The rest of this site is research. This is the part I ate. Ships I have actually sailed, cabins I actually paid for, and what changed my mind while I was on board.
The rules
Seabound Journeys runs on research. Menus, deck plans, scoring rubrics, prices checked twice before they get printed. That work is honest, and it is also secondhand by design — I can only score what the line publishes and what the evidence supports.
The Logbook is the other thing. I go, I pay, I write it down. When a ship surprises me, this is where it goes.
In full, at the price anyone else would pay, usually far in advance. No comped cabins, no host sailings, no press trips.
Nothing is filed from the ship and nothing is softened later. If a dish was a disappointment, it says so — I have written that about a lobster roll I later loved.
Ships change, crews rotate, kitchens have off nights. Where an entry cannot support a fleetwide claim, it says that out loud instead of stretching.
Shot at the table with a phone, not supplied by the line. What the plate looked like is what you see.
The entries
Grouped by sailing, newest first within each group. More arrive as I sail them.
Series · 4 entries · Sailed October 16–18, 2026
Two nights on Norwegian Aqua out of Miami, just my wife and me, with a day at Great Stirrup Cay. Newest first.
A bright, modern ship with shows that played like concerts and food that over-delivered. The layout never clicked in two nights, and the casino opens straight onto the walkway. Norwegian is back on my list.
Read the entry
Entry 10Indulge, The Local, Palomar and Le Bistro over two nights. Palomar earned the return reservation, the mushroom soup stole Le Bistro, and my wife ordered better than I did at every course.
Read the entry
Entry 09Almost the same money at Norwegian’s Vibe Shore Club and Royal Caribbean’s Coco Beach Club. A rock-sheltered cove and a zip line overhead on one side; a heated infinity pool and a waiter-served lunch on the other.
Read the entry
Entry 08A forward-facing Club Balcony Suite at the very front of the ship. About 20 sq ft less inside than a regular balcony, 30 more outside, and a windscreen you look through when you sit.
Read the entrySeries · 3 entries · Sailed October 1–3, 2026
Two nights on Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas out of Port Canaveral, with a day at Perfect Day at CocoCay. Newest first.
Two nights, one suitcase, and a plan made before the gangway. How we fit a zip line, a FlowRider, a waterpark day and two sit-down dinners into 48 hours.
Read the entry
Entry 06Two nights with the kids. The zip line and the main dining room delivered. The cigarette smoke and a flat Aqua show are why we are still Team Oasis.
Read the entry
Entry 05Icon and Harmony both in port, a $400 RoyalUp bid, and one extra ticket for Grandma. What the cabana cost, what it included, and a working theory for why the park was nearly empty.
Read the entrySeries · 4 entries · September 2026
Four entries from my MSC sailings: Yacht Club dining, the new included counters, whether Yacht Club is worth the money, and whether you should sail MSC at all. Newest first.
For years I read MSC’s low fares as a warning. Three sailings on Seashore and a family week on World America later, I read them differently — and I can tell you exactly which trip changed it.
Read the entry
Entry 03Three sailings, three interior suites, and a $950 balcony upgrade we turned down twice. What the enclave actually buys, what it costs, and the arithmetic that decides it on your cruise.
Read the entry
Entry 02Seashore came out of dry dock with two free restaurants by the pools. We were in a Yacht Club suite with a private restaurant and went anyway — twice, if you count the barbecue.
Read the entry
Entry 01Third Yacht Club sailing, and I had stopped reading the menus. Then the same tournedos I had ordered twice before arrived as a different dish entirely. Four nights, two Ocean House lunches, and one revision to the advice I give clients.
Read the entryBeyond the Logbook
Ship guides, dining scores, entertainment scorecards, cabins, ports and shore excursions.
Open ArticlesBooking strategy, what each line was built to solve, and where the money actually goes.
Open ToolsShip Fit, Cabin Fit, Dining Fit and the excursion calculator — answers built from the data.
Open Work with meI book these trips for a living. Tell me what you are after and I will price it properly.
OpenSome journeys take you places. Others stay with you forever.Journey further.
