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New
Carnival Splendour To Operate Carnival's First-Ever South America
Voyages in 2009
For the first
time, Carnival Cruise Lines will operate voyages to South America
with 14- to 18-day departures featuring extended visits to
magnificent destinations in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador,
Chile and Peru aboard the new 113,300-ton Carnival Splendor beginning
in January 2009.
Representing a new
class of “Fun Ship,” the 3,006-passenger SuperLiner will
offer a host of innovations including a luxurious 21,000-square-foot
health club and the line’s first spa staterooms and suites.
Carnival Splendor
will operate three special South America departures in 2009 -- a
17-day, six-port cruise from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Buenos Aires,
Argentina, Jan. 31-Feb. 17; a 14-day, six-port voyage from Buenos
Aires to Santiago (Valparaiso), Chile, Feb. 17-March 3, and an
18-day, six-port South America/Mexican Riviera cruise from Santiago
(Valparaiso) to San Francisco March 3-21.
Reservations open
July 10th, 2007, so give The Cruiseman a call !
Carnival
pledges $34.5M for construction of dock in St. Maarten
Carnival Corp.
said that it has reached an agreement with the government of St.
Maarten to provide $34.5 million in funding for the construction of
an additional two-berth docking facility on the island.
Under the 20-year
agreement, Carnival said it will receive some preferential berthing
rights, as well as a long-term contract governing fees related to its
ship calls at St. Maarten.
At the same time
Carnival said is providing certain guarantees and commitments
pertaining to the number of cruise ship passenger arrivals to the
island. Carnival did not elaborate on those agreements.
Too Late
Cunard Line
confirmed that the Queen Elizabeth 2's final voyage, from
Southampton, England, to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, sold out in
about 35 minutes. Cunard opened the books on the ship's final sailing
on June 27. Carnival Corp., Cunard's parent company,
recently sold the 37-year-old vessel to Istithmar, a wholly owned
company of the Dubai government, for $100 million.
Celebrity, Blau & Associates
working together on F&B services
Celebrity Cruises
said it has partnered with Las Vegas-based Blau & Associates, a
strategic restaurant planning and development firm, to serve as the
line's culinary consultancy across the fleet.
Blau &
Associates was founded by Elizabeth Blau, who has worked in the food
service business for more than 23 years. Celebrity said that Blau is
widely credited with transforming Las Vegas' dining from ordinary
24-hour buffets to a top-tier culinary destination rich with
Michelin-starred chefs. Celebrity's new vice president of food and
beverage operations, Jacques van Staden, was formerly a partner in
Blau & Associates.
Carnival
halts shore excursions in MoBay after robbery
Carnival Cruise
Lines suspended the sale of a shore excursion in Montego Bay,
Jamaica, after guests from its ship, the Carnival Conquest, were
robbed on a bus during an excursion.
The ship was in
Montego Bay as part of a seven-day western Caribbean cruise that
departed Galveston, Texas, on June 10 and returned June 17.
All appropriate
law enforcement authorities were notified, the line said, and many of
the stolen items have been recovered and have been returned to the
guests involved in the incident.
Update:
Carnival reports that everything is now back to normal at Montego Bay
and shore excursions are operating on normal schedules.
Passenger
missing from Freedom of the Seas
A 24-year-old male
passenger on the Freedom of the Seas was reported missing Monday
morning June 18th, Royal Caribbean International said.
The guest, who is
from the U.S., was sailing on the Freedom with his family, Royal
Caribbean said, and was reported missing by the family at
approximately 8:30 a.m. on June 18. He was last seen by a family
member and a friend at approximately 1:45 a.m. on Monday, while he
was resting on his stateroom balcony, the cruise line stated.
From the time he
was last seen to when he was reported missing, the ship was sailing
near the northern and eastern side of Eleuthera Island in the
Bahamas, and in coordination with a U.S. Coast Guard search, the
Freedom has twice retraced the tracks where it sailed during that time.
Royal Caribbean
said that the USCG has been conducting a parallel search by air,
using two aircraft, and continued to search the area on Tuesday.
Officials advised that the best and most effective way to conduct the
search now is to do so by air, given the speed, wider visibility and
greater access offered by aircraft, Royal Caribbean stated.
Onboard, the line
said that a variety of announcements and searches of the ship were
made on Monday, and that Royal Caribbean alerted the USCG, the FBI
and the Bahamian Maritime Authority and other vessels in the area.
The company also said that it collected and reviewed onboard records,
videos and statements, and secured the young man's stateroom, and
that members of the line's Guest Care team continue to provide
assistance to the family.
Existing
Carnival Corp. vessel will launch TUI Cruise in 2009
Carnival Corp.
will transfer a ship from one of its 10 cruise brands to launch the
new cruise line being formed by Carnival and German tour operator
TUI, Carnival said today.
On its second
quarter earnings calls with investors, Carnival said that due to a
delay in closing the joint venture transaction between Carnival and
TUI, the world's largest tour operator, it had lost the 2010 delivery
slot at Fincantieri's Sestri Ponente yard the line had previously
announced would be used to build a new ship for the TUI cruise line.
Carnival COO
Howard Frank said during the call that due to regulatory
requirements, the transaction is now expected to close in the fourth
quarter of this year, behind the companies’ original expectation
that it would close in the first half of this year.
As a result, Frank
said that Carnival would transfer an existing Carnival Corp. vessel
to launch the new TUI Cruise brand in 2009, ahead of its intended
brand launch.
Carnival CEO Micky
Arison would not say what ship would be transferred or from what
brand, but said it would be a “relatively modern” one. He
said that Carnival and TUI had been prepared for such a transfer in
case the closing of the joint venture was delayed.
Start
Your Engines
Carnival Cruise
Lines’ and NASCAR racing legend Rusty Wallace have teamed up
again for another “Rusty Wallace Cruise” -- this
time with a seven-day voyage aboard the 2,758-passenger Carnival
Triumph December 1-8, 2007 sailing from Miami. Rates start at
just $533pp (all taxes included).
The itinerary
is: Half Moon Cay, San Juan, St. Thomas and Grand
Turk. The sailing will offer memorabilia,
contests and opportunities to meet Wallace at invitation-only events.
Carnival’s ‘Rusty Wallace Cruises’ began in
2001 and have drawn more than 7,000 racing fans. CLICK
HERE for details, and then call The Cruiseman
to reserve your space.
Princess
to Double World Cruise Offerings in 2009
Due to the
enthusiastic response for Princess' return to world cruising, the
line will offer two global itineraries in 2009, giving twice as many
passengers the opportunity to enjoy this unparalleled travel
experience, as the ships take them to more than 40 destinations on
six continents. For the first time, Princess will offer world
cruising on two sister ships, with both voyages commencing at nearly
the same time.
The 670-passenger Tahitian
Princess and 710-passenger Royal Princess will offer
similar 107-day itineraries that set sail from Ft. Lauderdale in
January 2009. The Tahitian Princess sailing leaves on January
14, ending in Dover, while Royal Princess sails on January 20 and
winds up in Rome. In addition, passengers can choose from two
extension options for the Tahitian Princess voyage, giving world
travelers the option of finishing this journey of a lifetime in
Dover, Rome, Stockholm or New York. Both itineraries feature
travel to South America, the South Pacific, Australia, Asia, India
and Egypt, with differing European segments. Each voyage will
call at a brand new port for Princess -- Port Blair in the Andaman
Islands, a picturesque stop in the Indian Ocean. Call The
Cruiseman to reserve your place.
And...
South America
Princess Cruises
is planning its biggest South America deployment to date for the
2008-2009 season. The Pacific Princess, the Royal Princess
and the Star Princess will run 21 departures on six different
itineraries, including two new ones: a 12-day sailing on the Royal
Princess between Fort Lauderdale and Guayaquil, Ecuador, which
includes an optional cruise-tour to the Galapagos; and a 14-day Cape
Horn sailing on the Star Princess between Rio de Janeiro and
Santiago, Chile. The Pacific Princess will operate nine Amazon
cruises, a record number for the line.
HAL
outlines 6-ship ’08 Europe season
Holland America
Line’s 2008 Europe season will be its most expansive, with 57
itineraries from March through November that visit nine maiden ports
and feature six ships, including the new Eurodam.
Next year also
will mark the 135th anniversary of the line’s first cruise from
Rotterdam to New York. Additionally, Zuiderdam will sail in Europe
for the first time.
‘With six
ships and nine maiden ports, we have a 35% capacity increase in
cruises and the opportunity to see every region of Europe,’ said
HAL’s Rick Meadows, evp marketing, sales and guest programs.
Barcelona
set for another bumper year
The Port of
Barcelona has announced cruise passenger numbers for the month of May
and the first five months of this year which confirm that 2007 will
be another successive record year.
For the period
January 1 through end May, the port saw 394,898 cruise customers, a
gain of 37.4% from the same period in 2006. In May alone, 217,111
passengers came through Barcelona, 30.7% more than last year.
The figures
reflect a growing trend to higher-capacity vessels, as well as a
lengthening of the Mediterranean cruising season.
Seabourn
Odyssey to make 2009 debut in Venice
Seabourn Cruise
Line's new ship will be named the Seabourn Odyssey and will debut in
Venice in mid-2009, the luxury line said.
"There were
literally hundreds of names that we considered," said Seabourn
President Pamela Conover. "And we pursued dozens of different
directions. But in the end, we wanted her name to reflect her primary
purpose, which is to wander the globe, carrying our guests to the
world's most exciting and fascinating destinations, in signature
Seabourn luxury and style."
Currently under
construction at Italy's T. Mariotti shipyard, Seabourn said the
225-suite ship will cost $250 million, and will be the first addition
to Seabourn's fleet in close to 20 years. The line said that plans
for the vessel's maiden voyages are still being finalized and
expected by the end of this year.
Seabourn said that
due to a high level of initial demand, the line devised a system for
accepting reservations that will be "at once equitable to its
loyal guests and supporters, and manageable for the company's
internal staff."
Seabourn said that
guests who wish to sail on voyages during the maiden year can secure
a spot on a waitlist by making a standard Seabourn deposit of $1,000
per person, or $2,000 per person for the actual maiden voyage;
deposits are being accepted now.
Once the
itineraries are set, waitlisted persons will be notified in advance
and given priority booking access, which will allow them to select
the specific voyage and accommodations they prefer.
Carnival
adds 8-day cruises from San Diego
Carnival Cruise
Lines’ 2,124-passenger Carnival Pride will operate a series of
eight-day cruises from San Diego to the Mex |