File under “One more thing for travel advisors to remind their clients about.”

Beginning January 8, travelers to the United Kingdom from non-European nations, including the United States and Canada, will need to take an extra step, as the new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system rolls out.

Whether just passing through a UK airport or planning a stay of six months or less—for tourism, family visits, business meetings, conferences, or study abroad—visitors will have to fill out an online form (available here: How to apply – Apply for an ETA to come to the UK – GOV.UK) and pay a £10 fee (about $12.75). Then as you prepare to board a plane, gate agents will verify your ETA status via digital link to your passport.

The Home Office says the system, like all biometrics in the travel industry, is designed to speed up the process and increase security.

While applications might be approved in a few hours, the site suggests allowing at least three days for them to come through. But why wait? Applications already are being accepted.

Once issued, an ETA is valid for two years or until the traveler’s passport expires, whichever comes first.

On April 2, the requirement to have an ETA will roll out to EU nationals as well. Only citizens of the UK and Ireland, and those with valid UK visas, will be exempt.

Joyeux Noël from Tauck. With Christmas Market river cruises largely sold out for this year and much of next, interest has been growing in a new destination for holiday sailing and shopping: The River Seine. Jumping on the trend, Tauck this week announced its first-ever Christmas markets river cruise in France for 2025.

The five eight-day “The Seine: Holiday Magic” itineraries begin in Paris, on Tauck’s ms Sapphire riverboat, for three nights and two full days. On tap is hot mulled wine, along with roasted chestnuts, sausages, cheese and chocolate at the Tuileries Garden and other local Christmas markets.

From there Sapphire will sail to Rouen, Les Andelys and Vernon. Highlights include excursions to Gothic Sainte-Chapelle, home to Louis IX’s personal collection of holy relics; a cocktail party at the beautifully decorated Château de Bizy; a private lunch at Château Vaux-le-Vicomte; and a guided tour of Normandy’s D-Day beaches (all included in the price).

Prices range from $4,490 per person plus airfare, including all shore excursions, gratuities, all onboard beverages, meals, taxes and fees and airport transfers.

Onboard Sapphire, most cabins have French balconies, and all have flat-screen televisions, Molton Brown toiletries, cushy bathrobes and free Wi-Fi.

“The Seine: Holiday Magic” is Tauck’s fifth Christmas-market river cruise. It also offers two holiday cruises on the Danube (including a family-friendly Tauck Bridges journey, plus one on the Rhine and one on the waterways of Belgium and Holland.

Facing strong pushback from the travel industry in general, and the cruise lines in particular, Mexico has postponed a new $42 tourist tax on cruise passengers by six months, from January to July 1.

Mexico has long taxed hotel guests but exempted cruise passengers, who sleep on their ship. But a new bill that passed the Mexican Congress in December calls for a $42 tax on every cruise ship passenger entering Mexican waters, whether they disembark or not.

According to a statement issued by The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, which represents 23 cruise lines including Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian, Mexican officials have agreed to delay the new Federal Law of Rights tax on cruise passengers from January 1 until July 1, 2025. Among other things, the cruise lines had argued that just a 15% drop in calls to Mexico would result in a financial impact that would offset any gains from the tax.

In a statement, FCCA CEO Michele Paige emphasized that the temporary delay is helpful, but does not go far enough. “We thank the Mexican government for listening to our concerns and proposing a delay in the implementation of the tax that will fall mainly on American citizens. However, the removal of the in-transit tax exemption – which was provided to our industry over a decade ago for valid reasons that still apply today – was done without our prior input and after the legislation was passed. It is ironic that until this law was abruptly announced the industry was looking to grow business in Mexico, and now the opposite will occur.”

Designed to address Mexico’s enormous debt—and, some argue, to support its military rather than its tourism infrastructure—the tax will affect the more than 10 million passengers on 3,300 ships arriving in the ports of Cozumel—one of the world’s busiest ports, with 4 million visitors—as well as Costa Maya and Cabo San Lucas.

The cruise industry had strongly lobbied against it. The FCCA said in December that it was “completely caught off guard with last week’s unilateral decision to eliminate the long-standing in-transit exemption and efforts to fast-track this policy change without any dialogue with the industry.”

The group noted that the tax was a “staggering more than 213% increase over the average cost of a Caribbean port” that “could also jeopardize the cruise industry’s investments in the country, including billions in planned developments and other projects”—a serious threat given such planned projects as Royal Caribbean’s new private beach club in Cozumel and Perfect Day Mexico, for example.

Every cruise ship passenger entering Mexican waters soon may be charged a $42 tax, whether they disembark or not.

Mexico has long taxed hotel guests but exempted cruise passengers, who sleep on their ship. But a bill working its way through the Mexican Congress now would target cruise ships beginning in 2026.

Designed to address Mexico’s enormous debt, the tax would affect more than 10 million passengers on 3,300 ships arriving in the ports of Cozumel—one of the world’s busiest ports, with 4 million visitors—as well as Costa Maya and Cabo San Lucas.

The cruise industry, of course, is opposed to the new tax. Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association president Michelle Paige said in a statement that they “were completely caught off guard with last week’s unilateral decision to eliminate the long-standing in-transit exemption and efforts to fast-track this policy change without any dialogue with the industry. This gives us and our partners virtually no time to prepare and creates confusion and uncertainty for our guests because the majority of our cruises have already been sold for 2025.”

A public letter from the Florida and Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), which represents 23 major cruise lines, said it would make Mexico more than double the price of the average Caribbean port and “could also jeopardize the cruise industry’s investments in the country, including billions in planned developments and other projects.” The Mexican Association of Shipping Agents said in a statement that “if this measure is implemented, it would make Mexican ports of call among the most expensive in the world, severely affecting their competitiveness with other Caribbean destinations”—a serious threat given Royal Caribbean’s plan to open a private beach club in Cozumel in 2026 and Perfect Day Mexico in 2027.

It started with an article in Queens Jewish Link with the incendiary title Cruise Company To Kosher Travelers: Stay Off (queensjewishlink.com) and quickly spread across the tight-knit religious Jewish community.

Here are the facts as we know them.

The article asserted that a group of 140 Jewish cruisers on the Costa Toscana had been canceled just days before departure because “the ship’s crew refused to cooperate with the provision of kosher food” and refused to allow the use of kosher china, pots, frying pans, etc.”

No recourse was possible, the article quoted Costa as saying. “We simply will not do this,” tour operator Yossi Zablocki was told, even though he already had purchased $22,000 worth of kosher food, bought tickets to Europe for his staff, and had a history of running more than 40 high-end kosher cruises in the past, many of them with Costa Cruises, which is owned by Carnival Cruise Line.

“I thought the days of ‘No Jews and dogs allowed’ were over,” the article quoted Zablocki as saying. “I don’t think they realize what they have walked into. I will keep fighting until the world understands what they have done. The Jewish People have faced enough discrimination.”

Costa responded that it is “very familiar with Kosher meal requirements, and we have successfully supported Kosher meal requests onboard Costa ships multiple times per year for decades and will continue to do so in the future. Unfortunately, last July, Destination 631 Tours failed to reach the minimum cabin booking thresholds (50 cabins) necessary for us to provide Kosher meal service. Costa was fully transparent with the tour operator, communicating with them well in advance of departure that if the tour did not meet the required minimum cabin reservations, it would be impossible for us to provide Kosher meals.”

But Zablocki insisted the group had 140 attendees and anti-Semitism was the real issue.

Costa Replies to TRO

Approached by a travel advisor after the original story broke, TRO reached out to Costa Cruises for a comment. They replied,

“We regret that the facts of this situation have been misrepresented by Mr. Yosef Zablocki, who we have ceased doing business with as a result of his breach of our business terms and unprofessional business behavior. Each year Costa welcomes hundreds of thousands of guests from all different religions, backgrounds, beliefs, and cultures, and with proper notice and coordination, we happily accommodate a variety of special requests, including dietary requirements. We are very familiar with Kosher meal requirements and successfully support Kosher service requests onboard Costa ships multiple times per year.

“Unfortunately, for two July sailings, Destination 613 Tours and Mr. Zablocki failed to reach the minimum cabin booking thresholds required for us to provide Kosher meal service at the strict levels specified for this tour. These requirements ensure we have the adequate operational set-up to fulfill the special meal requests, as we will do this summer for two other Kosher groups organized by other long-standing reputable tour operators, who met the necessary terms without issue.

”Costa was fully transparent with the tour operator, communicating with them well in advance of departure that if the tours did not meet the required minimum cabin reservations, the full Kosher service could not be provided.

“The business decision to terminate our business relationship with Mr. Zablocki and Destination 613 says nothing of the company’s dedication to and proud service of our many Jewish guests across all our cruise lines, and to our many Jewish travel partners and employees.”

Correction: The original version of this story mistakenly stated that it was retracted by the author, Jeffrey Helmreich. This was incorrect; we inadvertently mistook him for someone else in the story. We sincerely apologize for any embarrassment this has caused Mr. Helmreich and/or The Jewish Link.

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.

Luxury is having a day, and Hilton is celebrating the travel advisors who sell that niche with a new, and better, preferred partner program.

Hilton on Tuesday launched Hilton for Luxury, an invitation-only program for travel advisors who sell the 100 properties in its luxury brands: Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, LXR Hotels & Resorts, Signia by Hilton, and Hilton’s newest luxury brand NoMad Hotels.

Members of the program will have their own dedicated concierge desk, improved connectivity through a private website, value-added benefits from the hotels and direct contact with on-property hotel team members. And each hotel will have a team of Hilton for Luxury ambassadors whose job is to ensure that program features and benefits are fulfilled.

Clients of participating travel advisors will receive a variety of benefits, including the best available rates, double Hilton Honors Points, complimentary breakfast for up to two guests, next-category upgrades and, wherever possible, early check-in or late check-out.

In addition, the program soon will offer rewards to participating travel advisors; details will be announced soon.

Good to know: Hilton Luxury Brands comprises 100 hotels and resorts around the world. Most recently, Hilton welcomed the NoMad Hotels brand into its portfolio.

For more information, visit www.hilton.com/hilton-for-luxury.

All aboard, Mickey fans. Disney Cruise Lines’ fleet will be almost tripling over the next seven years, from the current 5 to 13.

Disney Experiences chairman Josh D’Amaro closed the “D23 Ultimate Fan Event” in Anaheim, CA, with a promise of four more new cruise ships, in addition to the four that already are under construction (Disney Cruise Line Announces Fleet Expansion to Continue Period of Unprecedented Growth – The Walt Disney Company).

Disney already had announced four new ships: Disney Treasure, launching in December; Disney Adventure and Disney Destiny, coming next year; and a new Disney Wish sister ship being built in partnership with Tokyo Disney Resort owner Oriental Land Company. But the D23 announcement promises four more, to launch between 2027 and 2031.

The Disney Treasure, the newest ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet, will set sail in December 2024.© Rendering courtesy of Disney Cruise Line

Disney recently revealed that Disney Destiny will feature a “The Lion King”-themed restaurant with windows that transition from sunrise to sunset, live musicians and storytellers, and songs like the “Circle of Life” and “Hakuna Matata.” Disney Treasure, meanwhile, will have a new onboard stage production all about “Moana,” featuring a 15-foot-tall puppet version of the fiery Te Kā.

The parks, too, will get a sprinkling of fairy dust. Magic Kingdom will add a new Villains land (Villains Cast a Spell Over Magic Kingdom with New Land – Disney Parks Blog) with two major attractions, shopping and dining areas; Hollywood Studios will add the first Montsters Inc. land in any Disney park; a section of Frontierland will add a Cars Land with two attractions; a new nighttime parade called Disney Starlight will debut next summer.

D’Amaro said occupancy across the five ships currently sailing reached 97% in the second quarter of this year.

“At Disney Experiences, Imagineers dream, create, design and build these stories into real places… Everything we’re going to share with you is in active development,” D’Amaro said in a statement. “Plans are drawn. Dirt is moving.”

In addition to the newly announced ships, Disney currently operates five ships and is planning on adding four more in the near future, including the Disney Destiny, which the company plans to launch in 2025. That ship will feature a heroes and villains theme along with recently-announced new restaurants like a “The Lion King”-themed spot complete with windows that transition from sunrise to sunset as you eat, tiered risers made to look like African drums, live musicians and storytellers, and favorite songs like the “Circle of Life” and “Hakuna Matata.” At D23, D’Amaro also detailed a new “Moana” show for Disney Treasure.

At its earnings call last week, Disney reported that revenue is up 4% overall and 3% at US parks and experiences. It announced four core objectives: reinvigorating the film studios, making streaming profitable, growing the ESPN business, and “turbocharging” its experiences business. CFO Hugh Johnston said, “we wouldn’t be making capital investments in an accelerated way if we didn’t expect to accelerate growth out of those businesses. And that’s true of the cruise ships as well.”

With flames licking the edges of Canada’s largest national park, officials ordered 25,000 residents, visitors and seasonal workers to evacuate the town of Jasper; Jasper National Park and the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge have closed; and the Rocky Mountaineer train has canceled several routes.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday said the government is deploying military resources and evacuation support to Alberta, as well as coordinating firefighting and airlift assistance.

Rocky Mountaineer posted on its website that it is “unable to continue our rail journeys to or from Jasper for the foreseeable future” and is “moving as quickly as possible to work through the impact to guest itineraries,” in sequential order. It has canceled Journey through the Clouds departures on July 25: Jasper to Vancouver, July 26: Vancouver to Jasper and July 28: Jasper to Vancouver, and changed the itineraries for Rainforest to Gold Rush departures July 27: Vancouver to Jasper and July 30: Jasper to Vancouver.

“We will continue to work through other departures of Journey through the Clouds and Rainforest to Gold Rush and reach out to those guests as quickly as possible,” the company said.

The First Passage to the West route from Vancouver to Lake Louise and Banff, and The Rockies to the Red Rocks route from Denver to Moab, Utah, will proceed as scheduled.

Rocky Mountaineer also noted that a potential strike by the employees of Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Canadian National, which own and operate the rail lines on which Rocky Mountaineer travels, are facing potential strike action by unionized workers. “Rocky Mountaineer employees are not involved; however, if there is labor action, it could impact our train operations,” the company said. “Our team is working on a contingency plan should there be an impact to our rail journeys,” but negotiations are ongoing and the unions are required to provide 72 hours’ notice before striking.

Meanwhile, Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge—home to the largest golf course in Canada—said the fire has reached the property and everyone has been evacuated. But most of the lodge structures, including the main lodge, remain intact. For more information, call the Fairmont Banff Springs at 1-403-762-2211.

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.

A trial program by the US State Department will allow a limited number of travelers to renew their passport online and get a new one in six to eight weeks.

Beginning on Wednesday, June 19, a beta test of the online process will open seven days a week at 1 p.m. Eastern time. The system will accept a limited number of applications each day and then close. But the number of applications accepted each day will grow over time, as the system proves effective, the State Department promises.

The online system is not meant to expedite the processing of passports and it will not be faster than mail-in applications, except for the time saved in the mail.

To be eligible, travelers must be applying for a passport renewal, and not their first passport. Applicants must be 25 or older and have a passport issued between 2009 and 2015 that was valid for 10 years at the time of issuance; live in the United States; and pay with a valid credit card.

Users of the online option cannot update biographical information such as their name, gender, or date of birth.

For more information or to apply, go to  Renew my Passport Online (state.gov).

When a stick doesn’t work, reach for a carrot—and apparently that’s the smart new approach to its travel-agency partners at American Airlines. The carrier has followed up the recall of its highly unpopular NDC booking strategy by promising to pay 10% commission on NDC-enabled bookings of Main Plus, Main Select, and Flagship Business Plus ticket bundles through the third quarter of 2024.

Main Plus NDC bundles include a Main Cabin Extra or preferred seat and a checked bag. Main Select offer refundable fares, same-day flight changes, priority boarding, priority check-in and a choice of any seat in the main cabin at the time of booking, including Main Cabin Extra. Flagship Business Plus includes a business-class seat, access to a private check-in area, expedited security screening, Flagship First dining in a Flagship Lounge and a free third checked bag.

The news comes as a welcome bow to the role of travel advisors in the industry. Just two weeks ago, AA’s CEO Robert Isom canceled a set of proposed procedural changes that would have denied frequent-traveler points to travelers on bookings not made by preferred travel agencies through the NDC direct channel. In a quarterly call on May 29, Isom acknowledged that the changes—meant to push travelers and travel agencies to use direct channels instead of GDSs—had resulted in falling revenues and forced a cut in AA’s profit forecast.

By the next day, Vasu Raja, author of the stick approach, was gone—and Isom apparently already was reaching out to travel advisors, instead offering commissions to reward those who showed support.

The business travel blog The Beat first broke the story that several travel agencies, all of whom requested anonymity per their contracts with AA, received a memo from American Airlines introducing the program on May 30. It will last through the third quarter of 2024.

Tourism is booming and the Olympics are looming—but travel to Paris is on shaky ground once again. The air traffic controllers are calling for a strike at Orly next week and Ryanair has been forced to cancel 100 flights today due to a last-minute action at Paris Beauvais, where it operates flights from Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Edinburgh and Belfast.

A Ryanair spokesperson said, “EU passengers are sick and tired of suffering unnecessary cancellations during ATC strikes. It is inexplicable that Ursula von der Leyen and the EU Commission have failed to take action to protect EU passengers’ Freedom of Movement during these repeated French ATC strikes.

A previous strike by French air traffic controllers saw almost 70% of flights canceled.

The threatened strike, called for  June 11-13, will affect more than just British travelers, though. It is expected to disrupt flights at Paris Orly and possibly Charles De Gaulle.

Don’t you just hate it when politics get in the way of travel?

As if it’s not bad enough that the war in the Middle East has closed the Red Sea to cruise traffic, now its repercussions are causing a kerfuffle in the Indian Ocean as well.

On Sunday, the Cabinet of the Maldives banned Israeli nationals from this predominantly Muslim archipelago, and said it will appoint a subcommittee to oversee the process. In addition, President Mohamed Muizu will appoint a special envoy to assess the Palestinian situation in Israel and launch a fundraising campaign.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry fired back, recommending that Israelis—including those who hold dual passports and those currently there—consider leaving immediately.

While the Times of Israel reports that only 11,000 Israelis visited the Maldives last year, just 0.6% of its tourists, the brouhaha already is making waves in the United States. Travel advisor Rebecca Alesia tells TRO she already has had two honeymoons of Jewish couples cancel out of sympathy for Israel. And travel advisor Marta Salonius says “I am so pissed and it’s such a complicated booking. I am not selling them, period.”

US lawmakers, meanwhile, are crafting legislation to stop the ban, Axios reports. A bill by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) would stop US aid to the Maldives if the ban goes into effect. The United States sent about $36 million to the Maldives between 2019 and 2023, to “strengthen democratic institutions, civil society, fiscal transparency, maritime security, counterterrorism, and law enforcement,” according to the US State Department.

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.

AA’s hard stance on pushing direct bookings, which included no longer offering frequent-flyer points to travelers who don’t book direct, apparently has backfired. AA cut its revenue and profit forecasts In its quarterly earnings call yesterday, and today watched its shares tumble 18%—the biggest fall since Covid.

As a result, American will be forced to cut its capacity growth for the rest of the year by about 8% and part ways with chief commercial officer Vasu Raja, who headed the strategy that encouraged travelers to bypass travel advisors and other third parties.

“We know we’ve dug ourselves a hole in this second quarter, and our operating earnings are going to be off by a couple of hundred million dollars. We’ve got a lot of work to do to recoup that,” said American CEO Robert Isom.

Indeed, ASTA in August filed an unfair trade complaint against American with the US Department of Transportation, accusing the carrier of causing “substantially higher air ticket prices for consumers and frustrated travel management companies” by pushing agencies to use AA’s NDC direct-booking technology.

The announcement comes just days after AA’s May 1 deadline, after which it said it would award AAdvantage miles and loyalty points only to customers of “preferred” agencies, meaning those that have a 2024 incentive agreement or American NDC channel, and use it for 3% of sales by April 21, 50% by October 31 and 70% by April 30, 2025.

It’s been five years since the federal government announced that it would require REAL IDs for travelers over 18. But in just a year from now, the regulation actually is likely to take effect.

Passed by Congress in 2005, the REAL ID Act was the result of a recommendation by the 9/11 Commission that the Federal Government “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses” before allowing people to board a commercial airplane. The Act establishes minimum security standards for driver’s licenses that are used as identification, and prohibits certain federal agencies—including the Transportation Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—from accepting IDs that do not meet the Act’s standards.

Delayed three times over the past five years, the requirement likely actually will take effect on May 7, 2025. Beginning on that date, a driver’s license will only be acceptable ID at the airport if it has a REAL ID seal.

While many travelers will need to get a new, compliant driver’s license even to fly domestically, many other forms of ID are also acceptable, including:

• A US passport book or card
• An enhanced driver’s license, available in Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washington
• A DHS trusted traveler card (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
• A US Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents
• A permanent resident card
• A border crossing card
• An acceptable photo ID issued by a federally recognized, Tribal Nation/Indian Tribe
• An HSPD-12 PIV card
• A foreign government-issued passport
• A Canadian provincial driver’s license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card
• Transportation worker identification credentials
• A US Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
• A US Merchant Mariner Credential
• A Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)

Since driver’s licenses are issued by the states, each one has its own requirements for a REAL ID. But DHS requires as a minimum proof of your full legal name, date of birth, social security number, and two proofs of address of your principal residence.

Note that while these forms of ID will get you on a plane, they can’t be used to travel across any border, including Canada or Mexico, DHS points out.

For more details on REAL ID, go to REAL ID FAQs | Homeland Security (dhs.gov)

The Biden-Harris Administration yesterday announced a new US Department of Transportation (DOT) ruling that promises to speed up and simplify travelers’ refunds for canceled flights and lost luggage.

When a passenger cancels a flight after it is delayed more than three hours for a domestic flight or six for an international flight, or its arrival or departure airport is changed, the new ruling requires that airlines issue an automatic credit card refund for the fare and taxes within seven days, without any action required by the passenger. Passengers who pay in cash must be compensated within 20 days.

Also covered are refunds for cancellations due to passengers being downgraded to a lower class of service or put on a plane that is less accessible, or if they do not get the promised Wi-Fi, seat selection or inflight entertainment.

Passengers who file a mishandled baggage report, meanwhile, will be entitled to a refund of their checked bag fee if it is not delivered within 12 hours of their domestic flight arriving at the gate, or 15-30 hours of their international flight arriving at the gate, depending on the length of the flight.

Airlines must provide “prompt notifications to consumers affected by a cancelled or significantly changed flight of their right to a refund of the ticket and extra service fees, as well as any related policies.”

And in instances where consumers are restricted by a government or advised by a medical professional not to travel to, from, or within the United States due to a serious communicable disease, the rule requires airlines to provide transferrable travel credits or vouchers good for at least five years.

“Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them—without headaches or haggling,” said US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

All 10 major US airlines already guarantee free rebooking and meals, and nine guarantee hotel accommodations, when an airline issue causes a significant delay or cancellation. And while your flight might have been canceled, the flight cancellation rate in the United States hit a record low of 1.2% in 2023, the lowest rate in more than 10 years despite a record amount of air travel.

The Biden administration also is working on proposals to ban extra fees for family seating (already guaranteed by four airlines) and to expand the rights of passengers who use wheelchairs.

The final rule on refunds can be found at https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/latest-news and at regulations.gov, docket number DOT-OST-2022-0089. Information about airline passenger rights, as well as DOT’s rules, guidance and orders, can be found at https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer. And information on travelers rights is available at flightrights.gov.

Why rent an Airbnb or go glamping when you can stay in a private pod of your own at the all-inclusive Hyatt Dreams Resort on Curaçao?

When it opens on June 1, the new adults-only section at Dreams will debut a whole new look in hospitality, with 52 private home-sized modular units. Hyatt promises that the units will offer more privacy than a hotel room, and each will open directly onto the beach.

The fiberglass rooms will be on the smaller end of the property’s accommodations, in two sizes measuring either 377 square feet or 436 square feet, vs. the 350 to 715 square feet of the other rooms. But each will have a king bed, a dual vanity bathroom, and a furnished terrace. Guests will have exclusive access to a new infinity pool, bar, and Mediterranean restaurant being built in Il Mare, the new adults-only area.

Guests also will still have access to the rest of the Dreams resort, including three complimentary eateries, three à la carte restaurants, three pools, four bars, tennis and kayaks.

But Hyatt will charge a premium for its foray into modular construction; the cabins start at more than $600 a night.

The modular hotel cabin is not a totally unique idea, though Hyatt is the first major hotel brand to give it a try. New York-based Moliving plans to launch its own modular resort in the Catskill Mountains, about two hours from Manhattan, this summer.

Dreams, meanwhile, is one of three all-inclusive Hyatt brands on Curaçao. Located on Piscadera Bay, it is about 10 minutes from Zoëtry and 20 from Sunscape. There also are two all-inclusive Hiltons.

“We see the future and we think this is the right focus—and obviously, we want to secure the spots before our competition does,” Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. president and CEO Harry Sommer told investors on a call announcing the biggest ship order in its history this morning.

Betting big on the next decade of big-ship cruising, NCLH announced orders for eight new ships across its Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands, plus the construction of a multi-ship pier at Great Stirrup Cay. The new build order will add nearly 25,000 berths and new classes of ships for each brand over the next decade. Beginning in 2026, NCL will add four Prima-Plus class ships, each holding about 5,000 guests; Oceania Cruises will add two Allura Class ships holding 1,450 guests, and  Regent Seven Seas Cruises will add two Explorer Class ships, each holding 850.

By 2036, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. plans to grow its fleet by more than 40%, from the current 32 ships, with approximately 66,500 berths, to 45 ships with more than 100,000 berths.

“This strategic new-ship order across all three of our award-winning brands provides for the steady introduction of cutting-edge vessels into our fleet and solidifies our long-term growth. It also allows us to significantly leverage our operating scale, strengthen our commitment to innovation, and enhance our ability to offer our guests new products and experiences, all while providing opportunities to enhance the efficiency of our fleet,” Sommer said.

NCLH is “super-passionate about delivering a great guest experience; it’s something we talk about a lot internally. We have lots of ships, we know what guests enjoy, and we are super-focused on delivering on those.” With Breakaway Plus and Prima, “we think we can take the best of both and create something that’s really world-class.”

These are not jumbo ships or incredible jumps in size, he noted, but NCL thinks they will make it possible to focus on costs, increase efficiency and “give our guests a great product that they will enjoy.”

About $150 million worth of work on the pier at Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas will allow for two ships to park simultaneously. It is scheduled to begin this summer and be completed by late 2025. The new pier will be constructed to accommodate two large vessels of the company’s current and future ship classes. Only a small piece of the island currently is being used, Sommer noted on the investor’s call this morning, and guest counts to the island are expected to grow over 50% in the first 12 months. In a typical 12 months about 400K guests so about 600K starting in 2026.

NCLH CFO Mark A. Kempa said the ships are expected to “secure our growth trajectory, significantly boost our earnings profile, and enhance shareholder value well into the future. With a favorable payment structure that includes pre-delivery financing and modest initial installment payments for these ship orders, we still anticipate a strong Net Leverage reduction of 1.5 turns by the end of 2024, relative to 2023, and expect the Company to continue reducing Net Leverage each year for the foreseeable future.”

“We really want to build something special and there’s a tremendous advantage to designing things so many years ahead. We’re not going to settle; this product will be truly extraordinary, and we are going to take the time to deliver it right,” Sommer said.

Many in the travel industry reacted with dismay this week to the loss of another supplier, as 73-year-old GOGO Vacations shuttered its doors.

Even as it closed the GOGO brand, though, parent company Flight Centre Travel Group (FLT) said its goal is to better focus on the “strong leisure and corporate growth opportunities in the large U.S. market.” FLT is launching a new brand, Envoyage, with an eye to “its best performing sectors,” the independent and luxury sectors.

“With the wholesale model struggling in recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to justify the high costs of maintaining this brand,” said FLT Americas president Charlene Leiss. But “a transition team will remain in the business to service the existing GOGO bookings and support our customers throughout this period with the complete backing of Flight Centre Travel Group.”

An email to travel advisors promised that “all of your existing bookings are secure and will continue to be managed by a dedicated and professional team of wholesale consultants” and that “GOGO’s doors will not close until your last customer has returned home, and your commissions have been paid.”

While GOGO Vacations is no longer accepting new reservations, travel advisors can continue to use their Helio login to existing FIT bookings, and Softrip login for groups, and can access the online support team via chat, email, or phone to assist with booking modifications, schedule changes and general support, the company said.

Still, some travel advisors were feeling nervous. “I am very worried about my current bookings. I can’t cancel without a penalty but I’m reluctant to have clients pay them anymore money. I am not sure yet what my client wants to do; I am going to let them decide,” said Donna McClaugherty of Cruise and Travel by Donna.

And across the industry, many mourned the loss of a partner of many years.

“I’ve worked with them for 30 years on and off, and their closing leaves a void in the market,” said Travel Leaders Network VP of Sales Karen Viera. “They were a great company, very agent-friendly, with great products, and I am sorry to see them go. I’ll look up all our agents that sell GOGO and see how we can help them sell other preferred partners.”

“I’m literally sick over this,” said Angie Rhodes of Rhodes to the World. “GOGO is my go-to. I have been using them for 40 years.”

But many agreed with FLT that GOGO’s business model no longer fits the industry as well as it once did.

“I’m doing more complex FITs than fun in the sun, and I have found less and less need for that type of wholesaler,” said Linda De Sosa at Travel Experts.

More information is available on the GOGO website at Homepage | GOGO Worldwide Vacations (gogowwv.com).