After a flurry of excitement regarding river cruising last week to coincide with the CLIA River Cruise Convention, the news on rivers just keeps coming, including a piece in Cruise and Ferry about why 2014 is going to be another bumper year with 'dozens of new ships and new itineraries'. Read here.

There is also a great piece from Portugal on the rise and rise of cruising on the Douro which you can read here.  The big markets for river cruising on the Douro - the US, Germany and UK - make up 80% of all river revenues on that stretch of river.

Back in ocean cruising there was a report in Marketing Week about the new P&O Cruises Christmas Campaign which will illustrate the emotional benefits passengers new and old can enjoy on a cruise.  You can read the article here

Meanwhile, pick up a copy of Travel Bulletin to read all about a Bonvoyage.co.uk survey that reveals that a fifth of engaged couples in the UK are now considering a cruise wedding.  Could this be a good market to explore?

The big new ship news this week was provided at a fabulous evening in London regarding Anthem of the Seas which will be based in summer 2015 out of Southampton - a great boost for the UK industry and a show of strength in the further growth opportunities the UK offers.  Read the Travel Weekly coverage here

In refurbishment news, Travel Agent Central reported the big news from Oceania Cruises on the plans to refurbish three ships simultaneously that you can read here.  This will be a $50 million investment and take place in Q2 2014.  Exciting stuff!

All trade press cover the announcement by Avalon of the Godmother for the new river cruise ship Avalon Poetry II - Olympian Katherine Grainger.  You can read the story from TTG here.

What the Cruise Trade Press Say: Nov 21 2013

There has been much coverage in the trade press this week of the CLIA River Cruise Convention that was held in Cologne.  We welcomed six river cruise ships, a river conference ship, trade fair, overnight and dinner - and the trade press covered most of the event.

Travel Weekly led with pieces on the CLIA message within Andy Harmer's speech of targeting Baby Boomers (which you can read here), and the fact that river cruising growth is set to continue, and not just a fad - the topic of Rudi Joham's keynote speech - (which can be read here)

Seatrade Insider also covered the event and focused on the event itself and all of the aspects of it (read here)

Staying on the subject of river cruising, Travel Weekly carried the story of the move into River Cruising by Cruise and Maritime Voyages – is this the first time such a move from ocean cruising to river has happened?  Read the story here.

Moving away from river cruising, there was a very positive piece in Travolution on the future of High Street travel agents and how the future may be bright after all - worth reading here.

TTG carried a great infographic on the growth of cruising via Flagship PR - an incredibly interesting set of information that you can view here.

More next week...

What the Cruise Trade Press Say: Nov 18 2013

Travel Weekly focus on two new cruise positions and people, with Giles Hawke taking over as MD of MSC Cruises (read here) whilst Regent Seven Seas Cruises hire a new marketing manager in the shape of Ben Smith (read here).

Talking of Regent Seven Seas Cruises, they have confirmed to TTG an 'unprecedented' level of travel agent activity including a new Ambassador Scheme (read here).

The big announcement by Cunard (and Liverpool) is the bringing together of some great celebrations to mark its 175th anniversary.  The big event will be on the Mersey in 2015 with the Three Queens in place, and with a unique departure from the port.  Read here.

Both TTG and Travel Weekly discuss the need for Allure of the Seas to undergo some dry dock repairs - read the TTG story here.  Allure will be out of action for a week.

Many of the trade press continue to explore the donations coming from the cruise industry to help victims of the terrible conditions in the Philippines - including this donation from CLIA story.

Meanwhile we loved the campaign revealed at the CLIA River Cruise Convention from Titan to encourage agent votes for them for the Travel Weekly Globes - Cheer Up Timmy!  A great heartwarming story.. well done team.  Read the story here.

Finally - in case you missed it here is our very own announcement of more activity in river cruising coming up in 2014, and some photos and images from the River Cruise event. Read here.

More next week...