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The Vacation Guy Blogs

Bubble Cruising? Yes, You Can Cruise Close to Home

updated at 02/13/2023 in North America
COVID's impact on travel is having one brilliant effect: it's shining a spotlight on the boom in cruising on the waterways of North America, with new ships and new itineraries to appeal to every cruise traveler's interests.'Bubble' travel is the first step in the return to travel.Lynn Elmhirst, Producer/Host of BestTrip TV and cruise expert, explains the unique highlights of...

What Does a $500 Million Cruise Ship Reno Look Like?

updated at 02/13/2023 in Anywhere
When you're investing half a BILLION dollars in a fleet-wide renovation, you're entitled to call it a 'Revolution'. Celebrity Cruises is undergoing a transformation.You may have already heard about their two new, groundbreaking ships:Celebrity Edge, which, among many firsts, debuted the world's first cantilevered venue at sea, which moves up and down the side of the ship, becoming a different drinks/...

Learn to Haka on the All Blacks' Rugby Team's Home Ground

updated at 02/12/2023 in New Zealand
It's one of the most famous – and fearsome – pre-game rituals in the world. One that you can now learn for yourself in one of the world's most storied stadiums.Any global sports fan has heard of New Zealand's fabled All Blacks rugby team. The All Blacks are not just heroes of the country's national sport; in spite of New Zealand's...

This is the Only Place You Can See Cirque du Soleil at Sea

updated at 02/11/2023 in Anywhere
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...

7 Tips for Touring Tuscany

updated at 02/11/2023 in Italy
If you close your eyes and picture 'Italy', chances are, it's the rows of vineyards and cypress trees, villas and farmhouses, fabled towns and household-name works of art of Tuscany that come to mind.There are a million reasons why Tuscany is the setting of so many escapist novels, movies and life-changing travels. Here are our favorites:FLORENCEThe red rooftops of Florence are...

Where's the Only Restaurant in Alaska by a Michelin Starred Chef?

updated at 02/10/2023 in Alaska
That's a trick question. Michelin, who issues the most coveted fine dining ratings, only evaluates restaurants in three US cities: New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. Not Alaska.But there is still one place you can dine in Alaska at a restaurant by America's most acclaimed Michelin starred chef.Chef Thomas Keller is the only American chef to have been awarded simultaneous top, three...

These 3 Latin American Cities Turn 500 This Year

updated at 02/05/2023 in Central America
In 14 hundred and 92, Columbus sailed the ocean blue (as the rhyme we learned in school goes), and unwittingly unleashed a tsunami of Europeans heading west to explore the Americas.That was half a millennium ago, and now, some of the earliest European settlements in the Caribbean and Latin America are marking 500 years of European settlement.In the years since...

Happy 4th of July and Canada Day! Celebrating Neighbors and Staycations

updated at 02/02/2023 in North America
If you've ever taken a cruise or traveled to Alaska, you may recognize this place. From sea level in Skagway, Alaska, the White Pass & Yukon railway climbs an incredible 3000 feet in just 20 miles, and all the way to the peak of the Continental Divide – which also forms the natural border between Alaska in the US, and Canada's...

Viking Sets Sail on the Mississippi

updated at 02/02/2023 in St Louis
From rivers, to oceans and lakes… and now to America’s heartland. Viking Cruises has announced it will cruise the Mississippi between St. Louis and New Orleans beginning in 2022.The company’s first custom vessel, purpose-made in America for these iconic river itineraries, is named Viking Mississippi and debuts in August 2022.  It will be the largest and most modern ship in the...

10 Amazing Facts about the Tasmanian Devil

updated at 02/02/2023 in Tasmania
Move over, cuddly koalas and cute kangaroos. Meet the Tasmanian Devil. No, not the Looney Tunes cartoon character that travels like a spinning top, drooling, snarling and terrorizing Bugs Bunny's friends. The real animal, found in the wild only in one state Down Under.In Australia's collection of one-of-a-kind creatures, the Tasmanian Devil is a stand out member. So between photo ops with koalas,...