December

Barcelona
An unexpectedly strong ‘Levante’ east wind storm caused heavy damage in the Port of Barcelona, putting Costa Crociere’s Palacruceros terminal out of action.  The substantial glass area of the Palacruceros building did not withstand the combined impact of high wind gusts, strong waves, driving rain and wind-driven sea spray, and electrical power was also knocked out.

Miami
With an anticipated lessening of travel restrictions to Cuba by the Obama administration, U.S. cruise lines are playing it cool. They're not going public with their plans, but authorities agree that reopening Cuba to American tourists could give the recession-impacted travel industry a welcome boost. A survey of cruise lines, for the most part, produced carefully parsed answers about their Cuba plans when government-imposed travel and trade restrictions are lifted. However, a couple cruise lines went on the record about their interest. Oceania Cruise Line, can't wait for the cruise lanes to open. more >>>

Past recession have been weathered by the cruise lines without much harm. This time it is a different. There are no new orders on the horizon and orders on the books are been re-negotiated. MSC chief executive Pierfrancesco Vago, during the delivery ceremony of MSC Fantasia, stated that the cruise company would be looking for a lower price for the two vessels on order with yard STX Europe, in the current economic context.  Cruise Lines are scrambling to adjust and to reduce costs. Itineraries have been changed, vessels removed from far away regions. Hiring stop both ashore and on board. Older vessels with steam turbines have been laid-up and many predict that these vessels will not reenter service. more >>>

Genua
Costa Crociere has learned from others and has created a dedicated Website for the newbuilds ms Costa Luminosa and Costa Pacifica. Luigi Foschi the Number one of Europe's number one, has recently announced that Luminos will light up Dubai during the winter of 2009/10. Inshallah!

Malawi Lake
One of Malawi's most popular passenger ships, MV Ilala is facing an uncertain future. It was built by Yarrow & Company in Scotland in 1949 and almost 60 years on, it provides Malawians with a crucial lifeline to the outside world. Her future rests with the International Maritime Organisation, which is trying to phase out single-bottom boats like the Ilala for safety reasons.... more The vessel is owned and operated by Malawi Lake Service

Port Canaveral, Fl.
Facing a troubled economy and intense competition from land-based casinos, two gambling cruise operators Wednesday sought help from the Canaveral Port Authority. Local investors from Las Vegas Casino Lines, operator of the Liquid Vegas, asked for and received a modified operating agreement in hopes that its operation can turn around in 2009 and begin earning money. "It's certainly an industry in a state of flux," Port Authority Chief Executive Stan Payne said. more >>>>

Miami Carnival Corporation chief Micky Arison has forecast a “challenging year” for the travel industry in 2009. His prediction came as the cruise conglomerate saw its full year profit decline to $2.3 billion from $2.4 billion.   Fourth quarter net profits rose from $358 million a year ago to $371 million for the three months ending November 30. Higher cruise prices for the group’s North American brands plus a cost controls helped offset $84 million in higher fuel outlay in the quarter. Arison said the company was able to produce “solid earnings” in a “very difficult” year despite a 55% hike in fuel costs.“As expected, 2009 is shaping up to be a challenging year in the travel industry,” he said. “Over the years we have positioned the company to weather the difficult economic environment we now face."  One potential silver lining is the continuing drop in fuel prices which are forecast to cut fuel costs by $278 million in the coming financial year. “We have strong cash flows from operations, a solid balance sheet, and a secure liquidity position," said Arison.“These factors combined with the outstanding value proposition inherent in a cruise vacation and our low cost structure will prove to be significant assets in the current environment.”

The collapse of Netherlands-based Club Cruise is leaving creditors out millions of euros, sources in Europe told Seatrade Insider. Possible ship auctions are pending. A meeting of Astoria’s creditors has been called for later this month, and sources said it is likely that Alexander von Humboldt II, Van Gogh and Flamenco will go to auction. As earlier reported here, bondholders at a Nov. 26 meeting in Oslo approved measures including ship sales after Club Cruise defaulted on interest payments. 

Creditors of Astoria Investments Ltd. have received notice of a Dec. 29 meeting in Limassol. Some months ago Saga was in the process of acquiring Astoria, to be renamed Saga Pearl II, to replace Saga Rose.  A multimillion-pound refurbishment was planned in the summer, with the ship to enter service for Saga next October. Meanwhile, Astoria had been bareboat chartered to Transocean Tours, which canceled its world cruise in late November, citing unforeseen technical problems uncovered during routine repairs in Barcelona.

Alexander von Humboldt II is understood to be laid up at Bremerhaven’s BREDO Shipyard, pending possible auction. According to THB, the German shipping newspaper, the yard claims it is owed €300,000. A broker told Seatrade Insider the debt on the ship is greater than its value, ‘so auction may be the only way to go. Van Gogh, previously chartered by Club Cruise to a Russian tour operator, has been held in Piraeus for some time. Sources said local authorities and the ship’s former agent are overseeing daily upkeep.

Known as “The Most Beautiful ship in the World”, the MSC Fantasia was delivered to MSC Cruises on Tuesday, at the STX France shipyard in St Nazaire, France. Mr Vago spoke about the launch of the MSC Fantasia: “I am particularly proud to launch this new ship, which is a revolution in the cruising world, due to the technologically advanced systems on board. Not only does MSC Fantasia stand out for her technical innovations, but also for her environmentally-friendly systems and structure. MSC Fantasia is the sixth new build for MSC Cruises from STX France. Her sister ship MSC Splendida will join the fleet in July 2009, to be followed by three further ships – MSC Magnifica, MSC Meraviglia and MSC Favolosa – by 2012, making MSC Cruises the fastest-growing and most modern fleet in the world

Dubai - Port Rashid
At a press conference aboard the AIDAdiva on Thursday, Costa officials described the temporary arrangements as "a mess" and asked for better facilities as their passengers had high expectations of Dubai. Massive construction and land reclamation work in the Port Rashid area means the existing cruise terminal building can no longer be used for immigration and customs procedures. Cruise ships operated by Costa this winter are docking at a berth some distance away from the old terminal. They said after the successful operation at the closed terminal it is a "step backward" for Dubai's cruise tourism. read more >>>>

London/Piraeus
Youtravel.com has renewed a distribution deal with EasyCruise for a second year. Trade sales through youtravel.com are claimed to have made up a significant of proportion of the budget line’s UK sales this year. Bookings from the UK account for around half of overall sales for EasyCruise. 

Talks are taking place this week over the future of SeaFrance after it was revealed the company is suffering huge losses.
Reports in the French media suggest that the company is facing bankruptcy with reported losses of 20 million Euro (£17.5 million) in 2007 and this year's losses expected to be slightly more. A plan to save the company could result in
"a number of significant redundancies" and the withdrawal of some of the ships from the Dover- Calais fleet. The crisis comes just weeks after SpeedFerries, which operated a fast- ferry service between Dover and Boulogne,
went into administration with the loss of 100 jobs in Dover. Efforts to save the company failed. There are suggestions that LD Lines, the ferry company planning to introduce services from Dover to Boulogne and Dieppe next year, could be interested in acquiring SeaFrance from its parent company, the state-owned SNCF.
First secretary of the Communist Party in Calais Bertrand Pericaud said the unions were very concerned and that according to his information, SeaFrance was "virtually in a state of insolvency". A spokeswoman for SeaFrance refused to confirm or deny the reports, but said budget discussions were taking place
to consider what to do in the coming year.

Naples/Athens
Grimaldi Compagnia di Navigazione S.p.A., the parent company of the Grimaldi Group (Naples), has successful completed the public offer of purchase on the 
shares of Minoan Lines S.A., the Athens-listed ferry operator.
The offer was closed on November 26. On that date, companies part of the Grimaldi Group held in total 60,085,289 shares, equivalent to 84.72% of the shared capital of Minoan Lines. more >>>

The conditions for cruise ships in the Gulf of Aden appear to be getting worse before they get better. The German government denied Hapag Lloyd's request for a security escort through the gulf, which led to their decision on the detour, company spokesman Rainer Mueller said. "We won't travel through the Gulf of Aden with passengers" as long as the German Foreign Ministry's travel warning is in effect, Mueller said. Hansa Touristik, another German cruise ship operator canceled a trip that would have brought the M/S Arion through the Gulf on Dec. 27, company spokeswoman Birgit Kelern said. Directors of a third German cruise company, the Bremen-based Plantours & Partner, were meeting with ship captains in Venice to decide whether to go ahead with a trip planned through the gulf. Passengers will learn Wednesday whether the M/S Vistamar will set sail on December 16th as planned, spokeswoman Sandra Marnen said.

Phu Quoc, Vietnam
Hong Kong’s Royal Group will bring its five-star cruise ship, Jupiter Cruises, to Vietnam to explore the Phu Quoc – Shihanouk Ville tourist route. This service will be available before Christmas this year.This will be the first five-star cruise service for Phu Quoc, a joint-service offered by Royal Group and Vietnams Sea Star. read more >>>

Piräus/Santorini
Faulty map information may have caused the sinking of the Greek cruise ferry Sea Diamond, ex Birka Princess, off Santorini last year.
According to the Greek daily Kathimerini, the shipping company that owns the
ship, Louis Cruise Lines, has declared itself cleared of responsibility for the incident after the Greek navy published new maps of the area. According to the new maps, the actual reef is 113 metres off the coast, not 58 metres as the older maps said. The depth of the water where the incident occurred is 5 metres, not 18–22 metres.The Greek Merchant Marine Ministry has not made any comment.

Antarctic
The expedition vessel ms Ushuaia carrying 122 passengers and crew started to take on water and leak fuel after it ran aground Thursday, an Argentine naval official said.called the Admiral Daniel Martin told local television a nearby passenger ship was on its way to the Panamanian-flagged vessel, Ushuaia, after the Tierra del Fuego port from which it sailed in Argentina Sunday. A year ago, more than 150 crew and passengers, including some Canadians, escaped unhurt in a dramatic rescue after
their cruise ship hit ice off Antarctica and sank. The ship is operated by Antarpply Expeditions, based in Ushuaia >>Webcam view.

Miami
Cruise giant Carnival has filed suit in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida (Miami Division) against Rolls-Royce PLC and various associated Rolls-Royce companies and Converteam SAS (formerly known as Alstom Power Conversion SA) and two other Converteam entities. Carnival is seeking in excess of $100 million for damages it says, in papers filed in court "were suffered as a result of the Defendants having defrauded and deceived Carnival into the selection acceptance and continued use of a defective propulsion system," the Mermaid pod propulsion system in the Queen Mary 2. In the filing, Carnival says "the Mermaids are simply defective and do not function as it was represented they would.
More importantly, it is also now clear that the Defendants have known about this situation all along and that they have conspired to mislead, deceive and and defraud Carnival into believing otherwise. The Defendants either do not know
how to fix the Mermaids, or they do not want to spend the money to redesign the Mermaids and/or replace them."