NEW DELHI:
The government is all set to pave the way for the entry of
overseas cruise shipping biggies such as Royal Caribbean and other major Caribbean, Mediterranean and Alaskan liners into the country. The Union Cabinet would soon take up the cruise shipping policy, which seeks to provide ‘zero taxation regime’ for cruise ship operators. The policy would also allow extension of cabotage relaxation, which allows foreign flag vessels moving cargo between two Indian ports for another 10 years.
The government plans to exempt cruise operators from income tax, excise duty, Customs duty, corporate tax and service tax, which account for about 36% of their total sales value. The move is aimed at attracting foreign cruise ship operators. More >>>>
There are few things in life more decadent and luxurious than a cruise vacation. Unless of course, you are on a Royal Caribbean cruise and your child gets a cold, and then a paranoid crew kicks you and your family off the ship at night in your pajamas at a foreign port where you then have to spend thousands dollars for passports and tickets to get home. It sounds like a nightmare but that's exactly what happened to this Florida family according to WFTV. Read the details of their misadventure, inside... 
Santorini
The process of removing the sunken Sea Diamond cruise liner from Santorini’s caldera got under way yesterday, more than a year after the ship foundered off the island’s coast, as eight companies made bids for an international tender to salvage the 22,000-ton vessel. A local port authority committee is to convene next Tuesday, after the Orthodox Easter celebrations, to decide on how the offers by the various companies – Greek and foreign – will be assessed.
Meanwhile, sources said that additional companies may throw their hats into the ring too. Committee representatives said their aim is to move ahead with the best candidate as quickly as possible so that the wreck can be raised without delay. They said that the fuel leaking from the Sea Diamond wreck has been “controlled.”
Earlier this month residents of Santorini – one of Greece’s most popular tourist destinations – staged a protest on the anniversary of the cruise liner’s sinking, calling for the vessel to be salvaged and all spilt fuel to be pumped out of the sea. Cyprus
Star Cruises, one of NCL's two parent companies, has sold the ships to Cyprus- based Louis Cruise Lines. That company noted in a press release today that "the purchase of these two cruise ships constitutes the most important renewal and upgrading of the Louis Cruise Lines fleet in its twenty-two year old history and at the same time it further enhances the company's leading position in the Eastern Mediterranean cruise market."
The news comes after a recent rumor, which had industry insiders buzzing about the possible sale of the two ships to Louis -- and a third, Pride of Aloha, to Spain's Pullmantur. Pride of Aloha is leaving the Hawaii market in May. There's still no definitive word on whether Pride of Aloha will return to owner Star Cruises -- or be acquired by Pullmantur.
Johannesburg
The cruise ship MSC MELODY sailed from Durban on Saturday (19 April) after completing her summer cruise season in South African waters
Melody, which is operated in South Africa by Starlight Cruises and MSC will return later in the year to keep company with another ‘old face’, the cruise ship MSC Rhapsody, Such is the growing demand for local short sea cruising that
the organisers are having to bring in a second ship to supplement the service and cater for slightly longer cruises to Mauritius, Madagascar and also to Cape Town and Walvis Bay.
Sarasota, FL, USA
Freedom Ship executives have advised that Freedom Ship International is now prepared to utilize CEC (Construction Equity Capitalization) financing to commence the primary construction phase of this history-making mega-project. Will this idea fly, become reality? In our opinion a very slim chance..... Industry sources report the 1956-built SS THE TOPAZ (ex EMPRESS OF BRITAIN, QUEEN ANNA MARIA, CARNIVALE, FIESTA MARINA, OLYMPIC) has been sold for scrap. The venerable liner will finish her current Peace Boat voyage on April 28 at Yokohama and proceed from there to an undetermined Indian shipbreaking yard. THE TOPAZ' place in Peace Boat service will be taken over by CLIPPER PACIFIC, which was built in 1970 as RCCL's SONG OF NORWAY
Maritime Matters
Because of the continued rapid escalation of fuel prices, six of Carnival Corp. & plc's brands-Carnival cruise lines, Costa cruises, Cunard line, Holland America line, Princess cruises and the Yachts of Seabourn- will increase their current fuel supplement from $5 to $7 (USD) per person per day.
These brands will also implement a fuel supplement on third, fourth and fifth passengers of $2 per person per day.The new fuel supplements will apply to all new bookings effective April 21, 2008. The fuel supplement will not exceed $98 per person per voyage for the first and second guests and $28 per person per voyage for the third, fourth and fifth guests in a stateroom. For bookings made from November 7 2007 to April 20, 2008 the original fuel supplement of $5 per person per day will apply. We regret having to take this action, but fuel price increases have continued and we now find it necessary to implement a modest increase in the supplement.
Bill Harber Director of Marketing MSC Cruises has signed a joint venture to establish a travel agency in China and eventually run cruises from Shanghai.
The Italian line has struck a deal with the Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal to open a joint venture agency designed to educate Chinese travellers about cruising. The new terminal is due to open on August 5 and will host a Seatrade Asia conference on October 23-25.
MSC plans to operate a ship from Shanghai at a future date. French President Nicholas Sarkozy is said to be pushing for a merger of shipyards in Finland, France and Italy. The proposal concerns the shipyards that build cruise ships and they would be headed by Italian Fincantieri.
Earlier, a merger between Fincantieri and Aker Yards had been advocated in Italy in order to prevent the South Korean shipbuilding group STX from taking control of Aker Yards. In October, 2007, STX bought 39.2 per cent of the shares in Aker Yards, but the deal is still being examined by competition authorities in the EU. In a TV interview, Finnish Minister of Economic Affairs Mauri Pekkarinen said that the three countries have a common interest in cruise ships continuing to be built in Europe. Voila! Paris
(CBS/AP) Pirates seized control of a French luxury yacht carrying 30 crew members Friday in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia's coast, the French government and the ship's owner said.
Attackers stormed the 288-foot Le Ponant as it returned without passengers from the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean, toward the Mediterranean Sea, said officials with French maritime transport company CMA-CGM.
"This is a blatant act of piracy," Prime Minister Francois Fillon told reporters while on a visit to Brussels. "The Defense and Foreign Ministries are mobilized to act as quickly as possible, I hope in the coming minutes or hours to try to win the freedom of these hostages." more >>>> Funchal
The Van Gogh, which has about 460 passengers on board, was held on Tuesday shortly after it came into Funchal port in the Portuguese isles. It is understood the ship has been held in connection with an alleged debt relating to the previous operator which went into administration. Read full text >>>>>
BBC
Miami
Carnival and five sister lines have struck a deal with the Florida Attorney General to return $40 million in retroactive fuel surcharges to customers. this folks is NOT an April's fool joke!
USToday
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