Cruise
A Conversation With Carnival
The “Carnival Conversations” road show – a travel agent engagement program – stopped by Toronto yesterday as officials hosted a large group of agents at Archeo in the city's Distillery District. Agents were updated on all things Carnival with news about the line's newest acquisition, Carnival Vista, causing the most stir. Set to debut May 1, 2016 and marking a return to Europe for Carnival, Vista will be line's largest and most innovative ship to date. Offering eight-, 10- and 12-day Mediterranean itineraries, the ship will sail out of Athens and Barcelona. Special features...
All Is Grand With Silversea
Silversea has introduced a special series of “Grand Expeditions.” Sailing from October, the luxury line has created five once-in-a-lifetime combined voyages, each offering guests a unique experience from sea, to land, to sea again. Ranging from 18 to 34 days, the Grand Expeditions begin with an expedition cruise in the Galapágos Islands, before connecting to a land adventure, and finally ending with a further expedition cruise exploring the coast of Central America, South America or Antarctica. The all-inclusive Grand Expeditions package is orchestrated by Silversea and...
Ostebo Steps Down As CLIA CEO
Thomas P. Ostebo. who recently joined CLIA as its president and CEO, has stepped down from the position due to personal reasons. The change is effective immediately and in the interim, Cindy D'Aoust, executive vice-president of membership and operations, will assume the role of acting CEO and oversee the management of global operations and the CLIA leadership teams until CLIA appoints a permanent CEO. Global CLIA chairman and president and COO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Adam M. Goldstein, said: “CLIA's current leadership team is doing an outstanding job supporting our...
itravel2000 Welcomes New Director of Cruise Product
itravel2000 has appointed Jordana Botting as the company’s new director of Cruise Product. “We are delighted that Jordana has joined our team,” said Nick Polifemi, vice-president of Partnership Development for itravel2000. “We will be launching a new cruise offering in the coming weeks, and Jordana – with her 12 years of experience in the cruise industry on both the retail and supplier sides – will oversee the program as we continue to build and enhance the itravel2000 brand.” Botting started in the industry at Expedia CruiseShipCenters where the agency she managed...
A Royal Treat Introduced by Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean is expanding its luxury offerings with the introduction of the Royal Suite Class, designed for the most discerning travellers and featuring a range of benefits and amenities that one would expect from a world-class luxury vacation. “The new Royal Suite Class redefines luxury at sea with exceptional experiences that discriminating travellers will appreciate,” said Royal Caribbean president Michael Bayley. “We offer some of the most amazing and unique suites aboard the most revolutionary ships, and with Royal Suite Class we are creating an experience that is both...
Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea
Guitarist Joe Bonamassa and Sixthman, an industry leader in festivals at sea, have announced the final lineup of the second annual “Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea” music festival sailing aboard the Norwegian Pearl Feb. 15-19 from Miami to Cozumel, Mexico. Guests will enjoy four days of non-stop tunes and musical collaborations. Blues-inspired acts confirmed to participate include Joe Bonamassa, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Blues Traveler, Beth Hart, Vintage Trouble, Marc Broussard, Shemekia Copeland, The James Hunter Six, Eric Bibb with Michael Jerome Browne, Monophonics,...
Carnival Set to Roll Out Enhanced Internet Access
Carnival Cruise Line’s new social media Internet packages – which offer access to a variety of popular Web sites for US$5 a day – are now available on more than half of the line’s ships with fleetwide implementation scheduled by the first quarter of 2016. Additionally, the line’s new mobile app – currently available on Carnival Breeze and offering an innovative “chat” feature – has been well received with a third of the ship’s guests actively using the app during their cruise. The app is expected to be available on five additional ships by the end of the year and be...
Marco Polo Returns, Montreal Set To Celebrate
On Aug. 13, the Marco Polo will return to the Port of Montréal for a 24-hour visit and 50th anniversary celebrations. To mark its arrival, the Montréal Cruise Committee is encouraging Montrealers and visitors to make their way to the Old Port's boardwalk at 8:15 a.m. when the ship is scheduled to arrive with 750 guests and 220 crew members aboard. To welcome the Marco Polo, there will be a water show with jets sprayed from tugboats owned by Ocean Group. In 1965, Germany's Wismar shipyard delivered to Russia a cruise ship named after the celebrated Russian poet Alexandr Pushkin....