I stopped in at a recent Scenic/Emerald workshop in Toronto to hear more about the magnificent Emerald Yachts from Emerald Cruises. There are three at sea now, the Emerald Azzurra, the Emerald Sakara and the new Emerald Kaia, which launched in April of this year. Emerald Azzurra and Emerald Sakara each have a capacity of 128 passengers and have nearly a one-to-one guest to crew ratio. Emerald Kaia has up to 95 crew members. Because the ships are relatively small, they can get into ports that other ships can’t. A monster cruise ship with several thousand passengers might have to dock Read more
Sydney
Sometimes I have to pinch myself. I’ve been a full-time travel writer since 2008, and that has allowed me to stay the night in some of the finest hotels the world has to offer. Just for fun, because I’m in Mexico as I write this and it’s raining, here are ten of the most luxurious places I’ve bedded down for the night. Hotel Hassler Roma, Rome. My daughter and I stayed here in, oh, 2012 or 2013 and had a room that looked down on the Spanish Steps. We had a small balcony and bought a bottle of wine and Read more
Canadian cities scored highly in this year’s Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards. And Chicago was named best U.S. big city for the tenth year in a row. Victoria was named the world’s best small city for the fourth year in a row, which is quite the accomplishment. Here is what the magazine had to say: A popular day trip from Vancouver, British Columbia’s capital city deserves a standalone visit. Arrive via one of the world’s most scenic ferry rides across Swartz Bay and check in to the bucket list-worthy Fairmont Empress, where the Fairmont Gold rooms include access to Read more
Oxford Economics comes out with a yearly, scientific study of the world’s best cities. The group analyzes a city’s economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance and combines them into an overall score. It’s probably no surprise that Western democracies score well, but you might be surprised (a bit) by the number four entry on the list. Note, also, that Canadian cities did quite well, as did the major cities in Europe, the U.S.A. (especially California), and Australia. New Zealand also has a couple entries. Here’s the top 25 for this year. New York City London Paris Seattle Read more
More than nine in 10 visitors to the FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto said they are likely to return to Ontario for a leisure trip within the next two years, according to a visitor intercept study released today (Sept. 2) by Destination Ontario. Conducted in partnership with Destination Toronto and Context Research Group Inc., the study surveyed visitors during the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Toronto and found high visitor satisfaction, positive perceptions of Ontario and strong intent to return. It remains to be seen if those opinions translate into actual visits, but it’s quite encouraging to see numbers like Read more
