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Ship Swap
Carnival
Cruise Line on April 6 permanently switched
itineraries operated by the Fantasy and the Sensation,
due to a technical issue with the propulsion system on the Sensation.
The ship is unable to operate at maximum cruising speed to complete
five-day itineraries to Bahamas and Grand
Turk and will take over the Fantasy's three- and
four-day itineraries to the Bahamas. The Fantasy will take over the
Sensation's route. The two are sister ships with the same features,
amenities, accommodations and layout, and passengers' reservations
will automatically change from one ship to the other; booking numbers
and stateroom assignments will stay the same. Guests also can use
their preexisting cruise documents.
Princess
adds 21 Alaska tour options
Princess Cruises
bulked up its Alaska offerings with 21 new excursions. They include
an off-road 4x4 adventure, snorkeling in a dry suit, up-close whale
watching and a dungeness crab feast.
During the
upcoming season, passengers will have 15 new tours to choose from
while in port and six new optional land excursions from Princess’
wilderness lodges. These offerings make a grand total of 238 tour choices.
QM2
crossings with cultured themes
Lectures and
demonstrations by trendsetters in art, design, dining and literature
will be featured on Queen Mary 2's autumn transatlantic voyages.
The enrichment
programs are presented in partnership with Condé Nast
Traveler, The New Yorker, Gourmet, Architectural Digest and
Departures. For example, a ‘Literary Retreat on the High
Seas’ (Sept. 6) brings aboard three authors: Joe Ward, senior
wine editor of Condé Nast Traveler and author of ‘How to
Buy Fine Wine’; Robert Hicks, historian of Southern culture and
author of ‘The Widow of The South’; and Kathleen Tessaro,
best-selling author of contemporary women's fiction, including her
newest work, ‘Innocence.’
EPA
commends Seattle’s air quality programs
The Port of
Seattle’s programs to improve air quality are being recognized
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with the EPA’s Clean
Air Excellence Award.
The port was
selected for initiatives such as reducing diesel emissions. Seattle
is one of only two U.S. cities – along with Juneau – where
cruise ships can plug into the local electrical grid, eliminating the
need to run engines while in port. Other efforts include working with
lines to switch to cleaner-burning, low-sulfur fuel.
Silversea
unveils world cruise events
Silversea
Cruises unveiled the five included shoreside events
that will be offered on Silver Shadow’s 2007 world cruise. The
126-day voyage features Egyptologist Zahi Hawass escorting a two-day,
one-night excursion to Luxor with dinner at the Habu Temple on the
west bank of the Nile.
HAL
presents ... A new twist on dinner theater
Dancing
waiters, a napkin ballet, flying pepper grinders and a plate-spinning kick-line
&ldots; ‘Dinner theater’ takes on a whole new meaning with Holland
America Line’s ‘Signature Master Chef's Dinner.’
Introduced on
the Volendam and rolling out on the rest of the fleet by autumn, the
dinner will be offered once per cruise in each ship’s main restaurant.
Passengers are
greeted by more than 75 service staff including dining room stewards
and entertainers, all dressed as chefs, wearing white hats and jackets.
Princess
plans 5-ship Europe season
Princess Cruises
unveiled its most extensive European deployment ever for 2007, with
five ships in sizes from 680 to 3,100 passengers and itineraries from
seven to 24 days.
Royal Princess
and Emerald Princess make their Princess debut, as do five new
boutique itineraries, featuring four new European ports and the
line’s return to the Holy Land. The fleet will chart a total of
110 ports.
Royal Princess
-- now sailing as Swan Hellenic’s Minerva before transferring to
the Princess fleet in Spring 2007 – will bring new ‘Elite
Mediterranean’ itineraries. The new Emerald Princess will debut
in the Mediterranean, Grand Princess will sail varied routes in
Northern Europe, Star Princess returns to the Baltic, and Sea
Princess will provide diverse one- and two-week cruises from Southampton.
The extended
season begins on April 11 and runs through Dec. 3, 2007.
Somebody's
Gotta Pay For It!!
Due to the
continuing rise in fuel prices in French Polynesia, now at a level
which is 30% higher than anticipated when the current cruise pricing
was set, Regent Seven Seas Cruises will increase the fuel
surcharge on all 2006 sailings from the current $5 per person per day
to $12 per person per day, effective immediately.
In addition,
the fuel surcharge assessed by airlines for travel to and from Tahiti
has also increased. Effective immediately, the air fuel surcharge
will increase from $45 per person in each direction to $55 per person
in each direction for air/sea guests.
Civitavecchia
debut for Emerald Princess
The new Emerald
Princess will sail her maiden voyage from Civitavecchia in April
2007. Under construction at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone yard, the
113,000gt newbuild will enter service with a 12-day Greek Isles
itinerary ending in Venice.
The cruise
will depart on April 11, visiting Naples, Santorini, Rhodes,
Kusadasi, Mykonos, Piraeus, Katakolon, Corfu and Dubrovnik.
Thereafter
Emerald Princess will offer a series of Greek Isles and ‘Grand
Mediterranean’ itineraries before crossing the Atlantic to Fort
Lauderdale in October 2007.
The ship will
include many of the same design elements debuting on the upcoming
Crown Princess, including a piazza-style atrium and new casual dining
venues. A poolside movie screen, Asian-style Lotus Spa, a wedding
chapel and nearly 900 rooms with private balconies are other features.
Pride of
Hawaii visits Hamburg
NCL
America’s Pride of Hawaii arrived March 4th at
Hamburg’s Blohm+Voss shipyard for a final drydock check. The
vessel was due to leave Hamburg at the end of the week.
Built at Meyer
Werft in Papenburg, Pride of Hawaii made the Ems River transit to the
North Sea in mid-March where it underwent sea trials. The ship is
scheduled for delivery on April 12.
Crown
Princess completes first sea trials
The 113,000gt Crown
Princess completed its first sea trials. Princess Cruises said
the ship’s maneuvering and propulsion machinery performed well.
After further
exterior and interior finishing at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone
yard, Crown Princess will undergo an additional series of sea trials.
The maiden
voyage from New York departs June 14, launching a season of nine-day
roundtrip Caribbean sailings. In fall, Crown Princess repositions to
San Juan for Southern Caribbean itineraries.
Cruiseman
News Shorts:
Seabourn
is looking into a newbuild for the brand. "We haven't ordered
anything, but we're investigating," says Seabourn President
Debbie Natansohn.
MSC announced
plans for yet another new ship to join its fleet in March 2008. That
makes five ships on order with options for six more.
Royal
Caribbean is jumping on the enhanced bedding
bandwagon, with the new bed sets debuting on Freedom
of the Seas. The new bedding will be on the rest of
the fleet by May 2007.
Panama's
President is considering plans for an additional two lanes for the
Panama Canal to accommodate post-Panamax vessels. If he and the
Congress approve, the matter goes to voters in November. The $7
billion project could take 10 years to complete and costs would
eventually be paid for by tolls.
Having the
biggest cruise ship in the world continues to command a premium as
UBS Investment Research reports that Royal Caribbean's Freedom of
the Seas is "getting 30% premium in ticket price."
Next year,
four NCL ships will call in Bermuda. "Bermuda is
revamping its cruise tourism policy," explains NCL President
Colon Veitch. "They used to have a $60 head tax designed to keep
people there three days. But when they changed it to $20, it made
sense financially for the cruise lines to call for one day."
After setting
three records for bookings in January, Costa
reports a continuing rise in sales for this year's spring-summer
cruises. The Italian company says it has already booked almost 100%
of the entire fleet's cabin availability for cruises from April to
June. The corresponding figure for the same period this time last
year was about 70%.
The North
American Maritime Administration numbers show Los Angeles and
Honolulu recorded the biggest port growth in 2005, with Los Angeles
cruise departures shooting up 41.5% (from 434,000 to 615,000) and
Honolulu growing 37.9% (170,000 to 236,000). Overall, North American
cruise passenger traffic increased by 3.5%.
Last year's
hurricanes impacted the figures, with New Orleans experiencing a big
decline (22.2%) in 2005. However, even with Hurricane Rita
temporarily closing Galveston, Texas port numbers grew 22.5%.
Miami, Pt.
Canaveral, and Ft. Lauderdale accounted for 43% of passenger
departures in 2005, down from 49% two years earlier. For the same
period, U.S. West Coast ports registered a 64% increase in
departures, increasing their combined share from 12% to 17%. Most
notable: Seattle with a 104% increase. |
