What Weighs as Much as 75 Elephants and Is Now Part of an Icon?

The first of Royal Caribbean's 200-gross-ton Icon-class ships, Icon of the Seas, is under construction at Meyer Turku. It will be Royal Caribbean's first LNG-powered ship, and as such one of the main internal features, the gas storage tanks are just being installed. Each of the two of these weighs 307 tons and is 90 feet long. 

Royal Caribbean has just released the video construction update below showing the installation of the first tank. 

The video tells you a lot more about Icon's unique energy-saving features.  The facts go by fast. Yes, you can play it twice (or even three times.)

Icon of the Seas is scheduled to enter service in the fall of 2023. 

 

While You Slept

About 1am Saturday (October 23), AIDAcosma, AIDA's second LNG-powered ship, left Meyer Werft at Papenburg for its conveyance down the river Ems to Eemshaven. 

Wonder of the Seas Sea Trials

Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas has returned from its four-day sea trials. Catch up with what went on during the four days in just a minute. 

One Step Closer

Seabourn's first Polar-class expedition ship, Seabourn Venture, passed a major milestone in its construction this week when it was floated out at Fincantieri's T Mariotti shipyard in Genoa. This step really signifies the ship is on the way to completion because it's floating and moving.

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

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

First Peek at Norwegian Prima

Fincantieri has floated out Norwegian Prima at their Marghera shipyard near Venice. 

The 149,500-ton ship is the first of a six-ship order for a new class based on a prototype project developed by Fincantieri.  

Delivery is set for next year. 

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

Wonder What's Happening in France?

This construction update (August 2021) on Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas shows the progress toward the March 2022 delivery of the 236,857-gross ton ship with 2,867 staterooms and suites.  

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

It's Mardi Gras Time in Old San Juan

Carnival's new Mardi Gras made its first-ever call at San Juan today which was significant for the ship, but it was even more significant for the port because it was the first cruise ship to call at San Juan in 16 months. 

   This called for Governor Pedro Pierluisi, Mayor Miguel Romero and other local government officials to join Carnival brass for the event at the port. 

The complete story appeared in the August 3 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

With Mardi Gras serving as a dramatic backdrop, Carnival and Puerto Rico officials pose for a photo – from left Mardi Gras Hotel Director Pierre Camilleri, Captain Giuseppe Giusa, San Juan Port Authority Executive Director Joel Piza, Carnival Cruise Line President, Christine Duffy, Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi and San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero.
Have you ever seen people having more fun?

Rotterdam Rides Again

The seventh Holland America ship to bear the Rotterdam name (named in honor of the line's very first ship) was delivered today by Fincantieri at their Marghera shipyard. 

   The 99,800-ton ship is the third Pinnacle-class ship delivered, and the 17th Fincantieri has constructed for Holland America Line. 

The ship will enter service with a transatlantic crossing from Amsterdam to Ft. Lauderdale on October 20, 2021. 

The complete story appeared in the July 30 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Sea Trial Video:
This is raw video from the sea trials earlier this month. It's b-roll that's meant to be cut up and used in other productions and in news stories, so there is no sound, but it does give you ariel views and a look at construction of the ship from every angle. 

Please note: Fincantieri knows how to build wonderful ships, but from the titles on each section of the video, they don't seem to understand the importance of getting the letters in the right order in English. Yes, we know it's "sea trials." Those i's and a's can be tricky. Maybe that's why they call these "prove a mare."

Interior Walk-Through Video:
This is b-roll, showing many of the public areas of the ship just before delivery to Holland America, so there is no sound.

Construction video:
Again, this is b-roll, so again, there is no sound: Note that in the early scenes of putting the bow in place, it has the ship's original name, Ryndam, on it before it was redesignated as Rotterdam. 

It's Mardi Gras Time!

It's finally time for Carnival's new 181,808-ton Mardi Gras to set sail from Port Canaveral on Saturday, and today they had a “Sip & Sea” party aboard her to let visitors look around for the first time.  Visitors were excited to see the new BOLT rollercoaster and the new specialty restaurants. 

You can make believe you were there by watching the b-roll below from the event. 

The complete story appeared in the July 30 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Arvia Takes Shape

P&O's new Arvia has begun to take shape at Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany. The first step in the construction of the giant vessel is to position the floating engine room unit (FERU), which was constructed at a Meyer subsidiary, in the dry dock. The video below shows its arrival in time-lapse. 

The complete story appeared in the July 29 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Viking Polaris Floated Out

Fincantieri floated out Viking's second expedition ship, Viking Polaris, at their VARD shipyard in Soviknes, Norway, yesterday, marking the first time the ship has touched water. 

Because the ship was designed for polar operation, it has some unique design features which can be seen in the photo below.

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

 

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

Miracle in Alaska

 Carnival Miracle returned to service today (July 27, 2021) sailing weekly from Seattle to Alaska, marking the line's fourth ship to return to service. 

The entire crew posed for this photo as the ship was on its way to Seattle. 

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

Fincantieri Delivers MSC Seashore

Fincantieri delivered the first Seaside EVO-class ship today (July 26, 2021), MSC Seashore, at their Monfalcone yard near Trieste. The 170,400-ton vessel is the largest ship ever built in Italy. It is the third of the Seaside line and the first of the larger evolution of the class. 

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

Meyer Werft Floats Out AIDAcosma

Meyer Werft floated out AIDAcosma at their Papenburg (Germany) yard on Saturday (July 10, 2021). Like its sister, AIDAnova, AIDAcosma is completely LNG-powered. The ship will spend the next several weeks at the yard's equipment dock before its conveyance down the Ems River. AIDAcosma is scheduled to enter service in December 2021. 

This video gives you Meyer's unique perspective of the undocking.

 

A New Icon

On June 14, 2021, Meyer Turku cut the first steel for Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas which will be delivered in the fall of 2023. The steel-cutting for a ship can be an exciting event because it is the first physical step in the ship's construction. This video takes you to the event at Meyer Turku's yard in Turku, Finland. 

The complete story appeared in the June 16 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

In Search of an Inaugural

In preparation for its inaugural cruise, Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas arrived at Port Everglades this morning to a water cannon salute as it sailed into its new home port. 

   The new ship is the first Quantum Ultra-Class ship to sail in the US market. It will begin service from Port Everglades on July 3 and remain homeported there through the winter season (through April) on six- and eight-night cruises. 

Remembering Gavin MacLeod (Captain Stubing)

The Love Boat became an iconic TV series in 1977 and struck a chord with its fans who still fondly remember it today and growing up watching it with their families. The Love Boat was, of course, captained by Merrill Stubing who was played by Gavin MacLeod. The Love Boat was set aboard Pacific Princess which was a real ship belonging to Princess Cruises. After The Love Boat finished its run, the show and Captain Stubing were so iconic that 35 years ago, Princess Cruises asked Gavin to be their Global Ambassador. He and the rest of the original cast of the series have maintained the relationship with Princess and they are often aboard the ships, even christening Regal Princess. 

When Gavin passed away earlier today (May 29, 2021) Princess Cruises issued the following statement:

It is with sadness felt to the depth of the oceans that we mourn the passing of actor Gavin MacLeod our beloved global ambassador, dearest friend and treasured member of the Princess Cruises family for more than 35 years. 

From his 10 seasons staring as Captain Merrill Stubing on the hit TV show “The Love Boat” (1977 to 1986) and for more than three decades following the show’s final season, Gavin enthusiastically shared his passion about the joys and adventures of exploring the world while cruising. He always reminded us that - like the popular TV series, “cruising gives people something to dream about.” 

Gavin, who celebrated his 90th birthday in February, officially became Princess Cruises’ global ambassador in 1986, appearing in a vast array of advertising campaigns and countless public and media appearances for the company. His role for Princess continued until his passing.

All of us at Princess Cruises and our loyal guests around the world whom, to this day, remain avid fans of Gavin’s, send our heartfelt condolences to his wife Patricia (Patti) and his entire family who have lost a loving husband, father and grandfather. We offer our sincerest gratitude to them for sharing Gavin with all of us for so many years.

A couple years into the series, 10-year-old Jill Whelan joined to cast to play Captain Stubing's daughter, Vicki. She says, Gavin immediately became more of a real dad to her than just her TV father, a relationship they have maintained until he died today. She remembered him this afternoon in the video below. 

Princess Cruises also paid tribute to Gavin today from their file of videos of him at Princess events over the years (below). And in case you're wondering about the Love Boat theme at the end of both videos, Princess has each of their newest ships equipped with a range of whistles to play the opening bars of the iconic theme song as the ships sail away from port. This is an actual recording of one. 

Nostalgic for the Love Boat? It plays nonstop around the clock on the Pluto streaming network.

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A Look at Crystal Endeavor

Crystal Endeavor, Crystal's luxury 20,200-ton expedition ship, successfully completed sea trials on May 23, 2021, and has returned to MV Werften. Crystal Endeavor is the fastest and most powerful expedition ship in the industry, with a Polar Class 6 (PC6) classification that allows her to sail in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. She will enter service on July 17, 2021. 

Rotterdam completes sea trials

Holland America's new Rotterdam is set for delivery on July 30 (2021). This B-roll was shot during the second set of sea trials in the Adriatic which were completed on May 6. At the completion of the sea trials, Rotterdam returned to Fincantieri's Marghera yard near Venice for interior outfitting. There is no sound in the B-roll and it is just raw drone footage, but it gives you a good look at the ship from all angles. If you get bored, just skip ahead - don't leave it - because some of the more interesting angles come later in the video.  

A Little Paint Can Create a Little Magic

Carnival ships will be getting a new livery to celebrate the line's 50th birthday next year. 

Carnival Magic will be the first to have the new livery on May 24. A rendering is shown below. 

The complete story appeared in the May 5 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

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

Going Beyond

 Celebrity Cruises revealed many of the design elements of Celebrity Beyond, the first of the evolution of the Edge-class (actually the third in the class) which will debut on April 27, 2022. 

The first, and shorter video below, takes you through many of the public areas - outdoors and in - and some of the suites and their private areas in the resort-within-a-ship. The second video is a talk with Celebrity Cruises President and &CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo and the designers about their designs on the ship. 

"Venturing" into Genoa

The hull of what will be Seabourn Venture arrived at T Mariotti's Genoa yard on Saturday (April 10,2021) at the conclusion of a 1,200-mile journey around Italy from the company's San Giorgio di Nogaro yard near Trieste.

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

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

 

Disney Wish Begins to Take Shape

Disney Wish began to take shape yesterday at Meyer Werft in Papenburg (Germany) when the keel was laid with a traditional coin ceremony and the first block of the ship was lowered into the covered dry dock. 

The B-Roll below was provided by Disney, which is meant to be chopped up and used individually, so only some of it has sound. It includes footage of the newly named Captain Minnie, the coin that was placed under the keel, the keel laying itself, construction footage, and comments by DCL executives.  

Venture on the Move

Seabourn Venture isn't scheduled to set sail until early next year, but it was already on the move yesterday. The hull of Seabourn's first purpose-built expedition ship has been under construction at T. Mariotti's San Giorgio di Nogaro shipyard. Now it's time for the finishing work to be done on the rest of the ship, so it needed to be moved to T. Mariotti's Genoa yard 1,200 nautical miles away, all the way around Italy.

The photo below shows it starting that journey. The complete story appeared in the April 1 edition of Cruise News Daily.

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

A New Princess Is Floating Tonight

Fincantieri floated out Discovery Princess today at their Monfalcone yard. Like every event at an Italian yard, this called for the breaking of a bottle of champagne before the water started to flood the dry dock. 

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

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

An Early Peek at Arvia

Construction is barely underway on P&O's second Excel-class ship, Arvia, but already the line is giving us a sense of what it will be like to sail aboard the ship and a glimpse of some of its special features. Sailing aboard any P&O ship is always a distinctly British experience, because the brand sells only in the UK and everything aboard is geared to the current British trends and taste, so this is a unique preview for our US readers. 

P&O says Arvia will be the "epitome of a sunshine resort," and you can see it from some of the renderings. 

The Swim-Up Bar

SkyDome

The 6th Street Diner

The Limelight Club

Atrium

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

The Time Is Right

It was a full moon over the weekend, and that meant the tides and the depth of the Ems River were right for Royal Caribbean's new Odyssey of the Seas to leave Meyer Werft at Papenburg, Germany, for its conveyance down the Ems River for its sea trials in the open sea. 

The second of the Quantum Ultra-class ships, it's packed with features, many of which carried over from the original Quantum-class, but one of the things most interesting about this ship is where it will debut and the conditions surrounding its launch which are a product of the times. 

Royal Caribbean has put together an especially good video with lots of graphics that illustrate the challenges. You may have to watch it a couple of times to catch all the figures and illustrations that fly by that aren't referenced in the narration. 

The complete story appeared in the March 1 edition of Cruise News Daily.

  

Meyer Lights Their Torch

Construction began last week on P&O's 184,700-ton Arvia when the first steel was cut at the Meyer shipyard in northern Germany. 

The complete story appeared in the February 23 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Rendering of Arvia when it is delivered in late 2022

Photos and renderings courtesy of P&O Cruises. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission. 

The Future Becomes a Little More Human

The future is aboard MSC Virtuosa. MSC has the world's first humanoid robotic bartender at sea and he works in the futuristic MSC Starship Club.

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

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

A New Place for Pizza

If you're always on the lookout for a new place to have pizza. There will be a new one, but not quite yet. When Carnival's new Mardi Gras boards its first passenger on May 29, one of Carnival's favorites will be aboard, Pizzeria del Capitano, the home to Carnival's famous pizza.

Pizzeria del Capitano will be in La Piazza, one of six themed-zones on Mardi Gras.  

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

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

A Viking Is Born

Fincantieri laid the keel for Viking Mars at their Ancona yard on February 4. It will be the eighth ship in the Viking Ocean Cruises' fleet, and the eighth sister that the Italian builder has built for the line. 

The complete story appeared in the February 8 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

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

There's Something Familiar about Her

Most of the work has been completed to convert the former Star Princess into her new identity: Pacific Encounter for P&O Australia. She has left wet dock and has now taken her position at sea as part of the P&O family awaiting the time when cruising will again be permitted from Australia.    

During the wet dock, she got her new P&O livery and the interior has become “unmistakably P&O,” according to the line. Still, though, Princess fans will notice some of the classic Princess decor in these photos taken during the refurbishment. 

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

Chantiers Delivers MSC Virtuosa

MSC Cruises' fleet grew by another ship today (to 17) when the line took delivery of MSC Virtuosa at the Chantiers yard at Saint Nazaire (in northwest France). The 181,000-ton ship is a sister to MSC Grandiosa and a progression from MSC Meraviglia and MSC Bellissima that's 52.5 feet longer. 

The complete story appeared in the February 1 issue of Cruise News Daily.

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

Carnival Digs Miami

Carnival Cruise Line expanded today - at least a little on land. Cruise Line executives along with executives from Port Miami broke ground today for Carnival's new Terminal F at the port. A line of properly-masked, hard-hatted officials with their ceremonial spades turned over a shovelful of dirt and construction was underway.

The complete story appeared in the January 29 edition of Cruise News Daily.

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

She's Got the Look

Thanks to a new livery and two 20-meter by 8-meter lighted signs on her funnel, the former Star Princess looks like the newest addition to the P&O Australia fleet. Thanks to completing the paperwork on Wednesday, she is. She became Pacific Encounter.

The complete story appeared in the January 29 edition of Cruise News Daily.

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

Australia Day!

It's Australia Day. Even though there are no cruises, the ships are nearby awaiting their time to return. Here you can see what the crews of P&O's Pacific Explorer and Carnival Spirt did to mark the occasion.

Photos courtesy of P&O Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission. 

No Longer a Star

Star Princess is soon to become P&O Cruises' (Australia) Pacific Encounter. It is soon to get its P&O “name badge” which is waiting on the dock in Singapore where the transformation will take place.  

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

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

It Will Be a Cold Day

It was a cold day in Finland when Costa Toscana floated out at the Meyer shipyard in Turku.  

Here's something few people normally get to see. This is the entire float-out ceremony of Costa Toscana (Tuscany), which is the sister ship to Costa Smeralda, as it was broadcast from the Meyer Turku yard this morning, complete with some interesting comments by company and design executives. 

Silver Dawn Floats Out

 The ships keep coming. Silversea's Silver Dawn reached a construction milestone when it floated for the first time today at Fincantieri's Ancona yard. 

The complete story appeared in the January 14 issue of Cruise News Daily.

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