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Carnival to Sell Freshly Baked Pastries Across Fleet
Carnival Cruise Line is introducing a new offering of made-to-order pastries onboard its ships, according to Brand Ambassador John Heald.
In a social media post, he said that the snacks are currently being sold during breakfast onboard 11 vessels, including the Carnival Jubilee and the Carnival Celebration.
For a small fee, guests can order freshly fried doughnuts, beignets and churros, along with a wide choice of flavours and toppings.
Options include a choice of two or five doughnuts for $4 and $8, respectively, as well as four New Orleans-inspired beignets for $3.50.
Passengers can choose from different fillings and toppings, including powdered sugar, Boston cream and chocolate sauce.
Other options include golden churros rolled in cinnamon sugar, with five pieces for $3 and ten pieces available for $5.
Carnival is also offering a breakfast combo that allows guests to choose from two doughnuts and four beignets for $7.
Heald noted that the new offering is being rolled out across the Carnival fleet and will be available on all of the company’s North American ships within the next couple of weeks.
Other ships currently offering the pastries include the Mardi Gras, the Carnival Vista, the Carnival Horizon, the Carnival Panorama, the Carnival Firenze, the Carnival Venezia, the Carnival Magic, the Carnival Dream and the Carnival Breeze.
Depending on the vessel, the pastries are served in different locations onboard, including Street Eats, Sweet Spot or Seafood Shack.
Heald said that guests onboard can find more information about the product on the HUB App or the Funtimes journal.
“Due to a fleet redeployment, the Norwegian Breakaway’s sailings from November 8, 2026, through and including March 29, 2027, have been cancelled, and the ship will be repositioned to New Orleans,” Norwegian explained.
“In her place, the Norwegian Prima will sail from San Juan, Puerto Rico, offering the Norwegian Breakaway’s original Southern Caribbean cruises during the same time frame,” the company continued in a letter sent to booked guests.
Bookings for the new itineraries on both ships will be available for booking starting August 8, 2025.
“As passionate cruisers ourselves, we know this wasn’t part of your plan, and we truly apologise for any disruption or disappointment this may cause,” Norwegian added.
The company stated that it’s working to implement the change “as smoothly as possible,” noting that full monetary refunds will be automatically issued to the original form of payment used by guests at the time of booking.
“We recognise that this wasn’t part of your original travel arrangements, and as a token of our appreciation for your patience, we’re pleased to offer a ten per cent discount in the form of a Future Cruise Credit (FCC),” Norwegian added.
According to the company, the credit can be used towards any published sailings through December 31, 2027.
Earlier this month, Norwegian announced the cancellation of over 40 sailings set to take place onboard the Norwegian Breakaway and the Norwegian Prima between November 2026 and March 2027.
The Norwegian Prima was initially set to debut in New Orleans during the 2026-27 season, while the Norwegian Breakaway was poised to debut in Puerto Rico.
Before arriving at the Big Easy, the trans-Atlantic crossing will visit destinations in Portugal and Spain, including Málaga, Cádiz, and Ponta Delgada.
The Carnival Valor is then set to arrive in New Orleans later this month, resuming its regular schedule of cruises to the Western Caribbean.
Sailing from Louisiana along with the Carnival Liberty, the vessel offers a series of four- and five-night itineraries to ports in Mexico, including Progreso, Costa Maya and Cozumel.
As part of its routine drydock in Spain, the Carnival Valour underwent technical work, as well as class inspections and general maintenance.
Public areas and staterooms also received upkeep, including the replacement of items such as carpets, upholstery, and furniture.
In line with other Carnival ships, the 2004-built ship saw the addition of a new Heroes Tribute Bar and Lounge.
Currently being rolled out to the company’s fleet, the military-themed venue pays homage to the sacrifices made by Armed Services personnel and their families.
Taking over the area previously occupied by the Skybox Sports Bar, the lounge serves a special menu, with part of its profits donated to humanitarian organisations.
Following the Carnival Valor, the Carnival Liberty is also being dry-docked at the Navantia shipyard in Cádiz.
As the fifth ship in Carnival’s fleet to visit a shipyard in 2025, the vessel is currently undergoing routine maintenance at the Spanish facility.
Other ships that entered drydock this year include the Carnival Sunshine, the Carnival Spirit and the Carnival Miracle.
Port NOLA Reports 1.2 Million Cruise Passengers in 2023
Brandy D. Christian, Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) president and CEO, delivered the 2023 State of the Port address on Nov. 3. She highlighted successes across the Port’s four lines of business: cruise, cargo, rail, and industrial real estate.
According to a press release, the cruise industry has recovered from the pandemic, and cruise line partners maintain their trust in the Louisiana cruise market through New Orleans.
Port NOLA achieved new records in 2023, including in March when it set a monthly passenger record. This record surpassed the prior monthly record established in February 2020, shortly before the global pandemic.
As the 2023 fiscal year concluded, Port NOLA reported 1.2 million cruise passenger movements, setting the stage for a potential new annual passenger record in the current calendar year.
In November 2024, Royal Caribbean is set to make a comeback with a new ship, the Brilliance of the Seas. Port NOLA has also secured an agreement with Carnival, ensuring at least five more years of having two year-round vessels, the port said in a press release.
Norwegian Cruise Line is bringing back the port’s largest homeported vessel, the Norwegian Breakaway. Additionally, Disney Cruise Line will resume its sailings in January.
The Port is experiencing growth in the river cruise sector, with a total of nine homeported riverine vessels, including Viking Cruises, which began sailing from Port NOLA in 2022.
“As I think about the past eight years, and all of the work we have done to grow the gateway, two pillars are constant: diversification and transformation,” said Christian.
“Diversity in our lines of business and in our leaders, transforming our organization and our outlook. These are the tenets of our master plan, which will guide us into new territory… Let’s continue to deliver Louisiana’s future together.”
Royal Caribbean International will not require guests to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 on certain sailings from next month.
From 5 September, passengers sailing on all European cruises and select US ports - Los Angeles, Galveston, New Orleans - will only be asked to disclose their vaccination status during check-in. Still, it will not be mandatory in order to board.
The line’s pre-cruise testing protocols will remain the same.
Royal said it recommends all eligible guests are fully vaccinated and advised passengers to bring proof of vaccination with them should local authorities or businesses in specific destinations ask to see it.
In some destinations, guests will be required to prove their vaccination status in order to go ashore. In contrast, unvaccinated passengers and those not up to date with their vaccinations may need to undergo additional testing at their own expense to go ashore and disembark at the end of their cruise.
As the Carnival Sensation is retired from service, Cruise Industry News looks at the history of this popular Fantasy-class vessel.
1990: The Fantasy entered service as the lead ship of an eight-vessel class that also includes the Sensation – a 2,040-guest vessel built by the Kvaerner Masa-Yards in Finland, at a cost of $300 million.
1993: The Sensation is christened in November, with four Carnival vice presidents serving as godmothers: Vicki L. Freed, Roberta Jacoby, Cherie Weinstein and Geri Donnelly. The vessel then sets sail on its inaugural voyage, launching a year-round program of weekly Caribbean cruises from Miami.
1998: After undergoing its first mandatory drydock, the Sensation is repositioned, debuting in Tampa. In December, the vessel launches a series of week-long cruises to Grand Cayman, Cozumel and New Orleans from its new Florida homeport.
2000: The Sensation is reflagged, with its registry port changing from Monrovia, Liberia, to Nassau, Bahamas.
2002: As Carnival shifts its fleet around Florida and the Gulf Ports, the Sensation is transferred to the short cruise market. Still sailing from Tampa, the vessel takes over the 1986-built Jubilee’s schedule in August, offering four- and five-night cruises to the Western Caribbean.
2004: With the new Carnival Miracle debuting in Tampa, the Sensation is once again repositioned. This time, the vessel debuts in New Orleans, launching a series of four- and five-night cruises to Mexico in October.
2005: As Hurricane Katrina hits Louisiana in September, the Sensation is diverted to Galveston with two of its scheduled cruises now departing from the Texas port.
2005: Soon after, the vessel is chartered to FEMA as part of the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in New Orleans. During a six-month period, the Sensation remained docked in the Gulf region while serving as a temporary house for people affected by the natural disaster.
2006: After its first significant renovation, the Sensation resumed service in March. With new features that included a nine-hole mini-golf course, larger kid facilities and a reconfigured aft lounge, the vessel kicked off a series of short cruises to the Bahamas from Port Canaveral.
2007: In line with other ships of the fleet, the Sensation received the Carnival prefix to its name, becoming the Carnival Sensation.
2016: As part of a deployment shuffle, the ship is replaced in Port Canaveral by the Carnival Victory and returns to Miami. Starting in February, the Carnival Sensation debuts a program of five- and four-night cruises from its new homeport, with itineraries visiting the Caribbean, Mexico and the Bahamas.
2020: On March 9, the vessel departed on what ended up being its last revenue cruise. Leaving from Miami, the five-night voyage included visits to Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios. Soon after the voyage, the vessel entered a lay-up status, along with the entire Carnival fleet.
2022: As part of reviews of its fleet and homeport strategies, Carnival announced the retirement of the Carnival Sensation in February. A few weeks later, in late March, the vessel sailed from Miami to Aliaga, where it is set to be scrapped over the next months.
COVID Cases Found on Norwegian Cruise Ship Returning to New Orleans
A cruise ship set to dock in New Orleans with over 3,000 passengers has detected 10 cases of COVID-19 among its crew and guests, the Louisiana Department of Health said late on Saturday.
The cruise ship Norwegian Breakaway, owned by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd, departed New Orleans on a weeklong cruise on Nov. 28 and had stops in Belize, Honduras and Mexico, the health agency said.
"NCL has been adhering to appropriate quarantine and isolation protocols," the department said in a tweet.
The ship is set to reach New Orleans on Sunday morning, according to its itinerary.
Everyone on board will be tested for COVID-19 before leaving and will be provided with post-exposure and quarantine public health guidance by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
People who test positive for COVID-19 will either travel to their homes or self-isolate according to CDC guidelines, the health agency said.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.
(Reporting by Ann Maria Shibu in Bengaluru; Editing by Frances Kerry)
Carnival Cruise Line Extends Homeport COVID Testing Through Year-End
Carnival Cruise Line has extended the availability of coronavirus testing at its homeports through the end of December 2021. This was announced in a Facebook post by the cruise line’s brand ambassador John Heald.
The testing is available for vaccinated guests who sail from Galveston, Baltimore, New Orleans and Long beach through DocGo and for vaccinated passengers sailing from Miami, Port Canaveral and Tampa via Rapid Cruise Testing.
Appointments must be made online and are non-refundable at the price of $100 per person.
Heald asked Carnival guests to use the homeport testing services only if they “exhausted all other ways to get tested such as tests by your local pharmacy, monitored home tests etc.”
“This will be more affordable plus most importantly it will give you peace of mind knowing you already have your negative result 48 hours before your fun starts,” Heald explained.
Any appointment made with the testing centres and not taken will not be refunded in December, according to him.
“The reason for this is that we had people not show up and then ask for a refund which in turn meant that people who wanted appointments could not get them. So, for December there will be no refunds made,” Heald explained.
Carnival Cruise Line to Bring Back More Ships in September and October
Carnival Cruise Line announced today that three more ships will resume guest operations in September, and another four in October, which brings the total number of ships in operation for the Carnival Cruise Line fleet to 15
Carnival said in a press release will continue to operate all its ships as vaccinated cruises through at least October.
The three ships for September are the Carnival Glory from New Orleans, starting Sept. 5, the Carnival Pride from Baltimore, starting Sept. 12, and the Carnival Dream from Galveston, starting Sept. 19.
In October, the four additional ships to restart will be the Carnival Conquest from Miami, effective Oct. 8, the Carnival Freedom from Miami, effective Oct. 9, the Carnival Elation from Port Canaveral, effective Oct. 11, and the Carnival Sensation from Mobile, effective Oct. 21.
"We are very excited about our restart and greatly appreciate the support of our guests, travel agents and port and destination partners," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. "By the end of July, we will have five ships in our restart plan, including the introduction of service on Mardi Gras, and we are seeing a great combination of strong demand and strong guest satisfaction scores tied to the positive guest experience onboard."
Carnival is also notifying guests and travel agents of an extension in its pause of operations through Sept. 5 for the Carnival Pride from Baltimore, Sept. 11 for the Carnival Dream from Galveston, Oct. 4 for the Carnival Conquest from Miami and Oct. 16 for the Carnival Sensation from Mobile.
Cruises on the Carnival Sunshine from Charleston, the Carnival Ecstasy from Jacksonville and the Carnival Liberty from Port Canaveral will be cancelled through Oct. 31.
In addition, a three-day cruise on the Carnival Miracle from Long Beach on Sept. 24 is being cancelled, and then the Carnival Miracle will begin sailing from Long Beach on Sept. 27.
Carnival said will continue to welcome unvaccinated guests onboard, but all unvaccinated guests including children under the age of 12, will be subject to pre-cruise and pre-embarkation testing and testing again prior to debarkation (on cruises longer than four days) along with a $150 per person charge to cover the costs of testing, reporting and health and safety screenings.
Carnival also said it is limiting the operation of its supervised youth programs to vaccinated children and youth 12 years and older. Unvaccinated guests departing from Florida (effective July 31) and Texas (effective Aug. 2) will also need to show proof of travel insurance coverage, based on the itineraries being sailed and the requirements of ports and destinations visited. These additional measures will be in place through at least October but may be extended based on guidance from public health and medical advisors and the requirements of destination partners.
"The decision to sail with vaccinated voyages was a difficult one to make, and we recognize this is disappointing to some of our guests especially the many families with children under the age of 12 who we love to sail, and who love to sail with us," said Duffy. "It's important to remember that this is a temporary measure given the current circumstances. In consultation with our medical experts and advisors, we've determined this plan is in the best interests of the health and safety of our guests, crew and the destinations that we bring our ships to. It's very important that we continue to maintain the confidence of our destination partners so that we can provide our guests with the optimal cruise experience and sail our itineraries."
"Our plan envisions successfully bringing back our entire fleet by the end of the year, returning to full service – most especially for the millions of families who sail with us – and building back our business for the benefit of our guests, employees and the tens of thousands of jobs and local businesses that depend on our company. We will continue to offer exemptions to our unvaccinated guests on a limited, capacity-managed basis within 14 days of sailing as we finalize the vaccinated guest count. The more bookings we initially secure for our cruises with fully vaccinated guests, the more exemptions we can ultimately offer for those unvaccinated guests already booked and those wishing to sail," Duffy added.
Crews worked through the night to enclose the aft dining room which took the brunt of the damage, removing damage and welding in new steel to cover the opening.
The 2003-built ship departed a day late on her itinerary, but passengers were able to board on Dec. 22 as scheduled. The itinerary called for a sea day on Dec. 23 followed by calls in Cozumel, Costa Maya, Mahogany Bay before two more sea days and a conclusion in New Orleans on Sunday, Dec. 29.
Carnival honored refunds for guests that opted not to join the sailing. For passengers embarking, they received one day pro-rated refund and a $100 onboard credit per stateroom.
Carnival Glory Update; Ship to Be Repaired, Next Cruise on Schedule
The Carnival Glory will be repaired during her turnaround day in New Orleans on Dec. 22, according to a statement from Carnival Cruise Line following the Friday collision between two of its ships.
"The ship is on its way to New Orleans and will dock tomorrow morning to operate your cruise. With the exception of a section in the aft Platinum Dining Room, all features are operating and all activities will be offered, including the Christmas dinner menu we know our guests love," the company said. "Our team is working hard to complete weather-proofing and cosmetic work to the damaged area in the aft restaurant and this will require that we depart at midnight on Sunday."
Carnival is advising guests to arrive at the port two hours later than originally scheduled. "Given the impact to the aft restaurant, we will have to make some adjustments to our dining plan for next week's cruise," the company said. "Some guests who requested assigned dining will have to move to "Your Time Dining." (Guests on 'Your Time' open seating may dine any time in the Main Dining Room between 5:30 PM and 9:00 PM. Guests are seated on a first-come, first-served basis depending on party size.) Our team on board will do everything possible to accommodate affected guests to minimize any impact. Guests being moved will be contacted directly via separate email prior to boarding."
Carnival Cruise Line will raise the number of cabins devoted to short cruises out of Galveston and New Orleans in 2019.
It will send the 2,974-passenger Carnival Valor to New Orleans and the 3,646-passenger Carnival Dream to Galveston, representing capacity increases of 10% and 22%, respectively, for the four- and five-day itineraries there.
In Galveston, the Carnival Dream replaces the Valor and will join the Carnival Freedom and Carnival Vista, which repositions to Galveston in fall 2018.
The Valor will swing to New Orleans to replace the Carnival Triumph, which will be repositioned to a port to be determined.
Four-day cruises depart Thursdays and visit Cozumel. Five-day voyages depart Mondays and Saturdays, calling at Cozumel and Progreso. Some five-day itineraries from Galveston feature Cozumel and Costa Maya.
The Carnival Dream recently underwent a refurbishment that added Guy's Pig and Anchor Bar-B-Que, the pharmacy-themed Alchemy Bar, the BlueIguana Cantina Mexican restaurant and the full-service Bonsai Sushi restaurant.
Valor last year added Guy's Burger Joint, the Caribbean-themed RedFrog Pub, SkyBox sports bar, an Alchemy Bar and the poolside RedFrog Rum Bar and BlueIguana Tequila Bar.
Norwegian Cruise Line said its 4,000-passenger Norwegian Breakaway will move its homeport to New Orleans starting in the fall of 2018.
The ship, which has a large painting of the New York skyline on its hull, has been sailing from New York since its 2013 debut and has a number of New York-themed features.
The Breakaway will make the move after completing a summer season in the Baltics in 2018. It will arrive in New Orleans on November 11, 2018 and will sail a variety of cruises to the Caribbean through April 7, 2019.
Norwegian said the Norwegian Gem, which had been scheduled to sail from New Orleans in 2018/19 will instead go to New York and sail a series of cruises to the Caribbean, Canada & New England and the Bahamas & Florida. In the summer of 2018, the Norwegian Escape will be repositioned to New York from Miami for the first time to do seven-day sailings to Bermuda.
Carnival Cruise Line has now canceled two cruises from Galveston that it had hoped to offer in a shortened format.
Based on the uncertainty of the port reopening, Carnival said the Aug. 26 sailing of Carnival Freedom and the Aug. 27 departure of Carnival Breeze have been canceled.
Carnival, which had previously canceled the five-day Carnival Valor sailing from Galveston departing Aug. 26, also canceled the next Carnival Valor cruise leaving Aug. 31.
Guests will have a full refund processed to the original form of payment within three weeks, and will receive a 25% future cruise credit if a reservation is made in the next 60 days.
Coast Guard and port officials can’t say with any certainty when the port will reopen, Carnival added, but suggested it won’t be until late this week at the earliest.
The three Carnival ships will make stops in New Orleans during the next two days to let guests disembark if they want to make independent arrangements to return home. They can also wait and sail back to Galveston, Carnival said.
Walking Dead cruise will be held on the Norwegian Pearl.
Fans of the hit television series The Walking Dead can rejoice.
Officials have announced that the third annual Walker Stalker Cruise will return in 2018.
According to the official website of the Walker Stalker Cruise, the four-night voyage on the Norwegian Pearl will depart from New Orleans on Jan. 26, 2018; stop in Cozumel, Mexico; and then return to the United States on Jan. 30.
This year’s Walking Dead-themed cruise will feature several of the top stars from the TV series, including Norman Reedus, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Alanna Masterson, Lauren Cohan and more.
In addition, Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman and special makeup effects supervisor Greg Nicotero will also be along for the cruise, with more names from the series being added in the coming months.
With around 2,500 Walking Dead fans onboard the Norwegian Pearl, the activities include meet-and-greet sessions with the cast and crew, Q&A panels, zombie-themed activities, live music and access to the ship’s amenities and services.
Prices for the voyage start at $895 per person (based on double occupancy), before taxes and fees. For more information about the Walker Stalker Cruise, check out the voyage’s official website.
Royal Caribbean International said it will put a ship in New Orleans for the 2018-19 winter season, after an absence of three years.
The Vision of the Seas will sail 7-day itineraries to destinations in the Bahamas and the Yucatan Peninsula, Royal said.
In addition, the Enchantment of the Seas will move from Miami to Galveston, joining the Liberty of the Seas there. The Vision will offer two 16-day Panama Canal transits between Miami and Los Angeles before repositioning to New Orleans, the first time in three years that itinerary will be offered.
Photo credit Dawn Jones, Entrance of the first lock.
Royal also said that the Mariner of the Seas will return to Miami from the Asia-Pacific region to sail short cruises, the first time a Voyager-class ship has been assigned to that duty. The 3- and 4-day itineraries to the Bahamas begin on June 21, 2018, after a 32-day revitalization.
Azamara Club Cruises will make an overnight stay in Havana on its March 21 departure of the Azamara Quest from Miami, taking advantage of newly granted permission by the Cuban government.
The 12-day cruise will also call in Key West, Tampa and Cozumel and spend two nights in New Orleans.
The cruise opened for booking on Dec. 9, with prices starting at $2,799 per person.
Azamara said that in time, it looks to add more ports of call in Cuba into several of its itineraries.
You might think that a city with its own Carnival Museum, like Mobile, Alabama, would be a good bet for Carnival Cruise Line.
However, Carnival pulled out of Mobile five years ago, citing poor financial results. This year, the line decided to give the city another try, returning this week for at least a year with one of its oldest ships, the 2,056-passenger Fantasy, to offer 4- and 5-day cruises to Mexico.
The move will bring at least 100,000 visitors over the next year to Mobile, which has many of the same charms as New Orleans, and a lot to offer anyone who wants to tack on a pre- or post-cruise stay.
Take that Carnival Museum, for example. While New Orleans has the most famous and well-attended Mardi Gras in the United States, the Carnival celebration in Mobile pre-dates it and claims to be the oldest in the country. Like New Orleans, Mobile was in French and Spanish colonial territory until being annexed by the U.S. in 1813. There are many antebellum homes and seven historic districts within Mobile recognized on the National Register of Historic Places.
The No. 1 tourist attraction in Mobile, according to TripAdvisor, is the USS Alabama, a World War II battleship that became a museum after it was retired in 1962. It is about three miles from the cruise terminal.
New since Carnival last sailed from Mobile is the GulfQuest National Maritime Museum. Opened in 2015, the five-story attraction has more than 90 exhibits based on the Gulf of Mexico, and is walking distance from the dock.
Also new since 2011 are a Duck amphibious vehicle tour; an historic trolley tour; and a Mobile River/Port of Mobile boat tour from WildNative Delta Safaris that will run only on cruise departure days.
And baseball fans know Mobile's minor league ballpark is named after native son Hank Aaron, but may not know that it hosts a Christmas light pageant in the off season.
Stacey Hamilton, vice president of marketing and communications for Visit Mobile, said the agency's Very Important Cruiser program provides discounts to almost twenty attractions to anyone that shows a boarding pass.
Mobile is also trying to liven things up on Sunday for cruisers staying overnight before Monday departures.
Hamilton said Visit Mobile is working with the Mobile Arts Council and the Downtown Mobile Alliance to host an arts and crafts market in the historic Cathedral Square and has asked downtown area shops, museums and art galleries normally closed on Sundays to open on those days.
"We've branded this 'Sunday Funday' and will promote this heavily as a reason to come to town on Sundays and have some fun," Hamilton said.
All of these additions helped make Carnival's decision to return to the city.
"Since we were in Mobile in 2011, the Mobile officials have done a tremendous job of creating thousands of new jobs and business investments in the region," said Terry Thornton, senior vice president of itinerary planning at Carnival.
American Queen launching another Mississippi ship next year
The American Queen Steamboat Co. will add a third vessel to its river fleet in 2017. The 340-foot American Duchess is slated to launch on the Mississippi River next June.
“We’re running full these days,” said American Queen President and COO Ted Sykes. “We’ve been scouring the country for more capacity.”
The company’s flagship vessel, the American Queen, is entering its sixth season cruising the Mississippi. The line expanded in 2014, adding the American Empress in the Pacific Northwest. Now in 2017, American Queen will grow again, converting a former gaming vessel purchased from parent company HMS Global Maritime in August into the all-suite Duchess. The river cruise line plans to gut the ship, rebuilding the interior hotel and adding a working paddlewheel.
The four-deck Duchess will carry 166 passengers in 83 suites, including three 550-square-foot owner’s suites and four 550-square-foot loft suites. Other cabin categories will include deluxe suites (450 square feet), outside veranda suites (240 to 330 square feet) and interior staterooms (180 to 200 square feet).
Compared with the American Queen, Sykes said the new ship will offer a more elevated experience.
Two onboard dining venues will be included in the cruise fare, along with beer and wine at dinner, onboard entertainment and shore excursions. The Grand Dining Room will have open seating and be capable of accommodating the entire ship’s capacity.
American Queen plans to operate the American Duchess year-round on the upper and lower Mississippi. Its voyages will include weeklong roundtrip sailings out Nashville and nine-day voyages between Memphis and New Orleans, and St. Louis and Ottawa, Ill. (about 83 miles from Chicago). The Duchess will also overnight in Nashville, a first for the company.
Prices for most sailings start at $2,999 and top out at $9,499 for one of the three owner’s suites. The Duchess will begin accepting bookings for the 2017 season on Oct. 1.
Little-known piece of history: A Cuba cruise from New Orleans
The Daphne when it was operated in the late 1970s by Karras Cruises. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Michael Grace
Though cruises between the U.S. and Cuba had been embargoed for more than half a century, there were exceptions, now all but forgotten.
In 1977 and 1978, the Greek-registered cruise ship Daphne made several departures from the port of New Orleans to Cuba, circumventing a trade embargo imposed after Fidel Castro’s 1959 rise to power in the island nation.
The Fathom Adonia last week made its historic cruise into Havana harbor, a voyage that Fathom’s parent, Carnival Corp., has promoted as the first U.S.-Cuba cruise in 50 years. And in terms of a U.S.-owned ship making a round trip to Cuba, it was.
But amateur cruise historian Michael Grace recalled recently how he had sailed aboard the Daphne on a 1978 Cuba cruise.
Cruise historian Michael Grace on a 1978 Daphne sailing between New Orleans and Havana.Photo Credit: Courtesy of Michael Grace
“It was right when the Super Bowl was [in New Orleans], and somebody said, ‘Do you want to go to Havana?’” said Grace, a Los Angeles-based writer and film-production manager. He jumped at the chance.
The year before, entrepreneur Fred Mayer had organized a New Orleans-Havana cruise on the Daphne through London-based Karras Cruises. It had been promoted as a jazz cruise, and among the 400 guests were several jazz legends, including saxophonist Stan Getz and pioneering bebop trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.
Anti-Castro protesters were in New Orleans to demonstrate as the Daphne left on May 16, 1977. Cruising to Havana took nearly two days, and during the ship’s stay, Gillespie led a tribute concert for Chano Pozo, a Cuban percussionist and band mate who died in 1948.
After departing Cuba, the Daphne ended its cruise in the Bahamas, either to avoid protestors on a return trip to New Orleans or possibly as a way to skirt the embargo.
Travelers had to make their own way home from the Bahamas, according to contemporary reports. Four other cruises between New York and Havana had been scheduled for the following month, but they never took place, Grace said.
A year later, things had changed. The 1978 cruise to Havana was a round trip from New Orleans, and Grace recalled that, “When I went, there were no protests.”
The Daphne docked in Havana Harbor at night, and the port was dark, as was the rest of the Cuban capital, Grace said.
“Here you arrive in this enormous city, and it was sort of like in a blackout,” he recalled.
The ship stayed for two days. Grace said he made the trip with an art dealer who had hoped to buy Cuban products for resale, but there was nothing to buy. “There were cigars and bath soap in the shop,” he said.
Grace said there was also a Soviet cruise ship in port. “It was the height of the Russian support,” Grace remembered, and the administration of then-president Jimmy Carter was doing what it could to counter the Soviet influence.
Before Fathom's Adonia, the SS Florida was the last ship to sail regular cruises from Miami to Cuba, in 1959. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Michael Grace
“Politically, it changed or something,” Grace said. “[Karras Cruises] was able to operate to Havana.”
While in Cuba, passengers on the ship were taken to the Tropicana nightclub. Grace said the show was a classic costumed dance review. Instead of paper towels in the restrooms, guests were given sheets of toilet paper to dry their hands, he said.
In addition to Havana, the ship stopped in the Cayman Islands and Cozumel, Mexico, before returning to New Orleans, Grace said.
Roger Frizzell, the chief communications officer for Carnival Corp., said he was unaware of the Karras cruises, but he said Fathom’s voyage to Cuba was historic nonetheless.
“It appears to be a Greek line,” he said of the Daphne’s operators. “So I still believe our claim holds, since this is the first time in over 50 years that a U.S. cruise company has sailed from the U.S. to Cuba.”
According to Grace, the last ship to sail regular cruises from Miami to Cuba was the Florida, which gave up the route sometime in 1959.
