This Week in Cruise: Tauck Brings in Two New Ships for 2014

Tauck reports it will welcome two newbuilds into its fleet of European riverboats next year, bringing the total number of Tauck ships on Europe’s rivers to six. According to company officials, the new vessels are slated to launch in March and June of 2014. In addition Tauck will launch four new river cruise itineraries in Europe next year. The four new Tauck voyages will each provide exclusive “insider” access to unique cultural experiences that independent travelers would find impossible to arrange on their own, Tauck said.

Crystal Crusies made the Crystal Adventures for its World Cruise available earlier than ever before, with the 2014 World Cruise available online right now. More than 200 shore excursions are up for pre-reservation at crystalcruises.com. The voyages range from half a day to several days each, and sails for 89 days aboard the Crystal Serenity, starting Jan. 18, 2014. In addition, Guests booking the entire World Cruise by Feb. 28, 2013 enjoy savings of $3,900/person and all-inclusive fares starting from $39,280/person. "Book Now" (booked by Feb, 28) fares for individual World Cruise segments begin at $6,845/person.

Carnival Cruise Lines is celebrating the one-year anniversary of its Travel Agent Rewards Program with a gift of 500 bonus points for current members, as well as for travel agents who enroll between Jan. 31 and Feb. 28, 2013. The program, which currently has nearly 20,000 members, allows travel agents to earn points for completing various booking actions through GoCCL.com and their GDS, as well as participating in educational activities, attending Carnival events and more. Since the program launched one year ago, more than 375,000 activities have been entered by agents and nearly 4,000 items have been redeemed such as Carnival-branded logo items, gift cards and Apple iPads.