Cunard has announced its Winter 2025 program, offering over 133 voyages, with stops at 159 unique destinations around the globe. The luxury cruise line also revealed that its highly anticipated Queen Anne will be the only one of vessels to offer a full World Voyage in 2025.
River cruises are creating waves across the industry, helping to lead travel’s comeback. Avalon Waterways is coming off its strongest first quarter sales season ever. From witnessing a surge in bookings across France on the Seine and Rhône, to the Rhine and Moselle Rivers, to sell-out status on special interest cruises, Avalon Waterways is adding
You can actually take a cruise from Duluth, Minnesota, all the way to Antarctica. And the ports along the route include Thunder Bay, Parry Sound, Windsor, Cleveland and Toronto. There’s never been a cruise itinerary like it before, and the 71-day cruise that starts in Lake Superior in September is only one of a series of Longitudinal World Cruises being innovated by Viking Cruises as two of its new expedition ships explore the Great Lakes.
When Oceania Cruises christened its newest ship Vista against the ancient walls of Valletta, Malta on the evening of May 8, the glittering ceremony celebrated more than the line’s first Allura Class vessel, its first new ship in the decade. With auspicious timing, marking 20 years since Frank J. Del Rio founded Oceania with visionary ingenuity, Del Rio is retiring as president/CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.
Luxury cruise brand Cunard celebrated a construction milestone last week with the float out of Queen Anne at the Fincantieri Marghera shipyard in Venice, Italy. The 249th ship to sail under the Cunard flag, Queen Anne officially touched water for the first time exactly 365 days before she will set sail on her maiden voyage to Lisbon on May 3, 2024.
In the not-too-distant past, asking for a vegan or vegetarian option on a cruise might have been greeted with a choice of a plate of steamed vegetables or a green salad. But increasingly, cruise lines are rolling out daily vegetarian menus and many are including vegan options for each course.
The first member of the three-vessel Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection fleet, Evrima, finally began accepting passengers in October 2022. I was on the christening cruise, which left Lisbon Nov. 5, for Funchal, Tenerife, and Barbados. It was a 13-day indulgence, which, for some of my fellow travellers, meant sipping champagne from breakfast to bedtime.
Every day’s a holiday is the promise of Life at Sea Cruises. There’s always that moment as you pack up to go home from your cruise when the thought comes up : Why does this have to end? That’s why there’s usually a future cruise desk located conveniently near the reception area.
With Seabourn marking a major construction milestone for its second purpose-built expedition vessel Seabourn Pursuit with a traditional coin ceremony at Italian shipyard this month, there was no better time for the company to call in Canada for sessions with the trade to highlight the cruise line’s growing expedition travel segment.
Quebec’s international cruise season industry kicked off Sunday with the arrival of the Viking Octantis in the Magdalen Islands, and by the time it concludes Nov. 5 with a visit of Silverseas’ Silver Shadow to Quebec, it is expected to have been the longest season in history.
It’s so sleek it cuts effortlessly through waves and headwinds. It’s powered by emission-free fuel cells and wind turbines, while photo cells in its glass produce more than enough juice for all the ship’s electrical needs. It’s called Reverse, but it’s a look far into the future by engineers at Germany’s Meyer Group working on ideas to create a totally self-sufficient ecologically friendly cruise ship.
Viking reports its newest ship for the Nile River – the 82-guest Viking Aton – has been “floated out,” marking a major construction milestone and the first time the ship has touched water. Set to debut in August, the Viking Aton will help serve surging demand for the destination, resulting in the cruise company selling out its 2023 season.
The lobby of Explora 1 evokes comparisons to the luxury of a grand European hotel. The itineraries speak of extraordinary adventures with whimsical names like Glacier Carved Islands or the Valley of Mischievous Trolls.
The first cruise ship of the season – the Sapphire Princess – arrived in Vancouver yesterday, officially kicking off what is expected to be a record season for the industry in BC. A total of 331 cruise ships visits are scheduled for the Canada Place cruise terminal at the Port of Vancouver between April 12 and Oct. 24, destined to bring more than a million visitors to the city.
Royal Caribbean Group announced that Laura Hodges Bethge will be the next president of Celebrity Cruises, taking over from Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, who will transition to Vice Chair, External Affairs for Royal Caribbean Group, effective May 01.
Norwegian Cruise Line has announced that cruise industry veteran John Chernesky will succeed Todd Hamilton as the Brand’s Sr. VP of Sales for North America, as Hamilton steps into a new strategic role as Sr. VP of New Ventures at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
You can’t keep a good dragon down. Hong Kong is aiming to reach new heights now that it has fully reopened, and officials at a cruise conference promised cruise passengers will find more than ever before when they visit.
As might be expected, optimism reigned at a conference of the cruise community that predicted the clouds of the long pandemic lockdown have finally disappeared and the horizon is once again brilliantly sunny. At the Seatrade Cruise Global conference in Fort Lauderdale, cruise lines pointed to record booking days–in part due to redemptions of cruise credits for previously cancelled cruises–and the fact cruise tourism is rebounding faster than bookings for land-based resorts–in part because cruising is a comparative bargain.
Catch a wave and you’re sitting on top of the world. Surfing is a must-do on a visit to Dubai, but with apologies to the Beach Boys, we’re doing it on sand, miles from the nearest water. Instead of a surfboard, we’re riding in a 4X4 SUV specially tricked out to be able to keep from wiping out as we climb and slide over soft sand dunes. No previous experience is required for the passengers–other than the ability to hold back the urge to scream occasionally.
Luxury cruise line Cunard is celebrating a century’s worth of history and memories by launching its new “Sea Views Exhibition,” curated by British photographer and filmmaker Mary McCartney. Boasting images from Cunard’s photography archive together with photos submitted by past and present guests of its iconic cruise liners, the Sea Views Exhibition is a culmination
EXPLORA I, the first of up to six luxury ships to join the Explora Journeys (EJ) fleet, will debut this summer in Northern Europe as the luxury lifestyle brand of the MSC Group sets sail for the first time.
A new training program from Viking is designed to provide travel advisors with the tools to promote Viking and the opportunity to earn exclusive benefits. The four-module academy allows advisors to become a Viking Certified Expert and learn the sales and marketing tips that have proven successful to sell the cruise line’s Viking’s river, ocean, and expedition voyages.
The new Crystal has launched an Exceptional Initiative to guests who were financially impacted by the bankruptcy of Crystal Cruises’ former owners. Former Crystal guests who hold a verified claim in the Crystal Cruises LLC case will be able to apply for credits to use toward future Crystal voyages on board either Crystal Serenity or Crystal Symphony.
Transitioning from sister line Costa, Carnival Venezia officially joined the Carnival Cruise Line fleet this week in Cadiz, Spain, with Costa Captain Tihomir Muzic handing over the ship to Carnival Captain Claudio Cupisti. “We are so pleased to welcome Carnival Venezia to the fleet, which following a dry dock, will debut as our first ‘Fun Italian Style’ ship this May,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
In an exercise of fleet optimization, Seabourn has sold Seabourn Odyssey to a Japanese transport company, though the luxury cruise line says it will continue to operate all published voyages through Aug. 22, 2024, under a charter arrangement.
Carnival Cruise Line has 100 million reasons to celebrate after announcing that it has achieved a major milestone for the industry as the first cruise line to embark 100 million guests since its first sailing. Carnival President Christine Duffy visited Carnival Sunrise today as guests boarded the ship at PortMiami, where the cruise line was founded, to thank them for choosing fun since 1972.
Imagine managing floating cities full of different restaurants and having to plan shopping lists for what diners are going to be ordering a year from now. That’s the challenge facing cruise lines as they look ahead at the ever-changing trends in food and beverage on their ships.
MSC Cruises is expanding its new entertainment offerings at sea with Guinness World Records, the recognized officials for incredible record-breaking titles worldwide. The new program will allow passengers to test their mettle at live shows and – if they’re lucky – get their name in the record books.
Silversea Cruises has introduced new direct private charter flights for 28 of its Arctic and Greenland sailings in 2023 and ‘24. Guests sailing on select Silver Endeavour, Silver Wind, and Silver Cloud voyages can take advantage of the air service from the several global cities including Montreal to such remote Arctic destinations as Longyearbyen, Kangerlussuaq, and Pond Inlet.
Disney Cruise Line will unveil a new island destination in summer 2024 celebrating the unique culture of The Bahamas. Located on Eleuthera, Lighthouse Point is being designed in close collaboration with local artists and advisors to provide an experience that “combines breathtaking natural beauty with the magic of Bahamian hospitality, storytelling and artistry.”