USA
A new company called YOLO Cruises plans what's billed as the first swingers cruise on a major ship -- a voyage that's sure to raise eyebrows in the industry. YOLO has chartered a Carnival ship for the seven-night sailing, which will depart from Tampa on April 26. The Western Caribbean itinerary includes port calls in Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize and Roatan, Honduras, with several days of, um, "play at sea." Sex as a selling point for mass-market vacations has been on the rise in recent years (just think of Las Vegas' hugely successful "What happens here stays here" campaign and all the sexually-charged shows, clubs and bars that have debuted in that city). And, as Brustle points, several land-based resorts such as the Hedonism properties in Jamaica have been hosting swingers getaways for years. But until now the cruise industry has been slow to embrace the trend.
Emeryville, CASWEET a new lesbian travel company, today announced it has finalized an agreement with Norwegian Cruise Line to charter the 1,972-passenger Norwegian Spirit. The Sweet Caribbean Cruise, November 8-15, 2009, on board the Norwegian Spirit, is the company's first travel offering. Sweet will offer guests a pre-departure package in New Orleans including voluntourism programs in conjunction with a local Katrina relief organization. Sweet is working with local agencies in several western Caribbean ports to develop ecotourism and voluntourism projects that address local needs. Activities may include education, wildlife and natural resource preservation or helping with school construction, beach clean ups, and wildlife habitat restoration. more ......
S&P's Sam Stovall says the Hotels, Resort & Cruise Lines index has poor price outlook and that travel's fundamentals are negative. S&P equity analysts cover 11 large-, mid-, and small-cap companies in the Hotel, Resort & Cruise Lines subindustry, four of which are components of the index. Seven of those 11 stocks carry 2 STARS, or sell, recommendations: Carnival Corp. (CCL), Carnival PLC (CUK), Gaylord Entertainment (GET), Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), Interstate Hotels & Resorts (IHR), and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL).
As for cruise ship travel, S&P is concerned that for the remainder of 2008, consumer demand may be dampened by generally slower U.S. economic growth. However, Basham says the delivery of newer ships to the primary industry operators, and increased foreign bookings, particularly by European vacationers, should bolster industry operating performance. 
About 1600 Australian cruise ship passengers were forced to wait in a Russian port for five hours today, as local authorities took hours to make a series of passport inspections. The Sun Princess, which left Sydney on July 14 carrying 2000 passengers - mostly Australians - was held in the port of Petropavlovsk on Russia's east coast as the Russian navy checked and re-checked every passport.Fairfax Media understands the cruise ship was blocked from leaving the port by two naval frigates. "We were meant to leave at 4.30pm, but they didn't let us go until 9.30," one passenger, Ellie Fitz-Gerald from Sydney said. "It was very frustrating. They came on to collect the passports at 5.30am - all they had to do was stamp them. But they took forever to process them. Some people couldn't even get off the boat because the authorities wouldn't give their passports back. They were just stuck on the boat. Then they insisted on checking them all again. The captain was furious."Local authorities did not explain why they had kept the boat so long. However, the port of Petropavlovsk has played a role in the stoush between Russia and NATO over the decision of the former to send troops in Georgia. News website Chinaview.com reported on August 19 that Russia had refused to allow a US warship into Petropavlovsk as part of the NATO-led Open Spirit 2008 naval exercise, because of the body's support for Georgia. Australia has close ties with NATO and has spoken against the invasion of Georgia. Miami, FL
Oceania Cruises is pleased to announce the introduction of the 2009-2010 Winter Collection of sailings to Asia, Australia, South America, the Caribbean and Mexico.
The most diverse collection to date with 18 distinct itineraries, Regatta, Insignia and Nautica will sail an enticing array of 24 voyages which range from 10 to 40 days in length and feature more than 40 overnight port stays. In the tradition of offering extraordinary value, all of our 2009-2010 Winter Collection itineraries offer a limited-time introductory offer of Free Round-trip Economy Airfare and 2 for 1 Cruise Fares that begin at just $1,499 per guest. “Destination rich itineraries have always been our hallmark and this new collection introduces new destinations and itineraries that will have great appeal to both our loyal repeat guests and first-time guests alike,” stated Bob Binder, President of Oceania Cruises.
Port Everglades, FL
U.S. marshals on Saturday seized the gaming ship operated by SeaEscape
Entertainment, which this month ceased operations at Port Everglades.With the likelihood the vessel would be leaving South Florida, marshals moved to seize the vessel Saturday. ''I don't think we were actually intending to arrest it'' Saturday,Livingston said. ``We probably would have waited until next week.''
more....... Take your Bike on Board of Royal Caribbean's ms Mariner of the Seas. 35 lucky bikers can take their Bikes along on a Mexican riviera Cruise in April 2009. Travel Agents James and Lorena Rudolph will be your tour guides in Mexico. They have always loved adventure-travel and riding their bikes. They integrated their love for travel with riding bikes and offer bike-riding tours of Mexico, which they have been doing for four years. Port Everglades,FL
U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz on Thursday ordered the arrest of the SeaEscape gaming vessel, known as the M/V Island Adventure, after 14 crew members sued in admiralty court for at least $28,000 in unpaid wages. The order comes nearly two weeks after SeaEscape's last passenger cruise from Port Everglades. SeaEscape cited competition from casinos, operating costs and the economy for ceasing operations. The vessel remains at Port Everglades, which charges it a $2,200-a-day dockage fee. read more ....... St.Petersburg, RU
The 50 NOP QRSOTU - 50 Let Pobedy - is the largest and most powerful icebreaker in service in the world today.
With a displacement of 25,850 metric tonnes, length of 159.6 meters, and a beam of 30 m, powered by twin nuclear reactors fuelled with highly enriched uranium, it has approximately 75,000 horsepower available through its three electrically-driven screws. The ship has a maximum speed of 21.4 knots in open water, and can break through ice as thick as three metres at a sustained speed of 3 knots. The name Aker Yards will soon be history. South Korean STX has now acquired almost 90 per cent of the shares, and has announced that Aker Yards will change name to STX Europe. Aker Yards in France becomes STX France Cruise, and the Norwegian yards will become STX Norway Offshore.
Luxury operator Seabourn Cruise Line has brought in-house all ship management operations that have been handled by V. Ships Leisure since the spring of 2006. The reasons for this move, says Seabourn, is to achieve greater efficiency and the desire for direct control of its marine and technical operations. The man responsible for handling the company’s marine and technical operators is Vice President Ronald Strom, who previously worked for V.Ships Leisure and Star Cruises. Helsinki
Projects seeking to rescue GTS Finnjet, once the fastest passenger ferry in the world, are continuing in Finland, even though the vessel has been beached at a breakers' yard in Western India for almost two months.
At least the Turku entrepreneur Johnny Sid is trying to raise funds in order to bring Finnjet to Turku, where the ship could serve as a floating dormitory or a hotel.
According to Indian authorities, the vessel was to be scrapped immediately after the completion of permission formalities. Sid believes that the vessel was not badly damaged when it was driven onto the sands at Alang in early summer.
While regarding the rescue attempts as positive, Turku Mayor Mikko Pulkkinen says that the city has not found any suitable mooring place for the vessel. More >>>>
After announcing plans last September to build the largest and most expensive sailing vessel ever, Star Clippers is still in discussions with various shipyards and “working on purchasing agreements” for its fourth yet-to-be-named ship, said Mark Carlson, director of marketing, on Thursday. “I haven’t heard much on anything at all as of late; it’s all very hush hush,” Carlson said. However, he did reveal that the five-masted vessel will be 7,400 tons, 518 feet in length, have a beam of 61 feet, and a 20-foot draft. The ship will also have an “Ice-Class C” hull, extra- heavy anchor gear, a davit-dampening system, and specially modified tenders – allowing her to sail virtually anywhere in the world. Currently, Star Clippers operates three sailing ships in the Caribbean, Far East, Mediterranean and Tahiti. Warren, R.I.
In late 2006, the company’s founder, Luther Blount, donated the 1994-built, 84-passenger Prince to three New England colleges. But after being unable to devise a suitable “Semester at Sea” program, the vessel was then sold back to ACCL in 2008. “The addition of the ship could not have come back at a better time,” ACCL’s Marketing Director Maria Prezioso said, adding that there is great interest in close-to-home cruising, “as a result of the weakened dollar. “And with the Prince, we are able to offer our ‘Hudson / Lake Champlain Revolutionary Trail and the American Heartland’ cruises that navigate the Mississippi region,”. Bon Voyage little Prince !
Ft.Lauderdale
SeaEscape Entertainment, the only gaming vessel left at Port Everglades, on Monday informed Broward County its last sailings from Port Everglades will be Sunday. In recent months, Horizon's Edge Casino Cruises and Aquasino have ceased operations in Miami-Dade County.And Palm Beach Princess is on the auction block -- raising the possibility that a buyer may want to relocate the vessel from Port of Palm Beach. If that happens, it could leave SunCruz Casinos in Key Largo the only remaining floating-gambling business in South Florida.
Read more >>>> Getting an eyeful of an Emperor Penguin in the bird’s natural habitat is difficult. The flightless birds spend most of the year at sea, surfacing to breed on sea ice during the darkest, coldest months of the Antarctic winter. For a few weeks in the austral spring, when the sun returns to melt the sea ice, a visit to a rookery is possible.
Quark’s Video Guide – A visit to the Snow Hill Island Rookery – shot on location – lets travelers see what a visit to the rookery is like. The Video Guide can be seen by clicking EmperorPenguinsVideo Miami
A former Staff Captain has filed suit against Royal Caribbean Cruises, alleging he was seriously injured in an accident aboard the Monarch of the Seas in which a cloud of toxic gas escaped from ballast tanks into crew and passenger areas, killing three crewmen. In a suit filed Wednesday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, the former second in command on the Monarch of the Seas , Bjoern Eidissen, of Norway, accused the Miami-based cruise giant of failing to properly maintain and service its ballast tanks, which are used for balance. That, he claims, resulted in the escape of poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas. News reports at the time called the Sept. 2, 2005, cruise accident in the Port of Los Angeles the worst since the 2003 explosion on the Norway in the Port of Miami. That blast killed eight crew members.read more >>> ker Yards and P&O Ferries have signed a contract for building two large
car-passenger ferries for the Dover-Calais service. The total contract price for both vessels is approximately EUR 360 million. The vessels are scheduled for delivery in 2010 and 2011 respectively.
The contract includes options on a further two vessels of the same design. The vessels will be built in Aker Yards, Rauma, creating some 1,800 manyears of work. Becoming the largest ferry in the English Channel means a 49,000 GT vessel with the length of 210 metres and having 2,700 lane metres of vehicle space. There will be space for more than 180 freight vehicles and additionally for up to 195 tourist vehicles. The vessels will be capable of carrying up to 2,000 passengers. Miami
Clobbered by soaring fuel costs, Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises has brought in a vice president of energy management, tasked with scouting the company for ways to save energy and spend less for it. ''You can't have an impact without this jumping to the top of the agenda,'' said Patrick Sinclair, whom Royal Caribbean hired this spring to do the job. So far, Royal Caribbean Cruises is doing things big and small to save energy, ranging from revamping cruise itineraries and slowing ships down to using energy-efficient light bulbs and appliances. read more >>>> St.Petersburg, RUA
new passenger port opened on Vasilyevsky Island in St. Petersburg on Saturday. It will receive cruise liners and ferry ships of any class and tonnage.The first ship is expected to arrive in the new port on September 10 this year, St. Petersburg’s Vice-Governor Yuri Molchanov told a news conference on Saturday. It was devoted to the arrival of the Julia ferry flying the Finnish flag in Russia’s northern capital. The ferry’s arrival marks the resumption of ferry traffic between St. Petersburg and Helsinki. The Julia belonging to the Stella Lines Company used to cruise between Norway and Denmark.Andrei Mushkarev, the deputy general director of the “Inflot Worldwide SPb” company, says that the Julia will cruise all year round and will make three voyages a week to the ports of St. Petersburg and Helsinki. The ferry can take 400 cars and 1,500 passengers onboard.Yuri Molchanov, the vice-governor of the St. Petersburg, said that the new terminal would begin operation to its full capacity in 2010-2011. However, the new port is expecting 80 ships in 2009. The expansion of the terminal’s space and the development of infrastructure of the future harbour will increase the number of ship calls. Besides, plans to cancel visas for ferry passengers allowing them to stay in St. Petersburg without visas for 72 hours may increase the number of foreign tourists to 500,000 a year – this is twice as many as it is today. A relevant law on visas is to be adopted in September. Pearl Seas Cruises is delayed yet again. And as for when the company’s first ship – which still has yet to be named – will sail is anyone’s guess. The line’s “target date” is slated to be the beginning of the first quarter of 2009, according to a company source. However, its reservations department said that the first available booking for the company is July 18 – one year after originally planned. “The cruises aren’t sold; we just aren’t taking reservations because we don’t have the availability right now,” an agent explained. Pearl Seas – an offshore affiliate of American Cruise Lines – originally announced plans in late 2006 to build two new 210-passenger ships at Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax. The first ship was scheduled to begin cruise service in July 2008 – and the second, June 2009. However, in April, the date for the first ship was pushed back to November. There was no word on the status of the second ship at press time. Jack Berglund, vice president of marketing and sales at the Halifax shipyard refused to comment on either of the ships. “I can’t answer any questions about the Pearl Seas, and I can’t be any clearer than that,” he said. London
Among the news for actors, dancers and other artists on an innovative casting website are details of an opportunity for performers to go high seas cruising, professionally and in luxury. Tobeseen Casting is flagging-up auditions for female dancers, 5'6" to 5'9", aged 21 and over, as well as male dancers and singer/dancers 5'9" to 6'1", also aged 21 and over.
The company wants applications from those with strong ballet technique, along with tap and jazz - adagio and acrobatic experienced are also being sought. Monster waves from a storm in the Pacific sent P&O Cruises' Pacific Sun into a viscious roll last night, injuring dozens of passengers. The New Zealand Herald reports that 42 passengers have received medical treatment. The Herald says the ship was hit by 23-foot swells and 50-knot winds as it was heading to Auckland, New Zealand following an eight-night cruise of the South Pacific.
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