A Failure to Communicate

Two couples in England are threatening to sue P&O Cruises over the "maiden voyage" of Ventura. They were on the two-week Mediterranean cruise from Southampton that left the same evening that Dame Helen Mirren christened the ship. They said they booked the cruise because they've always wanted to be on a ship's first cruise and claim they paid a premium for it. They are unhappy because the ship was delivered to P&O a bit early and the line added a previous two-night cruise to Belgium which was open to the public. The couples claim that was actually the "maiden cruise."

The unhappy couples claim the maiden cruise was the first cruise on which paying passengers were carried. The line claims the maiden cruise was the first one after the christening. In the CND article, we looked at the issues surrounding the situation.

The complete article appeared in the May 21, 2008, edition of Cruise News Daily.

Bob Hope to Sail Cunard One More Time

As part of their Cunard Insight enrichment program, Cunard has scheduled legendary entertainer Bob Hope's daughter, Linda, to sail aboard Queen Mary 2's September 4, 2008, transatlantic crossing. During the voyage, she will host several events and share a look back at her famous father's life.

A collection of Hope's personal items, which will be auctioned in October, will also be on display during that voyage. Hope was a frequent passenger aboard the line, and the items will include not only items connected to his travels, but also iconic possessions. More information on the auction and the items is available at http://www.juliensauctions.com/.

The complete article appeared in the May 22, 2008, edition of Cruise News Daily. (Note: The link was valid on the date of publication.)

A Few Minutes with Micky Arison

The first part of a two-part video interview with Carnival Corp Chairman Micky Arison has been posted on Carnival Cruise Lines' travel agent website. While it is directed at travel agents, non-travel agents may also find it interesting actually hearing him talk about the early days at Carnival when "survival was our number-one priority."

The original story appeared in the May 20, 2008 issue of Cruise News Daily. (Note: Link was current at time of publication.)

Something in the Water

There was more excitement on Norwegian Dawn the afternoon of May 20 when someone spotted a body in the water. The incident came on the cruise following one on which a woman went overboard and was not found. In this case, the ship again turned around, put rescue boats in the water and began searching. As they searched, it was unspoken, but the missing woman was on everyone's mind. Wouldn't that have made a spectacular end to the story? After about an hour, they found only a large piece of wood floating in the ocean which it was assumed that was what was seen from the ship, and the ship continued on to Bermuda.

The complete story appeared in the May 20, 2008 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Costa Ships to Carry UEFA Euro 2008, European Championship Matches

All 12 ships in the Costa fleet will be carrying the UEFA Euro 2008, European Football Championship matches (soccer). The matches will be played from June 7 through June 29 in Austria and Switzerland, and Costa passengers will be able to watch every one of them live. It may not seem like a big deal to Americans, but to Europeans it is like three solid weeks of nonstop Super Bowl weekends. The matches will be shown in each ship's largest venue, and on Costa Serena and Costa Concordia, that means on their giant outdoor screens.

The photo shows the crowd of more than 2,000 passengers gathered to see the World Cup final during Costa Concordia's Lido Deck during the ship's inaugural cruise.

The complete story appeared in the May 20, 2008 edition of Cruise News Daily.