After Refit, Queen Victoria Begins Her World Cruise

Cunard’s Queen Victoria sailed away from Southampton earlier this week under a canopy of fireworks celebrating the start of her world cruise in Cunard’s 175th anniversary year.

Passengers aboard Queen Victoria are enjoying a refurbished ship just back from a 20-day refit at Blohm+Voss in Hamburg, updating the ship with many of the features recently added to Queen Elizabeth.

In this video, can see just how it was done - in Cunard style.




The complete article appeared in the January 23 edition of Cruise News Daily.

The Casino Comes to You

If you’ve sailed aboard Carnival Breeze or Carnival Freedom recently, you got a chance to try a new service Carnival was testing called the Carnival Mobile Casino. It’s an app that runs on your smart phone or tablet and lets you play casino games for real money - legally, any time the ship is in international waters anywhere on the ship.

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

An Amenity No Other Private Island Has

Beginning this year, Windstar will be providing passengers on each of their cruises worldwide with a Private Event. In the Caribbean, it will be an Island Experience, designed to give passengers the feeling of having their own private island for the day.

The inaugural Island Experience will come at the end of the month on Prickly Pear Beach in the British Virgin Islands, and it will have a special host.

The complete article appeared in the January 21 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Third Royal Princess-class Ship for Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises said that it has a third Royal Princess-class ship on order from Italian builder Fincantieri. The 143,000-ton vessel will be delivered in 2017.

Details will be in today's edition of Cruise News Daily.

MSC Orders from Fincantieri

7:22 am EDT - MSC Crociere and Fincantieri today announced an order for two new cruise ships which will be the largest the Italian builder has ever produced. The order includes an option for an additional ship.

The 154,000-ton vessels are scheduled for delivery in November 2017 and May 2018. They will have a length of 323 meters and width of 41 meters. The ships will contain 2,070 passenger staterooms and suite with a maximum occupancy of 5,300 passengers and 1,413 crew members.

The complete story appeared in today's edition of Cruise News Daily.

MSC Project Seaside prototype ordered from Fincantieri

Renderings courtesy of MSC Crociere. All rights reserved.

Royal Caribbean Orders Fourth Oasis-Class Ship

Royal Cruises Ltd said today they will order a fourth Oasis-class ship from STX France, subject to finalization of financial arrangements. The ship is scheduled for delivery in 2018.

The announcement came this morning at the keel laying for the third Oasis-class ship at the STX yard in Saint Nazaire (France).

Details will be in today's edition of Cruise News Daily.

MSC Divina Leaving the Caribbean During the Summer of 2015

MSC said MSC Divina will sail in the Mediterranean during the summer of 2015 instead of the Caribbean. The ship will return to the Caribbean for the winter 2015-2016 season.

Details will appear in today's edition of Cruise News Daily.

Carnival to Homeport Third Ship at Galveston

Carnival Cruise Lines announced this morning they have scheduled Carnival Freedom to sail from Galveston year round beginning in February 2015. This marks the first time a cruise line has homeported three ships to sail year round from the Texas port.

Carnival Freedom's regular pattern of cruises will be three distinct seven-night itineraries.

Details will appear in today's edition of Cruise News Daily.

Norwegian Epic Schedules 2 Sailings from Southampton

Norwegian Cruise Line today said they have scheduled Norwegian Epic to sail from Southampton twice n the fall of 2015.

There will be one six-night cruise departing on September 20, 2015, that will call at Cartagena (Spain), Grenada and Lisbon before returning to Southampton on September 26.

The second cruise will follow a 15-day dry dock in France and depart Southampton on October 11, 2015. It will be a seven night cruise calling at Vigo (Spain), Lisbon, Granada and Cartagena before ending in Barcelona on October 18.

Norwegian Epic will then begin a new program of cruises from Barcelona, its new year round home port.

Carnival Declares Dividend

Carnival Corp declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, payable on June 13, 2014 to shareholders of record on May 23, 2014.

The company operates 100 ships totaling 208,000 lower berths with eight new ships scheduled to be delivered between 2014 and 2016. These ships are operated by ten brands: Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Ibero Cruises, P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (UK). The company also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours.

Carnival Corp Ships Meeting Goal to Reduce GHG Pollutants by 20%

Carnival Corp reports they are on track to to reduce GHG emissions from shipboard operations by 20 percent before 2015.

Carnival Corporation Celebrates Earth Day: Will Meet Goal to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

MIAMI, April 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of Earth Day and the importance of year-round environmental awareness, Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest cruise company, today announced it will meet its goal to reduce its rate of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from shipboard operations by 20 percent.  This goal was established by the company as part of Carnival's ongoing efforts to reduce environmental impact from its operations.

To meet this goal, Carnival and its 10 brand lines around the world have developed, and continue to develop, aggressive energy reduction and conservation initiatives, many of which exceed current laws and regulations.

"Carnival has made the amount of GHG emissions released an indicator of our environmental improvement, and we are focused every day on finding innovative ways to cut down on these emissions," said Jim Van Langen, vice president of management systems for Carnival Corporation.  "Announcing that Carnival is well on its way to meeting this goal is a great way to celebrate Earth Day and all that it stands for.  In fact, Carnival has already reduced its emissions by more than 19 percent since 2005 and we are likely to exceed our goal of 20 percent by 2015.  This speaks to our commitment to constantly look for ways to raise the bar on environmental leadership and performance."

As a part of its air emission reduction initiatives announced in September 2013, Carnival has pioneered an industry-first effort to develop ground-breaking exhaust gas cleaning technology that removes pollutants from the exhaust gases at any operating condition of a ship – at sea, during maneuvering and in port.  Carnival is currently installing the systems in its fleet, representing a significant advancement in environmental technology and reduced air emissions.

In addition to these noteworthy achievements, Carnival has made the following advances in its environmental efforts:

• Continues to voluntarily install Advanced Waste Water Treatment Systems, and work on research and development for potential installations on new and existing ships.  Almost half of the company's fleet (48 of 101 ships) has installed such systems.
• Installed vessel shore power systems – known as "cold ironing" – on 20 percent of the company's fleet to connect to a port's electrical grid, significantly reducing air emissions at ports that have shore power capabilities. In addition, several ships within Carnival's fleet have partial plug-in installations which can be retrofitted to full installation if they are deployed on an itinerary where the port has infrastructure and capacity for shore power connection.
• In 2013, fuel consumption decreased by more than five percent since 2007.
• An 18 percent increase in non-hazardous waste recycled from ships from 2011 to 2012.
• One hundred percent of Carnival's Operating Lines and ships are certified in accordance with ISO 14001, one of the world's leading environmental management system certifications.

In addition, AIDA Cruises, one of Carnival's 10 brands, will operate the world's first cruise ships with the innovative Mitsubishi Air Lubrication Systems (MALS), which reduces drag and saves propulsion power.  This system enables ships to glide on an air-bubble carpet, which is projected to save seven percent of the operating power.

AIDA also recently teamed with Becker Marine Systems to develop a groundbreaking alternative concept – a Liquid Nitrogen Gas (LNG) hybrid barge – that is scheduled to be put into operation in Hamburg this year, reducing nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 80 percent and carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent.

"This new technology enables us to operate cruise ships with the lowest emissions and in the most eco-friendly manner to date," Van Langen said. "We are playing an important role in protecting the environment, improving the quality of air emissions and advancing technology for the industry."

Carnival Corporation is a member of several global and national organizations driving environmental and sustainability efforts.  These include the Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI), the Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI), the National Association for Environmental Management (NAEM) and the Marine Conservation Institute's (MCI) sustainable seafood program (in coordination with Holland America Line).

In addition, the company actively participates in a number of environmental initiatives around the globe. In the United Kingdom, for instance, Carnival UK has created a partnership with the country's Science and Technology Facilities Council to launch an instrument on board Queen Mary 2 that monitors Sea Surface Temperature (SST).  Carnival Cruise Lines and Holland America Line also have partnered with the University of Miami in a project with the International SeaKeepers Society.

Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest cruise company in the world, with a portfolio of cruise brands in North America,Europe, Australia and Asia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Ibero Cruises, P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (UK).

Together, these brands operate 101 ships totaling 208,000 lower berths with eight new ships scheduled to be delivered between spring 2014 and fall 2016.  Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour company in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon.  Traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.
Source: Carnival Corp

Princess Sets 2015 Japan Program

Princess Cruises said today they would return to the Japanese market for a third year in 2015 with Diamond Princess sailing a four-month season of 20 sailings from Yokohama and Kobe.

The complete story will appear in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily.

Holland America to Rebrand Poolside Grills

Holland America Line announced plans to rebrand the poolside grills on all 15 of their ships and upgrade the menus. The concept will be a gradual roll-out and once converted, the restaurant's name will become Dive-in at the Terrace Grill.

Additional information will be in today's edition of Cruise News Daily.

The High-Dive Burger & Fries (and chef)

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