Queen Mary 2 Enters Dry Dock

Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2 entered the dry dock yesterday at Blohm + Voss at Hamburg. The line plans interior work on the ship as well as the required mechanical work and routine maintenance under the ship.

Here QM2 is shown arriving at the Hamburg facility.

Due to the prep work while the ship was traveling to Hamburg, the Golden Lion Pub is ready for work to begin as the ship arrives in dry dock. When the ship returns to service, QM2's Golden Lion will look more like the pubs on Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth.

A few hours after arrival in the dry dock, the water has been drained, and Queen Mary 2 is sitting high and dry.

During the preparation for the dry dock, everything not being removed is covered to protect it, as can be seen in the hallway on Deck 2.

This applies not only to hallways, but all public rooms. Protective covering has been taped down on everything in the Commodore Club.

Here the whirlpool in the spa has been drained for maintenance there. The spa manager and entertainment director are shown in the the empty pool recording a video entry for Cunard's blog, "We Are Cunard."

Photos courtesy of Cunard Line.

Video: AIDAmar Gets Its Stack

AIDAmar is under construction at Meyer Werft in Papenburg (Germany). Last week Meyer lifted the ship's stack into place, making it the last major exterior element to go into place. Of course there is another "major" feature yet to come, AIDA's iconic giant red lips, which still have to be painted on the ship's bow.

R Bar to Be Center of Splendour of the Seas

Royal Caribbean's Splendour of the Seas is currently in dry dock at Cadiz having a number of new features installed.

During the process, the ship's atrium will undergo a visual transformation, and its centerpiece will replace the current Champagne Bar. The new bar will be called the R Bar.

The new bar will have "a sophisticated 1960's vibe."

The rest of the atrium will also be getting a makeover with the latest in sound and light technology, but its most unique feature will be new equipment being installed above the heads of the passengers in the 60-foot Centrum. It will be used for the ship's "vertical entertainment," aerial acrobatic vignettes several times a week which blur "the lines between artful choreography and state-of-the-art technology."

Splendour returns to service with its new features in place on November 26, 2011.

Princess' Entertainer of the Year

Princess Cruises is beginning the process to select their Entertainer of the Year:



The competition will culminate with a special eastern Caribbean cruise aboard Ruby Princess on April 8, 2012, when the five finalists will be showcased, and passengers will vote for the line's 2011 Entertainer of the Year.

Dreamworks' Puss in Boots 3D Debuts aboard Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas

Dreamworks Animation pulled out all the stops for the debut of Puss in Boots aboard Allure of the Seas. Of course the premier was a red carpet event, complete with the shows stars which included Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek.