Cruise
Virgin Voyages Expands North America Sales Team
Virgin Voyages is expanding its sales team in North America by 150%. Exponential, triple digit growth in bookings and the sunsetting of the CDC’s voluntary Program for Cruise Ships is signaling that the industry is rebounding to pre-pandemic levels. To continue driving momentum for the new brand, Virgin Voyages is expanding its sales & support teams in North America and promoting key individuals to elevated roles. Based at the brand’s headquarters in Plantation, Fl, these additional team members will support First Mates (Virgin Voyages’ term for travel advisors). A...
St. Lawrence Cruise Lines Now Booking For 2023
With demand increasing for North American river cruising, St. Lawrence Cruise Lines has officially sold out all 2022 cruises and is now booking passengers for 2023. The strong demand was initially fuelled by the decision of many Canadian and American travellers to plan their travel close to home and abstain from international travel during the most recent stages of the pandemic. In response to the growing demand for North American river cruising, the Canadian-based small ship operator has extended its 2023 season and added an additional cruise to accommodate travellers. The...
New Funding Fuels Virgin Voyages’ Growth
Virgin Voyages has closed on $550 million in new capital raised to support its growth. The funding was led by funds and accounts managed by BlackRock and includes new external financing and additional capital from existing investors including Bain Capital Private Equity and Virgin Group. As well, Virgin Voyages has received additional, continued support from its existing lenders. The new funding will enable Virgin Voyages to continue the execution of its growth strategy and further strengthen its financial position as cruise demand continues to gain momentum. Officially launched...
Set Sail For Beach Fun And Sun With Windstar
Windstar Cruises is setting a course for some beach fun and sun in the winter of 2023. Beach Fun & Sun: A Remote Caribbean Getaway features seven days on some of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean including stops in St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Barts, Anguilla, Jost Van Dyke (overnight), Virgin Gorda, and Tortola. The Nov. 4 sailing only will take place on Windstar’s all-suite Star Pride and the other eight departures are aboard the 342-guest classic sailing yacht Wind Surf. Both yachts’ Watersports Platforms (which allow guests to jump from the yacht into the sea)...
Holland America Making It Simple
Holland America Line is updating its “Travel Well” COVID-19 protocols and procedures, including requirements for vaccinations and pre-cruise testing that meet public health goals while recognizing the evolving nature of the COVID-19 situation. These changes will go into effect for cruises departing on or after Sept. 6, 2022. Under the simplified procedures, for most voyages up to 15 nights, vaccinated guests will no longer have to test before cruising and unvaccinated guests will be welcomed with a self-test within three days of sailing. The new protocols do not apply to...
Carnival Making It Easier For Guests To Sail
Carnival Cruise Line has released details of protocol updates that meet public health goals but recognize the evolving nature of COVID-19. With these changes, the cruise line is making it easier for more guests to sail with simplified vaccination and testing guidelines, including no testing for vaccinated guests on sailings less than 16 nights, and eliminating the exemption request process for unvaccinated guests, who will only need to show a negative test result at embarkation. All new guidelines are effective for cruises departing on Tues., Sept. 6, 2022 or later, and include: ...
Some Serious Shopping On The Carnival Celebration
Debuting this November from PortMiami, Carnival Cruise Line’s newest ship Carnival Celebration will be home to nine retail collections, the most expansive selection across the fleet. With something for every type of cruiser – and shopper – the retail offerings will include new designs like a Miami-inspired line, as well as some tried-and-true favorites such as Carnival’s sold-out 50th Birthday commemorative items. Jeremy Schiller, vice president of retail operations for Carnival Cruise Line, explained: “As retailers, we saw more opportunity to connect our merchandise...
Tauck Adds New York-Quebec Itinerary In 2023
Tauck has announced it will offer small ship ocean cruises from New York City to Quebec City aboard the Silversea ship Silver Shadow in the fall of 2023, marking the company’s latest expansion into domestic cruising and furthering its partnership with Silversea. The new 13-day “Shores of Eastern Canada and New England” itinerary will include three northbound Manhattan-to-Quebec City departures along with three southbound trips, all in September and October of next year. The new cruise follows the 2019 introduction of Tauck’s “Cruising the Great Lakes: Chicago to...