Uh-Oh. Results May Not Be Exactly as Expected

This could be either good news or bad news, depending if you are a consumer or a cruise line. And it seems to only be good news if you are a consumer AND you want to go to Cuba.

What made us start looking into this and considering the broader topic was a press release we received today from Fathom announcing a new low promotional rate on their alternate-week sailings to the Dominican Republic to which a call at the Cuban port of Santiago de Cuba was recently added.

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

Other Things You'l Want to Know - January 13, 2017

CND subscribers also read about:

• Majestic Princess returning from sea trials
• It seemed like Bermuda was starting their cruise season early this year
• New man on top of Cunard North America

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

Carnival Moving Three Ships

Next year Carnival Cruise Line will reposition three of their newest and largest ships, giving the markets in three homeports new experiences and some freshened itineraries.

In September 2018, Carnival Visa, Carnival Breeze and Carnival Magic will all be on the move, and Galveston, Port Canaveral and Miami will all benefit from something new.

Details appeared in the January 12 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Star Wars Geeks - Opportunity Knocks Again

Star Wars Day at Sea will return to Disney Fantasy on 15 sailings in early 2018.

Disney says that on one special day on each of these sailings, passengers will be transported “to a galaxy far, far away to celebrate the legendary adventures and iconic characters from the Star Wars saga with Jedi, Wookiees, droids, Stormtroopers and others during the special day-long celebration.”

The complete story appeared in the January 12 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Photos courtesy of Disney Cruise Line. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

Princess Begins Upgrading Youth/Teen Facilities/Programming

Kids aboard Grand Princess this week are probably surprised to be the first to see the newly reimagined youth and teen centers that will eventually be installed fleetwide on Princess ships.

In conjunction with the new facilities, there's an expanded partnership with Discovery Communications (the Discovery Channel) to bring more of the Discovery at Sea program into the youth and teen centers.

Details appeared in the January 11 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

The Lodge for 8 to 12 year-olds

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

Construction Begins on Two Crystal River Ships

Last Friday, MV Werften cut the first steel for their first two new luxury river ships, Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel.

The complete story appeared in the January 11 edition of Cruise News Daily.

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

The Three Fastest Cruise Ships on Rails Sailing Through Seattle

Holland America Line bills itself as Seattle's Hometown Cruise Line, and to prove that, they now have three “ships” cruising right through the heart of the city.

The “ships” are actually three Sound Transit Light Rail trains wrapped in a graphic to resemble Holland America's newest ship, ms Koningsdam, which will be sailing from Seattle this summer to Alaska.

Details appeared in the January 11 edition of Cruise News Daily.

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

Carnival Cruise Line Hires New CIO

Carnival Cruise Line Names Sean Kenny Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer

MIAMI (Jan. 11, 2017) — Sean Kenny, a highly seasoned leadership professional with extensive experience in technology and business operations, has been named senior vice president and chief information officer for Miami-based Carnival Cruise Line. Kenny begins January 15 and will report to James Heaney, chief financial officer for Carnival Cruise Line.

Kenny will lead the development and execution of Carnival Cruise Line’s increasingly important technology strategy. He also will partner with Carnival’s sister brands to develop a long-term technology program and governance structure to guide those efforts on the corporate level.

“Sean has a broad and deep background in IT and is well positioned to lead us into the future as we continue to evolve our extremely important IT function both ashore and on board our fleet of ships,” said Heaney. “We are excited to welcome him aboard.”
A native of Canada, Kenny moved to the U.S. with Ernst & Young Consulting where he was managing partner for major clients throughout the country including the Port of Seattle, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Ohio, McDonald’s Corporation and McDonnell Douglas.

He then moved on to an international consulting role followed by a shift to IT services company EDS, based in Dallas, Texas. There he focused on global IT transformation and worked with clients including American Airlines, Delta and Marriott. Just prior to joining Carnival, he worked with Ernst & Young as a global client services executive for two Fortune 200 accounts.

Kenny is author of “The Contemporary Director” and was a contributor to “The Managed Health Care Handbook, Fourth Edition.” He is a sought-after lecturer on an array of business topics, speaking to a variety of audiences including the Institute of Management Consultants in Palm Beach, Florida, and Washington University.

Kenny holds a degree in Bachelor Studies from the University of Regina/Saskatchewan.

He will be relocating to Miami for his new role.

Source: Carnival Cruise Line

The Private Island Isn't Private Anymore

Princess Cays is going to be more “fun” this summer because the FunShips of Carnival Cruise Line are dropping anchor at Princess' Bahamian Island.

Carnival Cruise Line ships will make 40 calls at Princess Cays this year and 98 next year.

The complete story appeared in the January 10 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

There Will Be Bliss in Miami

Norwegian Cruise Line said today that the 167,800-ton Norwegian Bliss will sail from Miami after its inaugural season in Alaska. The winter Caribbean season will begin with the ship's November 17, 2018 sailing from Miami.

Details appeared in the January 10 edition of Cruise News Daily

Seabourn Encore Named in Singapore

Internationally acclaimed soprano Sarah Brightman sent a bottle of champagne against the bow of Seabourn Encore on Saturday night in Singapore to officially name the ship in front of an array of guests and VIP's.

The complete story appeared in the January 9 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

A Transpacific Sphere of Influence

Princess president Jan Swartz has expanded her sphere of influence across the Pacific and Down Under by adding the title of Group President, Princess Cruises and Carnival Australia to her business cards.

The complete story appeared in the January 9 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Other Things You'll Want to Know - January 9, 2017

CND subscribers also read about:

• A hole in one aboard a Carnival ship that landed Carnival in court
• A very sad statistic

Details appeared in the January 9 edition of Cruise News Daily.