Top 6 Wellness and Fitness Cruises You Should be Booking Now

Have you resolved to travel more AND be more fit and well? Why not put these life goals together on your next cruise? Cruise lines have upped their health, wellness, and fitness games in recent years. In fact, some of the best wellness experiences in the world are now at sea.BestTrip's Lynn Elmhirst has put together her list of wellness/fitness opportunities on river, ocean, luxury and more affordable cruise lines you should be booking now. Seabourn:This ultra-luxury cruise line has partnered with acclaimed...

Go Glamping in the Galapagos on the Celebrity Flora

What's better than a once-in-a-lifetime cruise to the Galapagos Islands? Sleeping under the spectacular night skies in one of the most remote places in the world on the deck of a ship that's the height of modern luxury.The Celebrity Flora is a first for the cruise line, dedicated to exploration of the natural wonder of the Galapagos islands. The ship launches in May, 2019, and is based on the island of Baltra in the Galapagos. 100 privileged guests at a time will...

11 Best Places in the World to Go Whale Watching

70 percent of our planet is covered by oceans, and whales are not only the largest marine mammals, but the largest animals alive. No wonder humans are drawn to the oceans and these mammals who dwarf us and remind us how small we are in the universe. Whale watching tops many travelers' wish lists. Seeing whales in their natural environment touches every traveler, no matter how young or old, and it's an experience accessible to travelers of all budgets.As with any interaction...

Champagne Vending Machine at this NOLA Hotel Makes Every Day New Year's Eve

The motto of New Orleans is 'Let the Good Times Roll'. Nowhere is that more true than at the local Ritz-Carlton, which now boasts the area's first permanent champagne vending machine.This classy, tongue-in-cheek interpretation of lobby fixtures in sadder hotels holds 320 'piccolo' (mini) bottles of liquid celebration, and blends right into the hotel's festive seasonal décor and events.A nearly life-sized gingerbread NOLA streetcar dominates the lobby, with festive gingerbread making and decorating events throughout advent for the young and their...

Oprah, Music and More: 6 Things You'll Love About Holland America's Nieuw Statendam

Is there room for more than one at the top? Holland America's Nieuw Statendam joins the Konigsdam in the line's newest 'Pinnacle' class of ships. Fan favorites from the first Pinnacle-class ship join new innovations on the latest ship for the beloved Dutch cruise line.Here are just 5 reasons you'll want to be among the 2600 guests sailing on the Nieuw Statendam:History This is the sixth 'Statendam' ship for Holland America; the 'Nieuw' was added to distinguish it from the original,...

Las Vegas Has a New Culinary Destination

24 hours a day, 40,000 square feet, 400 types of wines from all 20 Italian wine regions, 2 restaurants, 3 bars, an educational chef's table, 6 food counters representing authentic versions of your favorite Italian delicacies and comfort food plus 5000 retail products you can take home – directly on the Strip. Foodies are asking themselves why Eataly hasn't opened a Las Vegas outpost before now.The debut of Eataly in Vegas' newest resort, Park MGM, marks the world's largest Italian shopping...

This City Gets Another Designer Parking Garage - Yes, 'Park-itecture' is a Thing

Architecture is the calling-card of a city. Some destinations are made famous by cathedrals or castles, towers or temples, statues or skyscrapers… in modern-day Miami, it's all about the designer parking garage. They even have a name for it: 'park'-itecture.In this glittering city, there's an expanding list of chic places to park your car and gaze on the work of some of the world's leading architects – or 'star-chitects'. In other cities in the world, the likes of Frank Gehry, Herzog &...

6 Tips to Survive - and Enjoy - an 'Obli-cation'

When your 'vacation' is really an obligation, you're taking an 'obli-cation'. You've taken these trips: cross-country to the in-laws' for the holidays. A family or friend's destination wedding. The mandatory winter break or summer holiday family reunion/group vacation.When you take an oblication, the usual steps you take that ensure fun travel may no longer apply.On any of these occasions, you may find yourself spending priceless vacation time traveling to a destination you wouldn't choose, spending time with some people you wouldn't choose. But an...

Where's the Best Place to be on National Cake Day?

If it isn't on your calendar already, get out a red pen and mark November 26. That's National Cake Day, and although we don't need any excuses to enjoy the star of any birthday, wedding, or Tuesday afternoon, it got us thinking: where is the best travel destination for a day dedicated to celebrating cake?Our conclusion: Austria, with not one, but two flagship cakes.Linzer TorteLinz is the home of Linzer Torte. Since it's said to be the world's oldest cake recipe,...

This Macau Hotel is the World's First 'Exoskeleton' High-Rise

Macau is anticipating a surge in visitors with the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge that links the two cities and mainland China together by land for the first time.The Morpheus hotel will be a big part of the allure of a trip to Macau. Designed by the acclaimed celebrity architect Zaha Hadid before her passing, the hotel at Macau's new City of Dreams complex is the world's first high-rise held up by a free-form 'exoskeleton'. Imagine: no need for internal structural...