Carbon Paper at the Ready

Fincantieri cut the first steel this week at their Ancona yard for the seventh ship in the series for Viking Ocean Cruises.

Like the other Viking ships, this one will have a gross tonnage of 47,800 tons with 465 staterooms and suites.

The complete story appeared in the March 22 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

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

Other Things You'll Want to Know - March 22, 2019

CND subscribers also read about:

• The second episode of Crystal's Culinary Journey with Chef Jon Ashton has now been published. 
• Cunard has chosen three British wine experts to sail aboard the "Voyage Du Vin" in September. 

Details appeared in the March 22 issue of Cruise News Daily. 

Seabourn Chooses Tihany for Expedition Ships

Seabourn Cruises has chosen noted hospitality architect Adam D. Tihany to design the interiors of their new purpose-built ultra luxury expedition ships.

The two ships are being built by T. Mariotti for delivery in June 2021 and May 2022.

The complete story appeared in the March 21 issue of Cruise News Daily.

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

A Most Excellent Training Center

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings announced plans to build a state-of-the-art crew training facility near Manila in the Philippines. The facility will be called the Norwegian Cruise Line Center for Excellence.

The innovative 200,000-foot building is built in the shape of a cruise ship. It will serve both new and existing crew members.

Details appeared in the March 21 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

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

Filling the Lagoon

Perfect Day on Coco Cay is about to open in May, and in preparation for that Royal Caribbean has filled the Oasis Lagoon, which is the largest freshwater swimming pool (or CE-ment pond) in the Caribbean. The pool is 30,000 square feet of area and contains 800,000 gallons of water.

The pool is so large it took eight days to fill with the water rushing in at a rate of 4,160 gallons per hour.

The complete story appeared in the March 20 issue of Cruise News Daily.

Video courtesy of Royal Caribbean International. All rights reserved. 

Other Things You'll Want to Know - March 20, 2019

CND subscribers also read about:

• A man going overboard from Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas
• Royal Caribbean is being sued over an accident on Mariner's Sky Pad where a man was seriously injured
• The Coast Guard medevaced a man from MSC Divina on Tuesday as it sailed 100 miles off the New Jersey coast. (video below)

Details appeared in the March 20 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Video courtesy of the US Coast Guard. All rights reserved.

Look at the Sky Now

Norwegian Sky has returned to service following a three-week dry dock at the Grand Bahama Shipyard. The refurbishment was part of the Norwegian Edge program to elevate the onboard experience of the fleet to the same standards as the line's newest ships in the fleet.

Norwegian Sky's refurbishment included updating all restaurants and bars - and adding many new dining venues - and updating all staterooms.

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

A sign of the times: The new Starbucks aboard Norwegian Sky

Photo courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line. All rights reserved. 

Other Things You'll Want to Know - March 19, 2019

CND subscribers also read about:

• Carnival Cruise Line and Port Canaveral broke ground on the new Terminal 3 which will be used by Carnival's Mardi Gras.
• Meyer Werft delayed the departure of Spectrum of the Seas' conveyance down the Ems River until Wednesday morning (local time in Germany) due to low water levels in the river. 
• There was a minor fire aboard Costa Smeralda in the Meyer-Turku yard on Monday afternoon.

Details were in the March 19 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Spectrum of the Seas beginning its departure from Meyer Werft. 

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

Carnival Brews up Fun Fleetwide

When Carnival started brewing their own craft beers aboard Carnival Vista and Carnival Horizon, it was unique. Thirsty passengers could only get those three beers on those two ships. If they developed a liking for them, there was nowhere else on the planet to get them - until this week.

Thanks to a new partnership with Brew Hub, canned and kegged versions are now available fleetwide on all 26 Carnival ships, making Carnival the first cruise line to can and keg their own beers.

You can also get four-packs of 16-ounce cans to take home with you.

Details appeared in the March 18 issue of Cruise News Daily. 

If Only This Were Horseshoes

Norwegian Breakaway scored 84 points on its latest US Public Health inspection, which sounds good until you realize it takes a score of at least 86 to pass. The semiannual surprise inspection was conducted on March 10 at New Orleans during a turnaround between two seven-night cruises.

The ship consistently scores in the mid-to-upper 90's and only three times has it slid a point or two below 90.

The complete story appeared in the March 18 edition of Cruise News Daily.