June

A US law firm is reportedly suing Carnival, the American owner of the Costa Concordia cruise liner shipwrecked off Italy this year, for allegedly leading its designers to sacrifice safety for profits.

AFP reports tha law firm, Eaves, is suing for punitive damages in California over the design of the doomed ship and hopes that a win would see all similarly designed cruise ships declared unseaworthy.

Eaves, who said it is part of a collective of lawyers representing around 150 claimants from the Costa Concordia, said the ship's design was fatally flawed "because it was top-heavy and had a propensity to roll".

"The sad tragedy is the race to build the biggest ship with the shallowest hulls and room for the most passengers. When will it stop?

"We decided we must file this complaint to stop a race which is destroying safety," said a spokesman for law firm.

"The ship's shallow draught, the area below the waterline, made it unstable, so that it tilted quickly over and many lifeboats became useless."

The 114,500-tonne ship ran aground on January 13, killing 32 of the 4,000 passengers on board.

Paris/Houston
What once seemed science fiction may be becoming a reality. The futuristic SeaOrbiter ocean explorer, a concept conceived by French architect Jacques Rougerie, has been trying to reach fruition for the past twelve years. However recent developments suggest that the vessel is set to start construction this October, with possible completion in 2013.The SeaOrbiter, if it goes ahead, will be the world’s first vertical ship to measure 51 meters (170 ft) in height. To realize this achievement more than 50 percent of the vessel will remain underwater. The project is expected to cost around US$52.7 million, with ambitions to observe and explore vast cross sections of oceanic life. Furthermore the SeaOrbiter hopes to implement a new standard of scientific communication that allows researchers to track and monitor marine life in real time. In doing so, a team of 18 marine scientists will live on board of the vessel. “This vertical vessel drifts in the currents hosting 18 oceanauts who will observe the life of the oceans on a permanent basis,” says Rougerie. “Marine life will naturally aggregate ... under its hull.”

The semi-submersible vessel will include an underwater chamber that delves 31 meters (102 ft) deep. Above deck is equipped with an open-air observation terrace, allowing the occupants to document migrating bird life, as well as enjoying some fresh air. The submerged sections will feature large portholes and panoramic windows, creating a state of the art underwater observatory.

The vessel will be installed with oceanographic observational and sonic equipment that will be linked to satellite facilities, while a multi-level atmospheric pressure module and a pressurized module will allow the “oceanauts” to live permanently in previously unexplored oceans. It is also anticipated that the vessel's design will include renewable energy initiatives such as solar, wind and wave power.

"Next February Carnival Freedom will set sail from Florida on a eight day Panama cruise.
This cruise will be organized by one of the biggest nude tourism agencys Bare Necessities. Carnival Freedom has around 3000 guests capacity and 70% of the nude cruise is already sold.

Monaco
The Silversea Group announced today that it has purchased Canodros S.A., the premier Ecuadorian tourism company that operates in the Galapagos Islands, and their upmarket expedition ship, Galapagos Explorer II Silversea plans to add Galapagos Explorer II to its ultra-luxury fleet of six ships next year, after the all-suite, 100-guest vessel undergoes a major refurbishment in September 2013 and is given a new name, steps that will ensure consistency with the standards of the Silversea fleet. Until that time, Galapagos Explorer II will continue on its planned schedule of cruises and will continue to be operated by Canodros, which is based in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Canodros will also continue handling reservations for Galapagos Explorer II, as well as sales and marketing through its established network of travel companies and tour operators. The acquisition will enable the award-winning cruise company chaired by Manfredi Lefebvre to expand the Silversea Expeditions brand. Its existing expedition ship, Silver Explorer, is regularly deployed in the polar regions, and the addition of a second vessel, offering year-round unique luxury expedition cruises in the Galapagos archipelago, means Silversea will have the opportunity to offer the adventure traveler a broader portfolio of itineraries, encompassing some of the world's most desired and least explored regions. The 4077-ton Galapagos Explorer II offers the stylish elegance of a mega-yacht, attentive onboard service and an enriching naturalist education program. All of its 50 spacious suites feature ocean views and 24 include private balconies. Public spaces include a restaurant, piano bar, library and Internet station, main lounge, outdoor bar, two outdoor whirlpools, and a marine observation deck. Guests sailing aboard Galapagos Explorer II will continue to enjoy the same exciting itineraries, luxury accommodations, shipboard amenities, informative lectures and sustainable tourism for which Canodros is known. Potential guests and travel agents interested in booking a Galapagos Explorer II voyage should visit www.galapagosexplorer.com for more information. Guests currently booked on Galapagos Explorer II, and travel agents or tour operators with clients booked on the ship, should continue to liaise through their normal channels with Canodros for any needed assistance with their reservation. In the coming months, Silversea will announce more details concerning plans for the ship after it is renovated and renamed.

London
Watch live streaming video coverage of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee River Thames Pageant on Sunday 3rd June 2012 by viewing our LIVE London River Thames High Definition video streaming webcamera positioned overlooking Battersea Bridge – the start area of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee River Thames Pageant featuring a flotilla of over 1,000 boats to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations. 
Catch LIVE the River Thames Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations by viewing our streaming live video pan, tilt and zoom HD River Thames webcam overlooking the Battersea Bridge, Albert Bridge and the Chelsea Bridge where over 1,000 boats will take part in the largest ever boat flotillas assembled on the River Thames in the heart of London – Capital City of England – to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. 
The formal River Thames Boats Pageant will start at 2pm (BST) and finishes at 6pm (BST).  Watch the boats taking part in the River Thames Royal Pageant assemble infront of the Battersea Bridge on the River Thames in the early hours of Sunday morning to take part in the formal river procession with Her Majesty The Queen at 2pm on Sunday afternoon by viewing our streaming LIVE River Thames web cam.

Watch Tower Bridge Live - here you can see the Flotilla of boats passing the ionic London landmark TOWER BRIDE!

Norway
Just at the time of year when cruises to the fjords should be reaching their seasonal peak, the strike among Norwegian pilots is beginning to cause huge disruption. 
Many ships are having to switch ports at the last minute or drop calls altogether and spend unscheduled days at sea. One ship has abandoned Norway completely for the week and will instead travel to ports in Germany, Denmark and Sweden. The capital city, Oslo, is completely off-limits to visiting cruise ships and those - such as Vision of the Seas - which use the port for turnarounds, have been forced to switch to Gothenburg in Sweden. 
P&O, which this week has Aurora and Arcadia in Norwegian waters, and is also scheduled tyo have Adonia and Azura in the region within the next few days, put a statement on its Facebook page, telling passengers that "due to the fluid nature of the situation we are not able to advise in advance if calls will be affected." The statement reads: "We are aware of the public sector strike that is currently ongoing in Norway. 
On Saturday, Vision of the Seas will be starting its next cruise from Gothenburg, instead of Oslo. MSC Opera, sailing out of Southampton, has also had to switch the Swedish port, from where passenger excursions have been re-arranged. 
Princess, Holland America and Costa have ships scheduled to cruise the fjords over the next few days. The public workers' pay dispute first spread to the 42 Oslo pilots last weekend and by Wednesday 103 pilots nationwide were affected because the skippers of the boats which take them to and from cruise ships were called out. The affected ports include Ålesund, Tromsø, Honningsvåg (North Cape) and Kirkenes. As well as cruise ships, the dispute is threatening the country's fuel supplies because oil tankers have been unable to berth. The only passenger ships to escape the effects of the strike are the coastal express vessels operated by Hurtigruten. Their captains ply the route between Bergen and Kirkenes on a regular basis and are familiar with every rock and tide race.