An illustrated image looking out across the water near Mystery Island Vanuatu

Cruise Travel & Travel Planning

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Carnival Splendor in Sydney Harbour with Harbour Bridge and Opera House in the background

Cruise Carry-On Packing List: What to Pack for Embarkation Day

Your checked luggage may not reach your cabin until later in the day, so what should you keep with you when boarding? Here's my practical...
Lady holding a phone with GigSky eSIMs installed with cruise ship in background

Cruise eSIMs at Sea: Are They Really Worth It?

Land-and-sea eSIMs promise an easier and potentially cheaper way to stay connected throughout a cruise. But limited data, device restrictions and maritime connectivity mean they...
a large Carnival cruise ship docked in a harbor

How to Choose the Best Cruise Cabin for Your Trip

From cabin type and budget to deck location, noise, views and seasickness, there’s more to choosing a cruise cabin than you might expect. Here are...
Handwashing

5 Ways to Avoid Getting Sick on a Cruise

Nobody wants to spend their cruise confined to the cabin with a stomach bug. These are five simple things I do onboard to reduce our...
Sunrise on our approach into Tokyo

Tokyo Cruise Port Day: Exploring Tokyo With a Private Guide

We had one very long day to explore Tokyo from our cruise ship, so we booked a private guide and gave him an ambitious wish...
View of mystery island from onboard the Carnival Splendor

Mystery Island, Vanuatu: Beaches, Snorkelling & a Village Tour

Mystery Island is a beautiful Vanuatu tender port with pristine beaches and clear tropical water. We combined some island time with a locally organised boat...
Freshly washed laundry hanging inside a cruise cabin

Doing Laundry in a Cruise Cabin: My Simple Travel Laundry Kit

Doing a little washing on a cruise doesn't need to mean spending your holiday in the laundrette. Here's the simple travel laundry kit I use...
View of windows in cabin 2462 on Carnival Splendor

Carnival Splendor Cabin 2462: Oceanview Cabin Tour

Carnival Splendor Cabin 2462 isn't your typical Oceanview cabin. Its unusual layout gives you two windows, a separate sitting area and plenty of storage. Here's...
Seward from the cruise port

Our Day in Seward: SeaLife, Waterfalls & Our First Taste of Alaska

Seward was our first taste of Alaska and an easy port to explore independently. We visited the Alaska SeaLife Center, stumbled across a waterfall, ate...
Boardwalk at Juneau pier

Our Day in Juneau: First Snow, Mount Roberts & King Crab

We kept our Juneau port day simple and explored independently, taking the Goldbelt Tram up snowy Mount Roberts, doing a little more souvenir shopping than...
Boats at the port in Moorea

Our Day in Moorea: A Motu, an Abandoned Resort & One Very Lucky Turtle Sighting

Moorea's beautiful lagoon and tender-port setup convinced us to do something we don't often do: book a cruise-line shore excursion. Our day included a boat...
Hiroshima

Our Day in Hiroshima: Peace Park, Paper Cranes & Getting Slightly Lost

Our Hiroshima port day didn't quite go to plan, with an unexpected cruise terminal, miserable weather and a few wrong turns. But visiting the Peace...
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