Closing Notes from Cruise Shipping Miami

The end of the week is here and so is another Cruise Shipping Miami. This was a rather uneventful convention compared to years past. Here are some closing news items.

  • El Salvador is trying to get in on some Panama Canal Itineraries as a potential port of call. My money’s on the port of Acajutla.
  • News was swirling about some new ship orders from a luxury line but no more details were leaked. Quite the contrast to last year (TUI&MSC).
  • CIN is reporting a lack of Cruise Executives on the ground floor and that “the show seemed quiet on Tuesday and Wednesday.”
  • Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas will sail to Freeport Bahamas for her transition to Pullmantur. Work will take place at the Grand Bahamas Shipyard.
  • Media were banned from witnessing a safety exercise. Probably for the better. Imagine the horror from non-industry journalists if they were to witness people jumping into liferafts on a MES.
  • CIN is also reporting that we may have a new cruise line on our hands. Details are scarce. This new line would have the “intent of exploring a very new market. Others have tried, no one has succeeded.”
  • Fincantieri announced plans for a vessel with the engine rooms located closer to the center of gravity in the vessel. This would allow more freedom for designers with regards to interior space. Can’t find any photos of the renders yet.