Travel Maven blog

Oasis of the Seas rescues stalled fishing boat

Oasis of the Seas has resumed cruising toward Cozumel Wednesday afternoon after rescuing a fishing boat from the Caymans that was dead in the water with an engine that would not start.

Captain Trym Selvag stopped the Oasis, sent two engineers to fix the problem (after a security team checked out the fishing boat). The Captain said Oasis crew provided the fishing boat with a fresh battery, fresh water, and got the engine working again.

That’s what we do at sea, said Captain Selvag, in an announcement to the passengers, who lined the starboard decks to watch the rescue.

The rescue will not impact a Thursday arrival to Cozumel, as Wednesday is an easy sea day, between Falmouth, Jamaica, and Cozumel, Mexico, on Oasis’ western-Caribbean run, which is the Royal Caribbean itinerary every other week out of Fort Lauderdale.


 

Fading chances for dinner with a cruise ship captain

At sea, a cruise ship captain sometimes invites a group of passengers to join him for dinner at his private table, which typically is large and well set, placed in the middle of the main dining room.

Those occasions have diminished with the increased size of new ships. Most captains of big ships now eat dinner in their own cabin or in staff dining rooms.

Captains and their tables past have flashed through my mind since mid-January, following the gruesome tales of the last evening in the life of Costa Concordia, when, during dinner, that captain apparently was not acting captainly.

The half a hundred ship's captains I have met during 30 years of cruising all exuded a calm confidence and command.

Traveling in New Zealand one day at a time

I am in New Zealand a week already and still don’t know what day it is. Every day I need help to find the answer.

The local paper indicates today is Wednesday, but my computer, which is on New York time, says today is Tuesday, election day. If today is Wednesday, how come I don’t know who won the elections?

Theroux travel book on my bedside table

"The Tao of Travel: Enlightenments from Lives on the Road" by Paul Theroux (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; $25).

Paul Theroux celebrates his decades of wandering the globe in his latest book by collecting the best writing about travel from others, whose work shaped him as both a reader and a traveler.
 

He writes of the essence of travel experiences, of places that peoples consider to be "the navel of the earth," odd items that famous travelers carried with them, the fears of legendary travelers, and the best imaginary journeys.

Theroux's essential Tao of travel:

Leave home, go alone, travel light, bring a map, go by land, walk across a national frontier, keep a journal, read a novel that has no relation to the place you're in. If you must bring a cell phone, avoid using it. Make a friend.

I might add, read Paul Theroux.

David Molyneaux is editor of TheTravelMavens.com

 

Cajuns in land of crawfish and boudin, adapt, survive, eat, play

After consuming piles of crawfish and doing my best to taste varieties of spicy boudin sausage, I headed north from Cajun Country in Southwest Louisiana with a new respect for the strength of local traditions.

For some small understanding of Cajun culture, I am grateful to Barry Jean Ancelet, professor of folklore and Francophone studies at University of Louisiana in Lafayette. He spoke to a conference of the Society of American Travel Writers, stayed around to answer questions, and showed up the same night to share his appreciation for a terrific young Cajun band, Feufollet, above, playing at a popular joint for listening and dancing called the Blue Moon Saloon.

Azamara passengers like wine, gratuities changes

Voyages end.  Our bubble of civility burst in Miami, as Azamara Journey docked after two weeks at sea from Rome.

We arrived in Miami, about 600 of us aboard the cruise ship (right, docked in Tenerife) that had become a temporary home.

An old friend once described traveling in luxury as being a part-time millionaire. One day you are treated like royalty, cruising or resort-sitting where your comforts and attitude are someone else’s concern, your meals prepared, your bed made, your cocktails poured. The next day you are at home, cooking, cleaning, making your own day, chipping ice off the car windows to get to work.

I spent much of the last few days aboard Azamara Journey asking other passengers about their views of the ship and our voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.