4 minute read
Shore Thing Watch Your Porthole!
A new video series is bringing the best of the magazine to screens you can watch from anywhere, so we ask our publisher and editor-in-chief what to expect from his on-camera adventures @cruisetravelbp.
IF YOU’VE BEEN CLOSELY FOLLOWING PORTHOLE CRUISE AND TRAVEL ONLINE, you might have noticed something that’s been happening since last summer. Bill Panoff, who wears the hats of publisher and editor-in-chief in the magazine’s offices, has added a new hat to his collection: producer.
He’s brought a camera crew along for his cruises to Alaska, Antarctica, the USVI, Israel, New England, Canada, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, and (aboard the beautiful Paul Gauguin) Tahiti. He’s interviewed local experts and shown off the attractions of each destination, introducing newcomers to famous landmarks and showing experienced travelers some secret treasures. Since the shows have started taking off on YouTube and other outlets, we thought we’d ask Bill what’s in store.
Q: What made you decide to pivot toward video?
A: I’ve been doing video all along! As far back as the early 2000s, we had PortholeTV, and more recently I’ve been producing my own travel tips and interviews for social media as Cruise Control with Bill Panoff. But this new venture is much more in line with what Porthole Cruise and Travel Magazine does: professional coverage of cruise lines, destinations, and experiences you can only get in specific places around the world.
Q: So it’s like the magazine and then some?
A: What it is is Porthole Plus. We’ve been calling them Cruise and Travel Shows, but we’re also thinking about it behind the scenes as Porthole Plus Porthole, plus moving pictures, plus drone photography, plus action, music, and voices. If there was a way to get the flavors through the camera, we’d do that too. It’s not a supplement to the articles in every issue. It’s more independent content with the same style, the same level of execution.
Q: Where are you looking forward to going next?
A: By the time this appears in the magazine, I should be on the Mississippi River, cruising aboard American Queen from Memphis to New Orleans. What I’m looking forward to the most there is three things.
Elvis is at the Oscars this year, so touring Graceland and listening to all the music of Memphis and New Orleans is a must. I love the food of the South, especially since American Queen Voyages has teamed up with “Biscuit Queen” Regina Charboneau. To be honest, what I’m hoping for is some barbecue, shrimp and grits, and sazeracs. Most of all, though, I think what I like the best about a Mississippi River cruise is the chance to enjoy some of America’s most beautiful natural surroundings. The cypress trees in the bayous just seem so wise and calming.
Q: So after this cruise, you’ll be ready to take it easy for a while?
There’s too much to see!
First, our crew goes to Saint Croix to explore some of the fantastic food, beaches, and historical sites there.
Alaska on UnCruise, exploring Glacier Bay but also some of the sights on land around Juneau.
Then I’ll be taking viewers along in the Mediterranean aboard Oceania (really looking forward to their dining program) and Atlas Ocean Voyages.
But after that, I’ll be taking the crew on Ponant’s expedition ship Le Commandant Charcot up to Greenland and seeing a part of the world most people only ever experience as a place on a map, right near the top. If I can spot a narwhal, I’ll be happy.
Finally, we’ll be moving from the Arctic wild to the civilized surrounds of Europe’s great cities along the Danube. I recommend everyone who loves anything about travel experience that route at least once, because it has everything a cruiser loves refined to the highest possible degree, whether it’s fine wines, local cuisine, beautiful art and music, sophisticated shopping districts, gorgeous architecture, and so much Old World charm and hospitality. Everything except the sea spray.
Q: Anything else you think we need to know?
A: I look forward to seeing you wherever you like to watch videos!
I’m sure you’ll learn something new with each program we do.
