Cruise
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...
On Expedition: Shari Tucker discovers Belize, Honduras with PONANT
In December 2023, Halifax-based travel advisor Shari Tucker embarked on a new seven-night PONANT itinerary called Belize and Honduras: Unexpected Encounters and Nature on the expedition ship Le Dumont d’Urville. “One of my professional goals for 2023 was to try my first expedition cruise,” Tucker tells Travel Courier. “The allure of off-the-beaten track destinations with fewer tourists, combined with a company who is having a positive impact through travel, is a sweet spot for me. This trip encompassed many firsts for me. It was my first time sailing with PONANT, my first...
Passport Online, Swan Hellenic announce partnership
Travel advisors using Passport Online to populate and market their online inventory of leisure travel products will now be able to find up-to-date information and pricing for Swan Hellenic’s expedition cruises to Antarctica, the Arctic, and destinations around the world as a result of a new partnership between the two companies. “We are committed to providing our travel agency customers with the very best suppliers in the industry," said Jeanne Colombo, president of Passport Online. "We are thrilled to welcome award-winning Swan Hellenic Cruises to our portfolio. Adding Swan...