April

Miami
"While the economy is still affecting our results, we are pleased to be reporting better than expected revenues and costs and we continue to see a gradual and steady improvement in the booking environment," said Richard D. Fain, chairman and chief executive officer. Fain continued, "This recovery, combined with our cost containment efforts and improving fleet profile, bode well for improvement in our returns on investment and our balance sheet in 2011 and beyond." more....

MSC Splendida and MSC Fantasia, sister ships both new to the fleet, received the prestigious ‘Six Golden Pearls’ award by the international classification society Bureau Veritas, the only ships in the world to achieve this coveted title. MSC Splendida also received the first Energy Efficient Design designation by Bureau Veritas.  Six Golden Pearls is an integrated voluntary program that certifies corporate compliance with the three highest international standards in the areas of environment (ISO 14001), health and safety (OHSAS 18001) and food safety (ISO 22000). It includes an extra notation Cleanship 2 AWT, for the 3 domains “potential pollution”: air, water, and waste. MSC Cruises was one of the first cruise companies to adhere to the Venice Blue Flag agreement, which governs ships transiting the canal of Venice using diesel oils and is designed to reduce their sulphur emissions. The company has received the most prestigious environmental certificates from recognized bodies, both national and international.

Seattle, April 26 2010
Her Royal Highness Princess Máxima will name Holland America Line’s new Signature-class ship, ms Nieuw Amsterdam in a ceremony in Venice, Italy, on July 4 2010. The 2,106-guest ship is the fourth to carry that name for the line and is being built by Italian shipyard Fincantieri-Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A. in Marghera, Italy. “The Royal Family is continuing a long and proud tradition of naming Holland America Line ships that started more than 80 years ago, and we are truly honoured that Princess Máxima will name Nieuw Amsterdam,” said Stein Kruse, president and chief executive officer of Holland America Line. “The naming ceremony will mark a signature moment in our company’s 137-year history as Princess Máxima becomes godmother of Nieuw Amsterdam, which will share the distinction with her sister-ship Eurodam as the largest passenger ships ever to fly the Dutch flag.” Nieuw Amsterdam IV will be the 11th Holland America Line vessel launched by a member of the Dutch Royal Family. Previous ship dedications include the ss Statendam III in 1929 by Prince Hendrik, ss Nieuw Amsterdam II in 1937 by Queen Wilhelmina, ss Statendam IV in 1957 and ms Prinses Margriet in 1964 by then Princess Beatrix, ss Rotterdam V in 1958 by Queen Juliana, ms Prinsendam II in 1973, ms Nieuw Amsterdam III in 1983, ms Rotterdam VI in 1997 and ms Oosterdam in 2003 by Princess Margriet and ms Eurodam in 2008 by Queen Beatrix.

Royal Caribbean today announced plans to redeploy the Mariner of the Seas - Video - from the Mexican Riviera to Europe, effective in early 2011. The line says the 3,114-passenger ship, which has been sailing to the Mexican Riviera year-round out of Los Angeles since early 2009, will set sail for a new home at the port of Civitavecchia/Rome in January.  Mariner is the largest ship ever to regularly sail out of a West Coast port, and it's arrival in Los Angeles last year was heralded as a major development for the city. It's removal is just the latest sign that the market is not living up to expectations. Another line sailing in the region, Carnival, is pulling a ship out of nearby San Diego later this month, and Norwegian Cruise Line recently announced it would end seasonal cruising out of Los Angeles in 2011. more....

Fincantieri‘s Ancona Shipyard has launched the ‗L‟Austral‘, the first of two super luxury cruise ships ordered from Fincantieri by the French owner, Compagnie du Ponant. In terms of size and décor, in many respects the ship is very similar to a mega yacht. „L‟Austral‟ is the sister ship of „Le Boreal‟, which will be launched at the Ancona shipyard soon. The new ship, which will fly the French flag, is approximately 10,700GT, 142 metres long and 20 metres at the beam. Passenger capacity is over 260 guests, accommodated in 132 cabins and suites. - Video Le Boreal

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Goldstein and Royal Caribbean Chairman Richard Fain saw the site in Haiti on Friday, on an unpublicized visit – their first time in the country since the devastating earthquake in January. After the earthquake, the cruise line, which has operated the Labadee resort for 30 years, received a great deal of flak for returning its ships to Haiti within days. At the time, Haitian officials applauded Royal Caribbean's support, especially in keeping locals employed. The cruise line also made a $1 million donation to help in the recovery effort. Joining the executives on last week's tour was Haiti's Minister of Tourism Patrick Delatour, who was personally involved in the restoration of the Citadelle in 1972. The fort, which was built in the early 19th century after Haiti declared independence from France, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. Goldstein describes the Citadelle as sitting on top of a 3,000-foot mountain, but he does not discuss the challenges of getting cruise passengers to the site. "I've been talking about the Citadelle for a long time so it made sense to actually go see it myself. It's extraordinary." He adds, "How people in the early 1800s got the rocks and munitions up that big hill is mind boggling."

Fans of Free Bird and Sweet Home Alabama - Video -, make a note: The next Southern Rock-themed cruise starring Lynyrd Skynyrd has been set for January 2011. The fifth annual Simple Man Cruise, as the voyages are called, will take place Jan. 20-24 on the Carnival Inspiration sailing out of Tampa. The four-night Western Caribbean voyage will include a stop in Grand Cayman. Organizer Sixthman LLC says this will be the last Southern Rock festival at sea hosted by Lynyrd Skynyrd, at least for a while, as the band plans to take a break from cruising after the voyage.

Beginning in August 2011, most large cruise ships will no longer be able to sail in Antarctica - Video -. The International Maritime Organization this week adopted a ban on using and carrying heavy fuel oil on ships operating in Antarctic waters. The regulation, which was expected to be adopted, essentially bans cruise ships with more than 500 passengers from sailing in Antarctica, because even though they would agree to use lighter fuels there, the ban on carriage would prove too costly for those vessels. Cruise operators, represented by the International Association of Antarctica Tourism Operators (IAATO), support the principles behind the ban, said Steve Wellmeier, IAATO's executive director. "Largely, it will be the large cruise-only vessels that are affected, rather than the smaller expedition ships that most people think of as Antarctic cruising," Wellmeier said. more...

Miami -Carnival Headquarters
It has been announced that the Carnival Corporation & PLC have decided to dissolve their various cruise brands over the next five years.
Carnival currently own Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line and Seabourn Cruise Line in North America; P&O Cruises, Cunard Line and Ocean Village in the United Kingdom; AIDA Cruises in Germany; Costa Cruises in Italy and P&O Cruises Australia in Australia. Combined, it operates a fleet of 88 ships, totaling more than 160,000 berths with a further 18 ships to be delivered by 2012. CEO Micky Arison announced “that the time is right for Carnival to create one global cruise brand”. He went on to say “Even ten years ago the global cruise market was not ready for the introduction of our ‘Fun Ships’, preferring various nice brands.” However the market has matured dramatically. He said “ For example a P&O traditionalist is happy to cruise on Princess derived vessel such as Ventura and a Cunard faithful is happy to cruise on a vista class derivative, such as Queen Victoria. In Europe Costa has been greatly expanded using the carnival Vista class ship designs, with interior décor by Carnival’s Joe Farcus”.
All of the Carnival brands will lose their individual identity and be re -branded as ‘Fun Ships’ by 2015. The external liveries will change to match the existing Carnival ‘Fun Ship’ fleet. It is anticipated that many of the ships names will be retained but with the pre-fix “Carnival” such as “Carnival Ventura” or “Carnival Fortuna”. It is expected that interior décor will be ‘Carnivalised’ as the various ships are refitted, although this will not happened immediately.
Source: Carnival Press Office