Why Royal Caribbean Group is betting big on luxury river cruises

Get ready Royal Caribbean fans: The next Icon Class cruise ship will sail the Mediterranean under a familiar name.

Legend of the Seas, the third ship in Royal Caribbean’s Icon Class, will launch in July 2026and spend its first summer cruising the Mediterranean. It will then journey to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from where it will sail year-round to the Western and Southern Caribbean, the cruise line announced today.

Heads up, San Diego. For the first time ever, Royal Caribbean will be basing a cruise ship in the port, starting in October 2026.

On a warm September day in Nice, France, I grab a table at a restaurant terrace overlooking the Mediterranean and size up the vessel I'm about to board: Atlas Ocean Voyages' World Traveller. Although you wouldn't know to look at it, the navy blue hull is built to cut through ice. As the ship glimmers under the southern French sun, I find it hard to imagine that in less than two months it will be back in Antarctic waters, having swapped the calm, summer waters of the Mediterranean for a harsh polar climate.

Stepping inside the Viceroy in Snowmass, Colorado, feels exactly like what you'd expect from a luxury hotel.

Most people commute in and out of New York City by train, ferry, or car. But some in the upper echelons of society can afford to fly above the chaos.

The bigger, the better — Norwegian Cruise Line is betting on giant floating resorts to compete with Royal Caribbean's wildly successful fleet of mega ships.

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is America's second busiest airport and one of its largest hubs. Travelers today can get from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Fiji with one quick stop at DFW; a route that 20 years ago would have taken three or more flights to complete.

When you hear about a company retreat, you might imagine traveling to an urban destination with massive hotel complexes just to sit for hours in windowless conference rooms and spend evenings schmoozing over room-temperature drinks. You probably don't imagine jetting off to a charming, nature-filled town along the Pacific Ocean.

This Valentine’s Day, Riviera Travel (formerly Riviera River Cruises) is offering travel advisors a chance to win a round-trip Paris river cruise.

If you want affordable cruise fares and enough onboard credit to indulge in a spa day, consider wave season your vacation-at-sea Black Friday.

I'm sitting on the 360-degree promenade deck aboard a Viking river cruise, with a glass of wine and a paperback, taking in the silver maples in the high afternoon sun on a bright August day. The water, blue-green and more beautiful than I had expected, hums with steamboats and pontoons. Staff members flit about, delivering cocktails and greeting guests like old friends. With its plentiful blond woods, the stylish ship has the kind of opulence you'd expect on the world's great waterways, from the Nile to the Seine. But I'm on board the 386-passenger Viking Mississippi, custom-built to traverse America's most famous river. Interest in sailing along it has been on the rise since the pandemic, but Viking is the first major luxury liner to offer a trip.