Ensemble Travel Group has added a new river cruise partner, AmaWaterways, to its network of preferred suppliers.
Ensemble Co-President Lindsay Pearlman announced the new partnership in a closed session before an audience of several hundred agency owners and managers during the group's recent conference in San Diego.
Pearlman told members, “AmaWaterway’s upper premium product has been a popular river cruise option for some of our members for years, so we’re delighted to officially bring them on board already with an impressive book of Ensemble business.”
And he observed,...
In what it describes as a “sea change on sustainability,” Peregrine Adventures has introduced a new range of carbon-offset adventure cruises.
The 10 new small ship itineraries will visit small ports that the big ships can’t get to, allowing travellers to explore little-known towns and villages in some of the world’s hottest travel destinations, including Croatia, Cuba, Iceland, Portugal, Panama, and the Greek Islands.
Peregrine Adventures, as most will know, is the Intrepid Group’s premium adventure operator.
While Intrepid Group may be the largest company in the...
Thirty years ago, Scenic was born from a quest to improve the occupancy of one small, out-of-the-way hotel on Australia’s southern coast.
Assigned to this challenge, Glen Moroney created much needed marketing materials and began visiting retirement communities to promote bus tours from the hotel that took in Australia’s Great Ocean Road.
Within a year, the property was full and Moroney had caught the tour business bug and began to carve a niche creating the ultimate travel experience for guests who were seeking memorable trips punctuated by exceptional service.
Today, the...
Royal Caribbean International celebrated the homecoming of Harmony of the Seas with a spectacular naming ceremony Friday (Nov. 11) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Hosting the ceremony was Brittany Affolter from Teach For America Miami-Dade, who was selected as Godmother of Harmony of the Seas for her work in inspiring South Florida’s next generation to dream big, think differently and challenge the status quo. Royal Caribbean conducted a six-week search and received nearly 1,000 nominees for the honour usually reserved for celebrities and royalty.
To further welcome the ship to its...
GLP Worldwide is sporting a new tagline, Travel for Travellers, and it's all about appealing to those seeking the road – or in many cases ship – less travelled, reports Ann Ruppenstein in this week's digital edition of Travel Courier.
“The whole concept for Travel for Travellers is to appeal to well-travelled Canadians. Somebody who has already done the tourist circuit, and now they want to do something different and spend a little bit more time in the heart of the destination. That's the kind of stuff we're looking for – really off-the-beaten track,” says Alan Law, director...
Nearly 140 travel agents turned out for a Celebrity Cruises Travel Partner training event in Vancouver last week, and left with an elevated level of knowledge on the cruise line.
They came to the Marine Drive Golf Club on a rainy morning, had breakfast and worked until 1:00 under the tutelage of sales and product trainers.
Their numbers were split roughly in half within two categories – Five Star for those less experienced in selling Celebrity and an Advanced program for agents with more Celebrity selling time.
This was the second Celebrity training event in this format in...
Insight Vacations, Luxury Gold, and Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection have unveiled their new 2017 “Europe’s Finest” collection of itineraries.
Building off of its incredible inaugural success in 2016, the 2017 collection represents the collaboration of three distinct brands seamlessly delivering clients to Europe’s attractions by river and road.
In all eight itineraries – including two all-new journeys to France and the Dalmatian Riviera – are featured in the new collection.
Cris David, president, Insight Vacations Canada and Luxury Gold Canada, commented:...
While more than 85 million travellers visited France in 2015 for a variety of reasons, the country's consul general in Toronto, Marc Trouyet made it clear that there are so many new things happening – not to mention places to explore – that there's always a reason to promote the benefits of a visit to his country.
The theme of the evening was the French Connection and along with officials from Atout France, the Toronto gathering also featured representatives from Air Canada, Scenic, Rennes, Nantes, the Loire Valley, Destination Western Front 14-18 and the French Number.
Melanie...
To celebrate the US arrival of its newest, largest and most innovative ship, Carnival Cruise Line held a special overnight gala event Friday in New York featuring a concert for Operation Homefront military families by award-winning country music super star Carrie Underwood (pictured below).
The event also included the ship’s official naming ceremony with Miss USA Deshauna Barber (pictured above) – the first woman serving in the US military to hold the title – presiding over the ceremonies as godmother and releasing the ceremonial bottle of champagne that smashed over the hull of...
Those who go on Celestyal Cruises seven-night sailings around Cuba will be getting an up close and personal look at the island, says the company's vice-president of sales and marketing for Canada.
Christine Chiang notes Celestyal's sailings call at Havana, Cienfuegos, Punta Frances (the Isle of Youth) and Santiago de Cuba – and also visit Montego Bay, Jamaica, with excursions provided in each destination. Two days are spent in Havana.
“It's an immersion experience,” Chiang told a Nov. 3 Toronto gathering, adding visitors can enjoy Cuban drinks and see Cuban entertainers on the...