|
Crystal
Cruises adds Mount Kilimanjaro climb
Crystal
Cruises will be the first cruise line to offer an excursion to climb
Tanzania’s 19,340-foot Mount Kilimanjaro, said John Stoll,
Crystal’s director of land programs.
Starting in
March 2007, the nine-night pre or post cruise program will be
available to Crystal Serenity passengers on two cruises out of Cape
Town, South Africa.
NCL
America christens Pride of Hawaii
NCL America is
less than a week shy of its goal to sail three U.S.-flagged, U.S.-crewed
ships in Hawaii as it christened its third vessel, the Pride of
Hawaii, during a ceremony in Los Angeles on May 20.
The ship
departed Los Angeles on May 22 and is en route to Hawaii, where it
will begin seven-day interisland cruising from Honolulu on June 5.
At 93,500 tons
and room for 2,466 passengers, the Pride of Hawaii will be the
largest ship in the NCL America fleet.
Meanwhile, NCL
upped the capacity on its 10- and 11-day Hawaii cruises by disclosing
plans to replace the 1,748-passenger Norwegian Wind with the 2,002-passenger
Norwegian Sun on the route.
The Norwegian
Wind will leave the NCL fleet in April 2007 and be transferred to
Star Cruises. The Norwegian Sun will begin sailing in Hawaii in
September 2007.
High
Flying Excursion
Five Crystal
Cruises passengers sailing St. Petersburg itineraries this year will
each spend 30 minutes in the cockpit of a MiG fighter jet,
experiencing zero gravity and Mach 2 speeds while inverted in the sky
over Moscow. The price? A cool $22,000 each.
Only two
guests took this excursion last year, when it was first offered for
$15,000. Since then, fuel costs crept up, and so did the price, but
that didn’t discourage people from seeking what John Stoll,
Crystal’s director of land programs, described as a
once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Star
Cruises to sell Norwegian Crown to Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines
Norwegian
Cruise Lines said that its parent company, Star Cruises, is selling
the Norwegian Crown to Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines in August. The ship
will become Olsen’s fifth vessel in November 2007, after
completing its current NCL schedule.
The
34,000-ton, 1,000-passenger Norwegian Crown is owned by Star Cruises
and operated by NCL. Once sold, it will be chartered back to Star so
that NCL can continue its current deployment. The ship will sail
seven-day Bermuda itineraries this summer and next and 14-day South
American cruises this winter.
“Although
a beautiful and well-maintained vessel, Norwegian Crown’s
smaller size is less suitable for Star Cruises’ ambitions in
Asia,” said Colin Veitch, president and CEO of NCL Corp.
“Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines specializes in operating smaller and
mid-sized upscale vessels and this ship should fit perfectly in their fleet.”
NCL also said
that the Norwegian Wind will be transferred to Star Cruises, becoming
SuperStar Aquarius, based in Hong Kong, in April 2007. The ship will
be replaced by the larger Norwegian Sun on its Hawaii route. The
departure of the two ships coincides with the scheduled deliveries of
two new NCL ships, the Norwegian Pearl and Norwegian Gem.
|
