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Cruise waters calm after air terror arrests
Queen Mary 2 is expected to turn around on Friday as scheduled in
Southampton, and no major disruptions are foreseen for ships sailing
from US ports over the weekend.
In further signs of calm in the cruise sector following a thwarted
airplane bombing plot, a major US cruise retailer cited no drop in
sales and cruise stocks closed slightly ahead in New York.
Cunard Line president Carol Marlow predicted a normal turn-around for
QM2. ‘Flights are back on again. A lot of our guests are already
in the UK or are from here in the first place,’ Marlow said.
‘The ships are still operating very much as normal. There is no
reason people should not take cruises. We’re being extremely
vigilant along with the rest of the world,’ Marlow said.
Costa's expansion plans move ahead as Serena nears completion
Less than one month after the inauguration of the Costa Concordia,
Costa Cruises has floated out sister ship, the Costa Serena, at the
Fincantieri Sestri Ponente shipyard in Genoa on Aug. 4.
Costa CEO Pier Luigi Foschi said the occasion marked “a further
step forward in the development of our company as we aim to expand in
Europe and worldwide.”
The Serena will have the same features as the Concordia including a
Samsara Spa, a Grand Prix driving simulator and two swimming pools
under a retractable glass roof.
The 112,000-ton Serena is scheduled to debut in May 2007 and will
sail year-round Mediterranean itineraries. A third ship in this class
is expected to be delivered in spring 2009.
Crystal books jazz artists
Crystal Cruises has booked three jazz groups and an expert lecturer
for its November jazz-themed trans-Atlantic voyage from Lisbon to Miami.
The Michael Royal Trio, the Peter Appleyard Quintet and the Kit Moran
Duo will provide music throughout the 10-day Thanksgiving sailing.
Joining the cruise as enrichment lecturer is Phil Schapp, curator of
jazz at Lincoln Center.
The Nov. 15-25 voyage aboard Crystal Serenity will call at Ponta
Delgada in the Azores and overnight in Hamilton, Bermuda. On Nov. 24
at sea, the ship will serve a five-course Thanksgiving feast.
The cruise is part of Crystal’s ‘Value Collection’
with fares starting at $2,875 per person, double occupancy.
Carnival enhances meetings, incentives offer
To keep pace with the fast-growing corporate meetings and incentive
travel segments, Carnival Cruise Lines expanded its ‘Preferred
Awards’ program, which enables businesses to buy all-inclusive
cruise certificates to reward top employees.
The ‘Preferred Awards’ program now offers a greater variety
of ships and itineraries, including new Europe and Greek Isles
departures aboard the 110,000gt Carnival Freedom, and access to more
stateroom categories, including top-of-the-line suites.
Celebrity's Infinity to miss Alaska voyage for propulsion fix
Celebrity Cruises said it will cancel the Sept. 13 Alaska voyage on
the Infinity due to problems with one of the ship's propulsion pods,
prompting the line to send the Infinity to drydock for repairs at a
facility in Victoria, British Columbia.
The Infinity has been taken out of service for at least one cruise
each year since its 2000 debut to deal with various propulsion issues.
The Infinity is expected to return to service in time for its Sept.
24 Panama Canal transit from San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale; the
sailing will depart San Francisco a day later than scheduled and will
miss its Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, port call.
Costa's expansion plans move ahead as Serena nears completion
Less than one month after the inauguration of the Costa Concordia,
Costa Cruises has floated out sister ship, the Costa Serena, at the
Fincantieri Sestri Ponente shipyard in Genoa on Aug. 4.
Costa CEO Pier Luigi Foschi said the occasion marked “a further
step forward in the development of our company as we aim to expand in
Europe and worldwide.”
The Serena will have the same features as the Concordia including a
Samsara Spa, a Grand Prix driving simulator and two swimming pools
under a retractable glass roof.
The 112,000-ton Serena is scheduled to debut in May 2007 and will
sail year-round Mediterranean itineraries. A third ship in this class
is expected to be delivered in spring 2009.
Cunard Gets a Real "Forwarding" Address
Officially the name of Cunard's ships are preceded by the letters RMS,
which stands for Royal Mail Ship. They have had this designation
even before Cunard was Cunard. Originally Samuel Cunard was awarded
the rights to carry transatlantic mail on his ships which were then
known as the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet
Company, and only later the line changed its name to Cunard.
Since Cunard liners carry mail, it's only logical they also accept
mail from passengers, but now they do it in a more prominent way. The
big, red, iconic postboxes are a normal sight in the UK, but now
passengers will be seeing them on both of Cunard's liners, and on
Queen Victoria when it is delivered.
Another reason to buy the insurance:
Ohio media outlets have been running a story about an Ohio family
that was flying to Seattle for a cruise to Alaska. To make a long
story short, due to flight delays, they missed the ship. So the trip
wouldn't be a total loss, they flew on to Juneau to catch the ship
there. That's where they were shocked that the cruise line charged
them $300 apiece before allowing them to board, since by boarding in
Juneau, it would put them in violation of the US Passenger Services
Act. The $1,200 is the fine the line will have to pay the government.
The insurance also would have paid for the night's hotel and the
extra air fare. CLICK
HERE for more information on Travel Insurance.
End of the line
Indian courts have now cleared the way for the former SS Norway/SS
France to be dismantled at Alang. For two years, NCL and Star cruises
tried to find a buyer for the disabled ship with a workable plan to
preserve it, but none stepped forward. In June NCL CEO Colin Veitch
told CND that prior to selling the ship, they removed many of the
interior fixtures, and they are now safely in storage awaiting a
future use on another NCL ship.
New Drinking Policies
Royal Caribbean implemented a new alcohol policy which raises the
drinking age to 21 and does away with the parents' option of signing
a waiver to allow 18-21 year-olds the option of imbibing. (The waiver
is still offered as an option on cruises departing from European or
South American ports if the parents accompany the youth.) One thing
that is going to surprise a lot of the "adult" folks,
however, is that it also toughens up the provisions against bringing
alcohol aboard, allowing security to inspect all containers, and now
they will be disposed of if they contain alcohol. The new policy also
spells out that an adult may not purchase alcohol for those underage,
and ups the penalty for any violation of the alcohol policy
(including over-consuming) to include disembarkation or denial of boarding.
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