CND's Cruiseblogger

Blend Craft Wine Program aboard MSC Cruises

2012-02-15T19:15:00.001-05:00

Many cruise lines have wine appreciation programs, but on selected sailings in the Caribbean, MSC Cruises goes them one better. In several programs in partnership with Blend Craft, MSC Poesia passengers can learn about wine, enjoy wine, and even learn to blend it and bottle it, complete with a bottle to take home.

Video: Princess Provides First Royal Princess Interior Details

2012-02-14T14:04:00.000-05:00

In this video, Princess Cruises' President and CEO, Alan Buckelew, and Executive Vice President of Fleet Operations, Rai Caluori, take you on a virtual tour of the new Royal Princess Atrium. Coming in June of 2013, the new Royal Princess features an evolutionary design that builds on all the features that passengers have grown to enjoy onboard the current Princess Cruises fleet. Atrium

Video: Costa Concordia Fuel Removal Begins

2012-02-13T22:15:00.000-05:00

Weather yesterday (February 11, 2012) has finally permitted Smit Salvage to begin the removal of the fuel from Costa Concordia. In preparation for this, in late January, Smit divers began to tap the ship's 17 fuel tanks to install heated sealable flanges through a complex process explained in the first video below: The second video shows the Smit divers actually installing the sealable

Video: Why the Fuel Can't Be Removed from Costa Concordia

2012-02-10T06:32:00.001-05:00

Smit Salvage has been ready to remove the fuel from the sunken Costa Concordia for two weeks, since January 28 (2012), but sea conditions have prevented the pumping phase of the operation from beginning. This video, shot late yesterday, very graphically shows the sea conditions at the wreckage and makes the delay very understandable. New data released yesterday says that the ship has moved two

Disney Takes Delivery of Disney Fantasy from Meyer Werft

2012-02-09T19:07:00.000-05:00

Meyer Werft delivered Disney Fantasy to Disney Cruise Line today in Bremerhaven. The ship will spend another week in Bremerhaven being crewed and provisioned. Departure for the US is planned for February 16, with arrival in its home port of Port Canaveral on March 6. Disney Fantasy's maiden voyage is scheduled for March 31, 2012. The flag changing that took place aboard Disney Fantasy this

Norovirus Cuts Crown Princess Sailing Short

2012-02-07T13:04:00.000-05:00

Princess Cruises said today that the increased incidence of gastrointestinal illness that appeared on last week's Crown Princess sailing has reappeared on the current sailing, even though the ship delayed its sailing Saturday while there was a comprehensive disinfection of all cabins and public areas, which was overseen by the CDC. In light of that, after consultation with the CDC, Princess has

Hundreds Sickened by Norovirus - Not on a Cruise, but in School

2012-02-06T22:00:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend, there have been dozens of articles running in newspapers across the country (and internationally), and even network, cable, and local TV coverage about two Princess cruise ships that have had outbreaks of Norovirus last week and were returning to port over the weekend. Princess did some additional disinfection when the ships turned around this weekend in Ft. Lauderdale, and that

Passenger Overboard from Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas

2012-02-03T12:55:00.000-05:00

Updated 7:15pm EST A 30-year-old British passenger has gone overboard from Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas. The incident happened early this morning as the ship was approaching Cozumel. The man going overboard was witnessed by another passenger and reported to shipboard personnel. The ship was turned and began a search. Normal procedures were followed onboard of searching for the person

The Sea Is Calling ... Again

2012-02-03T07:01:00.002-05:00

In yesterday's earnings call, Royal Caribbean president Adam Goldstein said that the brand had returned to a full slate of TV advertising in the US as of January 30. Goldstein said that advertising which had been suspended over the last two weeks would be redistributed over the next five weeks along with advertising already scheduled to run in the next five weeks. Among those ads will be a

Costa Begins Process to Remove Costa Concordia Wreckage

2012-02-02T13:09:00.000-05:00

Costa Crociere confirmed they have invited ten companies to submit plans to remove the wreckage of the Costa Concordia cruise ship. The cruise line said they are looking for the best plan considering having the work done in the shortest amount of time, ensuring maximum safety and the least possible environmental impact. Costa said the ten companies from which plans were solicited are the top

Cunard's Queen Elizabeth Interior Design

2012-02-01T21:30:00.000-05:00

Unless you think about it, when you’re aboard a cruise ship, it’s easy to overlook the fact that not only did someone have to design what the whole interior space was going to look like, but someone has to say “yes” to this light fixture, and “yes” to this carpet pattern instead of that one, and “these chairs, except in gold, not brown.” That person for the most part for Cunard and Princess

Man Dies in Accidental Fall aboard Carnival Fantasy

2012-01-28T17:32:00.000-05:00

updated January 28, 2012, 9:04pm EST A 26-year-old man died in a fall aboard Carnival Fantasy on Friday (January 27, 2012). Carnival said the passenger fell from an upper level in the ship's atrium to the lobby level while the ship was docked in Nassau late Friday evening, approximately 11:30pm. The police in the Bahamas, which are investigating the incident, characterized it a little

Costa Details Offer to Passengers aboard Costa Concordia

2012-01-27T10:04:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Costa Crociere held discussions with consumer groups to determine a fair compensation to those passengers who were aboard Costa Concordia on January 13 who were not injured. The line has just released details of that offer which are in the press release republished below. We will have further details on the story, and perspective, in today's edition of Cruise News Daily. Costa

Video: Coast Guard Makes Precision Air Drop to Carnival Spirit

2012-01-25T20:20:00.000-05:00

Usually we show you Coast Guard helicopters medically evacuating passengers from cruise ships. Yesterday, however, Carnival Spirit was too far away from Hawaii for a helicopter to reach it. To help stabilize the patient, the ship's doctor requested the Coast Guard bring them six units of blood. A few hours later, when the ship was about 600 miles away from Hawaii, a US Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules

Disney Cruise Line Announces Winter 2012/Summer 2013 Progams

2012-01-24T09:34:00.000-05:00

As expected, Disney Cruise Line announced they would begin sailing from Miami in December 2012. Disney Wonder will sail a pattern of two different five-night itineraries and a four-night itinerary from the South Florida home port. The new program will run through the winter season to May 2, 2013. The line also announced Disney Magic will return to Europe during the summer of 2013 with a series

Erroneous Reporting about Future Discounts for Costa Concordia Passengers

2012-01-23T16:30:00.000-05:00

Updated January 24, 2012 below: It's being widely reported that Costa Cruises has offered a 30% discount on a future cruise, to passengers who were aboard Costa Concordia at the time of the accident. This is absolutely NOT TRUE. These news stories are mostly the result of bad journalism. The people writing these reports are taking the information from other reports, and reporting it as fact

Disney Fantasy Goes Down to the Sea

2012-01-20T22:04:00.000-05:00

When a ship is built in the inland yard of Meyer Werft, its first journey is always the conveyance down the Ems River to the Dutch seaport of Eemshaven. There is a tremendous sense of pride of the Meyer Werft product in the region, and a conveyance is always cause for people to come down to the river to watch the giant ships pass. The journey is always a slow, methodical trip through narrow

Disney Delays Announcement

2012-01-18T16:31:00.000-05:00

Disney Cruise Line had scheduled a major announcement in Miami today, apparently to announce the homeporting of a ship there beginning in December. The line decided to postpone the announcement until an unspecified date. Although they didn't mention it directly, the delay likely was caused by the mood of the industry surrounding the sinking of Costa Concordia last Friday and the media attention

Costa Concordia Updates

2012-01-16T11:04:00.003-05:00

Please note that we are continuing to update information about the Costa Concordia incident in the original article's location so complete information will be available in one place. Latest updates includes information from Monday's press conference in Genoa with Costa CEO Pier Luigi Foschi, and an early morning release of the financial impact on Carnival Corp. Tuesday's updates included updated

MSC Cruises to Relocate to Miami

2012-01-16T10:31:00.000-05:00

MSC Cruises announced this morning they would move their South Florida home port from Port Everglades (at Ft. Lauderdale) to the Port of Miami beginning in the fall of 2013. The complete article appeared in the January 16, 2012, edition of Cruise News Daily.

Costa Concordia Evacuated

2012-01-13T20:00:00.000-05:00

Updated Jan 23 - 130pm eastern time to update the results of Monday's search, decision to begin debunkering fuel, and latest Costa statement. The 112,000-ton Costa Concordia was evacuated Friday night after it began taking on water through a gash opened in the hull and listing dangerously. The ship had left Civitavecchia earlier in the evening and was sailing north to Savona, near the Isola del

Statements Regarding Costa Concordia Evacuation

2012-01-13T19:59:00.000-05:00

These are statements issued by Costa Crociere and Carnival Corp (Costa's parent) regarding the evacuation of Costa Concordia. Our main news story which is being updated on an ongoing basis is located here. Statement by Costa Crociere - issued January 27, 2012, 940am EST Costa Cruises Details Costa Concordia Guest Reimbursement HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (Jan. 27, 2012) -- Costa Crociere wishes to again

Teen Alleges Rape on Enchantment of the Seas

2012-01-12T22:01:00.000-05:00

A now-former crew member of Enchantment of the Seas has been indicted on federal charges of sexual abuse of a minor, which allegedly occurred during the December 17 sailing of the ship from Baltimore. (Note: This should not be confused with a very similar incident which occurred on the Christmas cruise of Allure of the Seas.) According to the complaint in the case, on the last night of the

Crew Memeber Overboard from Monarch of the Seas

2012-01-11T14:20:00.000-05:00

Royal Caribbean reports that a crew member witnessed a 25-year-old male crew member jumping overboard from Monarch of the Seas this morning at 5:45am when the ship was sailing in the Bahamas toward its scheduled call at Nassau. Video surveillance recordings later confirmed the man going overboard. The incident was immediately reported, and the ship turned and began a search. All appropriate

Cruising to Bermuda in 1939

2012-01-10T21:31:00.001-05:00

Sailing to Bermuda isn't a new idea. It's always been a favorite vacation, and here are someone's home movies from their cruise to Bermuda in 1939.