This Blog is for New to Cruise and the well Traveled , on this site we will publish information about Cruise and Holiday information, with some insider stories in the travel press.
Marella Launches its First Literature Themed Cruise Across the Atlantic
Marella Cruises is offering its first book lovers cruise with an all-inclusive 16-night Atlantic sailing on its adults-only ship, the Marella Explorer 2.
Sailing from Montego Bay, Jamaica on Apr. 19, 2022, this tailor-made cruise features guest talks and interactive workshops with authors and entertainers as it sails across the Atlantic Ocean before finishing in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Guests will be able to enjoy the usual Marella Cruises experience onboard with fully all-inclusive food and drink spots, evening entertainment including game shows and quizzes and daytime activities like dance classes and yoga.
“We have had successes with our Electric Sunsets themed cruises, and we are excited to introduce our first themed cruise for literature fans next year. It offers something different for guests onboard on a cruise where there are not as many days ashore as some of our other itineraries,” said Managing Director of Marella Cruises, Chris Hackney.
Authors and entertainers including Sarah Cruddas, famous for her knowledge of Space exploration, Tony Strange, known for his comic entertainment and impressions, and crime novelist Barbara Nadel, will all share their stories and some will run guided workshops for all guests onboard, at no extra cost.
Marella Cruises sets sail on international waters from Sept. 3 and the Marella Explorer 2 starts its Spanish sailings from Sept. 22, before heading to the Caribbean in November where it’ll homeport in Montego Bay for the winter season.
Viking Expands Restart of Cruising with Two More Ships from Valletta
Viking announced today that it will restart operations in the Mediterranean with new ocean voyages for vaccinated guests beginning this summer, according to a press release
The Viking Venus and Viking Sea will homeport in Valletta and sail two different 11-day roundtrip itineraries in the Mediterranean
Guests on the new Malta & Adriatic Jewels itinerary will overnight in Valletta and then sail to Montenegro and Croatia, calling in Kotor, Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar and Šibenik, before returning to the Maltese archipelago, with a stop in Gozo and finally back to Valletta. Guests on the new Malta & Greek Isles Discovery itinerary will also overnight in Valletta and then sail to Greece, calling in Kalamata, Athens, Santorini, Rhodes and Souda Bay, before returning to Valletta.
The Viking Venus and Viking Sea will sail the itineraries between July and early October 2021.
“We thank the government of Malta for its support and enthusiasm as we continue restarting operations,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. “Malta is a fantastic destination, with ancient history, rich culture and a central location in the Mediterranean. We began calling in Malta in 2016 and look forward to welcoming guests back to some of the most historically significant and naturally beautiful areas of the Med—in both the Maltese archipelago, as well as along the Croatian coast, and around Greek islands this summer.”
Today’s news follows Viking’s recent announcements of Welcome Back ocean voyages in England, Iceland and Bermuda, beginning in May 2021. The company is actively working on developing additional Welcome Back itineraries in a variety of other destinations, with the goal of announcing further 2021 sailings as soon as government approvals are given.
Also, citing the result of strong demand, Viking also announced today it is adding more sailing dates this summer for its Welcome Back voyages around Iceland and Bermuda.
Venice Asks Other Cities to Join in Effort to Curb Cruise Ships
PHOTO: A cruise ship sailing through Venice, Italy. (photo via Jan-Otto/iStock Unreleased)
Venice officials have asked several of Europe's other popular cruise destinations, including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dubrovnik and Marseille to join them in working toward the enforcement of new rules that would require cruise lines to adapt their ships to reduce the potential for injury to people as well as environmental impact.
"I have written to all European cities that share our experience with cruise tourism and that find themselves having to balance economic development with environmental sustainability," Pino Musolino, chairman of the northern Adriatic Sea port authority, said in a statement Thursday.
"The growing size of vessels, their environmental impacts on the areas surrounding the ports and the 'burden' that the increasing number of tourists...are creating a situation of conflict," he wrote in a letter to eight fellow port authorities.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site and bucket list destination for many, Venice is slowly sinking, with officials blaming cruise ships for contributing to the growing problem.
Cruise lines' Dubrovnik deal seen as a way to combat overcrowding
Last year, Dubrovnik received 742,000 passengers on 538 ships.
FORT LAUDERDALE -- Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald said a new agreement in Dubrovnik, Croatia, illustrates how fears about crowding in favourite tourist areas can be managed by the cruise industry.
Speaking as part of a CEO panel at the Seatrade Cruise Global convention here, Donald took the occasion to disclose that major cruise lines have agreed to coordinate their schedules this summer in Dubrovnik.
That could mean some ships arrive later or depart earlier to keep their time in port from coinciding, or it could mean moving some ships to arrive during the week rather than on weekends.
The walled Old City of Dubrovnik was named a Unesco World Heritage site in 1979, but Donald said its mayor requested a meeting with cruise officials because it had been threatened with delisting by Unesco.
Donald and other cruise officials met several times with mayor Mato Frankovic, most recently in January when an agreement was apparently reached.
"In the end, our guests don't want to go to a place that's overcrowded," Donald said. "If the sites that everybody wants to see are being abused, our guests won't go. It's in our self-interest, but it's also in the interest of the places we go."
Last year, Dubrovnik received 742,000 passengers on 538 ships. The city recorded about 3.4 million overnight stays, with many visitors drawn by Dubrovnik's status as a filming location for the HBO series "Game of Thrones."
Donald said cruise lines need to "listen with empathy for the issue of what some would call over tourism, not necessarily driven by cruise companies but by the fact that we're a very visible symbol for it; our ships are large, and so forth. We have to listen with empathy to the ports that are out there and make sure we work with them to get the proper infrastructure."
Dubrovnik's over tourism concerns are shared by several other destinations in the Mediterranean, including Barcelona, Venice and the Greek island of Santorini.
Travel journalist Peter Greenberg, who moderated the CEO panel, said the World Travel and Tourism Council in a recent study listed "destination degradation" as one of three critical issues facing the travel industry.
Others on the panel took issue with the label "over tourism."
"I think it's a misnomer," said Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. chairman Richard Fain. "What we're really talking about is sustainable tourism."
Fain cited Royal Caribbean's development of Falmouth in Jamaica to offer an alternative to Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, as another successful response to crowding concerns.
After Falmouth opened in 2011, the number of cruise visitors actually rose, but they were more spread out.
"There were more people but less density," Fain said.
"The opportunity, really, is to work together in these communities," Fain said. "We work with them, and we find solutions that are to both of our benefits. And those we work with are very happy. You see that over and over again. Those who just want to make headlines, that's a different story."
The Celebrity Reflection in Dubrovnik.
Greenberg said that two cities where over tourism has been a hot-potato issue -- Venice and Barcelona -- are in the backyard of MSC Cruises, which has its headquarters in Geneva and its operations in Naples, Italy.
MSC executive chairman Pierfrancesco Vago said some perspective was in order.
"When you're talking about Venice's 30 million visitors a year, the cruise industry is 1 million of that," Vago said.
He added that unlike the general tourism population, which ebbs and flows individually, cruise tourists come in groups that can be managed.
"We can actually coordinate," Vago said. "We can actually ensure that there will never be an overflow, and we can control embarkation and disembarkation."
A 2015 Unesco report recommended that the number of cruise passengers at Dubrovnik should not exceed 8,000 a day, arguing that when more than 8,000 visitors are inside the walls of the old city "tourist blight" becomes inevitable.
Research from the Port of Dubrovnik found that in 2016, arrivals exceeded 8,000 on 18 out of 243 total cruise days and that arrivals exceeded 10,000 on four days that year.
MSC has been looking for new destinations in the Adriatic to supplement hot spots like Dubrovnik. Last year, for example, MSC began calling at the port of Sarande, in southern Albania.
"Nobody knew that in Sarande, there were 10 different Unesco sites," MSC CEO Gianni Onorato said in a recent interview. "This is the opportunity the cruise industry can give because there are options. That's the only way to solve this problem."
The new mayor of Dubrovnik said he is in favor of halving the number of cruise passengers arriving daily at the Adriatic port city in Croatia.
Mayor Mato Frankovic, elected in June, told London's Telegraph newspaper that the current soft ceiling of 8,000 passengers a day should be reduced to 4,000.
He also called for limits on tour operators running day trips to the walled medieval city, which has been a Unesco world heritage site since 1979.
A 2015 Uneco mission recommended that a cap on cruise tourism be developed, and that it should not exceed 8,000 passengers per day.
The Dubrovnik Port Authority said on its website that the cap was exceeded 18 times in 2016 out of the 243 days when cruise ships called. It also said it refused 40 cruise call requests for this year.
Dubrovnik has become one of the most popular stops on an itinerary from Venice to the Eastern Mediterranean, or the reverse route. Last year Dubrovnik had 639 ship calls and handled 831,730 passengers, up 0.1% from the year before, according to Med Cruise, an association of Mediterranean cruise ports. Of those, 763,561 were transit passengers, ranking Dubrovnik behind only six other ports of call in the Mediterranean region.
Frankovic said he would like to see a "reset" for tourism, and that ship calls need to be spaced more evenly so the weekend crush is reduced.
The Unesco report said 90% of cruise calls to Dubrovnik come between May and October. And although cruise visitors accounted for only 2.5% of all visitors in 2013, "they have a disproportionate impact on the World Heritage property due to their concentration in time and space," the report said.
British holidaymaker, 64, drowns in Dubrovnik after falling off luxury cruise ship in the early hours of the morning
The tragedy happened in the early hours of Sunday morning
Crew members on ship The Emanuel saw the woman falling overboard
They pulled her to the shore but medics were unable to save her.
A British holidaymaker has drowned after falling off a tourist ship - The Emanuel (pictured) - in the ancient picture postcard city of Dubrovnik in southern Croatia
A British holidaymaker has drowned after falling off a tourist ship in the ancient picture postcard city of Dubrovnik in southern Croatia.
Crew members who spotted the woman falling overboard dived into the water and pulled the 64-year-old to the shore, but despite the fact that medics were quickly on the scene, they were unable to save her.
The tragedy happened in the early hours of Sunday morning while the boat, The Emanuel, was moored in the port of Gruz in Dubrovnik.
The mini cruise ship was recently refurbished as well as upgraded. It now has 18 cabins and seven crew offering two-day trips to tourists in the region.
A police spokesman said the woman had been fine before the incident. She was with her husband and friends enjoying a drink on deck when she fell.
An autopsy is due to be done today to find out the exact cause of the death.
Police have not yet named the woman as her relatives in the UK have not all been informed.
Carnival Cruise Line will make a return to Europe in 2016 when it launches new ship Carnival Vista.
The news comes after the line announced in May 2013 that it would have no ships sailing in Europe during 2014 and 2015, citing increasing airfares as the reason behind the decision.
New itineraries for summer 2016 on Carnival Vista include Athens, Barcelona, Dubrovnik, Izmir, Corfu, Livorno, Marseille, Messina (Sicily), Naples, Rome, Trieste and Valetta.
The ship will have its first European sailing on May 1 and will then have 18 sailings in Europe before moving on to New York in October. The ship's official homeport has yet to be revealed.
The ship will have the first IMAX cinema at sea, as well as new dining options, more alfresco dining and the biggest Waterworks of any Carnival ship. The ship will also have a new Havana pool at the back of the ship, with Havana cabana staterooms available to book.
Mark Tamis, senior vice president of guest operations, said: “I really feel and we do [at Carnival] that this is the greatest ship to date and certainly the best ship to come from Carnival Cruise Line.
“This is about building on past success. This is built of the success of Carnival Breeze and what is rolling out across the whole Carnival fleet.
“We set out to make this our most innovative ship to date. This is about creating connects and a connection to the sea. This ship, like no other ship, brings that all together.“
When the line announced it was pulling away from Europe in last year, the company said it didn’t believe Americans, who make up the vast majority of its passengers, would pay increased airfares to cross the Atlantic.
In May last year, agents were praised for switch-selling customers to book a Caribbean cruise with Carnival rather than a European one.
During a VIP agent trip on Carnival Breeze last year, Lynn Torrent, executive vice-president os sales and guest services, said the line’s bosses were watching the moves being made by other international brands. She said Carnival was sitting back and seeing what other lines were doing in the UK market before making a decision.
Costa Cruises has received its newest cruise ship the Costa Diadema from the Italian ship builder Fincantieri.
The ship was built at the Fincantieri Marghera shipyard which is a popular choice for Carnival owned cruise ships. The large vessel will also be the new flagship of the Costa fleet. Costa Cruises has invested a total of around 550 million euro in the construction of the Italian based cruise lines most advanced ship.
The project has involved approximately 1,000 shipyard workers plus another 2,500 subcontractors and about 400 contracted suppliers, most of which are Italian firms, engaged for the fitting-out of the interiors of the cruise ship. Costa Diadema is the 12th cruise ship built-in Italy by Fincantieri for Costa, with a total investment worth more than 5 billion euro.
“Costa Diadema is our new flagship, she will set new standards in the European cruise industry and further strengthen Costa’s leadership in Europe. She is the best expression of our new brand positioning: Italy’s finest. It`s passion and modern Italian lifestyle, hospitality and elegance” commented Costa Crociere S.p.A CEO, Michael Thamm.
At 132,500 gross tons, more than 300 meters long and 37 meters wide, Costa Diadema has 1,862 guest cabins and will be an Ambassador of Italy’s finest offering the best of Italian lifestyle, entertainment, gastronomy and hospitality. The new flagship’s interiors are even cozier, roomier and more modern in terms of facilities and layout of her public areas. She is a cutting-edge vessel which offers large, split-level rooms directly overlooking the sea and conveniently interconnected, thus evoking the atmosphere of a buzzing Italian seaside resort.
The perfect example is the outside promenade on deck five – a real “terrazza all’italiana”, extending over 500 meters, where guests can go for a stroll and enjoy the spectacular view over the sea, or, even better, relaxing in one of the several bars and restaurants, drinking a cocktail or having a romantic dinner.
Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri S.p.A. said:“Costa Diadema is the 44th cruise ship we have built since 2002, the 12th cruise ship we have built for our friends from Costa Crociere. This is thus a very special occasion to us and we are very proud to present the latest result of the Italian excellence, which confirms our leading position in ship design and construction for cruise sector, a sector without parallel in terms of technological complexity and competitiveness.” Bono concluded: “Today, during this day of celebration, I express my wish that this fruitful cooperation between two main national companies may continue and bring good luck to the whole country.”
After the delivery, Costa Diadema will set sail from Venice on October 30 and will reach Trieste, from which her “vernissage cruise” will start on November 1, then will call at Dubrovnik, Corfù, Malta, Naples, to then end in Genoa on November 7, for the Christening event. After the vernissage, from November 8, she will depart for three 7-day inaugural cruises.
As “Regina del Mediterraneo”, Costa Diadema will be deployed in the Mediterranean Sea. From November 8 until the end of 2015 Summer season, the new flagship will leave from Savona on 7-day cruises in the western Mediterranean Sea, calling every week at Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Naples and La Spezia. They will offer the chance to visit during a single cruise Florence and Naples, two of the most popular Italian cities, and beautiful Mediterranean cities like Barcelona and Marseille.
Thomson Cruises reveals new home ports and two ship revamps
By Phil Davies
Dubrovnik is to be the new home port for Thomson Cruises in 2015 as part of an expanded programme including 28 new destinations, including Albania.
Thomson Celebration will be based in the Croatian port running four new itineraries from May 7, 2015.
Thomson Spirit and Thomson Majesty (pictured) will join the Platinum fleet next summer, with an interior makeover and 28 balcony cabins on Majesty and 19 on Spirit.
Thomson Spirit will also be based in the new home port of Marmaris in Turkey.
Thomson Celebration will go child free on its four itineraries from Dubrovnik with new ports of call including Sibenik, Korcula, Rovinj, Split, and Hvar in Croatia; Trieste, Bari, and Brindisi in Italy; and Corinth and Itea in Greece.
New regional airports are being added to serve the Dubrovnik sailings, giving 50,000 seats across the summer from Glasgow, Newcastle and Bristol, as well as Birmingham, Manchester and Gatwick.
New destinations for Thomson Dream incude Elba, San Remo (for Monaco), and La Spezia (for Portofino) in Italy, Sete (for Carcassonne) in France and Tarragona, Spain.
Thomson Majesty will be visiting six new ports, including Ravenna and Lipari in Italy, Durres in Albania, Rijeka in Croatia, Chania in Crete and Kalamata.
The cruises go on sale on April 24.
Thomson Cruises managing director Helen Caron said: “Summer 2015 will be a record year for Thomson Cruises as we introduce a total of 28 new ports of calls, 13 new itineraries and an exciting new home port of Dubrovnik for Thomson Celebration.
“Listening to our customers is at the heart of all our planning, which is why we’re offering more choice and variety of destinations in our some of our favoured locations, and providing our guests the flexibility on their holiday to cruise and stay, with even more hotels introduced to our collection.
“We hope the investment to modernise our ships and give Thomson Spirit and Thomson Majesty the Platinum seal of approval, along with the introduction of balcony cabins, will enhance the overall experience for everyone we welcome on board.”
Costa Cruises has received its newest cruise ship the Costa Diadema from the Italian ship builder Fincantieri.
