Cruise
ACL Doubles Capacity on the Columbia, Snake Rivers
American Cruise Lines reports that the Queen of the Mississippi (to be renamed) will join the Queen of the West in the Pacific Northwest on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The three-year-old vessel, featuring oversized staterooms and private balconies, will more than double the capacity on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The line’s new riverboat America will replace the Queen of the Mississippi on the Mississippi River in early 2016. The repositioning of this riverboat to the Pacific Northwest and the introduction of the new 185-passenger paddlewheeler America to the Mississippi...
A Prescription For Success
When an Ontario travel agency joined forces with a British Columbia company specializing in continuing education for the medical profession, it gave a whole new meaning to the term ``medical tourism,” reports Montreal editor, Mike Dunbar in this week's digital edition of Canadian Travel Press. Oakville’s Uniglobe Adventure House Travel and Vancouver’s Sea Courses, last week announced a merger that will ``significantly expand” the range of a product that is currently limited to medical and dental education programs delivered aboard cruise ships. Veteran retailer Ron Dawick...
Windstar Expands Yacht Club Benefits
Windstar Cruises is expanding benefits for returning guests, offering exclusive discounts at partner travel operators and resorts under parent company Xanterra Parks & Resorts. Windstar cruisers are automatically registered as members of the Windstar Yacht Club following their first sailing, later enjoying special benefits when they book future cruises, amenities while on board, and when they share the Windstar experience with friends and family. With the new partner program, Yacht Club Membership rewards now include the following discounts: 5% off an Austin Adventures adventure...
Royal Caribbean Delivers The Adventure
Designed to meet every travel passion, Royal Caribbean International is tapping into what guests really want to do on their next vacation with an enhanced shore excursion program featuring exclusive new options. From playing five-on-five soccer in Spain to exploring Buddhist temples in Bangkok, these new excursions allow guests to discover a destination through activities that appeal to their sense of adventure. The cruise line’s more than 2,800 shore excursions worldwide, including experiences in private destinations Labadee and CocoCay, have been grouped into seven special interest...
Ensemble, Blount Launch New Alliance
Ensemble Travel Group and Blount Small Ship Adventures have launched new partnership that will expand members’ cruise portfolio with “a unique and profitable product that features relaxed, laid-back cruising of closer-to-home, often historic, waterways.” The cruise line was founded by Capt. Luther H. Blount in 1966 to serve a growing market of adventurous travellers who were interested in travelling America's historic waterways to areas previously only accessible by private yacht. An engineer and ship builder by trade, over the years Capt. Blount pioneered such innovative design...
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...