A luxury cruise renaissance is on its way as Crystal Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Line and Silversea Cruises all expand their operations from now into 2018 and beyond.

Crystal Cruises

No single line in the group is growing as much as Crystal Cruises as the company, recently purchased by Genting Hong Kong, prepares to introduce entirely new brands and new ships. Until now, the line has consisted primarily of two ships, but now it has three new Exclusive-class vessels on order. Illustrating the magnitude of the company’s growth is Genting HK’s decision to buy the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Germany where they will be built.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises

As for Regent Seven Seas Cruises, the luxury line is coming out with the new Seven Seas Explorer, which the line is calling "the most luxurious ship ever built,” on July 20, 2016. Onboard will be an impressive set of decadent features including 375 total suites, sporting the largest verandas in the cruise industry, the crème de la crème of which will be a 3,975-square-foot, two-room Regent Suite situated at the top front of the ship with its own spa and Vista Garden glass-enclosed observation area

Seabourn Cruise Line

Later in 2016, Seabourn Cruise Line’s newest Seabourn Encore will set sail with an inaugural itinerary scheduled for January 2017. The more intimate 600-guest luxury liner will be just 40,350-gross-tons in size and feature a second sister ship, the Seabourn Ovation, to be introduced in 2018. Both are based on the country-club style Odyssey-class vessels with one extra deck and expanded public areas this time around.

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Cruising with all-inclusive Regent Seven Seas Cruises is a very comfortable, social experience. You get the luxury of space to hang out sans crowds, lots of perks and fancy accouterments, but it's all on a pleasingly subtle scale — as we learned on a recent cruise in the Mediterranean on the all-suite, all-veranda 700-passenger Seven Seas Mariner.

Guests sailing on Windstar Cruises' Costa Rica & Panama Canal itineraries have a new way to celebrate: The Canal Celebration, a deck side festival, invites guests to experience the sights and sounds of the Panama Canal while enjoying amenities and activities that highlight the Panamanian culture.

New for 2015 and 2016, Windstar guests can enjoy a nighttime passage through the Panama Canal, during which lights illuminate the inner workings of the waterway, during the Canal Celebration. As the ship approaches the first locks in the early evening, a speaker from the Panama Port Authority comes on board to introduce guests to the complex lock system.

As the yacht navigates the passage, guests can drink local beverages, beers, and cocktails from a mobile drink cart while listening to local festive music from various regions around the country.

In the evening, guests can dine on a custom-made Panamanian menu, curated by Windstar’s Executive Chef Michael Sabourin. Upon completion of the passage, guests find in their stateroom a certification of The Order of the Ditch, a Navy tradition that recognizes “sailors” who have passed through the Panama Canal.

Tauck is trying to get solo travelers to reconsider their choices if the cost of singles supplements for traveling alone has been holding them back.

The tour operator is targeting single travelers with a broad-based reduction or elimination of singles supplements across a wide range of its tours in Europe and North America and on river cruises in Europe.

Tauck completely removed its singles supplements on all of its Category 1 cabins on all of its riverboats in Europe, a total of 220 departures, according to the company. The company is also cutting the singles supplements by as much as $1,000 on Category 4 and 5 cabins on 15 river cruise programs.

Tauck also cut up to $400 off the price of a number of its European land tours and up to $300 off North American land tours.

Seabourn Cruise Line has been awarded the 2015 Good Taste Award for “Finest Cruise Line Dining” by culinary magazine Saveur.

The inaugural Good Taste Awards were celebrated by the magazine at a reception in New York City on Oct. 13, and Seabourn — along with all of the other winners — will appear in the October issue.

This is not the first award Seabourn has won from Saveur, either, as the company was also named the "Best Culinary Cruise Line" in the magazine's Culinary Travel Awards in 2013 and 2014.

Luxury line Regent Seven Seas Cruises is getting even more all-inclusive with the addition of free unlimited WiFi access for every passenger.

Regent on Wednesday announced the new perk would be available fleetwide starting in late 2016. The company currently offers free unlimited WiFi only to passengers in top suites. Passengers in lesser cabins get 200 to 500 minutes of free WiFi access per cruise, with the time depending on the voyage length.

Regent's move comes just six months after the debut of Viking Ocean Cruises, a new upscale line that has been making waves in the industry with a "no nickel-and-diming" mantra that includes the promise of free Wi-Fi for every passenger. Viking's free Internet offering is similar to Regent's in that there is no time limit for any passenger.

Lee Wachtstetter, an 86-year-old Florida widow, took her daughter's advice. She sold her five-bedroom Fort Lauderdale-area home on 10 acres and became a permanent luxury cruise ship resident after her husband died.

Mama Lee, as she's known aboard the 11-year-old Crystal Serenity, has been living on the 1,070-passenger vessel longer than most of its 655 crewmembers — nearly seven years.

"My husband introduced me to cruising," she recalled. "Mason was a banker and real estate appraiser and taught me to love cruising. During our 50-year marriage we did 89 cruises. I've done nearly a hundred more and 15 world cruises."

Royal Caribbean Cruise line is stepping up their luxury game with a brand new set of offerings for guests looking for that extra special touch on their cruise vacation. When vacationing in one of a range of innovative accommodations, guests will enjoy an experience like no other featuring a wide-range of benefits and amenities that they expect from a world-class luxury vacation.  

Along with well-appointed accommodations, Royal Suite Class will offer a range of exclusive amenities based on three tiered service levels. Premium features include a Royal Genie, certified by the British Butler Institute to meet guests every need; free VOOM, the fastest internet at sea; complimentary specialty dining; an ultimate beverage package; inclusive gratuities; preferred seating at select onboard venues, and upgraded room amenities.

The Royal Suite Class will be available for sailings beginning May 2016 aboard Royal Caribbean’s Oasis- and Quantum-class ships, Anthem of the Seas, Quantum of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, and Oasis of the Seas, as well as Harmony of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas when they debut in spring 2016

He’s the swami of sweets. The master of meringue. The guru of ganache. He is Hans Kiendl, pastry chef of Crystal Symphony. And his delectable creations are served at every meal, daring even the staunchest dieter to have just one bite.

The Germany-born chef, who has been with Crystal almost since the luxury cruise line launched its first ship 25 years ago, is serious about his work. And it shows in his beautifully presented desserts, using the freshest, purest ingredients. “It only tastes good when you use good ingredients,” he says, adding that he doesn’t use alternatives, like corn syrup. And everything is made from scratch.

 That’s quite a feat for Kiendl and his staff, who start preparing early in the morning for the day’s meals, which start with the Early Risers Continental Buffet in the Lido Café at 6:30 a.m. Pastries and other baked goods are also served at the full buffet breakfast, as well as in the Crystal Dining Room and The Bistro. After breakfast, his staff supplies sweets for lunch, afternoon tea in the Palm Court, dinner, and late-night snacks in The Bistro. And then, there’s 24-hour room service. “The food operation is the biggest entertainer on board,” he says.