If Only He Had an Ashtray

Here's a story that everybody's going to be talking about on social media. It's the story about the man who went on Pacific Eden, threw a cigarette butt over the rail and was removed from the ship.

The complete story appeared in the June 17 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Off the Hook

Last year after Bergen (Norway) Mayor Trude Drevland christened Viking Cruises' Viking Star in Bergen (its summer home port), she and the port's harbormaster, Inge Tangeras, were charged with corruption for accepting free trips from Viking. Viking Cruise Line chairman Torstein Hagen was also similarly charged for providing the trips. Public officials are not allowed to accept gifts from people or companies with whom they do official business.

After a lengthy police investigation, Hagen has been cleared and will not be charged. The police report recommended to the prosecutor that corruption charges against Drevland and Tangeras move forward.

The complete story appeared in the June 17 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Click on a Video .... Here Comes the Running Man Challenge

Just when you thought it was safe to click on a video, there comes a new viral video challenge that going around the digital world: The Running Man Dance Challenge. Groups are taking up the challenge all over - from police departments to sports teams.

Now here comes the first we've seen from the cruise industry. The crew of Pacific Pearl has issued a challenge to their counterparts on the other ships in the P&O Australia fleet. P^O knows their crews and says it's sure to spark a Running Man extravaganza at sea.

And it's a good way to start the weekend.

Found: One Missing Cruise Ship

After grounding in the waters off the Panamanian coast in December, being taken out of service for repairs, and then ambiguous information about its return numerous times, Windstar's Star Pride has finally resurfaced and returned to service. Along the way, in addition to having the hole in the hull repaired, it also got a major interior upgrade.

Windstar says they invested $4.5 million in the transformation, and Star Pride has now been upgraded to the level of its sister ships, Star Breeze and Star Legend.

Details appeared in the June 16 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Strikes Continue to Disrupt Piraeus Turnarounds

Cruise lines like to begin or end itineraries at Athens. Not only does the location offer them lots of itinerary options, but it's a great place for pre- and post-cruise stays for passengers. There is so much to see, it can easily fill several days and barely scratch the surface.

But ships that start or end cruises there are getting harder to find and may soon disappear altogether. The ongoing dockworkers' strike is tarnishing the port's image with passengers and cruise lines alike, both of whom have had to deal with the lack of services and carrying lots of bags.

The complete story appeared in the June 16 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Keeping Everything the Way It Is

The Meyer family has been building ships in Papenburg (Germany) for 221 years. They branched out to a yard in Warnemunde, and most recently acquired a yard in Turku (Finland). They've operated as a family-run business, and that's provided a good stable foundation on which to operate.

They want to continue that way for generations to come, so to ensure it stays a family-run business, the Meyer family is donating all their Meyer Werft stock to two family foundations. The family foundation is a proven device in Germany for long-term stable ownership of businesses. This will continue Meyer's stable family-run structure, and it will also ensure the company stays in the Meyer family in the future.

The complete story appeared in the June 15 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Some Speakers aboard Crystal Will Be Out of this World

Three well-known Americans will be sailing with Crystal to Alaska to share their inspiring stories with passengers.

They are NASA Astronaut Captains Scott Kelly and Mark Kelly, along with Mark’s wife, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Details appeared in the June 15 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

New Route to the Galapagos

The Galapagos National Park Service has just approved two new one way itineraries for Silversea's Silver Galapagos which the line will implement next March.

The new program will still operate as a seven-night itinerary from Saturday to Saturday with the 100-passenger luxury expedition ship.

The complete story appeared in the June 14 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Andy Matsuda Brings His Signature Sushi to HAL's Tamarind

Sushi chef Andy Matsuda

From the time he was a child in his parents' restaurant in Japan, superstar sushi chef Andy Matsuda has been learning his craft, and now Holland America passengers aboard several of the line's ships are about to benefit from his 35 years of sushi-making experience.

Holland America has partnered with Matsuda to train their sushi chefs and will feature some of his creations in their premium Tamarind restaurant and at the sushi bar aboard Koningsdam.

Details appeared in the June 13 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

High Speed

As you probably remember, on June 3 Celebrity Infinity collided with the dock in Ketchikan rendering Berth 3 unusable until repairs were accomplished. This is peak season for Alaska, so it doesn't do for a popular port like Ketchikan to have 25% of its docking facilities out of service.

Assessments began already that evening, and repairs are already underway, with completion required by July 5.

The complete story appeared in the June 13 edition of Cruise News Daily.