CND's Cruiseblogger

Costa Concordia Like You Haven't Seen It

2013-05-22T20:36:00.000-04:00

This video was shot by a company called Team BlackSheep. They sell high-end drones for hobbyists (but much, much lower end than military versions). These are small four-propeller remote-controlled helicopters with cameras called Quadrocopters, costing about $1,600. To promote their business they shoot videos with spectacular views of the world’s great cities or famous landmarks from the unusual

Medevac from Carnival Splendor

2013-05-20T06:08:00.001-04:00

The US Coast Guard medevaced a 50-year-old man from Carnival Splendor Saturday evening (May 18, 2013) when the ship was about 150 miles east of Cape Lookout, NC. The Coast Guard launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and an HC-130 Hercules aircraft from the Coast Guard station at Elizabeth City, NC. The helicopter can be seen in the photo below hovering next to Carnival Splendor. The ship

Photos of Royal Princess During Sea Trials

2013-05-18T11:02:00.000-04:00

Royal Princess has completed sea trials and has returned to the Fincantieri yard at Monfalcone (Italy). The crew has arrived in Monfalcone and is now living aboard the ship which is in the final outfitting and provisioning processes. Fincantieri plans to hand the ship over to Carnival Corp on May 30 (2013), and it is expected to depart for Southampton on May 31, where it will arrive on June 7.

Fincantieri Lays Keel for P&O's Largest Ship

2013-05-15T23:52:00.004-04:00

Fincantieri laid the keel today (May 15, 2013) for P&O's yet-unnamed 141,000-ton ship which will be delivered in March 2015. The rendering shows a distinctive twin funnel design. After the 408-ton section was lowered into place in the drydock at Monfalcone (Italy), P&O Managing Director Carol Marlow and Carnival UK CEO David Dingle posed with (and under) it. The

Don't Try This at Home

2013-05-15T23:22:00.000-04:00

From our friends at Thomson Platinum Cruises. You just have to see it to fully appreciate it.

They’re Doing It Again

2013-05-14T23:11:00.000-04:00

The Bermuda cruise season has barely begun, but that means it’s open season on extracting big fines from cruise ship passengers who visit the island. Customs officers made two unrelated arrests on Sunday aboard Norwegian Dawn when searches of their staterooms turned up small amounts of marijuana. The two men, in separate incidents, were jailed and tried on Monday. They were each fined $1,000 in

Here Comes Quantum of the Seas

2013-05-13T23:44:00.002-04:00

The first block of Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas arrived at Meyer Werft in Papenburg (Germany) last Thursday (May 9, 2013). It will await the keel laying at the yard. The 158,000-ton Quantum of the Seas will be delivered in the fall of 2015. Photo courtesy of Royal Caribbean International.

A Wild Ride

2013-05-03T20:29:00.000-04:00

The other day Disney announced all sorts of new features they were going to put aboard Disney Magic, but it seems the one most people are talking about is the top deck AquaDunk. The water slide starts with a 40-foot near vertical drop, and during the course of the ride, it sends riders out almost 20 feet beyond the side of the ship. It will be installed during a dry dock this fall. .

Mrs. C Goes to Sea

2013-05-03T20:20:00.000-04:00

It's always a special occasion when a godmother returns to sail on her ship, and it's becoming more and more rare these days. Noted actress Marion Ross was aboard Emerald Princess this week during its transatlantic crossing to Europe. Ms. Ross was one of the four godmothers who named the ship in 2007 during a Mothers' Day-themed ceremony where two classic tv-mothers and their tv-daughters did

Oosterdam Receives Air Drop

2013-05-03T20:05:00.000-04:00

A US Coast Guard C-130 flew 1,000-mile round trip on Wednesday (May 1, 2013) to deliver blood to an ailing passenger aboard Holland America's Oosterdam as it sailed a three-week cruise from the South Pacific to Vancouver. The Coast Guard plane left Sacramento with two units of blood donated from a local blood bank and dropped it by parachute to Oosterdam which was approximately 500 miles off the

Double Transit

2013-04-26T17:15:00.001-04:00

Norwegian Pearl and Norwegian Sun (front) transited the Panama Canal at the same time yesterday (April 25, 2013) providing this rare photo opportunity.

First Look Inside Norwegian Breakaway

2013-04-25T19:05:00.000-04:00

Meyer Werft delivered the 146,600-ton Norwegian Breakaway to Norwegian Cruise Line this morning at Bremerhaven. This is the first chance to really look around inside the ship. Norwegian Breakaway at sea. But where's the New York skyline atop the ship that we always see in the commercials? The Raw Bar The Prime Meridian Bar The Manhattan Room Savor Restaurant The Casino

Royal Caribbean Reveals Quantum of the Seas' Features

2013-04-16T20:16:00.001-04:00

Royal Caribbean revealed many of the features today that will debut aboard Quantum of the Seas in late 2014. This first video will give you an overview of the ship's main features. We discuss them in more detail in the Cruise News Daily article appearing in our April 16, 2013, edition. Quantum will have an array of stateroom types, and this video is an overview of them. The

Carnival Conquest Rescues 13

2013-04-12T23:49:00.000-04:00

About 4pm this afternoon Carnival Conquest spotted a raft with 13 people (shown below) about 40 miles off the coast of Key West. After consultation with the Coast Guard, the 13 Cuban nationals were taken aboard Carnival Conquest and given food, water and medical treatment. A Coast Guard vessel was to meet the Carnival ship this evening to take charge of the individuals. Since they did not reach

Royal Princess Meets Regal Princess

2013-04-05T21:02:00.000-04:00

Royal Princess, which was returning from sea trials this week, and will enter service in June, passed by Regal Princess (which will enter service next year) in the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone this week. This is the first time the twin ships have been in such close proximity. Copyright Princess Cruises and Cruise News Daily. May not be copied or used without permission.

Carnival Triumph Breaks Moorings

2013-04-03T16:02:00.000-04:00

Last update April 3, 7:48pm During high winds in Mobile this afternoon, Carnival Triumph broke its moorings at the BAE shipyard and drifted across the river, coming to rest against a cargo vessel. Tugboats and the US Coast Guard were called to the scene. The ship has now been secured, and tugboats remain alongside Carnival Triumph as a precaution. A gash can be seen open on the ship's starboard

Royal Princess: The Ship with Something Extra

2013-04-01T21:00:00.000-04:00

When Royal Princess takes to the sea in June, it will have something no other Princess ship has: seven horns programmed to play the first two bars of "The Love Boat" theme. They say it will get limited usage, perhaps just when leaving port, but it's sure to be a hit with Princess fans both aboard and on shore. In this video, you can hear the first public demonstration last week in the Monfalcone

Regal Princess Meets the Water

2013-03-28T21:30:00.000-04:00

Tuesday (March 26, 2013) was a special day in the life of Regal Princess. It was the day Regal Princess truly became a ship, fulfilling its purpose for the first time and floating on water. After having been assembled in the drydock at Fincantieri's Monfalcone yard, the moment came when the valve was to be opened and water would flood into the drydock. The ship was built resting on wooden blocks

MSC Preziosa Named in Genoa

2013-03-25T13:00:00.000-04:00

MSC Cruises continues to grow. Perennial godmother Sophia Loren officially named MSC Preziosa in Genoa on Saturday night. MSC Preziosa arrives Genoa for her christening Sophia Loren cuts the cord which released the bottle of champagne against the side of the ship. Photos copyright MSC Crociere and Cruise News Daily. May not be copied or reproduced without permission.

Royal Princess Is Beginning to Look a Lot More Like a Ship

2013-03-21T16:37:00.002-04:00

Royal Princess is still under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone (Italy), but until now, when you were aboard, it just looked like a massive construction site. It was hard to recognize anything that really looked like anyplace you know on a cruise ship. This week, when these photos were taken (on Monday) it began to look like a Princess ship. In a few short weeks,

Queen Elizabeth Meets Queen Mary

2013-03-15T16:32:00.001-04:00

Tuesday (March 12, 2013) marked another Royal Rendezvous between Cunard Queens - one the youngest ship in the Cunard fleet, and the other a former queen. Queen Elizabeth met the original Queen Mary in Long Beach harbor where Queen Mary is permanently moored. Photos courtesy of Cunard Line

Norwegian Getaway to Have "Magical" Dinner Theater

2013-03-13T22:02:00.000-04:00

When Norwegian Getaway enters service, it will have a new feature its sister doesn't have. A magic-themed dinner theater will replace the circus-themed one on the older sister. It will be called the Illusionarium and decorated quite elaborately to put patrons into the experience. Renderings courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line

Nightlife aboard Royal Princess

2013-03-13T22:00:00.000-04:00

When Royal Princess sets sail this summer, there will be things to do around the clock. This video highlights the ship's nightlife activities.

Norwegian Breakaway Leaves Yard

2013-03-13T09:03:00.000-04:00

Norwegian Breakaway left Meyer Werft at Papenburg (Germany) Wednesday morning (March 13, 2013) navigating slowly backward down the Ems River to the sea. The passage will take until Thursday morning as it maneuvers among the narrow passages, some with only a couple of feet of clearance. The ship is shown here just after passing through the barrier in the yard's lagoon and into the river.

AIDAstella Handed Over

2013-03-11T20:00:00.000-04:00

Meyer Werft handed over AIDAstella to Carnival's AIDA brand today at Emden. The 71,300-ton ship is the seventh and last in the class. AIDAstella at sea The Wellness Oasis aboard AIDAstella The Chill Lounge aboard AIDAstella AIDAstella sailed to Hamburg this afternoon. It will be christened in Rostock on March 16, and enter service the next day. The complete story appeared in