I didn’t expect to find myself in handcuffs for ordering a cocktail aboard the new Sun Princess. But then there were a lot of things I didn’t anticipate about an evening of mystery and illusion on my Caribbean cruise.
If you’re still unsure whether the cruise industry is on track to set new records, look no further than the latest announcement from Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. They named a new team to lead a multi-billion-dollar fleet expansion and upgrading program for its ultra-premium and luxury cruise brands.
Some of the biggest ships ever built are beckoning in 2025 as cruising attracts record bookings. Many new arrivals are sisters of ships that were already the largest ever when they made their debuts. Even new small ships are bulking up.
What do you get when you add another half to Half Moon Cay? You get a private island complex big enough for both Carnival and Holland America ships to comfortably visit daily, says Carnival Corp. which owns both cruise lines.
Virgin Voyages is inviting freebooting entrepreneurs who can “work for anywhere” to make the company’s Lady-ships their home by buying a year-long pass. And they can pay in crypto.
Looking for a deal on a cruise getaway in the Caribbean this winter? A record number of other people have the same idea and that’s created an unprecedented demand. While the plethora of Black Friday and upcoming January Wave Month cruise sales offer(ed) some amazing deals, many come with a catch – they’re for cruises a year or more in the future.
Windstar Cruises is adding a new itinerary in 2026 to its popular Canada & New England season of sailings, which are fall travel favourites thanks to the line’s ability to visit many smaller, scenic ports where big ships don’t go. The line’s 312-guest motor yacht Star Pride sails in the region during the prime fall colour months of September and October.
It’s clear that cruise lines expect the Suez Canal, Red Sea and the Holy Land to be too conflicted to risk sailing around for a long time to come. How long? Even newly announced 2027 World Cruises are steering far away from the entire Middle East.
Been there done that? No matter how many weeks you’ve cruised in the Caribbean or the Med, it’s time to shake things up and broaden your horizons beyond the usual suspects. Cruise lines are plotting innovative out-of-the-ordinary cruise options to one-up the growing competition. They’re experiences you haven’t been able to have before and are destined to be remembered for years after they end.
Ever been to Kalso, Kinsale or Kilwa Kivinje? How about Hermanus or the Abrolhos Archipelago? Neither has any cruise line before Swan Hellenic added them to their coming itineraries. The storied brand has been reborn with new owners and a fleet of new eco-friendly expedition ships.
They’ve got big eyes, furry ears and goofy, toothy grins – and they had us surrounded on the road in Morocco. It had hardly been the Marrakesh Express since we left Oceania Cruises’ Marina on the two-lane blacktop road from Agadir to the remarkable walled city of Taroudant. But our bus ground to a total halt as the lumbering camels completely blocked the route.
A submersible from Seabourn Cruises’ expedition ship Seabourn Pursuit made a historic discovery during a dive off the coast of Alejandro Selkirk Island in Chile. On Oct. 14, the sub carrying guests aboard the ultra-luxury line’s newest purpose-built expedition ship found the wreck of the Titania, a German supply ship lost for 110 years lying 95 metres below the surface.
Le jazz was hot. The band rocked sets that ranged from Abba to Zappa. Bubbly and sangria were the drinks of choice. The party on the roof overlooking Promenade des Anglaise had the electric chic of a music video and the location was the most sybaritic on the French Riviera.
Food trucks and snack shacks will join four sit-down restaurants and 12 bars on Celebration Key, Carnival Cruise Line’s new private beach destination on Grand Bahama opening in July, 2025.
Spain’s Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean are named after birds for good reason. They’re the winter retreat of flocks of Europeans escaping the cold and most everyone who comes here flies in. But increasingly they’re cruise features in the fall and winter as itineraries continue to shift away from the troubled Middle East and Persian Gulf.
The damage is severe as torrential rains from a storm called Boris that had the Danube peaking at a 10-year high and saw water lapping at the steps of Hungary’s Parliament building in Budapest. It’s meant there’s not enough space for ships to sail under bridges on the central part of the river.
As you start planning your dream cold weather getaway, the first question to ask is where are you headed? It may not clear as you scan cruise websites, but there are two main routes around the Caribbean: Eastern and Western. They go back to the days of sailing ships and originally developed because of the trade winds and the ease of hopping between islands.
Even the ground beneath your feet can’t be trusted any more, says Mia Otokiak, describing how her husband was almost swallowed up by a giant sinkhole. Riding a four-wheel drive ATV, he stopped just in time when a big section of the main trail out of Cambridge Bay became a deep crater. Soil that had been permanently frozen just melted and washed away as previously uncommon heat becomes the new normal.
We’re ready to devour the scrumptious catches of one of France’s seafood capitals. The small size of our cruise yacht World Traveller gives us the advantage of docking an easy stroll from the middle of Sète, a gorgeous southern French city that larger ships never visit.
Crystal has scored a groundbreaking collaboration with world-renowned chefs Massimiliano Alajmo— the youngest chef ever to be awarded three Michelin stars– and his equally talented brother Raffaele, to bring their unparalleled expertise to specialty dining venue Osteria d’Ovidio on both Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity.
A table is heaped with a colourful cornucopia of luscious fresh vegetables and fruits, perfectly cooked pasta and exotic garnishes that include a bowl of roasted meal worms. Yes, worms! But keep reading.
We’re docked amid the massive yachts of the super-rich, who compete to have the biggest and flashiest water toys. But sorry, boys, we have you beat. We’re aboard the impressive new mega-yacht World Traveller, 126 meters long and 7 decks tall. Like all good yachts she can sail into practically any port deemed worthy of its elegant presence, carrying a crew that’s almost one-to-one with its nearly 200 guests.
Everyone’s been here, but hardly anyone’s ever seen it. You’ve visited Civitavecchia if you’ve ever cruised to Rome, but I’ll bet it left no impression as you hit the highway for the hour’s ride to the Eternal City.
You can’t make up a place like Portovenere. Its confection of tall candy-coloured homes and ancient stone walls lining a sparkling blue harbour dedicated to Venus has inspired generations of romantic poets and artists. Visitors and locals mingle on narrow streets that stay shaded and naturally cool in the summer heat. Staircases built of lava rock lead to a fantastic cove where poet Lord Byron is said to have brooded while writing odes to beauty and nature.
Young travellers are driving a cruise boom, according to the CLIA’s 2024 State of the Cruise Industry report. Its surveys find that 88 percent of Millennials and 86 percent of Gen-X who have taken a cruise are planning to cruise again. And the surge is particularly strong in Canada, says Ian Patterson, MSC Cruises Canada country manager.
Let’s put it this way: if Waterside restaurant on Crystal Symphony was ashore, you wouldn’t be able to get a reservation even weeks in advance. Seriously. It’s that good. The menus are so varied, the presentations so outstanding and the service so impeccable that it would be a hands-down choice for a memorable splurge dinner anywhere on land or sea. And Crystal’s gourmet restaurants are complimentary.
You can’t keep a winner down. On her return to service, the classic Crystal Symphony has a strikingly fresh new look, with the verve and determination to make new magic. The ship is attracting a new generation of cruisers and long-time regulars are seeing her with a fresh eye.
Let’s add it up: As Crystal Symphony with 600 aboard sailed into Mykonos harbour, she’s joined by Odyssey of the Seas carrying about 4,100 and Celestyal Journey, with another 1,260. Several tourist ferries are also unloading throngs eager to squeeze shoulder-to-shoulder along the narrow laneways of white-stucco Mykonos Town.
Oceania Cruises is making the 2025 season in the South Pacific it most expansive yet. Two ships, Nautica and Regatta are plotting unique itineraries in fascinating corners of Tahiti during the winter and summer seasons.
Breaching whales, polar bears on the prowl, other-worldly landscapes and cultures whose traditions date back to pre-history. No summer travel destination can give you an entirely new view of the world like an Arctic experience. I can vouch for that because a Northwest Passage crossing I did on the luxury expedition ship Seabourn Venture last year is still inspiring my dreams.