Travel Maven blog

Cruising to fish in the Turks and Caicos

Off Grand Turk, in the Turks and Caicos islands, south of the Bahamas, I went fishing.

Anybody who knows me might wonder about that decision, but the simple truth is that I saw “Light Tackle Fishing” on the shore excursion list during a Caribbean cruise on Holland America’s new Nieuw Amsterdam. I thought, why not? I can tackle some light fishing.

I had fun, thanks partly to the luck of the draw. Six men from a ship of 2,100 passengers showed up to fish. One guy from Indiana brought his own equipment, and four of the guys quickly gathered to talk about their exploits and prowess. I got number 5 for a partner, Tony from New York. Nice guy, fun story-teller, not much of a fisherperson.

New pirate ship bar greets cruisers to Half Moon Cay

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

Make no mistake: The new bar on Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas may look like a pirate ship, but it has never been to sea, and it’s not going anywhere.

The Captain Morgan on the Rocks Island Bar was built from scratch on bedrock, 9 feet below the sand, and those wood planks on the ship’s hull were nailed together – in the fall of 2010.

Riding AquaDuck on a Disney Dream cruise

Like nearly every other passenger on the new Disney Dream cruise ship, I rode the AquaDuck water coaster during a recent preview sailing.

The Duck was fun, wet, and easy. I liked it so much I did it twice.

You sit on a raft similar to an air mattress, with pockets for one or two riders, front and back.

The raft is propelled by jets of water through a tube that drops, twists, turns, and then, ingeniously, glides along a clear, enclosed path above the pool deck so you can wave to your friends and family below – and if they are quick, they can take your picture, above.

The AquaDuck is destined to be the signature activity on the 4,000-passenger Disney Dream, which begins cruising this week on a regular schedule out of Port Canaveral, Fla. The port is about an hour east of Disney World and Orlando.

Disney Dream is christened, cruises from Port Canaveral

 
With fireworks and a Disney cast of hundreds, the new Disney Dream was christened today at Port Canaveral by godmother Jennifer Hudson, who started her singing career aboard a Disney ship.

In Disney extravaganza style, a helicopter picked up a giant bottle said to hold the pixie dust of dreams, and swung it against the Disney Dream's bow, where a real bottle of champagne awaited, setting off a fireworks display.

Later, the Disney Dream headed out to sea for a two-day preview cruise for media and folks in the travel business.

 

Disney ready for cruise line's new Dream ship

Wednesday is a huge day for Disney. The vacation company will introduce a new cruise ship, the first in a decade.

Tomorrow, the Disney Dream will join the Magic and the Wonder, making the mouse house fleet a threesome. Disney will show off the Dream in Port Canaveral, about an hour east of Orlando. And I am excited to take a look at my third Disney ship.

Today, I am in the Magic Kingdom at Disney World to gather a little pixie dust for the Dream ride tomorrow.