Seabourn Sojourn To Begin Crusing To Cuba – Celebrity’s New Celebrity Edge – Silversea To Revamp Its Fleet

THE CRUISE EXAMINER AT CYBERCRUISES.COM BY KEVIN GRIFFIN

The Cruise Examiner for 13th August 2018

The 458-berth Seabourn Sojourn will begin her cruise program to Cuba in November 2019

Last week saw more news from Cuba, with Seabourn becoming the third member of the Carnival Corp & plc group to serve Cuban ports, when it joins Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Line next November. The Sojourn will sail from Miami and also offer cruises from San Juan. Meanwhile,  the first ship of the new Celebrity Edge class will be in service by the end of this year, and will be based in Europe next summer. Elsewhere, subsequent to joining the Royal Caribbean Cruises group, Silversea has announced a fleet-wide revamp of its ships, based on the line’s flagship, the 596-berth Silver Muse.

FOR THIS WEEK’S STORY                                                                                                            (See previous columns)

 

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With Two Ships, Victory Is Now The Largest Great Lakes Operator

THE CRUISE EXAMINER AT CYBERCRUISES.COM BY KEVIN GRIFFIN

The Cruise Examiner for 6th August 2018

The Victory II, seen last week near Montreal, has had her open air dining area in the stern glassed in

Miami-based Victory Cruise Lines, the most recent specialist in luxury cruises on the Great Lakes and St Lawrence River, today welcomed the inaugural voyage of its new vessel, the 202-berth Victory II, to Detroit. Not quite completed in 2001, when parent company American Classic Voyages went out of business, she was ordered as the Cape Cod Light, the second ship for Delta Queen Coastal Voyages.

Although the vessel was finally completed in 2004, she was not placed into passenger service, meaning that this cruise was in fact the ship’s first revenue passenger voyage.

In fourteen years since completion she has spent much of her time either laid up in fresh water or employed as an accommodation ship in UK and European waters. She was finally completed as a fully-fledged cruise ship this spring in Sweden. The most noticeable change to the ship is the glass enclosure that now surrounds the former Hot Rock Grill on her stern.

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Viking Cruises Orders Two Ships From Vard – Fincantieri To Build Two Princess LNG Ships – Celestyal Majesty To Go To Mano Cruises

THE CRUISE EXAMINER AT CYBERCRUISES.COM BY KEVIN GRIFFIN

The Cruise Examiner for 30th July 2018

The no-balcony Celestyal Majesty will now sail the Eastern Mediterranean as Mano Maritime’s Princess Iris

Last week saw more news on several fronts. Viking Cruises has confirmed its order for two ships of a new design with Vard, while Fincantieri will build two LNG-powered vessels for Princess Cruises. In the realm of older non-balcony ships, Louis Group of Cyprus has sold its Celesytal Majesty to new owners Mano Maritime, for whom she will operate as the Princess Iris.

FOR THIS WEEK’S STORY                                                                                                            (See previous columns)