Other Things You'll Want to Know - November 9, 2016

CND subscribers also read about:

• The first steel was cut for the fourth ship in the Royal Princess series.
• Two passengers from P&O's Oriana successfully fought off an armed gunman in New Orleans.
• Houston's former cruise terminal is about to take on a new role.

Details appeared in the November 9 edition of Cruise News Daily.

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

Gangway! Going out of Business Sale

Notice to all ports who are considering building cruise terminals and getting into the lucrative cruise business: If you build it, they won't necessarily come.

Houston was in the cruise business for years, but only actually had ships sailing from their purpose-built, state-of-the-art cruise terminal seasonally for two years. Even then they had to offer them free rent, waived fees, and cash incentives to get them there.

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

Other Things You'll Want to Know - February 18, 2016

CND subscribers also read about:

• Houston’s KPRC is reporting that when the winter cruise season ends in a few weeks (April), and Norwegian Cruise Line and Princess Cruises leave, Houston’s Bayport Cruise Terminal will likely be repurposed for cargo use. 
• Ovation of the Seas has now seen the daylight. The ship was towed out of the building dock this afternoon at Meyer Werft (early morning in the US).

Details appeared in the February 18 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Ovation of the Seas departing the building dock today.

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

Cruise News Daily Headlines for September 17, 2014

* It’s the Real Thing
Pizza is synonymous with Italy, and because it is so much a part of the culture, Costa strives to keep theirs at the top of the industry. With the recent enhancements to Costa neoRomantica came a new pizzeria and enhanced pizza. It has been so successful, Costa has carried the product out to other ships in the fleet.

* Seeing Spots Again
Passengers aboard Norwegian Pearl’s Alaskan cruise last week were notified that a crew member “likely has a case of measles” (rubeola).

* Texas = Taxes
The eyes of Texas may be upon you, but as we reported in December, the State of Texas is getting their hand deeper into the pockets of cruise passengers if they sail into either of the state’s cruise ports. Passengers have been surprised since the first of the year when returning and paying a state tax on their liquor and cigarettes at Galveston. Now the state is ready to "surprise" passengers at Houston next month.

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

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 24, 2014

* Like Everything Else, the Problems are Bigger in Texas
Early Saturday afternoon a bulk cargo ship struck an oil barge near the intersection of the Texas City and Houston ship channels spilling as much as 168,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil, according to the Coast Guard. That brought cruise ship traffic to and from Galveston and Houston to a halt.
   It left Carnival Miracle and Navigator of the Seas on their way to port with no way to get in on Sunday morning, and Caribbean Princess in Houston with no way to get out Saturday evening. Adding to the pressure, Carnival Triumph would be arriving Monday morning, but the delays would never last that long, would they?

* More of the Adventure
Last week when Adventure of the Seas had a propulsion problem and had to alter its itinerary, Royal Caribbean said modification to this week’s itinerary (a different one) wouldn’t be necessary, and the ship was going into dry dock next week where the problem could be fully repaired.
   Yesterday when passengers were arriving at the ship for Sunday’s sailing, they heard that the plan had changed.

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

Cruise News Daily Headlines for February 3, 2014

* Costa Concordia Claims Another Life
A diver working on installing the sponsons on Costa Concordia to facilitate its removal, died as a result of injuries he sustained while working on the ship Saturday.

* Seems Like Old Times
Carnival Triumph experienced a short power outage last Friday as it was sailing from Cozumel to Galveston. Normally, we wouldn’t cover this, except Carnival Triumph was the first ship refitted with all the redundancies and so forth to keep emergency power up and running to prevent a repeat (or worse) of last year’s incident on that ship.

* Two Children Drown aboard Norwegian BreakawayA tragic incident was unfolding late this morning aboard Norwegian Breakaway as it was east of North Carolina as it was heading from New York to Port Canaveral.
   The medical team was called to the Pool Deck because two small children were pulled from one of the swimming pools and were unresponsive.
   CPR was administered by the ship’s medical team, and they were able to resuscitate the older child.

* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about fog closing the Port of Houston on Saturday, keeping Caribbean Princess in port ... and Carnival setting a record during wave season.

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

One last look at the Bud Light Hotel before it becomes Norwegian Getaway again.

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

Cruise News Daily Headlines for January 31, 2014

* Validation
It always makes you feel good when things work out right, especially when it’s a decision you made. That has to be the way they’re feeling at Princess tonight. The decision to bring Caribbean Princess home a day early to avoid the predicted fog is proving to be the right thing to have done.

* It’s Personal
Silversea has enhanced their website so that customers can log into it with a personal log-on, and that facilitates a host of services available through the portal.

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

The latest view, taken this week, of Quantum of the Seas under construction at Meyer Werft

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

Cruise News Daily Headlines for January 30, 2014

* Carnival Schedules Return to Baltimore
Well, that was fast. Last fall, Carnival Cruise Lines announced they would suspend their cruises from Baltimore indefinitely, beginning in the fall of 2014, due to the economics of operating in the new North American Emission Control Area. Today they announced a date for their return in the spring of 2015, essentially meaning they will only be out of the market for the winter 2014-2015 season.
   The will return with a ship with a lot of new features, one of them, making it possible to return to Baltimore.

* Caribbean Princess - Hurrying to Beat the Fog
Princess was faced with an interesting situation with regard to its turnaround at Houston this weekend.
   In the end, they decided that, due to predicted fog Saturday morning, Caribbean Princess would return to Houston a day early, arriving after midnight Friday morning. Unfortunately, the early return necessitated canceling the last port call in Belize. 
   Ah, but there's more to the decision than just the fog.

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

Norwegian Getaway is currently in New York acting as the Bud Light Hotel.

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

Cruise News Daily Headlines for November 1, 2013

* A Little Something to Amuse You While the Turkey’s Cooking
There will be a familiar name in the lineup of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. With Quantum of the Seas homeporting at New York next year, Royal Caribbean will again part of the New York tradition. More


* The Moment They’ve Been Waiting For
Turn on the air and lights. Finish the dusting. The Bayport Cruise Terminal at Houston is finally ready board its first ship that will be sailing from the facility on a regular basis.

Caribbean Princess will sail from Bayport on Tuesday with a special 4-night cruise.


* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about a time change (more) ... and putting two and two together.

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

Cruise News Daily Headlines for July 24, 2013

* In for the Long Term
This should give hope to those communities with brand-new cruise terminals sitting idle just waiting for a cruise line to call them home. After being finished and sitting unused for four years, the Bayport Cruise Terminal at Houston is finally becoming operational this winter when Princess and Norwegian Cruise Line will begin operating from there. But the big news today is that Princess has just signed for two more years.


* Bigger Ship Needs Bigger and Better Terminal
Quantum of the Seas’ arrival at Cape Liberty next year, carrying more than 4,100 passengers necessitates a bigger, state-of-the-art terminal for a state-of-the-art ship, so Royal Caribbean has asked the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for permission to redevelop a part of the port. The Board of Commissioners granted that permission at their meeting today.

* Other Things You'll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about unrest in Egypt moving another ship ... and an unusual issue.

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

Houston's Cruise Terminal Sits Empty

Houston's new Bayport cruise terminal, which was completed a couple years ago, still sits empty waiting for a cruise line to homeport a ship there. Click2Houston (KPRC NBC) has a report on the $81 million facility that was built before they had a cruise line committed to cruise from there.

They take a rather critical view of building the facility, but in today's environment, cruise lines aren't about to commit to serving a port when no terminal is actually in the pipeline, even a temporary facility. Houston took the approach that rather than build a temporary terminal and then quickly replace it with a permanent one, they just went right for the permanent one. As the report fails to point out, it takes time to market to cruise lines, and then once sold, it takes a couple of years before the first ship comes. There's plenty of competition for ships, and having a turnkey operation such as Houston now has, gives Houston a decided advantage in the game.

In addition to the text article, there's also a video report.