Cruise
Sun Princess cancels inaugural voyage from Barcelona
Princess Cruises and Fincantieri have mutually agreed to delay delivery of Sun Princess, the largest vessel ever constructed in Italy and the first ship of a revolutionary new platform designed exclusively for the Princess brand. The postponement has regrettably led to the cancellation of the ship's inaugural 10-day voyage, originally set to depart from Barcelona on Feb. 8. “We understand that this news is disappointing, and we share in that disappointment. We recognize the anticipation that surrounded this sailing, and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this...
Soccer star Lionel Messi officially names Icon of the Seas in Miami
Icon of the Seas — the largest cruise ship of the world — was officially christened during a special naming ceremony event last night in PortMiami featuring soccer sensation Lionel Messi and TV host Mario Lopez, who is known for portraying A.C. Slater on Saved by the Bell. “Our icon of Icon, will you please do us the immense honour of naming our beloved new ship, blessing her and all who sail on her for many years to come?” asked Jason Liberty, president and CEO for Royal Caribbean Group. “In keeping with that passion of doing things bigger and bolder, the bottle that we use to...
HAL adds more Legendary Voyages for 2025/2026
Holland America Line is unveiling four new "Legendary Voyages" including a rare roundtrip 45-day cruise from New York to the Mediterranean and a unique 28-day exploration of the South Pacific Islands. As travellers' interest in longer cruises grows, these region-centric journeys, which will depart in 2025 and early 2026, give guests the opportunity to foster deeper connections and engage more intimately with the destinations visited. Departing Oct. 7, 2025, the 45-Day "Ultimate Mediterranean & Atlantic Passage" Legendary Voyage aboard Volendam is a special sailing...
Royal Caribbean’s newest ship makes Miami debut
Royal Caribbean International’s highly anticipated Icon of the Seas arrived in Miami for the first time on Jan. 22. The first-of-its-kind combination of the best of every vacation was welcomed with fanfare by air, land and sea, ahead of its official debut on Jan. 27. Local residents and Royal Caribbean fans, executives and employees were on hand as the first to see Miami’s newest resident. Icon arrived to PortMiami in style, with celebratory fireboat salutes, banner planes in flight and a community celebration at Pérez Art Museum to mark the new vacation’s first...
Quark welcomes newest ship to its polar fleet
Quark Expeditions has added the 138-passenger Ocean Explorer to its fleet. The ship will set sail under the Quark Expeditions banner at the start of the Antarctic 2024/2025 season. "Going beyond in the polar regions requires the best expedition team operating the best ships," says Andrew White, president of Quark Expeditions. "And we've got both. Ocean Explorer is the perfect addition to our fleet—for adventure, for luxury, and for leading-edge technology, this purpose-built polar expedition ship truly delivers for our discerning polar explorers." About Ocean Explorer Ocean...
Silversea’s Silver Shadow sails away on World Cruise
Silversea’s Silver Shadow departed San Francisco on Jan. 15, embarking upon the Far East-West World Cruise 2024. Travellers will journey from east to west, from one of the planet’s extremes to the other, on a 132-day round-trip itinerary that will encompass most of the Pacific Rim, from Hawaii and remote Pacific isles, to Australia and New Zealand, through Southeast Asia, China, Japan, and back across the Pacific to Alaska, Canada, and California. About the World Cruise In total, guests will visit 65 destinations across 14 countries, including 33 destinations that are entirely new...
MSC cancels three Grand Voyage sailings
MSC Cruises has cancelled three repositioning ‘Grand Voyage’ sailings in April from South Africa and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Europe because of the risk to shipping in the Red Sea. Ongoing attacks on merchant vessels in the region has obliged the company to cancel a 24-night cruise of MSC Splendida from Durban, South Africa to Genoa, Italy, a 21-night sailing of MSC Opera from Dubai, UAE to Genoa and a 23-night voyage of MSC Virtuosa from Dubai to Southampton, UK. Avoiding the Red Sea The safety of passengers and crew is the number one priority and as there was no...
Windstar’s Star Legend returns to the Med for another winter
After pivoting to a first-ever winter cruise season in the Mediterranean this year, Windstar Cruises’ intends to keep Star Legend sailing in the region for another winter season. Positive feedback and an influx of bookings and demand have led the luxury small ship cruise line to enhance their winter Mediterranean deployment with new itineraries and opportunities to book longer voyages in 2024/2025. “On our inaugural sailing in December, every single travel advisor and guest on board told me ‘this is genius’ as we enjoyed the sunny weather of Europe’s most walkable cities when...