Who Am I?

Ralph Grizzle

Made it to Cape Reinga (at the northern tip of New Zealand) after a tough day of battling headwinds on a bicycle.

I am, first and foremost, a passionate world traveler. In fact, I began my journalistic career at the age of 32, following the conclusion of my early “sabbatical decade.” From 1980 through 1990, I bicycled across America, pedaled through Europe and island-hopped the South Pacific.

After backpacking through Bali, bussing through Java, hopping a boat to Singapore and crossing Malaysia to Thailand, I flew into Burma, tramped to Dhaka and endured a 32-hour train ride from calamitous Calcutta to bustling Bombay.

From there, I hopped a plane for Greece and traveled to Switzerland before returning home, where I settled, quite naturally, into a career of travel writing — with a bachelor of arts in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Today, I produce tons of content for my sites, avidcruiser.com and rivercruiseadvisor.com. My goal is to help travelers make informed cruise vacation decisions.

I also do a lot of video work for destinations and for cruise lines such as Seabourn and Silversea. Feel like seeing some of my work? Watch my short film, Antarctica on Seabourn Quest and my longer destination feature on Helsingborg, Sweden, where I lived for nine years.

At work on Seabourn Quest en route to Antarctica.

One of the best known names in cruise writing, Ralph has been covering the industry for well over a decade and has sailed on more than 100 vessels. — Gene Sloan, USA Today

I make my home in Asheville, North Carolina. When in Asheville, I enjoy mountain biking, hiking, lingering in coffee shops and frequent trips to the gorgeous Biltmore Estate. I have two wonderful children, Alex and Britton, who travel with me often.

That’s me up above, back in 1994, when I was on assignment on Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth 2.

My work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and numerous consumer magazines. The North American Travel Journalism Association, awarded my article, Ship Shape, which appeared in the September 2005 issue of Hemispheres, in the category of “Best Cruise Writing.”

I am the author of four books, including Remembering Charles Kuralt, a biography that Publisher’s Weekly called “a sweet and lovely homage, a welcome commemoration.”

But enough about me. My goal is to provide you with content that engages you and compels you to return often. Thanks for stopping by . . .

Bon Voyage, Ralph Grizzle