Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines have come up with a new health and safety initiative to help the industry respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic. MSC Cruises also has launched a new blue-ribbon expert group. I also have a story pointing to tourism trouble for the Caribbean and a note about tough times in Alberta tourism. My Future of Travel blog for July 6. Canadian Wineries Offer Special Weddings August 1 Here’s a great concept. With the traditional big wedding stepping aside due to COVID-19, many Canadian couples who planned to wed this summer have made the difficult choice of Read more
Norwegian Cruise Line
Canada and the US are keeping the border closed until July 21. But the good news is two great Niagara experiences open soon; the Hornblower Cruise to the Falls and the Whirlpool Jet rides. I also look at Canada’s rating for adventure travel, the quarantine situation in Hawaii, re-openings in Europe, and LGBTQ travel news in my Future of Travel blog for June 16, 2020. Niagara Falls Re-Opening Starts This Week One of the world’s great destinations – and one that’s easy for many Canadians to reach without leaving their home province – is re-opening its amazing attractions. Read more
Today’s Future of Travel blog looks at some of the countries that could be hit hardest by a tourism drop. I also have great news for Norwegian Cruise Line, which has received $2 billion US in financing, plus news about Canadian attractions being left behind by government aid programs, hotel cleanliness programs and news from both Royal Caribbean and Silversea cruises. Oh, and baseball, too! COVID-19 And Tourism Impact We all know from the headlines that Italy and Spain had a hard time with COVID-19, and that the UK and the US seem far worse off than Canada. But what Read more
Anyone could see for months now that cruise lines around the world were in trouble. Now we know just how much. A report from the CBC suggests Norwegian Cruise Line is in deep financial trouble and is selling emergency stocks and bonds to raise desperately needed capital. Carnival on Monday said it will operate eight ships out of Florida and Texas beginning Aug. 1, but NCL appears to be going in the other direction. “The world’s third-largest cruise ship operator cast doubt on its ability to stay afloat as a company for much longer, even as one of its biggest Read more
Favourite Sign: This one in the Cayman Islands. It’s particularly notable for folks in the travel writing world, as “off the beaten path” is one of those phrases most of us would like to see banned from every travel story. If only I could have found a street called “Hidden Gem.” Most romantic sunrise: Sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco on the Norwegian Bliss on a TravelBrands SeaU cruise in October. I grew up in the Bay Area, so to see the bridge and sail under it like that was a big treat. I wish I had Read more
