Carnival Conquest Rescues 13

About 4pm this afternoon Carnival Conquest spotted a raft with 13 people (shown below) about 40 miles off the coast of Key West. After consultation with the Coast Guard, the 13 Cuban nationals were taken aboard Carnival Conquest and given food, water and medical treatment. A Coast Guard vessel was to meet the Carnival ship this evening to take charge of the individuals. Since they did not reach land, in all likelihood they will be returned to Cuba.

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Royal Princess Meets Regal Princess

Royal Princess, which was returning from sea trials this week, and will enter service in June, passed by Regal Princess (which will enter service next year) in the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone this week. This is the first time the twin ships have been in such close proximity.

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Carnival Triumph Breaks Moorings

Last update April 3, 7:48pm

During high winds in Mobile this afternoon, Carnival Triumph broke its moorings at the BAE shipyard and drifted across the river, coming to rest against a cargo vessel. Tugboats and the US Coast Guard were called to the scene. The ship has now been secured, and tugboats remain alongside Carnival Triumph as a precaution.

A gash can be seen open on the ship's starboard aft side near near the stern well above the water line. Carnival says damage to the ship is limited.

Some outlets were originally reporting that two crew members had fallen into the water during the incident. Carnival says all Triumph crew members and contractors working aboard the ship have been accounted for. It is now understood that two shipyard employees unrelated to Carnival Triumph were blown into the water during the high winds. One was quickly recovered, but crews are still searching for the other one.


Details will appear in the April 3 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Royal Princess: The Ship with Something Extra

When Royal Princess takes to the sea in June, it will have something no other Princess ship has: seven horns programmed to play the first two bars of "The Love Boat" theme. They say it will get limited usage, perhaps just when leaving port, but it's sure to be a hit with Princess fans both aboard and on shore. In this video, you can hear the first public demonstration last week in the Monfalcone shipyard.

Regal Princess Meets the Water

Tuesday (March 26, 2013) was a special day in the life of Regal Princess. It was the day Regal Princess truly became a ship, fulfilling its purpose for the first time and floating on water. After having been assembled in the drydock at Fincantieri's Monfalcone yard, the moment came when the valve was to be opened and water would flood into the drydock.

The ship was built resting on wooden blocks in the bottom of the dock. After about 48 hours of seawater flooding in, the ship will float up, and Friday (March 29) it will be towed out to a finishing dock where will work will continue over the next year as the interior is completed.

Regal Princess is shown here just before the float up begins. Note the level of completion of the superstructure.

Here you see the bow thrusters at the front of the ship. Note the supports on which the entire ship is resting.

Here the first water begins to flood the drydock. Filling the drydock takes approximately 48 hours.