All Cruise Lines

NCL Names New COO

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via NCL: NCL announced that hospitality veteran Drew Madsen has joined as president and chief operating officer of Norwegian Cruise Line. Madsen brings a strong track record of success to Norwegian with more than 30 years of leadership experience in…

Oasis Returns from Drydock

Oasis has sailed from her drydock and is now berthed in Rotterdam. These two webcams come courtesy of virtualvisit.nl. Over on CruiseCritic, someone has released the total changes. I have yet to cross check them with the deckplans as they…

Passat Kreuzfahrten’s Delphin Ceases Operation

Germany’s Passat Kreuzfahrten has officially stopped operations. When their lone ship, the 1975-built Delphin (ex-Byelorussiya, Kazakhstan II) returned to Bremerhaven last week, passengers were notified it was the last cruise for the ship. The ship will most likely be made…

Free Princess@Sea Messenger on Regal Princess

Thought this was pretty cool. Would love to try it out. via Princess: Regal Princess guests will have the opportunity to connect with their fellow cruisers with the debut of Princess@Sea Messenger, a free mobile messenger feature offering guests an…

Steel Cutting for Ovation of the Seas

With Quantum of the Seas about to head out of Papenburg Germany, Meyer Werft is wasting no time. Today they are celebrating the steel cutting ceremony of the third Quantum class ship, Ovation of the Seas.

OFFICIAL: NCL Acquires Prestige Cruise Holdings

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Official Statement from NCL: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., a leading global cruise operator, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Prestige Cruises International, Inc. (“Prestige”), the market leader in the upscale cruise segment and parent…

Norwegian Cruise Line To Acquire Prestige Cruise Holdings

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UPDATE: If anyone is interested in learning more about Prestige, here is their website.   via Reuters: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCHL.O, the world’s third largest cruise operator, is in advanced talks to acquire peer Prestige Cruises International Inc for…

The Latest in the Venice Cruise Industry Saga

Venice

A minority of residents in Venice have long been opposed to the cruise industry’s operations in their city. The Concordia accident on the other side of Italy in 2012 didn’t help. Last November the city council announced a ban on…

Great Story on Hurtigruten Rescue Story

Hurtigruten

Peter Knego of MaritimeMatters has a great story about a trip he is currently on. While cruising along the Norwegian coast, the Norwegian coastal ship he was on received a distress call from a nearby vessel. The 1964-built MV Lofoten…

Regal Princess Launches Princess Outdoor Nightclub

from Princess: A new, cool nighttime experience will debut on Regal Princess in November, enabling guests to enjoy a chic and contemporary outdoor nightclub under the stars. The new nightclub, Night Sky Lounge, will debut in November when the ship…

Bohai Ferry Launches with ex-Costa Voyager

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In Asia, Bohai Ferry has officially launched and are now sailing the ex-Costa Voyager. She was renamed to China Taishan. What was once the fastest cruise ship when she sailed for Royal Olympic Cruises, can now be seen sailing between Yantai,…

Travel Dynamics Ship, Yorktown, Arrested

U.S. Marshals have arrested the 2,354gt ship the Yorktown. The tiny Inter-coastal Waterway ship is currently operated by Explorer Maritime Cruises LLC whom Germany’s KfW IPEX-Bank states that its owed almost $10 million.  Explorer Maritime then contracts out to New York luxury travel…

Quantum of the Seas Liveblog

Hey everyone, Just a quick note. If you haven’t already, make sure to check out out Quantum of the Seas live blog. The link is right below the top menu. Also can be accessed here.  As with out other new…

Louis Cruises To Rebrand as Celestyal Cruises

Starting this fall, Louis Cruises will begin sailing as Celestyal Cruises. The goal is to “serve our travelers with an authentic Greek experience.”  Louis Crusies will still exist in the form of the Louis Aura (ex-Starward, Bolero, Orient Queen) which will continue to…