Cruise

Carnival Cruise Line has added its fifth ship to the fleet in 18 months as it christened its newest ship, Carnival Firenze, at its new home, the Long Beach Cruise Terminal in California. Hollywood actor Jonathan Bennett served as the ship’s godfather, and he and Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy celebrated all things Italian with the help of a Broadway star, a Puccini aria, and even a Catholic priest making a running jump onto the stage to deliver a blessing. 

MSC Cruises has announced a new summer ‘Stay & Cruise’ program, offering guests the chance to extend their cruise with a new add-on package in five destinations: Athens, Venice, Rome, Miami, and New York. Clients can book extra accommodation for two or three nights (depending on the city) before or after their cruise, coupled with a half-day city excursion.

Cunard’s newest ship, the Queen Anne officially joined the luxury cruise line’s iconic fleet during a historic handover ceremony in Italy on April 19 and is now sailing to Southampton ahead of her seven-night maiden voyage to Lisbon on May 3.

Princess Cruises and ship builder Fincantieri have announced the mutual decision to postpone the delivery of the next Sphere Class ship, Star Princess, by nearly two months. The ship was due to be delivered July, 2025, but will now be handed over on Sept. 26 resulting in the cancellation of the vessel’s nine inaugural sailings.

A Celebrity Apex cruise to the Caribbean this month turned into a rocking Newfoundland kitchen party when hundreds of people from Canada’s easternmost province happened to be booked on the same ship.

Carnival Cruise Line is introducing a series of new features to its online booking tool for travel advisors, GoCCL Navigator. The enhancements streamline the booking process, providing travel advisors with the tools and resources they need to maximize efficiency and improve their overall experience to support their business and income growth.

A notable shift towards smaller and more luxurious vessels, including yachts, among affluent travellers, is among the latest trends in cruising, according to independent travel agency First in Service (F1S).

MSC Poesia docked at the Port of Québec April 10, officially kicking off the 2024 Destination Saint Lawrence international cruise season. Nine ports of call are gearing up to welcome 46 different ships from 29 cruise lines in 2024, while bookings to date are estimated to represent over 400,000 passenger-days and some 500 days in port.

With MSC Cruises’ new vessel ‘World America’ scheduled to set sail from its homeport in Miami in April 2025, and cruises already available to book, MSC continues to reveal detail of its new flagship.

To the beat of KC and the Sunshine Band’s 1975 hit “Boogie Shoes,” Avalon Waterways christened its 15th Suite Ship in Pinhão, Portugal, late last week with actress Cheri Oteri (‘Saturday Night Live’) doing the honours and serving as Godmother.

Two crew members on a Holland America cruise ship died during an “incident” in the ship’s engineering space, the cruise line said. The unidentified crew members died Friday while the Florida-based Nieuw Amsterdam was at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, Holland America said in a statement.

Disney Cruise Line revealed the first details about its next ship, including its name – Disney Destiny – as the ship marked a construction milestone this week with a keel laying ceremony at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. The ship will sail in 2025.

Norwegian Cruise Line has introduced NCL Connect, a new marketing solution designed to boost the sales and marketing efforts of the travel partners through the use of co-brandable “content experiences.” NCL says it is the first contemporary cruise line to do so.

Canadian agents have a chance to share in $450,000 worth of incentives in the 2024 Crystal Grand Challenge, a major promotion launched by the cruise line to celebrate what it calls its “triumphant return to the high seas” and to rewards its top travel advisors, as well as newcomers.

The Venom Drop, the world’s longest dry slide at sea, bumper cars and a secret speakeasy are just a few of the highlights awaiting guests aboard MSC Cruises’ 6,762-passenger World Europa.

Cruises are surging back to popularity among Canadians this March Break, as more travellers look to try a mode of tourism they may have avoided since the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts say Caribbean cruises are drawing greater numbers of northerners to Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Tampa Bay, and other ports of call thanks to their sun-soaked itineraries and affordable fares in the face of soaring hotel prices.