The Daily Cruise and Travel News ”Podcast” with Tom Drake

Virgin Voyages will be embracing their curry with their new restaurant on Valiant Lady! Regent Seven Seas will join Oceania and teach their pastry chefs how to make pastries on board! An alleged Italian drug kingpin is arrested before he can join the Allure of the Seas. As a guest, not a waiter. The Cyclospora outbreak is forcing a lot of people to sit down and pay attention!!

Marriott's big boss announces that business is better than ever! Are there really that many people who go on a cruise to lose weight and get healthy? Margaritaville at Sea gave away 60,000 free cruises at Zac Brown concerts. That's one way to fill your ship. A waterline breaks on Royal Caribbean and fills an inside cabin with water. No extra charge for that water.

Six Italian guys sharing two rooms on MSC hacked the public addresses to make fake announcements!  The San Francisco City attorney has the time to sue hotel booking companies because they don't arrest anybody! NCL Boss Chidsey and the Guru think alike! Regent Seven Seas ships will have more space per guest. Crystal is already there!  

  Norwegian Cruise Line is changing course, lowering prices earlier, with the hope of raising them later! Is MSC heading into the river cruise business? Looks like it's time for a whole new "river state of mind!" Oceania is saying goodbye to another R-Class ship. Sirena sails into retirement in 2028. Cruise with Best at Sea Tours, where you're not just another guest... you're family!   &...

Low water on the Danube leaves a Viking river ship stranded on a sandbar. Time to call in the motorcoaches! A 44-year-old man was arrested on a Carnival cruise after allegedly assaulting children. Just another alcohol-fueled three-day cruise gone off the rails. If someone dies on a cruise ship, is an investigation and autopsy always required? The answer may surprise you. Day two on Wegovy... and s...

 Hilton Honors and Explora Journeys have joined forces, and your stay at the Homewood Suites will help you get a deal on a cruise! Carnival's new build, called the ACE class, will carry 8000 brawlers! Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings' request to stall the court case with Frank Del Rio is denied! Royal Caribbean announces the Wow band. A new better way to track your mutant children on the ship.

No surprise here. JetBlue begins flying the old Spirit Airlines routes. Don't expect discount prices. The Guru plans to visit every historic bar in the Northeast this fall. The Mexican government changes its mind and will not allow cruise ships into the Loreto National Park. There has been no outcry from the cruise industry about the discrimination of gays by the countries of Egypt and Turkey. No...

Crystal has once again been recognized as the world's top midsize-ship ocean cruise line in the 2026 Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards, finishing ahead of luxury competitors including Viking, Silversea, and Explora Journeys. Delta will now sell you first-class seats at low prices if you don't want the perks. It looks like Las Vegas has decided that it is a playground for the rich!

The Guru goes in search of America's oldest bars. It's historical research... one drink at a time! United Airlines sold window seats without windows. A judge says passengers deserve to see this one through! Rome's brand-new cruise port has been stopped by the courts. Apparently, even in Italy, paperwork can sink a ship. Iran is back in the headlines after another attack in the Strait of Hormuz. So...

Carnival guest sues the cruise line because her ATV overturned with her six-year-old daughter on board!  Only in America. I'm ready. A British cruise ship is given the prime viewing location in the center of the Hudson River for the July 4th Celebration! Rubber Duck Hunting is now an activity on board some Royal Caribbean ships! The Turkish government says gay people are “known for behaviors incom...

Ama Waterways' new ship will have a jukebox. Now that's entertainment. The hotel industry hired 70,000 workers in May, so no one got hired in June! Airline stocks are rising as fuel prices go down. Let's see what happens to the prices! Charleston will no longer welcome cruise ships. Does anybody care?

 Fred Olsen Cruise Line has produced a musical album that features old Brits humming! A Carnival restaurant manager saves an 11-month-old baby from choking to death. Well done! The Guru thinks that the new Royal Caribbean Discovery class will target guests who don't want Rugrats running around! Norovirus finds a home on the Ruby Princess and on Ocean Marina!

Four Seasons Yachts has announced that the next yacht they build will be smaller. That way, they might sell it out. The FAA has decided to waste time on whether to approve supersonic flights in America rather than fix the broken system! Travel and Leisure magazine says the best time to book some hotels is 10 to 14 days in advance. Risky. Many airlines in search of new business are offering stop-ov...

Avis continues to live up to its new slogan. Instead of we try harder. It's we don't try it all. US Airlines lose $6 billion a year because they lose your luggage. Serves them right!  Sun Princess did the right thing by dropping Corfu on the day 17,000 people will be there.  The Guru was shocked to learn that many Australians are hooked on amphetamine. He always thought it was Fosters.

The front desk clerk at the Trump International Resort in Florida has been arrested for fraud and misuse of a communication device. The girl is concerned about that last charge. The New York Times is reporting that airline lounges are too crowded, and now they want you to just grab something and go. Just when Lynn said Carnival Corporation took a little hit from the Iran war, but they will be fine...

MSC pulls the plug on sailing from New York City. Captain reverse your engines. Whale activists in  Alaska are telling Royal Caribbean to slow down after it whacked a whale. One Casino in Las Vegas is asking guests to act even more childish than usual. 65,000 people, including the Guru will watch Alan Jackson's final concert tonight at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.  

The Canadian Coast Guard travels more than 500 miles to rescue three people from a disabled trimaran in the middle of the Pacific. Now that's going above and beyond! Carnival is expanding its meal donation program in the Dominican Republic, delivering even more food to those in need. Credit where it's due. Well done, Carnival! The FBI's Houston office is reminding cruise passengers to report any c...

The Guru says some cruise lines have a lot of nerve. They gladly take your money, then turn around and change the entire itinerary after you’ve already booked. Another world-class Carnival brawl! This time, the action wasn’t onboard. It broke out in Miami after the cruise was over. The Guru is in Nashville for Alan Jackson’s final concert. And yes, there will be a full report. Sadly, cruise ships...

Bus drivers go on strike in Santorini, shutting down the island. Cruises are all canceled. Superstar Vanessa Williams will perform on Crystal this fall! Azamara rolls out a new ad campaign. The Guru is not that impressed. Europe is overheating and shutting down everything.   

A cell phone bursts into flames in the middle of a British Airways flight. Just what every passenger wants at 35,000 feet, a lithium-ion bonfire. Carnival Cruise Line and Emeril Lagasse say they’re taking onboard dining to the next level. On Carnival, that probably means Deck 12. Get ready for another overpriced wannabe cruise line. This one floating in under the Mercedes-Maybach name. Because app...

Carnival Cruise Line is toasting America’s 250th birthday with a bourbon from a 45-year-old brand owned by a company based in Britain. Nothing says American independence quite like a British-owned whiskey. Oops, they did it again. Royal Caribbean sold more cabins than it has beds on another Alaska cruise and is now asking some guests to admire the glaciers from their living rooms. The fireworks wo...

 Holland America is bringing back the farewell dinner celebration. The Guru loves this idea. JetBlue is cutting back operations in the Newark area and taking them to the Sunshine State. Joining the Exodus. The rental car industry is predicting great things for driverless cars. Good luck on that idea! What's your hands people? Norovirus visits the Ruby Princess  

Delta Air Lines receives an all-clear from the Department of Transportation regarding the timing of its software system's collapse. The bloated bureaucrats from the European Union stick their nose into airlines' business where it doesn't belong. One listener tells the Guru to come to Chicago in the summer. We love it! The Guru is onboard Crystal Symphony now learning how to use his putter effectiv...

Azamara's new Overland Experiences are just dressed-up shore excursions! The five knucklehead Colorado cruisers buy their way out of jail in the Bahamas! American Express buys the fork and sticks one in the back of the Guru! The Guru is onboard the amazing Crystal Symphony. Join him next year for a reposition on this ship!

If you're looking for something to do in July, the Guru has some options! Norway is deciding whether to build a tunnel for cruise ships. Why not? They have plenty of money. Another brawl among cruise ship guests breaks out in the Bahamas. This time on Royal Caribbean. Reese tells everybody why Crystal is worth it!!