Forbes Travel Guide adds more cruise ships to ratings

Jane Krakowski has made a career of jumping from TV roles to movie sets to Broadway productions, so having the Tony-winning, Emmy-nominated star of 30 Rock swing and flip her way, Cirque du Soleil-style, through an acrobatic opening act as host of the gala at Forbes Travel Guide’s 2024 Summit wasn’t the biggest challenge of the week in Las Vegas.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with retired lawyer Peter Antonucci, who spent six years living on The World — a residential ship for millionaires. Antonucci has written three novels about scandals on the high seas.

Thanks in large part to the 2022 World Cup, Qatar’s capital city continues to rise higher in the collective imagination of global travelers and in the sky itself, with the opening of new luxury hotel towers. The editors of Forbes Travel Guide have named Doha’s best hotels—based on the stays of its incognito inspectors—including several Five-Star properties such as Raffles Doha as well as the Four Seasons Doha and Mandarin Oriental Doha.

Cruise fans on the West Coast are about to have a major new option.

In 2026, the only flight you'll have to take to visit 39 countries in less than half a year is the one from your home to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The hiking trail to Middleham Falls on the Caribbean island of Dominica is all wet leaves, slippery black stones and steps formed by tree roots. It could be a path in Middle-earth, shrouded, shadowy and green, fit for hobbits and fairies. Where sunlight pierced the canopy, rainbows formed in the mist, almost close enough to poke. Here and there, hummingbirds drew nectar from huge blossoms.

A former resident of The World, an exclusive private residential ship with a strict invite-only policy, said living on board was not unlike HBO's "The White Lotus."

Most people don't go on airplanes just to get airplane food. Some travelers do, however, go on cruises just to get cruise food.

Royal Caribbean and Virgin Voyages offer completely different experiences. And I've cruised with both.

One man got down on his knees and kissed the rug emblazoned with the ship’s logo. Another lifted his wife and swung her around, ecstatic to be among the roughly 5,000 passengers to embark on the inaugural sailing of the world’s largest cruise ship, the Icon of the Seas.

Experience some of Africa’s extraordinary wildlife while staying in one of these recently opened (or soon-to-debut) safari lodges and camps built for luxury travelers. Whether you’re searching for game, fine dining or an infinity pool overlooking the savanna, these properties offer an abundance of nature and nurturing.

On a Folo episode to discuss the Icon of the Seas' debut is, clockwise from top left: Andrea Zelinski and Rebecca Tobin of Travel Weekly, Jennifer Kellum of Neverland and Main Travel and Eizabeth Caran of Outlander Travel.