Spirit Airlines‘ shutdown is more than an isolated airline story — it’s a cautionary tale about travel insurance timing that travel advisors should be sharing with clients now, according to experts at Squaremouth. While Spirit’s financial distress had been well-documented since its first bankruptcy filing in November 2024, many travelers were caught flat-footed. Once travel […]

Welcome to New in Cruise, our bi-weekly update on all the latest happenings in the cruise sector. Here’s what’s been happening in the industry so far in March. Two ship christenings in recent weeks marked major developments for the cruise industry. AmaWaterways celebrated the naming of AmaMelodia, its second ship on Colombia’s Magdalena River, where […]

Whenever I think of Belgium, I recall digging into a dish of mussels while seated on a sunny square in Brussels, in the shadow of a lacy medieval spire. My waiter bragged, “In Belgium, we eat as hearty as the Germans and as fine as the French.” Belgium is where France meets northern Europe—and you […]

Cruise Planners has introduced another artificial intelligence-powered enhancement to its CP Maxx platform designed to eliminate manual data entry from the cruise booking process. While several major cruise brands already support automated data retrieval, gaps still exist for smaller cruise lines. Travel advisors often enter booking details for many of these smaller cruise lines manually […]

Alaska Airlines continues to expand destination options for guests across California with the addition of four new nonstop routes from Santa Rosa and Long Beach. Tickets for each new route are available for purchase now at alaskaair.com. “Alaska is committed to California, and we’re proud to offer guests across the state even more options for […]

The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) released the FIFA World Cup 2026 Hotel Outlook, a report highlighting the challenges the hotel industry is facing as the U.S. prepares to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The market-by-market report, which surveyed hoteliers across host cities, found that anticipated demand has not translated into strong hotel […]

Holland America Line is now accepting bookings for Oosterdam‘s first collection of voyages following its debut as the inaugural ship to undergo Holland America Evolution, the cruise line’s largest fleet investment in its 153‑year history. Spanning eight itineraries and 15 departure dates, the new sailings give guests the earliest opportunity to experience Oosterdam’s onboard enhancements, […]

Caesars Atlantic City is bringing a new level of sophistication to the beach with Caesars Beach Club, an all-new beachfront destination designed to set the tone for the season. Opening this summer, Caesars Beach Club will offer a lively, open-air escape with sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean, blending coastal fare, handcrafted cocktails and DJ-driven […]

Emirates is marking a near-full return to operations, with 96 percent of its global network now restored, following a period of disruption. In the past weeks, the airline has progressively resumed services across the Americas, Europe, Africa, West Asia, the Middle East/GCC, the Far East and Australasia. Today, the airline operates to 137 destinations across […]

The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) has announced its 2026-27 Board of Directors, including the newly-elected directors who will officially begin their two-year terms at the close of ASTA’s Travel Advisor Conference in San Diego, CA in May. The Board annually elects directors to serve on its executive committee, consisting of a chair, vice […]