Archive for February, 2010

From our series, Cruising The Holy Land: The Top 10 destinations for historical interest, lovely landscapes, super shopping, spectacular cities and village life experiences.

Situated in the Persian Gulf, Bahrain is a small island nation  known for its black-and-white treasures: oil and pearls. That there are rich minerals and gems to be found here is not particularly surprising since archeologists have uncovered evidence of settlements that date back 10,000 years. Most intriguing are the 85,000 burial mounds that dot the Bahrain landscape. For a full explanation of Bahrain’s unique natural setting and of the history of the people who have lived there, set some time aside for the National Museum of Bahrain in Manama.  Read more... (223 words, estimated 54 secs reading time)

From our series, Cruising The Holy Land: The Top 10 destinations for historical interest, lovely landscapes, super shopping, spectacular cities and village life experiences.  Read more... (250 words, estimated 1:00 mins reading time)

From our series, Cruising The Holy Land: The Top 10 destinations for historical interest, lovely landscapes, super shopping, spectacular cities and village life experiences.

A fascinating country at the southern edge of the Arabian peninsula, Yemen, especially the capitol city, Sana’a, provides an opportunity to step back and see how a modern culture operates within an ancient city.  Read more... (223 words, estimated 54 secs reading time)

From our series, Cruising The Holy Land: The Top 10 destinations for historical interest, lovely landscapes, super shopping, spectacular cities and village life experiences.  Read more... (271 words, estimated 1:05 mins reading time)

From our series, Cruising The Holy Land: The Top 10 destinations for historical interest, lovely landscapes, super shopping, spectacular cities and village life experiences.

If you ever wondered what a place looks like after roughly three millenniums of foreign occupation, the capital city of Tunisia would be the place to go. Among the wealthiest and most important Arab cities from the 12^th to the 16^th centuries, Tunis has actually been independent – and thriving — since the French let it go in 1956, but that ended nearly 3,000 years of occupation by the Phoenicians, the Romans and the Byzantines, the Turks and then the Spanish and, finally, the French.  Read more... (281 words, estimated 1:07 mins reading time)

From our series, Cruising The Holy Land: The Top 10 destinations for historical interest, lovely landscapes, super shopping, spectacular cities and village life experiences.  Read more... (246 words, estimated 59 secs reading time)

From our series, Cruising The Holy Land: The Top 10 destinations for historical interest, lovely landscapes, super shopping, spectacular cities and village life experiences.  Read more... (287 words, estimated 1:09 mins reading time)

Costa's Massimo Masso, master of five languages and ready to serve you.

On board Costa Deliziosa en route to Naples, Italy.

After 24 hours on Costa’s brand new Deliziosa, two things become apparent:  Read more... (470 words, 1 image, estimated 1:53 mins reading time)

1. Deliziosa feels like a Carnival Corporation ship, which, of course, it is. Those who have cruised Carnival Corp.’s other brands, particularly Carnival Cruise Lines or Princess Cruises, will feel at home on Deliziosa.