The cruise industry is changing rapidly. Check out my regular Cruise Director column in the Sun-Herald Traveller and cruise updates here for info about new ships, ship refurbishments, itineraries, shore tours and steps cruise lines are taking before setting sail again post-pandemic.
Last week Celebrity Cruises introduced its latest ship, Celebrity Beyond, in a grand online reveal – a year ahead of her real-life maiden voyage from Southampton, England.
Luxury cruise lines are experiencing huge demand from local guests, who are snapping up voyages scheduled for 2022 and 2023 in record numbers.
Could Australia’s Kimberley coastline see the ‘carefully controlled’ restart of cruising in Australia in 2021? We live in hope.
While contemplating the absence of ships in my life, last weekend I was flicking through Foxtel to find something to watch (it was raining, so why not?) and came across Let Them Talk, a movie starring Meryl Streep, Dianne Wiest and Candice Bergen – and Cunard’s mighty Queen Mary 2. How could I resist?
Although several high-profile ships that were due this year have been postponed, a handful of small, luxury-expedition ships have been delivered and are ready to set sail – as soon as international travel restrictions allow.
Looking back to the beginning of 2020 – those golden pre-pandemic days – some 30 hotly anticipated new ships were scheduled to launch this year.
Last week’s extension of the cruising ban in Australia to September 17, 2020 had major cruise lines Carnival and P&O readjusting their comeback plans quick-smart – but where does that leave small-ship operators?
When will cruises start again? Dates are set and then postponed, while government and health-authority rulings differ around the world. One thing is clear – the situation remains fluid, pardon the pun.
Rock legend Suzi Quatro, Noiseworks singer Jon Stevens and Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock frontman Ross Wilson are among the headline acts on a new "Rock the Boat" cruise sailing out of Brisbane on Radiance of the Seas in November 2020; Rock the Boat 2019 is already sold out.
Despite a recent spate of accidents involving cruise ships, it seems that cruisers – and would-be cruisers – are a resilient lot.
Regent Seven Seas (RSSC) is one of a handful of cruise lines recognised as "true luxury" by the industry in general and by the independent Berlitz Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships in particular.
India is certainly incredible, as its marketing tag proclaims, but it can be a little overwhelming, particularly for the first-time visitor.
A month after opening bookings for Scarlet Lady's inaugural Caribbean season in 2020, Virgin Voyages' sales are going "incredibly well", according to Tom McAlpin, Virgin Voyages' president and CEO.
A style of cruising that Cunard made fashionable almost 100 years ago is once again booming.
As APT prepares to launch the super-sized AmaMagna on the Danube in May, its sister company Travelmarvel has ordered three new river ships.
Princess Cruises – the cruise line that starred in The Love Boat back in the 1970s and '80s – celebrated Valentine's Day with a spectacular event at Fincantieri's shipyard in Trieste, Italy.
With memories of January's exciting Australian Open fresh in our minds, now is the time to book for next year's event for the best choice of cabins and offers.
Travellers across the board are looking for ever more "authenticity" and cultural immersion in less-visited destinations, and cruising is no exception to the sweeping trend.
When Ponant's Le Laperouse arrives in Cairns this month, it will be the youngest of this summer's bumper crop of smaller, luxury and expedition-style ships to cruise in local waters.
We have a lot of ship launches to look forward to in 2019 – and who doesn't love cruising on a pristine new ship? There are 25 vessels getting ready to hit the ocean waves…
Happy new year! Cruisers are in for another big one, with 30 million travellers globally expected to take an ocean voyage and 25 ocean-going cruise ships set to launch in 2019, 18 of them belonging to CLIA's (Cruise Lines International Association) member cruise lines. Here's a look at a few of CLIA's forecasts for the coming year.
Flamboyant billionaire Sir Richard Branson recently announced that Virgin Voyages plans to build a dedicated cruise terminal in Port Miami for its upcoming fleet.
Cruising to Cuba has increased by leaps and bounds since the Caribbean island nation eased restrictions for US cruise lines in 2016.
Britain's Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) might not be particularly well known to east-coast Australians but over the past five years the line's boutique ship Astor has gained a loyal fan base in Western and South Australia.
Celebrity Solstice is now cruising in local waters for the seventh year running and the ship has proved to be so popular that Celebrity Cruises is sending a second ship Down Under for the 2020/21 season.
Oceania Regatta and Oceania Insignia are among the record number of overseas ships heading our way for the 2018-2019 summer cruise season.
Expedition and adventure cruising is the focus of the last week of 2018’s Choose Cruise month, but there is so much happening in this sector of the cruise industry it really needs a month to itself.
Avalon Saigon, which set sail in October 2018, is the newest ship on the Mekong. Like its European fleetmates, Avalon Saigon is a Suite Ship but at 60 metres long rather than 135 metres, it’s relatively petite – and an identical sister to the popular Avalon Siem Reap.
The luxury cruise industry is enjoying an unprecedented boom – just look at the number of new multimillion-dollar ships being built.
