Walnut Grove Cruise & Ltd Travel Blog

Get ready for a decade of vacations with ‘new ship smell!’ And get set to soon book your place on one of three brand-new classes of ships that will change the world of cruising. Norwegian Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and Oceania Cruises have together announced they’ve ordered the next generation of cruise ships. It’s the biggest ‘new build’... read more

The New Year comes with the anticipation of another exciting 12 months of new ship inaugurals, which will introduce design, technology, cruise lifestyle and environmental innovations that will shape the future of how we cruise. In 2023, $11 billion worth of new ocean ships alone will debut around the world, adding close to 40,000 new berths to the global cruise fleet.Here's... read more

When Regent Seven Seas Grandeur embarks on her inaugural voyage in late 2023, its breathtaking, multi-million dollar art collection will be anchored by a bespoke, sea-inspired Fabergé egg designed just for the ship. Regent Seven Seas Cruises and the legendary house of Fabergé are collaborating on the hand-crafted, precious art object, which will be the first Fabergé Egg to reside... read more

Calling all design lovers and eco-wanderers! Luxury cruise line Regent Seven Seas Cruises has launched two new shore excursion concepts. “Behind the Design” and “Eco-Connect” shore excursions roll out beginning in 2022, and give guests new ways to explore destinations and landmarks from unique perspectives that are right up your alley. The new shore excursions join Regent’s Go Local tours,... read more

There’s a phrase in travel: ‘Multi-modal’. Think of ‘planes, trains and automobiles,’ where you complete your trip via a number of different types of transportation. Multi-modal travel is not new. But one version – larger-than-life journeys combining the romance of both cruise and rail - is picking up steam. Ships and trains are a natural fit, even mirror images of each other:... read more

Can we hit the reset button on 2020? Usually, at the beginning of each year, we look forward to new ships guests will be among the first in the world to experience in their inaugural seasons. But in 2020, more than a dozen new cruise ships sailed out of their shipyards only to sit empty, waiting for cruising to resume to welcome... read more

It’s one of the least-loved experiences on a cruise. Not long after you board your ship with excitement to explore and start your vacation, you are required to put down your cocktail, and report to your ‘muster station’ for a mandatory safety drill. Sometimes, you even have to go back to your stateroom, collect your life vest, and take it – or... read more

There may be no dish that evokes cruising more than Baked Alaska.A miracle dessert of warm, caramelized meringue on the outside, still magically full of layers of frozen ice cream on the inside. No one really knows why, but somewhere along the way, it became a classic of traditional cruise culture.Even today, Baked Alaska is often served on celebration, formal... read more

It used to be that private islands were the playgrounds of the ridiculously rich and fabulously famous. Then cruise lines got into the game. Now, cruise lines are competing with each other to build exclusive tropical enclaves in the Caribbean for their guests to experience not just a day on the beach, but create travel memories they can't get anywhere... read more

This is a cruise line private island experience we haven't seen before.  Our Caribbean cruise on Regent Seven Seas Cruises included a day at Harvest Caye, and it turned out to be one of the most memorable days of our cruise. And when you watch the video you'll see why. Harvest Caye is an island a mile offshore mainland Belize.  Like... read more

Panama is one of the fastest-growing destinations in Central America, and the Panama Canal is the country's star attraction. Although it's on everyone's list of things to experience, the canal is more important as a global shipping transit than tourist experience. Whether you sail the canal on your next cruise or watch in action from land, here are 8 things you... read more

They call it the 'Magical Flying Beach Chair' and it's probably one of the world's most memorable - and scenic - 6 minute trips to the beach. It's just like the ride you take to the top of a ski hill, except on a snowy mountain, you brace against the chilly wind. But on the tropical Honduran island of Roatan, the... read more

Some of the best food travel experiences don't involve white linen or Michelin stars.  A crab feast in Alaska that starts with a boat ride to collect crab pots is one of the most fresh, pure-tasting... and fun dining experiences you'll have anywhwere in the world. Prepare to get dripping in butter and crab juice in this fun BestTrip.TV video! Start your... read more

And local fireweed and spruce tips for truly local spirits and craft cocktails. BestTrip.TV was in port in Skagway, Alaska on our Regent Seven Seas cruise and naturally, we checked out the famous local saloon recommended by Regent's shore expert.  We are always on the hunt for 'local', and there on the bar menu:  cocktails made using local, small-batch gin and... read more

Maybe you've had the fun of a zip line adventure before.  But have you ever taken a zip line over the ocean?  When Norwegian developed Harvest Caye, its private island beach resort port of call for cruises in the Norwegian family: Norwegian Cruise Lines, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania, it took the concept of a zip line adventure to another... read more

There's everyday luxury on Regent Seven Seas Cruises: where your airfare, transfers, on board wine and spirits, tips, specialty dining and even shore excursions and wifi are all included in a relaxed country club atmosphere on beautiful mid-sized ships.  Then there's another level of all-inclusive luxury on Regent: the butler suites. BestTrip.TV got a behind-the-scenes experience of Regent's most spectacular suite, the... read more

Cruising is a storied way of travel, full of unique traditions and experiences you'll never enjoy any other way than on a cruise ship.  The World Cruise is one of those time-honored cruising traditions, dating back to the Golden Age of steam ships and a new approach to travel by the most stylish people on both sides of the Atlantic. The... read more

Do you ever see social media posts of magnificent wildlife photos from someone's trip to Alaska and think: This just can't be real?But it is. BestTrip.TV cruised from Vancouver to Seward (near Anchorage) on the Regent Seven Seas Mariner, hoping Nature would be kind and we'd encounter at least a couple of the animals and birds Alaska is famous for:WhalesSalmonCrabBald eaglesPuffinsBrown... read more

Before there was molecular gastronomy, there was Baked Alaska to awe and delight a table of diners. A miracle dessert of warm, caramelized meringue on the outside, still magically full of layers of frozen ice cream on the inside. A feat of culinary ingenuity in the days of unreliable refrigeration. The story goes that Baked Alaska was created in New York's famous... read more

Alaska's breathtaking scenery and wildlife encounters will be memories that stay with you a lifetime. But there are one-of-a-kind tangible memories you can take home as well as your photos and close-encounter stories.Lynn Elmhirst, Producer/ Host of BestTrip.TV and cruise expert, shares her favorite Alaskan souvenirs from her ports of call in Sitka, Skagway, Ketchikan, and Juneau on cruise to... read more