Virgin Talks Dining

Virgin Voyages gave us another peek into the Virgin world yesterday when they revealed the dining experiences they will have aboard Scarlet Lady when she debuts in 2020.

They want them to be very different from anything else at sea, and they seem to be meeting that goal.

The complete story appeared in the November 9 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Symphony Arrives

Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas arrived at her new home - the brand-new Terminal A in Miami - in the pre-dawn hours of Friday morning. When the world's largest cruise ship moves in, it's a visual event as you can see in the video.



Please note that the video below is b-roll so there is no sound, but it does give you an opportunity to view the ship from a number of angles.

Glamping Goes to Sea

Whoever first put the words “Glamourous” and “Camping” together never even envisioned this. But you can now spend the night, camping in luxury, under the stars on a ship in the Galapagos Islands.

When Celebrity's ship, custom-designed for Galapagos cruising, Celebrity Flora, debuts, you will be able to camp out in luxury under the stars (complete with a naturalist to point out the constellations) with an elaborate dinner served to you, an extra-comfy bed and even breakfast brought to your bed the next morning - all in those plush cabanas near the pool you can rent in the daytime to comfortably relax and nosh in.

The complete story appeared in the November 8 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Daytime view of where you will glamp and night.

Rendering courtesy of Celebrity Cruises. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

They're Still Not Going Anywhere

You used to be able to set your watch (or calendar) by it. In the spring they'd leave for Europe, and in the fall, they'd come back. But lately, a big, white Princess ship would stick around the Caribbean in the summer.

Princess announced this week that again during the summer of 2020, they would be leaving Caribbean Princess behind in the Caribbean, the only ship currently with the Ocean Medallion program fully implemented.

Details appeared in the November 8 issue of Cruise News Daily.

Royal Caribbean Setting Largest Alaska Deployment

Royal Caribbean International is setting up to have their biggest summer ever in Alaska in 2020 when they have three ships there, including the return of Ovation of the Seas (after debuting in Alaska in the summer of 2019).

In addition to Ovation, joining it will be Radiance of the Seas and her sister, Serenade of the Seas.

Details appeared in the November 8 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Ocean Cay Coming to Life

Work is entering the final phase on MSC's private Bahamian island, Ocean Cay, with the planting of the first trees.

That doesn't mean the facilities are almost complete and the island is near opening. There's still a lot of work to do before the first ship arrives next November.

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

Ocean Cay as it appears today. It will open in just a year.

Photo courtesy of MSC Cruises. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission. 

Carnival Continues Push into China

The contract creating CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping Ltd has been finalized between China State Shipbuild Corp (CSSC) and Carnival Corp. The joint venture was first announced in 2015. The purpose of the new company is to launch the first multi-ship cruise brand specifically designed to serve the Chinese cruise market.

The new company will be launched with two ships that will be built in China and two ships purchased from Carnival's Costa Group.

The complete story appeared in the November 6 issue of Cruise News Daily. 

“Edging” Toward Florida

Celebrity Cruises reports that Celebrity Edge left the Chantiers yard at Saint-Nazaire, France on Sunday en route to her new home port at Terminal 25 at Port Everglades, near Ft. Lauderdale.

The new ship is expected to arrive on Monday, November 19.

Details appeared in the November 6 edition of Cruise News Daily.

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

First Peek at Enchanted Princess

Enchanted Princess will be the fifth of the Royal-class ships, but like her four sisters, her features will be something of an evolution from Sky Princess, and Princess is beginning to detail what those will be.

The complete story appeared in the November 5 issue of Cruise News Daily. 

The Salty Dog Gastropub aboard Enchanted Princess

Sabatini's Italian Trattoria aboard Enchanted Princess

Renderings courtesy of Princess Cruises. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission. 

Three for Barcelona

Half of Windstar's fleet - three ships - docked in Barcelona last week (October 27). It's seldom that many ships from the line meet up like that, so Windstar made an occasion of it.

The three ships - Star Breeze, Wind Surf and Windstar - represented both types of vessels Windstar has - one power yacht and two sailing yachts.

Details appeared in the November 5 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Three Windstar Ships leaving Barcelona, (L to R) Star Breeze, Wind Star and Wind Surf.

Windstar Captains (L-R): Vitaliy Brylko (Star Breeze), Belinda Bennett (Wind Star), Roman Krstanovic (Star Breeze), and Pedro Pinto (Wind Surf). 

Crew members from all three ships met aboard Star Breeze.

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