Leisure Travel News

Cruise operator Carnival Corp on Monday reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and beat estimates for revenue, helped by strong demand for leisure travel, higher ticket prices and strong on-board spending.Cruise operators like Carnival, Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings are reporting resilient demand from cooped-up consumers undeterred by elevated inflation as COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions ease."We are still experiencing a record wave season…

The world's biggest cruise operator Carnival Corp on Tuesday reported its busiest booking week in history as leisure travel continues to rebound from a long pandemic-led hiatus.The news sent shares of Carnival up nearly 4% in afternoon trading. The stock traded up more than 8% earlier in the session on the New York Stock Exchange. The news also earlier lifted rivals Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.Carnival said in a news release that the week of March 28-April 3 showed a double-digit increase from the previous record 7-day booking total.The U.S.

The year just ended, 2021, might be described as being about “trying to get back to normal”, across the entire transportation spectrum, two years into the pandemic. During this time, the decarbonization and electrification waves have swept across maritime passenger transport. The passenger side of the business is dependent on multiple funding sources; increasingly, this money will be driven by environmental and social considerations.The long-awaited funding of “infrastructure”-related projects…

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd on Wednesday forecast a return to profitability in the second half of 2022, as the U.S. travel and tourism industry claws back from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.Cruise operators recorded billion-dollar losses last year as many ships anchored offshore without passengers, but pent-up demand for leisure travel and roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines have helped cruise lines pull thousands of guests again.U.S. health officials earlier this year…

Britain’s over-50s holidays group Saga said on Tuesday total cruise bookings stood at 140 million pounds ($191.3 million) as it prepares to restart sailing in May after a torrid year for the travel industry due to the global health crisis.Mass vaccination drives have offered hopes for a revival this year but the industry faces fresh uncertainty as new variants of the coronavirus force some countries to bring back curbs, threatening a quick return to normalcy in leisure travel.The owner of Saga Holidays and Saga Cruises has mandated vaccinations for its travelers after customer feedback, cut guest capacity and has a multi-layer COVID-19 testing in place as it looks to attract customers after a year of suspension.“We are ready to restart both Cruise and Tours in May…

The head of global trade association Interferry reflects on the unprecedented challenges of 2020 and those ahead—but makes a case for cautious optimism.What a difference a year makes…In this column last January, I was hailing the worldwide ferry industry’s exceptional growth in 2019—marked by soaring tourist traffic and a host of newbuild orders—and eagerly anticipating further advances in 2020. None of us could have known that within a matter of weeks, all expectations were to…

Interferry CEO Mike Corrigan reflects on the crushing impact of COVID-19…but suggests that the gradual easing of travel restrictions offers a turning point on the road to recovery.Last year the ferry industry was riding the crest of a wave. In an end-of-year review, I went so far as to express my belief that the industry had rarely if ever been in such good health. Throughout the developed world, most operators were reporting year-on-year traffic growth and many had set new records for passenger and vehicle volumes.

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri held an official float-out ceremony at its shipyard in Marghera for Costa Firenze, Costa Cruises’ second ship designed and built specifically for the Chinese market.Costa Cruises is the Italian company of Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest leisure travel company.The ceremony was held at Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera, Italy, where the ship is being built with scheduled delivery on September 30, 2020, once the interior fittings have been completed.Costa Firenze is the sister ship of Costa Venezia, built by Fincantieri at Monfalcone shipyard and launched in Trieste on March 1 this year. The projects for construction of the two ships require thousands of shipyard workers and ancillary employees.

While nothing lasts forever, the cruise industry – and particularly the ‘expedition’ cruise sector – remain on a historic run with no indication of a near-term slowdown.The leisure travel sector, of which expedition cruising is a part, offers numerous possibilities for delivering new “experiences” unlike industrial shipping businesses (or even conventional ferry and passenger transport), which can only grow as fast as the demand in a particular sector.Though there is no precise definition of “expedition”…

AIDA Cruises' newest ship AIDAnova recognized with prestigious international certification for excellence  in environmentally friendly ship design by Germany's Federal Ministry for the Environment.Carnival Corporation, the world's largest leisure travel company and the owner of German brand AIDA Cruises, said that AIDAnova features several innovative approaches to "green cruising," including being the first cruise ship capable of being powered in port or at sea by liquefied natural gas (LNG), the world's cleanest burning fossil fuel.Blue Angel is a certification program of Germany's Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety.

The largest shipbuilder in Europe Fincantieri has floated Princess Cruises’ new Enchanted Princess out of the building dock at its yard in Monfalcone, Italy.The Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste said in a press release that interior fittings will now begin, leading the fifth Royal-class ship to its delivery, scheduled in 2020.The ceremony was attended by Firouz Mal, Princess Cruises director new build services, while Fincantieri was represented, among others, by Roberto Olivari, director of the shipyard in Monfalcone. The Godmother of the ceremony was Miss Marinella Cossu, a historic employee of the yard.The new unit, at 145…

Costa Smeralda will enter service in October 2019 and will be the first Costa ship fuelled by LNG, the "cleanest" fossil fuel in the world.Featuring over 2,600 staterooms, the upcoming Costa flagship will take its guests on a veritable “tour of Italy,” with lots of areas devoted to fun, flavours and festivity.Costa Cruises, the Italian brand of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world’s largest leisure travel company and cruise operator, will be awaiting the arrival of Costa Smeralda in October 2019…

Virgin Voyages, formerly Virgin Cruises, has unveiled its plans for a new terminal at PortMiami.Sir Richard Branson's cruise line said in a press release that the new Virgin Voyages Terminal will be located on the northwest side of the port in Miami, giving it incredible views of the city’s skyline. Construction is due to start next year and will be completed by November 2021, the beginning of the year’s cruise season.“Miami is an incredible city and one of my favourite places to work and play,” Richard Branson said. “From our headquarters for Hotels, Voyages and now Trains USA, South Florida has quickly become another home for Virgin brands in the leisure travel sector.”The new 10…

Carnival Corporation, the world's largest leisure travel company, released its eighth annual sustainability report, announcing that in 2017 the company achieved its 25 percent carbon reduction goal three years ahead of schedule and is on track with its nine other 2020 sustainability goals.Looking to the future, the company continues to chart its sustainability journey, using the United Nation's 17 Sustainable Development Goals as a framework to identify new environmental management, energy efficiency, health, safety and wellbeing objectives to strive toward by 2030."We recognize that to be a responsible global organization and good corporate citizen…

A subsidiary of Carnival Corporation has reached a deal to purchase port, railroad and retail operations that form a gateway to the Klondike Gold Rush region, in a major push into the Alaskan tourism industry.Carnival, the world’s largest cruise and leisure travel company, announced Thursday it has entered a purchase and sale agreement through its subsidiary Holland America Princess Alaska Tours to acquire TWC Enterprises Limited’s White Pass & Yukon Route (WP&YR) division, which includes port, railroad and retail operations in Skagway, Alaska.

Edie Rodriguez, the Americas Brand Chairman for PONANT Yacht Cruises and Expeditions, has spent a life and built a career centered on travel, cruise and branding in a most luxurious manner. She was a natural to discuss the booming luxury expedition sector, the next big frontier in the global cruise industry. It is natural, in the U.S., to pronounce PONANT as “po nant,” but the French have a different style and the company name is pronounced “po non,” dropping the ‘t.’ But Edie Rodriquez, charged with spreading the PONANT name in North America, does not get hung up on diction in this case.

Royal Caribbean International announced it will return to New Orleans with a seasonal home-based cruise ship in late 2018. The 915-foot Vision of the Seas will sail seven-night itineraries to destinations across the Bahamas and Yucatan Peninsula from the Port of New Orleans’ Julia Street Cruise Terminal. The ship will sail on Saturdays. “The Port of New Orleans is thrilled to welcome back Royal Caribbean. We look forward to working productively together for many years to come,” said Brandy Christian, Port President and CEO.

Approximately 130 million Chinese citizens travel internationally, making China the world’s largest outbound travel market in the world. With one-sixth of the world’s population, many recognize this country as a market with huge potential. Until a few years ago, travel by ship was a common mode of transport, but China’s rapid economic evolution has attracted more people to leisure travel opportunities and the luxury holiday experience cruise liners can offer. It is anticipated that the number of Chinese passengers will reach 4.5 million by 2020…

The cruise business is booming, and Evac said it has benefitted directly with 40 percent annual growth. The cruise business is the fastest-growing category in the leisure travel market, and demand is outstripping supply with average annual passenger growth of over seven percent since 1980. Another record was broken in 2014, with annual occupancy rates exceeding 100 percent and 22.1 million passengers cruising to many of the world’s nearly 1,000 ports. Nearly 23 million passengers are expected to take a cruise in 2016. Cruise lines are currently ordering new vessels for launch during the 2018 to 2026 period, supporting growth of Evac, provider of integrated waste-, wastewater-, and water management systems for the marine, offshore and building industries.

P&O Ferries and MTN Communications (MTN) announce the delivery of high-performance Internet connectivity and access to online content through the first Wi-Fi hot spot on the English Channel. This service is now live on the English Channel on ferries serving the P&O Ferries Dover-Calais route. These vessels are reportedly the first ferries in the world connected to the MTN Terrestrial Broadband Network (TBN), in addition to having back-up satellite connectivity, as many cruise ships do today.

The Port of New Orleans and Carnival Cruise Lines signed a new agreement that will keep the world’s largest cruise line sailing at least two ships year-round from New Orleans through 2019. The new agreement supersedes a 2013 three-year extension and offers three one-year options that could guarantee Carnival homeports at least two ships of equal or greater size than the Dream Class and Fantasy Class ships sailing from the Port today through 2022. The new agreement began July 1, 2014.

New York’s Governor Cuomo announces retrofitted electric canal boat to demonstrate benefits of no-emission engine; NYSERDA, NYSDOT partnership with Canal Corp. Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the launch of an all-electric dredge tender workboat on the Erie Canal in the Utica area. The project is the result of a partnership with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). Additionally…

The National Transportation Safety Board announced it will hold a public forum on cruise ship safety and oversight on March 25-26 in Washington. The forum, Cruise Ships: Examining Safety, Operations and Oversight, will review the regulatory framework, ship design and fire protection, operations and corporate oversight of cruise ships. It will also explore some recent high-profile incidents. The forum's goal is to encourage dialogue among industry stakeholders, regulators, and the general public to better understand cruise ship safety and oversight.