit by a container ship. Six men lost their lives in the accident, and three of them still haven’t been found. I lived in the Washington, DC area for almost a decade and made several trips…