How to plan a delightfully romantic honeymoon

By Taylor St. John Brits were surprised last year when the Orkney Islands – a remote archipelago off the northern tip of Scotland – were named the Best Place to Live in the UK by the Halifax Quality of Life Survey. Its 22,000 residents already know the chilly island chain’s history, wildlife, and ocean vistas well, but as tourism to Scotland’s Highlands and Islands grows, travelers are getting in on the beauty too. Many visitors reach this verdant 70-island chain via cruise ship and its primary port of call, just outside of Kirkwall on the main island of Orkney. (It’s becoming a popular stop on Northern European itineraries between February and October.) Travelers could spend days exploring Orkney’s rugged landscapes – best marked by sandstone cliffs that tumble into the sea and wide, treeless expanses of green – but if they only have a few hours, these notable sites on Orkney are well worth discovering: The stones that make up the prehistoric Ring of Brodgar date to the third mille...

By: Susan Hanson Cruise lines and environmentally focused groups unite to celebrate and protect our planet. Greening the Galápagos Santa Cruz Island’s lush cloud forest is home to the largest of 15 Scalesia species found in the Galápagos. These native trees and shrubs, which provide sanctuary to numerous types of endemic birds, are often compared to Darwin’s finches for their remarkable adaptability to the archipelago’s different vegetation zones. Scalesia are among the 30,000-plus seedlings planted in Santa Cruz’s Los Gemelos highlands as part of an ongoing collaborative effort between Celebrity Cruises and Galápagos National Park. Celebrity passengers and crew members alike have taken part in the reforestation project, which aims to restore  areas affected by humans and invasive plants. Their enthusiasm and hard work have helped the program exceed its initial goal by 150 percent so far. A tree grows in the Galápagos. Photo by Celebrity Cruises. Music of the Sphere A...