December

Planning a Vacation? Don’t Forget the Porn Stars!
The vacation industry is the latest business segment to discover the drawing power of porn. While Porn Week’s organized visits to the production sets of Harmony Films’ shoots is a unique product, it’s not uncommon for adult-themed resorts to bring in actors and actresses from porn films to their properties as an added draw. YOLO Cruises, which charters a Carnival Cruise ship swingers each year, recruited its own porn star as well, bringing AVN hall of fame performer Taylor Wane -  Video -  on this year’s trip.The cruise is scheduled for October 29th 2010 with the ms Imagination. read more...

Dubai, UAE
Dubailand, a member of Dubai Properties Group, and Royal Caribbean International, one of the world's largest global cruise lines, today announced their joint product offering that will provide a substantial boost to Royal Caribbean's new cruise itinerary from Dubai. Starting 18 January, 2010 through till April 2010, RCI's vessel 'Brilliance of the Seas' is set to dazzle guests with its seven night sailings around the Arabian Gulf. Royal Caribbean guests will have opportunities to experience Dubai's exciting tourism offerings at Dubailand's key attractions. The attractions will be featured in Royal Caribbean's pre/post cruise packages and shore excursion programmes. Dubailand, a landmark tourism, leisure and entertainment destination is now open with several developments already operational. more...

JACKSONVILLE
A month after SunCruz Casinos celebrated the 1 million passenger mark for its Jacksonville service, the company abruptly suspended sailings this week with no explanation. SunCruz Casinos also stopped sailing from its two other ports at Port Canaveral and Myrtle Beach, S.C. The company ceased its Key Largo operations in October, Since its founding in 1994 by the late Gus Boulis of Broward County, SunCruz has taken 12 million passengers on gambling trips, mainly from Florida ports. more...

Miami
Carnival Corp.'s fiscal fourth-quarter profit tumbled 48 percent as it continued to offer deeply discounted trips and cash-strapped travelers booked fewer cruises. A weak first-quarter outlook also sent shares down in morning trading. "Pricing for cruises still haven't recovered as much as we would like," Howard Frank, Carnival's chief operating officer, told investors during a conference call Friday. "And perhaps that's a reflection of the currently uncertain economic picture for 2010." For the three months that ended Nov. 30, quarterly profit dropped to $193 million, or 24 cents per share, for the three-month period. That's down from $371 million, or 47 cents per share, a year ago. more...

Det Norske Veritas presented findings of a study in Copenhagen today that shows that shipping can cut its emissions by 30 percent by 2030. The results were presented onboard the Viking Lady, the world’s first commercial ship with a fuel cell adapted to marine use installed onboard, while docked in Copenhagen. The good news, according to Tor Svensen COO of DNV: the scenario implies a zero-cost for the industry. The study looks at ships from all market segments, both from the existing fleet and newbuildings projected to be built in the years to come. The results show that shipping, compared to a projected baseline (where no measures are applied) of 1,530 million tons of CO2, could cut emissions by 30 percent by 2030 at zero-cost . This equals a reduction in emissions of 500 million tons of CO2. The study also shows that the emission reduction potential would increase to 50 percent if all identified measures costing up to $100 per ton of CO2 were implemented.

Miami
Bosses of major cruise lines have been confirmed as speakers at the Cruise Shipping Miami 26th annual event which will be staged on March 15-18 at the Miami Beach Convention Centre. Discussing the state of the cruise industry against the background of an improving economic environment will be Gerry Cahill, Carnival Cruise Lines; Adam Goldstein, Royal Caribbean International; Dan Hanrahan, Celebrity Cruises and Kevin Sheehan, NCL.

Miami
The OASIS of the Seas. Five times the size of the Titanic.
"Call me Bill" he says with a boyish grin, the sympathic Master - Video -  of the world largest cruise ship. Not only is Captain William S Wright Master of this maginificent cruise ship, he also is vice-president of safety, security and environment at Royal Caribbean, as well as SVP Marine Operations. read more....

San Juan, P.R.
Call it a sculpture or, as Carnival does, a "metal canopy structure," but whatever it is it forced Carnival's newest ship to scuttle its first visit to San Juan on Wednesday. The Associated Press says the pierside structure, which it calls a sculpture, made it impossible for the 130,000-ton Carnival Dream to dock at the berth to which it had been assigned. Another dock that could have accommodated the Dream already was occupied by another vessel. In what many observers will no doubt view as an ironic twist, it was designed and paid for in part by Carnival's biggest rival, Royal Caribbean. more...

Ten lucky winners will be chosen for this exclusive event.
Will it be you? Known as a ‘conveyance’ in the cruising world, this is the momentous occasion when a new ship makes its grand voyage from the shipyard to the sea. Thousands will line the shore—and a few lucky VIPs are onboard.  Enter for your chance to win one of ten all-expense paid trips to Germany for you and a guest, including night stays in Düsseldorf and Amsterdam, all meals, transfers, and the experience to be onboard for the conveyance of Celebrity Eclipse in March 2010. Application form here...

Down Under/USAToday
On Thursday, industry giant Carnival Corp. announced its fast-growing subsidiary in Australia, P&O Cruises Australia, would stop adding tips automatically to customer bills -- a sore point for Australian customers who are not as accustomed as Americans to heavy tipping. Carnival's move comes just two months after Royal Caribbean disclosed it was grappling with how to handle gratuities on ships based in England, another country where heavy tipping is not part of the culture. Unlike some lines, Royal Caribbean doesn't automatically add tips onto customer bills, instead relying on customers to present cabin stewards and table waiters with gratuities at the end of voyages. read more...

TOKYO
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL, President: Akimitsu Ashida) today announced the completion of the concept for its second in a series of next-generation vessels, which will be technically practical in the near future. The vessel is an environment-friendly ferry that can transport both cargo and passengers (ISHIN-II).The ferry, which is an environment-friendly means of transport, plays a key role in the modal shift. It maximizes advancement of technologies already developed and adopted, will further reduce the environmental burden, and will enhance comfort for passengers. The features are as follows: read on....

Kochi, India
Louis Cruises India, (LCI) a subsidiary of Louis Cruise Lines part of Louis Group has leased Kuda Bandos Island in Maldives to berth its luxury cruise ship, ms Aquamarine, which will commence operations from Kochi on December 2, 2009, with itineraries of two nights/three days to Maldives and Sri Lanka.
The leasing of the island   - in a strategic partnership with Maldives Tourism Board -  is the first of its kind by a cruise company in Maldives and Louis Group plans to develop a resort on the Island in near future. more....

The ms Artemis - Video - Farewell Voyage departs from Southampton on 12 April 2011, for a final 14 night voyage visiting Gibraltar, Alicante, Palma, Sorrento, Civitavecchia, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Southampton. P&O Cruises Managing Director, Carol Marlow said: "This is the fastest selling farewell voyage I have ever known! It is fantastic to see how much Artemis is loved by our passengers."
The ms Artemis was sold to German Tour Operator Phoenix Reisen Bonn and will be renamed ARTANIA.

Riviera Beach, FL
Unnamed sources said that the ship's workers of - Casino Operator Palm Beach Princess Casino - are on strike because they've been asked to take a 25% pay cut and no additional pay for new, expanded hours. "This morning we relieved our captain of his duties and brought in a new captain. He was paid in full for the term of his contract. He is trying to organize a strike more....

Beverly Hills, CA
Samsung Heavy Industries of Seoul, Korea announced today that an affiliate of Utopia Residences of Beverly Hills has executed a binding letter of intent to build a luxury residential ocean liner.  Measuring 971 feet long (296 meters) and over 105,000 gross tons, Utopia will have 200 luxury residences ranging in size from 1,400 to 6,600 square feet (130 to 613 square meters). The ocean liner Utopia will also have a 204 room boutique luxury hotel, casino, spa, theater, night club, swimming pools, marina, signature restaurants and private residents club.
more....