Silversea unveils even more reasons to try a cruise in 2012/13

Renowned for itineraries of exotic destinations, Silversea unveils an extensive line-up of worldwide voyages for 2013, which will see the company’s six elite ships visit over 450 destinations across the seven continents. A 115-day World Cruise on Silver Whisper, inaugural calls in Hawaii for Silver Spirit and new expedition cruises to Canada’s beautiful Hudson Bay on Silver Explorer are highlights of the 2013 schedule along with 32 new ports of call.

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Norwegian Cruise Line welcomes Nickelodeon aboard Norwegian Gem

Norwegian Cruise Line – considered Europe’s Leading Cruise Line by the World Travel Awards - has welcomed Nickelodeon aboard Norwegian Gem, giving guests the opportunity to cruise with SpongeBob, Patrick, Dora the Explorer and Diego, among other favourite Nickelodeon characters.

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Uniworld announces a new ship - The Queen Isabel

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection is excited to announce that it will introduce a new ship, The Queen Isabel, on the Douro River in Portugal. The new ship will have its inaugural sailing in 2013 and will replace Uniworld’s current vessel the Douro Spirit which was inaugurated in 2011.

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Royal Caribbean Cruises exercises option to build second “Project Sunshine” ship

Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. exercised its option to build a second Sunshine-class cruise ship to be delivered in the Spring 2015. The ship will be built by German shipbuilder Meyer Werft on substantially the same terms as the first Sunshine ship.

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Cruise passengers robbed on excursion in Puerto Vallarta

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Posted on: February 26, 2012

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Norwegian Cruise Line to introduce Moderno Churrascaria fleet-wide

Norwegian Cruise Line is enhancing dining options for guests by introducing its signature Brazilian-style steakhouse on board additional ships in its fleet. Moderno Churrascaria first debuted on board the line’s newest ship, Norwegian Epic, and was the first dining concept of its kind at sea.

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New Costa Cruises emergency in Indian Ocean

Costa Allegra – sister ship to the stricken Costa Concordia – has sent a distress signal to Italian lifeguards after fire left it without power in the Indian Ocean. More than 1,000 people - 636 passengers and 413 crew members - are onboard the vessel.

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Cruise One opens new office in Douglaston, New York

With cruises increasing in popularity, Vytis Tours and Delos Vacations are proud to announce that together they have opened a New Cruise One Office in the town of Douglaston, New York.  Vytis, Delos & Associates has fully trained cruise travel professionals available to provide expert advice on itineraries, ports of call, cruise lines, ships, accommodations and other important cruise planning details.

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Silversea launches new fares and complimentary business class flights on 2012 voyages

Leading cruise operator Silversea, renowned for its ultra-luxurious ships and exotic destinations, has announced new fares on select voyages sailing from March to November 2012. The new fares, which start from £1,999, will be available on voyages spanning the globe from Africa, Alaska and the Americas to the Mediterranean and Northern Europe and include generous onboard spending credits of up to $1,000 per suite

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Sunwing announces new Mediterranean cruises from Barcelona

Sunwing is pleased to expand its cruise offerings with its new Mediterranean cruise line-up departing from Barcelona, Spain in the summer of 2012 aboard Norwegian Cruise Line and MSC Cruises.

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Uniworld continues to pioneer the way in Portugal/Spain’s UNESCO Douro River Valley

In 2001, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises was the first North American river cruise company to pioneer Portugal and Spain’s UNESCO World Heritage Douro River Valley. Similar to many of the destinations Uniworld has entered, they were the first river cruise company to offer an all English-speaking staff onboard and to include fully-guided excursions - many standard features in the river cruise industry today.

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Norwegian Cruise Line and Sixthman create strategic relationship

Building upon its leadership position of bringing new forms of entertainment to cruisers, Norwegian Cruise Line today announced that it has formed a strategic relationship with Sixthman to work closely developing and delivering high quality music experiences at sea.

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Haiti could receive first cruise ship in a quarter of a century

Haiti’s Minister of the Interior welcomes potential initiative to bring Cruise with a Cause, which combines tourism and volunteer work. Port-Au-Prince is getting ready for the historic visit.

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Norwegian Gem welcomes Nickelodeon

Norwegian Cruise Line welcomed Nickelodeon aboard Norwegian Gem yesterday, giving guests the opportunity to cruise with SpongeBob, Patrick, Dora the Explorer and Diego, among other favorite Nickelodeon characters.  The new Nickelodeon experiences on Norwegian Gem include some of the popular family events, shows and activities that were first introduced in April 2010 on Norwegian Jewel and in July 2010 on Norwegian Epic, plus an exciting line up of new experiences.

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Spirit of New Jersey schedules $1.5 million renovation

Entertainment Cruises, the largest harbor cruise company in the United States, today announced that plans are underway for a $1.5 million renovation of the Spirit of New Jersey, scheduled for completion in time for the spring/summer season. It will feature quality improvement initiatives aimed at modernizing the vessel and providing a fresh and trendy dining and entertainment experience.

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UPDATED: Bodies found in Concordia wreck

A View Comments Home Topics Cruise By Donna Tunney

Divers found the remains of eight people inside the wrecked Costa Concordia on Wednesday, according to published reports.

Four bodies have not yet been recovered, due to bad weather that caused a delay in the process. Earlier on Wednesday, searchers found and recovered four bodies.

The latest discovery brings to 25 the number of bodies located since the 4,200-passengership hit a rocky reef off the Italian coast on Jan. 13. At least seven people are still missing, according to the latest reports from Italy.

The ship capsized off the Italian island of Giglio, where it remains half-submerged as salvage crews attempt to remove 500,000 gallons of fuel.

This report was updated Wednesday afternoon to add that divers found four more bodies in the Concordia. 

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Cunard to offer onboard weddings starting in April

A View Comments Home Topics Cruise By Donna TunneyCunard will begin offering weddings onboard all three of its ships in April.

A basic wedding package will cost $2,500, plus a marriage license fee of $575.

The line changed the registry of its ships, the Queen Mary 2, the Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Victoria, from England to Bermuda because English law requires that weddings be performed in a publicly accessible place.

Cunard President Peter Shanks said last year that the line was missing out on revenue from wedding packages and would move the ship's registries to enable the sale of the product.

The Cunard wedding package is available on all sailings, said the line. It said that just one wedding would be arranged per day, per ship, and that all ceremonies will take place on days at sea. Each of the three ships will have an onboard wedding coordinator.

The line's basic wedding package covers the venue, ceremony by ship's captain, floral arrangements, wedding cake, music, champagne and breakfast in bed for the bride and groom, among other items. Additional amenities can be purchased and added to the package.

For cruise news and updates, follow Donna Tunney on Twitter

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Bodies found in Concordia wreck

A View Comments Home Topics Cruise By Donna TunneyDivers recovered the remains of four people inside the wrecked Costa Concordia on Wednesday, according to published reports.

The discovery brings to 21 the number of bodies found since the 4,200-passengership hit a rocky reef off the Italian coast on Jan. 13. At least 11 people are still missing, according to the latest reports from Italy.

The ship capsized off the Italian island of Giglio, where it remains half-submerged as salvage crews attempt to remove 500,000 gallons of fuel. Italian authorities have not yet confirmed the identities of victims located on Feb. 22.

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Norwegian partners with organizer of music theme cruises

A View Comments Home Topics Cruise By Donna TunneyNorwegian Cruise Line has partnered with Sixthman, an Atlanta-based company that creates music theme cruises.

According to Sixthman, the company has sold 43 full-ship charters over the past 11 years, bringing bands such as Kiss, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Barenaked Ladies to the high seas.

Norwegian has a history of bringing brand-name entertainment onboard its ships, including Blue Man Group and Legends in Concert.



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House subcommittee hearing on cruise safety scheduled

A View Comments Home Topics Cruise By Donna Tunney

A subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a hearing on the Costa Concordia accident Feb. 29 in Washington.

The hearing will be before the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation and is set for 10 a.m. It will be webcast live.

Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the committee, said,

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Paul Gauguin Cruises completes $7 million renovation

Paul Gauguin Cruises, operator of the highest-rated and longest continually sailing luxury cruise ship in the South Pacific, the m/s Paul Gauguin, is proud to reveal the completion of a $7 million renovation – the largest in the ship’s 14-year history.

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Norwegian Cruise Line expands TRX Fitness fleetwide

Norwegian Cruise Line is expanding its fitness program by offering a one-of-a-kind fitness experience, TRX Suspension Training classes across its fleet of Freestyle Cruising ships. The group exercise classes, currently only available on board Norwegian Epic, will be available fleet-wide by the end of February.

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Crystal Cruises bookends sailings with more stationary overnights

As Crystal Cruises prepares to segue to ‘All-Inclusive’ starting next month, the ultra-luxe line has also been transforming in another big way: to a focus on significantly more local shipboard overnights at the beginning of cruises.

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