Gassing Up

Before it left on its inaugural cruise of the Canary Islands this weekend, AIDA's new LNG-powered AIDAnova had to gas up (literally). As the first cruise ship that will run on Liquified Natural Gas both at sea and in port, it takes a lot of the gas, and new procedures had to be developed for virtually every step of the operation. That included the bunkering of the fuel (filling up the tanks on the ship).

The complete story appeared in the December 21 edition of Cruise News Daily.

A Nice Way to End up the Week, Sittin' on the Dock

The Otis Redding classic "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" is the sixth most-played track of the 20th century. It's been streamed more than 200 million times, and it was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B Charts. It is also one of the most-requested songs by passengers sailing on Princess Cruises.

It's been 50 years (can you believe it?) since the song was written by Redding, and to mark the anniversary, Princess has teamed with the Otis Redding Estate and Playing for Change to produce a new video version of the song recorded in port cities around the world visited by Princess Cruises - San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ft. Lauderdale, Hawaii, Jamaica and Barcelona. The new all-star video features Jack Johnson, Corinne Bailey Rae, Aloe Blacc, Dexter and Otis Redding III, James Gadson, Louis Mhlanga, the students from the Otis Redding Foundation Music Camp, Claire Finley, Irie Love, Mar Sanchez, and the Rass Brass Extension.

Onboard Princess ships, guests can enjoy the videos and also donate to the Otis Redding Foundation and Playing for Change Foundation. Both organizations support music education for children and underserved groups. The Princess Community Foundation will match donations (up to $25,000) made before March 31st, 2019. Fans can also donate to Foundations online at www.princess.com/DockOfTheBay

You can see behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the video at www.princess.com/DockOfTheBay

Cunard Doubles Down on Alaska

Cunard is returning to Alaska for a short season in 2019. Response to that program has been so good, the luxury line has decided already that a full season will be in order for 2020.

The 2020 program will double the number of 2019 cruises and run from June through September on the newly-refit (this year) Queen Elizabeth sailing round trip from Vancouver. 

These won't be your standard off-the-shelf week-long cruises. Each is different ranging from nine to twelve nights. 

The complete story appeared in the December 20 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Other Things You'll Want to Know - December 20, 2018

CND subscribers also read about:

• A new tax on cruise passengers in Amsterdam and MSC dropping calls there
• Royal Caribbean getting sued by an ice-skating passenger
• MSC Bellissima leaving on sea trials

Details appeared in the December 20 issue of Cruise News Daily. 

Photos courtesy of Chantiers de l'Atlantique/Bernard Bigger. All rights reserved. 

Where Ice Has Nothing to Do with Immigration

Silver Wind just completed a dry dock with extensive refurbishment. Today, Silversea announced a second part to the project, scheduled for the summer of 2020, that will give the ship ice-class classification and make a number of other major improvements to the ship's interior.

When completed in a year and a half, Silver Wind will give the line more flexibility in where it is assigned and allow it to sail both classic and expedition itineraries while giving passengers even more features and luxury.

The complete story appeared in the December 19 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Overboard from Carnival Fantasy

A 22-year-old man with autism apparently went overboard from Carnival Fantasy on Sunday while it was en route from Mobile to Progreso.

Details appeared in the December 19 issue of Cruise News Daily. 

Going Where No FunShip Has Gone Before

No, it's not space, the final frontier. It's San Francisco. It's hard to believe but Carnival Cruise Line has never homeported a ship in the City by the Bay. But that's going to change in 2020.

San Francisco will become Carnival Cruise Line's 19th home port in North America when Carnival Miracle operates a series of cruises from there to Alaska, Hawaii and Mexico.

The complete story appeared in the December 18 issue of Cruise News Daily.

New York to Have Its Own Oasis

Royal Caribbean International has announced Oasis of the Seas will replace Anthem of the Seas in the New York market (sailing from Cape Liberty in Bayonne) for the summer 2020 season, marking the first time an Oasis-class ship has sailed from the Big Apple.

Yes, it will fit under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge thanks to its unusual feature of being able to lower its funnel. The feature was last used on its delivery sailing from the yard in Turku (Finland) as it went under Denmark's Storebaelt Bridge.

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




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

Other Things You'll Want to Know- December 17, 2018

CND subscribers also read about:

• The Coast Guard ending their search for a man who went overboard from Carnival Victory last Friday
• Arcadia breaking her lines at Bermuda on Monday night (video below)
• Royal Caribbean's return to New Orleans after a three-year-absence. 

Details appeared in the December 17 issue of Cruise News Daily. 

Video courtesy of PTZ TV. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used.