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Winter cruising on the St. Lawrence Seaway
What happened to global warming? Recently reported in the national press was the rather unusual news that a cruise ship full of skiers was stuck in the ice in the St Lawrence River near Matane, Quebec.

Apart from cruising in the Antartic or perhaps Alaska, one rarely thinks about ice, but this particular ship, the CTMA Vacancier, has now been a year-round cruise-ferry fixture in the St Lawrence since 2002.  These must be popular cruise itineraries as the Canadian owners have ordered another vessel for another St Lawrence route from Rimouski to the North Shore and Strait of Belle Isle and a third such ship operates along the coast of Labrador.

To increase your choice and boost capacity a new cruise ferry left Germany on Friday bound for British Columbia. These four ships offer some unusual opportunities to cruise off the beaten track.

Princess Cruises’ Caribbean Princess has just emerged from an extensive three-week dry-dock to add many of the new signature features introduced on its newest ships
The Princess now has the street-café atmosphere of the piazza-style atrium with its International Café and Vines, the wine, seafood and cheese bar; the adults-only Sanctuary; seven new suites; and a more centrally located casino. Work is also nearly complete on a new Crown Grill steak and seafood restaurant. These amenities became passenger favorites when they debuted aboard Crown Princess, Emerald Princess and Ruby Princess over the last three years, and are being added to a number of ships, including Golden Princess in May. The company has already introduced many of these features on Star Princess and Grand Princess.

Caribbean Princess’ new atrium now features the specialty coffees, cookies, pastries, paninis and tapas of the International Café. Also new is Vines, a wine bar offering more than 30 wines by the glass, plus a selection of seafood, artisan meats and cheeses. Also added was Sanctuary, an adults-only retreat with padded lounge chairs and the services of Serenity Stewards who serve beverages and light snacks. Passengers can also receive a massage in one of two private cabanas. The Crown Grill restaurant will open shortly with an open kitchen and a menu of chops, steaks and seafood, including live lobsters.

As part of the renovation, the 3,080-passenger ship, which debuted in 2004, also received seven new suites with picture windows, and a relocated casino on Deck 7, bringing it into the ship’s central entertainment area. Other changes include a new location for the sports court, a new Limelight boutique, new shore excursions and Captain’s Circle desks, new Internet café and library, and the addition of flat-screen televisions in all staterooms. The makeover took place at the Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport, Bahamas, where more than 1,500 workers and contractors worked around the clock to complete the project.

Carnival target Australia to be a major producer
Carnival Cruise Lines has said Australia has every opportunity to become one of its top five source markets as the cruise line plots a greater presence in the local market.

Senior Carnival executives are in Australia this week to finalize its marketing strategy over the next two years with general sales agent Travel the World.

Business development director Joe Docal told Travel Today Carnival had identified Australia as one of its key growth markets. “Australia is in the top 10 markets for Carnival Cruise Lines worldwide, based on passenger production,” Docal said. “The market does have the capability to be in the top five, there’s no reason it can’t be.”

Outside of the US, Carnival’s top markets in terms of passenger numbers are Canada, Puerto Rico, UK, Germany and Mexico. “Of all those taking a holiday in Australia, only one per cent have cruising experience so there’s a huge opportunity,” said Joni Rein, vice president – worldwide sales.

Fast inter-island ferry service in the Caribbean
According to the St. Lucia newspaper The Star, Allen Chastanet, St. Lucia’s minister of tourism and civil aviation, says ferry service across the islands could launch this year. Chastanet told The Star,  “I think a startup is imminent. It could be as soon as the first quarter of this year, most certainly by the second quarter, but I wouldn’t expect the summer to come and a fast ferry service not be in place.”

Currently there is a fast ferry service operating from the new inter-Island Ferry Terminal at Port Castries where fast ferries provide daily service between St. Lucia and Martinique. The Terminal was designed to offer passengers the same level of comfort found at an airport.

Costa's fleet explodes with their 15th ship taking shape at Marghera
Construction of Costa Deliziosa, the fifteenth ship in the Costa fleet, continues at Fincantieri’s Marghera yard. The line’s distinctive yellow funnel with a blue ‘C’ was recently installed on the vessel.
Scheduled to enter service in February 2010, it will be the third new ship to join the Costa fleet inside a year. Costa Luminosa, the sister of Costa Deliziosa, will be delivered at the end of April 2009, while Costa Pacifica will enter service at the end of May this year.

Starting cruising in February 2010, Costa Deliziosa will be able to carry 2,828 passengers and will sail seven-day winter cruises in the Arabian Gulf visiting the UAE, Oman and Bahrain.

Costa’s current fleet expansion, the trio above plus two more 114,200gt ships to be delivered by 2012, represents a total investment of €2.4bn.

Each ship requires the professional expertise of about 3,000 workers from Fincantieri and roughly 500 supplier companies, the majority Italian.

The five new ships represent a 50% increase in the capacity of the Costa fleet which will consist of 17 ships with capacity for 46,400 passengers in 2012.