Walnut Grove Cruise & Ltd Travel Blog

The New Year comes with the anticipation of another exciting 12 months of new ship inaugurals, which will introduce design, technology, cruise lifestyle and environmental innovations that will shape the future of how we cruise. In 2023, $11 billion worth of new ocean ships alone will debut around the world, adding close to 40,000 new berths to the global cruise fleet.Here's... read more

Just this fall, since the return to ocean cruising, we’ve also seen a splendid return of cruise ship christenings. Along with new health innovations like ventilation systems and virtual safety musters that help keep cruise travellers safe, these brand new ships offer cutting-edge design and brand-new experiences that make the ships destinations themselves.  Cruise travel expert Lynn Elmhirst, producer and... read more

He mixes drinks, but doesn’t stop there. ‘Rob’ the robot bartender also speaks 8 languages, tells jokes and even dances too! When we can cruise again, you won’t want to miss the world’s first humanoid – and interactive – shipboard robot bartender, who will make you the perfect cocktail to toast your return to cruising and travel. When MSC Cruises launches its... read more

Guests left behind when a ship sails away is usually an unfortunate situation no cruise line likes to talk about. But when it happened last week in Naples, cheers rang out around the world. The guests weren’t late, which is usually how guests miss ships. Earlier this summer, Europe-based MSC Cruises had announced its new COVID-era health and safety protocols, developed... read more

It used to be that private islands were the playgrounds of the ridiculously rich and fabulously famous. Then cruise lines got into the game. Now, cruise lines are competing with each other to build exclusive tropical enclaves in the Caribbean for their guests to experience not just a day on the beach, but create travel memories they can't get anywhere... read more

Cirque du Soleil has been charting new entertainment territory since it began and it's changed what we think of as 'circus' shows.You may have been lucky enough to go to a Cirque du Soleil shows on land.But there's only one place you can see the innovative, extraordinarily talented Cirque performances at sea.European-based cruise line MSC has exclusively partnered with the... read more

They call it the 'Magical Flying Beach Chair' and it's probably one of the world's most memorable - and scenic - 6 minute trips to the beach. It's just like the ride you take to the top of a ski hill, except on a snowy mountain, you brace against the chilly wind. But on the tropical Honduran island of Roatan, the... read more

MSC Cruises' new flagship launched at the end of 2017 and it's really making waves.  Designers of the MSC Seaside had a goal: to bring guests on a big ship closer to the sea.  They threw out the playbook and started fresh, creating the Seaside, a new prototype for a class of ships inspired by an elegant Miami beach condo. Here... read more

There's a new Wonder at Sea. The MSC Meraviglia. If your language skills are rusty, that's Italian for 'wonder', and this European cruise line's new flagship is a wondrous destination at sea for five thousand guests. The MSC Meraviglia is the biggest ship to be built by a European ship owner, and also the biggest cruise ship to come into... read more

We're already pretty passionate about travel.  Then when the company we trust with our valuable vacation time and budget makes the effort to do good in our shared world, well, that makes us love travel even more. European cruise line MSC Cruises has recently reached an incredible milestone for its partnership with UNICEF, raising €6.5 million (that's about $6.9 million USD)... read more

10 ways you can cruise to Cuba this year. One of the biggest travel stories of the past year has to be the renewing of relations between Cuba and the US and the rise of Cuba as a destination for American travelers. Cuba has long been a favorite sun and culture destination for Canadians and Europeans. Only US citizens were prevented... read more