The Best Balcony Cabins on the MSC Meraviglia

March 4, 2020

Any balcony cabin is a good balcony cabin in my book. But there are good balcony cabins and then there are great balcony cabins. I define a great balcony cabin as any balcony cabin which offers more for the same amount of money. Thus, I define a great balcony cabin as the balcony cabin I enjoyed on the MSC Meraviglia. Check out this video tour of that great balcony cabin and read on to learn how to choose a similarly-great cabin for your own MSC Meraviglia cruise.

Alaska On A Budget

The Final Alaska Cruise Vlog: Sitka and Captain Tracy’s One-Eyed Wrap-Up

September 16, 2018

I’m not sure what was more fun–spending two weeks exploring Alaska by cruise ship or recording and editing these ridiculously bad Alaska Cruise vlog episodes. For now, here’s the last installment. Sitka, where I lost my heart. I mean eye. Where I almost lost my eye.

Alaska On A Budget

Homer, Alaska: A Super Chill Port Day

September 8, 2018

Everything I read about Homer told me that the spit area–which is where the cruise ships dock–is ugly and flat and industrial. Everything I read about Homer was wrong. If you’re going to just wander around and do nothing at any point on a 14-day Alaska cruise, do it in Homer. Because Homer is beautiful.

Alaska On A Budget

Alaska Cruise Ports On Your Own and On a Budget: Anchorage

August 31, 2018

While I refuse to pick a favorite part of our Alaska cruise, our road trip outside of Anchorage may just have been my favorite part of the cruise. Just don’t tell any of the other parts of the cruise. I told each of them they were my favorite.

Alaska On A Budget

Alaska Cruise Ports On Your Own and On a Budget: Juneau

August 12, 2018

Juneau is most well known as the punchline of the joke ‘What’s the capital of Alaska?’ Juneau also wins the award for most expensive cruise ship port; the average cost of a cruise ship excursion in Juneau is $246.46 per person. We spent $140 total for two people including dinner. Here’s how.

Alaska On A Budget

Cruising Alaska On a Budget: How To Save (a lot of) Money By Planning Your Own Port Excursions

August 7, 2018

Alaska is a notoriously pricey destination, especially via cruise ship. Even if you can find an inexpensive sailing (as we did) excursions in Alaska can more than double the cost of the trip. But you can still have an amazing Alaska adventure on a budget. Don’t believe me? Please allow me to prove it to you using math!

Budget Travel

The Actual Cost of Visiting a National Park: Why I’m Outsourcing My Summer Vacation

January 4, 2017

When planning my 2017 travels, I was all a-flutter about the prospect of a late-spring pilgrimage to one of America’s crown jewels: Yellowstone National Park. It was the first national park and to this day remains one of the most-visited. And this year, I was going to visit Yellowstone. Yes. Yes I was.

Note my use of past-tense verbs.

Lodging

Bed Bug Control – How To Destroy Them Before They Destroy You

November 4, 2015

The phrase ‘living like a local’ is thrown around a lot in travel writing. But the term is typically reserved for stories of international travel. An American can ‘live like a local’ in, say, Ecuador. But a New Yorker would be unlikely to attempt to ‘live like a local’ in, say, Tulsa–or vice versa; Tulsa residents most definitely do not travel to New York City to live like New Yorkers. They travel to New York City to stand in Times Square while holding a selfie stick.

Budget Travel