Cruise
A Symphony Of Wonders
Press Today's Greg Coates is on the road, or more accurately, on the seas discovering the wonders of Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas. Coates is participating in a two-day, pre-inaugural sailing out of Barcelona, and he reports that the Symphony of the Seas is the world's largest passenger cruise ship with 18 decks with 2,759 staterooms. It has a capacity to carry 5,518 passengers (double occupancy) or 6,680 guests in total. But there's more. The Symphony of the Seas features include seven neighbourhoods, the Ultimate Abyss waterslide, Flowrider surf simulator,...
Reservations Open for Venezia’s Inaugural Cruise
Reservations are open for Costa Venezia’s 53-day inaugural cruise that departs March 8, 2019, from Trieste, Italy, to Yokohama, Japan. Costa Cruises' new ship is currently being built at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, and is Costa’s first ship to be designed and built specifically for the Chinese market. Costa Venezia will leave the Mediterranean and transit the Suez Canal and cross the Red Sea before entering the Persian Gulf, calling at Croatia, Greece, Israel, Jordan and Oman. After stops at Dubai and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the ship will enter the...
Silversea Rolls Out Unlimited Free Wi-Fi
Silversea is taking its offer of free Wi-Fi to the next level. Starting with voyages sailing in April, free unlimited Wi-Fi access will be extended to every guest throughout its fleet. Since January 2016, guests have enjoyed at least one hour of free Wi-Fi per day. The new policy will provide each guest booked in standard suites with free unlimited standard Internet access. Guests staying in larger suites (from Silver suites to the Owner's suites) will enjoy free unlimited premium Internet access for up to two devices simultaneously per guest. Unlimited premium Internet access is...
Miami-Cuba Sailing From Victory Cruise Lines
Victory Cruise Lines is planning a series of 13- and 14-night circumnavigations of Cuba on Victory I between January and April 2019 with a special spring weekend three-day cruise to close the winter cruise season. It features special winter reduced pricing and significant early booking discounts on the Miami-Cuba sailings. For instance, all-inclusive fares for 13-night voyages start at $5,995 per person, double occupancy, including the early-booking discount. In addition, select value-season departures qualify for an overnight hotel or air credit of $500 per person. Bruce...
2019 Port Taxes Commissionable With Avalon
Avalon Waterways has announced it will be paying 10% commission on port taxes on all 2019 river cruises. This includes the river cruise company’s sailings in Europe and the Galapagos (port taxes are already included in the base price of Avalon’s Amazon, Southeast Asia and Indian cruises). “With port taxes ranging up to $748 per person, this can be a significant additional source of revenue,” says Kim Clarke, director of sales for the Globus family of brands. 2019 cruises are now open for sale with some tempting early booking bonuses in effect until April...
Princess Unveils New Sapphire Features, Upgrades
Princess Cruises' Sapphire Princess has emerged from an extensive two-week dry dock in Singapore proudly displaying the cruise line's signature logo on its bow. The ship was also upgraded with enhanced onboard spaces and product innovations keeping it as one of the most desired ships in the fleet. Finishing up a season cruising throughout Asia, Sapphire Princess departed on a 28-day voyage from Singapore to London, before beginning European voyages to sought-after destinations in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe including Monte Carlo, Lisbon, Brussels, St. Petersburg and an...
Carnival Takes Delivery of Horizon
In a traditional maritime handover ceremony held yesterday at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, Carnival Cruise Line officially took delivery of the new 133,500-ton Carnival Horizon, the 26th ship in its fleet. The 3,954-passenger ship will reposition to Barcelona, Spain, where it will depart April 2 on an inaugural 13-day voyage – the first of four sailings from the European port. The ship will then operate a transatlantic crossing before arriving in New York May 23 for a pier-side overnight gala and naming ceremony featuring the ship’s godmother, Grammy award-winning musical...
Avalon Adds India’s Ganges River To Lineup
Avalon Waterways has added a new river to its extensive portfolio – The Ganges. Starting in 2019, the line is adding the 56-passenger Ganges Voyager to its fleet. Built in 2015, the Voyager will be offered as part of a two-week itinerary which also includes stays in deluxe hotels in Dehli, Agra, and Jaipur, allowing travellers to see some of India’s most famed and beloved attractions – including the Taj Mahal during a sunrise visit – before they board the Voyager in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). The six-night cruise will then take them at a leisurely pace to the cities of...