Amplified for Your Sailing Pleasure

Navigator of the Seas returned to service today after a two-month $115 million “amplification” in dry dock. During that time, the top deck was almost completely revamped and updated features were added throughout the ship.

Through next month it is sailing five- and nine-night cruises (the nine-night is an outstanding combination of Labadee, Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire), but then incredibly, it will shift to three- and four-night cruises from Miami to the Bahamas to coincide with the opening of Perfect Day at Coco Cay.

The complete story appeared in the March 1 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

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

MSC Bellissima Arrives at Southampton

MSC Bellissima arrived at Southampton this morning (March 1, 2019) in anticipation of its naming tomorrow by Sophia Loren.

While this aerial video isn't thrilling (except for new-ship enthusiasts), it does give a great opportunity to see the ship in detail from all angles. MSC Bellissima is the first of MSC's three Meraviglia-Plus class ship.




But before it arrived, it had to leave. Below is some video of its nighttime departure from the shipyard at Saint-Nazaire Wednesday evening.



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

Ready for China

Fincantieri delivered Costa Venezia today at their yard in Monfalcone, and within six hours it was on its way to Trieste for Costa's celebration of its new ship will be held. After a brief preview cruise, the 135,500-ton ship will be headed to Asia, never to be seen in the west again - or at least not for the foreseeable future. Even though Costa was Carnival's original pioneer brand for China and has been sailing there for more than a decade, this is the first ship the brand had built specifically for the Chinese market.

After a quick five-night preview cruise, the West will have one more chance to see the ship during a 52-day positioning cruise from Trieste to Asia sailing on March 8.

The complete story appeared in the February 28 issue of Cruise News Daily.

Video courtesy of Costa Crociere. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

One Degree of Separation from Kevin Bacon

Passengers will be dancing in the aisles when Norwegian Joy makes its North American debut in Alaska in May.

Norwegian Cruise Line says they have chosen the musical “Footloose” to be the headlining entertainment production on the ship this summer.

Details appeared in the February 28 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Chantiers Delivers MSC Bellissima

Chantiers de l'Atlantique delivered MSC Bellissima to MSC Cruises today at their Saint-Nazaire yard, and tonight it's making its way toward Southampton where it will arrive early Friday morning in anticipation of its gala naming ceremony on Saturday.

Have you ever wondered what actually happens when a ship is delivered? It's probably not what you think. Prior to that moment when the half-billion-dollar piece of equipment officially changes ownership, the ship was completed by the builder, the cruise line has checked it over in detail and agrees it was completed to their satisfaction and they have provided payment to the yard.  Then comes the moment of the actual transfer, and thanks to MSC, they gave us a look behind the scenes today at the moment when all that was agreed to and ownership of MSC Bellissima was transferred. (Video is below.)

The complete story appeared in the February 27 issue of Cruise News Daily. 

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