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Important Note for our Valued Readers Continue reading below for: (1) our Mission Statement; (2) Editorial Department Information; (3) Media Information; and (4) Advertising Information. Our Mission Statement Who? SouthernCruising.com™ is a news media venture -- an online newspaper dedicated to editorial coverage of cruising from southern U.S. ports and Caribbean island destination information for cruisers. What? Once our site is fully loaded, visitors will enjoy daily headline news briefs, a weekday blog, major travel features split out by Cruise Topics, and themed category pages for Cruise Lines and Cruise Ports, a focus on hot packages and deals, as well as Photos of the Week, downloadable photos, reader trip reports, book reviews and more. When? After our site is full loaded, we will strive for the latest news. All feature stories will help you determine what's new in cruising for the coming year. Throughout the site we plan to put heavy emphasis on new ships, new cruise line policies, new onboard programs, and new attractions in ports of call including the Caribbean. Where? We won’t cover cruising around the world. Our approach is designed to be more targeted. We will only cover cruising from ports within the U.S. South. These ports include Norfolk, VA; Charleston, SC; Jacksonville, Port Canaveral, Port Everglades, Miami and Tampa, FL; Mobile, AL; New Orleans, LA, and Galveston and Houston, TX. Why? Lots of sites focus on “doing it all” in the world of travel coverage. We prefer a narrower focus – cruising from just one geographic region. We can specialize and thus you really get what you need, instead of going on sites where you have to sift through reams of information. Our Editorial Approach Editorial Leadership
SouthernCruising.com™ is owned by Corporate Write LLC, a Florida editorial services firm. Editor-in-Chief is Susan J. Young, a 20-year travel industry veteran and former magazine and newspaper reporter.  A member of the Society of American Travel Writers and that organization's Editor's Council, Young served for nearly a decade on staff with Travel Agent magazine, a major travel industry trade publication, as Southeast (U.S.) Bureau Chief and Cruise Bureau Chief. She was formerly director of public relations-marketing for US Airways in the 1990s. Young has served as a travel industry consultant in the aviation, hospitality and rental car segments.
As a freelancer, Young's articles have appeared in Caribbean Travel & Life, Passport, CruiseMates.com, Florida Living, National Geographic Traveler, Porthole, Overhaul & Maintenance (a McGraw-Hill Aviation Week publication), the Ledger in Lakeland, FL (a New York Times regional newspaper), several airline in-flight magazines and other publications. In addition, Young is the 1998 winner of the B. F. Goodrich Award, a journalism honor presented by the Royal Aeronautical Society of Great Britain; Young competed with 400 other entrants to win the award. To reach Young, email to editor@southerntravelnews.com. Freelance Editorial Team SouthernCruising.com™ and sister site, SouthernTravelNews.com™, contract with nearly 50 professional freelance copy editors and writers to create and edit site content. Most of these professional writers are members of the Society of American Travel Writers or the American Society of Journalists and Authors. Many live within the South so they provide a local perspective for cruisers sailing from southern U.S. ports. Our cruise experts are highly experienced, many are cruise editors at other publications, and some have authored cruise guidebooks. Writers' bios accompany each article produced for this site. All -- except Young -- are independent contractors. All work is completed under an assigned "Contract for Hire," and no "spec" articles are accepted at any time. At this time, SouthernCruising.com™ has a full complement of professional cruise contributors and is not contracting with additional freelance cruise writers. Our freelance copy editing team is comprised of Lizz Dinnigan, Peggy Cope and Fred Folmer. All have served as editors in varying capacities for major New York magazines. Each has sizable copy editing experience. Reader Submissions Readers certainly have valuable insights into what makes a cruise a success - or not. While we cannot pay for any reader submissions, we'd love your feedback. Your thoughts may be valuable to others considering a similar cruise. We strongly advise against typing a long trip report directly into our site contact form as you may be timed out after a period. If that or any unforeseen technical difficulty should arise, then you'd lose your valuable written work. So first, write your piece "off site" on your own computer -- using your own word processing program. Finalize and polish. Save a copy on your computer. Only after taking these steps, then go to the Reader Feedback area at the bottom of our Front Page. Click on that, and when the form loads, click on Submit a Cruise Report. Cut and paste your copy into our form. Be advised that any reports will not show up "live" on the site automatically. All cruise reports will be reviewed and may be edited by the editor for style, format and language. This publication retains the right to edit all trip reports to conform to our standards. Edited reports are not sent to the writer to review. We seek insightful details about the style, flavor and experience you found onboard. In any cruise report, tell us what you liked about the cruise or didn't, what the overall experience was like, how you would rate the line's dining, accommodations and activities and any other comments about the voyage. What shore trips did you take and how were they? What tips would you give other readers? Would you take this cruise again? How would you rate the value? And feel free to upload up to five photos to us as well. For reader protection, we only use your first name, city name and state. We do not publish your e-mail, last name or full address. If you prefer a "handle" such as cruiserfamily from Seattle or spunkyDonna from Cleveland, that's okay too. Reports that include profane or objectionable language will not be printed. Nor will most reports involving personal disputes you may have with a cruise line. We regret that we simply do not have staff resources to intervene in handling disputes between consumers and cruise lines or other travel suppliers. Most local television stations offer that type of ombudsman or "call to action" services and may be able to assist you. Again, while we don't pay for any trip submissions or photography, your valued opinion is most appreciated! Your tales and photos may help others considering a particular cruise. Press Room Journalists and editors who wish more information for editorial publication about SouthernCruising.com™ or sister site SouthernTravelNews.com™ may e-mail Susan Young at editor@southerncruising.com. Within a few weeks, reporters and travel writers will be find a Press Room (at the bottom of the Cruise Lines/Cruise Ports column on the Front Page). Press releases will be re-printed there. You will also be able to access a logo and editor's photo. Advertising For information on advertising opportunities and a rate card, e-mail us at advertising@southerncruising.com
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