What People Are Saying

Yesterday we showed you the maiden arrival of Ruby Princess in Sydney today (which was yesterday in the US). Today we want you to hear what people are saying about it. But these aren't just any people. The sound bites on the b-roll are from Princess' SVP of Asia and the Pacific, Chef Curtis Stone (who has a restaurant on the ship), the NSW Minister of Tourism, and Ruby Princess' Captain. We put this video up because these people all actually had something interesting to say, as opposed to just something about it going to be a wonderful cruise season.

Ruby Princess will be homeported at Sydney until May 8.

A (Ruby) Red-Letter Day

It must be summer Down Under. There's a steady stream of cruise ships arriving in Australia for the peak (austral) summer cruise season.

This morning (actually early tomorrow morning Sydney time) Ruby Princess arrived in Sydney for its maiden arrival there.

Details appeared in the October 22 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Gone to Pieces

Windstar's Star Breeze is currently at Fincantieri's Palermo yard and ready to be reassembled. Upon its arrival at the yard, the ship was cut in two, and in the milestone reached today, the pieces were pulled apart, and the prefabricated new center section was inserted between them.

Over the next four months, the three pieces will be reattached, but making this operation more challenging for Fincantieri than a “normal” lengthening, is that the ship is also being re-engined with a more powerful and environmentally-friendly engine.

The complete story appeared in the October 17 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Photos are courtesy of Fincantieri. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

Fincantieri Cuts Steel for 2022 Cunard Liner

Fincantieri cut the first steel today for Cunard's next ship, which will be the line's second-largest ever, but as with many things Cunard, it wasn't typical.

The event took place at Fincantieri's Castellammare di Stabia Shipyard near Naples. The twist in this ceremony is that the very first piece of steel cut today won't actually be used in the construction of the ship, but it will be in the ship. It will be fashioned into a sculpture by acclaimed sculptor Sam Shendi.

The complete story appeared in the October 11 issue of Cruise News Daily. 

Wonder of the Seas Begins to Take Shape

As Chantiers de l'Atlantique laid the keel for Royal Caribbean's fifth Oasis-class ship in Saint-Nazaire (France) today, halfway around the world, Royal Caribbean was announcing details about the ship and its deployment at a trade conference in China.

The ship will be named Wonder of the Seas, and when it enters service in 2021, it will be dedicated, at least initially, to the Chinese-sourced market and homeported at Shanghai.

The complete story appeared in the October 10 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Photos courtesy of Chantiers de 'l'Atlantique. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.