Conde Nast Traveler Volume V, 2018

Christa Guerra, Art Director, and Matthew Zach, Contributing Photographer To check out one of the most OTT suites on the water (page 26), Guerra (far left, with her safety card) and Zach cruised from Monaco to Barcelona on Regent’s Seven Seas Explorer. “Even though we had bad weather, we had a ball,” she says. “And the rosé all day didn’t hurt.” Matt Hranek, Luxury Editor As he floated and drank his way up the Canal du Midi on the Belmond Alouette, Hranek (below) photographed this summer’s most stylish carry‑ons (page 36). Rebecca Misner, West Coast Editor “We wanted one day to just relax on the beach,” says Misner (above, with her daughter, Mila, in French Polynesia, page 55). “So the M.S. Paul Gauguin’s concierge arranged a day for us at InterContinental in Bora Bora.” Alex Postman,…

WE’RE GOING ALL IN It’s hard to imagine that an all-inclusive, especially one along that tourist-made stretch between Cancún and Tulum, could be the first hotel in the Americas to win EarthCheck certification for sustainability. But rather than swim-up bars teeming with sunburned masses in fluorescent wristbands drinking daiquiris, Hotel Xcaret Mexico (above, and that’s ESH-car-ette) on Mexico’s Riviera Maya has a vibe more like a boutique hotel (albeit one with seven pools). The cheerfully embroidered cushions made by women in Chiapas and floor tiles from Puebla in all of the 900-plus rooms wouldn’t be out of place in Tulum’s more boho-chic barefoot inns. Mercado de la Merced, Xcaret’s main restaurant, is a Wonka-esque explosion of authentic ceviches, sopas, asados, and Mexican sweets. Zip-lining over the jungle and snorkeling in a…

The last time my older sister, Alex, and I had been on a cruise together, industrial-size cans of Aqua Net, used to shellac our bangs into four-inch crowns, could pass through airport X-ray machines without a blip. The year was 1987. For the better part of our childhood, Alex and I accompanied our mother, a professional singer and onboard entertainer, on a dozen or so cruises to the Caribbean, Mexico, Alaska, the Mediterranean, the Panama Canal. Some of the lines, like the Italian-staffed Sitmar Cruises, whose late-night thincrust pizza I still dream about, have long since given up their fleets. Back then, the world’s biggest cruise ship, the S.S. France, held more than 2,000 passengers; today, Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas can carry 6,680. When we were little, the three of…

OUR FAVORITE TRIPS ON, IN, OR NEAR THE WATER The Alouette, a cozy two-cabin barge (shown) that winds its way over the course of a week through the plane tree–lined Canal du Midi in the Languedoc, is one of seven in Belmond’s fleet that navigate rivers and canals all over France. You’ll see a side of the country that you wouldn’t be able to by car, and with a local guide on board, you’ll have inside access to all of the medieval villages, vineyards, and farmers’ markets along the way. This summer, the eight-passenger Pivoine does a shorter, three-day sail through the vineyards and farms of Champagne.…

I’ve loved those iconic images of Jean Seberg and Pablo Picasso in their striped Breton sailor shirts since I first saw them in my teens. When I began traveling to Paris for work a few years later, I asked an in-the-know photographer where I could get one. He told me, “Go to the Samaritaine”—a department store that has since closed—“and buy Armor Lux.” I found the sturdy boatneck shirts made for Brittany’s seamen in the underwear department. Nearly 30 years later, long after countless fashion brands made the knockoffs ubiquitous, I still have them. So I was excited when I found out you can tour the Armor Lux factory in Quimper, the capital of an area of Brittany called Finistère, whose little harbor towns are among the last holdouts of French…

Cruise cabins, no matter how well appointed, have a rep for being, shall we say, cozy. When you step into the Regent Suite aboard the Seven Seas Explorer, however, you may well forget you’re on a ship at all. The two-bedroom, two-balcony enclave has an enormous spa-style bath (with as many Canyon Ranch services as you’d like), its own solarium, and a custom Dakota Jackson Grand Maroque piano built by Steinway & Sons. It’ll run you more than $5K a night, but that includes a personal butler, private onshore guides, a fully stocked bar, invites to dinner with ship’s officers, and tons of other perks. Now that’s livin’ large. MORE OTT SUITES Cunard’s Balmoral and Sandringham Suites Twin duplex suites with sweeping views aft. Crystal Cruises’ Crystal Penthouse Has a Swarovski chandelier and a separate…