MOST OVER-THE-TOP CRUISE SHIP?

Credit: Uniworld website

It was this headline that caught our attention:

"Is this the most over-the-top cruise ship ever?"

The story in the Melbourne Herald Sun refers to the S.S. Catherine, the newest river cruiser from Uniworld. While it may not look all that unusual on the outside, wait until you see the photos of the inside. Then you be the judge. -- Gerry

SHHH! THE SECRET TO CRUISE CUISINE

By Bob & Sandy Nesoff
Members: North American Travel Journalists Association
American Society of Journalists and Authors
Special to Cruising Squared

Passengers from Uniworld enjoying lunch in Croatia at
the home of a local resident. They enjoyed
 a hearty meal and had an opportunity
 to interact with the locals. (Photo: Bob Nesoff)

If the Pentagon and CIA ever decided it wanted to learn how to develop a weapon and keep it secret from anyone else in the world, it might take a cue from the great chefs on this planet. That holds especially true for cruise line chefs.

Accomplished chefs whose dining rooms float across the world’s oceans and seas work, sometimes for years, to develop and perfect recipes that will tempt, delight and bring guests back time after time. Cruise lines often promote their chefs to an ever-increasingly competitive market.

The top cruise lines today offer enormous salaries, benefits and incentives to chefs because dining afloat is one of the great pleasures of cruising. A bad meal or two, or one that is not up to par, can cost a line many future bookings.

No wonder they keep their best recipes under wraps.

TAKE A RIVER CRUISE INTO HISTORY

Uniworld river cruise ship (Credit: Uniworld)

By Bob & Sandy Nesoff

Members: North American travel Journalists Association; American Society of Journalists and Authors

Special to Cruising Squared

A damp mist covers the beach on the shore of the English Channel as a visitor leaves wet footprints in the sand walking to the water’s edge. There’s a chill in the air and visibility across the Channel toward the British coast is obscured.

Waves lap peacefully on the sand as the murmur of visitor’s voices drift across the beach. Looking closely into the mist one can see the outline of scores of ghost ships approaching, silently, ever closer.