Hi I’m Sherry!
I’m Sherry Laskin, a cruise and travel writer, blogger, photographer, storyteller and podcaster. Once called, “The Blonde Aboard,” I’ve definitely become more silver than blonde since I began this website in 2007. I’m still an avid proponent for travel without flying and solo travel.
In fact, at last count, I have visited 65 countries without ever flying. While I haven’t made it around the world in 80 days yet, it’s still on my agenda. Thank you Jules Verne and Nellie Bly for the inspiration.
My mission through writing, social media and other outlets is to entertain, inspire and encourage readers to experience the joys of travel without flying; aboard cruise ships, river ships, trains and road trips.
In normal times (pre-pandemic), I spent more than four months each year aboard cruise ships and river ships and trains in Europe and the USA. How do I get to distant ports?
I’ve traveled throughout the USA on Amtrak and almost every train route in Europe. Because I don’t fly, my yearly adventures in Europe require two transatlantic crossings, usually aboard the Queen Mary 2.
This website, CruiseMaven.com, aside from cruise ship reviews and news, provides the latest train, hotel and cruise port and destination information. As a food and wine enthusiast, I’m always on the lookout for local cuisine, regional wines and craft beer.
And of course, solo travel is something on which I’ve become an expert over the last several decades.
When I’m not traveling, I’m usually in the kitchen honing my cooking skills, playing my ukulele or just going for long walks with my dog.
How It All Began
I’ve been in love with cruising for a very long time. Actually, for more than five decades. As a small child, I crossed the Pacific with my parents from Los Angeles to Honolulu aboard the 18,000-ton SS Matsonia. That’s me in the above photo steering the ship.
Today, you’ll usually find me aboard cruise ships and river ships taking detailed notes and thousands of photos. On land, there are hotels and trains journeys to review, cruise ports, bustling cities and small towns to explore along the way. Lots of meals to eat and wine to sip.
The idea for Cruise Maven popped into my head in 2001, when I bought the domain name. Next, CruiseMaven.com was launched in 2007. My articles and photos have appeared in many travel industry and consumer print publications such as:
- Travel Trade
- Travel Weekly
- Travel and Leisure News
- Senior Scene Magazine
- Porthole Magazine
- Frommer’s Guide to the Greek Islands
- In-Cabin books for Cunard, Holland America and Seabourn.
Online media includes among others:
- Huffington Post
- msnbc
- USAToday
- Livestrong
- Onboard.com
- Answers.com
- Travel Market Report
- AOL Style
- eHow.com
- USNews and World Travel
I’ve been quoted in frommers.com, msnbc.today.com, NY Times, Miami Herald, Wall Street Journal and the Sun-Sentinel to name a few. I’ve also been a featured guest on Frommer’s Travel Radio Show, JiggyJaguar.com, and Paul Lasley’s OnTravel Radio Show. I also did weekly cruise news every week on CruiseRadio.net for several years.
Where’s Sherry Now
A committed non-flyer since 1995, I have traversed most of the world without setting foot on an airplane. My “If there’s a port I can get there” philosophy has taken me over 2,000 miles on the Amazon River to and from Ft. Lauderdale to Manaus, Brazil.
I’ve cruise from Florida to St. Petersburg, Russia and Carthage, Tunisia and traversed over 18,000 miles on the Danube, Main, Rhine and Mosel rivers from Bulgaria to Amsterdam and northernmost Holland. The rivers in Europe have taken me from the Black Sea to the North Sea.
Most recently, I’ve explored (and lived in) Alaska, from the Southeast in the Tongass National Forest, to crossing the Arctic Circle.
Memberships include SATW – Society of American Travel Writers; North American Travel Journalists Association; International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association and the Women’s Food Alliance. It was a privilege to be a founding member serving four terms for the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), Travel Agent Advisory Board as well as the Norwegian Cruise Line Advisory Board.
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