Gone to Pieces

Windstar's Star Breeze is currently at Fincantieri's Palermo yard and ready to be reassembled. Upon its arrival at the yard, the ship was cut in two, and in the milestone reached today, the pieces were pulled apart, and the prefabricated new center section was inserted between them.

Over the next four months, the three pieces will be reattached, but making this operation more challenging for Fincantieri than a “normal” lengthening, is that the ship is also being re-engined with a more powerful and environmentally-friendly engine.

The complete story appeared in the October 17 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Photos are courtesy of Fincantieri. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

Fincantieri Cuts Steel for 2022 Cunard Liner

Fincantieri cut the first steel today for Cunard's next ship, which will be the line's second-largest ever, but as with many things Cunard, it wasn't typical.

The event took place at Fincantieri's Castellammare di Stabia Shipyard near Naples. The twist in this ceremony is that the very first piece of steel cut today won't actually be used in the construction of the ship, but it will be in the ship. It will be fashioned into a sculpture by acclaimed sculptor Sam Shendi.

The complete story appeared in the October 11 issue of Cruise News Daily. 

Wonder of the Seas Begins to Take Shape

As Chantiers de l'Atlantique laid the keel for Royal Caribbean's fifth Oasis-class ship in Saint-Nazaire (France) today, halfway around the world, Royal Caribbean was announcing details about the ship and its deployment at a trade conference in China.

The ship will be named Wonder of the Seas, and when it enters service in 2021, it will be dedicated, at least initially, to the Chinese-sourced market and homeported at Shanghai.

The complete story appeared in the October 10 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Photos courtesy of Chantiers de 'l'Atlantique. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission. 

Medevac from Carnival Valor

The US Coast Guard came to the rescue again early Tuesday morning when they hoisted a 23-year-old man and the ship's doctor off the deck of Carnival Valor in the early morning hours (5:45am) when the ship was about 65 nautical miles off the coast of Venice, Louisiana.

The Coast Guard got the call from the ship at 1:14am saying the man had fallen aboard the ship and had what the Coast Guard said were “multiple significant injuries.” The Coast Guard dispatched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and crew from their station in New Orleans.

The Wonder of MSC

Just when your attention was on what storms are sneaking up on us next in the Caribbean, MSC Meraviglia (whose name means “wonder”) sailed into New York today, becoming the largest ship ever to call there.

The two-year-old ship is 171,598 gross tons carrying 4,488 passengers in double occupancy.

The complete story appeared in the October 7 edition of Cruise News Daily.