Royal Caribbean and Meyer Werft celebrates the keel-laying of Anthem of the Seas

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 20 November 2013 20 November 2013

The official keel-laying of the new cruise ship Anthem of the Seas was celebrated at Meyer Werft in Papenburg by putting a block in place in the yard's covered building dock. Jarmo Laakso, Associate Vice President Quantum Class from Royal Caribbean International, put down the lucky penny in the dock before the block of the new ship was lowered by the 800-ts crane.

The first of a total of 74 blocks of the new cruise liner weighs 620 tons. This keel-laying marks the official start of construction of the Anthem of the Seas. For the time being the 167,800-gt Anthem of the Seas is one of the biggest ships the shipyard has built so far.

Delivery of the Anthem of the Seas is scheduled for spring 2015. The sistership of Quantum is under construction in the Building Dock and is scheduled as early as in the autumn of 2014.

Both new ships for Royal Caribbean International will set standards due to their design, a parachuting simulator, bumper cars, virtual balconies and many more innovations.

Each ship can accommodate 4,180 guests at double occupancy and feature 2,090 staterooms

MSC Divina arrives at Miami to sail year round from North American ports

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 20 November 2013 20 November 2013

MSC Divina of MSC Cruises arrived at the Port of Miami to become the first vessel of the Geneva based company to operate year round from North American ports.

“With MSC Divina’s debut, we are thrilled to welcome one of our finest and most innovative vessels to North America,” said Richard Sasso, President and CEO of MSC Cruises USA. “Yesterday marks an important milestone for MSC Cruises as we continue to grow in this region, offering more destinations and appealing to wider audiences. We look forward to offering North American cruisers something new and fresh," he said in a statement.

 

Cruise & Maritime Voyages to expand into European river cruising in 2014

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 19 November 2013 19 November 2013

Cruise and Maritime Voyages (CMV), the British opeator of three chartered cruise liners, says it has a new development with the introduction of a series of river cruises on the Rhine and Danube starting in May 2014.

Chris Coates, Commercial Director CMV said in a statement: “We are entering the European river cruise market next year chartering the stylish Vienna 1 river ship. This premium plus vessel has been operated by a number of luxury river cruise operators in 2013 offering a high level of comfort and décor with most cabins having French balconies.”

“CMV are specialists in offering scenic ocean cruise holidays on board smaller sized classic ships providing a leisurely and friendly style of cruising with high levels of customer service. Our on board customer questionnaires indicate that over 80% of our passengers would consider taking a river cruise. We also know that our current cruise programme, that includes many European ports situated on rivers, is already popular. It is therefore a natural progression for CMV to add river cruises to our portfolio,'" he stated.

The first departure - ‘Magical Rhine’ - will be 19 May for 7 nights from Nuremberg through to Amsterdam. On a ‘Grand European Discovery’ cruise departing 26 May for 14 nights the ship will sail from Amsterdam down to Budapest cruising the Rhine and Danube. On 9 June a reversed itinerary will operate between Budapest and Amsterdam. These 14 night itineraries are also available as 7 night sectors to/from Nuremberg. Optional pre and post cruise city stays are also available in Amsterdam, Prague (from Nuremberg) and Budapest.

Prices for 7 nights including flights and transfers, full board cuisine, selected drinks with lunch and dinner, entertainment and a range of half-day excursions are from £1199pp. For 14 nights prices are from £1999pp. CMV will be issuing a new stand alone 12 page brochure shortly giving full details as well as online at www.cruiseandmaritime.com and available for sale through travel agents.

CMV operates the 22,000 gross ton Marco Polo and 20,600 gross ton Discovery and has recently taken the 21,000 gross ton Astor on charter for part of the next three years. Astor is currently on its fitst voyage for CMV, from Italy to Australia. Its arrival in Fremantle will hearld CMV's expansion to the Australian source market.

Carnival Sunshine sails on inaugural voyage from New Orleans

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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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.