While the amenities offered by cruise lines nowadays are so amazing and all-encompassing some passengers can be forgiven for feeling like they never need get of the ship, most cruisers choose their holiday on the basis of the itinerary, so destination excursions are of huge importance.

Along with our June issue you’ll find a dedicated guide to escorted tours: how to sell them, what packages to propose and those trends shaping the market. We have also included a handy, at-a-glance guide to who includes what in terms of door-to-door transfers, dining, services of a cruise director, flights, access to local guides and so on.

Inside the main issue, since we recognise that a big part of the travel agent’s remit is to get on board as many ships as possible and experience them personally in order to be more knowledgeable at the point of sale, we’re doing our bit to get you closer to the cruise lines. This month it’s your last chance to enter two fantastic competitions: win a weekend in Amsterdam including the opportunity to tour Holland America Line’s elegant Nieuw Statendam and enjoy sailing down the Danube on board AmaWaterways’ brand new double-width ship, AmaMagna (see The Buzz news section on pages 6-11 for more details).

Elsewhere, we take an in-depth look at river cruising in our trends report, which highlights such interesting niche areas as foodie voyages, multigenerational travel and the burgeoning wellness craze (page 30). Our feature on French waterways, meanwhile, takes in the delights of the Seine, Rhône, Loire and Marne, as well as the Burgundy canal (page 46).

One last thing worth mentioning is the fact that our Cruise Stars Awards website is now fully functional and we are accepting entries from agents in no fewer than 10 different categories, including marketing and management stars and new to cruise champion. The awards are completely free to enter, so do take a moment to visit www.cruisestarsawards.com – this is your turn to shine.