About Me

Twenty years of cruising and I still can’t get enough of it.

My first cruise was on The Norway, with my parents, when I was around 15 or maybe a little younger. I didn’t know it at the time, but that trip set something in motion. I’ve been back on ships more times than I can count since then, across more cruise lines than I can list off the top of my head. These days it’s mostly Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, but I’ve sailed enough of the others to know what’s actually different between them and what’s just marketing.

I’m not the honeymoon crowd, and I’m not writing for retirees either. I’m somewhere in the middle. Most of my trips are with my wife, but just as often I’m the one planning things for my whole family, my mom included. That’s a very different kind of trip planning than the one most cruise content is written for, and it’s a big part of why this site exists.

I’ve lived in New York, Florida, and Vancouver, which means I’ve sailed out of a lot of different ports over the years and seen a lot of different versions of “getting to the ship” logistics. If you’re trying to figure out where to fly into or how early to arrive, I’ve probably made every mistake there is to make.

Alaska might be the trip that surprised me the most. I’ve seen a lot of beautiful places from a cruise ship, but the scenic train ride out of Skagway is genuinely one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever witnessed. Hawaii is next on my list, and I’m looking forward to bringing that perspective to the site too.

If I’m being honest, food is a big part of why I travel at all, on ships and off. I’ve eaten my way through a lot of specialty dining rooms, but some of my best meals haven’t been on a boat at all. The king crab at Tracy’s in Juneau still comes up in conversation more than a year later. Between cruise dining and my regular restaurant habit in New York, Seattle, and Vancouver, I could probably run an entirely separate site just on that.

This site is the guide I wish I’d had when I started planning trips for more than just myself. Whether you’re going solo, bringing the whole family, or trying to figure out how to make a trip work across three generations, I’ve probably already run into the same questions you’re asking now.