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Pamela Fierro

As the founder and lead advisor at Coastwise Travel, I specialize in crafting seamless itineraries for cruises, resort vacations, and immersive experiences around the globe. I'm an expert traveler, with multiple industry certifications and With highly personalized service and pampered experiences -- my goal is to elevate your travel experience according to your priorities and preferences.

Explora Journeys Is Launching Luxury River Cruises: What It Means for Your 2027–2028 Plans

 

By Pamela Fierro, Founder, Owner and Lead Advisor, Coastwise Travel

The short version: Explora Journeys, the ultra-luxury ocean brand owned by MSC Group, has signed a letter of intent with Dutch shipbuilder Den Breejen Shipyard to build its first European river ships. Sales are expected to open in 2027. Ship sizes, rivers, and launch dates have not been announced. If you’re planning a river cruise for 2027, my advice is not to wait: the top suites on established luxury lines are selling now.

This week brought some of the most interesting river cruise news I’ve seen in a while. Explora Journeys, the ultra-luxury ocean line owned by MSC Group, announced that it’s moving onto Europe’s rivers. The line has signed a letter of intent with Dutch shipbuilder Den Breejen Shipyard to construct its first river ships, with bookings expected to open in 2027.

As someone who helps travelers plan European river cruises every day, here’s my take on why this matters, and what it does and doesn’t change for anyone dreaming of the Danube, Rhine or Seine.

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How to Not Get Sick on a Cruise: An Insider’s Guide for the Discerning Travele

14 practical, common-sense habits that help you stay well from embarkation to disembarkation — so nothing gets in the way of the trip you’ve been looking forward to.

You’ve booked the veranda suite. You’ve researched the specialty dining. You’ve packed for the white-linen dinner and the sunrise excursion in the same suitcase. The last thing you want is to spend day three of a fourteen-day voyage in your cabin instead of at the captain’s table.

The good news: most illness on a cruise ship is entirely preventable, and it has almost nothing to do with luck. It comes down to a handful of habits — the kind any seasoned traveler picks up over time, whether through experience or a good travel advisor.

(This guide covers general wellness habits, not medical advice. For guidance specific to your health history, medications, or an upcoming diagnosis, talk with your physician before you sail.)

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How to Choose the Right River Cruise

Quick answer: Coastwise Travel helps you choose the right river cruise by pairing you with a expert advisor who has personally sailed and toured nearly every major river cruise line, acting as your dedicated advocate for every detail (flights, hotels, transfers, excursions), and cutting through the noise of internet opinions to give you advice based on you— not on what worked for a stranger on social media.

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Choosing the Right River Cruise

There are approximately four thousand opinions on the internet about which river cruise line is “the best.” Ask ten people in a Facebook travel group and you’ll get eleven answers, three of them contradictory, and at least one from someone who has never actually been on a river cruise but has strong feelings anyway.

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Why an Alaska Cruise Is the Best Summer Vacation — for Families, Couples, and Friends

Why an Alaska Cruise Is the Best Vacation for Families, Couples, and Friends

There’s a reason people come home from Alaska talking about it for years. It’s not just a vacation — it’s the kind of trip that resets your sense of wonder. Towering glaciers calving into the sea. Whales breaching just off the bow. Fresh mountain air and a warm dinner waiting for you back on the ship. Whether you’re traveling with little ones, your favorite person, or your closest friends, Alaska has a way of meeting you exactly where you are — and that’s what makes it the perfect trip for absolutely everyone.

An Alaska cruise is one of the best vacations for families, couples, and groups of friends because it combines kid-friendly wildlife adventures, romantic outdoor experiences for couples, and flexible daily itineraries that let friend groups explore independently while still sharing meals and memories together each evening.

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Cookies, Cabanas, and Humpback Whales: Alaska Aboard the Newly Refurbished Celebrity Solstice

A Happy Hour with warm cookies and hot chocolate.  A champagne toast to a glacier. A five-week-old sled dog puppy snuggled in my arms. Alaska didn’t stand a chance of being anything less than unforgettable.

I sailed the newly refurbished Celebrity Solstice this summer, fresh from her transformation transformed under Celebrity’s $250 million Solstice-class modernization. She came out the other side feeling brand new from bow to stern — and the upgrades made an already spectacular itinerary even better. Here are the moments I’m still thinking about.

Warm Cookie Hour at Sunset Park Cafe

The top deck has been completely transformed into Sunset Park, a half-acre of open-air space with lawn games, live music, and sweeping views. But the real magic happens every afternoon at 3:30, when fresh cookies come straight out of the oven at the new Sunset Park Cafe. Watching guests line up for a warm treat became one of my favorite daily rituals — there’s something about a gooey chocolate chip cookie against a background of snow-capped mountains that is irresistable.

Read More »Cookies, Cabanas, and Humpback Whales: Alaska Aboard the Newly Refurbished Celebrity Solstice

What It Really Means to Travel Well on a River Cruise

There’s one thing our happiest clients all have in common — and it has nothing to do with which ship they cruised on. 

It isn’t the stateroom they chose, the cruise line they booked, or even the destination. We’ve sent clients down the Danube and along the Rhine. We’ve booked them on Tauck, AMAWaterways, Avalon Waterways, Viking, Riverside Luxury Cruises and other companies you’ve never even heard of. We’ve watched them fall in love with Budapest at golden hour and stand speechless on deck as Cologne came into view.

Across every sailing, every itinerary, every client — the ones who come home the most transformed share exactly one thing.

They arrived with nothing left to manage.

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Coastwise Travel’s Insider Access at Exclusive Cruise Conference

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Coastwise Travel Founder Attends Exclusive Cruise Summit Event, Elevating Expertise in Luxury Alaska Cruise Vacations

Virginia Beach, VA — June 2026 — Pamela Fierro,  founder and lead advisor for Coastwise Travel, is pleased to announce the successful completion of the 2026 Nexion Cruise Summit, held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This exclusive industry event provided an unparalleled opportunity to engage in hands-on ship inspections, one-on-one supplier meetings, destination immersion, and firsthand product experiences — all in service of delivering superior travel planning to Coastwise Travel clients.

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