Cruise Ships Lining Up for Victoria Shipyards

Victoria's Times Colonist has an eye-opening article today about the bustling cruise ship repair business at Victoria Shipyards and the huge economic benefits it has on the area in British Columbia. According to the article Golden Princess arrived on Saturday, Holland America's Amsterdam replaces it in the drydock as soon as Golden leaves, and after that, it's Celebrity Millennium's turn.

Look What They're Doing to Golden Princess

Golden Princess is currently engaged in a three-week long drydock during which time it will have Princess' newest signature features added to the ship. During the drydock, which runs through May 5 at the Victoria Shipyards in British Columbia, Princess will be giving fans an unusual behind-the-scenes look at the process with a photo blog that is being updated daily.

The April 21 Cruise News Daily article details the new features being added to Golden Princess.

Compromise on Cruise Wastewater in Alaska

There was a compromise in the Alaskan legislature late last week that delayed until 2015 the implementation of more stringent wastewater standards for cruise ships operating in the state's waters. The tougher standards were mandated in a 2006 citizens ballot initiative, but the cruise industry says the technology does not yet exist that will allow them to meet the standards.

Details were in the April 21 (2009) edition of Cruise News Daily.

Port Canaveral Ready to Welcome Freedom

Central Florida is excited about Royal Caribbean upsizing the ship they have homeported at Port Canaveral for 7-day cruises, and they're going to have a "Sail-a-Bration" to welcome the new ship.

The port is sponsoring the "Sail-a-Bration" to see the 154,407-gross ton Freedom of the Seas sail away on its first cruise from Port Canaveral, which is located near Orlando. Free admission will be granted to Jetty Park at the port (the prime viewing spot) to everyone bringing a non-perishable food item for donation to the Brevard Sharing Center.

The event will take place on Monday, May 4, 2009 from 4pm to 6pm. Everyone will be given a free commemorative Sail-a-Bration flag to wave as Freedom passes on its first departure from Port Canaveral.

Good news causes a Queen Victoria cruise to be cut short

Here's a good news story from Cunard's Queen Victoria. The Daily Mail reports that a 64-year-old woman had been on the waiting list for a kidney transplant for more than two years. She needed dialysis twice a day, and fearing her condition would become fatal before she ever received a kidney, she and her husband decided to go on one "final" trip aboard Cunard to the Mediterranean while she was still well enough.

The ship departed Southampton yesterday afternoon, and later last night, when it was still just about 50 miles southwest of The Lizard in Cornwall (at the southwest tip of England), the call came to the ship - a kidney had become available for the woman. The big problem was that the woman had to be at the hospital in five hours to prepare for surgery or they would have to move to the next person on the list.

Queen Victoria's captain called in the Royal Navy, and everyone rose to the occasion. Within an hour she was being hoisted from Queen Victoria's deck to an RAF Sea King helicopter hovering above and then flown the 400 miles to the hospital in Cambridge.

The Mail's story leaves off as the woman was at the hospital this morning, on time, and being prepped for surgery. We assume there's a happy ending.


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