Top Headlines

It's official: Oasis of the Seas to sail Europe in 2014

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 27 March 2013 27 March 2013

Royal Caribbean International today announced that the world's largest and most innovative cruise ship Oasis of the Seas will be sailing Europe for a short autumn season in 2014. Renowned worldwide for its award-winning Caribbean cruise vacations, Oasis of the Seas now will offer a sampling of its unrivaled Oasis-class experience in Europe. Oasis of the Seas' 2014 Europe season will open for sale on Apr. 11, 2013. For an extensive collection of webisodes detailing the variety of experiences aboard Oasis of the Seas, please visit http://tinyurl.com/bw585wa.

Guests will sail the Atlantic and Western Mediterranean and delight in Oasis-class exclusive amenities and concepts throughout its seven themed neighborhoods, such as an 82 foot-long zip line, a handcrafted carousel, the Rising Tide elevating bar, Broadway musicals, the Aquatheater high-diving performance venue, and Central Park with more than 12,000 live trees and plants. Oasis of the Seas also offers amenities that can only be found on Royal Caribbean, such as twin FlowRider surf simulators, cantilevered whirlpools, an ice-skating rink, the H20 Zone kids aquapark, and the Royal Promenade, an interior boulevard that stretches nearly the length of the ship and flanked by restaurants, lounges and boutiques, among many others.

Royal Caribbean's award-winning family programming also will help ensure that guests of every generation can share in an unforgettable Europe family vacation aboard Oasis of the Seas. The cruise line's complimentary Adventure Ocean kids program offers ongoing educational and entertaining sessions for three age groups from three- to 11-year-olds, led by college-accredited counselors from 9:00 to 2:00 a.m. Two curricula for teens age 12 to 17 years offer more organic programming to offer them the flexibility to help shape their day with peers, as well as teen-only sessions on the FlowRider, Rock Wall and Sports Court. Furthermore, Oasis of the Seas also debuted the Royal Babies & Tots Nursery – soon to be fleetwide – that caters to Royal Caribbean's youngest guests, age six to 36 months old.

Nothing can compare to the Oasis-class vacation experience, a testament to Royal Caribbean's more than 40 years of innovation, said Lisa Bauer, executive vice president of Global Sales and Marketing, Royal Caribbean International. Now vacationers can combine Europe's rich cultures and history with the world's largest and most innovative cruise ship for a regional experience that can only be found on Royal Caribbean. And for those who have always wanted more time to enjoy the myriad activities on Oasis of the Seas, our two trans-Atlantic cruises will offer more than enough time to do everything on board, as well as some surprises along the way.

Two trans-Atlantic crossings will afford guests the opportunity to experience all of Oasis of the Seas' unmatched innovative amenities, exclusive entertainment, and variety of dining experiences. On these cruises, guests also will enjoy an exclusive preview of the Quantum-class experience and join in special programs that will amplify the Oasis-class experience. A 12-night eastbound cruise from the ship's homeport of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Barcelona departs Sept. 1, 2014 and a 13-night westbound cruise will return Oasis of the Seas to Port Everglades from Rotterdam on Oct. 14. Vacationers also can embark the westbound trans-Atlantic cruise at Southampton on Oct. 15.

Guests also can enjoy the world-acclaimed ship on a choice of three Europe sailings. Vacationers can choose among two roundtrip sailings on a five-night Western Mediterranean itinerary from Barcelona, and a seven-night Spain itinerary sailing from Barcelona to Rotterdam, The Netherlands, where Oasis of the Seas will enter drydock in Képpel Verolme shipyard for routine maintenance. Additionally, a two-night Bahamas cruise departing on Aug. 30 and a five-night Western Caribbean cruise departing on Oct. 27, both roundtrip from Port Everglades, will bookend Oasis of the Seas' short 2014 Europe season.

Launched in December 2009, Oasis of the Seas has been heralded as an architectural marvel at sea, spanning 16 decks, encompassing 225,282 gross registered tons, and has a double-occupancy capacity of 5,400 guests. Oasis of the Seas is first ship to tout the cruise line's neighborhood concept of seven distinct themed areas, comprising Central Park, Boardwalk, the Royal Promenade, the Pool and Sports Zone, Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center, Entertainment Place and Youth Zone.

Oasis of the Seas to the Mediterranean in 2014?

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 26 March 2013 26 March 2013

Oasis of the Seas, one of the two 226,000 gross ton giants of Royal Caribbean International, will reportedly make at least one cruise in the Mediterranean in the autumn of 2014, an Italian cruise industry source says.

The ship is due to call in Civitavecchia in Italy on 16 September 2014, where it will arrive from Barcelona. It will sail on to Naples.

The ship will come to Europe for dry docking, the source continued. Oasis of the Seas was built in 2009 and ships need to undergo a special survey that includes dry docking every five years.

Project Mille targets better layout and optimal weight distribution

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 26 March 2013 26 March 2013

A cruise liner concept design introduced recently by Fincantieri, the Italian shipbuilder, aims to offer a better layout for public spaces and optimize weight distribution of a cruise liner.

Called Project Mille, the ship features engine rooms that are located midships, forward of the two thirds aft location that is commonplace in virtually all cruise liner designs of today. By moving heavy items, such as the engines and tanks forward, the design offers optimal weight distribution, Fincantieri said in a statement.

This layout means that engine rooms will be symmetrical, which is optimal from the point of view of Safe Return to Port rules. Lifeboats are located further down than in most contemporary designs, which again means simpler and safer evacuation in an emergency.

From the point of view of public area, the design offers a better layout between “destination areas”, such as restaurants and theatres, and “walk through areas,” such as shopping arcades and it helps to integrate outdoor areas with indoor ones, Fincantieri said.

An interlocked layout of cabins means that the number of balcony cabins can be increased by 10% in comparison with an existing ship, while open deck areas will increase by 10% too due to innovative layout design. The ship will also be 10% more efficient than existing vessels thanks to its sophisticated hull design, the shipbuilder says.

The concept design has been introduced in three size categories: a 60,000 gross ton 1,500 passenger variant being the smallest one, while the next step up is a 100,000 gross ton ship of 2,600 passengers. The largest variant is of 150,000 gross tons that can accommodate 4,000 passengers, Fincantieri said.

It has been customary to place the engine rooms of major passenger vessels about two thirds aft since the late 1960s, although a few large ships were built in the 1950s that featured engines even further aft. The logic was that by moving the engines and their uptakes away from midships location, more space could be freed there to public rooms.

In some vessels, such as P&O’s Canberra of 1961, placing engine and boiler rooms closer to the stern than what became the norm later in the decade led to problems with trim as the heavy machinery depressed the stern and lifted the bow, a situation that needed to be replaced by placing additional ballast in the bow.

Viking River Cruises smashes world record – inaugurates most new ships in a single day

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 20 March 2013 20 March 2013

River cruising is the hottest segment of travel right now, and in a fitting feat for the world’s leading river cruise line, Viking River Cruises set a world record with the christening of 10 new Viking Longships on March 20. The first-of-its-kind simultaneous christening ceremony in Amsterdam debuted the ships – Viking Aegir, Viking Atla, Viking Bragi, Viking Embla, Viking Forseti, Viking Jarl, Viking Rinda, Viking Skadi, Viking Tor and Viking Var – and was certified by a Guinness World Records adjudicator as ‘The Most Ships Inaugurated in One Day by One Company.’ Playing an integral role in the event were 10 distinguished women from around the world, representing the key Viking brand pillars of history, art, education, exploration and discovery, to serve as ceremonial godmothers for the new ships.

"Today is a proud day for Viking and for river cruising. We are honored to showcase 10 of our revolutionary new Longships and to have had such a celebrated group of women helping us christen them," said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking Cruises. "Our guests are explorers, just like the ancient Vikings of our Norse heritage, which is why we deliver authentic and enriching travel experiences like no other cruise line."

Guests at the christening ceremony enjoyed remarks by each godmother and a presentation on the growth of river cruising by Hagen. A Guinness World Records adjudicator also presented Hagen with an official recognition of the record breaking achievement, ‘The Most Ships Inaugurated in One Day by One Company’ – eight – breaking the previous record of two ships. A first in modern history, four of the christenings took place in front of a crowd of approximately 700 in Amsterdam, and the remaining six were conducted live via satellite from the Neptun shipyard in Germany. The celebration concluded with an onboard dinner and maiden voyage cruise around the Amsterdam harbor.

First phase of Carnival Cruise Lines' fleetwide review announced; line to cancel sailings on the Triumph, Sunshine

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 19 March 2013 19 March 2013

Carnival Cruise Lines has announced the first implementation phase of its fleetwide comprehensive operational review, focused on Carnival Triumph, as well as Carnival Sunshine, which is currently undergoing a previously scheduled dry dock for product enhancements. The cruise line is making significant investments to enhance the level of operating redundancies and the scope of hotel services that can run on emergency power, and further improve each ship's fire prevention, detection and suppression systems.

Given the necessary lead time to source needed materials and implement the enhancements, Carnival will extend the current out-of-service period for these two ships.

Carnival Triumph will now return to service on June 3, 2013, with a total of 10 additional cruises being canceled. Guests on the affected voyages will receive a full refund, reimbursement for non-refundable transportation costs and a 25 percent discount on a future four- to five-day cruise.

Carnival Sunshine, which is currently undergoing a multi-week dry dock to complete a comprehensive full-ship makeover, will now enter service May 5, 2013, following the cancellation of two European cruises. Guests on the canceled Carnival Sunshine voyages will receive a full refund, plus reimbursement for any non-refundable travel costs. Additionally, they will receive a 25 percent discount on a future cruise. The additional time out of service will allow for implementation of the enhanced operating redundancies and other measures.

"We sincerely regret canceling these cruises and disrupting our guests' vacation plans," said Gerry Cahill, Carnival Cruise Lines' president and CEO. "We are fully committed to applying the recommendations stemming from our fleetwide review and to make whatever investments are needed despite the difficult decision to impact people's vacations."

Cahill continued, "Our team of experts has worked virtually around the clock to determine the best set of solutions and rapidly develop an effective implementation plan for both of these ships. Moving forward, we will have the ability to source materials and schedule improvements much more expediently, thus minimizing the scheduling impact on other vessels.

"I would like to provide continued assurances that all of our vessels have fully effective safety systems, equipment and training in place. Additionally, our ships receive regular inspections from the United States Coast Guard and other regulatory authorities. The changes we are implementing are focused primarily on improvements to better support continued power and hotel services should unexpected issues arise. In addition, we are applying new learnings and making enhancements in the area of fire suppression and extinguishing. Going forward, the review will focus on the balance of our fleet. While this process will take time, it is our highest priority and has the full support and resources of Carnival Cruise Lines and Carnival Corporation," Cahill said.

Carnival Triumph operates year-round four- and five-day Mexico cruises from Galveston, Texas. Four-day cruises depart Thursdays and visit Cozumel while five-day cruises depart Mondays and Saturdays and call at Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico.

Carnival Sunshine is scheduled to operate a series of nine- and 12-day Mediterranean cruises May 5 to Oct. 20, 2013, either round-trip from Barcelona or sailing between Barcelona and Venice. The ship will sail on a 16-day trans-Atlantic crossing from Barcelona to New Orleans Nov. 1-17, positioning the vessel for a special six-day Caribbean cruise departing Nov. 18 followed by the launch of year-round seven-day Caribbean service from New Orleans Nov. 24, 2013.