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Caribbean's newest destination, $62 million Mahogany Bay Cruise
Center in Roatan officially opens
(December 2, 2009) – The $62 million Mahogany Bay Cruise Center
at Roatan in the Bay Islands officially opened this week and began
welcoming cruise ships.
Carnival Cruise Lines’ 2,974-passenger Carnival Valor is in port
today. Reaction from cruise guests to the new facility has been outstanding. |
More than five years in development, and two years under
construction, Mahogany Bay Cruise Center encompasses 20 acres of
waterfront property and includes a two-berth cruise terminal which
can accommodate up to 8,000 passengers daily. It is a
joint project of Carnival Corporation & plc and Roatan
businessman Jerry Hynds.
In addition to a two-ship cruise pier, the Mahogany Bay Cruise Center
offers a welcome center along with a variety of retail outlets,
including two themed bars, a restaurant and several shops. A
transportation hub with the ability to accommodate taxis, rental cars
and tour buses, along with a wide range of shore excursion
opportunities, which can be purchased on board the cruise vessels,
are also available.
Unique to Mahogany Bay is a new chair lift system that takes cruise
ship guests from the welcome center to beautiful Mahogany Beach, a
10-acre private island featuring an 825-foot-long white-sand beach
with a beach volleyball court and myriad watersports
opportunities. Eight exclusive cabanas are also available for rent.
The “Magical Flying Beach Chair” takes guests on a
six-minute ride across nearly 1,200 feet of suspended cables,
providing not only convenient beach access but views of the lush
countryside as well. All-day passes for the beach
chair lift are $5 per person. An elevated path is also
available for those who prefer to walk.
“The Mahogany Bay Cruise Center not only serves as a gateway to
one of the Caribbean’s most beautiful islands but is also a
destination unto itself, with a magnificent white-sand beach and a
wide range of shops, restaurants and shore excursion
opportunities,” said Giora Israel, senior vice president of port
and destination development for Carnival Corporation & plc.
For more information on the new Mahogany Bay Cruise Center, visit www.mahoganybaycc.com.
Costa Cruise Lines
25.Nov.09 The Costa Deliziosa came through her sea trials
successfully. The new ship is Costa's 15th fleet member, built
at Fincantieri's Marghera (Venice) shipyard, was put through her
paces in the open sea for the first time, with a series of running
tests on the ship's systems, machinery and engines. After the trials
the Costa Deliziosa returned to the yard in Marghera for the final
touches on her fitting out, ahead of her imminent entry into
service. The Costa Deliziosa will be ready for delivery on
January 29, 2010, while her inauguration will take place in Dubai on
February 23, 2010, during her Grand Maiden Cruise, which departs from
Savona on February 5, 2010.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines
24.Nov.09 Allure of the Seas celebrates its "floating
out" ceremony. The next Oasis-class ship, Allure of the
Seas was moved from dry dock to wet dock on Friday at the STX Europe
shipyard in Turku, Finland, signaling that the second of the world's
largest and most revolutionary cruise ship is nearing completion and
will soon be ready to wow guests of her own. When she launches
in December 2010, Allure of the Seas will boast the many
extraordinary features and amenities currently being introduced
onboard Oasis of the Sea, sharing the title of the world's largest
and most revolutionary cruise ship.
American Cruise Lines
23.Nov.09 American Cruise Lines is expanding to the US west
coast and will start operating 7-night itineraries aboard the
recently acquired Queen of the West, on the Columbia and Snake Rivers
in 2010. Queen of the West, a 120-passenger, U.S. flagged
cruise ship, is currently the only authentic paddlewheel, over-night
passenger vessel, operating in North America. American Cruise
Lines is planning several different itineraries that will depart from
Portland, Oregon and Clarkston, Washington, starting in the summer of
2010. Stops along the route will include the Columbia River Gorge,
Multonomah Falls, Mt. St. Helen's, The Dalles, Hells Canyon and Astoria.
Cunard's Queen Elizabeth Passes Symbolic Milestone
Nov 25 - A ship's identity is, of course, tied to its name. Some
lines give more significance to a name than others. One of those
lines is Cunard, which draws on its history for the designs of its
ships - both inside and out.
So a very symbolic milestone in the construction of any Cunard
ocean liner is the day when its name is first affixed to its bow, and
last week, a welder at Fincantieri's Monfalcone yard gave Queen
Elizabeth her identity when he welded the giant letters of her name
to her bow.
Overboard Silver Shadow Passenger Rescued
A passenger went overboard early this morning (November 22) from
Silversea's Silver Shadow as the ship was approaching Ft. Lauderdale.
The Coast Guard received the call from the ship approximately 3am
when it was about 20 miles east of Miami.
The ship had already put rescue boats into the water and was
remaining on the scene to search for the 62-year-old man.
Approximately 7:45am he was located swimming about 20 miles southeast
of Governor's Cut (near Miami). A Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin
helicopter crew from Miami flew to the position and lowered a rescue
swimmer, who helped the man into the ship's rescue boat.
Samsung reportedly bags residential newbuild
Samsung Heavy Industries reportedly won a $1.1bn order for a
residential/hotel ship from California-based Utopia. Reuters in Seoul
said a final contract is expected to be signed in early 2010, with
delivery by 2013.
This would represent the first cruise order in a long stretch and the
first luxury cruise vessel for a builder in Korea.
Utopia, which has been marketing for several years, envisions a
15-deck luxury ship with 190 private residences, ranging from
two-bedroom apartments to four-bedroom, 3.5-bath ‘estates’
of 6,500sq ft. In addition, the ship would offer 206 hotel suites. A
spa and three restaurants are among the other features.
Utopia is chaired by private equity investor David Robb. Company
president Chris Chant is a partner at Chant Associates, a real estate
investment firm in Albuquerque.
One of the prominent cruise names involved is Capt. Ola Harsheim, who
joined the team two years ago after retiring from The World of
ResidenSea. Harsheim was instrumental in the design and construction
of The World.
Mexico simplifies documentation for cruise calls
In an important step toward a paperless process, Mexico has
simplified the documentation that must be provided each time a cruise
ship calls in port.
New rules published by the Secretariat of Communications and
Transport (SCT) suspend the requirements for six items. Cruise
operators no longer need to supply each harbor master with a
passenger list, a list of embarking/disembarking passengers, a
provisions list, a declaration of crew belongings, a shipping agency
letter and a navigation record.
The changes spring from proposals made by Miguel Casanueva, director
of ports and agencies for Grupo TMM, during the 15th annual congress
of the Association of Mexican Marine Agencies (AMANAC) in October in Veracruz.
The changes will speed ship clearance, save time, boost productivity
and cut costs, Casanueva said.
Carnival Orders 3rd Dream Class Ship
The new ship is scheduled for delivery in 2012, following the 2011
launch of the Carnival Magic. This is big news as it ends a
near two year drought in new ship orders and helps validate the
cruise industries strong position with consumers and continued
dedication to growth. The current economic environment also
helped Carnival procure an excellent price, at $200,000 per lower
berth compared to $202,000 for the Carnival Magic and $259,000 for
RCI’s Allure of the Seas (sister ship of the Oasis).
Facing complaints, a major cruise line no longer will add tips
to bills automatically
The cruise industry grew up in North America, where tipping for
services is common, and for years many of the biggest cruise lines
have relied on hefty tips from American customers to provide the bulk
of their workers' incomes.
But what do you do when you start branching out to other cultures
that don't tip quite as much if at all? It's a growing problem for
cruise companies as they expand rapidly around the globe.
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