News bites – what’s going around Australia

News bites - what's going around Australia

Pack your pup The Langham Sydney has recently paired with Pound Paws for a new, curated Pampered Pets Staycation package. In addition to the usual luxe of a Langham stay, a special gift bag, pet afternoon tea, breakfast in bed for you and your fur-child, and three hours of pet-sitting are all included. A series … Read more

More lines cancel grand world cruises next year

Viking Star

Once it was one of the most popular, highly sought-after itinerary – the grand world cruise which traversed the globe in more than 100 days. Today, with international borders still restricted, access to attractive ports limited and airline travel uncertain, major cruise lines including Cunard, Princess and Holland America Line have decided to pause their … Read more

Crystal insists “We’re still in business” as owner halts debt repayments

Raja at work

Crystal Cruises’ proud boast was that it was the most awarded luxury line. This week, it announced a preview of the deployment for the all-suite, 62-guest Crystal Esprit yacht for 2023 and through to the first quarter of 2024. It includes 35 all-inclusive luxury sailings in 2023, and 11 idyllic sojourns through the Seychelles islands and … Read more

Beginning of the end of our cruise season as Princess, Royal Caribbean, Cunard, P&O and Carnival extend pauses

Aussie cruisers to set new world record

This week, we should have been looking forward to the start of Australia’s summer cruise season, with a rash of announcements about new itineraries, facilities, ports and vessels. Instead, we’ve seen all the major lines put back the start of cruising – and one line moving to next year. Carnival Corporation, the parent company of … Read more

MSC postpones the restart of the MSC Magnifica due to cancellations

MSC postpones the restart of the MSC Magnifica due to cancellations

MSC Cruises has announced that it will postpone the restart of MSC Magnifica to 26 September after the line saw passengers cancelling their cruises. MSC said the recent introduction of additional testing measures for residents of Italy who travel to Greece resulted in a ‘softening in demand since the ship’s itinerary includes as many as three ports … Read more