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.

Joining a growing number of countries fighting back against overtourism, The Maldives will usher in the new year with a sizeable increase in tourism taxes (The President ratifies new amendments to three taxation acts – MIRA – Maldives Inland Revenue Authority).

Effective December 1, the departure tax for foreign passengers will increase to $50 from $30 for foreign travelers in economy class, and to $120 from $60 in business class. The tax will remain unchanged for first class ($90) and private jet ($120).

Then on January 1, the Green Tax will double, from $6 to $12 per night per person (not counting children under two).

And on July 1, the tourism tax will increase to $17 from $16.

Most resorts plan to collect the $6 Green Tax at check-in, reports Koveli Travel.

The changes come as many destinations take a second look at how the surge of new tourists is impacting their quality of life. Last month Bali began charging international visitors an entry tax of 150,000 rupiah (£7.50); Venice recently imposed a fee of up to €5 for day visitors; and Hawaii is considering a bill suggesting a $25 “climate tax.”

There’s an interesting new luxury option in the UK next summer, as Belmond rolls out its newest sleeper train, The Britannic Explorer.

Debuting in July 2025, the train offers fine British gastronomy, an onboard wellness suite and exclusive access to unique sites as they ride the rails on a leisurely journey through the British countryside. Its 18 cabins include three Grand Suites and 15 Suites.

The train’s “elegant interiors with unmistakable British charm” are being designed by London-based Albion Nord, while its menu is being created by Chef Simon Rogan, whose restaurants (including L’Enclume) hold eight Michelin stars and two Michelin Green stars. The afternoon tea, lunch and dinner menus will highlight seasonal, sustainable ingredients, sourced locally to showcase Britain’s diverse regions.

The Britannic Explorer will depart London, offering three different three-night journeys through Cornwall, The Lake District and Wales. Optional guided excursions in each destination include a private tour and dinner at Hauser & Wirth Somerset and on-site restaurant Da Costa, guided hikes through Wales, wild swimming in the Lake district and a visit to Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens in Cornwall. In the evening, passengers can mingle in the train’s botanically-inspired Bar.

Guests also can combine routes, pairing The Cornwall or Lake District routes, which run from Friday to Monday, with a Wales trip from Monday to Thursday. And Belmond’s boutique hotel, The Cadogan, just 20 minutes from London’s Victoria station, can offer a seamless pre- or post-rail stay. For those traveling through the Cotswolds on the Lake District route, the Britannic Explorer offers an exclusive stop at the Michelin two-star manor house hotel and restaurant, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, A Belmond Hotel, Oxfordshire.

Gary Franklin, Belmond’s Vice President of Trains and Cruises, said the train will “further enhance Belmond’s global portfolio of market-leading luxury rail experiences. The Britannic Explorer offers something truly unique; an opportunity to discover the rugged Cornish coastline to Snowdonia’s untamed National Park and the vast expanses of the Lake District like never before.”

Belmond’s fleet of luxury trains also includes the British Pullman in England and the Royal Scotsman in Scotland.

A three-night itinerary, including excursions, meals, wine and alcoholic beverages on board the Britannic Explorer starts at £11,000 based on a double cabin. For more information or to book, visit the web page here.

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.

With no profit to show since Covid, Spirit Airlines is discussing a possible restructuring in preparation for declaring bankruptcy, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Citing “people who are familiar with the matter,” The Journal said Spirit has been talking bankruptcy since its failed merger with JetBlue Airways. The airline is struggling to compete with the big carriers, and was hard-hit when a recall of turbofan engines grounded many of its planes, including many that were supposed to fly to the new airport in Tulum, Mexico. Last month it furloughed 186 pilots.

As part of its efforts to enhance the bottom line, Spirit has been cutting flights and making changes to the services it offers. This summer it rolled out a premium “Go Big” fare class that offers a larger seat and early boarding, lifted its checked baggage limit from 40 to 50 pounds, and did away with change and cancelation fees.  Just this week it suspended nonstop service between Cleveland and Orlando, effective Nov. 5.

And still, it reported its 11th consecutive quarterly loss in August.

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.”

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.

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.

September will bring two new all-inclusive options to Jamaica, as the Princess Hotels & Resorts Group debuts the adults-only Princess Senses the Mangrove (Princess Senses The Mangrove | Only adults hotel Jamaica (princess-hotels.com) and the family-friendly Princess Grand Jamaica (Princess Grand Jamaica Hotel en Negril (princess-hotels.com).

Scheduled to open on Sept. 15, the two properties will be next to one another in Green Island, a town on the western tip of Jamaica in Hanover.

Princess Senses The Mangrove has 401 oceanview suites and 14 overwater villas with private infinity pools. Among them are Pleasure Suites, which promise a sensual ambiance, and more exclusive Platinum Club Suites offering private areas, upgraded amenities and butler service.

Also on site will be a spa, a fitness and wellness center, a water park, a convention center and a nightclub, along with 14 restaurants and 15 bars serving everything from steak to food truck fare.

The Princess Grand Jamaica, meanwhile, has 590 oceanview suites, including Platinum Suites as well as Family and Master Suite options. It also has nine restaurants and a food truck, eight bars, three pools, a water park, a kids club and teens center, and a spa.

To keep guests busy, both properties offer beach volleyball, yoga, water aerobics, dance classes, cocktail-making and cooking classes, motorized and nonmotorized watersports, soccer, tennis, basketball, pickleball and archery.

Starting rates are $579 for a deluxe junior Suite at Princess Senses The Mangrove or $505 for a Princess Junior Suite at Princess Grand Jamaica.

Based in Spain, Princess Hotels & Resorts has a total of 11,000 guest rooms in the Canary Islands (Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Tenerife, La Palma), Barcelona, Dominican Republic (Punta Cana), Jamaica (Negril) and Mexico’s Riviera Maya.

“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.

Luxury expeditions are a hot item for 2025, and PONANT has met the challenge by adding 18 new itineraries plus nine exclusive polar experiences in its new catalog, and promising at least one excursion in every port of call.

Ponant sailings next year will include Northern Europe and the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, Asia, Oceania & Polynesia, and nine polar itineraries aboard Le Commandant Charcot, the world’s only luxury icebreaker. Several of the new itineraries include shoulder-season sailings to popular destinations including the Mediterranean and the Aegean.

The newest itineraries include a 12-day Mediterranean Heritage and Archaeological Sites that visits Greece, Italy, Malta, Tunisia, Algeria, and Spain, April 23-May 4; an 8-day Europe Autumn in the Aegean Sea to Greece in September and October; The Fascinating Nature of Melanesia, including the Kei Islands, the Raja Ampat Islands, and the remote Banda archipelago, from September 10–21; and the 8-day Secular Treasures in the Land of the Rising Sun from Osaka to Kobe, April 5-12.

The polar itineraries will take guests as well as naturalists, historians and photo ambassadors to the ice floes of Baffin Bay and Disko Bay; to Ammassalik and the Blosseville Coast, whose ice cap extends to the North Pole; ashore to meet with two Greenlandic communities; and to an all-new port of call, Corner Brook on Newfoundland.

A unique journey, the 12-night Encounter with the Last Guardians of the North Pole, sailing April 5-17, will allow travelers to interact with local communities and explore Greenland’s ice sheet with hunters from the Inuit community. José Sarica, expedition experience director, and Mathieu Tsingrilaras, staff captain on the Ponant fleet, will join French polar expert Nicolas Dubreuil for this scouting expedition, with the goal of developing new polar activities in collaboration with “the last guardians of the pole.”

This trip includes a four-day visit to Kullorsuaq, where guests will stay overnight with locals or in expedition tents on the ice, and participate in village life through dog-sled rides, traditional Inuit kayak outings, snowshoe hikes, snorkeling in a wetsuit, and a night in an Inuit tent to explore Nunanutaat, remote areas reachable by dog sled.

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.

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.

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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.