Cruise
Harmony of the Seas Officially Named
Royal Caribbean International celebrated the homecoming of Harmony of the Seas with a spectacular naming ceremony Friday (Nov. 11) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Hosting the ceremony was Brittany Affolter from Teach For America Miami-Dade, who was selected as Godmother of Harmony of the Seas for her work in inspiring South Florida’s next generation to dream big, think differently and challenge the status quo. Royal Caribbean conducted a six-week search and received nearly 1,000 nominees for the honour usually reserved for celebrities and royalty. To further welcome the ship to its...
GLP Worldwide: Built for travellers
GLP Worldwide is sporting a new tagline, Travel for Travellers, and it's all about appealing to those seeking the road – or in many cases ship – less travelled, reports Ann Ruppenstein in this week's digital edition of Travel Courier. “The whole concept for Travel for Travellers is to appeal to well-travelled Canadians. Somebody who has already done the tourist circuit, and now they want to do something different and spend a little bit more time in the heart of the destination. That's the kind of stuff we're looking for – really off-the-beaten track,” says Alan Law, director...
YVR Agents Gain Knowledge On Celebrity
Nearly 140 travel agents turned out for a Celebrity Cruises Travel Partner training event in Vancouver last week, and left with an elevated level of knowledge on the cruise line. They came to the Marine Drive Golf Club on a rainy morning, had breakfast and worked until 1:00 under the tutelage of sales and product trainers. Their numbers were split roughly in half within two categories – Five Star for those less experienced in selling Celebrity and an Advanced program for agents with more Celebrity selling time. This was the second Celebrity training event in this format in...
Insight, Luxury Gold, Uniworld Unveil Europe 2017
Insight Vacations, Luxury Gold, and Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection have unveiled their new 2017 “Europe’s Finest” collection of itineraries. Building off of its incredible inaugural success in 2016, the 2017 collection represents the collaboration of three distinct brands seamlessly delivering clients to Europe’s attractions by river and road. In all eight itineraries – including two all-new journeys to France and the Dalmatian Riviera – are featured in the new collection. Cris David, president, Insight Vacations Canada and Luxury Gold Canada, commented:...
France Makes The Connection
While more than 85 million travellers visited France in 2015 for a variety of reasons, the country's consul general in Toronto, Marc Trouyet made it clear that there are so many new things happening – not to mention places to explore – that there's always a reason to promote the benefits of a visit to his country. The theme of the evening was the French Connection and along with officials from Atout France, the Toronto gathering also featured representatives from Air Canada, Scenic, Rennes, Nantes, the Loire Valley, Destination Western Front 14-18 and the French Number. Melanie...
Carnival Celebrates Vista’s U.S. Arrival
To celebrate the US arrival of its newest, largest and most innovative ship, Carnival Cruise Line held a special overnight gala event Friday in New York featuring a concert for Operation Homefront military families by award-winning country music super star Carrie Underwood (pictured below). The event also included the ship’s official naming ceremony with Miss USA Deshauna Barber (pictured above) – the first woman serving in the US military to hold the title – presiding over the ceremonies as godmother and releasing the ceremonial bottle of champagne that smashed over the hull of...
Experiencing Cuba the Celestyal Way
Those who go on Celestyal Cruises seven-night sailings around Cuba will be getting an up close and personal look at the island, says the company's vice-president of sales and marketing for Canada. Christine Chiang notes Celestyal's sailings call at Havana, Cienfuegos, Punta Frances (the Isle of Youth) and Santiago de Cuba – and also visit Montego Bay, Jamaica, with excursions provided in each destination. Two days are spent in Havana. “It's an immersion experience,” Chiang told a Nov. 3 Toronto gathering, adding visitors can enjoy Cuban drinks and see Cuban entertainers on the...
HAL Academy Marks 15 Years
Holland America Line (HAL) is celebrating the 15th anniversary of its award-winning Academy for travel professionals -- highlighted by a new course and sweepstakes for agents. To commemorate the milestone, the cruise line is introducing a new The Panama Canal and More Specialist Training Course and a cruise sweepstakes. Agents who complete the course by Nov. 30 will be entered into the 2016 HAL Academy 15 Year Anniversary Sweepstakes to win a seven-day cruise for two to any Holland America destination in 2017. In addition to the cruise sweepstakes, agents who take the Panama Canal...