2013
– The QE2 could be on her way back to London, after four years of languishing in the port of Rashid, Dubai. Recent reports say the owners of the ship, Dubai-based Istithmar have sold the ship to the Chinese for £20m to be scrapped. Just before Christmas a 20-man Chinese crew replaced a crew of around 40 who had been maintaining the QE2 in Port Rashid for the last four years. But a London-based consortium say they have enough funds to get te ship back to the UK, if a berth can be found probably on the Thames in London.
– When Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Breakaway debuts in May, the ship will feature a fireworks show which will take place on the second to last night at sea each week, after the ship departs Bermuda and will be the grand finale of the ship’s 1980’s-themed deck party. Norwegian has been revealing a lot of information on the 4,000-passenger Breakaway, for example its Haven suite complex, kids’ activities, restaurants etc.
– After the Costa Concordia incident no fewer than 10 new safety procedures were put in place within a year of the accident, and three of them have been encorporated in maritime law by the end of 2012. Impact on the cruise industry has become visible eg when Costa Crociere parent company, Carnival Corp. published their financial results: in three successive quarters after the tragedy a net profit of $93 million was reported, compared to $217 million during the same three months a year earlier.
– MSC Cruises has announced it is retiring the oldest ship in its fleet, MSC Melody, after 17 years of service with the line. Built in 1982 as Atlantic, the 35,000-ton, 1,000-passenger Melody is the smallest and oldest ship in the MSC’s fleet.
– The QE2 will be operated as a floating luxury hotel in the Far East, according to the Financial Times. It was hoped that the liner would be brought back to the U.K., but its Dubai-based owners have sold it to a Singapore-based investment group instead. The ship will be leased for a 10 year period with an option to buy after this period. It is not clear where the ship will be docked, probably Singapore or Hong Kong.
– An ice patrol vessel, HMS Protector has rescued Hurtigruten’s Fram after it became trapped in Antarctic ice breaking through four-meter-thick ice to free the Scandinavian cruise ship when it became trapped in ice in the Antarctic Sound. There were 202 passengers onboard.
– Royal Caribbean International has announced the names of its next generation cruise ships of which construction on the first has started. The 158,000-ton, 4,100-passenger Quantum of the Seas is scheduled to debut in fall 2014, with sister ship, Anthem of the Seas, to be launched the following spring. Until now the ships had been referred to as “Project Sunshine”.
– In its latest update, Carnival Cruise Line reported that basic services and hotel functions have been restored to Carnival Triumph, which remains adrift in the Gulf of Mexico after a fire onboard. The freshwater system, part of the sewage system, limited elevator service and some power in the Lido dining area are operational.
– In a surprise move, Windstar Cruises will double its fleet, after Windstar reached an agreement with Seabourn to purchase three of its ships Seabourn Pride, Seabourn Legend and Seabourn Spirit. According to Windstar Cruises’ CEO, the line selected the Seabourn ships because the three older ships are exactly what Windstar was looking for: small ships, 150 to 300 passengers and all suites.
– NCL’s Norwegian Getaway will debut in January with a new dining and entertainment experience:- The Illusionarium. According to the line: the special effects-laden magic show is “inspired by the science fiction of Jules Verne, the artistry of magicians such as Houdini and the popularity of recent blockbusters featuring supernatural characters.” Passengers at the show will find antique spell books, “interactive” artifacts and relics in this spectacular show lounge. Visual effects from a 30-foot-wide video dome overhead will complete the performances.
– At a spectacular naming ceremony, held in Amsterdam, Viking River Cruises inaugurated so many new ships into its fleet, namely eight eight that it was presented with a Guinness World Record. The fastest-growing river cruise line will be recorded by Guiness for having the most ships inaugurated in one day by one company”.
– Film star Sophia Loren, the godmother of the entire MSC Cruises fleet, christened Preziosa while Ennio Morricone, who has composed some of the most recognisable film scores including “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”conducted an orchestra playing his music. MSC CEO Pierfrancesco Vago stated: “Preziosa will become a symbol of the cruise industry, which has continued to grow despite of the recession. With the introduction of Preziosa, MSC is now the third-largest cruise company in the world.” During the event, Preziosa was flanked by sister ships Splendida and Opera.
Carnival Cruise Lines has launched a $300 million program designed to enhance emergency power capabilities, introduce new fire safety technology and improve the level of operating redundancies to its entire fleet. The company also formed a Safety & Reliability Review board to oversee continuous improvement in these areas. The new enhancements are also designed to prevent potential loss of power, which recently happened to one of the companies ships, Carnival Triumph after an engine room fire.
– Disney Cruise Line today announced the overhaul of the 1,754-passenger Disney Magic, which has seen 15 years of service summer 2013, which will take place in Cadiz, Spain, in September- October. Area’s upgraded are restaurants, bars, the spa, the atrium, cabins and kids’ spaces, and a waterslide that swings out over the side of the ship will be included.
– Viking River Cruises, the industry’s largest river cruise line, has ambitious plans to introduce a new ocean-going cruise line. The news confirms rumours about Viking’s ambitions to expand into coastal cruising. The first of two 47,000-ton, 900-passenger newbuilds is planned for a debut in spring 2015. They’ll be constructed by Fincantieri, cost ca $350 million.
– Royal Caribbean has canceled Grandeur of the Seas sailings following a fire on board on May 27. Passengers were flown home and the ship was taken to a shipyard in Grand Bahama for repairs.
– Regent Seven Seas Cruises, which was the first line with an all-suite concept, has ordered a fourth ship for its fleet, the Seven Seas Explorer. She will be a 738-passenger vessel, built in Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard, with delivery in summer 2016. At 54,000 tons, the ship will be the largest vessel in the company’s fleet and will cost about $450 million. There will be 369 suites on the ship, all with balconies, and she will have six open-seating restaurants, a nine-deck atrium, a two-story theater, three boutiques, and a Canyon Ranch Spa Club.
– Silversea will add an eighth ship to its fleet, Silver Discoverer in March 2014. The 128-passenger 5,218-ton ship, the former Clipper Odyssey will sail in Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia, the Russian Far East, Southeast Asia, New Zealand and Australia and is currently undergoing a major refurbishment.
– When MSC’s Armonia calls at Venice on April 2, 2014 she will be the first cruise ship to come under Italy’s new rules limiting marine traffic in Venice’s Giudecca Canal. Beginning January 1, Venice will limit the number of cruise ships more than 40,000 gross tons transiting the Giudecca Canal to five a day, resulting in up to 20 percent less traffic than that of 2012. In November, no cruise ship over 96,000-gross tons will be allowed to enter the canal altogether.
– Thomson Cruises has cancelled its entire Red Sea winter cruise season on Thomson Majesty because of safety concerns in Egypt. Just before, Egypt had stated it was confident that cruise lines would return to the country in 2014. Thomson is one of many cruise lines which have cancelled port calls to Egypt over the past few months.
– Costa Cruises reveiled detalis of its future flagship and the biggest ship ever built in Italy, Costa Diadema during a press conference in Venice. The 132,500-ton, 4,947-passenger Costa Diadema will enter service October 30, 2014. Costa hopes it will restore and boost the brand’s image after the Concordia incident and attract new markets and customers to the line. According to Costa CEO Michael Thamm: “Costa’s back. We’re filling ships and raising prices. We’re back to where we were before the incident and booking levels are ahead.”
