The Travel Institute, celebrating its 60th anniversary, has partnered with Royal Caribbean to send ten lucky advisors aboard Royal Caribbean’s new ship, Utopia of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean, a long-time supporter of The Travel Institute’s non-profit initiatives to promote education and professional development for agents, has offered up a great opportunity to preview the new ship.

The ten advisors chosen will receive a free, double-occupancy stateroom aboard the preview sailing in July 2024 of Utopia of the Seas. An excellent chance to experience and report back to clients on your travels.

To qualify for this drawing, advisors must:

• Enroll in the CTA® program by March 31
• And, complete the Bachelor of Adventure program through Royal Caribbean University by April 15

“At Royal Caribbean, we value agent success and are committed to supporting them. The Travel Institute’s CTA serves as the foundation for their success and is widely recognized in the industry as the pinnacle of professionalism. Obtaining their CTA, agents demonstrate dedication to the highest standards of excellence in the travel industry, gaining confidence, expertise, a competitive edge, and the potential for higher sales.”

MSC Cruises today welcomed its fifth US-based ship, the Fantasia-class MSC Divina, to her new homeport in Miami.

Beginning this weekend, MSC Divina will sail a variety of itineraries to the Caribbean, Central America—and Mexico—including 3-day trips to Nassau and MSC’s private island at Ocean Cay; 7-night trips that include Isla de Roatan (Honduras), Belize City (Belize), Costa Maya and Cozumel (Mexico), George Town (Cayman Islands), Ocho Rios (Jamaica), Nassau and Ocean Cay; and 11-night voyages that include Montego Bay (Jamaica), Cartagena (Colombia), Puerto Limon (Costa Rica), Isla de Roatan (Honduras), Oranjestad (Aruba), Cozumel and Ocean Cay.

A limited-time flash sale this weekend will give potential sailors a chance to try the ship, or any MSC ship sailing from Miami or Orlando, at reduced prices starting at $109. Trips must be booked by December 18.

Introduced in 2012, MSC can hold up to 4,345 passengers and 1,388 crew members. There’s a 4-D theater and four pool areas, including a 22,507-square-foot Aqua Park, as well as eight restaurants, 12 bars and lounges, an MSC Yacht Club with floor-to-ceiling windows, and a Thermal Suite.

Also sailing the Caribbean will be MSC Seascape, Seashore, Seaside, Meraviglia and Magnifica.

South America also will have six ships this winter: MSC Grandiosa, Seaview, Preziosa, Musica, Lirica and Armonia, sailing a series of itineraries to Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.

MSC also will have a winter presence in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, North Europe, Asia, and South Africa.

It was a Latin-style celebration in Miami last week, as travel partners, travel press and the greater Norwegian Cruise Line family—including Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. president and CEO Harry Sommer, NCL CEO David Herrera and new SVP of North America Sales John Chernesky, who joined the team in April—gathered for the official christening of Norwegian Viva.

Royal Caribbean VP Vicki Freed offered up enticing details of the entertainment to come on Icon of the Seas in her most recent Coffee Talk webinar, at which her guest was Nick Weir, Royal Caribbean International’s SVP of Entertainment. On tap are redesigned high-action versions of the Aqua Theater show and a live, unique and modern production of The Wizard of Oz on the main stage.

“For 15 years, I’ve been so proud every single day to represent Royal Caribbean, but this takes it to a whole new level,” Weir said. “The theme of ‘Water Water Everywhere’ is exactly what you are going to feel,” from the overlook pods facing the water to the extreme sports above it.

Royal Caribbean “hopes to have many Icon-class ships in the future, but for this first one we thought why not make the venue the star?” he said. The totally redesigned Aquadome will host much of the action, including the main water show, which will feature “extreme sports with all sorts of new elements,” including a skateboarder.

For a creative team like his, the blank slate of the Icon offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Weir noted, and “we’ve been meeting since 2017 to talk about this. Normally you are handed a theater and then you find a way to put your show in the theater. But that’s not the case with the Aqua Theater on Icon. We created the show in 2017 and built the theater around the idea. That’s taking live theater into the movie business.”

The show, he promises, will be “the biggest ‘wow’ anyone has ever seen, not just at sea but in any theater anywhere in the world.”

Freed noted that Royal Caribbean is the only cruise line to offer entertainment across four stages: the theater, the air, the ice, and the aqua.

The new stage show, meanwhile, will be The Wizard of Oz, where Royal Caribbean will “take the best elements from the stage shows and iconic moments from the movie. It will be a version no one has ever imagined. And when that plane flies out over your head? Like in [Royal Caribbean’s current show] Inflight, imagine how you will feel when Dorothy in her bed flies out over the audience with the wicked witch on her tail.”

The onboard water park, meanwhile, has taken its cue from the success of the Thrill Water Park at Perfect Day at Coco Cay, with “jaw-dropping” over-the-water slides, some that accommodate family rafts.

And if you need a little boost, there will be “over-the-top milkshakes—incredible concoctions you can spike with alcohol.”

“Cue the Junkanoo band,” says Carnival Cruise Line. When its new private port opens on Grand Bahama in November, it will be named Celebration Key, the company announced today.

With the opening, Carnival joins a popular trend toward having its own unrestricted access to land after a day at sea. Celebration Key will offer a mile-long white-sand beach, and Bahamian-themed retail, food and beverage options. “Invoking the natural beauty of Grand Bahama, every day at Celebration Key will be a celebration of our guests’ own making with a variety of experiences and something for everyone,” said president Christine Duffy.

With a capacity of 2 million guests a year, Celebration Key will be able to accommodate two Excel-class ships at once. It will be used by at least 10 ships from multiple homeports beginning July 2025.

More details will be released in late September, Carnival said.

Storms are getting bigger, airplane parts are hard to come by, and the aviation industry is understaffed. So what’s a travel advisor to do when air travel is one big snafu and less dependable than ever?

To a certain extent, it depends on where your customer base is. In New York, for example, Laurie and Paul Bahna, owners of a Dream Vacations franchise in Plainview, found an easy option for taking the flying out of the equation altogether: cruising out of your home port.

“Paul and I truly believe that people are really tired of the airline cancellations,” Laurie says. “So many customers are saying that airline prices are very high and the airlines are just not consistent Read the rest of this entry »

It takes a village to launch a new cruise ship. Last week, 1,000 travel advisors, reporters, financiers and cruise-industry executives were joined by Jay Leno, Emeril Lagassi and Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy to welcome the new Carnival Venezia to its homeport at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal.

Fans of Footloose be forewarned: Norwegian Cruise Lines will be canceling seven shows across nine ships, including your favorite, in a shakeup of its entertainment lineup.

The shows to be canceled are:

• Swing on Norwegian Gem, closing July 7, 2023
• World Beat on Norwegian Spirit, closing August 16, 2023, and on Norwegian Sun, closing October 11.
• Velvet on Norwegian Jewel, closing September 25.
• What the World Needs Now on Norwegian Star, closing October 11.
• Footloose, on Norwegian Jo, closing October 28.
• Showdown, on Norwegian Dawn, closing November 4.
• Six, on Norwegian Breakaway, closing January 26, 2024, and on Norwegian Bliss, closing February 24, 2024.

Still running are the popular Choir of Man, performed on Norwegian Encore and Norwegian Escape, and the new Summer: The Donna Summer Musical on Norwegian Prima.

In an email sent to crew members and obtained by Cruise Industry News, the company said the goal is “elevating the offerings.”

“We understand that change can be difficult, but we are confident that these adjustments will allow us to create an even more memorable experience for our guests. This is a truly exciting time of growth and transformation for our company and industry, and we are honored to be at the forefront of this evolution,” the email said.

NCL did not respond to a request for an interview by TRO.

Underscoring its reach into the US market, MSC Group this week offered up details about the naming ceremony of MSC Euribia in Copenhagen, as well as the Owners Suite on Explora I, the first ship in its new Explora Journeys luxury division.

Sporting “the most energy-efficient cruise ship design ever,” MSC Euribia, is powered by LNG and features state-of-the-art environmental technologies including advanced onboard wastewater treatment systems, waste management handling, energy efficiency measures, and innovative underwater radiated noise management systems to reduce the potential impact on the marine environment.

As always at MSC namings, Sophia Loren will serve as godmother. Euribia then will sail 7-night itineraries in Northern Europe, from Kiel, Germany, and Copenhagen, Denmark to the Norwegian Fjords.

New elements on the ship include the new Le Grill “French bistro meets steakhouse” restaurant; a reinvented Carousel Lounge designed to offer more panoramic ocean views; and a brand-new kids area and program of activities dedicated to educating children and teenagers on environmental subjects in the MSC Foundation Lab.

For guests looking for a more luxurious experience, MSC Group’s new Explora Journeys brand unveiled details of the 3,000-square-foot Owner’s Residence on its first ship, Explora I.

Guests there can lounge on a private outdoor terrace that extends over the full width of the ship, sip champagne in their own infinity whirlpool, or dine in private at a table for eight. They will also have unlimited priority reservations for all culinary venues and a complimentary treatment at Ocean Wellness – The Spa.

The suite includes private butler service, a Technogym Bench and Case Kit, a private bar replenished according to their preferences, unlimited priority reservations for all culinary venues, a double vanity bathroom made of Calacatta marble and other “incredible details that create an elegant, yet effortlessly relaxed European sense of luxury,” said Explora Journeys Head of Product Jason Gelineau.

The Residence is available for parties of three adults or two adults and one child under 18 years old.

Carnival Cruise Line has begun testing a new charge for some guests eating at its popular ChiBang specialty restaurant on Mardi Gras.

All guests still can eat at the venue for free at lunchtime or once for dinner. Though they now will incur an $8 per person surcharge if they return to eat dinner in the restaurant a second time.

There is also a ChiBang restaurant on the second Excel-class ship, Carnival Celebration, and there will be one on Carnival Jubilee as well. For now, the fee is only being charged on Mardi Gras, however.

Carnival Cruise Line brand ambassador John Heald, on his Facebook page, called the move a pilot project designed “to give everyone an opportunity to dine in this unique venue” on a ship that holds about 6,000 passengers.

The popular ChiBang offers both a Chinese and a Mexican menu, neither of which are available elsewhere on the ship, as well as specialty desserts.

Because you’ve been on over 50 cruises or have made hundreds of cruise bookings, don’t think it will be “business as usual” for your new bookings. Many things have changed, and not just for the better.

This is especially true for the high-end “Big Three” cruise lines (Regent, Seabourn, and Silversea), where all-inclusive fares make it difficult for the lines to pay down their share of the massive $74 billion debt their parent companies (Norwegian, Carnival, and Royal Caribbean) ran up during the pandemic; and fund the building of even more luxurious ships to fend off attacks from well-financed newcomers such as Viking, and Ritz-Carlton (Marriot).

Viking Ocean has burst on the nautical luxury scene with unbridled enthusiasm. With 10 cruise ships and 64 riverboats, some say they’re dominating the market already. No other cruise line visits so many ports each day. Their river craft are positioned close to the high-end of the market, but probably below AMA and Tauck in price and quality.

If a potential client asks you to recommend a cruise, the worst thing you can do is start rattling off cruise lines and destinations. Unless you know them very well, before you jump in with suggestions, engage them in a conversation in which you weave in the following questions. These will help qualify them as potential cruisers and help you to guide them to the best choices.

Off Hawaii’s Naapali Coast, onboard Pride of America—Concerns over having to quarantine abroad are pushing travelers to domestic destinations and first among them is Hawaii, with the highest prices in the nation. But price is no object this year, and bucket list trips are all the rage. So you’d think Norwegian Cruise Lines wouldn’t need much help from travel advisors to sell its Pride of America itineraries in Hawaii.

Indeed, since returning to service last month at 40% capacity, the newly refurbished POA is sold out through October. Still, though, I’d argue that Norwegian needs travel advisors to help sell it more than most ships—and that it offers a great opportunity in return.

Pride of America is a unique and expensive product, commanding the highest daily rates in the NCL fleet but sailing under the most unusual conditions. The key to success, as she returns to service Read the rest of this entry »

“There’s nothing better than launching a new cruise line into a market that has been closed with Covid,” says Francis Riley.

And indeed, adds the chief commercial officer of Margaritaville at Sea, the market is perfect for a three-day cruise out of West Palm Beach that sails year-round —and can be extended to six days, with a stay on Grand Bahama Island, for about $1,000.

The whole idea of getting out on the water is very much in line with Margaritaville’s laid-back luxury charm. While the 658-room Paradise, which set sail this month, is hardly a new ship; it is completely refurbished since its days as Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line’s Grand Classica.

“Every single cabin has been ripped out and completely overhauled, every single area of the ship is refurbished,” Riley says. And the cruise includes all the things you’d get in a Margaritaville resort—”the elevated room, pillow, mattresses, the food, the 5 O’clock Somewhere Bar, the elevated dining with JWB Prime Steak House, plus of course what you’d expect in terms of entertainment, with a new show written by Jimmy Buffet.” Read the rest of this entry »

The best evidence that the cruise market is in flux and subject to wild changes is that Douglas Ward’s Berlitz Cruising & Cruise Ships hasn’t been updated since 2020. The Berlitz Guide used to sit on most travel agents’ desks. For 35 years, it could be counted on to give clients a two-page summary of every vessel promoted to clients by American travel advisors. It was more than a mere directory. The 754-pages of the 2020 edition rated the accommodations, cuisine, and service on each ship. It was the final word on ship statistics, so that passenger space ratios, passenger crew ratios, and tonnage could be reliably compared.

In my 2019 Amazon book, How to Plan Your Next & BEST Cruise: Secrets of Selecting Cruises, Ships & Destinations, I used Douglas Ward’s data in every chapter to show readers how to move beyond the ads and hype, and to make viable comparisons among cruise ships they were considering.  Read the rest of this entry »

Looking for extra income or just something to do while business was slow, travel advisors have expanded beyond their usual routines into new avenues—both inside the business and out.

At My Path Unwinding Travel in Waxhaw, NC, for example, Karen Shelton noticed that 11 of the 12 customers in her Disney Wonder group had booked suites—and decided to promote an all-suite group on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas for the first time, so customers can compare the two.

“I’m super excited about this,” says Shelton, whose specialty has traditionally been Disney concierge-level suites. “I booked the Royal Suite for myself and got the ball rolling.”

The numbers are still coming in, she says Read the rest of this entry »

As a veteran of more than 40 international cruises, I used to turn up my nose whenever someone suggested that I sail from domestic ports. The only exceptions I ever made were a cruise to Iceland from New York City; a repositioning cruise to Japan that left from Seattle; one to South America that departed from Los Angeles; and two from Miami that sailed to Europe.

I reasoned that, if I was going to kill a night flying from LAX to a departure port and have an after-dinner drink and a Zolpidem tablet after dessert, I could just as easily wake up in Europe, Asia, or Australia as on the east coast of the US. Honestly, you don’t notice the difference—especially if you fly Business or Premium Economy.

After having two international jaunts canceled last year, and considering the possibility of the military crises in Europe broadening before I could sail again, I rethought these views. I booked a Fall Foliage Cruise from NYC to New England, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Montreal for a client and us. It’s only 12 nights, but with overnight stays in NYC and Montreal, the trip will be nearly the Read the rest of this entry »

What’s a travel advisor to do when a preferred supplier like Crystal cruises stops sailing? Communicate with your customers and be transparent. In the case of Crystal, you have to look at your booked customers in three buckets and reach out to each with targeted communications, says Alex Sharpe.

The CEO of Signature Travel Network, himself a former SVP of Regent Seven Seas, immediately reached out to legal counsel, who told him “you should cancel and dispute charges right away,” he told TRO. “With the ‘reserve accounts’ in place with the credit card colmpanies, I don’t know that disputing charges is critical, but at this point, it couldn’t hurt.”

Here’s an edited version of what Sharpe had to say in our 45-minute conversation last week: Read the rest of this entry »

Just hang in there for two or three more weeks, travel advisors, and things will be better.

That’s the biggest take-away from a press conference yesterday featuring Norwegian Cruise Line’s CEO Frank del Rio and the head of its Health and Safety Committee, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who sits on the board of Pfizer.

Here’s my transcript of what they said, slightly edited for brevity. I took notes in shorthand, which I am pretty good at but a word or two may be off, and I apologize for that. Read the rest of this entry »

I LOVE Backroads. What’s to love? The company layers its active adventures, primarily cycling, on top of cruises, both ocean and river. That layering provides the perfect adventure: You spend your days being active, exploring Europe the way many Europeans do, straddling a saddle. Your floating hotel is your oasis for rest and replenishment.

In 2016, I had what turned out to be one of the best trips I’ve had on the rivers, cycling with my son while cruising on AmaWaterways. Check out Backroads Bike Trips & River Boating: A Winning Combination For Active Travelers. Rinse and repeat. In 2019, we cruised Ponant and pedaled Croatia, a wonderful trip that I summed up Read the rest of this entry »