Fanning the Flames

It's been no secret that at first it was kind of a bumpy ride for Carnival Cruise Line in Charleston. In general, the community welcomed them with open arms and is supportive and appreciates the positive impact they have on the region. There is a very vocal minority in Charleston that doesn't want cruise ships there, citing primarily the traffic, the noise, the pollution, the negative impact on tourism, and so forth, because of all the extra people in town on cruise days.

On the other hand, the Charleston market has been a very strong one for Carnival. Despite the haters, lots of people within driving distance of the city like to cruise. With that in mind, Carnival lobbed a bomb into Charleston today when they announced that is thrilling cruisers and most people that appreciate Carnival's impact, but it's sure to inflame the haters. In May 2019 Carnival will be replacing Carnival Ecstasy with the significantly larger (and more feature-rich) Carnival Sunshine.

The complete story appeared in the December 7 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Other Things You'll Want to Know - July 19, 2017

CND subscribers also read about:

• Charleston reaching its limit
• Carnival declaring a dividend

Details appeared in the July 19 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Cruise News Daily Headlines for April 11, 2014

* Cruise Industry Prevails Again in SC Courts
A South Carolina administrative law judge ruled Friday that the anti-cruise coalition of neighborhood associations and preservation groups lacked standing to challenge a state permit that allows work to begin on the new Charleston cruise terminal, and he dismissed their suit which sought to prevent the start of construction.

* Disney Crew Member Denied Bail
The Disney Cruise Line crew member who was arrested yesterday, appeared in court today, and was ordered held without bond, as a bit more of the story came out.

* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about an arrest on Roatan ... going global ... and gelato anyone?

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

The gelato shop aboard Regal Princess shows the level of completion on the ship.

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

Cruise News Daily Headlines for March 5, 2014

* Court Issues Sanctions against Anti-Cruise Groups
The coalition of Charleston groups opposed to the cruise industry, which brought suit to stop the new cruise terminal from being built (and hoping to force the cruise industry out of town) has been sanctioned by the court for their delaying tactics.

* Genting to Sell NCL Stake
Genting Hong Kong (which owns Star Cruises and approximately one third of Norwegian Cruise Line) said today in a filing with the Singapore Stock Exchange (where Genting is listed) that they plan to request shareholder approval to sell all of their NCL stock, which is approximately 31.35% (of the parent holding company, which in turn holds all of the Norwegian Cruise Line stock).

* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about Azamara Journey arriving at the dry dock today for repairs ... a break for the single traveler ... and how Celebrity is making the suite experience sweeter.

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

Azamara Journey arrives at the floating dry dock where it will be repaired in South Korea.

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

Cruise News Daily Headlines for January 23, 2014

* SC Court Closes One Door on Anti-Cruise Lobby
South Carolina’s Supreme Court dismissed a suit brought against Carnival Cruise Lines by a coalition of anti-cruise groups which included the Preservation Society of Charleston and Coastal Conservation League.

* RCCL Selling Pullmantur Non-Cruise Ops
Royal Caribbean is selling off a major interest in the non-cruise portions of their Spanish brand, Pullmantur. Those include the charter airline, tour operations and travel agencies.

* Strike Up the Band
In addition to their new Carnival Live concert series we reported about yesterday, Carnival has also expanded their house bands on nine of their ships.

Fireworks celebrate the 10th anniversary of Queen Mary 2 at Southampton last week just before departure of its world cruise.

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

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

Cruise News Daily Headlines for January 7, 2014

* Foschi to Retire from Carnival
After 16 years with the company in a bevy of key leadership positions, Pier Luigi Foschi is retiring from all his current positions with Carnival Corp.
   In his current position of CEO of Carnival Asia he has been shaping Carnival’s future in the exploding Asian markets that will probably be responsible for much of the company’s growth in the coming years.

* Crew Member Goes Overboard from Grand Princess
It has happened yet again. Another person has gone overboard, this time from Grand Princess as it was sailing from San Francisco to Hawaii.

* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about a win for the anti-cruise lobby in Charleston ... and Royal Caribbean is giving us a behind the scenes look at the design and building process of Quantum of the seas in the video below:

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

Cruise News Daily Headlines for August 7, 2013

* The Latest Legal Action - Why You Don’t Need to Care
The latest round of legal wrangling is going on in Charleston (SC) with one faction of the community trying to make sure the cruise industry, and the state and municipal authorities which are trying to make a good home for it, do everything by the book. On the surface they would seem to want to make sure everything is done properly to preserve the integrity of their historic community. But that’s not really what this legal action is about.


* Last Voyage for the Love Boat
The Pacific Princess - the setting for every episode of “The Love Boat” - has completed its final voyage.



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

Video: City of Charleston Commenting on Coastal Conservation League's Lawsuit against Carnival Cruise Lines

The Coastal Conservation League filed a lawsuit against Carnival Cruise Lines, which serves Charleston (South Carolina), apparently in an effort to get them to just leave town. But it's done something else. It seems to have galvanized support from the rest of the community for Carnival and the cruise industry which visits Charleston.

That support was most visibly manifested in a press conference chaired by Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, who characterized the lawsuit as "outrageous and abusive." He said the city will do everything they can to make sure the lawsuit fails. As you can see in the video below of the press conference, he's joined by a couple dozen business leaders of the city. SC State Representative Jim Merrill said, "You will never be able to satisfy this group [the Coastal Conservation League]," and their approach is "sickening."

The suit, as mentioned in the press conference, contains what seems to be many frivolous complaints, such as if you can see the cruise ship at the end of the street that it violates the city's zoning ordinance, or that the Carnival logo on the top of the ship violates the city's sign ordinance. The suit is worth downloading (PDF format) and reading through.

Dividing up the Pie

There's been a lot of coverage of growing home ports in the southeastern states - Charleston (SC), Jacksonville, and Mobile. Each is working to some degree or another for more or larger ships, and still other ports are marketing themselves to cruise lines looking for their first ship. Generally, there's excitement in those ports.

But for all the excitement there is in those ports, there's a bit of uneasiness a few hundred miles to the south in the larger ports of Port Canaveral and Tampa.

The complete article appeared in the June 4, 2010, edition of Cruise News Daily.

A Big Splash in Charleston, Money Flowing into the Yukon, a Big Number in Boston and a Shaggy Dog

* Other Things You'll Want to Know

CND subscribers also read about Carnival making a "splash" in Charleston ... Holland America throwing money around in the Yukon ... how a million people in Boston can't be wrong .. and a shaggy dog story at the Port of Palm Beach.

Details appeared in the "Other Things You'll Want to Know" column in the May 19, 2010, edition of Cruise News Daily.