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.
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.
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.
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.
Amsterdam wants to move a cruise liner terminal out of the heart of the historic capital city as the latest step in its ongoing battle against pollution and hordes of tourists clogging its narrow, cobbled streets.
American Empress graces the Vancouver, Washington, waterfront, a gleaming white vision of early Americana, her red paddle wheel accented by the Stars and Stripes flaring high in the breeze, her jaunty prow poised to navigate the Columbia River.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Explora Journeys, the luxury lifestyle brand of the MSC Group wants to recognize and reward travel advisors who have embraced the brand “from the start” by booking at least one cruise during the brand’s inaugural year of operation.
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.
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.
Four Seasons Yachts hasn’t even opened bookings for its first ultra-luxury ship, but it’s so confident that it’s already ordered a second.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
A Carnival cruise ship that navigated rough seas off the South Carolina coast over the Memorial Day weekend “terrifying” passengers has resumed sailing on its next cruise, the cruise line says
Carnival Pride is embarked Sunday on her first sailing of the Europe summer season, sporting the signature Carnival red, white, and blue hull design for the first time, after undergoing extensive enhancements that include bow-to-stern upgrades to enhance accessibility on the ship for guests with disabilities.
When Oceania Cruises launched Vista in this month, the cruise line set a new global standard for the upper-premium category of cruise ships. Designed with evolutionary style concepts and substantial luxe elements, the 1,200-passenger Vista – Oceania’s first new build in over a decade, and first of the Allura class vessels – approaches the luxury level of sister brand Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Both are owned by Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
The new Crystal is setting a global course for 2024, planning extended cruises to iconic and off-the-beaten-track destinations around the world while almost never repeating a port. The luxury line’s two ships will both be globe-trotters, highlighted by a 141-night world cruise on Crystal Serenity as well as a series of unique Grand Journeys ranging from 37 to 68 nights.
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways has dismissed three cabin crew members after a passenger accused them of discriminating against non-English speakers, in a case that drew criticism from Chinese state media.
Staying connected on expeditions to remote locales or even on a leisurely sail in the Caribbean is becoming easier this year as cruise lines swap their old satellite equipment for the speedier Starlink system.