Waters tips

Icon of the Seas is about to get some serious competition.

Not long ago, I made a return visit to Baha Mar, the luxury über-resort in the Bahamas, for an industry conference. Despite all the meetings, presentations, and panel discussions, I still found time to get a little sand between my toes, eat conch prepared several different ways, and, best of all, hug a flamingo. (No joke!) And it wasn't just the sunshine and brilliant blue water that I soaked up while there—it was also the positive energy of hundreds of families and couples who'd come with no agenda other than to lie on a beach chair with a book, plummet down a waterslide, enjoy a tropical cocktail, and generally have fun. Even though I was going a mile a minute the whole time, I still felt my heart rate slow, my shoulders unknot.

The sun was burning high and bright on a pellucid morning off Australia's Kimberley Coast when I stepped onto Ngula, more commonly known as Jar Island. The dull yellow of sand and sandstone contrasted with the vivid blue of the Timor Sea all around me. At my back was a rocky outcropping where millennia ago the island's traditional land owners, the Wunambal Gaambera people, lay their dead. Before me, a cluster of billion-year-old boulders contained clues about how they lived.

I've always dreamed of going on safari to see exotic animals and bright sunsets from the bush. However, I feared this bucket-list item would require sleeping in an awkward tent with no running water in sight.

It’s an early weekday morning in Charleston, South Carolina, and I’m discovering just how civilized coffee, minutes-out-of-the-oven scones, and fresh berries are as day brighteners. My breakfast is highlighted by the view of just-bustling East Bay Street in the Charleston Old and Historic District.

Editor’s note: In September, Hurricane Helene barreled through the Southeast and devastated parts of North Carolina. Recovery efforts are still underway, particularly in the severely affected areas of North Carolina’s mountains and foothills, while less-impacted areas prepare to welcome fall tourists, recognizing that the state’s visitor economy will depend on a strong return of businesses, services, experiences, and other tourism essentials. Visit North Carolina has shared an interactive map indicating which areas of the state are safe to visit and which should be avoided as they work hard to rebuild. Now, more than ever, visitors to North Carolina are encouraged to travel responsibly and support local businesses as they explore the state’s open areas. Find more information at Visit North Carolina’s website.

Each spring, thanks to irrigation techniques that date back to antiquity, the harsh, vertiginously terraced slopes of Jabal Akhdar, a lush and green peak in Oman’s Hajar Mountains, radiate pink. From April to mid-May, riotous fields of Rosa damascena, the damask rose, suffuse the air with their perfume, a sweet, delicate scent that the 20th-century Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani described as “the history of all fragrance.”

On a familiar curve of road between fishing villages on the north coast of Tobago, I have the unique experience of feeling hummingbird feet on my hands. I'm at Shurland James Hummingbird Nature Park, a bird sanctuary with an alfresco café located near the entrance to Main Ridge Forest Reserve, the world's oldest protected tropical rainforest. My family is originally from Trinidad and Tobago, and I've visited my grandfather often since he returned in retirement, but this was my first time exploring the rainforest.

Nov 10, 2024 • 8 min read

Nov 11, 2024 • 8 min read

Nov 7, 2024 • 7 min read

When Zita Cobb was 10, her hometown almost disappeared. Not just her hometown, but all of the communities on Fogo Island, the island off Newfoundland where Ms. Cobb was born in 1958. The crisis was triggered by the collapse of the near-shore cod fishery, a resource that had sustained her ancestral community since the 17th century. In response, the Newfoundland government proposed to resettle the population to other parts of the province — or somewhere.

The valves were opened and more than a thousand workers gathered at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland to watch the “float out” of Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas. The nine-hour process — which involves flooding a special dock with more than 92 million gallons of water to push the 250,800-ton mega-ship onto a pier for the final stages of construction — had begun.

Nestled on the Washington-Oregon border just east of Portland lies the Columbia River Gorge, a remarkable collection of carved basalt cliffs, evergreen trees, and dramatic Columbia River views. It’s hard to leave this place of stunning natural beauty once you've visited, even if you live nearby, like I do. I love to spend solo staycations in the area where I can enjoy a quiet, restful retreat without having to drive too far from my hometown of Hood River, Oregon.

Nov 6, 2024 • 8 min read

Nov 6, 2024 • 7 min read

We have a way of exaggerating things in the Caribbean: Jamaica’s seven-mile beach is roughly four miles, and Bonaire’s 1,000-step limestone staircase is only 67 steps, for example. But in Antigua, there really are 365 beaches, enough to fill a calendar year—and the island’s undulating coastline is a beach lovers playground where bay hopping is a mandatory island pastime.

If the thought of winter has you itching to book a sunny escape, here are five new getaways to consider, from California to the Caribbean. Check into a restored Bahamian retreat where Greta Garbo once stayed, or splurge on a luxury villa overlooking the turquoise waters of Turks and Caicos. Soak up the sun on your balconyat a sleek resort north of the hubbub in Cancún, Mexico. Try reiki at awellness resort on a private island in the Dominican Republic.Or flee to the desert where you can delight in views of the San Jacinto mountains from a rooftop poolin Palm Springs, Calif. Whatever you choose, warm waters and barefoot adventures await.

Oct 31, 2024 • 7 min read

Oct 30, 2024 • 8 min read

For my 33rd birthday, I visited Paris for the 11th time. Why not? There's always a classic touristy must-do that I've yet to cross off my list (Monet's Water Lilies at the Musée de l'Orangerie, for example) or something new-to-me to see in the French capital (an exhibit at Printemps by a contemporary French painter whose work I love). Even after multiple visits, Paris consistently surprises me, offering a side of itself I haven't yet gotten to know. It never stays the same, much like my beloved New York City, where I live. They both pride themselves, I think, on being un-pin-down-able. A running joke: I like my cities like I like my men.