New Orleans is best city for music

It’s Mardi Gras season in New Orleans with parades and balls on the minds of most residents and visitors. After you’ve caught enough plastic beads and sipped your share of hurricanes at Pat O’Briens, make time to hear some of the best music in the country.

New Orleans recently was named as the best North American city for live music by the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW).

The world’s largest organization of professional travel journalists and photographers polled its members to devise the list. Other cities listed in order of votes received were: New York City; Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tenn.; Chicago, Ill.; Memphis, Tenn.; Montreal, Canada; Las Vegas, Nevada; Branson, Mo.; and Denver, Colo.

“A melting pot of musical inspirations and innovations, New Orleans has embraced music as part of its history and one of the most colorful parts of its culture. From street performers to intimate clubs, jazz funerals to festivals, and symphonies to headlining rock concerts, music continues to permeate–and enrich–every day of life in New Orleans,” said Kelly Schulz, vice president of communications and public relations at the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Two giants take to the high seas

Land-locked Midwesterners considering a winter getaway to the Caribbean have two new mega-ship choices: the Carnival Dream and Royal Caribbean International’s Oasis of the Seas. Here’s a comparison to show travelers how these two behemoths stack up for a seven-night eastern Caribbean cruise from Florida.

Learn more about these new ships and others at AAA Travel Cruise Week, Jan. 25–30.