a number of newspapers and Web sites such as Frommers.com. She's also the co-author of two cruise guidebooks: "Cruise Vacations for Dummies" and "Frommer's Cruises From U.S. and Canadian Homeports to the Caribbean, Alaska, Hawaii and More." Heidi's travels have led her to more than 60 countries around the world and aboard nearly 100 cruise ships -- and counting. She usually travels with her young twin sons, who have taken to cruising like a couple of old salts.

and she had a 10-year stint at Travel Weekly, a major U.S. travel trade publication.

Showker's books include "The Unofficial Guide to Cruises," a Lowell Thomas "Best Guidebook of the Year" gold winner; "Outdoor Traveler's Guide to the Caribbean," a Lowell Thomas "Best Guidebook" silver winner; "100 Best Resorts in the Caribbean;" and the "Caribbean Ports of Call" series. Her articles have appeared in National Geographic Traveler, Town & Country, Travel + Leisure, Caribbean Travel, Life and USA Today, among many others. Her travels have taken her to more than 100 countries around the world.

A graduate of the University of Mary Washington, she completed her master's degree at the School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University and attended Georgetown University and the American University at Cairo. Showker was the first recipient of the Caribbean Tourism Organization's Journalism Award and the first journalist to receive Martinique's Sucrier d'Or, a personal achievement award. She chaired the Society of American Travel Writers Northeast Chapter from 2002 to 2004.

"Caribbean Ports of Call" and Fodor's Bermuda guidebooks. In addition, her articles have appeared online and in national magazines and newspapers such as Cruise Travel, Consumers Digest and the Chicago Sun-Times. An avid cruiser, she spends most of her time on cruise ships when she's not at home in Augusta, Ga.

freighters to sailing ships to luxury liners, from budget-priced to expensive. Linda has been the cruise travel journalist responsible for the About Cruises Web site since July 2000.

in newspapers, magazines, radio, TV and on the Web. When Evan isn't inspecting and reporting on the latest and greatest cruise ships, he's cooking up innovative ways to help prospective cruisers easily find their perfect cruise online.

He bases his star rankings on how well a cruise line measures up against the expectations its marketing messages promise. After all, he says, "General-purpose star ratings can't take into account an individual's likes and dislikes, as our new Cruise Wizard does."