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Carnival Sunshine sails on inaugural voyage from New Orleans

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 18 November 2013 18 November 2013

The totally transformed 3,006-passenger Carnival Sunshine - the largest Carnival Cruise Lines ship ever to be homeported in New Orleans -- will sail this afternoon on its inaugural voyage from the Big Easy, embarking on a six-day cruise to Cozumel and Grand Cayman.

Earlier this year, Carnival Sunshine underwent a $155 million, 75-day makeover that added a variety of innovations that are part of Carnival's groundbreaking Fun Ship 2.0 enhancement initiative, along with several features unique to this vessel and 182 new staterooms.

Today's voyage kicks off a winter schedule of Caribbean departures from New Orleans that will further bolster the line's position as the port's number one cruise operator, carrying 330,000 guests annually on two year-round ships.

"The transformation of Carnival Sunshine is unlike anything that's ever been done before and the results are simply extraordinary, with a variety of truly fabulous features and unique innovations for our guests to enjoy," said Gerry Cahill, Carnival president and CEO. "We are delighted that Carnival Sunshine will make its inaugural U.S. sailing from the Port of New Orleans, one of our most popular homeports and a valued business partner for the past 20 years."

Added Gary LaGrange, Port of New Orleans' president and CEO, "Cruising is big business at the Port of New Orleans and Carnival's commitment of this fabulously transformed ship is evidence of that. Carnival is a wonderful partner of the Port, the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana and has been for more than two decades. Carnival has consistently increased its presence here and we will continue to work closely with them to expand in the future."

According to a study commissioned by the Cruise Lines International Association, Carnival and other cruise lines operating in the state of Louisiana account for $399 million in direct spending, generating 7,548 jobs and $294 million in income for the state's workers.

Carnival Sunshine will provide consumers sailing from New Orleans with an unprecedented array of on-board features, including a stunning three-level Serenity adults-only retreat, an outdoor recreation area with a ropes course offering breathtaking views to the sea 150 feet below, and a massive water park highlighted by a 334-foot-long corkscrew water slide that is the longest in the Carnival fleet.

Dining choices include the Fahrenheit 555 steakhouse, a new full-service Asian restaurant called Ji Ji Asian Kitchen, the BlueIguana Cantina Mexican-themed eatery, and Guy's Burger Joint, developed in tandem with Food Network personality Guy Fieri. Exciting new bar concepts were also added such as the cocktail pharmacy-themed Alchemy Bar, the EA Sports Bar, the largest RedFrog Pub in the fleet, Latin-infused Havana Bar, and two new poolside watering holes, RedFrog Rum Bar and BlueIguana Tequila Bar. One-hundred-and-eighty-two cabins, including 95 new spa staterooms located adjacent to the totally renovated Cloud 9 Spa, were incorporated, as well.

Carnival Sunshine was officially named yesterday by godmother Lin Arison, a noted philanthropist and author, and wife of the late Ted Arison, founder of Carnival Cruise Lines. The invitation-only ceremony was attended by hundreds of travel agents, as well as local dignitaries and VIPs. During the ceremony, Carnival made a donation of $25,000 each to YoungArts and the New World Symphony, both of which are organizations founded by Ted and Lin Arison and dedicated to supporting young artists.

Following today's six-day voyage, the ship will operate a series of seven-day cruises to popular Caribbean destinations through April. Three different week-long itineraries will be offered from New Orleans - an exotic western Caribbean route featuring Belize; Mahogany Bay (Isla Roatan), and Cozumel; a Bahamas/Florida schedule to Key West, Freeport and Nassau; and western Caribbean departures to Montego Bay; Grand Cayman; and Cozumel.

Costa Classica could join Costa slow cruising business

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 18 November 2013 18 November 2013

Costa Classica could join two other smaller units of the Genoa based company in its new "slow cruising" business that offers passengers more time ashore, said Michael Thamm, CEO of Costa Crociere.

No decision has been made as yet whether Costa Classica that was built in 1991 and is of 52,926 gross tons and offers 1,680 lower berths would join its sister ship, Costa neoRomabtica that is a year younger and was heavily rebuilt for its new role. It will be joined by Costa neoRiviera, which until recently traded as Grand Mistral of sister brand Iberocruceros.

Thamm, who was speaking at a videoed news conference on the occasion of the launch of Costa Diadema, the latest ship of the Carnival Corp & plc group company, said that Costa intends to expand the slow cruise business.

Azamara unveils details of 2014 evening programmes

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 18 November 2013 18 November 2013

Azamara Club Cruises, the upscale, destination focused unit in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCCL) group, says its passenger can treated like royalty at one of Russia’s oldest theatres, take part in an ancient Egyptian ‘Moulid’ festival or travel to the foothills of the Sierra Madre to learn about the culture of the local indigenous people – all are available from Azamara Club Cruises once-in-a-lifetime experiences included in the new AzAmazing Evenings 2014 programme.

"Azamara Club Cruises’ bespoke AzAmazing Evenings events were introduced for the first time in 2013 and have proved hugely popular with guests looking to immerse themselves in the customs and traditions of each destination. Guests onboard Azamara Club Cruises’ two ships are all able to experience one exclusive AzAmazing Evenings event per sailing (excluding transatlantic voyages) for no additional cost," the company said in a statement.

The dedicated 2014 AzAmazing Evenings brochure highlights the events available with each itinerary. Additional highlights of the programme include:

- The Spirit of Panama – an exclusive evening celebration at the National Theater of Panama, one of the country’s most beloved landmarks. Featuring music and dance performances, the show tells the story of Panama from early indigenous people through to the end of Colombian rule. Available onboard Azamara Quest’s 10-night National Parks and Canal cruise departing on 5 January 2014. Prices start from £1,829 per person based on two people sharing an inside stateroom, excluding flights.
- Ephesus: Back to Roman times – a private 12-piece orchestra performance in the Roman theatre at the ancient archaeological site of Ephesus. Performance includes music from Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart and Brahms. Available onboard Azamara Journey’s 10-night Holy Lands Voyage departing on 2 May 2014. Price starts from £2,866 per person based on two people sharing an oceanview stateroom, including return flights from London Heathrow.
- Swan Lake – an exclusive private performance of one of the most famous Russian ballets, Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, at the Odessa National Opera and Ballet Theater. Available onboard Azamara Quest’s seven-night Cruising the Black Sea cruise departing 1 September 2014. Price starts from £2,368 per person based on two people sharing an inside stateroom including return flights from London Heathrow.

Azamara Club Cruises offers distinct destination-immersive experiences for upmarket travellers. The cruise line features voyages with longer stays and more overnights at ports to provide guests the opportunity to experience night touring at some of the most compelling destinations of Europe, Asia, South America, West Indies, as well as Central and North America.

Royal Caribbean's first ship reported sold for scrap

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 18 November 2013 18 November 2013

Formosa Queen, the 22,945 gross ton cruise liner that started life in 1970 as Song of Norway, has been reportedly been sold for scrap in China, reports in the shipping media say. It was the first unit in a trio of ships that launched Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd's (RCCL) operation more than four decades ago.

The ship, which originally measured at 18,853 gross tons, was built at Wartsila in Helsinki, Finland. The design derived heavily on experience gained from the cruise ferry Finlandia that the same yard had built for a local owner in 1967.

Among the features adopted from Finlandia was the decision to locate the dining room amidships on the same deck with main public rooms, which also followed the layout adopted in the ferry. The ship's propulsion system that comprised four medium speed engines, coupled to two propellers, was another design feature adopted from Finlandia.

This arrangement allowed great deal of flexibility as the number of engines online could be adapted to power requirement at any given time. In addition, these engines were lighter and lower than slow speed engines that were used on many passenger ships at the time.

Song of Norway and Nordic Prince, the second unit of the class, which had been delivered in 1971, were lengthened from their original 168 metres to 193 metres at Wartsila at the turn of the 1970s to 1980s. The third unit, called Sun Viking that had entered service in 1972, was not lengthened.

All three ships have had a number of name and ownership changes after they were phased out from the RCCL fleet in the mid-1990s.

Costa Voyager reported to be up for sale

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 18 November 2013 18 November 2013

Costa Voyager, the 24,400 gross ton ship that is the smallest unit in the fleet of costa Crociere, is reported to be up for sale.

The ship, which was built in Germany as Olympic Voyager for the now defunct Royal Olympic Cruises in Greece, is to be sold as part of a three part strategy of Costa Crociere, according to Michael Thamm, CEO. The first part of this is to grow capacity by introducing new ships, the second one focuses on bringing existing ships in line with latest ones through upgrades, while the third one entails disposals of units that have reached the end of their life cycle, Thamm was cited by the cruisetricks.de website as saying.

Carnival Corp & plc, which is the parent company of Costa Crociere, said in its third quarter 2013 interim report that two units of its Italian contemporary market unit would either be sold or scrapped.