Jackie Sheckler Finch

Viking Offers ‘Welcome Back’ Mediterranean Voyages

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Viking is welcoming back guests with new Mediterranean cruises beginning this summer. The Viking Venus and Viking Sea will homeport in the Maltese capital city of Valletta – a cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site – and sail two different 11-day roundtrip itineraries in the Mediterranean. As a result of strong demand, Viking also has announced it is adding more sailing dates this summer for its Welcome Back voyages around Iceland and Bermuda. “We thank the government of …

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Popular entertainer Jon England returns to cruise ship this week

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When Jon England cruised aboard the American Harmony in December 2019, he had no idea that would be his last voyage for 16 months. As a popular cruise entertainer, Jon already had his full year’s schedule for 2020 cruises. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Suddenly, that wonderful American Cruise Lines trip between New Orleans and Memphis would be Jon’s unexpected final one until May 2021. This Friday, May 7, Jon will be headed back to Memphis for …

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New American Countess Offers Golfers Chance to Cruise & Play Golf

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How about taking a cruise on the new American Countess riverboat and play golf? Well, actually golfers won’t be playing aboard the Countess. Golfers will have the luxury of cruising and stopping at four of the most prestigious courses along the Lower Mississippi River. Sailing May 8-16 from Memphis to New Orleans, guests can tee off at Colonial Country Club in Memphis; The Bluffs in St. Francisville, Louisiana;  Copper Mill Golf Club in Zachary, Louisiana; and Black …

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Bourbon Launch of New American Countess

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A new royal riverboat is now cruising America’s rivers. The American Countess was christened in New Orleans on March 21 and is now on her way for an eight-day journey to Memphis. “As we celebrate the grand debut of the American Countess, I could not be more appreciative of the incredible team that made it possible,” John Waggoner, founder and CEO of American Queen Steamboat Company, said in a news release. The fourth boat to join the American …

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Guest House at Graceland is fit for a ‘King’

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When my plane landed at Memphis airport, I called The Guest House at Graceland to request a complimentary shuttle to my accommodations. When I asked the hotel receptionist how I would recognize my ride, she just laughed. “Oh, you will know it right away,” she said. “Don’t worry about that.” How right she was! A few minutes later, a sleek blue-and-gold shuttle arrived with huge likenesses of Elvis on the sides and back. I didn’t even need …

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Expedition cruise to Alaska on UnCruise’s Wilderness Explorer

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We seemed plunked down in a different world.  It looked like something from the depths of history. Or maybe from planets beyond our orb. Great shards of ice glistened like diamonds in deep sapphire waters. Tidewater glaciers swept like rivers of ice down massive mountain valleys.  Mountains, some as high as 15,000 feet, rose straight out of the ocean. Snow-draped peaks towered over sparkling fiords. “It feels like you are going back in time, back to the …

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Magical expedition cruise circumnavigates Iceland

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The Land of Fire and Ice is no place for sissies. Life on this frozen rugged island in the middle of an ocean has not be easy with volcanoes, glaciers, deforestation, months of 24-hour daylight followed by months of endless night. But Icelanders are friendly and proud to share the treasures of their country. My Ocean Diamond 10-day circumnavigation cruise around Iceland, starting and ending in Reykjavik, was the perfect way to see this incredible country. Iceland …

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Santa Rides New Roller Coaster on Carnival Mardi Gras

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Yes, Virginia, there is a roller coaster on a cruise ship. And Santa Claus just rode it. Taking a break from his pre-Christmas gift making, Santa ventured down to Finland to take a test run on BOLT, the first-ever roller coaster at sea aboard Carnival Cruise Line’s new Mardi Gras. The ship is being delivered at the Meyer Turku shipyard later this week. With enthusiastic shrieks of delight and a few hearty “ho-ho-ho’s: echoing throughout the shipyard, Santa zipped …

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Gaudí designs ‘gaudy’ bachelor pad in seaside Spain

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When I was a little girl, one of my favorite dresses had a pattern of blue poodle dogs with golden leashes surrounded by a smattering of pink hearts. I thought it was beautiful. One of my elderly neighbors said it was “quite gaudy.” To me, that was a compliment. Figured it was just another way of describing my twirly dress as pretty. Mom told me the truth. But I still figured it was a different way of …

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Susan B. Anthony Museum Honors Woman Who Fought for Right to Vote

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When my Grandma Georgie was born on Nov. 3, 1902, women didn’t have the right to vote. Seems hard to believe. When she did gain that right, Grandma Georgie would march to our small town Ohio polling place every election day. She was determined to exercise that hard-won right to vote. As a child, I would jump rope with my sisters to a rhyme but I didn’t know what it meant. “In came the doctor. In came …

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