Friday, October 1, 2010

Leonard Maltin to Lead Film Discussions aboard Coral Princess

Princess has a special holiday gift for passengers sailing aboard Coral Princess' December 15 Panama Canal cruise.

Noted film critic Leonard Maltin will be aboard to give passengers a special live presentation of his "movie club," which "meets" on every Princess cruise.


Details appeared in Cruise News Daily on October 1, 2010.

Galveston Prepares for Carnival Magic

* Waiting for the Magic to Happen
As we earlier reported, Carnival Cruise Lines is upsizing their operation at Galveston next fall. As part of that expansion, they will be replacing Carnival Conquest with Carnival Magic, the second Dream-class vessel, sized at 130,000 tons, which also carries 4,000 passengers.

The larger ship and more passengers need larger facilities, and the port isn't waiting until the last minute to begin to get things in place. The necessary changes and major funding have been approved by the port's board, and work is going to begin this month.


The complete article appeared in the October 1, 2010, edition of Cruise News Daily.

Carnival bartender guilty/sentenced, Disney Dream ready to float out, the floating hotel trend, cruise marketing Italian-style

CND subscribers read about a Carnival bartender being sentenced for the rape of a 14-year-old girl aboard Carnival Freedom ... Disney readying a special "coming out" party when Disney Dream floats out at the Meyer shipyard later this month ... another cruise ship being used as a floating hotel for a special event ... and cruise marketing, Italian-style.


Details appeared in the "Other Things You'll Want to Know" column in the October 1, 2010 edition of Cruise News Daily.

MSC cruise marketing event in Torino

American cruise lines often have marketing events in downtown locations to get the line's name and image out. It seems to be the same all over the world. Here's a video of one that MSC Crociere held in Torino (Italy) last week (September 25, 2010) on the Piazza Castello, which they term a "Flash Mob" event. It doesn't look too much like a mob, but that increases the chances of walking away with one of the prizes. It looks like some people went home with 200-euro cruise certificates, but the really lucky ones went home with a genuine MSC ball point pen.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Cunard's New Queen on the Way


There’s a new queen in Cunard’s closet tonight, and as you read this, she’s on her way to Southampton to be named by The Queen.

This morning Fincantieri delivered Queen Elizabeth to Cunard at their Monfalcone yard near Venice.

Proud Cunard president and managing director, Peter Shanks, is shown here with the keys to his new ship after taking possession this morning.


The complete article appeared in the September 30, 2010, edition of Cruise News Daily.

Carnival Testing Premium Entrees in Main Dining Room

* Bringing the Steakhouse to the Main Dining Room
Taking a similar page out of Royal Caribbean's book, Carnival Cruise Lines has begun testing the concept of offering entrees from the premium restaurant's menu for a price in the main dining room.


Details appeared in the September 30, 2010, edition of Cruise News Daily.

Royal Caribbean Offers 5K Run as Shorex

* Running Down to St. Maarten
You have to hand it to Royal Caribbean for originality of a new one-time-only shore excursion being offered, but it shouldn't come as a surprise since much of their marketing has always stressed the active options available on a cruise vacation.

The special excursion, called Royal 5K, will happen only on Allure of the Seas December 12 sailing when the ship reaches St. Maarten on December 16.


Details appeared in the September 30, 2010, edition of Cruise News Daily.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Princess Cruises, Cunard Line Getting Tough on Final Payments

* Don't Be Late
Most people who book vacations are used to being prompt with their deposit to the cruise line or tour operator. They know if they aren't, the space they are holding will be automatically canceled. That's only fair, because the company doesn't know if you're really going or not; you might be one of the thousands who hold something and never follow through. Most people know that promptness isn't as necessary with the final payment, because the company knows you're going or you wouldn't have given them a deposit of several hundred dollars.

That's about to change. Princess and Cunard advised travel agents yesterday they are changing the rules of the game.


The complete article appeared in the September 29, 2010 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Port Everglades Ready for the Winter Cruise Season

* The Makings of a Record-Breaking Port
Record-breaking days have become the norm at Port Everglades. Some of it's due to the lines putting their newest ships there, and some of the reason is that it's so popular with passengers because the port goes out of their way to make it a good passenger experience.

This winter it seems to all be coming together for Port Everglades with five of the industry's newest ships sailing from the port, and the potential for seven potentially record-breaking days when nine cruise ships will be in port at once.


Details appeared in the complete article in the September 29, 2010, edition of Cruise News Daily.

United Way Donors to Be Among First Allure Passengers & Cruise Ship Arrested

CND subscribers also about an opportunity to be one of the first to sail aboard Allure of the Seas and help a worthy cause at the same time ... and a cruise ship arrested with 700 passengers aboard.


Details of these items appeared in the Other Things You'll Want to Know column in the September 29, 2010 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Crystal's Alaska to Be Different

Next summer for the first time in six years, Crystal Cruises will be returning to Alaska.

The 12-day itineraries sail round trip from San Francisco from early May through mid-August aboard Crystal Symphony. The Crystal way will be different from the mass market and premium lines sailing to the 49th State.


"Alaska, Their Way" appeared in the September 28, 2010 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Cruising As It Really Is

If you are reading this in CND, you know what it's like to go on a cruise. You know the reality as opposed to that you saw on "The Love Boat," or when characters on a TV show go on a cruise as part of the storyline. Most people, however, don't know what a cruise is really like, or consider it a vacation they are apt to take, because they are "regular" people.

One cruise line, P&O Australia, however, has found a way to go right into people's living rooms and show them what a cruise is really like and that it's a "normal" vacation to take.


The complete article appeared in the September 28, 2010 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Other Things You'll Want to Know

CND subscribers also read about some consumers who weren't too smart before they paid for their cruises.

Details appeared in the September 28, 2010 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Video of Medevac from Holland America's Volendam

The US Coast Guard performed a helicopter medevac from Holland America's Volendam on Friday afternoon (September 24, 2010) when the ship was about 100 miles west of the Columbia River entrance off the Oregon coast.



The Coast Guard makes this look easy, but to get an idea of the skill involved, notice the ocean that you can see off the side of the ship toward the lower right corner of the screen, and notice the speed at which the ship is moving through the water. The Coast Guard pilot has to match that speed exactly to hover motionless above the ship's pool deck.



Details appeared in the Other Things You'll Want to Know column in the September 27, 2010 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Monday, September 27, 2010

MSC to Base Ship in Dubai & Abu Dhabi

* Everybody Wants to Go to Dubai
You can add MSC Crociere to the list of cruise lines heading to the Gulf, which seems to be the destination an ever-growing number of European cruise passengers want to explore.

MSC is going to put their own mark on it, however, using the intimate MSC Lirica while most other lines are scheduling their largest and glitziest ships there. MSC is also going to be boarding passengers in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The complete article appeared in the September 27, 2010, edition of Cruise News Daily.

2 Cruise Ship Medevacs, a Man Guilty of Sexual Assaul on a Cruise, a Carnival Anniversary and Other Things You'll Want to Know

CND subscribers also read about two helicopter medevacs from Holland America's Volendam (video) and Carnival Splendor over the weekend ... a 25-year-old man pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl aboard Disney Wonder ... ten years of Carnival in Galveston ... Silversea redesigning their website ... and a very slow way to deliver a message from a cruise.

Details appeared in the Other Things You'll Want to Know Column in the September 27, 2010, edition of Cruise News Daily.