Freedom Of The seas

Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas, due in service in spring 2008 and currently under construction at Aker Yards in Turku, Finland will, according to a Royal Caribbean statement, reposition to Ft. Lauderdale for Caribbean voyages, becoming the largest ship ever to call the Florida port home.
Her repositioning cruise will be a 13 night transatlantic crossing departing November 6, 2008. Her itinerary will then be a rotating series of six-night Western Caribbean and eight-night Eastern Caribbean cruises from Ft. Lauderdale throughout the winter of 2008 and spring of 2009.

At 154,407-ton, and able to carry some 3,634-passengers, the Independence of the Seas joins her sister ships, Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas as the largest cruise ships in the world

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Azamara Cruises

A new web site, www.azamaracruises.com, now shows the line’s full range of cruise and cruisetour itineraries and shore excursions, dining arrangements, virtual ship tours, 360-degree views of all stateroom categories, deck detail, port information, and more… The company announced its 2009 Europe schedule, which includes 20 new ports and additional overnight stays. A series of seven- to 15-day trips will visit 91 ports in 36 countries. Home ports will include Athens, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Rome, and Venice. Overnights will be in Barcelona, Edinburgh, Florence, Ravenna, Istanbul, St. Petersburg, and Stockholm. The company has two 694-passenger ships, the Azamara Journey and the Azamara Quest

Carnival Cruise Lines

A new multi-media advertising campaign being launched this season will inject a new look and feel into Carnival’s marketing. A series of 30-second television spots will feature cruise and vacation images linked with computerized animation and editing techniques that blend one scene into another. Each commercial is pegged to an “Oooh, you make me live” lyrical phrase… A major upgrade will be completed during a 35-day drydock visit of the 2052-passenger Carnival Fantasy this fall. Highlights include a new aqua park with a four-deck high, 300-foot-long corkscrew water slide, an adults-only area, a redesigned “resort-style” main pool, an 82-foot-long racing slide, flat-screen TVs in staterooms, a nine-hole miniature golf course, a renovated 12,000 square foot spa, a New York-style deli, a patisserie, new facilities for children and teens, and contemporary sound and lighting systems for music and entertainment venues… 12- to 14-year-olds will find more to their liking on Carnival ships. The company is inaugurating dedicated facilities and activities catering to early teens under the “Circle C” banner, which currently has “Camp Carnival” for youngsters and “Club O2” for 15- to 17-year-olds. The new clubs will feature a dance floor with high-tech sound and lighting, 42-inch TV screens displaying movies and videos, a jukebox stocked with current hits, video gaming, plush seating, and staff supervision. Activities will include basketball, volleyball, ping pong, water games, late-night movies, evening pool parties, and more.

Celebrity Cruises

This grass is greener. The first ship afloat with a half acre of real, freshly-manicured, growing grass takes to the seas in December as part of Celebrity’s new 2850-passenger Solstice. Set atop the uppermost deck, it will be part of an environment known as “The Lawn Club.” It will hold picnics, putting practice, bocce ball, croquet, bare feet, and other diversions… The ship will have 10 restaurants. They’ll include The Grand Eperna, a contemporary two-level main dining room with a two-story wine tower; an Italian themed Tuscan Grille; an Asian specialty restaurant, Silk Harvest; Blu, reserved for passengers booked in the AquaClass category of accommodations; Murano, featuring Continental food behind floor-to-ceiling windows; and Bistro on Five, specializing in crepes and open nearly around the clock… Wedding bells will chime on seven Celebrity ships that have recently been re-registered in Malta, where regulations allow for captains to perform legal marriages while the ships sail the seas of the world. Packages will take care of all the details, from receptions to cake, champagne, photos, and more… The first year’s schedule for Celebrity’s 2850-passenger Equinox, has been released. It will make its maiden voyage next year in August from London to Rome, calling on ports in France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. Then it will sail a Med series with stops in Israel and Egypt. In November, it will move to Fort Lauderdale for a winter series of alternating 10- and 11-day Caribbean trips… Three original shows will be among the entertainment aboard the Solstice. They’ll be presented in an 1115-seat theater that’s almost a theater-in-the-round… Celebrity’s biggest Europe season ever will happen in 2009, as it sends five ships there. They’ll visit 76 ports in 29 countries. There will be six home ports: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Harwich, Southampton, Rome, and Venice. Itineraries include Scandinavia and Russia, the Arctic Circle and North Cape, the Med, Israel and Egypt, and transatlantic repositioning sailings.

Costa Cruises

Diamond necklace giveaways on each Caribbean sailing this year. That’s one of the ways Costa will be observing its 60^th Diamond Anniversary during 2008. Costa’s 12 ships will visit 141 ports in 68 countries on 423 sailings of 109 itineraries this year… New Indian Ocean routes from Mauritius will begin… Palacruceros, Costa’s new Barcelona cruise terminal, will open for its first full-year… Costa says it has more new ships on order than any other carrier, five … Europe, here we come. That’s Costa’s mantra for this summer, as each of its ships is deployed there. They’ll depart from Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Kiel, Hamburg, Venice, Rome, Genoa, and Trieste. Areas of concentration will be the Eastern Med, the Western Med, Northern Europe, and transatlantic and repositioning cruises.

Cruise West

An inaugural “Taste of the Pacific Northwest” series will highlight culinary traditions and wines of Oregon and Washington. There will be four autumn departures on the 84-passenger Spirit of Discovery, round trip from Portland… San Francisco Bay wine tours will return for another season. They depart from San Francisco on the 138-passenger Spirit of Yorktown in September and October. There will be both five-day and four-day itineraries. In each case, visits to wineries, tastings, estate-tours, and special meals will be part of the package

Crystal Cruises

Snuffing out some remaining smoking opportunities aboard its two ships, Crystal will end the practice on all stateroom verandas starting this season. The verandas join most bars, restaurants, and entertainment lounges. Smoking continues to be allowed in private accommodations and some areas of bars… Read all about it! Crystal passengers will soon be able to “subscribe” to home-delivered (cabin-delivered) newspapers while at sea. Some 370 newspapers from all around the world will be available in full-format, same-day editions.

Cunard Line

“Liner Notes,” a new Public Radio series sponsored by Cunard, makes its debut this season. It will “explore travel through literature, painting, film, music, and myth,” according to Cunard. It will feature unusual destinations and thought provoking ways that travel can be experienced and enjoyed. For example, the Irish-themed show features Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Frank McCourt and authors Colum McCann, Jimmy Breslin, Pete Hamill, NPR film critic Bob Mondello, and others. The format will be in the tradition of the venerable Algonquin Roundtable gatherings, with conversations related to travel. Information about individual shows is available at www.cunard.com/linernotes.

Disney Cruise Line

Wireless Internet is coming. Both the 1760-passenger Disney Magic and 1750-passenger Disney Wonder will have new wireless high-speed services this season. Hot spots in many public areas will accommodate laptops brought by passengers, while those without their own computers will be able to use internet cafes… Home Sweet Home will continue to be Port Canaveral. Disney has extended its home-port contract with the port for 15 years, until 2022. As part of the agreement, the port will expand and modify Disney’s terminal space and will build a new parking facility. The result will be improved passenger flow amid still-secret Disney touches that the company says will “delight guests.”… Disney has begun a new program of onboard airline check-ins. Most passengers will be able to leave the ship at the end of their cruises without having to collect their luggage on the pier. They’ll go straight to Customs and then on to the airport, where they will not have to wait in check-in lines. Their luggage should be routed to their flights, ready for pickup at their destination.

Holland America Line

Changes to menus this summer will find more regional dishes in Holland America’s dining rooms. Starting with Mexico and Caribbean cruises, passengers will find new menus reflecting their ship’s itinerary. There will be coconut scallops in the Caribbean, chicken mole in Mexico, tapas in Spain, prosciutto and coppa in Italy, salmon in Norway, and more… A $20 million enhancement has been completed aboard the 793-passenger Prinsendam. It resulted in new bathrooms in each cabin, redesigned closet space, and new carpeting, desks, and chairs. In public areas, walls were resurfaced, serving counters were upgraded, carpeting was replaced, sports decks were refreshed, and the library was expanded. Technologically, improvements were made to radar, lifeboats, and nautical equipment… Australasia is being added to Holland America’s itineraries in 2009. The 1432-passenger Volendam will conduct nine cruises from Auckland, Sydney, or Singapore. They’ll range from 14 to 19 days in length. In addition, for the first time the Volendam will sail a round-trip Hong Kong schedule. The series, which will run from this fall through next spring, will call at cities in China, Southeast Asia, Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Russia… Holland America has re-cast its web site. The new design offers a detailed virtual sample of its cruise vacations, including stateroom interiors, activities, zoom-ins to chosen destinations, views of tour sites, photo/video galleries, podcasts about collections of art and artifacts aboard each ship, video clips of ship staff discussing dining options and shipboard activities, and more… For the first time, Holland America will sail an extensive series of Asia-Pacific voyages. During 2009, its 1432-passenger Volendam will make four maiden calls at ports in the Philippines, Japan, China, and Taiwan as part of nine new cruises. Included among them will be a first round-trip Hong Kong itinerary and calls in Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Russia. There will be two Vancouver-Asia circuits, between which the Volendam will spend the summer in Alaska service… The 2104-passenger Eurodam, which debuts this summer, will have an abundance of themed restaurants. In addition to the Rembrandt main dining room and a Lido, there will be a Pacific Northwest-themed Pinnacle Grill, a 144-seat Asian-themed Tamarind, a 72-seat Italian-themed Canaletto, plus Slice, an all-day pizza outlet. Both traditional and flexible seating times will be offered.