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Commodore Warwick hosts final QM2 voyage
Commodore Ronald Warwick, who retires at the end
of this month after 36 years of Cunard Line service, will host his
final crossing on the flagship Queen Mary 2 from New York on July 24.
The Commodore and his wife Kim will host a
variety of functions during the six-day voyage. Special lunches will
be held in the Commodore's honour in New York and Southampton and all
passengers will take part in a 'Commodore's Dinner'. Commodore
Warwick followed in the footsteps of his late father, Commodore
William Warwick CBE, who sailed as Master of the Queen Mary and Queen
Elizabeth, was the first Master appointed to Queen Elizabeth 2 in
1968, and was also promoted to Commodore of the fleet, in 1970.
Commodore Ronald Warwick joined Cunard as a Third
Officer in 1970. He first sailed as Captain in 1986 on board Cunard
Princess, and also sailed in command of the Cunard Countess and
Cunard Crown Dynasty before his appointment as Master of Queen
Elizabeth 2 in July 1990. From April 1996 he sailed permanently as
senior Master on board QE2 until his appointment as Master-designate
of Queen Mary 2 in 2002. In December 2003 he was promoted to
the rank of Commodore of the Cunard fleet.
Chef Sodamin creates new HAL cookbook
A new cookbook by master chef Rudi Sodamin
provides nearly a hundred recipes with color photographs of dishes
featured on Holland America Line.
'A Taste of Excellence' offers 14 chapters of
recipes ranging from morning meals to late-night snacks plus culinary
tips from Holland America's executive chefs.
The cookbook is available for $29.95 on Holland
America ships, at major bookstores such as Barnes & Noble and
Borders, and on line through Amazon.com.
Made in Italy
Costa's eleventh ship was delivered June 30th,
when Fincantieri handed over Costa Concordia at their Sestri Ponente
yard near Genoa. For more on Costa Cruises CLICK
HERE
Orderbook valued at just under $15bn
With the delivery of Costa Concordia by
Fincantieri last week, there is just one more newbuild to come this
year, NCL's Norwegian Pearl, due to be delivered in November.
At the beginning of July the cruiseship orderbook
stood at 26 vessels valued at just under $15bn. Firm orders represent
a total of 74,212 lower berths.
In the past nine years, the orderbook was at its
healthiest at end January 2001, when there were firm orders for 53
ships of 98,162 lower berths, valued at $18.5bn.
The current orderbook stretches into 2010 with
eight ships due for delivery next year, nine in 2008, seven in 2009
and one in 2010.
Carnival promotes Freedom crossing
Carnival Cruise Lines is promoting Carnival
Freedom’s 14-day Atlantic crossing in Fall 2007 with prices
starting at $799. The voyage will depart the port of Rome
(Civitavecchia) on Oct. 28 and arrive in Miami on Nov. 11.
After an overnight in Civitavecchia, the
110,000gt ship will call at Livorno, Italy; Malaga, Spain; and
Funchal (Madeira), Portugal.
Prior to the trans-Atlantic voyage, Carnival
Freedom will debut with a series of 12-day Mediterranean cruises from
Civitavecchia that include the line’s first-ever visits to the
Greek Isles and Turkey. The program will run March 14 to
Oct. 16, 2007.
Fred Olsen to Refurbish Norwegian Crown
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, a British cruise line,
is adding the Norwegian Crown to its fleet in early 2008. Olsen is
buying the ship from Star Cruises in August, but will lease the ship
back to NCL so it can operate its schedule as published through
November 2007. Olsen specializes in operating classic, smaller ships.
The Norwegian Crown will be renamed Balmoral once it joins the Olsen
fleet. It will undergo a refurbishment that will add "a
significant number of balconies," the company said. Although now
configured for 1,100 passengers, the ship will carry fewer than 1,000
passengers under the new flag. Olsen is devising itineraries for what
will be its fifth ship, but they are expected to feature some
departures from Miami, Rome and Dover.
Uniworld Schedules Danube River Cruises
Uniworld's River Baroness sails the Danube from
Budapest to Passau on the nine-day "Danube Highlights"
cruise. The newly restyled River Baroness features a marble lobby, a
window-lined main lounge, bars, and a reading room. Each stateroom
features a large panoramic window, private bathroom, luxurious
amenities including hotel-style beds, a choice of pillows, and
Egyptian cotton sheets. Staterooms also have air conditioning and
heat controls, flat-panel television, and direct-dial telephones. The
"Danube Highlights" cruises are priced at $1,598 per
person, double occupancy; roundtrip airfare is available from $199
from select cities. For more on Uniworld cruises CLICK
HERE.
Baltic cruise lines to merge
Two Baltic Sea cruise operators, Silja Line and
the Tallink Grupp, have agreed to merge, forming what they say will
be the largest cruise operation in the Baltic Sea. The two
lines carried a combined total of more than 6 million passengers in
2005. The two operations will become one company with 21 vessels on
routes connecting Finland, Estonia, Germany, Latvia and Sweden.
Solstice will boost fuel efficiency
Celebrity Cruises' 118,000gt Solstice series will
be of a totally new design with high fuel efficiency. 2008's
Celebrity Solstice also will be the first cruise vessel to emerge
under the new IMO stability regulations.
Stability regulations will impact the underwater
area of the ship, which will look 'totally different.' The new
rules don't mean existing ships are not safe.
Although Celebrity Solstice and Equinox will be
much larger than existing Celebrity vessels, they will use the same
power and operate at the same speed for a major increase in fuel efficiency.
Cell phone service goes fleetwide at NCL
NCL Corp. announced the fleetwide implementation
of cellular phone service. The company provides the service through
Wireless Maritime Services, a joint venture of AT&T Wireless and
Maritime Telecommunications Network.
Grand Prix debut on Costa Concordia
7/7/2006
Grand Prix driver Vitantonio Liuzzi inaugurated
the Formula One race car simulator on the new Costa Concordia today
in the Port of Rome.
The bright yellow car rolled and pitched as
Liuzzi followed a challenging circuit, closely watched by a crowd of
media and Carnival Corp. executives who viewed the course on adjacent
video screens.
'It gives you the same feeling as a Formula One
car, especially the G forces,' Liuzzi told the crowd. 'This is the
best simulator I ever tried. After some laps in this one, you feel
... not dizzy ... but it's tough.' Last weekend, Liuzzi scored the
Toro Rosso team's first point at the U.S. Grand Prix in Indianapolis.
Costa chairman and ceo Pier Luigi Foschi
commissioned the development of the cutting-edge simulator from
Belgian software company Vesc. Pumps move the car and give the
sensation of acceleration. The top speed possible is 350 km/h.
Costa president Gianni Onorato was the first
civilian to test the simulator. 'It's fun but it's not a video game.
You feel a little bit tired afterward,' he told Seatrade Insider.
Cergol reviews the longest-running ship series
The new Costa Concordia represents a further
evolution of a Fincantieri post-Panamax design first realized in
1996's Carnival Destiny. The Destiny blueprint evolved into the
slightly larger Conquest series for Carnival Cruise Lines and
adaptations for Costa Crociere's Fortuna and Magica.
'Overall, there are 10 ships of this long series
and five others coming. This is the longest series of any vessel,'
noted Maurizio Cergol, cruise vessel chief designer for Fincantieri.
Costa Concordia is the first ship planned to
operate in the Mediterranean year-round, with two glass-topped pools
and an enormous spa that's a destination in itself. Regardless of the
weather, passengers can relax under UV tanning beds, in a winter
garden, at a tea house, in lavish Asian-style treatment facilities or
in rooms of dry heat, scented steams and bubbling pools.
Savings on Crystal's first Tampa routes
Crystal Cruises is promoting two-for-one savings
on fall Panama Canal sailings to and from Tampa.
While the luxury line sails regularly from South
Florida, 2006 marks the first year of voyages turning around in the
central part of the state.
Savings are available on Crystal Symphony's Nov.
24 12-day cruise from Costa Rica to Tampa, which starts at $2,380,
and the Dec. 6 15-day sailing from Tampa to Los Angeles, starting at $2,930.
Princess expands wedding program
Princess Cruises expanded its 'Tie the Knot at
Sea' wedding program to the entire 15-ship fleet.
Originally offered only on the line's larger
vessels with formal wedding chapels, the option is now also available
on Sun Princess, Dawn Princess, Sea Princess, Regal Princess, Pacific
Princess and Tahitian Princess. The ships have all been reflagged to
Bermuda registry, the authority under which each marriage is certified.
Prices for weddings at sea start at $1,800 for
the ceremony plus $450 for the registration and license fees. The
program assists couples with all required paperwork associated with
Bermuda regulations.
Princess's wedding at sea program debuted with
the 1998 launch of Grand Princess and has grown every year since,
according to Jan Swartz, svp customer service and sales. Last year,
Princess held ceremonies for about a thousand couples.
Castaway Cay tie-in to new Disney film
7/6/2006 A pirate ghost ship has
anchored off Disney Cruise Line's Castaway Cay. The ship is the
Flying Dutchman, which makes its movie debut tomorrow in Disney's
'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.'
The Walt Disney Theaters on Disney Magic and
Disney Wonder will premiere the latest film in the 'Pirates of the
Caribbean' franchise at 12:01 a.m. Friday. Passengers will receive
commemorative buttons and pirate-themed temporary tattoos.
The Flying Dutchman will remain at Castaway Cay
to provide a photo backdrop for Disney passengers, and the pirate
character Capt. Jack Sparrow also may be spotted around the island.
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