All in all, it was a great week—and a confidence-builder for advisors—on the course to cruise recovery. Most notably, Cruise360, the annual travel trade conference by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) welcomed advisors back to South Florida for in-person sessions, classes and ship inspections.
Four top trade executives—Brad Anderson, co-founder, Avoya Travel; David Crooks, SVP of product and operations for World Travel Holdings; Michelle Fee, co-founder and CEO, Cruise Planners and Jackie Friedman, president and CEO, Nexion—gave Travel Agent their feedback and perspective about being back "in person" and attending the functions at Cruise360.
Sailing, Sailing
Norwegian Cruise Line has officially "restarted" global cruising operations with Norwegian Jade, which is now sailing cruises from Athens, Greece.
Carnival Cruise Line's LNG-powered Mardi Gras set sail on an inaugural voyage from Port Canaveral, FL. Also, at press time, MSC Cruises' MSC Meraviglia was readying to depart from PortMiami on the cruise line's first U.S. cruise in nearly 18 months.
In Greece, as we reported on our sister publication, Luxury Travel Advisor, ultra-luxury Silversea Cruises christened the 596-passenger Silver Moon, and debuted its new S.A.L.T. (Sea and Land Taste) culinary immersion program.
In addition, Travel Agent recently returned from a voyage in Greece on Celestyal Cruises' Celestyal Crystal.
Other Highlights
Also reported by Luxury Travel Advisor, Viking marked the float-out of its second expedition ship, Viking Polaris; plus, Aqua Expeditions' Aqua Nera completed its maiden voyage in the remote Peruvian Amazon.
Disney Cruise Line has revealed new experiences for adults on its newest ship, Disney Wish, slated to begin cruises in summer 2022.
Schedule-wise, among the news was that Oceania Cruises is introducing new Europe and Tahiti voyages for 2022 on Nautica and Regatta; MSC Cruises has committed to a five-year deal for sailings from Saudi Arabia; and Crystal Serenity has added Miami as a port call for its Bahamas voyages, according to Luxury Travel Advisor.
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