Gerry Barker

As COVID-19 continues to sideline the cruise industry, ships and their personnel aren’t the only ones affected. Those of us who cover it — hundreds of journalists, media and public relations professionals — are also in lockdown, perched in front of computers in our homes, dreaming about when we can get back to sea. But thanks to technologies like Zoom, we can still interact with our colleagues and share information. The latest example was a virtual happy …

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As some river and expedition cruising begins to come back in Europe, Seatrade Cruise Talks hosted a webinar July 16 on “Restarting Europe’s River and Luxury Cruises: Lessons Learnt.” Moderated by Seatrade’s Frederik Erdmann, it featured panelists Rudi Schreiner, president and co-founder of AmaWaterways, Monic van der Heyden, commercial manager for the Port of Amsterdam, and Emilio Freeman, vice-president of Itineraries and Destinations for Sea Dream Yacht Club. Freeman kicked things off by reviewing how Sea Dream …

Read moreLuxury Cruise Webinar

Excerpt: “On a positive note,” said Burrows, “the month of June was the highest booking month we’ve had in the 18-year history of our company.” … some of that is moving guests from suspended sailings to 2021 and 2022, but the river cruise industry has been very resilient … — Jon Burrows (VP-Operations at AmaWaterways)   On July 10, Seatrade Cruise Talks hosted a webinar on “How COVID-19 Will Affect the Future of Food & Beverage, and …

Read morePanel Experts Discuss Effects of COVID-19 on Cruise Operations

As we wait for the return of cruising, now’s a good time to plan and dream. We all have a personal bucket list of ships and places we want to experience. Imagine sitting in a chair, travel folder (or iPad) in hand, and wistfully letting your imagination take you to exotic destinations. Which one would you choose? One that’s high on our list is located where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay come together. That’s where you’ll find Iguazu …

Read moreDreaming of a trip to Iguazu Falls

Usually by this time of year, Pam and I would have already taken one or two cruises. As an example, in March, we were scheduled to be among the first to sail on Scarlet Lady, the ship from Sir Richard Branson’s new Virgin Voyages cruise line. We were disappointed, as was everyone, that the cruise had to be postponed as the reality of the coronavirus pandemic took hold. Of course, that was just the beginning of mass …

Read moreCruising will be back. And when it is, what changes are likely to happen?

Pam and I took our first cruise almost 20 years ago, and one was all it took. We were hooked. Like many people, we never thought cruising was for us. While we both had a lifelong love of travel, it always involved exploring the world by train, plane and automobile. A cruise seemed too confining, too regimented. It was travel for people who like their vacations programmed. But on a lark, we decided to give it a …

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It’s been almost a year since Carnival Cruise Lines announced their exclusive partnership with the highly popular game show “Family Feud.” Now set to debut on Mardi Gras, Carnival’s newest ship scheduled to launch in November, it was “time to play the Feud” last week at Carnival Studios, their giant production facility in Davie, Florida. The live run-through consisted of two shows — the regular version Face Off and a round of Fast Money. Two teams were …

Read moreCarnival Family Feud