Ocean cruise

Agent's hunch inspires £1 million sell-out cruise venture

Not Just Travel agent Vikki Coffey has told how she teamed up with a theatrical impresario to charter cabins on an MSC cruise ship

Short watch: Virgin Voyages In The Spotlight

Get an overview of Virgin Voyages and find out what’s coming up for the line, exactly what’s included with every sailing and which clients you should be promoting them to, in this five-minute In The Spotlight video

Princess Cruises ‘ready to put more boots on the ground’ in the spring

Line reveals plans to grow its trade sales team in the spring before ‘completely relaunching’ its agent platform

Hurtigruten pauses expansion into West Africa owing to regional ‘instability’

Group’s expedition brand, HX, had previously added voyages to West Africa to its 2023/24 programme but these have been suspended

Royal Caribbean names Aaron Langford new sales director UK&I

Langford named Royal Caribbean International senior sales director UK and Ireland, while Nicki Lewis has been promoted to sales enablement director for Europe, Middle East and Africa

Explora Journeys chief executive to leave line after five years

Michael Ungerer to depart for personal reasons, but will advise the brand through to the end of August

P&O Cruises to offer more than 1,000 agent ship visit places this year

Agents will be invited to spend time onboard several of P&O’s newest ships this year, including taking a tour of the cabins and sampling dining options

APT's Koral Lipton joins Explora Journeys trade sales team

Lipton will look after agents in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland

Royal Caribbean delays inaugural Star of the Seas sailing

The seven-night inaugural has been cancelled ‘after a review of the work that remains to be done’

APT to charter two Seabourn expedition vessels next year

APT will sail Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit to the UK, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, the Kimberley and Antarctica

P&O Cruises boss hints at changing airline partner following customer feedback

Last year, P&O Cruises agreed a deal with the Maltese air carrier Maleth Aero to fly passengers from Gatwick and Manchester to Barbados and Antigua

Carnival Corp pledges $100m to double capacity at private destination

In addition to the two berths slated to be completed by next year, the world’s largest cruise company will now add two more berths

Explora Journeys aims to ‘expand cruise market’ as line targets land-based luxury travellers

Explora Journeys to convert cruise skeptics as it launches its second luxury ship

Hurtigruten names Saga’s Iain Powell as Anthony Daniels’ successor

Saga Travel Group’s Iain Powell will take up Anthony Daniels’ former position on 18 March

MSC reveals new cruises to replace axed 2024/25 Red Sea programme

Line will base MSC Opera in the Canary Islands for the winter, with itineraries calling in Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Madeira, Palma and Lanzarote en route back to Tenerife

Search under way for new Four Seasons Yachts chief as Larry Pimentel departs

Larry Pimentel and Philip Levine have vacated their roles at the luxury hotel chain Four Seasons’ cruise division 17 months after launching it

Travel agents to benefit from MSC Cruises’ new onboard booking initiative

Passengers can now secure their next cruise while onboard an MSC ship without choosing a particular vessel, itinerary and sailing date

Cunard unveils opportunities to join ‘back-to-back’ sailings from 2025

The 2025/27 programme includes 27 overnight port calls and 66 late-evening departures

Royal Caribbean places order for seventh Oasis-class ship

The yet-unnamed Oasis-class vessel will join the six other Oasis-class vessels in the Royal fleet when it launches in 2028

Anthony Daniels leaves Hurtigruten after nine years

The cruise industry veteran, who joined the Norwegian operator in 2015, expressed a desire to work on ’new projects’

Cruise industry innovator and visionary Paul Mundy dies

Paul Mundy made waves in the UK cruise sector, setting up this country’s first cruise-only travel agency in 1970

Hundreds of UK and Irish agents to join Sun Princess's maiden cruise

Sun Princess is due to depart on its maiden voyage on 28 February – 20 days later than originally scheduled

The Cruise Line hires industry veteran to help drive 'ambitious evolution'

Former Cruise Direction owner Paul Frost joins The Cruise Line following a record month for the Sussex agency

Princess Cruises forced to delay Sun Princess's maiden sailing again

Sun Princess’ maiden cruise has been pushed back to 28 February having been moved from 8 February to 18 February