Champagne Vending Machine at this NOLA Hotel Makes Every Day New Year's Eve
The motto of New Orleans is 'Let the Good Times Roll'. Nowhere is that more true than at the local Ritz-Carlton, which now boasts the area's first permanent champagne vending machine.This classy, tongue-in-cheek interpretation of lobby fixtures in sadder hotels holds 320 'piccolo' (mini) bottles of liquid celebration, and blends right into the hotel's festive seasonal décor and events.A nearly life-sized gingerbread NOLA streetcar dominates the lobby, with festive gingerbread making and decorating events throughout advent for the young and their...
Four New Shows Onboard Seabourn
The new evening entertainment experiences debut on the Seabourn Odyssey alongside updated popular 'An Evening with Tim Rice' and coincide with an upgraded Grand Salon.Time your enjoyment of Seabourn's delectable dining on the Odyssey so you'll be comfortably seated in the Grand Salon with an after-dinner drink for the evening's entertainment. Four new shows are joining a revamped 'An Evening with Tim Rice' in a Grand Salon that's been updated with new LED screens, lighting, and redesigned stage. Expect evocative music, original...
Searching for 'Hygge' in Copenhagen - and Happiness at Home
It's a global buzzword and cultural phenomenon. And today, more and more of us are in need of Denmark's signature recipe for happiness: 'hygge'.Danish 'hygge' (pronounced 'HOOG-uh') is sweeping the world – everyone wants in on Denmark's famously convivial way of life. The Danish are the happiest people on the planet – even during the long, dark days of winter - and it's all about hygge.So much so, hygge has actually been nominated for UNESCO World Heritage status. It might be the...
Fact or Fiction? 3 Things You Need to Know About 'Dracula's Castle'
Before every travel destination had a ghost tour and haunted hotels, there was Dracula's Castle.Irish author Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel 'Dracula' popularized the vampire genre of fantasy fiction that today is more popular than ever.And although the character of the undead Transylvanian Count is fictional, the Romanian national monument known all over the world as 'Dracula's Castle' is real. 14th century Bran Castle is about a hundred miles from Bucharest and has long been considered the 'home' of...
Discover Dazzling Winter Evenings at Hong Kong's New Light Festival
For a city whose nighttime skyline overlooking Victoria Harbour is already a global icon of urban lighting and signage, a light festival might seem like overkill. But the new Hong Kong Pulse Light Festival expands the effects of Hong Kong's famous neon signs and lit-up skyscapers to a street-level playground of luminous artworks during the darkest months of the year.Debuting in 2018, the Pulse Light Festival runs from the last week of November through late February. Not only does the artistic light...
Video: Seabourn Chef Celebrates Quebec's Harvest: Cooking with the Chef
Seabourn specializes in culinary memories. This luxury cruise line has long been famous for its tradition of 'Shopping with the Chef'. In Quebec City on a Seabourn fall colors cruise from Montreal through Canada and New England, we took Shopping with the Chef one step further – to its natural conclusion, in a delectable Seabourn dish.Shopping with the Seabourn Quest's Executive Chef Jes Paskins at the Old Port Market just steps away from the ship, we returned laden with the bounty...
5 Fun Facts Plus 1 Travel-Inspired Tequila Recipe
Tequila has grown up. No longer a frat house or a blurry vacation cliché, Mexico's national spirit has returned in recent years to its roots, with new premium brands sprouting up that are perfect for sipping and stylish cocktails at home or on holiday. Here are 5 things you might not have known about Tequila – and a great recipe from our friends at Altos Tequila to get you in the 'spirit' for your next trip to Mexico.Mezcal or Tequila?It all starts...
This is the Only Place You Can See Cirque du Soleil at Sea
Cirque du Soleil has been charting new entertainment territory since it began and it's changed what we think of as 'circus' shows.You may have been lucky enough to go to a Cirque du Soleil shows on land.But there's only one place you can see the innovative, extraordinarily talented Cirque performances at sea.European-based cruise line MSC has exclusively partnered with the French-Canadian Cirque to provide cruise guests with one-of-a-kind, internationally-renowned entertainment on board.Cirque du Soleil is creating shows you'll only be...
10 Things Before You Travel to Turks and Caicos
The British Overseas Territory of Turks and Caicos has 8 main islands, 300 smaller islands, almost all virtually unpopulated. There may be fewer than 50,000 residents, but it punches above its weight as an offshore financial center and a favored Caribbean island destination for travelers by land or sea.Most people live on Providenciales (nickname: 'Provo'), in the Caicos Islands. Grand Turk is a popular port of call for cruise ships big and small. It may be a British Overseas Territory, but the...
5 Places to Go Island Hopping in Tahiti
The very word 'Tahiti' evokes the mystique of one of the most remote and romantic island destinations in the world. An island hopping escape to even a few of the 118 islands and atolls in this South Pacific paradise is not only the ultimate escape from northern winters, Tahiti is the trip of a lifetime. (Top image credit: Chris McLennan/Tahiti Tourism). Picture your arrival, welcomed by Tahitian music and fragrant Tiare flowers… and use these highlights of some of the key islands to start planning your island...