Cruise News

Celebrity Cruises, which this fall will debut the innovative, has this weekend extended its existing shipyard order to five vessels according to Germany-based Meyer Werft.

Delivery of the fifth ship is slated for fall 2012. Celebrity has already announced that the four previous orders will be introduced each autumn between 2008 and 2011.

The 122,000-ton, 2,850-passenger Celebrity Solstice features a number of new-to-cruising twists, which include an actual lawn for picnics and bocce, a glass blowing studio, and a wine bar with sommelier service. Among the new-to-Celebrity elements include family staterooms, AquaClass cabins that offer a spa-destination experience, and Blu, a restaurant featuring healthy cuisine. Also important to note is that these ships will be Celebrity’s largest, and fall in the post-Panamax size classification. That means the vessels are too large to fit through the Panama Canal (at least until a planned expansion of the Canal in 2014 or thereabouts).

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New liner to enter service in 2010

Cunard Line announces that it has ordered a new 92,000-ton liner, to be named ‘Queen Elizabeth’, scheduled to enter service in the autumn of 2010. Cunard signed an agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for the construction of the new 2092–passenger ocean liner, which will be built at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone yard at an all-in cost of approximately €500 million. The vessel will be the second largest Cunarder ever built.

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In a move sure to create controversy, Cunard Line announced that The Duchess of Cornwall — the woman formerly known as Camilla Parker Bowles — will perform the naming of Queen Victoria when the ship is christened in Southampton this December.

The Duchess, who of course is now married to the Prince of Wales (he will participate in the ceremony, but as a male he cannot actually perform the ship’s naming), follows a legion of titled godmothers for Cunard. Queen Elizabeth handled the duties for both Queen Mary 2, just a few years ago, and Queen Elizabeth 2, way back in 1969. As Princess Elizabeth in 1947, she also christened Caronia. (The late Queen Mother, then Queen Elizabeth, launched Queen Elizabeth in 1938.)

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Celebrity, which is building an entirely new class of ships it’s calling Solstice, trickled out a few tantalizing details last night during an event in New York for travel agents, Captain’s Club members and the media. The 122,000-ton, 2,850-passenger Celebrity Solstice, the first in the new class, is currently under construction at Germany’s Meyer Werft shipyard and debuts in late fall 2008. Three more ships will follow.

The big news? Think pink. Celebrity designers have unabashedly embraced the female spirit when creating cabin designs. In fact, their design team — led by architectural firm RTKL’s Greg Walton, who’s, ahem, a guy — went a step further, tapping five women to serve on a “what women want” advisory panel.

Women, noted Dan Hanrahan, Celebrity Cruises’ president, are the prime decision makers when it comes to choosing a vacation venue. And in creating a panel of women to address female preferences, “we took the ’suggestion box’ idea to a whole new level to create a new kind of stateroom.”

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The hot topic today among smokers and non-smokers alike is Royal Caribbean’s announcement that it will implement a new, more restrictive smoking policy. According to a company press release, the cruise line is increasing smoke-free zones fleetwide in conjunction with its new Vitality wellness program, just in time to “help guests set their New Year’s resolutions.”

The biggest change? Beginning in January 2008, smoking will be prohibited in all staterooms and suites. Royal Caribbean joins Disney and Oceania among the very few cruise lines that prohibit puffing in cabins. However, passengers can still light up on stateroom and suite balconies, as on Disney (Oceania guests cannot smoke on verandahs). Royal Caribbean will also designate one lounge on each ship in its fleet as completely non-smoking — for example, the Champagne Bar on Freedom-, Radiance- and Vision-class ships, and the Viking Crown on Sovereign-class vessels, subject to change by voyage as listed in the Compass.

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During the 2007/2008 winter season the Costa Marina will depart from Mauritius on a 14-day Indian Ocean cruise, a global first for the industry. A total of approximately 11,000 passenger movements are forecast. The itinerary also includes the Seychelles, Kenya, Mayotte, Madagascar and Reunion.

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Hogwarts Goes To Sea For Moonlit Launch Of The “Deathly Hallows”

Fans of Harry Potter needn’t be disappointed this summer if they have planned a holiday with P&O Cruises.

In an exclusive deal, family friendly superliners Aurora and Oriana will take delivery of the latest book before they sail from Southampton to the Mediterranean on Friday 20th July.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows goes on sale in the UK at midnight on Saturday 21 July, so avid readers on these cruise holidays can buy their copy at exactly the same time as they could in the UK.

The cruise line has planned ‘moonlit launch’ events on board both ships so that fans of Harry, Ron and Hermione don’t have to wait a minute longer to start reading this eagerly anticipated final instalment in the Harry Potter adventure.

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Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines Ltd. has announced plans to lengthen and upgrade another of its cruise ships during 2008. The Braemar will undergo the work during its dry dock period scheduled for May and June next year.
The work will be carried out by Blohm + Voss Repair GmbH Hamburg which will be handling a similar project on the company’s latest acquisition, Balmoral, later this year.
The project involves adding a 31.2 metre extension in the mid-section of the ship, and extending the fore and aft sections on deck 8. This work will increase the amount of premium accommodation by providing more cabins and suites with balconies and will increase the capacity of the ship from 727 to 977 (an additional 250 passengers). Extra public space includes a bar designed on the concept of a British pub.
In addition to further balcony suites, the new deck 8 space will accommodate a new restaurant along with an Observatory Lounge similar to those found on other Fred. Olsen ships. There will also be plenty of extra deck space, and a second swimming pool which will also have an area for children to play safely.

Mike Rodwell, Managing Director for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said: “This project to lengthen Braemar has been on the drawing board for several months, and I am delighted that we are now able to announce it will be going ahead. There will be no disruption to schedules as we had pencilled in this period in our 2008 itinerary planning in anticipation that this work would be carried out.” He continued: “Fred. Olsen intends to maintain its strong position in the UK cruise market and this additional capacity will allow us to grow our market in keeping with the increasing demand for cruise holidays.”

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If you’re longing to say goodbye to Cunard Line’s Queen Elizabeth 2 before the ship becomes a hotel at The Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, you’ll be able to do more than just wave: Cunard just announced four special voyages between September and November 2008 so QE2 can bid farewell to England, New York and more.

Interested in booking one of these historic voyages for your first — or last — sailing on QE2? Here are the details:

September 30, 2008: On the 10-night “Farewell to the British Isles,” QE2 will sail from Southampton and visit Dublin, Belfast, Clyde (where the ship was built), Cork, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Newcastle. Selling fast! Click here to view the latest pricing

October 10, 2008: The six-night “Final New York Arrival Crossing” begins in Southampton and ends in New York on October 16. Selling fast! Click here the latest pricing
Later, QE2 will embark on its last (and 806th!) trans-Atlantic journey from New York to Southampton — with Queen Mary 2 by its side. Selling fast! Click here the latest pricing

November 11, 2008: The 16-night “Final Voyage” — which we are sure will be a tearful one — begins in Southampton and ends on November 27 in Dubai, QE2’s new home. Ports of call include Lisbon, Gibraltar, Civitavecchia, Naples, Malta, Alexandria and transit the Suez Canal. SOLD OUT!

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The world’s most famous ship, the Queen Elizabeth 2, will leave the Cunard fleet in autumn 2008.

As part of a $100 million deal, the QE2 will be delivered to Dubai, where she will be refurbished and adapted to become a luxury floating hotel, retail and entertainment destination at The Palm Jumeirah man-made island.

The ship, which has sailed the world’s seas for almost 40 years and travelled over 5 million miles, is Cunard’s longest-serving ship.

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Don’t miss the opportunity to see Ventura take to the water for the very first time. Ventura’s float out ceremony will be broadcasted live on our dedicated Ventura website on the 8th June at 12.30pm (BST).

Click on the below link to access the webcast page:

View the webcast page

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Exotic Destination-Driven Brand to Sail in Europe, South America, Asia and Around the World

The launch of a new ship is a momentous occasion for any cruise line, but Celebrity Cruises has made the introduction of their latest liner especially significant. Today, Celebrity not only marked the launch of a 710-guest ship which sets sail tomorrow, but also introduced an entirely new, deluxe cruise brand: “Azamara Cruises.”

Designed to offer exotic destination-driven travel experiences, Azamara Cruises — consisting of Azamara Journey, which sets sail May 5, and sister ship, Azamara Quest, which enters service in October — will present a more intimate onboard experience, while allowing access to the less-traveled ports of call experienced travelers want to visit.

“We created Azamara Cruises to target an area of the market that we believe is underserved, and an area this product is ideally suited to fill,” said Richard Fain, Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited, parent company of Azamara Cruises. “This new line falls into what we consider the deluxe category — a category between premium and luxury.”

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Costa officially owns Serena: In a traditional maritime handover ceremony, Costa Cruises took delivery today of the 3,780-passenger, 112,000-ton Costa Serena, sister ship to 2006’s Costa Concordia, from Fincantieri’s Sestri Ponente shipyard.

Serena is scheduled to launch from Savona May 17 on a three-night inaugural sailing; a festive celebration in Marseille will follow on May 20, with stunning French actress Marion Cotillard serving as godmother. The ship will then begin its season sailing a series of Eastern and Western Mediterranean cruises of various lengths, roundtrip from Venice and Savona.

Don’t expect too many innovative features aboard Costa Serena. The highlights are on par with many of the amenities introduced aboard sister ship Costa Conocrodia including:

• The Samsara Spa, one of the largest spa complexes at sea
• Grand Prix racecar driving simulator
• Two covered pools with a sliding glass roof (”magrodome”)
• A poolside movie screen
• Alternative restaurant created by celebrity chef Ettore Bocchia.

Serena becomes the 12th ship in the rapidly expanding Costa fleet. Costa has three more ships — Costa Luminosa and two as-yet-unnamed vessels — set to debut in spring 2009, summer 2009 and 2010, respectively.

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Royal Caribbean International has named a new captain for its Monarch of the Seas — the first female in the industry to command a major cruise ship!

Cruise captainship has long been a male-dominated profession (think back to Vikings and pirates), but Swedish mariner Karin Stahre-Janson has been working her way up to it. She has been with Royal Caribbean in a variety of officer-level roles since 1997; her current position as the commander of Monarch is a promotion from Staff Captain, a title she held onboard Serenade and Majesty. Prior to that, she worked for nine years in cargo shipping, primarily on petroleum and chemical tankers — another male-dominated industry.

Stahre-Janson discovered her love for sailing at the age of 7 when her parents gave her a small boat, and cultivated her passion at sailing camp. While growing up, she also took — and taught — sailing lessons and competitively raced tall ships. She graduated from the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden with a bachelor’s degree in Nautical Science and obtained an Unlimited Masters License enabling her to command any ship of any size (maybe Genesis is next…).

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Due to unprecedented sales for Christmas and New Year 2006, MSC Cruises has taken the decision to double capacity for the coming festive season, offering both Caribbean and Mediterranean options.

In the Caribbean, MSC Lirica will offer two separate seven-night Christmas and New Year itineraries on the 21 and 28 December. These can also be combined into 14-night itinerary which covers the entire the festive season.

For the 14-night holiday - from 21 December - there are calls at San Juan, St Thomas, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Key West, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, returning to the UK from Fort Lauderdale on 4 January 2008.

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