Miami Lands Yet Another Cruise Line – Other Cruise News: About Cruise Ship Safety – Norwegian Dream Returns To Service In Asia

          THE CRUISE EXAMINER at Cybercruises.com

          by Kevin Griffin

     The Cruise Examiner for 30th April 2012

With the confirmation last week that MSC Cruises would be moving from Fort Lauderdale’s port of Port Everglades to the Port of Miami in November 2013, Miami has added yet another cruise line to its recent list of conquests. These include not only the more upmarket Celebrity and Regent, always regarded in the past as Fort Lauderdale lines, but also Crystal and Cunard Line, who made the move to Miami earlier. Elsewhere, the European Cruise Commission and Cruise Lines International made three more proposals towards cruise ship safety at a conference in Brussels last week. And the Norwegian Dream, a ship that has been laid for the past three and a half years, is soon to go back into service with Star Cruises, possibly in China.

THIS WEEK’S STORY                                          (See previous columns)

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Richard Fain Named to UK Travel Hall of Fame – Other Cruise News: Viking Ocean Cruises Order Goes To Fincantieri – Does Princess Cruises Listen To Its Passengers?

          THE CRUISE EXAMINER at Cybercruises.com

          by Kevin Griffin

     The Cruise Examiner for 23rd April 2012

Royal Caribbean Cruises chairman and ceo Richard Fain was inducted into the British Travel & Hospitality Hall of Fame last week. As an executive, he spent thirteen years in London with the Norwegian shipping company Gotaas-Larsen, an early one-third shareholder in Royal Caribbean and owner of Eastern Cruise Lines. In Miami since 1988, Fain has been involved with Royal Caribbean for thirty-three years and at its head for almost twenty-five. His biggest regret must be having lost to Carnival a decade ago in his attempt to take over P&O and Princess Cruises. But his success in expanding Royal Caribbean worldwide into half a dozen brands and building the world’s largest cruise ships must far outweigh that set-back. Elsewhere, Viking Ocean Cruises have moved from France to Italy to build their two, option three, new oceangoing cruise ships, which will be slightly larger, at 998 berths and delivered slightly later. Finally, two Panamanian fishermen died in the Pacific last month because the master of the Star Princess was not informed that their small fishing boat was in trouble after some of his passengers reported their plight to a crew member. One has to ask, does Princess Cruises listen to its passengers?

THIS WEEK’S STORY                                          (See previous columns)

Columbus 2 Enters Service April 17 – Other Cruise News: More Details Released For Europa 2 – Saga Sapphire Breaks Down on Delayed Maiden Voyage

          THE CRUISE EXAMINER at Cybercruises.com

          by Kevin Griffin

     The Cruise Examiner for 16th April 2012

The casino on Oceania Cruises’ Insignia has been converted into the Martinis Lounge in her new guise with Hapag-Lloyd Cruises as Columbus 2. Note the banquettes where slot machines once stood and the dance floor replacing the former roulette and blackjack tables.

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Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ latest vessel, the 698-berth Columbus 2, arrived at Palma de Mallorca this morning after the second of two pre-inaugural cruises before she is renamed in Palma tomorrow. Operating until now as Oceania Cruises’ Insignia, she will replace the 420-berth Columbus, which goes to Plantours & Partner of Bremen next month as ms Hamburg. During the cruise, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises also chose to reveal further details of their latest newbuilding, Europa 2, now under construction at St Nazaire. Meanwhile, an earlier Europa, that of 1981, now operating as Saga Sapphire, has suffered not only a delayed maiden voyage but also an engine breakdown on the delayed cruise and passengers are being flown back today from Valencia, where she is undergoing engine repairs.

THIS WEEK’S STORY                                          (See previous columns)

Hapag-Lloyd’s Europa 2 Will Be A Stunner – Other Cruise News: Princess Plans Japan Season – Azamara Quest Incident Well Handled

          THE CRUISE EXAMINER at Cybercruises.com

          by Kevin Griffin

     The Cruise Examiner for 2nd April 2012

The illustrations released last week for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ Europa 2 show a vessel that will be decorated in the fashion of the former “ships of state,” the majestic ocean liners that used to ply the North Atlantic.  The French restaurant Tarragon (above) is a stunning room, reminiscent of an earlier era of ocean liner design. And the ship’s Elements Asian restaurantbrings back memories of the Cathay Lounge on Canadian Pacific’s Empress of Britain of 1931 (see our last post below) .  Elsewhere, Princess Cruises will use its Australian-based Sun Princess to run a three-month cruise season in Japan next year. And Azamara Club Cruises leaves no room for a press looking for bad news in its exemplary handling of the fire on board Azamara Quest last week.

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THIS WEEK’S STORY                                          (See previous columns)