Caribbean Icon Robert Hamaty Passes Away
The cruise and travel industry lost a familiar face over the weekend as Robert Hamaty, founder of the Tortuga Rum Company, passed away at the age of 72. The company’s famous rum flavored treats and souvenirs have been a staple of the Caribbean since they first began back in 1984. Hamaty was origin
River Cruising Returning to Australia
Australian cruise operator Captain Cook Cruises is returning their river cruise operations back to normal starting June 23rd on Australia’s Murray River. The 7-night ‘Welcome Back’ cruise on board the beautiful paddlewheel river ship PS Murray Princess from Renmark to Mannum in the Australian
This European River Cruise Sails June 17th
River cruise lovers are in luck, they could be on a ship in a matter of weeks. A-ROSA River Cruises announced today that their river cruise ship ALVA will recommence operation on June 17th for all sailings along Portugal’s Douro River. Itineraries on the Rhine and Danube restart on the 19th and 20
Hawaii Tourism: No Cruise Visitors Until Mid-2021
UPDATE May 27 1pm: Eugene Tian, Ph.D, Economic Research Administrator for the Hawaii State Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism responded to our inquiry regarding the line in their report which stated “No cruise visitors until second half of 2021″. His clarifi
Welcome Back! U.S. Virgin Islands to Reopen June 1
There’s good news from one of America’s most popular tourist destinations! The U.S. Virgin Islands will reopen its doors to leisure travelers on Monday, June 1, 2020. Though the island is reopening, Commissioner of Tourism Joseph Boschulte is still urging people to take personal responsibility w
Christmas in July: Bahamas Paradise Announces Return Date
People often refer to July 25th as Christmas in July and this year, cruisers can expect a pretty awesome present. Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line announced in a press release today that sailings will resume onboard Grand Celebration July 25th and onboard Grand Classica October 2nd. The cruise line’s
Australia, Spain Extend Cruise Ship Ban
While American’s spent Friday warming up the grill and preparing to pay their respects to our fallen military service members for Memorial Day, Australia took an aggressive step against cruise ships sailing to the country. The Australian Border Force, a law enforcement agency operating under
CEO Carnival Corp Talks Future Of Cruising with Porthole Cruise
Earlier this month, Arnold Donald joined editor-in-chief of Porthole Cruise Magazine, Bill Panoff, to discuss the latest in cruise news and Carnival Corporation’s response to COVID-19. Here is the exclusive part 2 of that interview. You can watch part one of the interview with Carnival Corp CEO Ar
Virgin Voyages Announces New Return Date
Virgin Voyages announced today in a press release that they will begin sailing again on October 16, 2020 after pushing back their initial return date of late July. When the world first went into lockdown due to COVID-19, every cruise line had a difficult time adjusting. However, Virgin Vo
Interview: Travel Pro Scott Eddy and His New Show Video Globetrotter
When it comes to traveling the world, few people log more miles than Scott Eddy. A veteran travel buff with more than 75 countries under his belt, Eddy is the star of a brand new show debuting this Friday on Lifetime TV called Video Globetrotter. He’s no stranger to cruising, having previously
Introducing Silversea Origin
In these days of cancelled sailings, delayed inaugurals and postponed launches, it’s almost unheard of to hear of a new ship…but today we welcome the intimate Silver Origin, the latest addition to Silversea Cruises’ luxury fleet and, with just 100 passengers and remote and uncrowded destinatio
Windstar Cruises Announces Return Date
One of the foremost small ship cruise lines in the industry announced their date for return following the pause in operation due to COVID-19. Windstar Cruises will return to operation on September 3, 2020 when their motor sailing yacht Wind Spirit sets sail in Tahiti. The cruise line first
Puerto Vallarta Takes First Step Towards Economic Recovery
The beautiful and popular cruise destination of Puerto Vallarta is taking the first steps towards reopening today after months of shutdowns and social distancing. May 18th marks the start of ‘phase 0’ of the State of Jalisco’s plan to recover economically from COVID-19. This phase of the proce
Bookings Boom
We’ve been saying it since cruise lines began their pause in operation in March: there’s never been a better time to book a cruise. Well, apparently cruisers agree. When Carnival Cruise Line announced last week that they had a tentative plan in place to resume cruising on August 1st, it ma
Orlando Ashford Stepping Down as President of Holland America Line
After six years as the President of Holland America Line, Orlando Ashford is saying goodbye to the cruise line. Ashford announced his decision in a press release today. The news comes just six days after Holland America Line decided to extend its pause of global cruise operations and cancel all Alas
Nevis Announces They’re COVID-Free
When COVID-19 first began spreading globally, the island of Nevis in the Caribbean took an aggressive approach to fighting the virus and it appears those measures have paid off. The island’s Ministry of Health has declared the island free from COVID-19 after all four cases have successfully recove
Blue Angels Salute COVID-19 Responders Over Miami
The sunny skies of South Florida were in for a treat today as the Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron buzzed the skyline in a salute to COVID-19 responders working hard to flatten the curve and help those recovering from the virus. Operation “America Strong” flew over Jacksonville this mor
Carnival Corp CEO Talks COVID-19 Response with Porthole Cruise
How important is Carnival Corporation to the cruise industry? The conglomerate holds nine of cruising’s most recognizable brands and employs hundreds of thousands of people both here in America and on ships all over the world. That makes CEO of Carnival Corporation Arnold Donald one of the mo
Hotels May Provide Blueprint for Cruise Cleanliness
We’ve all seen articles about what cruising is going to look like in the aftermath of COVID 19. Precautions like doing away with self-service buffets, not filling ships to the max with passengers and even shorter itineraries where the only stops are cruise line private islands are all possibilitie
Carnival Cruise Line Releases Plan To “Phase-In” Service
In a press release this morning, Carnival Cruise Line released their plan to phase-in cruising operations beginning on August 1, 2020. This is the first concrete plan we’ve heard from any cruise line for a return to service. The line also acknowledged that all cruises until that time would be
