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Victoria Cruises expand their River Ship fleet
Victoria Cruises, the cruise company sailing China’s Yangtze River, will grow its fleet to eight vessels with the introduction of the new Victoria Jenna in April 2009. The Victoria Jenna will edge out of port on April 26, 2009. “Expanding our  fleet with the addition of a vessel the caliber of the Victoria Jenna is evidence of our commitment to providing travelers with an unsurpassed vacation experience,” said Benson Wu, vice president of Victoria Cruises. “As with our entire fleet, the Victoria Jenna will be built to the highest international standards and offer impeccable service and exceptional amenities,” Wu added.

According to the company, the Victoria Jenna will be the largest ship in the company’s five-star fleet and have the highest passenger capacity and most suites of all vessels sailing the mighty Yangtze.

The Victoria Jenna will feature 209 cabins for a total passenger capacity of 418 (and a crew of 179). At a gross tonnage of approximately 10,000, the five-passenger-deck vessel will be 438.9 feet long and 61.7 feet wide with a draft of 8.5 – 8.8 feet.

The Victoria Jenna will sail Victoria Cruises’ Three Gorges Highlights program, both upstream and downstream between Chongqing and Yichang, as well the round-trip Three Gorges Explorer itinerary sailing Chongqing – Yichang – Chongqing.
Carnival Moves Passenger Facilities to New Terminals in Miami

Carnival Cruise Lines is now operating from the newest passenger facilities at the Port of Miami, Terminal D and Terminal E.  Carnival said that the new terminals were designed to provide panoramic views of Miami and Biscayne Bay, and can accommodate approximately 4,000 guests through separate embarkation and debarkation facilities.

The terminals are decorated in Carnival’s colors of red, white and blue, and have flat-screen TVs showing a welcome video hosted by Carnival’s mascot, Fun Ship Freddy. The third floor has a photo area that leads to the boarding corridor and loading bridge.

There are dual-entry lobbies on the ground floor, where guests head to one of four security scanners, and then to the second level where a large hall houses 50 check-in stations, a VIP lounge, two private group check-in areas and embarkation offices.

Better and safer security give lift to Columbia's tourist numbers
Colombia’s climate is changing. Security experts no longer routinely warn visitors that if they stray too far from major cities, they might as well schedule their own kidnappings. Foreign tourist visits are up from a half-million four years ago to 1.2 million now.

New investment in seaside Cartagena has rendered that city more free-wheeling and boisterous than ever. On highways, rifle-toting soldiers man checkpoints, but they seem friendlier than menacing, shaking hands and making small talk before looking in the car trunk.

With cruise lines returning to Cartagena in growing numbers, the Colombian port expects to double ship calls year over year, from 38 in 2007 to 76 in 2008. Passenger count is projected to rise from 53,497 to 121,107.

The figures push Cartagena closer to the numbers it achieved in 2001, when 182,817 cruisers visited. After lines became concerned about security calls fell off sharply, reaching a low of 35,374 in 2003.

Things have changed. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was on hand for the arrival of Royal Caribbean International’s Radiance of the Seas in Cartagena last April, marking RCI’s first visit since 2002.  Last month, Princess Cruises returned after a six-year absence.

The U.S. State Department’s warning against travel to Colombia, first issued in 1990, was updated in June, noting that although rural areas remain “extremely dangerous,” violence has decreased “markedly” in urban areas, including Bogotá and Cartagena.

Europeans, who generally are more impervious than Americans to such cautions, never stopped traveling to the popular hot spot of Cartagena. But Americans account for only 20 percent of foreign visitors to Colombia, and many of those are visiting relatives.

Bogotá will add 7,000 three- to five-star hotel rooms in the next three years. “Coffee tourism” is flourishing in the coffee-growing region south of the nation’s capital. The southernmost town of Leticia is becoming a popular jumping-off point for trips into the Amazon Basin.

The country’s first luxury ecotourism development, in Tayrona National Park, in a spectacular seaside setting with views of 19,000-foot Sierra Nevada peaks, is drawing high-end tourists to a vast wilderness area near Santa Marta.

Last year Jim Castle from our office was In Columbia for a trade Show and also had the opportunity to spend some time in Cartagena des Indies as well as Bogota.  Jim was most impressed both with the places he visited as well as the hospitality and friendliness of the folk he encountered on his trip. 

Cartagena is becoming a popular cruise destination and Jim was very impressed with the way this World Heritage city is being tastefully restored and upgraded.  Lots of history, numerous boutique hotel and excellent restaurants.  You have to see the recently renovated Sofitel hotel in the heart of the old city - it is amazing.  Also check out our web for more information.
The Carnival Destiny will sail 7 day / 6 port itinerary from San Juan.
Carnival Cruise Lines' 101,000-ton, 2,642-passenger Carnival Destiny on March 2 will launch a seven-day cruise itinerary from San Juan featuring extended calls at six ports --St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, Dominica, and St. Thomas/St. John. Carnival Victory will assume the new six-port Caribbean program when it repositions to San Juan in November 2008. Reservations are currently being accepted for the Southern Caribbean program. For more information
Mexico Cruise Tax to Take Effect July 1
Mexico has approved a cruise passenger tax that is scheduled to take effect on July 1. The fee is 56 pesos, or about US$5, according to a statement issued by Carolina Cárdenas, vice minister of tourism planning for SECTUR in Mexico. Cárdenas said 95 percent of the income generated by the head tax will go to municipalities for infrastructure works, conservation and maintenance programs, and cleaning and monitoring of the coastal zones. Five percent will be assigned to the National Institute of Migration. The resources will be distributed proportionally to the municipalities, taking into account the number of passengers their ports receive. The tax has been opposed by some Mexican ports, including Puerto Costa Maya. "We do not support the measure in question," Costa Maya President Teofilo Hamui said in mid-October.

NCL to return to Grand Bahama with 32 Sailings by 2009

Norwegian Cruise Line said it will make its first call to Grand Bahama Island in at least five years when the Norwegian Jewel docks there on November 15 during a three-day Bahamas Getaway voyage from Miami. The line also said it plans to add 32 more cruises to the Bahamas by 2009.

Andy Stuart, NCL’s executive vice president of marketing, sales and passenger services, said in a release that the deployment reaffirms the line’s commitment to its 40-year relationship with the Bahamas, and added that NCL “is pleased to be a part of establishing Grand Bahama Island as a major cruise destination.”

NCL estimated that the new calls will contribute $9 million a year to the economy of the Bahamas, with $4 million going directly to Grand Bahama Island. Twenty-eight of the 32 additional cruises will be onboard NCL’s new, 2,400-passenger Norwegian Gem, which launched on October 1.

The ship will sail seven-day Bahamas and Florida itineraries roundtrip from New York the first one this December and again in February, March, April and December 2008- with stops in Grand Bahama Island; Nassau; NCL’s private island, Great Stirrup Cay; and Port Canaveral, Fla. In 2009, the Gem will sail the same itinerary from January through April.

In addition, the Norwegian Jade has three scheduled sailings in December 2008 from Florida to the Bahamas that include Grand Bahama Island.

 River Barge Cruising  in Europe is a very popular vacation
Visiting Europe for the first time can be a daunting experience for the inexperienced traveler, dealing with multiple languages, cultures and cuisines as well as the various European temperaments can all be a turn off when your sitting in your lounge at home planning your next vacation.  As Worldwide has mentioned on a number of occasions, cruising in a controlled and secure environment is an nice way of easing into the European scene.

For more experienced travelers, an immersion in the culture, cuisine and viniculture of Europe can be a very rewarding and enjoyable vacation and there can be no better way savor this type of vacation than a barge cruise.

Barge holidays has become extremely popular with Australian travelers and with the Australian dollar at record highs and with the ability to be able to purchase a barge vacation in US dollars... then the prospect becomes very appealing.

Barges come in all sizes, for a small business group of 50 or less a charter starting beneath the Eiffel Tower in Paris and cruising through the fields of Picardy to take in the wonderful gardens and small town of north eastern France is a wonderful way of getting acquainted with the area.

Family groups of 12 or so can charter a midsized cruising barges in a number of different regions of France and smaller groups of 6 to 8 can also enjoy the exclusivity of a barge charter almost anywhere in Europe including Venice, England or Scotland. When not on charter many of the barges will sell by the cabin, so don't be put off if you can't find a half dozen friends to go with.  In fact there is often a barge in most areas which will introduce the lucky traveler to the pleasures of rural Europe.

Barge vacations can be tailor made to suit any special interest you or your group might have whether it be golfing, architectural, wines or cuisine, in fact almost every type of interest can be used to build a fascinating cruise around.

Worldwide has the 2008 pricing for most of the the popular barges - visit our web-site where you can check out the barges, their itineraries, places of interest and of course the pricing for that vacation of a lifetime.

Malta's popularity increases
Following a busy October which saw 61 calls at Valletta bringing 56,757 passengers, Malta’s Grand Harbour is anticipating its busiest November since 2004, with 48 calls scheduled this month.
For the first 10 months of 2007 the port recorded more than 18% growth compared to the same period last year welcoming 416,798 passengers, according to VISET, managers of cruise operations at Valletta Waterfront.

Malta’s cruise traffic has increased 25% in the last five years. This growth has extended into the winter months, too. Between November 2006 and March 2007, 63,000 passengers visited the island, a jump of 17.7% compared to the previous season. During the 2007/08 winter period, 61 ships carrying around 75,000 passengers are scheduled, a 19% leap, Chris Paris, gm VISET tells Seatrade Insider.

Malta is the venue for the first Seatrade Winter Cruising Forum, January 17-18, where a cross section of the stakeholders in this new global cruise concept will come together to discuss how its potential can be realised.

 

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