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Do You Know?
Do you know the difference between Country Western music, and Cowboy
music? They are very different. Think Roy Rogers, Gene
Autry, etc. If you like Cowboy music, we want to
invite you to join us on our 2nd Annual Cowboy Cruise!
The sailing date is Jan. 25th, 2009 on the Carnival Conquest.
We are taking deposits now to make sure everybody that wants to go
can be accommodated. The deposit is $100 per person. However,
as a subscriber to The Cruiseman Newsletter, if you make
your deposit before Feb. 4th, we can accept your reservation
with a deposit of just $25pp! This deposit is fully refundable
until Nov. 1st. (deposit offer is for double occupancy cabins only)
You will have exclusive admittance into all the Cowboy Cruise Concert
events. Also, note that the price of the cruise includes all
taxes and fees, and your gratuities, Book now and we'll even
throw in a $100 onboard credit (per cabin)!!
CLICK
HERE for all the details, and then contact our office.
HAL's Half Moon Cay celebrates 10 years
Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and Stein Kruse, president and
ceo of Holland America Line, participated in a ceremony marking Half
Moon Cay's 10th anniversary.
Zuiderdam passengers visiting the island for the day were able to
witness the festivities. Also present were other HAL executives and
Bahamian government officials.
Originally Little San Salvador, the uninhabited island located 100
miles southeast of Nassau was purchased by HAL in 1996 for $6m.
Renamed Half Moon Cay, it debuted as a port of call in December 1997
after an initial investment of $16m into the facility, which today is
situated on 50 acres.
‘The island become a favorite port call for our guests and we
have provided full-time, year-round jobs for 93 Bahamians from local
islands,’ Kruse said.
Half Moon Cay was developed according to the guidelines of the
Business Charter for Sustainable Development established by the
International Chamber of Commerce. Much of the island serves as a
migratory bird reserve and only 2% of the acreage has been developed.
Regent marks a decade with Paul Gauguin
At a gala ceremony in Papeete Harbor with fireworks and colored water
streaming skyward from tugboats, Tahiti’s government and Regent
Seven Seas Cruises this week celebrated 10 years of uninterrupted
South Pacific service for the cruise ship Paul Gauguin.
Contest to name Genesis ships
USA TODAY and Royal Caribbean International are sponsoring a contest
to name the world’s two largest cruise ships, currently referred
to as Genesis I and Genesis II.
Participants are asked to select two corresponding names ending in
‘of the Seas.’ The person whose ship names are selected
will attend a gala naming ceremony and get a free, week-long
cruise. Suggestions may be submitted at
namethatship.usatoday.com between now and Feb. 29.
Solstice sprouts grassy ‘Lawn Club’ top deck
When Celebrity Solstice debuts in December, the ship will present a
top deck covered in real grass. The Lawn Club will offer bocce ball
and croquet, golf putting and a spot to picnic with a basket of wine
and cheese.
The area will feature venues called Patio on the Lawn, the Lawn Club
Shop, Sunset Bar and the previously announced Hot Glass Show.
‘We want our guests to experience the unexpected, like the
thrill of sinking a putt on a freshly manicured lawn in the middle of
the ocean,’ said Dan Hanrahan, president and ceo of Celebrity
Cruises, who unveiled the feature at a New York event last night in
Central Park’s Tavern on the Green.
Growing real grass on a cruise ship requires considerable effort.
Celebrity worked with design firm Wilson Butler Architects to create
the entire club area, then engaged a team of landscape architects and
irrigation specialists along with turf and soil scientists at the
University of Florida.
Together, they tested a variety of grasses to determine which can
withstand the winds, sun, shade and temperature variations that will
affect the grass and soil as the ship sails in the Caribbean this
winter. The Lawn Club will stretch 22,927 square
feet or just over half an acre.
Groups unite to foster Cozumel’s sustainability
An agreement to facilitate the sustainability of Cozumel – the
world’s most visited cruise destination – has been signed
by stakeholders including cruise lines, local government and the
private sector.
The agreement sets into motion a major environmental initiative aimed
at preserving what scientists consider some of the most endangered
biodiversity on the planet.
The Mesoamerican Reef Tourism Initiative (MARTI) springs from a
12-month partnership among Conservation International, Cozumel’s
Department of Tourism and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association.
The agreement provides a framework to facilitate the sustainability
of cruise tourism in Cozumel through action by government, private
sector, civil society organizations and cruise lines.
Port Everglades welcomes two Queens
Queen Victoria made a maiden call to Port Everglades on Wednesday,
the same day Queen Elizabeth 2 was in port. The Cunard liners have
been sailing in tandem since departing Southampton on Jan. 6. They
last met in New York Harbor on Sunday, where they were joined by
Queen Mary 2. Queen Victoria is sailing its first world
cruise, and QE2 its 26th and final world cruise before it leaves the
fleet in November.
San Diego approves new cruise terminal
The Port of San Diego has approved a new cruise terminal for homeport
operations at its Broadway Pier. The structure will cost
approximately $16m and become operational in 2009, said Rita
Vandergaw, director of marketing for the port.
‘This is a huge step forward, the first major infrastructure
that we’ve done for the cruise business in [many years],’
Vandergaw told Seatrade Insider. ‘It sends a powerful message to
the cruise industry that we are moving to accommodate their growth.’
Broadway Pier is San Diego’s auxiliary cruise berth. Being able
to better accommodate ships there is vital so the port can begin a
project to handle very large vessels at its main B Street Pier.
Currently, San Diego can serve three homeporting ships but must use a
tent at Broadway Pier for the third ship. The port has just completed
$3m in work to strengthen the deck of that pier to handle the
additional weight of the new terminal.
CLIA forecasts 12.8m cruisers in 2008
The Cruise Lines International Association projects 12.8m passengers
in 2008, up from the estimated 12.6m who sailed in 2007. CLIA
forecasts 10.5m passengers will be sourced from the United States and
Canada, with 2.3m from international markets.
CLIA also released third quarter 2007 passenger figures and fourth
quarter estimates, which indicated its member lines carried 12.6m
passengers, a 4.6% increase over the 12.01m in 2006. Included in the
forecast are 10.33m North Americans in 2007, compared to 10.08m the
prior year. Cruise lines also maintained their high utilization rates
in 2007, posting a collective occupancy factor of more than 105%.
CLIA’s 24 member lines expect a 2008 capacity increase of 23,275
berths. The annual net increase in available bed days is projected as 1.6%.
Prinsendam gets $20m primp
Holland America Line completed a $20m upgrade of the 1988-built
Prinsendam including new luxury bathrooms in all staterooms, the
addition of the Explorations Café powered by the New York
Times, an expanded and refurbished shopping promenade, and new
carpets and stone flooring.
Stateroom upgrades included remodeled bathrooms and redesigned closet
space. New carpet, desks, chairs and other furniture were also installed.
New carpet was laid throughout the dining room and lounges while the
Lido restaurant was resurfaced with stone and carpet. Serving counter
and seating areas were upgraded. Some outside decks were recovered, too.
On the sports deck, new croquet and bocce courts and two new putting
greens were installed. A new Stuyvesant Room also was created to
serve as a meeting room (that doubles as Club HAL space for children)
and the library near the Explorations Café was expanded.
All balconies received the final improvements to meet recently
adopted IMO safety regulations. Additional technical improvements
were made with upgrades to radar systems, lifeboats and other
nautical equipment.
Carnival Valentine contest offers free cruise
In a Valentine’s Day promotion, Carnival Cruise Lines said it
will award a free cruise to the couple who submits the most romantic
story to www.carnival.com.
The contest runs until Feb. 14. The top five entries will be selected
by a team of Carnival judges then posted on carnival.com where site
visitors can vote on their favorite.
The winning couple will get a four-day Western Caribbean cruise in
the owner’s suite aboard the Carnival Imagination from Miami or
Carnival Inspiration from Tampa.
Independence of the Seas nears completion
With only 15 weeks until delivery, Royal Caribbean
International’s newest ship, Independence of the Seas, took to
the seas for the first time last Friday. About 85% complete, the
third Freedom-class ship is due to be delivered two weeks ahead of
schedule, in late April.
Over 1,700 yard workers and sub-contractors are working at Aker Yards
in Turku on areas including the main dining room, the theatre and the
upper deck pool area, in temperatures that are several degrees below zero.
After leaving Finland Independence of the Seas will arrive in
Southampton for inaugural celebrations in the UK before becoming the
largest newbuild in the RCI fleet ever to be based for a season in Europe.
Galveston extends Royal Caribbean agreement
The Board of Trustees of the Galveston Wharves entered into a new
five-year operating agreement with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. The
pact continues the relationship begun in October 2001 between the
Texas port and the cruise company.
Under the new terms, Galveston will serve as homeport for Voyager of
the Seas with 40 cruises scheduled through 2009. The agreement also
provides the opportunity for Royal Caribbean to expand its future
operations and facilitates development of the port to accommodate
such expansion.
Galveston port director Steven Cernak said Voyager of the Seas will
boost the regional economy. In 2006, the cruise industry contributed
$1.1bn in direct spending and created 19,341 jobs in the state of Texas.
Voyager is currently operating seven-night itineraries to the
Caribbean and Mexico, and is expected to generate approximately
125,000 round-trip passengers at the port this season.
The deployment marks the first time a Voyager-class ship is sailing
from Texas for a full season, noted Alice Norsworthy, svp marketing,
Royal Caribbean International.
This year the Port of Galveston will spend $3.3m to upgrade Cruise
Terminal 2 including a new awning for the passenger drop-off and
pick-up area and a staging area for buses, taxis and airport and
hotel shuttles. The port will also expand the baggage lay-down area
an additional 4,500 square feet and improve the provisioning area.
Galveston handles more than 1m cruisers annually.
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