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MSC Orchestra Joins Lirica in Caribbean
MSC Cruises' newest ship, MSC Orchestra, which debuted in 2007, will
sail her inaugural Caribbean season next year, joining MSC Lirica,
which has sailed Caribbean waters for several seasons. At 92,400
gross tons, MSC Orchestra is the largest of the line's fleet to sail
the Caribbean. It can carry 2,550 passengers
Cruise ship watchdog program still needs tweaks
(Readers: Remember that huge new tax that Alaska residents approved
in 2006?)
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - A program that places marine watchdogs on
cruise ships is facing higher-than-expected costs.
Voters approved the Ocean Ranger program in August 2006 to ensure the
large tourist vessels follow environmental regulations and other rules.
The program places U.S. Coast Guard-certified marine engineers
onboard the ships.
Lynn Kent is with the Department of Environmental Conservation.
She says providing full ranger coverage on large cruise ships in
Alaska waters would cost about $5 million.
State Representative Beth Kerttula is a Democrat from Juneau, which
relies heavily on the cruise industry. Kerttula says the cost
of the program was higher than she thought it would be.
Initiative supporter Chip Thoma says supporters would be willing to
talk with the state about ways to implement the program more efficiently.
Voters created the ocean rangers along with a new tax, called the
commercial passenger vessel excise tax, that brought in more than $46
million last year. The ocean ranger program brought in another
$4 million in taxes.
(Translation: Guard your wallet! They will probably be
coming after more taxes!)
Independence of the Seas on sea trials
The world’s largest cruise ship, RCCL’s Independence of
the Seas has started sea trials in the Baltic and is set to enter
service two weeks ahead of schedule. The early delivery from Aker
Yards Finland’s Turku facility means that an additional two
cruises are now being offered on the vessel from her new summer
homeport for 2008, the UK’s Southampton.
Independence of the Seas will now undertake a four-day cruise from
Southampton to Cork, Republic of Ireland on 2 May and an 11-day
Canaries cruise on 6 May.
Cuba says cruise business sinking under U.S. ban
By Anthony Boadle
HAVANA, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Cuba's cruise business has been been
paralyzed by U.S. sanctions that deter cruise ships from visiting
during their tours of the Caribbean, the director of Havana's
passenger terminal said on Wednesday.
The cigar and rum shop is closed in the deserted $10 million terminal
and no ships are expected to moor for days.
For the rest of this article CLICK
HERE
Norwegian Cruise Line Launches New Television Commercials
Building on its successful brand identity campaign introduced in late
2006, NCL is introducing a series of new television commercials
highlighting the facets of the company's signature Freestyle
Cruising, an approach to cruising unlike any other offered in the
industry. Freestyle Cruising leaves regimented schedules behind, and
is characterized by having no fixed dining times, resort casual
attire, relaxed disembarkation and dozens of on-board entertainment
and activity options.
Port Of Boston Sets Record for Cruise Passenger
The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) announced that the Port
of Boston set records last year for cruise passengers. Cruise
passenger traffic grew by 12 percent at Cruiseport Boston's Black
Falcon Cruise Terminal. "With respect to cruise passengers, we
benefited from a 25 percent increase in scheduled ship calls and
larger vessels," said Mike Leone, port director for Massport.
During the 2007 cruise season, 101 ships called at Boston, bringing
234,284 passengers. The cruise season wrapped up in December when
Norwegian Cruise Lines' newest ship, the Norwegian Gem, called Boston
as its first U.S. port of call on its inaugural crossing from Europe.
The port also recently announced a 10-year agreement between NCL and
the government of Bermuda designating NCL the exclusive line to sail
from Boston to Bermuda. After a 13-year run, the Port of Boston bid
farewell to the Norwegian Majesty as it made its final visit in
October. Norwegian Dream will begin sailings to Bermuda in 2008 as
well as a new itinerary of seven-day cruises to Canada/New England.
And in 2009, one of NCL's newest and largest ships, Norwegian Spirit,
will sail the Boston-Bermuda itinerary.
Princess Cruises announces first global circumnavigation from
Australia - 104-night Odyssey on premium superliner Dawn Princess
Princess Cruises has announced details of the first ever cruise
departing from Australia to circumnavigate the globe - a magnificent
104-night odyssey on its premium superliner Dawn Princess, visiting
more than 35 ports.
The epic voyage spearheads Princess Cruises' new Sun Princess and
Dawn Princess 2009 brochure, which features 13 diverse cruises on the
two superliners, sailing from Sydney and Fremantle.
Departing July 2009, Dawn Princess' world cruise will be the longest
roundtrip voyage undertaken from Australia. This remarkable cruise
will feature a memorable visit to Anzac Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
The adventure begins when Dawn Princess sets sail from Sydney bound
for Auckland, Samoa, Tahiti and Hawaii before crossing the Pacific to
discover the delights of Mexico, the Caribbean and East and West
Coast USA.
After visiting America's most Irish city, Boston, passengers will
sail straight across the Atlantic to Ireland to call at Cork, and
then enjoy a leisurely exploration of Europe from Spain and Italy
through to Greece. From Anzac Cove, Dawn Princess will travel on
through the Middle East to India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore
before returning to Sydney via Darwin.
Pride of Hawaii Sails Its Last Cruise
Norwegian Cruise Lines' Pride of Hawaii is sailing its last island
cruise before heading to Los Angeles, where it will be repainted and
head off to Europe and renamed the Norwegian Jade.
Its next cruise will begin March 30 from Barcelona to Istanbul
followed by a variety of 12-, 13- and 14-night cruises out of
Barcelona, Athens, London and Istanbul.
Pride of Hawaii debuted in Hawaii as an American-flagged ship two
years ago, but was plagued by service and financial issues. NCL has
not ruled out the possibility of the vessel returning some day to the
Hawaii market.
Carnival Fantasy to Get Makeover
An expansive new aqua park featuring a 300-foot-long water slide,
along with an adults-only area, and a totally redesigned
"resort-style" main pool will be incorporated into the
Carnival Fantasy when the 2,052-passenger ship undergoes a
multimillion-dollar dry dock this fall.
The "extreme makeover" represents phase two of
"Evolutions of Fun," Carnival Cruise Lines' $250-million
extensive ship refurbishment program for the line's eight 70,000-ton
Fantasy-class vessels.
Carnival Fantasy will be the third ship to be fully outfitted with
all "Evolutions of Fun" upgrades, with Carnival Inspiration
and Carnival Imagination completed in recent months.
CLICK
HERE to see the "new" Carnival Imagination.
Princess Bids Farewell to Traditional Disembarkation Process;
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (January 31, 2008) - The traditional "hurry
up and wait" disembarkation process that has long been a cruise
industry tradition is now history aboard Princess ships, as the line
introduces a new, streamlined farewell process for passengers.
Contrasted with the typical end-of-cruise departure where passengers
listen to public address system announcements for their luggage tag
color to be called signaling the staggered times they will disembark,
Princess has debuted an efficient, more relaxed process for
passengers leaving the ship. Passengers are each given an assigned
time and place to assemble on the final morning and are personally
escorted to the gangway by a member of the ship's staff, eliminating
the guesswork as to the actual time passengers will be disembarking.
"We've been praised for our innovative embarkation program that
enables passengers to board the ship without long delays, check into
their cabins early, and begin enjoying the cruise amenities including
meals and beverages," said Jan Swartz, Princess' senior vice
president of customer service. "Now with the addition of this
new disembarkation process which gives our passengers a more gracious
send-off on their final morning with us, we believe we're offering
the best passenger experience both at the start and end of their vacation."
The new program is in the process of being rolled out fleetwide, and
has already been met with enthusiastic response from passengers. The
new system eliminates loudspeaker announcements calling color-coded
departure groups, and instead provides passengers with a letter the
day before the end of the cruise that outlines their designated time
to meet in an assigned public room, depending on their return air
arrangements. There they will be met by a member of the ship's staff
who will wait with them until departure time, when they will be
personally escorted to the gangway.
The revised system enables passengers to easily plan their morning
without the uncertainty as to when they should prepare to depart the
ship. It also eliminates passengers congregating in the ship's atrium
near the gangway, plus creates a more relaxed flow for morning breakfast.
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