Frommer's unveils 2011 Best Cruise Ships list

As my Frommer's book hits the bookshelves for the summer, and cruise ships are soon to arrive in Vancouver, en route to Alaska, I thought I'd share their annual Best Cruise Ships list. After all, I used to work aboard cruise ships and have certainly written my fair share on cruising so it's close to my heart.

The newest and most groundbreaking ship on the list is Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas, which debuted just a few months ago. Judges praised the 225,282-ton, 5,400-passenger vessel and her older twin sister, Oasis of the Seas, for "letting light and air into the center of the ships" via a radical new superstructure design. The judges also singled out Allure for being “undoubtedly the best entertainment ship at sea, with truly exceptional programming for both adults and kids.”

Also making the list of 2011’s best ships were:

· Celebrity's Solstice Class: Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Equinox, and Celebrity Eclipse
· Seabourn's Odyssey Class: Seabourn Odyssey and Seabourn Sojourn
· Silversea's Silver Spirit, Silver Shadow, and Silver Whisper
· Norwegian Cruise Line's Jewel Class: Norwegian Jewel, Norwegian Jade, Norwegian Pearl, and Norwegian Gem
· Cunard's Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria
· Celebrity's Millennium-class: Celebrity Millennium, Celebrity Constellation, Celebrity Infinity, and Celebrity Summit

A further eight ships were recognized as “notable” including:
SeaDream Yacht Club's SeaDream I and SeaDream II
Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Epic
Princess's Diamond Princess, Sapphire Princess, Caribbean Princess, Crown Princess, Emerald Princess, and Ruby Princess
Windstar's Wind Surf
Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas, Brilliance of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas, and Jewel of the Seas
Star Clippers' Royal Clipper
Crystal Cruises Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony
Regent Seven Seas' Seven Seas Mariner and Seven Seas Voyager

All I can say, is WOW and Happy Sailing!

San Juan Islands #2 on New York Times To Places to Visit List

With my Frommers Guide to the San Juan Islands due out any moment, it seems fitting to share this news.

The New York Times 2011 top destinations list IN THE WORLD includes these islands as Number 2!

To quote the NYT: “From the beaches of Mexico to the wilds of Kurdistan, the places on this year’s list take you to the end of the world and back.” So you can imagine that the San Juan folks are pretty chuffed at the recognition .... as I am since the new Frommers guide already includes what this prestigeous paper reveals.

The article praises the Islands’ amazing nature, and its dining scene, including Chef Lisa Nakamura’s new Allium Restaurant on Orcas Island, in Eastsound Village. The “eternal lure of the San Juans” is credited to its landscapes where “pastoral hills give way to broody forests and scrappy escarpments that overlook fjordlike inlets.” Praise is given for the recent annexation of Mitchell Hill to the San Juan Island National Historical Park, active land preservation efforts by organizations such as the San Juan County Land Bank, and the preservation from development of the spectacular Watmough Bay Preserve on Lopez Island with its “moody water as magically lighted as a Bierstadt painting.” The San Juan Islands were last honored on a New York Times annual list in 2008, in its “31 Places to Go this Summer” in the United States. In that list, the San Juans held the #14 position.

Other Pacific Northwest destinations chosen for the “41 Places to Go in 2011” list include two San Juan Islands neighbors: Olympic National Park, Washington (#27) and Whistler, British Columbia (#25). Other world destinations chosen for the 2011 list include Santiago, Chile (in the #1 position), The Danube, Zanzibar, Budapest and Singapore, to name a few.

To read the entire article, please go to www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/travel/09where-to-go.html or use the shortened link of http://nyti.ms/gJXhwc.

Frommer's Travels Complete

Islands' travels are over, at least for the time being, and in essence, I was delighted with what I found. Yes, tourism is down. Yes, some businesses have faltered. But far from doom and gloom, I found a resilience that was heart-warming. Perhaps it's the population make-up of the islands: artists who are accustomed to creative ways of living; retirees with a set income; and families with a logging and fishery heritage who have already learned how to multi-task different careers, and reinvent themselves all together to weather the storm.

The islands are still happening places. Now that a beautiful September is on the horizon, now's the time to really enjoy them at their very best.

On the road for Frommers

Updating my Frommer's guide to Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and San Juan Islands is always a fabulous excuse to roam the roads. Sure, I clock up the mileage but in a Mazda Miata convertible, with glorious sunshine, it doesn't always feel like work.

In May, when I traveled the length and breadth of Vancouver Island, the miserable weather certainly didn't encourage hanging around a beach with an ice-cream cone. But it kept my nose to the grindstone. I wanted to see how the island had managed the recession, and is the reason why I'm visiting the San Juans and Gulf islands with such a keen eye, and tuned-ear.

Tourism is such an important economy for all these islands, and nothing beats finding out the 'state' of the nations', first hand. We all know that Americans are staying closer to home and, in spite of what the current US Administration is touting, unemployment and taxes are up; opportunities and optimism are down. And when you're away from the city cores, you're more than likely to witness a growing disaffection to the BO reality of promised change.

That in itself makes for interesting talk. But I digress. It's time to get movin'