About Chasing The Sun
Whether you're planning a trip or dreaming of it, our travel and lifestyle blog is a place to find inspiration. Dream about exotic vacation destinations. See the world like never before. Inspire your inner wanderlust. Repeat.
Norwegian's Travel & Lifestyle blog offers cruise advice and travel tips for thrill seeking adventurers, and leisure loyalists alike! Learn about exquisite cultures and discover sight-seeing musts. Read up on vacationing do's and don'ts that make for unforgettable experiences from the travel and cruise experts at Norwegian Cruise Line.
Our Travel Experts
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Megan Baldor
Megan Baldor is a contract senior copywriter for Norwegian Cruise Line and a freelance travel writer who has published articles in national and regional publications. She currently lives in North Carolina but wait a year or two and that’ll probably change — military family. If she’s not behind a computer or snuggled up with a book, you can find Megan out cycling, hiking or chasing after her two young children and small, Ewok-looking dog. -
Becky Randel
Becky Randel is a contract copywriter for Norwegian Cruise Line as well as a freelance journalist & content creator, and a regular contributor to publications such as PEOPLE Magazine, American Way, Mommy Nearest, Women's Health, Billboard, Ocean Drive, The Daily Meal, and more. Becky lives in Miami with her husband, two sons, and rescue dog. When she's not writing (or driving her kids), she's either reading, walking on the beach, or obsessively researching her next travel destination. Visit her website at beckyrandel.com.
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Meghan Palmer
Meghan Palmer is a writer and contributor for Conde Nast Traveler. -
Olivia Klupar
Olivia Klupar is a Skagway native and the CEO and Founder of Voyij.com, Alaska's local e-commerce marketplace for travelers to connect with small businesses from their favorite port towns and shop online. Voyij.com is on a mission to share the joy of Alaska with others and support local businesses, artists, and communities. Discover local and shop online with Voyij.com. -
Rebecca Winters
Rebecca, Senior Director, NCL Creative Group, leads NCL’s in-house creative agency—an enthusiastic team of creative and operations directors, art directors, copywriters and project managers supporting the Norwegian brand. She’s an avid traveler and lives in South Florida with her husband, two cats and one very spoiled lab-chow pup. Her favorite cruises are Alaska, Hawaii and Bermuda. -
Julie Balter
Julie Balter is a writer, yogi, and calculated risk-taker. After years of working in the film industry as an executive for SAG-AFTRA, Julie relocated to Delray Beach, Florida, where every day begins and ends with a visit to the ocean. In between, she teaches yoga, writes for national and regional publications, and plots her next big travel adventure.www.yogaandmuse.com -
Cassandra Aguililla
Cassandra Aguililla is a seasoned writer born and raised in southern Florida. She graduated in 2015 from Florida International University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts. With a wide range of niche interests and pop-culture knowledge beyond her years, Cassandra always finds a unique way to make audiences connect with her story. Lover of puns, animals, science fiction, art, and travel, her writing style is characteristic to her energetic and eccentric personality. -
Connie Motz
Connie Motz is an award-winning freelance writer located in BC, Canada. She is also a proud 5-year breast cancer survivor & Celiac traveler. Connie invites you to visit her blog, Travel Writer, at www.conniemotz.com. Follow her on Twitter or Pinterest, or meet her on Linkedin. -
Emily Mendez
Emily Mendez is a former private practice psychotherapist turned freelance writer. She began her writing career developing psychology-related content and discovered a passion for writing. Emily is thrilled to write about travel— especially cruises— as this is her preferred way to see the world. Emily has traveled to over 12 different countries from Iceland to Haiti. She looks forward to continuing to search for adventure both near and far. Visit Emily’s blog for more travel stories and inspiration. -
Alicia Palma
Alicia is a Miami native, cruise lover, and team member at NCL.com. Her first cruise memory is of discovering the Caribbean's turquoise waters. Her favorite cruise memory is honeymooning in Belize. One day, she hopes to cruise the Inside Passage. -
Claire Smith
Claire Smith is a Senior Copywriter at NCL. With her home port in Washington D.C., she loves all things food and travel and will go out of her way to find the best gluten-free bite—especially if that bite is a donut—wherever she goes. -
Ikam Acosta
Ikam Acosta is a crisis counselor and freelance writer. She has traveled to Argentina, Brazil, France, Italy, Spain, England, Greece, Turkey, the Bahamas, and most of our 50 states. She loves to take road trips, lounge on the beach, and explore ancient ruins. An avid geocacher, Ikam enjoys discovering new places, even in her hometown. She has been blogging since 2006, and has also written about music, entertainment, and culture. With travel being one of her main passions, she is looking forward to her next vacation and the opportunity to visit a new and exciting land. -
Lauren Matyear
Lauren is a writer and content strategist with over three years' experience in writing blog posts, articles, and eBooks. Having been to Mexico, Europe, and all over the United States, she loves to explore and witness different cultural traditions. She currently lives in Ukraine and nurtures her love of travel through writing and learning about new places. -
Elizabeth Startz
After spending 30 years as an elementary teacher and principal in South Texas, Elizabeth and husband James moved to Juneau, Alaska, where she is a cruiser-to-cruiser online chat contractor for NCL and a travel agent specializing in anything Disney! In her free time, Elizabeth enjoys reading, crafting and collecting Russian nesting dolls. -
Anna Lisa Greene
Traveling is a way of life for Anna Lisa. She has spent fall days in the Appalachian Mountains, winter days in Paris and NYC, spring days all over the Caribbean, and summer days on the beach in her hometown off the Carolina coast. Her favorite way to travel is always by cruise, and her favorite destination is always the Caribbean, but she also loves taking weekend trips all over the Southeast U.S. with her husband. When she isn’t traveling, she spends as many days as possible sitting under an umbrella while listening to music on the beach. -
Barbara Foster
Barbara began her cruising obsession with her Honeymoon on the Norwegian Majesty in 1999, and is currently a Platinum Plus Latitudes Rewards member, having spent 134 days sailing a variety of Norwegian ships. Barbara is also a full-time foster mom to three men with developmental disabilities. Her passion for cruising Norwegian led her straight to Norwegian’s website, where she provides live chat support for site visitors who have questions. In her spare time she’s also a travel agent specializing in Norwegian Cruise Line, of course. -
Rachel Sigur
Rachel is an avid traveler, adventurer, explorer and food lover. She got the travel bug as a child when her father would take her on his business trips which mainly revolved around hotel casinos. She eventually went on to produce a travel show and globe-trotted around the world. Rachel's most memorable trip to date is in 2016 when she summited Africa's highest peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro, with her childhood girlfriends. Rachel is a native New Orleanian and loves playing tourist in her own city. She writes for a New Orleans website called NOLA Weekend. You can follow her journeys on Instagram at @rachel_nola or on Facebook at /rachel.sigur. You can also read her articles at nolaweekend.com. -
Tom Roesser
Tom Roesser currently lives in Miami, where he thoroughly enjoys being surrounded by cruise ships! Born & raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, he’s been on over 50 cruises and is always looking forward to his next one. -
Amy Hoff
Amy Hoff is a writer, novelist, filmmaker, folklorist, and historian. She has spent her life on the road. A true drifter in vintage leather-jacket-and-diner American style, she has traveled by sea and by land. A guest lecturer aboard cruise ships worldwide, she has a passion for history, culture, practical travel, and that great little restaurant around the corner in your next destination that's going to become your new fave, and that one local pub where everybody knows your name. -
Jonathan Stephen
Jonathan is an avid traveler and foodie hailing originally from Long Island, NY. Currently living in Miami, Jonathan spends his days working on websites and marketing projects. At night, he tests his wits in the kitchen, imitating recipes from his favorite celebrity chefs. Jonathan has been to over 30 countries and loves to travel off the beaten path. His dream vacation would be doing absolutely nothing but enjoying the scenery and sipping on a crafted cocktail of choice in the locale he's visiting. -
Ralph Galarrita
After becoming a government scholar for Public Administration and receiving his Associate’s degree in Nursing, Ralph spent several years honing his public and clientele service skills. With years of experience as an event organizer and host, Ralph now travels the world as an Executive Casino Host aboard Norwegian Breakaway. -
Dean Blaine
Dean Blaine was seven years old the first time he saw the ocean, the first time he saw that horizon line where the water meets the sky. Wow! The world is huge, he thought. He couldn't see the end of it. He then realized that no matter how hard he tried, he would never be able to explore it all. But many years later, he tries. As a professional travel writer, Dean has traversed the planet via boat, plane, train, horse and camel. He's seen the pyramids in Egypt, the cathedrals in Europe, and the Big Five while on African safari. He's chased the legend of James Bond in Jamaica, followed in the footsteps of Hemingway in Paris, and become a Blue Man for a story on the famous Blue Man Group. He considers it a great honor to be able to share his experiences with readers. -
Charles Fischer
Charles is a New Jersey native and moderate traveler. He thoroughly enjoys getting lost in local culture whenever possible and tries to avoid the Rick Steve’s tour path; instead hoping to get in some secret trouble before having to return to his home in Miami Beach. In his dream vacation, he’d rent a flat in Beirut and spend a month taking Arabic cooking and language lessons. -
Evelyn Frank
The opportunity to travel the Americas came at a young age for this Colombian-American. By spending vacations with her father, Evelyn quickly learned the ins and outs of traveling. Since age seven, she has been to several countries throughout Central and South America as well as the Caribbean. Evelyn looks forward to experiencing new destinations with her husband and son in the coming years. -
Claudia Aguirre
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Jennifer Pintaluba
Jen is a Georgia native who fell in love with traveling as a child while visiting Europe and The Caribbean with her family. During her college years, she lived in Siena, Italy for a few months learning Italian and embracing the local culture. She has also traveled to the South American countries of Argentina and Uruguay. Her favorite travel memories include sunbathing in Punta Del Este, hiking the Italian hillside cities of Cinque Terre and visiting the vibrant city of Sevilla during the Feria De Abril. -
Jennifer Wu
As a first generation Chinese American, Jen is no stranger to bridging cultures. As a child, her frequent trips to China has sparked her love for traveling and that love has followed her ever since. Besides China, she has also trekked throughout Europe and the Caribbean and is currently thinking of her next destination to visit. Her favorite thing to do abroad is getting to know the locals, especially when it's over food! -
Shayna Penn
Shayna is a stage manager, currently working on Norwegian Escape. When she's not working you can find her reading, writing or finding the best coffee in port. -
S. Awan
Sarah Awan is a freelance writer who splits her time between Brooklyn and Miami. She writes about travel, food, love, and culture while aspiring to an artful life as the mother of two strapping, young lads.