Oceania Cruises announced that its new 1,200-passenger Allura will begin serving guests a week earlier than expected on July 18, 2025. The ship’s inaugural sailing will depart Italy’s Trieste and sail to Athens, Greece, with port calls at Rijeka, Croatia; Ravenna, Italy; Dubrovnik, Croatia; and Kotor, Montenegro.
Explora Journeys created a new partnership with American Express and introduced an exclusive promotion for the credit card company's cardholders between May 23 and July 31. Separately, Central Holidays announced a new partnership with Swan Hellenic and will curate new vacation offerings that integrate Swan Hellenic voyages with tailored land arrangements.
American Queen, the former American Queen Voyages flagship purchased at a bankruptcy court auction by American Cruise Lines (ACL) earlier this year, is at MARS (Modern American Recycling Services) in Houma, LA. But the ship’s fate is still uncertain. Here’s what ACL told Travel Agent in a statement on Friday.
Last week, sister publication Luxury Travel Advisor covered the highly anticipated arrival of new CEO Dondra Ritzenthaler at the helm of Azamara.
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With Memorial Day signaling the unofficial start of the summer vacation season in North America, Pearl Seas Cruises on May 24 kicked off its largest ever offering of Great Lakes voyages. In 2024, the small-ship oceangoing line will offer four different itineraries offering 16 ports of call. Among those is new 14-night “Great Lakes Explorer” cruise between Duluth, MN, and Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Also over the weekend, both Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International returned to cruising from the Port of Baltimore.
Finally, in sad news, Navin Sawhney, 69, the former CEO of the Americas for Ponant, died last week after a six-month battle with cancer. He had transitioned to a senior advisor for the company a few months ago.
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