TORONTO — When you love a cruise line, you can sell a cruise line – really, really sell it. That’s certainly the case for Rick Ayoup, a travel advisor with Vacations for Canadians, based in Ancaster, ON. He was recently honoured by Celebrity Cruises Canada for all his hard work selling Celebrity sailings. “Celebrity Cruises hits all the priorities of our growing clientele of Vacations for Canadians,” Ayoup tells Travelweek, adding that many of the agency’s clients book multiple Celebrity sailings every year. Rick Ayoup on Celebrity Ascent Six of Celebrity’s top-producing Canadian travel a ..read more

MISSISSAUGA — More than 800 airline food service staff at Toronto’s Pearson airport have gone on strike, potentially leaving thousands of passengers without meals. The union representing employees at Gate Gourmet says they voted 96% against an offer by the Swiss-owned travel catering company on Monday night. The striking workers cook, package and deliver food and beverages to planes for in-flight service. Gate Gourmet is the largest airline catering company operating out of Toronto, with clients that include Air Canada, WestJet, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines. WestJet says flights oper ..read more

PLAYA DEL CARMEN — It was graduation day for 100 new travel professionals who successfully completed Transat’s first-ever Rookie Camp. Concluding on April 11 at Paradisus Playa del Carmen, the week-long camp included a variety of engaging activities like presentations from Transat and its partners, hotel visits, destination experiences and plenty of networking opportunities.  Lindsay Merrill, Sales Manager at Transat who helped organize and facilitate the Rookie Camp, said the week reminded her why she entered the travel industry in the first place.  “We all share a love and pass ..read more

TORONTO — A contractor bears the blame for delayed refunds to Lynx Air customers, the insolvent airline says, adding that the hold-up will also hurt company stakeholders. Lynx, which ceased operations and filed for creditor protection in late February, claimed in court filings that Sabre Corp. has hampered passenger reimbursements. The ultra-low-cost carrier said it had planned to carry out refunds directly, “without the need for customers to contact their credit card providers to submit chargebacks.” “Unfortunately, Sabre Corp…. has refused to assist with customer refunds,” according to an ..read more

TORONTO  — The Travel Agent Next Door’s Top Achievers are celebrating a ‘Big 5’ win following a trip to South Africa with by G Adventures.  The trip, which also included an African safari, included 40 of TTAND’s top travel advisors and was escorted by David Green, G Adventures’ Managing Director, TTAND’s CEO Flemming Friisdahl, TTAND’s VP Rhonda Stanley, TTAND’s VP Agent Experience Penny Martin, and Larissa Bureau, Special Projects at TTAND. Representatives from several suppliers like Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Globus, Regent Seven Seas and AmaWaterways also attended. “Th ..read more

MIAMI — Carnival is introducing a series of new features to its online booking tool for travel advisors, GoCCL Navigator. The cruise line says the enhancements streamline the booking process, providing travel advisors with the tools and resources they need to maximize efficiency and improve their overall experience to support their business and income growth. New enhancements streamline the booking process, providing travel advisors with the tools and resources Along with a new design that makes it easier for searching, viewing and comparing offers, the platform’s variety of enhancements ..read more

ARLINGTON, VA — Boeing is defending the integrity of the fuselages on two of its largest planes, which have come under criticism from a whistleblower who warns that panels on the outside of one of the planes could eventually break apart during flight. Two Boeing engineering executives went into detail Monday to describe how panels are fitted together, particularly on the 787 Dreamliner. They suggested the 787’s carbon-composite skin is nearly impervious to metal fatigue that weakens conventional aluminum fuselages. Their comments during a lengthy media briefing served as both a response to ..read more

ONBOARD ELBE PRINCESS II — After two stopovers as splendid as Dresden and Meissen, the bar was high to compete with these two cities. Next up on our cruise, Wittenberg was fascinating for its history, and delightful for the blossoming of the flowers of its fruit trees. Renowned as the cradle of Protestantism, Wittenberg sees a large number of pilgrims flocking each year to follow in the footsteps of Martin Luther, reformer of the Church. Four sites in the city are on the UNESCO World Heritage List, including the castle church and its impressive Gothic tower, where Luther (and also Melanchth ..read more

TORONTO — Discover The Palm Beaches (DTPB), the tourism marketing organization for Palm Beach County, has created a new resource to help travel professionals learn, sell, engage with, and promote The Palm Beaches. The organization developed The Palm Beaches Travel Trade Portal as its first-ever online learning platform tailored specifically for travel advisors as the ultimate tool to teach comprehensive insights into ‘America’s First Resort Destination.’   
 “Travel advisors are tremendous ambassadors for our destination, and we’re hopeful they will find ‘The Palm Beaches Travel Trade ..read more

LAUDERDALE — Princess Cruises is going all in when it comes to onboard dining, with a fleet-wide plan to enhance main dining options. Designed to give guests ultimate choice and flexibility, the plan includes three table service options: Traditional, Reservable, or Walk-in Anytime. Princess will designate separate dining rooms aboard every ship in its fleet to the three options: one dedicated to traditional dining offering an early and a late seating every evening; one offering reservable dining times; and a third with open seating to support walk-ins anytime. 
 The three table service opti ..read more