Cruise Planning Guides & Resources

I've sailed on both Princess and Celebrity — and the question I get asked the most is which one is "better." Here's the honest answer: there isn't one. It depends entirely on who's traveling. Rather than telling you one line is better than the other, I want to walk you through the four real differences I noticed between the two, plus a decision framework you can use to figure out which line fits your travel style. Key Takeaways Princess Medallion lets you order food and drink

If you've watched my latest video, you already know the premise: after 20 years of travel planning and a lot of cruises — both mine and the ones I've helped plan for others — I've changed my mind on a surprising amount of "standard" cruise advice. Some of what gets repeated as common wisdom is actually a cruise mistake waiting to happen, depending on who you are and how you travel. This post expands on that video. The video covers nine of these because of time, but there are

Planning a Princess Cruise can feel surprisingly overwhelming once you start adding everything up. Princess Plus. Princess Premier. Specialty dining. Wi-Fi. Excursions. Balcony cabins. Spa treatments. The Sanctuary. Suddenly your “simple cruise vacation” has turned into a giant list of upgrades and add-ons, all promising to make your trip better. But here’s the good news: you absolutely do not need to pay for everything to have an amazing cruise. Some extras are genuinely wor

Planning a Mediterranean cruise sounds dreamy in theory. Italy. Spain. France. Greece. Gorgeous coastal cities. Amazing food. Bucket-list experiences. But what surprised me most after taking my first Mediterranean cruise was how different it felt from cruising in places like the Caribbean or Mexico. A Mediterranean cruise is incredible — but it also comes with longer flights, more logistics, packed port days, jet lag, and a lot more walking than many first-time cruisers expec