Cruise

SAILS FOR SALE: MSC opens book on 2024/25 season

MSC Cruises has opened sales for its winter 2024/25 season with more than 150 global sailings now available to book. Six ships will serve the Caribbean Sea, while the MSC World Europe will sail the Mediterranean, and MSC Euribia undertakes a new deployment in the Middle East.

RETAIL ROUND-UP: F1S, Ensemble advisors sailing to success

Canadians are booking cruises again at pre-pandemic levels according to First in Service, which is reporting that two-thirds of its advisors in a recent survey said that demand for the sector has bounced back. Data also reveals that the Mediterranean is top cruise itinerary booked and that luxury and small ship experiences are increasing in popularity.

WORK ON THE WATER: AmaWaterways makes case for digital nomads

On the occasion of Digital Nomad Day today (Aug. 08), AmaWaterways is encouraging remote to “make the world their office.” And to do so, the luxury river cruise line has put a special focus on its 2024 early season cruises, starting in February on the Rhine and Danube rivers.

THE AQUATIC LIFE: Diving into Celebrity’s Aqua Class

There’s no badge, no secret code, but being in Aqua Class makes you a member of a select club on a Celebrity cruise. And despite its name, you never actually need to get your feet wet to savour the Aqua life.

RIVIERA RIVER CRUISES MEETS DOURO DEMAND

To meet increasing demand from travel advisors and their clients, Riviera River Cruises says it adding a new ship and new itinerary on the Douro River in Portugal and Spain for 2024.

MSC CRUISES BOOSTS ‘FUTURE CRUISE PROGRAM’

MSC Cruises has introduced a new and improved ‘Future Cruise Program’ designed to benefit travel agents and the line’s guests when a customer who had used an agency for their holiday at sea books their next sailing while onboard.

SERENITY NOW: New Crystal makes maiden voyage, plans more ships

Crystal has officially relaunched under the new guardianship of A&K Travel Group, as Crystal Serenity set sail Sunday following a multi-million-dollar refurbishment. The original Crystal cruise line filed for bankruptcy in 2022 and sold off its two ships.

HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE SANTORINI?

It’s official, Santorini ranks as the most popular tourist destination in Europe, which is destined to make it even more impossibly crowded. “Famous for its golden sunsets, warm temperatures and jaw-dropping scenery, it comes as no surprise that Santorini ranks so highly as a must-visit hotspot,” said British holiday rental company CV Villas (which of course had a vested interest in the study) that ranked Ibiza second and Tenerife third.

ARCTIC DEEP-WATER PORT GETS LUKE-WARM REACTION

The cruise ship with about 1,000 passengers anchored off Nome, too big to squeeze into the tundra city’s tiny port. Its well-heeled tourists had to shimmy into small boats for another ride to shore. It was 2016, and at the time, the cruise ship Serenity was the largest vessel ever to sail through the Northwest Passage.

EXPLORA JOURNEYS SET TO SAIL AUG. 1

After taking delivery of its debut ship EXPLORA 1 last week, Explora Journeys, the luxury lifestyle brand of the MSC Group, will officially set sail on Aug. 1 after an initial delay. The maiden voyage will depart from Copenhagen, Denmark, for a seven-night sailing to Reykjavik, Iceland, with visits enroute to Lerwick, Shetland Islands, and Kirkwall, Orkney.

THREE SCENIC GROUP SHIPS WILL LUXURIATE IN THE CARIBBEAN

Scenic Group is planning a warm waterfall season with three of its ocean-going yachts – Emerald Azzurra, Emerald Sakara and Scenic Eclipse II – island hopping in Caribbean. It’s a new destination for all three yachts, and there’s a wide variety of itineraries, amenities, and excursions.

AZAMARA RETURNING TO CANADA

Upmarket cruise line Azamara is returning to Canada in 2025 for the first time since 2017 with two brand-new voyages. Marking the cruise line’s return to the country for the first time in more than five (sailing) years due to the pandemic, Azamara’s new sailings will stop in six Canadian ports.

HOLLAND AMERICA BREAKS ALL-TIME SALES RECORD

In a sign of continued strength for cruise travel, Holland America Line says its bookings on July 11 were higher than on any day in the brand’s 150-year history. Booking revenues also broke the line’s single-day record.

CRYSTAL’S NEW LOOK FEATURES FEWER GUESTS, GRANDER SPACES

It’s been a year in the making, now Crystal Cruises is being relaunched with an upgraded look to appeal to long-time fans of the line back and attract a new following of luxury cruisers. From redesigned public spaces and modern guest rooms and suites to refined in-room amenities and exclusive linens designed for royalty, the new Crystal experience will feature contemporary designs from a collection of European partners.

EURO CRUISE TOP ECO RANKINGS: But LNG in question

A niche fleet in Norway is gaining world attention by scoring better than any other cruise line in a global ranking of environmental sustainability. The German environmental organization NABU ranked Havila Voyages in a tie at the top of its cruise ranking for 2023, based on the company’s efforts towards sustainability and reduced carbon emissions.

PONANT WINTER CRUISES A ‘TURNING POINT’ FOR QUEBEC

For the first time, an international cruise ship will sail the waters of the Saint Lawrence in the heart of winter when PONANT’s Commandant Charcot, with some 200 winter activity enthusiasts aboard, will make four 12-night sailings between late January and early March 2025.

HOLLAND AMERICA INTRODUCES NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TOURS

Expanding its reputation for immersive travel experiences, Holland America Line has launched “National Geographic Day Tours” in the Mediterranean. The exclusive shore excursions were developed with National Geographic, a world leader in geography, cartography, and exploration.

DISNEY CRUISE LINE UNWRAPS 2024 HOLIDAY SAILINGS

It’s never too early to plan a cruise, especially for peak periods and events like Christmas and Halloween. With this in mind, Disney Cruise Line has released details and opened sales for its fall and winter holiday offering in 2024.

CANADA CLAMPS DOWN ON CRUISE SHIP WASTE

Declaring that “Canadians deserve clean waters and a clean environment,” Ottawa has announced new mandatory environmental rules for cruise ships. Announced Friday by Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, the new measures address discharges of greywater and sewage and are effective immediately.

AQV REFOCUSES ON RIVER CRUISING

American Queen Voyages (AQV) has announced a series of deployment changes and updates for 2024 and ‘25 that will see the company drop its Great Lakes itineraries and refocus on river cruising. Consequently, owners the Hornblower Group will also sell its Ocean Navigator and Ocean Voyager vessels.

CRUISES LAUNCH ON A NEW RIVER: THE TENNESSEE

You’ve probably danced the Tennessee Waltz, but it’s not likely you’ve ever had a chance to sail the Tennessee River. American Cruise Lines is inaugurating eight-day cruises on a river seldom explored with new eight-day Tennessee River cruises between Nashville and Chattanooga. Guests will visit towns in the winding Tennessee Valley through the Appalachian Mountains.

A FIRST GLIMPSE OF CELEBRITY ASCENT

Celebrity Cruises has unveiled for the first details about what travellers can experience on board the brand’s newest resort at sea, Celebrity Ascent, when it sets sail this December out of Port Everglades/Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

RECORD-BREAKING ASTRONAUT CHRISTENS SCENIC ECLIPSE II

A ship designed for exploration of the seas was christened by the first woman to walk in space. Accompanied by Scenic Group owners Glen and Karen Moroney, NASA Astronaut Dr. Kathryn Sullivan christened one of the world’s most technologically advanced ultra-luxury yachts, Scenic Eclipse II in Málaga, Spain.

ARCTIC CRUISE OPERATORS AID NARWHALS

A marine conservation charity and Inuit hunters are praising cruise operators for agreeing to avoid a Nunavut waterway where thousands of narwhal migrate each summer.

MSC CELEBRATES DELIVERY OF GREENEST SHIP YET

MSC Cruises may still have only the third-largest cruise fleet in the world, but it keeps expanding in grand fashion. At a ceremony in France, the cruise division of MSC Group took delivery of its 22nd ship, MSC Euribia. It’s the final evolution of the line’s popular Meraviglia class and the second ship for MSC Cruises to be powered by Liquefied Natural Gas.

NEW CRUISE PORT OPENS, USHERS IN NASSAU RENAISSANCE

After three years of construction and a cost of $300 million, the reimagined Nassau Cruise Port has opened its doors to cruisers, not only offering enhanced service for cruises to the Bahamas’ capital city, but ushering in a regeneration of the city’s downtown core.

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