By Wallace Immen/ With the Middle East conflict spreading at an epidemic rate, cruise lines are scrambling to avoid disruption and planning far ahead to steer clear of an epic storm. Some were caught in the crosshairs. Three cruise ships in the United Arab Emirates cancelled upcoming sailings.
By Wallace Immen/ What if every other day was 25 hours long? What if you could make an entire day vanish – or jump from one year to the next and back again? And what if you could fly home from halfway around the world and arrive before you left?
By Wallace Immen/ Talk about ordering ahead. Two upscale cruise lines have just inked contracts for new ships not due to arrive for more than a decade. It’s the kind of optimism that comes from seeing record-breaking sales across the entire cruise industry.
By Wallace Immen/ A small, niche cruise line sailing in Southeast Alaska has called it quits.
By Wallace Immen/ Think of cruise ships as planets. They’re self-sufficient floating worlds that imaginative designers create into unique environments. Read the second part of this exclusive story in The Cruisington Times.
By Wallace Immen/ In a bathroom, three guys are standing in a shower – each trying to grab a towel. In a public room, a team of designers is brainstorming ways to turn a staircase into a chandelier. And yet another team is sketching ways to pay homage to Michaelangelo on the ceiling of a lounge.
By Wallace Immen/ Make that 20! Celebrity River Cruises has announced a commitment for 10 more new ships that will expand its European river cruise fleet to 20 vessels by 2031. All this while construction of the first of the fleet – Celebrity Compass – has just started. And it’s already a sellout.
By Wallace Immen/ Atlas Ocean Voyages has revealed it’s building a state-of-the-art luxury expedition sailing yacht with sails and an eco-friendly hybrid propulsion system that can run almost silently.
By Wallace Immen/ Cruises get planned years in advance, but ship itineraries can be changed overnight. So, there’s some comfort behind the turmoil of the past few weeks that’s seeing cruise lines hastily alter course.
By Wallace Immen/ It seems everyone got the same idea at the same time: there’s an untapped demand for a small ship that can explore the far corners of the globe in the luxury you expect at the world’s finest hotels or resorts.
By Wallace Immen/ No matter how popular their ships are, cruise lines expanding their fleets aren’t content with just more of the same. The big new cruisers launching in 2026 are invariably a little larger than their sisters and packed with inventive added features, options and fun twists to get attention.
By Wallace Immen/ You can’t help but be awed by the beauty of the lush Costa Rican coast. And somehow things get more awe-inspiring as you go into the uplands and jungles. We’re about to experience a panorama of the country’s tropical nature and the plethora of wildlife that calls it home on a tour from Seabourn Encore doing a Central American cruise from Panama.
By Wallace Immen/ Century Cruises is expanding into Europe with a new Danube River ship, Century Star. The Chinese line which has specialized in ships touring the Yangtze River is launching a 78- luxury -cabin ship, being designed and built in the Dutch yard Concordia Damen with delivery scheduled in the fall of 2026 to begin cruising on the Danube.
By Wallace Immen/ First it was Ritz-Carlton. Now hotel groups Four Seasons and Orient Express are joining the race to have the most luxurious and personal yachts at sea.
By Wallace Immen/ Crystal Cruises’ first new ship in a quarter of a century, Crystal Grace, promises to live up to her name said Cristina Levis, CEO of A&K Travel Group, who announced the name choice.
By Wallace Immen/ Oceania Cruises has pulled back the curtain on Oceania Sonata, the first in a new class of ship it calls a ‘New Era of Luxury at Sea.’ Set to debut in 2027, the vessel will be the first of four 1,390-guest luxury ships in a new Sonata Class.
By Wallace Immen/ Crescent Seas, a start-up company planning to sell condos on cruise ships is backing out of a high-profile charter of two well-known ships pushing plans for homes at sea far into the future.
By Wallace Immen/ Want a unique winter experience? How about sailing from Barcelona to Rome – in January. Or, trading ski season for a cruise in the Greek Isles? While most cruise ships migrate to warmer oceans in the winter. Windstar is joining a new homing trend with plans to sail its newest ship, Star Explorer year-round in Europe.
By Wallace Immen/ Celebrity Xcel features the line’s widest variety of entertainment, with some of it steered by guests. With three brand-new theatre productions, two interactive club shows, music experiences, high-energy dance parties, interactive activities and surprises in between, every moment onboard will spark connection and delight from morning to night, Celebrity Cruises promises.
By Wallace Immen/ With a secret announcement to insiders, Scenic Group revealed its latest luxury exploration ship – Scenic Ikon – will join the Scenic Discovery Yacht Fleet for its inaugural season in 2028. And its inaugural voyage from Venice in April 2028 is apparently already sold out.
By Wallace Immen/ Did you know that Royal Caribbean Cruise Line came within hours of being bought by its rival, Carnival? Know what made them decide to cut ships in half? Or why the Swedish Air Force was ready to shoot down a thrill ride planned on the Oasis of the Seas?
By Wallace Immen/ Dressing up for dinner is something that’s always been special about cruising. Ships are their own floating worlds and every night can be a party where people are dressed in their best. Now, even the most upscale ships are relaxing dress codes into “suggestions.”
By Wallace Immen/ Iconic fashion and costume designer Bob Mackie and Julien’s Auctions will join Cunard’s ‘Transatlantic Fashion Week’ voyage aboard flagship Queen Mary 2 this fall. Following Paris Fashion Week, this extraordinary journey will celebrate the world of fashion and style on the high seas.
By Wallace Immen/ John Waggoner is taking a Victory lap. The CEO of Victory Cruise Lines says its inaugural season on the Great Lakes was a race run from a literal standing start, but Victory lived up to its name. He’s confident lessons learned this year will make the 2026 season even stronger.
By Wallace Immen/ Riviera Travel is taking a singular approach with one of its European river ships. Beginning in 2027, its MS George Eliot will exclusively sail solo departures on the Danube, Rhine and Moselle rivers, marking the first time a cruise ship has devoted its entire season to solo guests.
By Wallace Immen/ Looks can be deceiving. While Oceania Cruises’ newest ship Allura is a near twin of fleet-mate Vista, she’s got a personality of her own. That’s especially evident in the innovative cuisine on board.
By Wallace Immen/ In a sign of surging demand for ultra cruising, Emerald Cruises is set to more than double its ocean-going luxury yacht fleet. Parent company Scenic Group has announced the inaugural season of Emerald Kaia, launching in April 2026. Meanwhile, it celebrated the start of construction for another yacht, Emerald Raiya, aiming to debut in June, 2027, and announced there’s another ship on the horizon for 2028 to sail in Asia.
By Wallace Immen/ A long-held secret is out! With open decks and elevated spaces, Celebrity Cruises plans to transform the shape of cruising on the Rhine and Danube rivers. Two new ships due to arrive in 2027 will combine the iconic design of Celebrity’s Edge Series ocean ships with European charm, and feature industry-leading design that offers more space to vacation, all while ensuring a smoother, more relaxing sailing experience, the company revealed.
Talk about a Big Fish Fry! The grill tonight features a grouper so massive it’s almost larger than any of the cooks who are grilling it. But it will somehow vanish like magic into scrumptious filets over the course of a sunset dinner on the Sea Cloud Spirit. It’s just one taste of why dining on the world’s largest fully rigged sailing cruise ship, which carries only 136 pampered guests, is among the most varied and inventive at sea.
By Wallace Immen/ Dare we say super star? Royal Caribbean’s biggest-ever ship promises even more of the “adventures for all ages” than her sister in the fleet.