February 2021: Just returned from a wonderful trip to French Polynesia and the Conrad Bora Bora Nui. The Conrad has now reopened as of May 2021 (mostly to Americans who are more free to travel due to the huge drop in Covid cases due to the vaccines).

This section will be for current travels, upcoming flights and cruises.

The big news of the day is moving the website from WordPress to our own proprietary web site generation program we developed using FileMaker database, which allows us to use all of our past cruise ship reviews from 2001 onwards.

This is my all-time favorite resort, located above Lake Lucerne in Switzerland. After undergoing a multi-hundred-million dollar facelift and renovation, the result is nothing short of spectacular. The staff is the best in the world. The views, food, atmosphere and wonderful feeling will leave you spellbound.

With the Best View in the World The Riffelalp Resort at 2222 meters  above Zermatt, Switzerland

The most amazing view in Europe, of the iconic Matterhorn. Resort is above Zermatt. Located half way up the Gornergrat, it has the best view of the western sky and sunset than anywhere in the region. The Matterhorn is in the foreground. Please follow the link below to read about this epic resort.

Series of videos of our cruise with the YouTuber family Growing Up Without Borders crew.

Over the past year I’ve been developing a AirBNB renewable powered (solar PV) multihull. The basic concept is to provide a lake (or river) based yacht which has income potential from AirBNB, or similar business model. In Europe, real estate is so expensive, you could literally build a yacht for much less money, and cruise the many large waterways. Lake Geneva (Lac Léman) in Switzerland is one example.

The 60 ft. yacht will be a unique trimaran, with three carbon fiber hulls and all-systems and living quarters above the waterline.

The unique design will be a paddle-wheeler, to reflect traditional European lake and river cruisers. More important, the paddle-wheel was chosen over all other designs for ease of build, cost, durable, and dependable service. Built in modules, the vessel will be shippable via ocean freight container.

Lac Léman is a crescent-shaped lake shared with France and Switzerland, with views of the alps. The swiss city of Geneva, is on the southern tip. Évian-les-Bains is on the southern side. On the northern side is the Swiss Riviera which stretches from Lausanne to Montreux. Much of the northern side is covered with wine vineyards.

Imanta Resort is the most architecturally stunning and wondrous natural setting in Mexico. It’s like a Mayan temple has risen from the forest to meet the ocean. The rolling pipeline surf provides a relaxing white noise as the sea comes ashore. I've been there three times, and the third will be my last. Follow the link below to find out why.

Looking for a wonderful AirBNB to stay while in Switzerland ?

Try this beautiful Villeneuve (Switzerland) luxury apartment, close to Montreux and on the sunny side of Lake Geneva (Lac Léman).

Only one block away from the lake, and a few blocks from the train, which connects east/southeast to Gstaad, Verbier, Zermatt, and southeast to Montreux, Lausanne, Vivey, and Geneva. Take the train northeast to Bern and from there to Lucerne and Zurich.

Ever wonder what is too big for a cruise ship ? Look no further, it’s the MSC Bellissima. While a beautiful new ship, it’s overcrowded without the staff to support the 4,500 passenger load.

Antiquated card based POS systems only make things worse, especially when trying to incorporate the medallion RFID system.

Unsure if it’s the Italian way of doing business, or the staff is overwhelmed, but the organization is fraught with problems, inefficiencies, and has the potential for very unsanitary operating conditions, especially in the buffet area (no soap or sanitary lotion many times).

On a recent cruise, our group chartered a small business jet from Barcelona to Zurich.

Not only was it super convenience, but an amazing experience.

Most locations in Europe are an easy 1.5 hour flight or less point to point. Chartering a jet provides a very economical way for 6 people to travel First Class, avoiding airport hassle of long lines and waits. It also provides a customized service to your destination direct. In this case, we were leaving the cruise ship on a Sunday, and wanted to spend a few days at the Burgenstock Resort near Lucerne, Switzerland. There is actually an airport next to the resort, but unfortunately closed on the weekends, so we had to fly into Zurich, then take a van (weather was not good enough for a helicopter transfer) to the resort.

For all your jet needs (this is a non-compensated link), please contact:

Gilbert Mindren / Jet Charter Specialist

Email: Gilbert Mindren

Tel. +41 22 788 6880
Mobile +41 79 611 7741
www.d-jet.aero

Recent studies (June 2020) confirm that for adults over 40, a red spectrum (LLLT or Low level light therapy) light can help the functioning of mitochondria.

There was a 14 percent improvement in the ability to see colors, or cone color contrast sensitivity, for the entire two dozen participants.

The spectrum for this therapeutic red light is around 660 nm. I have been using the Amzcool device (shown to the left and link below) for almost a year now, and love it. I use it for both my eyes, and for knee pain. It works for both eyes and skin healing (verfied by NASA).

For more details, please follow the link for our detailed review.

The Lauterbrunnen valley is the door into the Jungfrau region of Switzerland. This is when Will was visiting the high alpine region around Interlocken, and visited the glaciers in the alps.

This is just one of many postcards from the wonderful travels of Will McCracken (from Waterloo, Wisconsin) in his epic European tour in 1922.

This website will be the first test of our new Millenium Web Engine, which is based on using a Filemaker (Claris) database backbone. The primary goal is to build a website using semantics specifically referenced by Google (metatags and proper page building), so that their search spiders and page ranking derive better results. Part of this initiative is building a business around .pdf documents and QR codes, so that customers can easily reference website pages for additional information, including order products and services. The strategy is function over form. Using First Principles, we are building a Web Engine that provides useful information quickly, and without a lot of clutter which is found in most pretty websites (i.e. WordPress). Building a website rich in .pdf and QR codes provides the view with a better and faster experience. Making the entire process into a database and AI, makes it even better. You control the website and the data (not WordPress). It's more durable, and always backed up on your local computer. WordPress does not do daily backups, as claimed. When your business depends on your website, you need to take control of its foundation.

Need to get organized ? We are now making available our software apps to travel bloggers. Based on Filemaker platform (Mac, Windows, and Mac IOS Filemaker Go), we have developed some industry specific apps that will increase your efficiency, reduce time, and give you valuable heads-up time while doing reviews, blogs, and video blogs.

Watch the CruisingReview videos from YouTube all on one page.

This website is rendered for standard USA printing. Margins are set for 8.5 inch printing. QR codes are for active sites and links. The goal of this functionality is for ease in saving to PDF or printing directly as a brochure. The QR code printed out on each page allows easy access via most smart phones to directly link the website with a simple scan via the phone (most phones now scan QR code under the photo setting, and then take you to the website). This is further extended to equipment businesses where QR code labels can be placed directly on a machine or part for reference and reordering. Essentially, the QR code and website become a E commerce system, all built into one.

November 2019... coming soon

Chantal Patton, host of the famous YouTube Channel Growing Up Without Borders has made a course that teaches you how to work while abroad and traveling.