A Familiar Name Returns to the Industry

The Palm Beach Post reports that short-cruise line Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, which operates Grand Celebration (which was formerly Carnival's Celebration) on two-night cruises from Palm Beach to Freeport, has been sold. The new owner is Paradise Cruise Line Operator, and its chief investor is a familiar name in the cruise industry.

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

New Line to Operate Cruises from Palm Beach to the Bahamas

The Port of Palm Beach is reporting they will have a cruise ship to replace Bahamas Celebration which struck an unknown object in the water as it was leaving Freeport on October 31 and opened a hole in the side of the ship below the water line.

The new ship, the 47,000-ton Grand Celebration, will be operated by a new line, Bahama Paradise Cruise Line, but with many of the same executives of the old line. The operation seems to be a duplicate of Bahamas Celebration’s, and the line plans to be in service as early as February 2015.

The complete article appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

Cruise News Daily Headlines for November 13, 2014

* Not Much Celebrating
Things don’t seem to be looking good for anything connected to Celebration Cruise Line, the operator of Bahamas Celebration which struck an object while leaving Freeport on October 31, opening a 10-foot by 30-inch hole under the waterline.
   The ship did not return to service today as the line had implied it would, and worse yet, they don’t seem to be expecting it to return anytime soon.

* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about sailing as fast as we can ... and Korea enjoying the Asian cruise boom.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

Cruise News Daily Headlines for November 3, 2014

* Accident Lays up Bahamas Celebration
Something opened a hole in the hull of Celebration Cruise Lines’ Bahamas Celebration Friday evening about 9pm as it was leaving Grand Bahama Island. There are conflicting reports as to if the ship struck an object or it ran aground, but it began taking on water and lost power.
   The line has canceled sailings for at least the first two weeks of November.

* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about Costa Victoria saving 12 from fire ... and found at last.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

Cruise News Daily Headlines for April 29, 2014

* Perhaps the Grandest Birthday of All
When you have the “grandest ocean liner ever built,” you pull out all the stops when it celebrates major milestones. That’s just what Cunard is doing to celebrate Queen Mary 2's 10th anniversary in service.
   The fact that Cunard will bring together the Three Queens was announced some time ago. (A week from Friday, on May 9, at the ships’ home port of Southampton.) But now the details are being released about the celebration, including a very special guest.

* Coast Guard Ends Search
The US Coast Guard said today they have suspended their search for the 30-year-old man who went overboard from Bahamas Celebration early Sunday morning. The search covered more than 2,813 square nautical miles without finding the man.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

Cruise News Daily Headlines for April 28, 2014

* Good-bye Cellar Masters, Hello Gastrobar
When Celebrity Equinox emerges from dry dock in Cadiz on May 8, it will be the first of the fleet to have Celebrity’s new beer and comfort food venue, Gastrobar.

* Passenger Overboard from Bahamas Celebration
A passenger reportedly jumped overboard from Bahamas Celebration early Sunday morning as it was sailing from Freeport to Palm Beach.

* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about preparing to float Costa Concordia ... and Norwegian extends Steiner contract.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

Perspective on the size of the sponsons that will be attached to Costa Concordia

Passenger Overboard from Bahamas Celebration

The US Coast Guard reports they have been searching the waters 27 miles east of Delray Beach, Florida, for a passenger who reportedly jumped overboard from Bahamas Celebration as it was headed to Palm Beach.

The incident occurred about 2:00am Sunday morning.

The complete updated story will appear in Monday's edition of Cruise News Daily

Cruise News Daily Headlines for March 25, 2014

* Another Piece of Silver
Silversea added a third expedition ship to their fleet today. It was officially named Silver Discoverer in Singapore by Elda Turco Bulgherini, professor of navigation law at the University of Rome Tor Vergata.
   Silver Discoverer isn’t a newbuild copy of Silversea’s other expedition ships. It’s the former Clipper Odyssey, freshly back from a refit that made it into what Silversea passengers expect.

* Houston Ship Channel Reopens, Cruise Ships Leave
The Coast Guard opened the Houston Ship Channel on a controlled basis, and three of the four cruise ships that had been trapped in their turnaround ports left as soon as they could. Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas, having removed the indecision yesterday and canceled this week’s sailing, remained in Galveston with customers aboard enjoying the ship at the pier.

* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about a crew member arrested in Palm Beach ... lower demand in Japan ... and more trouble in Japan.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

Cruise News Daily Headlines for March 7, 2012

* Dropping the Anchor Earns a Trip to Jail 
Remember the man aboard Holland America's Ryndam in November of 2010 who had a few drinks, and then found his way into an off-limits area of the ship through an unlocked door and deployed the ship's stern anchor?
   After earlier pleading guilty, he was sentenced yesterday, and some of the court records were opened and we got a little insight to what the man was thinking. Video

* Other Things You'll Want to Know
  CND subscribers also read about Costa neoRomantica quietly re-entering service ... new ship has its own Cat ... family of missing passenger believes foul play is involved ... Disney Fantasy arrives home (photos/video) ... and special guests aboard Crystal Serenity.

The complete text of these stories appeared in the Cruise News Daily and was sent to subscribers.

Cruise News Daily Headlines for March 2, 2012

* Royal Princess to Have New Stateroom Type, Features
Princess Cruises said today that the new Royal Princess will have a new stateroom type, Deluxe Balcony Staterooms, which are between a Balcony stateroom and a Mini-Suite in the hierarchy of categories. In additional all staterooms will have some subtle new features based on feedback from Princess passengers.
   At the same time, to promote the new stateroom type, Princess is having an eBay auction for one, which will allow the winner to be the very first to book on the new ships. All the proceeds from the auction will go to charity.

* Disney Fantasy Christened 
As christenings go, Disney has not made much of a splash in the media about the christening of Disney Fantasy. They hadn't done a lot of promotion of the event, even though it was in New York City, purportedly the media capital of the world. They didn't even announce a high-profile godmother in advance and get the publicity value of that. More- photos & video

* Other Things You'll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about a medevac from Carnival Liberty ... videos from aboard Costa Allegra ... and the end of a search. 

The complete text of these stories appeared in the Cruise News Daily and was sent to subscribers.

Cruise News Daily Headlines for February 29, 2012

* Royal Caribbean Exercises Their Option
Royal Caribbean will build a second "Project Sunshine" ship for their Royal Caribbean International brand. The order for the original ship, placed a year ago, included an option for a second, and just as it was about to expire, RCCL announced today that they would exercise it.


* Passenger Missing from Bahamas Celebration
A woman was reported missing from Bahamas Celebration, the cruise ship which operates two-day trips to Freeport from Palm Beach.
The woman was not reported missing until the ship had returned to Palm Beach this morning, and there are again questions about what happened to the woman because this is one of those cases where there is no evidence she went overboard.


* Costa Allegra Continuing toward Mahe
The tow of Costa Allegra is continuing today toward Mahe in the Seychelles. The ship was disabled by a generator room fire on Monday, and has been under tow by a French oceangoing fishing vessel since Tuesday morning. More and video


The complete text of these stories appeared in the Cruise News Daily and was sent to subscribers.

Minor Engine Fire Cancels Bahamas Cruise

A small engine room fire aboard Bahamas Celebration canceled today's sailing from Palm Beach to the Bahamas.

The fire resulted from an oil leak in one of the ship's six generators, and according to the line, it was quickly extinguished by the ship's systems. Neither the ship nor the passengers were in danger, the line said. The ship never lost power during the incident, however the fire has affected the vessel's air conditioning.

Today's sailing was canceled, and Thursday's may also face cancellation while the air conditioning is fully repaired.