Several cruise lines have cancelled planned visits to Russian ports following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, which operates Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, announced yesterday (Feb. 24) that it’s adjusting its itineraries and pulling out of Russia for 2022. Both Viking and Atlas Ocean Voyages also are adjusting their plans for Russia, while Royal Caribbean says it’s got a back up plan in place should it be needed. “The safety and security of our guests, crew and communities we visit is our top priority,” Norwegian Cruise Line said in an email Read more

Jamaica lovers, rejoice. Effective March 1, 2022, international visitors to Jamaica will no longer be required to obtain travel authorization to enter the island. Travellers 12 years of age and older will only need to provide a negative result from a COVID-19 Antigen or PCR test conducted within 72 hours prior to their travel. Additionally, travellers to Jamaica will no longer face travel-related quarantine measures. “Eliminating travel-related quarantines and the need for travellers to fill out and receive approval of the Travel Authorization form are key steps in relaxing our travel protocols as the global spread of COVID-19 declines,” said Read more

  There’s a new attraction at Canada’s busiest airport. The Greater Toronto Airports Authority’s (GTAA) President and CEO, Deborah Flint, along with Vice-Chairman and President of the Toronto Raptors and Giants of Africa Founder, Masai Ujiri, today unveiled the Humanity art installation at Toronto Pearson. The piece represents a welcome addition to the airport and its focus on human connection and diversity is fitting for its new home given that Pearson connects diverse people and cultures from all over the world. During her speech, Ms. Flint underscored how important this piece—and what it represents—is for Pearson: “I see a lot Read more

The Canadian travel surge is here, and Canadians are booking trips around the world. Canadian agents say they’ve definitely seen a bump in requests since the federal government announced last week that, as of February 28, it would no longer require expensive PCR-style/molecular tests for people coming into Canada. Instead, Canadians and visitors will be able to show negative rapid antigen test results taken within 72 hours of their scheduled departure, or their arrival at a Canadian land border. “For sure removing the PCR Test was the catalyst.  It was not only costly; it was time consuming running around trying Read more

Canada, you need to relax. Expedia today released its annual Vacation Deprivation study, finding that Canadians took two fewer vacation days (16 days) than the global average in 2021 (18 days), leaving the majority feeling vacation deprived (55%) and more burned out than ever (71%). Surveying more than 14,500 working adults across 16 countries, the 2022 report also sheds light on the uncomfortable reality that pandemic-era flexible work arrangements can make it more difficult to unplug (45%), blurring the boundaries between time on and off the clock. While many Canadians made the best of this new-found flexibility by taking a Read more

Porter Airlines’ service to Muskoka, Ontario, returns just in time for your summer plans. Flights begin June 24, 2022, and conclude September 6, 2022. Service between Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and Muskoka Airport will operate twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays. Connecting flights are also available via Toronto from various Porter destinations. I had the pleasure of flying from Muskoka to Toronto a couple years ago and found it to be a great service; not only easy and convenient (beats the heck out of Highway 400) but beautiful. “We look forward to bringing our passengers back to Muskoka after Read more