First Voyager-Class Ship Getting Its FlowRider Surf Simulator

Passengers began enjoying the FlowRider surf simulator on Royal Caribbean International ships beginning with the Freedom-class. It has been such a popular feature, Royal Caribbean has now begun to retrofit them onto the earlier Voyager-class. The first will be on Navigator of the Seas, which is having its FlowRider installed now during a dry dock in Freeport.

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

Cruise News Daily Headlines for January 24, 2014

* Carnival Has Lots of New Ways to Tie the Knot
More than 2,600 couples say, “I do,” on Carnival cruises each year. With Carnival’s revamped wedding program, couples this year have a whole bunch of upgraded new options.

* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about a development in the Panama Canal ... how Tampa keeps up with the times ... and a behind the scenes look at the testing of the lifeboats before a new ship is delivered. In this case, the lifeboats will be part of TUI's Mein Schiff 3. (below)

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers

Cruise News Daily Headlines for January 23, 2014

* SC Court Closes One Door on Anti-Cruise Lobby
South Carolina’s Supreme Court dismissed a suit brought against Carnival Cruise Lines by a coalition of anti-cruise groups which included the Preservation Society of Charleston and Coastal Conservation League.

* RCCL Selling Pullmantur Non-Cruise Ops
Royal Caribbean is selling off a major interest in the non-cruise portions of their Spanish brand, Pullmantur. Those include the charter airline, tour operations and travel agencies.

* Strike Up the Band
In addition to their new Carnival Live concert series we reported about yesterday, Carnival has also expanded their house bands on nine of their ships.

Fireworks celebrate the 10th anniversary of Queen Mary 2 at Southampton last week just before departure of its world cruise.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

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

Cruise News Daily Headlines for January 22, 2014

* Live in Concert
Just as one line’s experiment with “name” entertainment seems to be winding down, Carnival is about to embark on a season of their own “name” entertainment aboard their ships, but in quite a different way.

* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about readying an IPO ... and getting ready for fireworks.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers

Jennifer Hudson performing at the Carnival Live launch event today. Hudson will also perform as part of the concert series.

Cruise News Daily Headlines for January 21, 2014

* Another New Ship for Seabourn - Bigger Still
Carnival finalized the order today for a fourth new ship for the Seabourn brand. The action firms up the order prefaced by the letter of intent that we reported last fall.
   The new ship will be built by Fincantieri at an unnamed yard, and while this ship will be similar to the three Odyssey-class vessels added to the fleet since 2009, this ship will be significantly larger.

* Free Internet for Past Passengers
Beginning this fall, Crystal plans to offer a very liberal internet allowance to all passengers who have sailed with them before, probably making internet free for most passengers.

* Uh oh. Trouble in Bayonne Could Mean Trouble for QuantumConstruction on the new cruise terminal designed for Quantum of the Seas at Bayonne’s Cape Liberty Cruise Port has been halted due to a local controversy regarding the 9-11 memorial at the port.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers

Seabourn Finalizes Order for 4th Ship

Carnival Corp finalized an order with Fincantieri for a fourth 40,350-ton Odyssey-class ship to be delivered in mid-2016.

Details to follow in Cruise News Daily.

Cruise News Daily Headlines for January 20, 2014

* MSC Adding Capacity in Northern Europe
Until a year ago, MSC kept their largest ships in the Mediterranean. Then they tried basing one seasonally in South America, and now one year round in Florida. The next expansion of the Fantasia-class will go to Hamburg in 2015 for added capacity in the Northern Europe routes.

* Carnival Corp Extends Contract with MTN
Carnival Corp has signed a contract with MTN to continue to provide satellite internet and television services to three of their brands, Princess, Cunard and P&O Cruises (UK). The agreement continues a relationship of more than twenty years between the two companies.

* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about Jamaica looking for more ... MSC extending UNICEF program (more) ... and Britannia is coming along (more).

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

P&O's Britannia is Coming Together

Construction is proceeding on P&O Cruises' Britannia at Fincantieri's Monfalcone yard. The 145,000-ton vessel is scheduled to be delivered in February 2015 and is a sister of Princess Cruises' Royal Princess. These photos, taken last week, show the superstructure nearing completion.

Photos courtesy of P&O Cruises. May not be copied or used without permission. All rights reserved.

Get on Board for Children Program Extended by MSC

MSC Cruises renews the "Get on Board for Children" Initiative with UNICEF

More than €2.8m donated thanks to the generosity of MSC guests

Started in 2009, MSC’s collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has contributed in building hope for children in need around the world. In the past four years, as part of the MSC Cruises’ “Get on Board for Children” initiative, and thanks to the generosity of MSC  Cruises’ guests, more than €2.8m were donated to UNICEF in Brazil to combat poverty and inequality by helping ensure children in 126 vulnerable communities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paolo achieve access to a quality education.

1 January 2014 saw the start of a new life-saving partnership between MSC Cruises and UNICEF aiming at providing assistance to malnourished children by delivering Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF)– like Plumpy’Nut®– to treat severe malnutrition in developing countries and in countries affected by crisis situations.

Malnutrition and famine claim the lives of over a million children every year and stunt the physical and mental development of many more. Severe acute malnutrition has traditionally required hospitalisation, however RUTFs can be eaten straight from the sachet: they can be given to children without being mixed in water, so they can work in any situation, at home and without medical supervision.

“Around three sachets a day for four to six weeks can put a child out of harm’s way and with the generosity of our on board guests we will do our best to save and improve as many lives as possible“ declared Gianni Onorato, CEO of MSC Cruises. “MSC Cruises believes that global leadership brings increased responsibility towards the physical and human environments in which it operates, and as such we are proud to have strengthened our partnership with UNICEF. Together, we can make a difference”.

”We are delighted with our long-standing partnership with MSC Cruises. It makes a significant contribution to improving living conditions for thousands of children”, said Elsbeth Müller, Executive Director of UNICEF Switzerland. “We are impressed that passengers donate one Euro to UNICEF at check-out. Their donation helps ensure that children grow up healthily and have a promising future. Thank you very much for this great commitment”.

By donating just € 1 (or US$ 1,50) to “Get on Board for Children” MSC guests can help buying three meals of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food. A full treatment to save a child’s life in four to six weeks costs approximately €42.

In addition to donations received from guests, MSC Cruises will also organise edutainment activities for children on board, raising awareness about UNICEF’s work and children’s needs around the world.

Source: MSC Crociere