Bigger and More Colorful Than Her Sisters, Here Comes Norwegian Aqua

Norwegian Aqua will be the first of the Prima Plus-class. 

Norwegian Aqua will have colorful hull art by Allison Hueman

The hull art is entitled "Where the Sky Meets the Sea"

Norwegian Aqua will be the first to have the Aqia Slidecoaster hybrid rollercoaster and waterslide

Renderings courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission. 

New Venue, New Entertainment aboard Sun Princess

The Princess Arena aboard the new Sun Princess can be configured either as a traditional theater or to present shows in the round. Princess has created four new production shows for the Arena.

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

Down the River

Carnival Jubilee made its way down the Ems River from the Meyer Werft in Papenburg (Germany) to the Dutch port of Eemshaven on Monday, arriving early Tuesday morning. All along the way, onlookers came out to see the giant ship maneuver down the shallow river. 

Photo courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission. 

Return of Paradise

Carnival Paradise returned to service today (October 30, 2023) at Tampa after a 16-day stay in the Grand Bahama Shipyard's drydock. In addition to routine maintenance and refurbishment in the public rooms, Carnival says they “re-imagined” the Serenity Retreat for adults, updated the Piano Bar and expanded the ship's casino. 

Carnival Paradise at Tampa with the new Carnival Hull Livery

The updated Piano Bar

The enlarged Casino

Photos courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

Calling Miss Muffet - This Year, Your Date Will Meet You at the Zoo

 This year, Frangelica, Carnival's Halloween mascot, a two-story black spider, isn't riding on the bow of Carnival's FunShip as it arrives in Sydney on Halloween weekend. Carnival took Frangelica to the Sydney Zoo for their Halloween Spooktacular. 

Photo courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission. 

* The Return of Freedom

Carnival Freedom returned to service today with its new funnel (replacing the one that was damaged in a May 2022 fire) and its new livery. 

 Photos courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

A One-of-a-Kind Order

The Navantia shipyard at Cadiz (Spain) is preparing to install a replacement funnel aboard Carnival Freedom to replace the one that was damaged in a May 2022 funnel fire. 

Carnival Freedom arrived at the shipyard today to begin a 16-day dry dock. This is the first time Navantia has built a Carnival "whale tail" funnel, but then again, most shipyards have built even fewer. 

Photo courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

Second Ritz-Carlton Ship Floats Out

Chantiers de l'Atlantique floated out Ritz-Carlton's second ship, the 46,750-ton Ilma, today at their Saint-Nazaire yard.  

Photo courtesy of Ritz-Carlton. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission. 

Meyer Werft Tops Carnival Jubilee

 Over the weekend, Carnival Jubilee was floated out of the covered building hall at Meyer Werft's Papenburg (Germany) yard. On Tuesday, July 25 (2023) the builder attached Carnival's iconic winged funnel to the top of the ship. 

Photos courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line and Meyer Werft. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

Showing Its Stripes

Carnival Venezia emerged from dry dock today with its new "Carnival" livery. It will retain its yellow Costa funnel with the Costa "C" and have a matching yellow strip on the hull in place of the red one in the normal Carnival livery as “a nod to the ship's Costa Cruises roots.” 

Photo courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

A "Fitting" Milestone

Fincantieri lifted the iconic Cunard funnel onto Queen Anne on Friday, April 14 (2023) at their Marghera yard near Venice. The 113,000-ton ship is scheduled to enter service in May 2024. 

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

Fincantieri Floats Out Seven Seas Grandeur

Fincantieri floated out Regent's Seven Seas Grandeur at their Ancony yard yesterday. It is the third in the class. The 55,000-ton ship will be delivered in November. 

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

It Will Be a Cold Day When a 250,800-Ton Ship Floats

 Meyer Turku floats out Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas at their Turku, Finland, yard on December 8, 2022.

Photos courtesy of Royal Caribbean International. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission. 

Here Comes the Sun - for the Third Time

Princess Cruises announced that their next ship, the first of a new class, will be called Sun Princess, the third ship to bear that name. It's already under construction and will be delivered on January 31, 2024. Here is a quick look around it.

 

Set Completed

P&O's Pacific Adventure arrives at Sydney for the first time since the end of the pandemic (September 9, 2022, local time), marking the return to Australia of all three ships in the P&O Australia fleet.

Photo courtesy of P&O Australia. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

MSC's Robotron

The first look at the Robotron thrill ride which will debut aboard MSC Seascape in November 2022. There's nothing like it at sea.

Seascape Gets Closer to the US

Next winter, MSC will have a brand-new ship in the US market, MSC Seascape, and it just returned to the Fincantieri yard at Monfalcone (Italy) after successfully completing sea trials, which were conducted in the Adriatic August 17-20.

These photos from Fincantieri were taken during the sea trials and give you a full look at the ship's exterior. 

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

Big Splash in Hamburg

Hamburg's Cruise Days on Saturday night featured a sound and light show on the Elbe which featured, music, lasers, a drone ballet, AIDAprima and MSC Magnifica.

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

Next!

Fincantieri floated up Norwegian Viva in the dry dock at their Marghera yard today. The ship will now be towed to a finishing dock for completion and expected delivery in June 2023. 

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

Seven Seas Grandeur Begins to Take Shape

Fincantieri laid the keel today for Regent's Seven Seas Grandeur at their Ancona yard. The 55,500-ton vessel is expected to be delivered in 2023. 

In the photo below, the first block of the luxury vessel is being lowered into the dry dock.

The complete story appeared in the July 12 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

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