Viking this week placed a bet on the Middle East, officially naming two new river ships, the Viking Hathor and the Viking Sobek, in Luxor, Egypt.

Following its cost-conscious tradition, Viking repurposed the design of the existing Viking Aton and Viking Osiris, following the pattern exactly in these two new ships. All four vessels will carry a maximum of  82 guests in 41 staterooms, on a 12-day Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary.

Despite troubles in the Middle East, the neutral Egypt expects about 15.3 million tourists in 2024, up 5% over 2023, according to Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy. And it’s a fascinating destination for tourists. Just this week, an Egyptian-American mission unearthed a 4,000-year-old tomb near the Temple of Hatshepsut on the West Bank of the Nile in Luxor.

Viking’s itinerary begins with three nights in Cairo and a flight to Luxor before the eight-day roundtrip cruise on the Nile, including visits to the tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens and the tomb of Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings, plus excursions to the Temple of Khnum in Esna, the Dendera Temple complex in Qena, the temples at Abu Simbel and the High Dam in Aswan, and a village elementary school.

Guests can add Pre and Post Extensions, such as a five-day British Collections of Ancient Egypt extension that begins in London, where guests will visit the British Museum’s Egyptian Collection before it opens to the general public, and then the collection of Egyptian antiquities in the home and personal museum of Sir John Soane.

Viking plans to add four more ships—growing its Nile fleet to 10 altogether—over the next two years. Viking Amun and Viking Thoth will debut in 2025, and Viking Sekhmet and Viking Ptah in 2026.

As airfares continue to rise, travelers are seeking ways to maximize their experiences by extending their stays in their chosen destination. Award-winning luxury river cruise line AmaWaterways is catering to this trend with its 14-night “Grand River Cruises,” combining some of Europe’s most popular itineraries into a single voyage. The 2025 season sees three new combinations – Grand Seine & Bordeaux, Grand Seine & Rhône and Grand Rhine & Dutch Canals, adding to the existing Magnificent Europe and Grand Danube. Read the rest of this entry »

AmaWaterways, the first major river cruise line to navigate the Magdalena River in Colombia, shared its latest updates in preparation for the inaugural sailing of its first ship in Colombia, AmaMagdalena, set for 2025. The company is focused on enhancing the luxury cruising experience along this river, a new destination for river cruising, ensuring guests enjoy authentic and enriching connections to the region’s culture and heritage. Read the rest of this entry »

For the 2025 travel season CroisiEurope, the France-based river cruise operator, is offering some new destinations and itineraries, as well as some exclusive departures for the U.S. market. The company is introducing new cruise itineraries in Belgium, the Netherlands and India.

These three new entries are added to CroisiEurope’s roster of some 170 itineraries on 50 ships in 37 countries, stretching across Europe, the Mediterranean, Northern and Southern Africa, and South and Southeast Asia. Read the rest of this entry »

For 2025, AmaWaterways is making a leap into South America, launching a pair of cruise itineraries on the Magdalena River in Colombia. It’s breaking into a new continent for the company, and it’s the first major river cruise operator to offer cruises on the Magdalena River on the Caribbean side, with two seven-night voyages between Cartagena and Barranquilla.

AmaWaterways co-founder and executive vice president Kristin Karst told me, “It’s one of our most exciting ventures yet.” She assured me that the company intends to keep “pushing the boundaries.”

The company is seriously on the move. AmaWaterways is currently operating 26 ships in Europe and Asia. It will be adding several new ships over the next two years Read the rest of this entry »

Nestled at the confluence of the Rhine and Lahn rivers, Lahnstein offers a gateway to captivating historical sites and natural beauty. In Lahnstein, you’ll have to opportunity to visit a towering fortress, take a scenic bike rides, or hike through lush landscapes. Here’s a closer look at these excursion options.

Perched atop a hill overlooking the town and the rivers below, Burg Lahneck is a stunning medieval castle with a history dating back to the 13th century. Your guided tour through its ancient halls reveals tales of knights, nobility, and the castle’s strategic importance during various European conflicts. Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone loves a winner—and apparently Icon of the Seas is just that. In last month’s analyst call, Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley reported that Icon’s load factor is running around 132%, meaning every cabin is full, often with three or four guests.

So it’s no surprise that in a bigger-is-better world, Royal Caribbean would be doubling—or even tripling—down on its ace in the hole. Today it did just that, announcing an agreement with Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku for a fourth Icon Class ship, due for delivery in 2027, plus options to build two more.

RCCL’s largest ship ever, Icon of the Seas launched in January 2024. A second Icon-class ship, Star of the Seas, already is on sale, scheduled to debut in August 2025, and an as-yet-unnamed third sister will join the fleet in 2026. (Also this year RCCL welcomed Utopia of the Seas, Silversea’s Silver Ray and TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 7, and announced a seventh Oasis Class ship for 2028.)

“Icon of the Seas is unlike anything the world has seen before, and we’re just getting started,” Bayley said in today’s announcement. “We are leading the vacation industry in developing new experiences for our guests to create lifelong memories, and we continue dreaming and evolving to deliver more ways to chill and thrill.”

Even as some pooh-pooh the trend toward larger and larger ships (Icon carries 5,610 passengers, about 200 more than Oasis class), Icon and Star have been selling faster than any other ships in Royal Caribbean’s 50-year history.

Icon-class ships feature eight distinct neighborhoods; over 40 restaurants; 28 cabin types, including a three-story Ultimate Family Townhouse; and the biggest water park, the tallest drop slide, and the biggest swimming pool at sea. They also have the Royal Promenade and Central Park familiar from the Oasis-class ships, as well as new elements like the family-oriented Surfside neighborhood, plus two new top-deck recreation areas, Chill Island and Thrill Island. The aqua shows have moved to an AquaDome, a huge glass-enclosed space with a 50-foot waterfall, while the Royal Promenade adds the Pearl, a multi-sensory walkway. There is a dedicated suites-only neighborhood—and you can have your own private butler. (For more on the joys of butlers, see Finding Peace and Quiet – and a Great Butler – at Breathless Montego Bay.

Ludwigshafen is your starting point for a range of excursions – whether you’re drawn to the medieval charm of Heidelberg, the opulence of Schwetzingen Palace, or the peaceful trails along the Neckar River. Read the rest of this entry »

Travel advisors now can book shore excursions and lounge facilities for clients booked on the 600 Carnival cruises that will stop at the Pearl Cove Beach Club.

When it opens in July 2025, the new adults-only area on Carnival Cruise Line’s (CCL) first private island will feature an 11,000-square-foot infinity pool lined with shaded daybeds and loungers, a swim-up bar and a spacious sun shelf, as well as a beach and a full-service restaurant.

Passengers and travel advisors now can book:

Daybeds and Water Daybeds (in Starfish Lagoon and Calypso Lagoon): Daybeds and water daybeds for two have canopies, pillows, and privacy curtains.

Cabanas (at the freshwater lagoons): Cabanas hold up to four guests and include armchairs, a sofa, two sun loungers, a cooler with chilled water, privacy curtains, a lockable cabinet, snacks, and fresh fruit.

Over-the-Lagoon Cabanas (near the Starfish and Calypso Lagoons): Cabanas that also have a ceiling fan and sunshelf.

Large Cabanas (near the Starfish and Calypso Lagoons): Large cabanas hold up to six, and include four sun loungers, stocked mini refrigerators, a lockable cabinet, a sofa, a dining table, a ceiling fan, privacy curtains, snacks, fruits and lunch.

AquaBanas (at the Starfish Lagoon): AquaBanas, which allow guests to keep their feet in the water, seat eight people under a shaded canopy.

Over-the-Lagoon Supervillas (at the Starfish Lagoon) and Beach Supervillas (at the beaches): Supervillas hold up to 10 guests with plenty of shaded seating options and extra amenities, including hammocks, lunch delivery, and stocked mini-refrigerators.

Also now bookable are kayaking, snorkeling, glass bottom boat tours, and land tours.

Unlike other private islands, admission to Pearl Cove is not included in the cost of a Carnival cruise. Prices for the least expensive package, at $99.99 per person, include club access and a welcome drink. Adding an open bar that offers up to 10 drinks—draft domestic beer, house red or white wine, well drinks, or rum punch—increases the price to $139.99 per person, and adding food from the Pearl Cove restaurant costs $179.99 per person.

“The World’s Largest Cruise Company” is growing even larger, introducing a new class of ships that hold 8,000 passengers each – and ordering three of them for Carnival Cruise Line from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri.

At 230,000 gross registered tons each, and with more than 3,000 guest staterooms apiece, the new ships will be the largest in the Carnival fleet when they arrive in 2029, 2031 and 2033. They will be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and feature advanced energy efficiency, waste management, and emission reduction technologies.

Carnival Cruise Line earlier this year placed its first newbuild order in five years, for two more Excel-class ships scheduled to join the fleet in 2027 and 2028. In addition, five vessels are being transferred over from sister brands between 2023 and March 2025.

When you’re on a roll, said Carnival Corporation & plc CEO Josh Weinstein, you stick with it. And so the company is “doubling down on the growth of Carnival Cruise Line – our highest-returning brand – to keep up with the incredibly strong demand we continue to see for the world’s most popular cruise line. At this point, our newbuild pipeline is just one delivery in each of 2025, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2031 and 2033. We continue to take a disciplined approach to growth, strategically directing new capacity to the areas of highest demand at a rate of one to two new ships per year.”

Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy, meanwhile, promised “innovative guest experiences that will take Carnival Cruise Line into the future with new FUN features and excitement that we know our guests will LOVE.”

With five years to go until the ships debut, the company did not yet share details on the ships’ designs or itineraries.

Last week, AmaWaterways sent us a press release on their newest Nile River ship, AmaLilia. I was going to post the release with some photos for you all to read, but when I got to looking at pictures of the ship, I knew that you all needed to see more than just a few of them. Read the rest of this entry »

Disney will continue its expansion into Asia with year-round cruise vacations in the Land of the Rising Sun, under a new agreement with the owner of Tokyo Disney Resort, Oriental Land Co., Ltd. (OLC).

“Disney Cruise Line has ambitious plans to bring family vacations and Disney storytelling to more guests around the world than ever before,” Disney Experiences chairman Josh D’Amaro said.

Under the terms of the agreement, OLC will operate a new ship that will be registered and based in Japan year-round. With about 1,250 staterooms, the ship will be a sister to Disney Wish, but also feature “imaginative designs created by Walt Disney Imagineering,” including “select modifications specially designed with Japanese guests in mind.”

More details about the maiden voyage, itineraries and onboard experiences will be announced at a later date, Disney said.

The ship will be the ninth in the Disney fleet, which will almost double in size from the current five ships — Disney Magic, Disney Wonder, Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy and Disney Wish by 2029, with three more ships expected by the end of 2025. It will be owned by OLC, however, and leased to Disney.

It also will be the fourth in the Wish class, which will add two more ships by next year, Disney Treasure later this year and Disney Destiny in 2025. These ships are slightly larger than Disney Dream and Fantasy, holding about 4,000 guests in 1,250 staterooms. Disney Wish features the AquaMouse water coaster, a Marvel-themed restaurant and a Frozen-themed dinner theater.

Disney Cruise Line also plans to begin year-round cruises from Singapore in 2025 and this summer debuted a private island, Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, in The Bahamas. Its fleet sails the Caribbean, Europe, Alaska, Mexico, Canada, Hawaii, the South Pacific, and Australia and New Zealand.

Caribbean resorts are hunkering down and cruise ships are scrambling out of the way as Hurricane Beryl roils the skies and seas around the Windward Islands on Monday.

The only Category 4 hurricane ever recorded in June, with 130 mph winds, has sent up warnings for Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, St. Lucia, and Tobago, and tropical storm warnings for Martinique and Trinidad. Hotel guests are hunkering down—but cruise passengers are sailing away.

Royal Caribbean on June 29 said Beryl’s “high waves and strong winds” were causing changes in Eastern Caribbean itineraries; instead of visiting St. Thomas and St. Maarten, Icon of the Seas will call at Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico, and then Perfect Day at CocoCay as planned. Wonder of the Seas will replace scheduled stops at Roatán and Costa Maya with Nassau; Harmony of the Seas will skip Roatán, Honduras and arrive in Cozumel and Costa Maya ahead of schedule.

Norwegian Cruise Line too, is making changes. Norwegian Jade will skip Falmouth, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; and Cozumel, Mexico, and instead head for the Eastern Caribbean, with calls at San Juan, Puerto Rico; Tortola, BVI; and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Norwegian Breakaway also will head for the DR, instead of Honduras.

And Disney Fantasy will skip Falmouth, Jamaica and instead spend an extra day at sea.

As of 8:00am EST on Monday, Beryl was approximately 70 miles east of Grenada, hitting Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines before taking a west-by-northwest route toward the Yucatan Peninsula later this week, then through the Bay of Campeche late Friday and toward the east coast of Mexico.

Paris offers so many opportunities for river cruisers. You can hop on a barge and cruise the Oise (or the many other regional canals and rivers). You can cruise the Seine or make your way by fast train (about two hours from Paris) to Bordeaux or Lyon for river cruises through beautiful wine country on the Rhone, Garonne and Dordogne. You can even get to Amsterdam or Basel, both about three hours by fast train, for Rhine river cruises. Read the rest of this entry »

Disney Cruise Line shared details of its 2025 schedule this week, including plans to homeport three ships in Port Canaveral, as Disney Treasure debuts this winter and joins Disney Wish, while Disney Magic and Disney Fantasy take turns there.

Two more new ships will join the fleet in 2025. Disney Wish will get a sister, Disney Destiny, and Disney Adventure will head for Asia, where it will homeport in Singapore in early 2025.

Disney Treasure will sail seven-night Caribbean sailings, while Wish sails three- and four-night Bahamas trips.

Disney Magic will be in Port Canaveral for the summer months and into September and October, then head to Puerto Rico for a series of seven-night Caribbean sailings, and then on to Galveston, Texas, for four- to seven-night western Caribbean trips through May 2026.

Disney Fantasy will sail four- and five-night itineraries out of Port Canaveral from November 2025 through May 2026.

Disney Dream will sail from its new home in Port Everglades on three- to five-night Bahamas itineraries through May 2026.

Disney Wonder will spend the summer of 2025 in Alaska before heading Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific in late 2025 and then homeporting in San Diego beginning in March 2026 for three- and four-night Mexican Riviera sailings.

Bookings for the new itineraries open to the public June 28, with earlier dates available for the line’s variety of club-level members, but details can already be found on disneycruise.com.

Also this week, Disney shared that its Castaway Cay private island in the Bahamas has brought in $220 million in dividends from DCL Island Development since 2014, though it does not share figures on how much revenue was generated. The island debuted in July 1998 as the first private island to allow ships to dock directly at the shore, so guests did not need tenders to come ashore. Disney’s CFO Hugh Johnston said on its second quarter earnings call last month that “the cruise business, frankly, is one that has an enormous number of opportunities for us over time. And that is why we’re leaning more heavily into that business.” It is no exaggeration.

Living with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity poses significant challenges. Individuals affected by the autoimmune disorder often find it difficult to enjoy travel due to fear of gluten exposure and other potentially serious health implications. The collaboration between AmaWaterways and Celiac Cruise has already delivered amazing European itineraries and adventures, offering dedicated 100-percent gluten-free ships and experiences for guests sailing the Danube and Seine rivers. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week’s cautionary tale about travel advisor Debi King, who was put off an Oceania World Cruise in the Seychelles for “soliciting business” onboard the ship, resulted in lots of comments from travel advisors, most of them on Oceania’s side.

“Everyone” knows it’s prohibited, many said; there’s nothing new here (though no one could remember a case of it actually happening). And yet, my email and Facebook pages quickly were flooded with stories from travel advisors who themselves were solicited on board various ships, or who felt their clients were solicited by the cruise lines themselves.

“It’s too bad Oceania declined to comment on what occurred, as it is a missed opportunity for them,” says Sean Mouttet. “Their input could provide Read the rest of this entry »

AmaWaterways on Thursday announced it will grow its fleet by two for the 2026 season, adding one new ship in Asia and one in Europe.

The new AmaSofia will sail the Rhine and Danube Rivers beginning May 24, 2026, and AmaKaia will sail the Mekong River beginning August 3.

AmaSofia will begin the season with a 14-night Magnificent Europe itinerary, sailing down three rivers and through four countries, from Amsterdam to Budapest. During the rest of the season it will sail 31 departures on the Danube with multiple itineraries, including Melodies of the Danube, Romantic Danube, and Christmas Markets on the Danube.

AmaKaia‘s maiden voyage will follow a seven-night itinerary through Vietnam and Cambodia, with excursions including traditional “xe-loi” (trishaw) rides and a Buddhist Blessing Ceremony. After that, it will sail two seven-night itineraries, Charms of the Mekong and Riches of the Mekong, over 22 sailings in 2026 and 38 or more in 2027. Several land extensions are available, including Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat.

In 2025, meanwhile, the company will launch the industry’s first river cruises to sail in Colombia, with the new AmaMagdalena on the Magdalena River in January and AmaMelodia in June.

Top of Form

For travel advisors, AmaWaterways For travel advisors, Ama in May announced special FAM rates for select June departures of the “Secrets of Egypt & The Nile” itinerary, starting at $2,850 per person for the 11-night cruise and land program, as well as hosted “Seminar on the River” cruises and other FAMs through November.

When Debi King and her customer set sail on an Oceania World Cruise last month, it never even crossed her mind that the captain might put her off the ship in the Seychelles—with just $300 in her pocket and no recourse at all.

And just as King was crossing the globe to get home instead of sailing around Africa as she had planned, Virgin Voyages was sending out an email reminding travel advisors that soliciting travel business from fellow passengers while onboard their ships is strictly forbidden Read the rest of this entry »

AmaWaterways’ Military Savings offers active and retired service members a $250 savings on river cruises in Europe, Asia, Egypt or Colombia. Read the rest of this entry »

Just nine months after the debut of Silver Nova, Silversea already has given her a new sister. 

The cruise line today celebrated the official handover of Silver Ray, its second Nova-class ship, which arrived two days early at the Meyer Werft shipyard.

The identical siblings share a unique asymmetrical design that promises “unparalleled openness to the world” and uninterrupted views through 4,000 square meters of glass, as well as “one of the most energy efficient ultra-luxury and expedition cruise ships ever built,” according to Royal Caribbean Group.

Bert Hernandez, Silversea’s new president as of last month, said the two ships “beautifully encompasses Royal Caribbean Group’s vision for the future of innovative ultra-luxury and expedition cruise travel,” with pool decks that overlook the water and two outdoor venues, the Dusk Bar and the Marquee.

Among the most spacious cruise ships ever built, they both have space-to-guest ratios of 75 GRT-per-guest; crew-to-guest ratios of 1:1.3; a large selection of bars, restaurants, and lounges; Otium Roman-inspired wellness programs; and the Sea and Land Taste (S.A.L.T.) culinary program.

With a maximum of 728 guests, Silver Ray will sail her maiden season in the Mediterranean, departing Lisbon on June 15 (already sold out), and then Florida to South America beginning in December before returning to Europe in April 2025.

For more information about Silver Ray go to https://www.silversea.com/ships/silver-ray.html