WHAT’S A WALT DISNEY WORLD THRILL FEEL LIKE?

It feels like the wildest ride in the wilderness. Like soaring high above Pandora—on a banshee. Like meeting a favourite Disney Character face to face for the first time. And like taking control of the Millennium Falcon…with your crew.

SHIMMER AND SHINE ON DISNEY CRUISE LINE

For 25 years, Disney Cruise Line has set a course for magical vacations at sea. On the way to dazzling destinations in the Caribbean, Alaska and Europe, you can play the day away with some favourite Disney Characters, enjoy Broadway-style shows, relax in adult-exclusive spaces and venture into incredible kids’ clubs. Plus, with special limited-time entertainment, themed offerings and more, this summer’s 25th anniversary celebration is sure to be shining, shimmering and splendid!

AVENGERS CAMPUS

Welcome to Avengers Campus: an all-new land now open at Disney California Adventure Park dedicated to discovering, recruiting, and training the next generation of Super Heroes. A hero training complex where you can team up with your family and friends and the Avengers to take on whatever the universe throws at you. A place where you can live your Super Hero dreams.

WHAT TRAVELLERS TRULY WANT: And how agents can give it to them

After several years of lockdowns and restricted travel, the appetite for travel has never been bigger. As the travel industry continues to rebound, there is no question that it also experiencing unprecedented – and likely permanent – changes.

CANADIANS HELP FUEL BRITAIN BOUNCE-BACK

Britain continues to be a favourite for Canadians with visitors from this country surpassing pre-pandemic travel levels in 2022, according to the latest figures from VisitBritain.

FEDS VOW DIGNIFIED TRAVEL FOR DISABLED

The federal government says it is committed to a fully accessible and inclusive Canada for all its citizens and visitors, including ensuring that airline passengers with disabilities will have a “safe, dignified and reliable travel experience.”

IHG TAKES THE WHY OUT OF WI-FI

If you’re like us, the first thing you do upon arrival at a hotel is connect.
The second thing, invariably is to wonder why it has to be so hard to so, due to complicated logins, and passwords that can be hard to track down and may have to be re-entered endlessly throughout one’s stay. Now, IHG Hotels & Resorts says it has a solution.

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.

AMERICAN AIRLINES TO APPEAL JETBLUE RULING

American Airlines says it will appeal a court decision that would force the airline to break up its partnership with JetBlue Airways in the Northeast. American and JetBlue face a late-June deadline to end the agreement in which they coordinate flights and share revenue.

ROUND-UP: May 29-June 3, 2023

Quebec City rocked to Rendez-vous Canada last week, while in other round-up news, there was more tech trouble for Air Canada, BC assessed its COVID support, ACV unveiled its winter sun season, and the flip of the calendar to June marked the official start of hurricane season.

TECH TROUBLES: Air Canada and Spirit flights delayed by IT issue

Air Canada experienced technical problems causing flight delays for the second time in a week yesterday. The airline advised travellers to check the status of their flights online amid delays caused by an IT issue. South of the border, Spirit Airlines experienced similar problems on Thursday.

HURRICANE SEASON: ‘There’s nothing good about normal’

Hurricane season officially began June 1, and forecasters are predicting a “near-normal” season. But Mike Brennan, the new director at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, says there’s really nothing normal when it comes to hurricanes.

LOST AT SEA: Search called off for missing cruise passenger

The US Coast Guard has suspended the search for a 35-year-old man who was reported missing from a Carnival cruise ship off of Florida’s Atlantic Coast. The agency said the man fell from the Carnival Magic about 300 km east of Jacksonville early Monday.

NEW WING WOWS AT NEW YORK MUSEUM

The American Museum of Natural History in New York has a new building, a sweeping piece of architecture designed to connect visitors with their place in the natural world.

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.

LISTENING IN: Are you ready… for the Ballroom Blitz?

A trip down nostalgia road this week with the Sweet classic, “Ballroom Blitz.” For me it takes me back to CHUM sock hops in junior high (which always ended, I might add, with the conflicting slow dance nervousness/elation of “Stairway to Heaven.”)

COULD AI REPLACE TRAVEL PLANNERS?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no stranger to the travel industry. Many travel companies¬¬ – including major airlines, hotels, and car rental companies – leverage AI in a variety of ways, enabling travellers and agents to quickly make changes to bookings, elevating experiences through personalized controls, and managing customer service inquiries. But has AI advanced so much that it can actually provide a perfect travel itinerary for one’s next trip? The short answer – it’s complicated.

LANGUAGE CZAR CRITICIZES TRAVEL INDUSTRY: Air Canada tops Francophone complaints

Whether travelling by plane, train or automobile, Francophone travellers are struggling to access services in their language, Canada’s official languages commissioner says. And it’s an ongoing struggle that has gotten worse in the last decade, especially as people begin travelling again, says Raymond Theberge

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.

WEIGHT WATCHERS: ANZ asks pax to tip scales before flight

New Zealand’s national airline is asking passengers to step on the scales before they board international flights. Air New Zealand says it wants to weigh 10,000 passengers during a monthlong survey so pilots can better know the weight and balance of their planes before takeoff.

BLUE DIAMOND RESORTS WRACKS UP MEDIA AWARDS

Blue Diamond Resorts, the Caribbean’s fastest growing hotel company, continues as a favourite among discerning travel critics, wracking up a wealth of prestigious honours and nominations from top media recognizing the appeal of its guest experiences across several brands.

NOT SO FAST: Travel advisories touch a nerve with Florida tourism

Calling the recent move by some US civil rights groups to issue a “travel advisory” for visitors to Florida a “stunt,” members of the state’s tourism trade are taking exception to the claim that the destination is “openly hostile toward African Americans, people of colour, and LGBTQ+ individuals.”

OUR TURN: Air Canada pilots eye early bargaining after WestJet deal

The pilots union at the country’s biggest airline is opening the gate to bargaining ahead of time – as early as this summer. Air Canada says its pilots group has triggered an option to launch negotiations around a new collective agreement a year early.

SKIP THE TRAFFIC: Niagara gets GO boost

Just in time for the summer season, an increase in GO Transit services between Toronto and Niagara Falls has made it easier for visitors to get to the famous Falls, and popular nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake.

SANDALS MASTERCLASS IS IN SESSION

The 2023 series of Sandals and Beaches Resorts’ exclusive Canadian Masterclass online sessions continue in June and throughout the summer, designed to inform travel advisors on the all-inclusive chain’s latest developments – including the opening of its new Dunn’s River resort – while offering monthly prize trip opportunities for all attendees.

ITA INVESTMENT BOLSTERS LUFTHANSA GROUP

Lufthansa has signed a deal with the Italian government for a 41 percent minority share in the long-struggling ITA Airways, formerly Alitalia. Lufthansa will also have the option of buying the remaining shares at a later date. Once the deal is completed, ITA Airways would be Lufthansa Group’s fifth carrier.

ROUGH SEAS RATTLE CRUISE PAX

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

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