A Special Meal Off the Ship

Holland America Line is expanding their collection of culinary-themed shore excursions in conjunction with Food & Wine (Magazine), which have proven immensely popular with passengers.

They have developed more than 20 new tours throughout Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Canada & New England. (Note: The new tours are taking the program into new areas, not just adding to the catalog in Europe where the program launched.)

The complete story appeared in the September 28 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Video courtesy of Holland America Line. All rights reserved.

He's Got a Ticket to Ride

Rank has its privilege. Carnival Corp CEO Arnold Donald got to go for a special ride last week. Carnival brought the new Carnival AirShip (a/k/a blimp) to Miami for the Miami inaugural of Carnival Horizon. As part of the Miami launch, it circled the ship a number of times, entertaining passengers and Miami residents. How often do you actually see a blimp right above you, let alone one painted like a cruise ship?

How often do you get to ride in one? While the AirShip was visiting Miami as part of its own inaugural tour of the Southeastern United States, Carnival CEO Arnold Donald got to go for a ride. During the flight, the pilot took him over local landmarks and beaches at altitudes of up to 1,000 feet.

This item appeared in the September 28 issue of Cruise News Daily. 

Carnival Corp CEO Arnold Donald takes off from Miami aboard the Carnival AirShip

Photo Courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission. 

Disney Headlines Early 2020 with New Orleans & Hawaii

Disney Cruise Line released information about their itineraries for the first part of 2020. They include the line's first homeporting at New Orleans and a return to Hawaii as a cruise destination.

There will also be short series of cruises from San Juan, San Diego to Mexico, as well as a continuation of the line's traditional Caribbean and Bahamas programs from Florida home ports.

The complete story appeared in the September 27 issue of Cruise News Daily. 

The Future Is Here, Almost

This was a day for celebrating on Caribbean Princess and at Princess Headquarters in California, even Carnival's corporate headquarters in Miami. Ocean Medallion is working for every passenger on Caribbean Princess. Yea! Yea!

Ocean Medallion, of course, is the Carnival innovation that, by carrying a quarter-size electronic ID, enables all sorts of electronic conveniences for passengers such as staff members magically knowing who you are and processing charges without swiping your cruise card, keyless stateroom access, the ability to play casino games anywhere onboard, and your friends can find you wherever you are onboard - to name just a few. It allows the staff (and the ship) to give you a much more personalized experience. And don't forget Medallion Net, the super-fast internet connection with gobs of bandwidth available everywhere on the ship.

Details appeared in the September 27 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

First Look at a Diamond

Crystal Cruises released the first renderings of their Diamond-class oceangoing ships today.

Although they said more details will be released next year, they did say the ships, which will be built at MV Werften's Stralsund yard, will be sized at about 67,000 gross tons and carry about 800 passengers. Among the details to be announced later: a name.

The complete story appeared in the September 26 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

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

All that Glitters Is Not Golden

If you were to guess what the name will be of P&O Australia's first Grand Class ship, what would it be? Readers of P&O's Facebook page tried to guess. Six guessed Pacific Adventure - and they were right.

In October 2020, when Golden Princess is transferred to P&O Australia, after refurbishment to match the fresh and contemporary designs of the rest of the P&O fleet, it will become Pacific Adventure.

Details appeared in the September 26 issue of Cruise News Daily. 

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

At the Top

When Holland America's Nieuw Statendam leaves the Fincantieri yard in December, the 99,500-ton ship will be commanded by Captain Sybe de Boer.

Yesterday, the line announced the ship's initial senior officers. Together the officers have a combined 80 years of service to Holland America.

Details appeared in the September 26 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Tampa Bay Hits the Big Numbers

More than a million cruise passengers have passed through Port Tampa Bay in a year for the first time in history. When the day ended on Monday, September 17, 1,000,524 passengers had visited the port in fiscal year 2018.

The complete story appeared in the September 25 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Simon & Garfunkel Had Scarborough Fair, P&O Has Strawberry Fair

P&O Cruises (Australia) is a major customer for Australian strawberry farmers, purchasing on average 6,000 kilograms (13,228 pounds) a year.

So when Australian strawberry farmers ran into a bit of trouble recently, P&O stood by their friends on the farm and organized Strawberry Fair aboard their ships.

Details appeared in the September 25 issue of Cruise News Daily. 

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

Back for another Season

Carnival Corp's Ocean TV's three original series have been picked up for a third season by ABC and NBC, and the new seasons will begin on October 6. The new episodes will air on Saturdays through the fall of 2019.

The complete story appeared in the September 24 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Videos courtesy of Carnival Corp.