|
Lost
anchor back aboard cruise ship after underwater derring-do
A massive anchor that broke off Holland America's 1,380-passenger
Amsterdam in May is back aboard the ship after being recovered in an
ambitious underwater operation.
Alaska's KCAW public radio reports the 60-ton anchor and accompanying
chain, which had fallen into Alaska's Sitka Sound on May 20, were
recovered this past week in a complex, $100,000 operation that
required divers to descend 200 feet below sea level using a special
mix of helium and oxygen.
The news outlet says the divers had just 35 minutes to secure the
anchor to a chain to be pulled to the surface.
The deep water made for "extreme diving condition," a local
port official tells KCAW.
The news outlet says a machine normally used in forestry operations
was mounted to the deck of a barge to help pull the anchor off the
bottom. The anchor, worth up to $500,000, then was reattached to the Amsterdam.
Cruise ships normally carry a spare anchor in case one is lost.
A Holland America executive told KCAW it was the first time of which
he knew when a ship lost an anchor in Southeast Alaska.
Royal
Caribbean tests 'extended stays' in Florida
Cruise ships returning to South Florida arrive early in the morning,
which is great for passengers who have early flights home. It's not
so great, though, for cruisers on later flights out of the region, as
they often find themselves wasting a good chunk of a day sitting
around one of the region's airports.
Enter Royal Caribbean, which is testing a new "extended
stay" option for passengers finishing voyages at its Fort
Lauderdale terminal that includes transport to the boardwalk in
nearby Hollywood, Fla., for a day of shopping, exploring and
sunbathing before a transfer to an airport in time for late-day flights.
For $35 to $40 per person, the "Extended Day -- Hollywood City
Pass" package, unveiled Monday by Royal Caribbean CEO Adam
Goldstein in his on-line blog, also includes bag storage. The line
will store up to two bags per person while a passenger visits the
Hollywood area and then deliver them straight to the airport, where
passengers can pick them up later.
The package includes access to a hospitality center in Hollywood and
a hop-on, hop-off trolley that gives access to the downtown.
Discounts are available at many outlets in the area when using the
City Pass discount card.
Could Brownville, Texas become a home port
for cruise ships?
By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY
That's the hope of some officials in the city, which this week named
a committee to study the possibility.
Despite its long distance from major population centers such as San
Antonio (nearly 300 miles) and Houston (355 miles), a number of port
officials and politicians in Texas' southernmost town think it has
the right stuff to convince a major cruise line to move in with a ship.
Brownsville already has commissioned a preliminary, $25,000 study of
the possibility of becoming a cruise hub that officials say was positive.
"The preliminary study has shown that, yes, there is a market
and, yes, we do have a facility that we could use (to host cruise
ships)," port commissioner Ralph Cowen told the Brownsville
Herald last month. "It would need some improvements, but it's
within the realm of possibility to get it started with what we have."
The new committee will oversee a second, $48,000 study of the idea.
Located on the U.S. border with Mexico, Brownsville (pop. 139,722) is
the 15th largest city in Texas. It's near South Padre Island, a
popular family vacation spot.
One obvious hurdle to Brownsville becoming a cruise hub: Texas
already has an established cruise port in Galveston, home to several
Carnival and Royal Caribbean ships that sail to the Caribbean.
Editors Note: We think they are wasting their time!
Houston has a new port and they can't get any ships to come
there. Keep reading ---------
Could
Savannah, Georgia become a home port for cruise ships?
Will Savannah, Georgia follow in the footsteps of nearby Charleston,
S.C., in becoming a home port for cruise ships?
That's the hope among many officials in the city, and on Thursday
Savannah's City Council is expected to award $129,500 to a Miami firm
to look into what it would take to lure the cruise industry,
according to a report today in the Savannah Morning News.
The feasibility study will assess an appropriate site for a cruise
port and look at planning and organizational structural needs as well
as the financial impact of cruise ships turning around in the city,
the news outlet says.
The Morning News says Charleston's growth as a cruise hub over the
past year has sparked local interest. Industry giant Carnival began
the first year-round sailings out of Charleston in May with the
2,056-passenger Carnival Fantasy, and Charleston officials estimate
the ship is bringing about $70 million a year in direct spending to
the city.
"I think the timing is perfect for Savannah to seize on
this," the Morning News quotes one Savannah alderman, Tony
Thomas, as saying. "We have the political will, but more
importantly, from talking to the business contacts I have around the
state, people can't wait to drive to Savannah and take a cruise
leaving out of here."
Would you pay $95 to 'go
green' for the day on a cruise?
Would you pay $95 to spend a day doing good deeds for the environment
while on a cruise? Crystal Cruises is betting on it.
The luxury line is launching a $95-a-person "Go Green"
shore excursion in Malta that will involve planting trees in the
island's only national park, donating food at a local charity and
learning eco-conscious planting and harvesting practices at a local
organic farm.
The new option will be available on the 1,070-passenger Crystal
Serenity's 12-night Mediterranean and Holy Land voyage from Athens to
Rome departing on Oct. 19 and the 11-night Mediterranean and Spain
voyage from Rome to Barcelona departing on Oct. 31.
The nearly eight-hour excursion begins with a visit to Ta' Qali
National Park, where guests will plant trees and learn about the
park's conservation efforts. Following a guided tour and lunch at eco-conscious
Ta' Zeppi Organic Farm, passengers will visit a local orphan refuge,
where they will donate time and food for the young residents.
The line says the new excursion is a prelude to a global "You
Care, We Care" program of excursions it will debut in 2011.
A balcony cabin on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of
the Seas for under $1,000 a week?
Has the sky high cost of cabins on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the
Seas kept you from booking the ship?
Here's the good news: Prices for the nine-month-old, 5,400-passenger
vessel -- the largest cruise ship ever built -- continue to come
down, with balcony cabins on some sailings now selling for under
$1,000 a week.
Balcony cabins on Oasis are available for $999 per person for the
upcoming Sept. 18 sailing to the Western Caribbean. Balcony cabins on
a number of late 2011 sailings also are available for under $1,000
per person, including six Western Caribbean sailings between Oct. 1,
2011 and Dec. 10, 2011 that are priced from $949 for a balcony cabin.
Inside cabins on the voyages start at $729 per person.
Chock full of more poolside play areas, eateries, lounges and
gee-whiz amenities from a zip line to an outdoor dive show, Oasis has
commanded a hefty price premium as compared to other mass market
ships since debuting last November. But the premium has been coming
down steadily over the past year.
Allure
of the Seas nearly ready
Will Royal Caribbean's much-awaited new ship, Allure of the Seas, be
ready for its late November unveiling? It's looking more and more
like a sure thing.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Chairman and CEO Richard Fain, who just
toured the 5,400-passenger vessel at the shipyard in Finland where it
is under construction, writes on his blog this week that he doesn't
think he's ever seen a ship at this stage of construction so ready.
"Despite regular status reports and photographs from the
newbuilding team, I was astounded by how far along she was,"
Fain writes. He goes on to hint that things are going so well at the
shipyard the company might even rethink inaugural activities planned
for November.
The upbeat report from the shipyard on Allure is in contrast to where
the company found itself almost exactly a year ago during the
construction of Allure's sister, the much-ballyhooed, record-size
Oasis of the Seas
Fain says Royal Caribbean and the shipyard are hoping the vessel can
be delivered to the line on Oct. 28 with zero ''remarks" -- the
industry term for flaws both big and small discovered by inspection
teams as a vessel nears completion.
If so, it would mark a major shipbuilding feat.
A remark "can be as simple as a sticky desk drawer or as major
as the engine won't start," notes Fain, and "with an
inspection team now at 115 (persnickety) people and growing, there
are always a lot of remarks. To put this in perspective, Oasis left
the shipyard with over 6,000 remarks that took weeks to resolve."
Fain notes that most remarks are so minor as to never be noticed by
passengers, but the lack of them going into the ship's first weeks of
operations is a big plus.
"The beauty of such a (zero remark) target is not that the
remarks are an issue ... but that it frees both (the Royal Caribbean
and shipyard) teams from having to deal with them and allows them to
focus on more important things like making the perfect Mojito,"
Fain writes.
Last Time's Question:
Why was a
passenger removed from the Explorer of the Seas in Bermuda?
The
Answer is :
Possession
of Marijuana
Our Winner is -
Carla
Pierce -- Greenfield, IN
This
weeks Cruiseman Contest Question:
Name the two US
Cities that want to become cruise ports.
Our
winner will receive a FREE two-night Bahamas cruise.*
|
Winner will
receive a Free 2 Night Cruise, for two adults, to Freeport, aboard the Bahamas
Celebration. (you just pay the port taxes of
$59pp). Subject to terms & conditions. This
award is transferable, but may not be sold. This program is not
a time-share promotion, and there is no purchase of anything
required. Batteries not included. |
Incomplete
entries will be
tossed out!
You must
follow the instructions below.
HINT:
"Postal Address" is not your email address!!!
THE
INSTRUCTIONS
1.
Don't change the subject line.
2.
Type your answer in the message
area, not
the subject line.
3.
Do not copy and paste from the newsletter.
4.
Include your name
& postal address
(in case you win!).
5. DO
NOT hit your reply button,
or your entry will go to the wrong
address!
6.
One entry per household, please.
OKAY,
To enter The Contest: CLICK
HERE TO ENTER |
