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Category: RIVER CRUISES

Nile cruises sail again, forced to navigate river full of challenges

Oct 14, 2020

The cruise ship Amwaj (Wave) set sail Oct. 1 from Luxor to Aswan with a group of American, Swiss and British tourists on the very first trip on the Nile River since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the shutdown of the tourism sector. The floating hotel was the first to obtain the required license from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to get back on track, following the announcement that cruises would be allowed to resume work bearing restrictions this month.

“For us, resuming the cruises for tourists has been like giving the kiss of life to a dying person,” Mohamed Rabie, manager of Amwaj, told Al-Monitor. “We are very honored to be the first cruise ship on the Nile to start operating. We do not have many guests on board yet, but for next week the numbers are increasing.” 

Rabie said eight passengers and

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EMBARK navigates partnership to resume operations for Oklahoma River Cruises



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© Provided by KOKH – Oklahoma City


EMBARK successfully arranged a contract amendment with long-time partner Hornblower Marine Services (HMS), to restore partial operations of Oklahoma River Cruises through a public-private partnership.

Owned and managed by the Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority (COTPA)/EMBARK, ferry operations and maintenance of the cruisers have been contracted to HMS since the fall of 2007. 

The long-standing relationship proved advantageous, as an agreement was reached, providing that HMS lease the boats to run river tours, cocktail cruises, and private charters.

“With transit, resiliency and dependability is key, regardless of the mode,” said Jason Ferbrache, EMBARK Administrator. “HMS has provided that dependability for Oklahoma River Cruises for over ten years and now with the furtherance of the public-private partnership will demonstrate resiliency with a return to service.

HMS CEO Matt Miller says the strong partnership between EMBARK and HMS created an opportunity for the continuation

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Plan ahead with these seasonal cruise getaways

Travel restrictions across the globe and constant changes to the UK’s safe travel list have quashed most people’s hopes of a 2020 Christmas cruise … but it’s a great time to pre-plan for 2021.

There are multiple festive holiday cruises to consider, but here are top picks recommended by Iglu Cruise and Planet Cruise.

Christmas Markets of Europe, Emerald Waterways, departs December 1, 2021

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This 14-night cruise through Europe begins with an overnight stay in Budapest and a day exploring the ancient Castle district. Then guests set sail for Bratislava, to browse and buy handcrafted festive ornaments and warm up with traditional Slovakian spiced wine.

In Vienna there is an exclusive tour of Ringstrasse, dotted with decorations and markets bursting with baked goods and hot chocolate. Then it’s on to the quaint German town of Rudesheim,

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Less Is More or How 2 Cruise Companies Disrupt the Industry – Cruise Industry News

As cruise ships get bigger and bigger, Ponant has stayed true to its form, building luxury expedition ships that are French flagged, with the idea “to create special relationships between the oceans of the world and people sailing on them,” said the CEO of Ponant Americas, Navin Sawhney.

Ponant’s specialization is in expedition ships, vessels that allow guests to see the most exciting and distant destinations while at the same time, thanks to their size, feeling like “you are one with the ocean and the destination that you sail in.”

“What Ponant saw as a void that we could fill was that the tastes of the consumer were changing. They wanted to go on expeditions, they wanted to understand and immerse themselves in destinations beyond [what] existed in the 80s and 90s,” Sawhney said during a virtual panel discussion.   

“We were the first who purpose built ships that combined [a

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Peninsula runners cruise to victories in Zombie Half Marathon

Runners from Seward and Soldotna took home victories Saturday in the Zombie Half Marathon at Goose Lake.

Pyper Dixon of Seward was the overall winner in 1 hour, 13 minutes, 41 seconds. He earned a 50-second victory over Tracen Knopp of Wasilla.

Youngren and Balsan placed fifth and sixth overall in a field of 269 runners, who started the 13.1-mile race in waves of 50.

Women –1. Megan Youngren, Soldotna 1:18:30; 2. Elizabeth Balsan, Anchorage 1:19:03; 3. Julianne Dickerson, Anchorage 1:21:29; 4. Jana Van Stee, Anchorage 1:26:58; 5. Michelle Baxter, Anchorage 1:28:51; 6. Yvonne Jeschke, Anchorage 1:30:13; 7. Heather Edic, Anchorage 1:31:09; 8. Mariah Graham, Anchorage 1:31:32; 9. Riley Burroughs, Anchorage 1:31:58; 10. Kendra Paskvan, Anchorage 1:32:18; 11. Emily Evans, Anchorage 1:32:40; 12. Megan Neale, Anchorage 1:36:20; 13. Lizzy Iandoli Miner, Anchorage 1:36:33; 14. Ruth Cvancara, Anchorage 1:36:58; 15. Erin Jordan, Anchorage 1:37:37; 16. Terina Noteboom, Anchorage 1:38:53; 17. Kristin

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Clemson cruises, Alabama shaky in win

Some big-time ranked matchups on Saturday will shake up the Week 7 college football rankings and even a crazy Red River Rivalry caused waves.

If you thought the first five weeks of the season were crazy, Week 6 took the cake, and it really wasn’t even close.

Craziness was on the docket early on as the Red River Rivalry went to overtime, and then some, and some SEC powers were upset as one had playoff hopes absolutely crushed.

Two historically-potent SEC defenses took the field on Saturday afternoon and were both downed via the upset. LSU went to Columbia to face Missouri as the hurricane down south moved the location from Baton Rouge and the time from evening to noon. This led to some whacky play as LSU found itself in a shootout with a winless Missouri team. They surrendered 580 yards to the Tigers and the defending national champs

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‘Allow offshore casinos, river cruise boats to begin ops’ | Goa News

Panaji: The Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) has requested the government to open offshore casinos and river cruises in view of the recent guidelines issued by the Union ministry of home affairs.
A separate standard operating procedure (SOP) for the same will be issued shortly.
TTAG president Nilesh Shah said they have written to the government as the Union home ministry has permitted entertainment parks and similar places – but those outside containment zones – to open with effect from October 15. “We have to send a positive message so that tourists start planning their holidays to Goa. We can’t wait till the vaccine is introduced,” said Shah.
River cruises are the biggest attraction among domestic tourists, and many think their Goa trip will be incomplete if they do not include a boat ride in their itinerary.
A tourism stakeholder said that offshore casinos are also a huge
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Carnival’s (CCL) Seabourn Puts Voyages on Hold for 3 Cruises

Owing to the circumstances tied to the coronavirus pandemic, Carnival Corporation & Plc’s CCL Seabourn has halted cruise operations for three of its ships, namely, Seabourn Odyssey, Seabourn Ovation and Seabourn Encore.

Notably, operations for Seabourn Odyssey, Seabourn Ovation, and Seabourn Encore have been effectively paused through Jan 15, Apr 18 and May 28, 2021, respectively. Earlier, Seabourn had announced the halting of operations for Seabourn Ovation, Seabourn Encore and Seabourn Quest through Jan 3, Jan 6 and May 10, 2021, respectively.

Given that the risk of the pandemic cannot be ruled out, management stated that the decision is in line with the company’s initiative to safeguard health, safety and well-being of its guests and crew members.

Compensation Updates

Meanwhile, Seabourn is offering future cruise credits for its cancelled voyages. Notably, guests are entitled to 125% future cruise credits, depending on the type of payment. With a validity of

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Cruise: Scenic to offer unique excursions set to transform future holidays | Cruise | Travel

Regardless of which option cruisers choose, Ms Maher encourages travellers to get off the boat and explore.

“The best way to make the most of a river cruise and its excursions is to include a range of different activities and to make the most of your free time,” she said.

“Excursions are what makes the river cruise so memorable for many of our guests. There is no better way to visit a region than with a local, which is why we use local expert guides on all of our Scenic river cruises.

“They offer the perfect balance of interesting and informative tales about the places being visited, as well as insider knowledge that can’t be found in any guide books.”

Of course, in order to satisfy all wants and needs, it takes some planning.

That is where Ms Maher and her team come in, however they couldn’t do it without

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Demand for cruises on small ships jumps in wake of COVID pandemic



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Is a cruise on a smaller ship the safest way to go in the era of COVID-19?

A growing number of cruise fans apparently think so, judging from the high number of bookings that are coming in for 2021 sailings at cruise lines that specialize in small ships.

In session after session this week at Seatrade Cruise Virtual, an online version of the cruise industry’s annual meetup, small-ship cruise line executives said bookings for the coming year were booming, thanks to a newfound interest in smaller vessels.

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“They’re huge guys. They really are,” Susan Shultz-Gelino, vice president for trade relations at small-ship specialist American

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