Disney to Add New Features to Disney Wonder

If you’re sailing on Disney Wonder after its dry dock next fall, be sure to pack your Spider-Man underwear. He will be aboard to help kids work on their spider senses in the Marvel Super Hero Academy, which is just one of the features passengers will find aboard the ship. (Kids will find the Super Hero Academy in the Oceaneer Club for 3-to-12-year-olds.)

Disney Wonder’s passengers will also find new restaurants, new lounges and fun new things to do.

The complete story appeared in the June 3 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Other Things You'll Want to Know - June 3, 2016

CND subscribers also read about:

• Princess scheduling sailing through the new larger locks in the Panama Canal
• Holland America opening the Denali Square dining and entertainment complex at the McKinley Chalet Resort at Denali National Park
• Celebrity raising gratuities effective June 13. 

Details appeared in the June 3 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Not Your Father’s Great Stirrup Cay

Sometime next summer, Norwegian Cruise Line passengers who visit Great Stirrup Cay are going to have an entirely different experience. As part of the $400 million Norwegian Edge initiative that will upgrade the passenger experience, Norwegian is extending the initiative ashore and will significantly enhance the line’s private island in the Bahamas.

The enhancements Norwegian has planned seem to make the island into more of a resort.

Details appeared in the June 2 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Expanded Terminal Ready to Reopen

Port Canaveral’s Cruise Terminal 5 will reopen Saturday when Carnival Valor arrives, after a major ten-month expansion project to allow it to handle larger ships.

The complete story appeared in the June 2 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

An Old Friend Is Moving On

Royal Caribbean said they have agreed to sell Legend of the Seas to Thomson Cruises next spring.

The 69,130-ton ship’s final cruise for Royal Caribbean International will sail on March 13, 2017.

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

One Isn’t Enough

Just a few months after announcing development of a private island in the Bahamas, MSC is doing it again. They have acquired a 1.5-mile-long island just off the southwest coast of Abu Dhabi which they will develop into the Sir Bani Yas Island Beach Oasis for their ships cruising in the Gulf.

MSC has been in the process of developing plans for the island for the last two years. It’s going to be something North American cruisers are familiar with in the Caribbean, but there hasn’t been anything like it for cruisers in this area of the world.

Details appeared in the June 1 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Concordia Master’s Conviction Upheld

An appeals court in Italy has upheld the conviction of Francesco Schettino, the master of Costa Concordia at the time it sank in January 2012. That brings him one step closer to actually going to prison to serve his sentence, which also was under appeal - or going free.

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

Lights out on Adonia

There was another little bump in the road on the way to Cuba for Fathom’s Adonia. On Sunday, about 5pm, as it was leaving Miami en route to Havana, the ship experienced a power outage which shut down most onboard systems.

The outage was short (about 30 minutes), but once things were up and running, Adonia made a U-turn and went back to Miami, arriving about 10pm. The ship was checked out and ready to leave again at 3am Monday morning.

Details appeared in the May 31 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Zaandam Arrives Seward with Dead Whale on Bow

When Holland America’s Zaandam arrived at Seward Sunday morning, it did so with an extra attachment. A dead juvenile fin whale was lying across the bulbous bow.

The whale was likely dead when it was lodged on the bow, but a necropsy was performed to determine the cause of death.

Details appeared in the May 31 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Stabbing aboard Celebrity Constellation

Police were called to Celebrity Constellation when arrived in Salerno (Italy) Monday, and they arrested a 31-year-old Jamaican crew member in connection with an assault on another crew member who was hospitalized and in stable condition according to Celebrity.

But the local police report make things much more interesting, because it reveals it was a stabbing by a cook in the galley when the chef tried to hurry him.

The complete story appeared in the May 31 edition of Cruise News Daily.