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MSC Cruises Christen their newest ship the msc Poesia |
 The
cruiseline’s latest ship MSC Poesia was christened on April 5th in
Dover by the ship’s godmother, Hollywood icon Sophia Loren, who was
joined on board by classical singer Andrea Bocelli, popstar KT
Tunstall, Radio One DJ Annie Mac, and the Prince and Princess
Michael of Kent.Around 1,800 people - mostly UK travel agents - were invited along to see the ship. Agents were taken on tours of the ship, which is the third in the cruiseline’s Musica class and has 1,275 cabins, of which 80% are outside cabins and 65% have a balcony. The ship has seven themed areas, two pools, four hot tubs and a spa. In general the invited agents felt that the ship had surpassed their expectations, with some admitting their perceptions of the cruiseline had been different to the reality. |
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Celebrity initiates new Smoking Policy |
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Beginning October 1, 2008, guests on Celebrity's
ships will enjoy fresher air as a result of a new policy that
disallows smoking in Celebrity's staterooms or on stateroom
verandas. The policy also will reduce the number of public areas in
which guests can smoke onboard. "We are proud to be the first premium cruise line to set a new standard toward creating an environment of cleaner air on our ships," said Celebrity Cruises President & CEO Dan Hanrahan. "We pay careful attention to what our guests have to say, and approximately 90 percent of them have told us they are non-smokers. By increasing the number of smoke-free areas onboard while still designating areas for those who smoke, our aim is to make the onboard experience as pleasant as possible for all of our guests." The new policy, created after Celebrity polled past guests, will result in a cleaner, fresher and healthier environment on Celebrity's ships. Designated indoor areas where guests can smoke cigarettes include the port side of one lounge per ship and a designated slot machine area in each ship's casino. The new policy also designates outdoor areas where guests can smoke. These include the port side of the pool deck and sundecks on each ship, the port side of the Sunset Bar on Celebrity Century and on Celebrity's Millennium class of ships, and the port side aft outside of Winter Garden on Celebrity Galaxy and Celebrity Mercury. Celebrity's new Solstice class of ships, launching with Celebrity Solstice late this year, will follow the new policy beginning with the first sailing. Celebrity Solstice's Lawn Club and the Sunset Bar at the Lawn Club will not allow smoking. Violations to Celebrity's smoking policy may result in a $250 cleaning fee charged to the guest's onboard account and may also be addressed through the line's guest conduct policy. The new policy will go into effect on Celebrity's fleet on the first day of the first sailing to follow October 1: Celebrity Galaxy, Celebrity Infinity, Celebrity Mercury - October 3 sailings Celebrity Summit - October 4 sailing Celebrity Constellation - October 5 sailing Celebrity Century, Celebrity Millennium - October 6 sailings Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Equinox - upon ship launch Celebrity currently allows guests to smoke in staterooms, on stateroom verandas and in a number of indoor and outdoor public spaces. The exception is Celebrity Xpedition, the 92-person mega-yacht sailing year-round in the Galapagos Islands, which operates under a stricter policy than the rest of the fleet, allowing smoking only on the ship's outer decks, in designated areas. |
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Florida's Port Everglades gave the QE2 her final sendoff |
 Apr
11 - Florida waived good-bye to QE2 for the last
time yesterday, as it sailed for the final time
from Port Everglades on its
way to New York. The ship is on the last portions of
its 26th and final world cruise.Britain's Queen Elizabeth II will make one final visit to Queen Elizabeth 2 before the ship's retirement. The visit to Cunard's former flagship will come when the ship is in Southampton on Monday, June 2, 2008. |
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Carnival Increases fuel surcharge to $7 per passenger per day |
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Carnival Corp has raised the fuel charge for six
(carnival. Costa, Cunard, HAL, Princess, Seabourn) of
it's brands to $7 per passenger per day from $5 with the total
surcharge capped at $98 per passenger. They are adding an additional
$2 per day for 3rd's/4th's & 5th passengers which is capped at $28. carnival did say that the increase had nothing to do with the agreement reached with the Florida Attorney General to reimburse $40M to passengers who had booked prior to the supplement being announced. It is expected that the other major brands names will also increase their fuel surcharge. |
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California Bill to have "Sea Rangers" on board cruise ships passes 1st hurdle |
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A bill that would place ocean rangers on cruise ships
that operate from California ports passed its first test on April 8,
with the California Senate’s Public Safety Committee giving it
unanimous approval, pushing it to the next step in the legislative
process. State Sen. Joe Simitian
introduced the California Ocean Ranger program, saying that the
cruise industry does not adequately protect its passengers from
crime and has a poor record of self-policing its environmental law
compliance. The bill says that the cruise lines would pay for the program through a $1 surcharge per passenger for each day the ocean ranger would be onboard. The California proposal stipulates that the ranger be a licensed marine engineer and granted peace officer status, which in California gives the ranger the ability to make an arrest. According to the language of the bill, the ranger would be onboard for the entire duration of any cruise that calls at a California port, with special early debarkation arrangements for much longer itineraries. Terry Dale, Cruise Lines International Association president, attended the Public Safety Committee hearing last week. He said that while the bill’s intent appeared to be protecting California citizens, which CLIA supports, “it attempts to man international ships with state-employed rangers to perform federally regulated law enforcement functions.” “CLIA believes the bill extends well beyond California’s jurisdiction, may jeopardize criminal investigations, is overly burdensome given the track record of the cruise lines on environmental compliance and criminal reporting, will set a precedent for conflicting state, federal and international requirements and may detrimentally impact California’s ports,” Dale said. Dale said CLIA was working with Simitian on “legislation that recognizes … California’s right to prosecute offenders in a manner that complements federal jurisdiction. |
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Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. awarded a multiyear
contract extension to SeaMobile Enterprises for SeaMobile’s
satellite communication services. The agreement includes fleet-wide
services for the Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara brands. The agreement calls for SeaMobile’s MTN Satellite Services division to provide wireless voice and Internet services for all new ships introduced during the length of the contract extension, including additional communication services for crew members. As part of the agreement, SeaMobile said MTN has expanded its network to meet growing bandwidth requirements and the needs for extended global cruise itineraries. |