Thursday June 12

We start with food - as good a place as any - and a special report on the dining and experience onboard Crystal Cruises as reported by TTG - who describe Crystal as "the cruise line for gourmands".  Read more here.

Meanwhile in the entertainment arena it is Royal Caribbean who have the headlines, telling Travel Weekly that their new ships will "take entertainment to a whole new level" with new technology such as Roboscreens and 'Vistarama'. Stuart Leven, MD of Royal Caribbean in UK & Ireland, describes the new ship entertainment as a way of attracting new customers into cruising.  Read more here.

Over in river cruising CLIA UK & Ireland is delighted to welcome Emerald and Scenic into membership - now CLIA membership covers the majority of river cruise operators: read here.

In Alaska, it was Oceania Regatta that returned to service after a big $50 million refit, and now she is heading off for a season in the 'last wilderness' state of Alaska.  Regatta is the third of the three original ships to be refitted.  Read more here.

There is a good report in the US version of Travel Weekly on why cruise lines are increasingly embracing overnight stays - giving guests more sighseeing time and, if the overnight is in the embarkation port, delivering some practical benefits too (like no missed bags): read here.

We did enjoy this article that offers advice for those heading off the beaten track from Cruise International Magazine: read here; and we particularly liked this piece of research that tells us that cruise holidays are the most reliable as judged by Brits.  And quite right too! Read the research here.

Finally we in the UK are of course very excited about 2015 and the arrival of new ships P&O Cruises Britannia and Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas - but there is speculation that Carnival Corporation will order two new ships this summer for delivery in 2017 - the same year that we will see new ship launches from Royal Caribbean, MSC and Norwegian Cruise Line: read more here.

PS: If you want to keep up to date with all of the events and news from CLIA then our June Informer will do just the job: read here

Until next week!