This issue: On-board Review of Oosterdam. See the Ship Reviews section.
April-May-June,
2009
LATE BREAKING
CRUISE NEWS
Here's all the news you want to know from all the carriers you want to know about
Each of Azamara's two ships will sail in Europe next summer. The 694-passenger Journey and Quest will focus on additional time spent in ports of call — often including overnight stays — and a roster of new tours. They'll visit 93 ports during 39 sailings. 13 ports will have overnight stays of one or more days.
Next fall's most anticipated family-and-kids launch is set for a September 21 inaugural. The 3652-passenger Carnival Dream will have supervised programs for three age groups, a 5000 square foot Camp Carnival play area, arts-and-crafts instruction, PlayStation2 video consoles, karaoke, air hockey, physical fitness, music-oriented games, educational sessions about the ship's itineraries, pizza-making, family water play, trivia contests, and more. The ship will also offer babysitting services for young ones. Teens will have dance floor, dj, video jukebox, internet work stations, a soda bar, and a dedicated director to oversee the space. For all, there will be a 303-foot waterslide, water sprays, squirting fountains, splash zones, "dump buckets," 18-hole miniature golf course, basketball and volleyball courts, and more. Family accommodations feature cabins with two-section bathrooms, one of which is tailored to kids... The 2052-passenger Carnival Sensation has completed a multi-million-dollar renovation that has resulted in a large new water park with a 300-foot long waterslide, adults-only retreat, a tropical-themed pool, 98 new balconies, and upgrades to youth facilities.
http://www.directline-cruises.co.uk/Carnival%20Cruises
Celebrity Equinox, Celebrity's new 2850-passenger liner, will be inaugurated late this summer with an eight-day "Soft-Launch" trip through the Norwegian fjords, round-trip from London. Among its features: a real fresh lawn, spa- accessible staterooms, a sky lounge with floor to ceiling windows, and a two-story glass wine tower in the main dining room. The ship is 3½ football fields long. It will spend next winter in the Caribbean, sailing from Fort Lauderdale... Travelers who live in the northeast will have the 2038-passenger Celebrity Summit available for seven-day cruises to Bermuda, Canada, and New England next year. The ship will leave from Cape Liberty in New Jersey each Sunday over a four-month spring-summer season.
Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2 will appear in some public areas and cabins aboard the new 2828-passenger Costa Luminosa and 3000-passenger Costa Pacifica this year. The ships will have a PlayStation World area devoted exclusively to PS3. They will also be available on big screens overlooking the lido decks during "PlayStation Nights" and in children's and teens' clubs... Costa calls its new Luminosa the Ship of Light and its new Pacifica the Ship of Sound. The Luminosa will have a contemporary design accented by iridescent colors, marbles, woods, mother-of-pearl detailing, and art. There will be 120 Murano glass chandeliers, 1100 decorative tiles, and 20 types of marble and granite. The theater will seat 800 passengers and feature 14,000 lights capable of creating special effects. A mega-screen will be located over the pool. The Pacifica will have a 103-cabin Spa area, a professional music-recording studio allowing passengers to create their own CDs, an atrium highlighted by musical symbols and instruments as dˇcor, a soundtrack created for the ship by Italian composer Mauro Pagani and 43 musicians, and live singers performing in the lounges. Each corridor on the ship will have its own music by masters from Chopin to Beethoven, while each lounge will feature its own international music. 22 musicians aboard the ship will be divided into orchestras, trios, duos, and pianists.
A chilling new destination opens next year for Cruise West. It will send its 114-passenger Corinthian II on a 19-day Antarctica expedition. The ship will call on the Falkland, South Georgia, and Orkney Islands as well as the Antarctic Peninsula. It will depart from Ushaia, the southernmost city in South America. A staff of eight naturalists will provide insight on the flora, fauna, history, and geology of the region. Penguins, whales, icebergs, and glaciers are expected to be among the highlights.
After an absence of three years, Crystal will return to Alaska and San Francisco this year. It will be on a single itinerary from Yokohama to Los Angeles this season. The 1080-passenger Crystal Serenity will conduct the 22-day trip... On the other side of the world, the Serenity will visit five Mediterranean ports for the first time. They're rarely-visited cities in Montenegro, Italy, Turkey, Greece, and Croatia... Among new itineraries set for next year: a British Isles circuit; a Sea of Cortez trip; a New England/Canada series; Mediterranean itineraries; Hawaii and Panama Canal trips; expanded Mediterranean choices; Mexico; and Australia/New Zealand... A series of culinary excursions will spice up Crystal's Med and Northern Europe trips this summer and fall. Cooking lessons of regional specialties, wine tastings in Italy, tapas tasting in Spain, family dinner in Bordeaux, cooking at a Lisbon boutique hotel, oysters in Croatia, paella-making in Andalusia, oysters in Norway, and more are on the menu.
Authors, playwrights, and poets will meet and mingle with passengers aboard the 2620-passenger Queen Mary 2 this summer and fall. They'll be part of the Cunard Insights onboard enrichment program. Among the cast of characters: E. L. Doctorow, Erica Jong, Amy Bloom, John Guare, and Susan Cheever. There will be Q&A discussions, lectures, book signings, and readings... Itineraries for Cunard's two 2010 World Cruises have been announced. They each start in January from New York. The 2014-passenger Queen Victoria will begin its third year of service with a 99-day circuit to London via Fort Lauderdale, San Francisco, Sydney, Hong Kong, and Dubai. It will visit 41 ports and will traverse the Panama and Suez Canals. Among the ports: Acapulco, Melbourne, Shanghai, Phuket, and Sharm El Sheikh. The 2620-passenger Queen Mary 2 will take 101 days to circle the earth and reach New York. It will go east to the Mediterranean, India, the Far East, and Australia and New Zealand, heading to New York via South Africa, South America, and North America. Visiting 35 ports, it will stop in Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Auckland, Sydney, Perth, Durban, and Cape Town.
A number of new features now mark the 2700-passenger Disney Magic, which completed an extensive drydock update. Each of the television sets has been replaced with flat-screen digital models. Room safes have been enlarged to include laptops, and are now openable via a code instead of the room key, because the key was often in possession of one cabin resident when another needed entry. New washers and dryers were installed. Lounge chairs were replaced with teak models. New stainless steel hot tubs were installed. A Quiet Cove and Splash Zone were refurbished. Most carpeting was replaced. Upholstery in the dining rooms and public areas was changed. On-board photos are now viewable more easily through kiosks. The ship now has wireless internet and cabin access for cell phones... Next year will see the Disney Magic in Russia, Northern Europe, and the Med. There will be a two-month mid-summer schedule of 12-day European Capital cruises stopping at Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Berlin's port, and St. Petersburg, round trip from London. Before and after those Northern Europe trips will be a series of 10- and 11-day cruises in the Med in April, May, August, and September round trip from Barcelona.
Holland America has introduced a fleetwide web blog about its 14 existing ships , the future Nieuw Amsterdam, and other topics. The "weblog" comprises 16 blogs, one for each ship. Each has pull-down menus devoted to destinations, dining, entertainment, the staff, etc. Readers may post comments and ask questions... A novel circumnavigation of Australia has been added to Holland America's repertoire. It'll take place on the 1432-passenger Volendam next March. The ship will visit 18 ports in 34 days, including two days of scenic cruising along the Great Barrier Reef... Also next winter: a series of 14-day Australia and New Zealand round trips from Sydney... More than 60 chefs and culinary experts have been lined up to host programs in Holland America's Culinary Arts Centers, which are complete show kitchens. Cooking classes, demonstrations, tastings, youth cooking programs for kids and teens, and question-and-answer sessions are offered... The company's popular cookbook series has just grown. "A Taste of Elegance," written by Master Chef Rudi Somamin, is now finished. It contains the most popular recipes from the ships' dining rooms and specialty restaurants. It spans some 200 pages in ten chapters.
This issue: On-board Review of Oosterdam. See the Ship
Reviews section.
A second ship — the 120-passenger Expedition — has been added to Hurtigruten's Spitzbergen archipelago cruise program. The recently-renovated ship has a panorama lounge, expedition lounge, restaurant, fitness center, and other expedition-ship amenities. All cabins are outside. Passengers reach many expedition destinations via Zodiacs, which are also used to allow close-up views of glaciers and wildlife. Oslo and Longyearbyen are the ports of embarkation... Hurtigruten is staging a 2009 Photo Competition this summer to find the best amateur photo taken from its ships. Entries are expected to cover wildlife, rare arctic flowers, icebergs, isolated fishing villages, penguins and other scenes from what it calls the "world's most beautiful voyage."
114 Wii consoles will highlight a partnership between MSC and Nintendo aboard its newest ship, the 3959-passenger Fantasia. To facilitate interactive play, the ship has consoles in the sport bar, the fitness center, on the sport deck, in the main pool area, and in suites. Consoles are also available for sale. The new ship, now sailing its first summer in the Med, also has 18 bars, four pools, tennis-squash-basketball courts, spa, and a 150-fountain aqua park... MSC will add Canada/New England to its repertoire next year. Its 2550-passenger Magnifica, which will enter service next March, will conduct fall foliage cruises between New York City and Quebec...
Looking ahead to 2010 - 2011, NCL says that it will offer year-'round service in the Med and from New York City. Barcelona will become home port for the 2402-passenger Norwegian Jade. The 2376-passenger Norwegian Jewel and the 2380-passenger Norwegian Gem will be based in New York for trips to the Caribbean. Los Angeles, New Orleans, Vancouver, and Seattle will also have long cruise seasons, in addition to NCL's traditional Florida base... NCL has named its next ship, due to start service next summer, the Norwegian Epic. It will carry 4200 passengers between Miami and the Caribbean on a year-'round schedule, alternating weekly cruises between the Eastern and Western Caribbean. Among its highlights: curving stateroom walls, multiple themed nightlife venues, a four-lane bowling center, an adults-only pool, new bathroom design with separate shower stalls and separate toilets, concealed LED lighting, and back-lit domed ceilings... NCL, after an absence of 11 years, will resume seasonal home-porting at Port Canaveral. Its 1936-passsenger Norwegian Sun will be based there beginning next October. It will sail alternating seven-day Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises every Saturday.
The autumn colors of Canada and the United States will take center stage on two new 14-day fall foliage cruises. The 520-passenger Deutschland will make its way along the Eastern seaboard during October departures. Among the ports: Montreal, Saguenay, Prince Edward Island, Bar Harbor, Halifax, Quebec, Maine, Rhode Island, New York City, and more. The series will be followed by late-fall cruises all the way down the East Coast to the Caribbean.
Following an extensive remodel, the 3080-passenger Caribbean Princess returns to duty this season. Bringing it in line with Princess' other newer ships (Caribbean Princess entered service in 2004), it now sports a piazza-style atrium with a street-cafˇ atmosphere, an International Cafˇ, a wine-seafood-cheese bar, an adults-only Sanctuary space, a more centrally located casino and sports court, a new boutique, new internet cafˇ and library, new shore excursion and Captain's Circle desks, flat-screen television in each cabin, and a new Crown Grill steak and seafood restaurant. Some 1500 workers and contractors were engaged in the remodel... Young passengers on Princess will have a new program offering. They'll be able to participate in up to seven Klutz activities: creating fuzzy art, crafting paper flowers, weaving friendship bracelets, making thumbprint art, and others. Klutz publishes activities books for children.
Regent has re-designed its web site, adding new imagery, ship tours, interactive and animated maps, a multimedia center featuring videos and shore excursion booklets, an enhanced ports and excursions section that sorts by region and country, and additional features. It's at RSSC.com
Suite passengers will soon have more to look forward to on Royal Caribbean. Starting this season, suite passengers in various categories will be offered such features as dedicated security and check- in lines, personal welcomes, special identification cards, water, fruit plate, cheeses, chocolates, a pillow menu, slippers, robes, bathroom amenities, and more... The largest ship regularly based in Los Angeles starts service this season. The 3114-passenger Mariner of the Seas will ply the route from LA to Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, and Mazatlan year-'round in seven-day itineraries. The ship will have 16 bars, a rock wall, an ice rink, a full-sized basketball court, an almost thousand-foot-long promenade lined with shops, restaurants, and lounges, an adults-only solarium, two pools, six whirlpools, a 25,000 square foot art exhibit area, a nine-hole miniature golf course, and more... New family and youth programs are being added to Royal Caribbean's ships. For example, kids will be served expeditiously in the main dining room at the first seating with the aim of having them escorted by counselors back to the youth program facility within 45 minutes, while their parents remain dining at their leisure. There will be evening activities for kids, again allowing parents their own time. Also, a new children's menu will focus on healthful cooking and wholesome ingredients, whose items will be presented on playful placemats. Babies, tots, elementary schoolers, and middle schoolers will each have their own programs, including lunch, movies, playtimes, cartoons, games, socializing, and more.
Starting service this summer is Seabourn's first new ship in 20 years, the 450-passenger Seabourn Odyssy. It will sail its first season primarily from Venice, Istanbul, and Athens in the Med before repositioning to Fort Lauderdale late in the year. Then it will start a world cruise in January visiting 24 ports between Fort Lauderdale and Athens on a108-day voyage. The ship will be all-suite, with 90 percent of accommodations having balconies. Each cabin will have separate living and bedroom areas. There will be four restaurants and six bars and lounges. Bathrooms will have twin sinks and separate tubs and showers. There will be a two-deck spa... With the new ship, Seabourn's newly-released 2010-2011 schedule has additional ports and itineraries. For the first time it will operate year-'round in Asia. Indonesia, China, Korea, Japan, Bali and additional islands are on the list. Seabourn will call on 44 new and not-recently-visited ports. There will be a full array of Med and Caribbean itineraries. Finally, there will be a 110-day world cruise from Los Angeles to London via the South Pacific, India, and Arabia.
The inaugural voyage of Silversea's new 540-passenger all-suite Silver Spirit will be a 91-day "Spirit of South America cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles and back to New York, stopping at Rio and Buenos Aires, crossing the Panama Canal, and cruising around South America at Cape Horn. It will visit 45 ports in 20 countries... On a wider scale, Silversea's five ships will stop at 355 ports in 95 countries next year. They will have some 175 different itineraries.
January-February-March,
2009
LATE BREAKING
CRUISE NEWS
Here's all the news you want to know from all the carriers you want to know about
Carnival's first-ever Quebec voyages will set sail this summer from New York. The 2758-passenger Carnival Triumph will conduct three nine-day round-trips in June, July, and August. They'll cruise the Atlantic and St. Lawrence River and will visit Quebec City, Baie-Comeau, and Havre St. Pierre. The ship has 13 decks, 18 bars, a 214-foot cascading water slide and kids' clubs... 48 additional balconied cabins are to be created aboard three Carnival ships this year: the 2642-passenger Destiny, the 2758-passenger Triumph, and the 2974-passenger Liberty. The cabins currently have floor to ceiling windows but no balconies... 98 balconies will be added to the 2052-passenger Carnival Sensation during its mid-winter drydocking. Ocean-view cabins will be retrofitted with new balconies that will extend from the ship. Carnival's jumbo-sized 12 x 22-foot LED screens, which are used to show movies, sports events, news, ship activities, and videos at poolside on five of the company's ships, will be added to five more by mid-2009. The screens are similar to those at stadiums and can operate day and night.
http://www.directline-cruises.co.uk/Carnival%20Cruises
G'bye, Australia and New Zealand — Hello, Baltimore and Charleston: Celebrity is discontinuing its Australia and New Zealand cruises previously scheduled for late this year and 2010 on the 2038-passenger Millennium. The Millennium instead will conduct an Alaska summer season and Southern Caribbean trips from San Juan during next winter. The 1898-passenger Mercury will move to Baltimore and Charleston, where it will sail on 12-day trips to the Eastern Caribbean from November to early 2010 and 10- and 11-day Eastern and Western Caribbean trips from Charleston from February through April, 2010... Celebrity's new 2850-passenger Solstice enters service this season. It'll be heavy on retail, with 18 shops spanning three decks. It will be green, too: it'll have a half-acre Lawn Club with real grass. There will be 10 restaurants. Its initial itineraries will be seven-day cruises from Fort Lauderdale to San Juan, St. Maarten, and St. Kitts in the Eastern Caribbean. In the spring, it moves to Rome for 10- and 11-day Med cruises... "Simply Ballroom," a concept that capitalizes on the popularity of TV dance competitions, is coming to Celebrity. Tango, waltz, Latin rhythms, and musical themes are to become part of evening entertainment offerings on the carrier's fleet. Also appearing: a theatrical circus, new musicals, new productions... London's port of Southampton will become the home port for the 2850-passenger Celebrity Eclipse when it enters service next year. It will conduct Mediterranean and Northern Europe cruises... Celebrity has retooled its web site. It has a "Starring You Network" that links users to various actions on the site and a redesigned home page among other new ideas. The address is www.celebritycruises.com.
Israel returns to Costa's route map this year for the first time in eight years. Its 776-passenger Costa Marina will conduct 11-day sailings in June, July, and August from Savona, Italy. Stops will be in Argostoli, Greece; Heraklion, Crete; Ashdod, Israel; Port Said, Egypt; Nauplila, Greece; and Naples, Italy... Telemedicine will come to the 3000-passenger Costa Concordia this year. A broadband satellite system will enable more advanced health care in its sea-going environment. The ship will be linked with Genoa's Galliera Hospital, allowing for diagnosis and consultation at a distance for first aid, toxicology, cardiology, radiology, dermatology, and ophthalmology cases. Medical data such as images, electrocardiograms, and scans will be shared via videoconferencing to enable specialized care... Costa this season is marking the 50th anniversary of its Caribbean cruises from South Florida. In 1959 it placed the 552- passenger Franca C. — featuring a new concept called air conditioning — in service.
Expanding to the Europe market for the first time, Cruise West will sail 11- and 12-day Danube River cruises between Vienna and Bucharest. It will use the new 148-passenger Amadeus Diamond, which is owned by Luftner Cruises. The first trip will be in July, shortly after the vessel is commissioned. Tours will be offered in Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and Croatia... Ho Chih Minh City, the Gulf of Tonkin, Hanoi, and Hue highlight a 12-day Vietnam cruise scheduled for November on the 120-passenger Spirit of Oceanus... A new seven-day itinerary on the Columbia and Snake Rivers will be added this summer. The 96-passenger Spirit of '98 will sail round trip from Portland, highlighting the native culture, cuisine, and history of the region.
Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait are among the 37 countries to be visited on Crystal's 15th World Cruise. It will leave Miami in January, 2010, calling at 41 ports in 108 days. The 1080-passenger Crystal Serenity will conduct the voyage... A new on-line tool — Crystal Global Explorer — will help booked passengers choose tours that suit them best. Screen displays will label each tour according to subject/type of activity involved, walking level, activity level from soft to extreme, and age appropriateness. It will describe more than 1500 tours in more than 30 categories... 2010 will see Crystal's two ships visit 174 ports in 70 countries on 62 voyages. Among new itineraries set for next year: a British Isles circuit; a Sea of Cortez trip; a New England/Canada series; Mediterranean itineraries; Hawaii and Panama Canal trips; expanded Mediterranean choices; Mexico; and Australia/New Zealand... A new marketing banner — "Experiences of Discovery" — will encompass Crystal's themed cruises. It plans 17 themes on 25 cruises for 2009, including six new ones. Some subjects: Global events, arts, photography, ancient civilizations, wine and food, mind-body-spirit, jazz, golf, film and theater festival, cabaret at sea, big band, ballroom dance, fashion and style, and tennis.
It'll be easier to stay in touch from the 2620-passenger Queen Mary 2 this year because the ship was recently outfitted with new stateroom wireless technology and mobile phone service at sea. Laptops will be usable from passenger cabins and mobile phone service from the high seas will become available from appropriately outfitted phones.. Itineraries for Cunard's two 2010 World Cruises have been announced. They each start in January from New York. The 2014-passenger Queen Victoria will begin its third year of service with a 99-day circuit to London via Fort Lauderdale, San Francisco, Sydney, Hong Kong, and Dubai. It will visit 41 ports and will traverse the Panama and Suez Canals. Among the ports: Acapulco, Melbourne, Shanghai, Phuket, and Sharm El Sheikh. The 2620-passenger Queen Mary 2 will take 101 days to circle the earth and reach New York. It will go east to the Mediterranean to India, the Far East, and Australia and New Zealand, heading to New York via South Africa, South America, and North America. Visiting 35 ports, it will stop in Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Auckland, Sydney, Perth, Durban, and Cape Town.
In a rare departure, Disney Cruise Line's 2700-passenger Disney Magic will reposition to Europe for an unprecedented five-month season in 2010. For the first time, it will offer 12-day Northern European Capitals cruises in mid-summer from London/Dover. They'll visit Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, St. Petersburg, and the port for Berlin. An excursion to Moscow will also be available. Before and after the London cruises, the ship will conduct 10- and 11-day trips from Barcelona, visiting Mediterranean ports in Italy, France, Spain, Malta, Corsica, and Tunis.
A quicker way to learn which shore excursions will be offered on their cruises is being rolled out by Holland America. Passengers can view e-brochures listing every tour after entering their booking number and name on their home computers. The information will be available between six months and a year before departure vs. the traditional 30 - 60 days before departure using the hard-copy brochures that arrive with cruise documents... Holland America's founding city, Rotterdam, will be the base for two six-day Scandinavian trips in July. Ports in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark will be visited by the 1316-passenger (see item below) Rotterdam... They'll be known as the Explorations Team: a party planner, a travel guide, a "techspert," a dance director, and — on cruises of 12 days or more — a book club leader. They'll be aboard Holland America cruises to broaden the programming and "edutainment" components of the company's cruises, leading classes, discussions, lectures, events, and demonstrations... $200 million will be spent this year during month-long dry docks for five ships. Forty-six cabins will become lanai staterooms, new spa staterooms will be added, 32 veranda staterooms will be added to the aft portion of each ship, water features will be added to some cabins, bathrooms will be enhanced, cabins will receive new carpeting/desks/drapery/wall sconces, a new color tone of sienna and gold will be adopted in cabins, and more. As a result, the Statendam, Maasdam, Ryndam, and Veendam will have a new capacity of 1350 and the Rotterdam will be able to carry 1404... The 1350-passenger Veendam will join the 793-passenger Prinsendam to offer ten South America sailings in late 2009 and early 2010. The Veendam trips will range from 16 to 20 days and will have overnights in Rio and Buenos Aires on many departures. Rio, Valparaiso, and San Diego will be the principal embarcation ports... Holland America has added a language choice to its www.hollandamerica.com web site. All information will now be available in German, Spanish, and Dutch, as well as English... Holland America will conduct four "Grand Voyages" next year. The 1380-passenger Amsterdam will take 114 days to go from Fort Lauderdale to South America, Antarctica, Africa, Asia, Vancouver, Seattle, and Los Angeles. The 793-passenger Prinsendam will sail two back-to-back voyages, one taking 70 days from Fort Lauderdale to South America and one taking 54 days from Fort Lauderdale round trip to the Med and Black Sea, stopping at principal Med countries. The final trip, on the Amsterdam, will be 69 days from Seattle to Asia, Australia, Honolulu, and San Diego... "Get in the water" will have a new meaning on five Holland America ships soon. The Retreat, an upscale resort-style pool area, is being created during dry-docking activity aboard the Statendam, Maasdam, Ryndam, Veendam, and Rotterdam. The zone will have a shallow pool area with 44 pool-embedded lounge chairs where passengers can dangle fingers and toes in eight-inch deep water and a 16-inch deep section of built-in underwater benches for leg dipping. Waterfalls and spouts, a hot tub, and a pizzeria will also adorn the area.
This issue: On-board Review of Oosterdam. See the Ship
Reviews section.
Professional videographers and photographers will lead workshops and assist passengers in capturing memories on Hurtigruten's Antarctic cruise series this season. The lectures and guidance will be offered on five sailings aboard the 400-passenger Fram, which was completed in 2007. Most trips will be 13 days and will depart from Buenos Aires.
The newest ship at sea — MSC"s 3959-passenger Fantasia — takes to the waves this season. Both the Fantasia and MSC's other newest ship — the 2500-passenger Poesia — will be based in the Mediterranean during the 2008 - 2009 winter season. Most departures will be from Genoa. A 17,000 square foot Balinese spa will be the centerpiece of the 14th deck of the Fantasia. A gym, relaxation zone, thermal zone, and thalasso therapy zone will comprise the spa. Balinese massages, reflexology, lava stones, infrared massage, shiatsu, sauna, vapor, vichy shower, vibromassage, and other approaches will be available. It will have five dining rooms, an aqua park with 150 illuminated fountains, a VIP club, domed pool, and more... . The Poesia has 16 decks, more than four acres of public space, two pools, four hot tubs, a spa, and restaurants and bars throughout the ship's public areas... Get ready to learn a new Italian-flavored cruise ship vocabulary: Meraviglia and Favolosa. MSC cruises ordered the ships for delivery in 2011 and 2012, becoming the 13th and 14th vessels in MSC's fleet. They'll carry 2550 passengers.
Miami will be the home port for the 2002-passenger Norwegian Sky until at least April of next year. It will conduct short three-day and four-day cruises to the Bahamas. The schedules attract many first-time cruisers, according to NCL... More Europe and Alaska cruises will be offered in the summer of 2010. NCL will place three of its newest ships in Europe, homeporting the 2394-passenger Gem in Venice for Greek Isles trips, the 2466-passenger Jade in Barcelona for Western Med circuits, and the 2376-passenger Jewel in London for Baltic Capitals cruises. Alaska will also see three ships in 2010: the 2394-passenger Pearl, for Glacier Bay roundtrips from Seattle, the 1936-passenger Sun, for Vancouver and Whittier seven-day departures to the Inside Passage and Hubbard Glacier, and the 2240-passenger Star, for Sawyer Glacier roundtrips from Seattle. The 2138-passenger Pride of America will remain in Hawaiian waters at least until January 2012, the carrier said.
The Med will be the scene of two new itineraries for 2009. The 513-passenger Deutschland will conduct a seven-day Venice to Rome trip and a 12-day Rome round trip... Also new for this year: a 23-day Deutschland Northern cruise to Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Scotland, the Faroe Islands, and Copenhagen — featuring a never-setting sun. In July from Hamburg.
Princess' new 3070-passenger Ruby Princess has entered service. Among its features: an English-style pub lunch room with bangers and mash, fish and chips, ale, Guinness, and more; a special breakfast room reserved for suite passengers located in the ship's premium dining room; an artisan cheese bar; additional ScholarShip@Sea enrichment themes; two new production shows; more audience participation events; additional food choices; more kids' zones and programs; additional wireless capabilities; outdoor movies at night; and more. The ship will spend its initial season conducting western Caribbean trips from Fort Lauderdale, after which it will travel to the Med for a series of summer cruises... "Movies Under the Stars," a popular Princess warm-weather entertainment option since 2004, will be expanded to the whole fleet. 300-square-foot light-emitting diode screens will show movies, concerts, sporting events, and other special programming night and day. Seven additional Princess ships will be outfitted by 2011. Seven ships already have the system... Princess has revamped its Captain's Circle loyalty program rules so passengers can earn benefits faster.
Two world cruises — one 116-day and one 121-day — new northern Europe itineraries, and "Discovery Collection" voyages to Africa, the Middle East, India, and South America highlight Regent's plans for 2009. This year will see Regent's most diverse deployment in its history, visiting more than 300 ports on seven continents. The company now has five medium-sized ships... A multi-million dollar upgrade of entertainment programming has resulted in the addition of professional ballroom dance teams, new productions, larger live orchestras, cabaret revues, permanent casts of singers and dancers, and a roster of headline entertainers.
This issue: On-board Review of Navigator. See the Ship
Reviews section.
Royal Caribbean continues to release details of its seven "neighborhoods" to be incorporated into the 5400-passenger Oasis of the Seas, which begins service late this year. In the 'Entertainment Place" neighborhood, there will be a comedy club, a jazz nightclub, a 1380-seat main theater, an ice skating rink, a casino with 450 slot machines and a Museum of Gaming, a two-deck dance lounge called Dazzles, an On Air Club that carries television monitors featuring news/sports/music/karaoke, a Latin club and Schooner Bar that features sing-along entertainment, an outdoor late-night adults-only dance club, and more. The "Youth Zone" will have some 28,000 square feet of space for kids and teens. There will be themed age-specific play and learning areas, a childcare nursery for infants and toddlers, active and educational areas for teens, soft-drink bars, college-educated counselors, lounges, dance areas, internet stations, and more ... Dubai will become a Royal Caribbean home port for three months early in 2010. That's when the 2100-passenger Brilliance of the Seas will be deployed there for 13 seven-day cruises through the Arabian Gulf... San Diego will host 24 additional Mexican Riviera sailings during the 2009 - 10 winter and spring season. The 2501-passenger Radiance of the Seas will conduct four- to 12-day trips. Radiance will be repositioned to San Diego from a previously-planned South America itinerary that had been scheduled for that period... ABC, CBS, NBC, and print will carry a new Royal Caribbean advertising schedule themed to a "Why Not?" punch line. In the ads, a fictitious "Nation of Why Not" has been formed that secedes from the rest of the world, and when choices are offered to its passenger-citizens, the response is, "Why not?"
Seabourn's first new ship in 20 years is set for a June launch and an initial world cruise in January 2010. The 450-passenger Seabourn Odyssey will visit 24 ports between Fort Lauderdale and Athens on the 108-day voyage. Between its launch and its first world cruise, it will sail primarily from Venice, Istanbul, and Athens in the Med before repositioning to Fort Lauderdale late in the year. The ship will be all-suite, with 90 percent of accommodations having balconies. There will be four restaurants. Bathrooms will have twin sinks and separate tubs and showers.
Replacing a London-to-Barbados repositioning cruise and three Caribbean cruises next fall, the 296-passenger Silver Cloud will instead move to New England and Canada's Atlantic provinces. The 10- and 12-day September and October cruises will leave from Montreal and New York City... Also changing itineraries is the 132-passenger Prince Albert II. It will move from previously planned Polynesian waters to Antarctica for nine cruises during the 2009 spring and summer seasons. The Arctic region comprises parts of Canada, Norway, Greenland, and Iceland... The 298-passenger Silver Wind returns to service this season from a month-long renovation in Genoa. The refreshed dˇcor is centered around natural cherry wood and russet and golden tones. In the public areas, a 60-seat observation lounge, spa, beauty salon, fitness center, and supplementary elevator were added. In the passenger cabins, new flat-screen TVs, sofas, armchairs, desks, vanities, night tables, carpets, drapes, bed coverings, bathroom fixtures, and marble countertops were added.
TUI, a new joint venture of Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd. and TUI AG of Germany, will start a $75 million refit of the 1948-passenger Celebrity Galaxy in a German shipyard. More outside cabins with balconies, new restaurants, and a modern spa will be added. Improvements will also be made to the pool deck, casino, fitness center, and bars. The ship was guilt in l996. It will start its new life in May with a series of summer Nordic and Baltic cruises. In the fall it will sail the Med, and in the winter the Caribbean. It will be marketed primarily to a German clientele.
October-November-December,
2008
LATE BREAKING
CRUISE NEWS
Here's all the news you want to know from all the carriers you want to know about
Because of its comparatively small size, the 694-passenger Azamara Quest will begin calling at ports in Thailand and Vietnam that are inaccessible to large cruise ships. The Quest starts sailing in the region shortly before New Year's. It will stop at Bangkok's Klong Toey and Ho Chih Minh City's Saigon Port. Large ships typically stop up to two hours away from the city centers... Fresh from a $19 million makeover, Azamara's 694-passenger Azamara Journey will sail the Caribbean during the 2009 - 2010 winter season. It will visit 23 ports in 15 countries and will conduct two Panama Canal transits to/from San Diego. Miami will be the home port.
Carnival's jumbo-sized 12 x 22-foot LED screens, which are used to show movies, sports events, news, ship activities, and videos at poolside on five of the company's ships, will be added to five more by mid-2009. The screens are similar to those at stadiums and can operate day and night... Carnival has joined the ranks of carriers offering to sell logo merchandise and ship mementos on line that were formerly available only on-board. The site is carnivalfunshop.com... A good-as-new 2052-passenger Carnival Sensation is expected to result from a major refurbishment program scheduled during a 35-day dry dock in early 2009. The ship will get a water park that includes a 300-foot spiral water slide, 82-foot racing slides, and multiple water sprays. An adults-only retreat, Serenity, will have lounges, whirlpools, and drink service. There will also be a tropical-themed mid-ship pool area. Interior makeovers will be done in bedrooms, bathrooms, public rooms, kids' clubs, restaurants, and entertainment areas... Carnival's capacity in Mobile will increase by 42 percent when the 2056-passenger Fantasy replaces the 1452-passenger Holiday next November on four- and five-day Mexico cruises. By then, the Fantasy will sport a new Water Works aqua park, adults-only retreat, and resort-style pool area... Meanwhile, Carnival is hiking its New Orleans capacity at the same time, increasing it by 34 percent when it replaces the 2056-passenger Fantasy with the 2758-passenger Triumph. The Triumph will make 65 Gulf of Mexico departures annually, in four-, five-, and seven-day increments... In San Diego, the 2052-passenger Elation will shift to a new three- and four-day rotation in February. Ensenada and Catalina will be the ports of call on four-day trips; Ensenada alone on three-day outings.
Celebrity's new 2850-passenger Solstice enters service this season. It'll be heavy on retail, with 18 shops spanning three decks. Its initial itineraries will be seven-day cruises from Fort Lauderdale to San Juan, St. Maarten, and St. Kitts in the Eastern Caribbean... Cool idea: the ice has been replaced by chilled river rocks throughout buffet areas. Resting on the rocks are hundreds of new food items. That's all part of Celebrity's recently completed enhancements to its menus and restaurants. Expansion of fare choices means that no menu will be offered twice, even on 14-day trips... The traditional midnight buffet has been replaced by a brunch featuring the same carvings and foods. Celebrity believes that more passengers will have better appetites and enjoy the spread more at mid-day than mid-night... This year's Soap Opera Cruise was so popular that it inspired a serial of itself: a second Soap Opera Cruise for 2009. More than a dozen stars of All My Children, As the World Turns, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, Guiding Light, and The Bold and the Beautiful will appear on a January sailing of the 1814-passenger Century from Miami. There will be autograph and photo sessions, soap trivia games, parties with the stars, and a chance to write a script and act it out with the stars. A web site describes more at www.soapcruise.com.
In what's believed to be a cruise industry first, two giant new Costa liners will be inaugurated on the same day and at the same place. The 2828-passenger Lunimosa and 3780-passenger Pacifica will enter service on June 5, 2009, at Genoa. Next up, in 2010, will be the 2828-passenger Deliziosa, followed in 2011 and 2012 by two additional 3780-passenger newbuilds. The line is investing $3.8 billion in five new Italy-built ships... Costa's new 2114-passenger Costa Mediterranea inaugurated St. Petersburg, Russia's, new $13 billion cruise terminal. It covers an area of a thousand acres, will have seven berths, and will be able to handle 12,000 passengers a day. It will also include a convention and exhibit center and retail and residential components.
Cabo San Lucas in Baja California will be the round-trip departure and arrival point for 14 eight-day "Whales and Wildlife" cruises this winter. The 138-passenger Spirit of Yorktown will also be the scene of five specialty cruises: two John Steinbeck-inspired trips which will have literary experts aboard to explain his "Log of the Sea of Cortez"; a Pentax photography cruise conducted by professional photographers; and Feliz Navidad and Feliz Ano Nuevo holiday trips. All itineraries will include nature walks, snorkeling, kayaking, whale watching, tours of missions and a Mexican fiesta complete with pinata... Two additional Panama Canal and Costa Rica cruises and six themed trips are on Cruise West's new winter-spring schedule. Vacations will be aboard the 100-passenger Pacific Explorer. Pentax photo cruises, Central America holiday traditions, and a series of varied nature tours are being offered... Japan will have 12 departures of 12-day cruises on the 120-passenger Spirit of Oceanus during the next year. They'll leave from Kobe and will visit cities famous for gardens, shrines, castles, pearls, museums, and ships... Cruise West's small ships will sail on 26 itineraries in 2009, including four new ones. The new voyages will call at Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, the Danube River, the East Indies, and Melanesia. Vietnam is being re-introduced. There will be 253 departures to 165 ports in 29 countries. The ships carry between 78 and 138 passengers. Trips will range from four to 25 days in length. The Americas, Asia, Europe, and the South Pacific will be visited next year... To observe Alaska's 50th year of statehood in 2009, Cruise West has scheduled 162 Alaska departures next summer. Major departure ports are Vancouver, Seattle, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Anchorage. Cruises will be on ships carrying between 78 and 138 passengers.
Good for what ails you: acupuncture is being added to Crystal's extensive wellness options... A new marketing banner — "Experiences of Discovery" — will encompass Crystal's themed cruises. It plans 17 themes on 25 cruises for 2009, including six new ones. Some subjects: Global events, arts, photography, ancient civilizations, wine and food, mind-body-spirit, jazz, golf, film and theater festival, cabaret at sea, big band, ballroom dance, fashion and style, and tennis... Kinesis fitness equipment has been added to both of Crystal's ship gyms. They allow some 250 exercises based on cable resistance... Something cheesy: Crystal is introducing professional cheese sommeliers. They're certified by the International Cheese Academy in Bad Gleichenberg, Austria. Their job will be to guide passengers in their choice of cheeses, pairing appropriate cheeses with meal and wine selections... They won't see it all. Not with more than 300 shore excursions being offered on Crystal's 106-day world cruise, which departs from Los Angeles in January. Samples: hiking, biking, diving, kayaking, horseback riding, ziplining, helicoptering, flying, Tarzan-ing, swimming with dolphins, elephant riding. The 1080-passenger Crystal Serenity will be the cruise venue... And the winner is: Crystal polled several thousand passengers on Asian cruises to determine the most popular land adventures. Number One was the Shanghai acrobatic troupe, followed by a Hong Kong Chinese cooking class... The 2010 World Cruise itinerary has been released. The 108-day itinerary from Miami on the 1080-passenger Crystal Serenity will feature maiden calls in South Africa, Iran, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.
Itineraries for Cunard's two 2010 World Cruises have been announced. They each start in January from New York. The 2014-passenger Queen Victoria will begin its third year of service with a 99-day circuit to London via Fort Lauderdale, San Francisco, Sydney, Hong Kong, and Dubai. It will visit 41 ports and will traverse the Panama and Suez Canals. Among the ports: Acapulco, Melbourne, Shanghai, Phuket, and Sharm El Sheikh. The 2620-passenger Queen Mary 2 will take 101 days to circle the earth and reach New York. It will go east to the Mediterranean to India, the Far East, and Australia and New Zealand, heading to New York via South Africa, South America, and North America. Visiting 35 ports, it will stop in Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Auckland, Sydney, Perth, Durban, and Cape Town... Cunard's enrichment program, "Cunard Insights," has established a new partnership with The Royal Astronomical Society. RAS fellows will appear on Cunard's three ships to point out night sky displays of constellations, to offer star navigation instruction, and to highlight astronomical points of interest using Sky Scan software. "Star parties" at night on deck, informal discussion groups, and formal lectures are part of the program. 15 Caribbean and transatlantic trips will offer the attraction... A second new "Cunard Insights" partner is Washington, D. C.'s National Symphony Orchestra. Kennedy Center Chamber Players and the symphony's director of artistic planning will present three performances and three lectures aboard a fall, 2009, transatlantic crossing of the Queen Mary 2.
A pre-winter drydock for the 2700-passenger Disney Magic will result in a wide series of upgrades for passengers of all ages in 2009. For adults, the Quiet Cove pool and deck area's coffee lounge will get new furnishings, while the adult pool will be outfitted with cascading waterfalls. Teak deck and cushioned lounge chairs will line the pool. For little people, the private clubs for 3 — 7 year olds and 8 — 12 year olds will receive new radio frequency identification technology wristbands enabling easier check-in, check-out, and locating. "Mickey's Splash Zone," a new toddler water playground, will become a 385 square foot extension to the Mickey Pool. It will have star- and moon-shaped interactive fountains, a soft play surface, and whimsical splash zones. At the stateroom level, new 22-inch flat-screen TV sets are to be installed. They'll be mounted on a swivel arm to allow viewing from many locations.
An old name will grace a new ship. Holland America has selected Nieuw Amsterdam as the name of its future 2106-passenger liner, the 15th in its fleet. It will be inaugurated in 2010 and is the fourth ship with that name. Number One served from 1906 to 1932, carrying 2886 passengers, many of them immigrants to America. The next joined the fleet in 1938, in time to carry almost 400,000 troops during World War II. In 1983, the third Nieuw Amsterdam entered service and was retired recently. The new ship will have 11 passenger decks, spa staterooms, glass elevators, a culinary arts center, a teens loft, specialty restaurants, and Holland America's largest-ever gym... Traditional Dutch art, modern works, and iconic abstracts throughout the ship highlight Holland America's new 2104-passenger Eurodam. As in museums, passengers who wish to peruse the entire collection will be able to take a self-guided, narrated iPod tour. Works range from glass to oil to digital collages to ceramics to unique sculptures. Some sea maps go back to the 17th century and some china dates back to a ship that sank 300 years ago... Next summer will find eight Holland America ships sailing Alaska waters. They'll be on three itineraries: 61 seven-day cruises from Seattle; 43 seven- day voyages from Vancouver; and 54 seven-day circuits between Vancouver and Anchorage. There will be more than 250 optional shore excursions. Skagway, Sitka, Ketchikan, Juneau, Haines, and Victoria are among the ports to be visited on different itineraries... Holland America will tweak its Mexico stops and scenic cruising routes in 2009. It will call at Santa Cruz Huatulco on some 12-day round trips from San Diego and will sail through wildlife-abundant Bahia Magdalena, known for nearby whale breeding, on some seven-day itineraries from San Diego.
This issue: On-board Review of Oosterdam. See the Ship
Reviews section.
Pre-new year cruises will feature visits with local families, fireworks, church services, mulled wine, smorgasbords, Christmas porridge, views of the Northern Lights, 34 ports of call, and optional swimming with icebergs on holiday cruises along the 1250-mile Norwegian coast. The company's ships will conduct daily six-day departures from both Bergen and Kirkenes.
Majestic America has signed the Wilderness Best Management Practices Program for Tracy Arm and Ford Terror Wilderness in Alaska. Under its terms, the company agrees to minimize speed and wake around paddlers, agrees to share schedules with other operators in order to avoid crowding in any particular destination, agrees not to schedule large ships in particularly sensitive areas, and agrees to include the wilderness management guidelines in its training programs and its policies and procedures documentation. The six-ship fleet sails primarily river and coastal itineraries.
For On-board Review of Queen of the West, see the Ship
Reviews section.
A 17,000 square foot Balinese spa will be the centerpiece of the 14th deck of MSC's 3959-passenger Fantasia, due to enter service at year-end. A gym, relaxation zone, thermal zone, and thalasso therapy zone will comprise the spa. Balinese massages, reflexology, lava stones, infrared massage, shiatsu, sauna, vapor, vichy shower, vibromassage, and other approaches will be available. It will have five dining rooms, an aqua park with 150 illuminated fountains, a VIP club, domed pool, and more... Both the Fantasia and MSC's other newest ship — the 2500-passenger Poesia — will be based in the Mediterranean during the 2008 - 2009 winter season. Most departures will be from Genoa. The Poesia has 16 decks, more than four acres of public space, two pools, four hot tubs, a spa, and restaurants and bars throughout the ship's public areas... Get ready to learn a new Italian-flavored cruise ship vocabulary: Meraviglia and Favolosa. MSC cruises ordered the ships for delivery in 2011 and 2012, becoming the 13th and 14th vessels in MSC's fleet. They'll carry 2550 passengers
Private, personalized, customized tours are now available to NCL passengers. Called "Ultimate Touring," they're designed to allow vacationers to explore ports of call when and how they wish. The program is available at each NCL port. Some samples: a private horseback riding lesson in Tuscany; a private speedboat ride in Helsinki; a private rooftop walk in Stockholm... Many new 2009 summer deployments have been announced by NCL. In Alaska, three ships will offer weekly round trips from Seattle and Vancouver; in Bermuda, two ships will ply weekly between the British island and either New York City or Boston, while a third will operate five- to seven-day trips from Baltimore, Charleston, or Philadelphia; in Europe, three ships will be deployed. They'll serve the Western Med from Barcelona, the Baltic capitals from London, and the Canary Islands and Morocco from Barcelona.
For 2009, it's two new Med itineraries for the 513-passenger Deutschland. There will be a seven-day Venice to Rome trip and a 12-day Rome round trip... Also new for next year: a 23-day Deutschland Northern cruise to Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Scotland, the Faroe Islands, and Copenhagen — featuring a never-setting sun. In July from Hamburg.
Princess is stretching its on-board fitness program. It's adding in-cabin fitness dvd's, yoga for kids, spa classes, bicycling, stretching, and more. Some sessions will be conducted in early-morning on-deck group classes before a 300 square foot movie screen... Perks: Princess' Captain's Circle loyalty program will add new peks for returning passengers. Those who've completed six or more trips will now get internet access, a special phone number to reach the club, travel insurance bump-ups, laundry services, early embarkation and debarkation, and more... All seven continents are on Princess' Northern Winter/Southern Summer agenda for 2009 - 10. It has announced 110 sailings on 10 ships to more than 180 cities. There will be 11 brand-new ports. Destinations include Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia - New Zealand, Europe, Hawaii, India, Tahiti, North America, South America, and a world cruise. The 10 ships vary in size from 60 passengers to 3100 passengers... Adult-only "Sanctuary" zones, which Princess describes as "pockets of tranquility," will open between now and 2010 on all ships in the fleet. Passengers will be attended by "Serenity Stewards," who will provide chilled face towels, water atomizers, beverages, MP3 players loaded with personalized music, smoothies, snacks, and more.
Two world cruises — one 116-day and one 121-day — new northern Europe itineraries, and "Discovery Collection" voyages to Africa, the Middle East, India, and South America highlight Regent's plans for 2009. The year will see Regent's most diverse deployment in its history, visiting more than 300 ports on seven continents. The company now has five medium-sized ships... A multi-million dollar upgrade of entertainment programming has resulted in the addition of professional ballroom dance teams, new productions, larger live orchestras, cabaret revues, permanent casts of singers and dancers, and a roster of headline entertainers.
This issue: On-board Review of Navigator. See the Ship
Reviews section.
Plans for the debut of the world's largest ship, the 5400-passenger Oasis of the Seas, are being completed both on land and on board. On land, ports where the ship will visit are being expanded and dressed up: Cozumel's pier is being widened; approaches to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Nassau are being dredged; guest welcome facilities at St. Maarten are being enhanced; Jamaica's Falmouth and Royal Caribbean's private island of Labadee are getting brand new cruise piers. The ship will begin its inaugural season next December, from Fort Lauderdale, with 19 seven-day cruises to the Eastern Caribbean. Beginning in May, 2010, it will add alternating Western Caribbean sailings. On board, the ship will offer 37 categories of accommodations, including two-level loft suites and novel view balcony cabins facing inward overlooking two "neighborhoods" with parks, cafes, and shops below. Innovative twists: a hand-crafted carousel, an old- fashioned boardwalk, an amphitheater, 43-foot high rock climbing walls, fountain shows synchronized to music and light, a "Central Park" extending the length of a football field, and more... Royal Caribbean has released details of two more "neighborhoods" of the 16-deck, 220,000-ton ship. The Pool and Sports Zone will have an adults-only solarium, a beach pool with a sloped entry, water rolling under beach chairs, private cabanas, water-spraying artificial ocean creatures, badminton, basketball, and water polo. It will be two decks high. It will have an additional pool, cantilevered whirlpools suspended 136 feet above the ocean, a spa menu, and specialty dining and dancing venues at night. The zone's sports deck will have a zip line, flow-rider surf simulators, a nine-hole miniature golf course, and a cafˇ. The Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center will be a wellness center. Among its features: heated tile lounges, sauna, steam, massage, a teen-dedicated spa, cardio and resistance equipment, various classes, activities, and health snacks and juices.
Seabourn's first new ship in 20 years is set for a June launch and an initial world cruise in January 2010. The 450-passenger Seabourn Odyssey will visit 24 ports between Fort Lauderdale and Athens on the 108-day voyage. Between its launch and its first world cruise, it will sail primarily from Venice, Istanbul, and Athens in the Med before repositioning to Fort Lauderdale late in the year. The ship will be all-suite, with 90 percent of accommodations having balconies. There will be four restaurants. Bathrooms will have twin sinks and separate tubs and showers.
Silversea's 296-passenger Silver Wind will host "The Middle East in the 21st Century, a 2009 World Leaders' Symposium," next March. Passengers will travel through the Persian Gulf states of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman with former US Secretary of State James Baker, former US Secretary of Defense William Perry, and other scholars and historians... Silversea will place its 132-passenger Prince Albert II in French Polynesian waters for seven months next year. It will leave from Papeete on seven-day voyages to less-traveled regions of Polynesia, from the southern Austral Islands to the northern Marquesas Islands.
July-August-September,
2008
LATE BREAKING
CRUISE NEWS
Here's all the news you want to know from all the carriers you want to know about
Fresh from a $19 million makeover, Azamara's 694-passenger Azamara Journey will sail the Caribbean during the 2009 - 2010 winter season. It will visit 23 ports in 15 countries and will conduct two Panama Canal transits to/from San Diego. Miami will be the home port. The company also announced its 2009 Europe schedule, which includes 20 new ports and additional overnight stays. A series of seven- to 15-day trips will visit 91 ports in 36 countries. Home ports will include Athens, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Rome, and Venice.
Add Baltimore to the select list of cities receiving 52-week cruise ship service. Starting in 2009, the 2124-passenger Carnival Pride will sail to the eastern Caribbean and to the Bahamas/Florida on seven-day circuits... Galveston will get a new seven-day itinerary in 2009 and 2010. The 2974-passenger Carnival Conquest will sail, about once a month, to Key West, Freeport, and Nassau. During the remainder of the time, the ship will continue its Western Caribbean itinerary to Montego Bay, George Town, and Cozumel... Port Canaveral will be home base for Carnival's new 3652-passenger Carnival Dream, due there shortly after its launch in the fall of 2009. The 130,000-ton ship is the largest the company has constructed... The 3006-passenger Carnival Splendor debuts this summer. It will sail in Europe until fall, when it will reposition to Fort Lauderdale for seven-day Caribbean trips. It will begin year 'round seven-day Mexico cruises from Long Beach, California, next March. Among its food highlights: Indian, Steak, Asian, Mongolian, Italian, New York Deli, Coffee Shop, Rotisserie, and American food themes and themed late-night buffets... Carnival's Web site has a new look. Videos, virtual tours, gift purchases, tour purchases, and more cover the line's 22 ships. The site is www.Carnival.com
With this summer's Alaska season barely hitting its stride, Celebrity announces that it will position three ships there in 2009. For the first time, there will be a 14-day round trip from Los Angeles to Alaska and a 10-day roundtrip from Vancouver. Other parts of the schedule include weekly Friday departures from Seattle and weekly Sunday departures from Vancouver. The 1950-passenger Infinity, 1870-passenger Mercury, and 1950-passenger Millennium will conduct Celebrity's schedule... Celebrity has scheduled three new fall foliage cruises to Canada for 2009. Ten ports will be visited during the series, which will be round-trip from New York aboard the 2034-passenger Constellation... The clean sea air will almost be matched with cleaner air aboard Celebrity ships as it converts to smoke-free cabins, smoke-free verandas, and more smoke-free public areas this fall. The company reports that 90 percent of its passengers are now non-smokers. After the new policy is implemented, the only smoking-allowed places will be the port side of one lounge per ship, a slot machine area in each ship's casino, the port side of the pool deck and sundecks, and very limited other areas... The 1814-passenger Celebrity Century will conduct 29 short Western Caribbean itineraries this winter, departing from Miami. They'll run four and five days in duration and will call at two ports... For the first time in five years, Celebrity will place five vessels in the Caribbean for the 2009 - 2010 winter season. They'll call at 26 ports during sailings ranging from seven to 14 days. Fort Lauderdale and San Juan will be the departure ports... The 1870-passenger Celebrity Galaxy will leave the fleet next May to become the first ship of TUI Cruises, a joint venture of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd and a German company, TUI AG. It will cater to German-speaking passengers and offer German-favored foods, entertainment, and amenities. It will sail the Baltic during the summer and the Caribbean in the winter... A record number of Panama Canal itineraries is set for late 2009 through spring 2010. There will be 18 one-way trips to or from Fort Lauderdale, Miami, San Diego, Seattle, and Valparaiso... A series of first-ever Antarctica trips is set for next year, when the 2050-passenger Celebrity Infinity conducts eight sailings at the 2009 - 2010 year-change. They'll call at 26 ports in 13 countries. Departure ports will be Fort Lauderdale, Valparaiso, and Buenos Aires... During the 2009 - 2010 southern summer, Celebrity will conduct 14 sailings in Australia/New Zealand, Hawaii, and the South Pacific. Its 2038-passenger Celebrity Millennium will visit 33 ports in eight countries. Itineraries range from 11 to 19 days.
Costa achieved a record 1.1 million boardings last year on its 12 ships. It has another five on order. The company is observing its 60th anniversary this year... It achieved another record when its level of customer satisfaction last year reached 98 percent... Each of Costa's ships will be stationed in Europe this summer, leaving from Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Kiel, Hamburg, Venice, Rome, Genoa, and Trieste.
They'll sail to the Eastern Med, the Western Med, Northern Europe, and transatlantic and repositioning cruises.
New ocean, new name. The 104-passenger Spirit of Nantucket, which had been based on the East Coast, has been renamed Spirit of Glacier Bay, in recognition of its new deployment. It'll sail three- and four-day cruises from Jneau to Glacier Bay National Park and Haines. Before and after the summer Alaska season, the ship will be based in Seattle. Cruise west this summer will have eight ships, eight itineraries, and 160 departures in its Alaska service... An inaugural "Taste of the Pacific Northwest" series will highlight culinary traditions and wines of Oregon and Washington. There will be four autumn departures on the 84-passenger Spirit of Discovery, round trip from Portland... San Francisco Bay wine tours will return for another season. They depart from San Francisco on the 138-passenger Spirit of Yorktown in September and October. There will be both five-day and four-day itineraries. In each case, visits to wineries, tastings, estate-tours, and special meals will be part of the package
New for 2009 will be calls to Israel and Egypt, Asia itineraries on both the 940-passenger Crystal Symphony and 1080-passenger Crystal Serenity, and a return to the Amazon for the first time in three years... Eight new 403 square foot penthouses will be created from 12 former staterooms during Crystal Serenity's next drydock in November. They'll have butler service, a large balcony, a stocked bar, whirlpool bath, DVD, CD, and more. Following the conversion the ship will have 72 penthouses and 32 penthouse suites... Next year, Crystal will offer 61 itineraries visiting 185 ports. They'll range from seven to 106 days in length.
Cunard will be 170 years old next year. And its new 2009 schedule will take it to 75 ports in 34 countries. There will be more than 60 departures around the world, including 25 transatlantic crossings via the 2620-passenger Queen Mary 2. The new 2014-passenger Queen Victoria will inaugurate 11 new itineraries including 18 maiden calls. Among them: cities in Norway, Sweden, and Italy, and Boston, Quebec City, and Halifax on fall foliage trips... The April 2009 crossing of the Queen Mary 2 from New York to London will feature the winners of the 2008 Jose Iturbi International Music Competition. The young pianists and singers will perform classical music throughout the cruise and participate in discussions.
Most Disney passengers can now check in for their homebound flights while on board their vacation ships. That will eliminate the need to do so at the Orlando airport following their cruises. Checked luggage bound for participating airlines will not have to be picked up, either. It will be transported from ship to outbound flight... Disney will have a long cruise season at its home port, Port Canaveral. It signed a 15-year contract extension to expand its terminal and to base its two future ships there. More than 3.5 million Disney passengers have sailed through Port Canaveral since the company inaugurated service in 1998
Classic cruise posters from 1895 onward are now available at Holland America's online shop. They're 24 inches by 36 inches and include scenes promoting Paris-New York crossings, the Statue of Liberty at the end of a crossing to New York, and widely-remembered others. Prices and details are available at www.hollandamerica.com...
Ever wondered how many origami animals you can make from towels? Well, Holland America's cabin stewards are experts at the subject, often surprising passengers with bed-top figures they find when they return to their cabins. Now Holland America has published an 88-page book entitled "Towel Creations — Holland America Line 40 Designs" — a step-by-step guide on how to shape seahorses or frogs just like the pros... Looking ahead to 2009, Holland America reports that its ships will sail some 500 cruises to 320 ports on all seven continents. Of those, 20 will be brand new to Holland America. Of the company's 35 home ports, 11 are in North America. Cruises will range from two to 117 days in length. The 135-year-old company operates a fleet of 14 ships... Three new ports in Quebec — Gaspe, Baie-Comeau, and Sept-Iles — will be on the schedule during 21 Canada and New England cruises this summer and fall. They'll sail primarily from Boston, Montreal, Quebec City, and New York on the just-launched 2104-passenger Eurodam and the 1258-passenger Maasdam... Holland America's Culinary Arts Center Program is flourishing. It recently marked the seventieth chef, restaurant critic, culinary educator, or cookbook author to appear at demonstrations, tastings, cooking classes, and talks... Free workshops about digital photography will be offered by Holland America and Microsoft aboard each ship in the fleet.
This issue: On-board Review of Oosterdam. See the Ship
Reviews section.
Seven North American segment departures will be available late this year on the 318-passenger Fram's 67-day North-to-South Pole-to-Pole expedition cruise. The ship will travel along the east coast of the U. S. as it makes its way from the Arctic Circle to Antarctica The cruise leaves from Reykjavik and will stop in Sydney and Halifax in Canada and Bar Harbor, Gloucester, Martha's Vineyard, Newport, New York City, Charleston, Port Canaveral, and Key West in the U. S.
Majestic America has signed the Wilderness Best Management Practices Program for Tracy Arm and Ford Terror Wilderness in Alaska. Under its terms, the company agrees to minimize speed and wake around paddlers, agrees to share schedules with other operators in order to avoid crowding in any particular destination, agrees not to schedule large ships in particularly sensitive areas, and agrees to include the wilderness management guidelines in its training programs and its policies and procedures documentation. The six-ship fleet sails primarily river and coastal itineraries.
For On-board Review of Queen of the West, see the Ship
Reviews section.
MSC's new flagship, the 2500-passenger Poesia has entered service. 80 percent of its staterooms are outside, and 65 percent have a balcony. It has 16 decks, more than four acres of public space, two pools, four hot tubs, a spa, and restaurants and bars throughout the ship's public areas. Initially, it will sail to Greece, Turkey, and Croatia on seven-day cruises from Venice... On tap for a December debut: the 3959-passenger Fantasia. The largest ship built by a European firm, it will sail in the Med from Barcelona and Genoa
NCL says it has thrown away the rule book in the design of its two 4200-passenger ships under construction in France for a 2010 introduction. 100 percent of the outside cabins will have balconies. Each bathroom will be divided into separate toilet compartments, bath/shower compartments, and vanity/sink areas. Perhaps the most unusual feature will be curving cabin walls, giving an architectural feel far from the rectangular look aboard current ships. Back-lit domed ceilings and concealed contour lighting will further distinguish cabins from those on earlier ships, the company says. In reference to their curved shapes, NCL calls the cabins "New Wave Staterooms"... Many new 2009 summer deployments have been announced by NCL. In Alaska, three ships will offer weekly round trips from Seattle and Vancouver; in Bermuda, two ships will ply weekly between the British island and either New York City or Boston, while a third will operate five- to seven-day trips from Baltimore, Charleston, or Philadelphia; in Europe, three ships will be deployed. They'll serve the Western Med from Barcelona, the Baltic capitals from London, and the Canary Islands and Morocco from Barcelona... No more day-of-departure comment forms to fill out. From now on, NCL passengers will receive an emailed post-cruise comment form. That'll cut down on last-minute paperwork and permit a calmer, pressure-free response... A record 160 Alaska excursions will be offered this summer, in buses, boats, hummers, SUVs, jet boats, floatplanes, skiffs, and on foot... NCL describes its new nightclubs for ships being launched in 2010 and beyond as "Riviera Chic, Ibiza Style, Miami Trendy, and Vegas Flair." They'll be day-night multiple-use rooms. Some will have bowling, dining, ice bars, glass elevators, beach clubs, 35-foot waterfalls, adults-only retreats, and giant TV screens displaying active images like charging bulls and synchronized swimmers to the beat of "dynamic" music.
Cape Town, Durban, and Port Elizabeth will be the centerpoint of three southern and eastern Africa cruises planned aboard the 513-passenger Deutschland in December and January. They'll be 13, 15, and 18 days in length... For 2009, it's two new Med itineraries for the Deutschland. There will be a seven-day Venice to Rome trip and a 12-day Rome round trip.
To reflect its new deployment on worldwide itineraries, Princess' 670-passenger Tahitian Princess will be renamed Ocean Princess next year. Primarily devoted to South Pacific sailings for the past six years, it will sail to Alaska this summer, a world cruise in early 2009, and Northern Europe next summer... All seven continents are on Princess' Northern Winter/Southern Summer agenda for 2009 - 10. It has announced 110 sailings on 10 ships to more than 180 cities. There will be 11 brand-new ports. Destinations include Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia - New Zealand, Europe, Hawaii, India, Tahiti, North America, South America, and a world cruise. The 10 ships vary in size from 60 passengers to 3100 passengers... Adult-only "Sanctuary" zones, which Princess describes as "pockets of tranquility," will open between now and 2010 on all ships in the fleet. Passengers will be attended by "Serenity Stewards," who will provide chilled face towels, water atomizers, beverages, MP3 players loaded with personalized music, smoothies, snacks, and more. Spa services and massage cabanas will also be available... The 2600-passenger Star Princess and 3110-passenger Caribbean Princess will be remodeled to incorporate features that are popular on Princess' newer ships. Beginning this fall, their atriums will be converted into piazza-style street cafˇs. An adults-only Sanctuary, a steak/seafood restaurant, and a more centrally located casino will also be constructed a deck higher, where the ships' central entertainment areas are... For passengers who'd like to spend vacation time in Panama as well as just pass through it on the canal, Princess will offer a second day in port there on 23 of its 44 canal sailings on four ships in 2009 - 2010. Most of the "second-day" cruises will be between San Francisco or Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale... Pacific Coastal sailings during 2009 - 2010 will include wine country cruises and a number of San Francisco/Los Angeles/Vancouver/Seattle/Victoria stops. Many of the cruises are being scheduled in conjunction with spring and fall repositioning trips between the Caribbean and Alaska... During the 2009 - 2010 winter, Princess will operate 129 cruises in the Caribbean and Mexico's west coast. They'll range from seven to 14 days and will be conducted by six ships in the Caribbean and two in the Pacific
Two — one 116-day and one 121-day — world cruises, new northern Europe itineraries, and "Discovery Collection" voyages to Africa, the Middle East, India, and South America highlight Regent's plans for 2009. The year will see Regent's most diverse deployment in its history, visiting more than 300 ports on seven continents. The company now has five medium-sized ships... A multi-million dollar upgrade of entertainment programming has resulted in the addition of professional ballroom dance teams, new productions, larger live orchestras, cabaret revues, permanent casts of singers and dancers, and a roster of headline entertainers.
This issue: On-board Review of Navigator. See the Ship
Reviews section.
The east coast cities of New York, Boston, Baltimore, and Norfolk will have 66 Royal Caribbean cruises to choose from during the summer and fall of 2009. There will be 17 itineraries to Canada, New England, Bermuda, and the Caribbean. Three ships will be devoted to the service: The 3634-passenger Explorer of the Seas, the 2110-passenger Jewel of the Seas, and the 2446-passenger Grandeur of the Seas... To mark its 20th season of Alaska sailing next summer, Royal Caribbean will place three ships in the region, offering 57 sailings. Points of departure will be Vancouver, Seattle, Anchorage - Seward, San Francisco, and San Diego. Most trips will be seven days in length. The 2501-passenger Radiance of the Seas, 2501-passenger Serenade of the Seas, and 2435-passenger Rhapsody of the seas will be used on the Alaska service... Central Park goes to sea next year. When Royal Caribbean floats its first 5400-passenger Project Genesis ship late in 2009, it will have a 328-foot long real park, longer than a football field. There will be lush, tropical grounds, pathways, foliage, flowers, shrubs, and trees. Overlooking the park will be 334 staterooms, reading corners, a Chess Garden with large-scale pieces, a sculpture garden, boutiques, and at least five restaurants and bars. A sister ship will be inaugurated in 2010... Short Caribbean cruises of two to five days will be conducted 360 times during 2009 - 2010. There will be 18 itineraries aboard five ships. Departures will be from Tampa, Port Canaveral, Port Everglades, and Miami... The 3634-passenger Independence of the Seas has entered service. It will sail 14-day Mediterranean itineraries round trip from London. It will return to Fort Lauderdale for its initial Western Caribbean sailings starting in November. Among its highlights: a surf simulator, a water park, cantilevered whirlpools suspended above the ocean, a full-size boxing ring, heated pools, and an ice rink... Looking ahead to the 2009 - 2010 Caribbean winter season, Royal Caribbean will offer 31 itineraries on 264 sailings. They'll range from six to 14 days. Departures will be from Miami, Port Everglades, Port Canaveral, New York City, Galveston, San Juan, and Colon in Panama. Nine of the company's 21 ships will be dedicated to the Caribbean next winter... A return to South America during the 2009 - 2010 southern summer will result in nine trips aboard the 2501-passenger Radiance of the Seas. Itineraries will range from 11 to 15 days. The ship will depart from Valparaiso and Buenos Aires... Oasis of the Seas has been chosen as the name of the 5400-passenger behemoth that Royal Caribbean will launch late next year. It will have 16 decks and encompass 220,000 gross registered tons... The San Diego/Los Angeles to Mexico market will be served by 55 departures during the 2009 - 2010 season. Cruise length will vary from four to seven days... A busy winter lies ahead for Royal Caribbean. It has scheduled more than 1100 sailings, with calls at 240 ports. Among the non-Caribbean highlights: 17 trips to Hawaii, the South Pacific islands, Australia, and New Zealand; two transpacific crossings; 16 Mediterranean voyages; 19 Asia sailings; and several repositioning cruises.
Seabourn's newest ship has just sailed through two oceans and it won't even have its inaugural cruise until next June. The steel hull of the future 450-passenger Seabourn Odyssey, which was built near Venice, was towed down the Adriatic, around the heel of Italy, and up the Mediterranean to Genoa, where it will be completed... The 208-passenger Seabourn Legend will conduct five mid-winter cruises between Fort Lauderdale and Panama, Belize, and Costa Rica. The two-week trips' shoreside tours will concentrate on what Seabourn calls "pulse-pounding pursuits" like tree climbing, snorkeling, swimming with dolphins, and river rafting
Relaix & Chateaux, Silversea's culinary partner, will create a number of new signature and specialty dishes and wine- inspired menus. There will also be a collection of new shore options with a culinary and wine focus and on-board cooking demonstrations. Relaix & Chateaux is a group of 475 fine hotels and gourmet restaurants in 55 countries.
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