A Milestone in Barcelona

The cruise industry took a major step forward today when AIDAnova arrived in Barcelona to begin its summer Mediterranean season and was the first LNG-powered cruise ship to refuel at the important Mediterranean port. AIDAnova is the first cruise ship to be able to operate on clean-burning Liquified Natural Gas both at sea and in port.

AIDAnova refueling today at Barcelona

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

Custom Refreshment

Happy Koningsdag! Saturday is the biggest national holiday celebration in the Netherlands - King's Day, celebrating His Majesty King Willem-Alexander's official birthday, and the entire country celebrates and wears orange (the national color). Holland American, too, celebrates their heritage by observing the holiday and asking everyone to wear orange (and supplying some things passengers may not have packed, like orange wigs).

You know that you've really arrived, however, when your beer supplier, Dutch brewer Heineken, supplies you with custom-labeled bottles for the occasion. The orange-wrapped bottles have the Holland America logo and the King's Day date.

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

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

Stanley Has a Friend

Stanley has a new friend. Princess Cruises' plush mascot, Stanley, named after the line's founder (Stanley B. McDonald), has a new plush friend. He's a moose created to celebrate Princess' 50th anniversary of sailing to Alaska.

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

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

Celebrity Flora Well Connected to Galapagos Environment

Celebrity Flora is only a little more than two months away from introduction in the Galapagos, and Celebrity is already busy forming relationships that connect the small ship to the Galapagos. Since it involves the Galapagos, it's only natural those relationships are then connected to nature and the environment.

The relationships Celebrity announced today even included the ship's godmother.

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

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

Chantiers Begins Work on Oasis 5

Chantiers de l'Atlantique cut the first steel today for the fifth Oasis-class ship for Royal Caribbean. The steel plate was cut at the builder's Saint-Nazaire (France) yard.

Details appeared in the April 24 issue of Cruise News Daily. 

This Is a Good Thing

MSC Cruises has inked a partnership with home and lifestyle queen Martha Stewart to create a number of experiences of various types for passengers in the Caribbean.

These will come both on land and at sea - and even in the dining room, because the Martha Stewart experiences will come in a number of different forms.

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

Going East

Azamara has opened their inventory for their fleet of destination-oriented ships through 2021 and through the spring 2022 season. With it, we will see a new deepening of itineraries in Eastern Europe, the Black Sea and Turkey.

Details appeared in the April 23 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Record-Breaker Down Under

While much of the industry discussion has been focused on China, and its growth (or declining rate of growth), there's a market that's been steadily growing and continues to do so: Australia.

The complete story appeared in the April 23 issue of Cruise News Daily.