Carnival Corp. Sells Two More Cruise Ships

Carnival Corporation's Princess Cruises has announced the sale of two of its ships, Sun Princess and Sea Princess, to undisclosed buyers.

The sale of these vessels is in line with parent company Carnival Corporation’s plan to accelerate the removal of less efficient ships from its fleet.

“Sun Princess and Sea Princess contributed to significant growth in Australian cruising,” said Princess Cruises president Jan Swartz. “Both ships defined the premium cruise experience with Australians and New Zealanders spending close to 14 million nights aboard these ships. While it is never easy to say goodbye to any ship in our fleet, this will allow us to deploy newer ships enhancing our offerings for Australia cruisers and focus on bringing into service exciting newbuilds like the upcoming delivery of Enchanted Princess.”

The first ship in the Sun Class, Sun Princess was introduced in 1995 debuting in the Caribbean and was among the largest ships in the world at the time.

The 2,000-guest Sun Princess also sailed in Alaska and Panama Canal, among other destinations, before being homeported in Australia in October 2007.

"The Sun Princess also helped us open the Japanese market in 2013 as the first foreign-flagged cruise ship to offer cruises designed specifically for the Japanese," the company said, in a statement.

The 2,000-guest Sea Princess meanwhile became synonymous with World Cruises, having completed six full world cruises since 2013. Prior to joining the Sun Princess in Australia, the Sea Princess sailed in Europe and Alaska as well as the Caribbean, including serving as a homeport ship in Barbados in the mid- to late-2000s.

Due to the imminent departure of these two ships from the fleet, Princess Cruises will cancel published itineraries which include:

• Sun Princess sailings from December 28, 2020, through August 14, 2021
• Sea Princess sailings from December 23, 2020, through November 9, 2021

Guests with bookings will be notified, and along with their travel advisors, will receive information on how to book another Princess Cruise when operations resume. Guests who prefer a refund will be accommodated.

 

14 Cruise Ships Received a Perfect 100 Health Score

PHOTO: Disney Fantasy by Disney Cruise Line. (photo via Marina113 / iStock Editorial / Getty Images Plus)

According to the CDC, 14 cruise ships earned a perfect health score during their surprise inspections in the last year.

The ships can be found among 10 different cruise lines and include Celebrity Summit, Rhapsody of the Seas, Norwegian Gem, Disney Wonder, Seabourn Quest, Viking Star, Auroa, Disney Fantasy, Noordam, Sea Princess, Disney Dream, Amsterdam, AIDAVITA and Emerald Princess.

All cruise ships that sail to or from the U.S. must undergo a surprise health inspection by the VSP or Vessel Sanitation Program.

Everything from the medical facilities to the swimming pools, portable water systems, child centres, rooms, ventilation systems and common areas of the ship are inspected.

There are 44 items on the VSP’s checklist, so to get a score of 100, the cruise ship had to receive perfect scores on every single item.

Alternatively, a score of 85 or below is considered failing which occurred with the following ships: Ocean Insignia, Ocean Dream, Silver Spirit, Safari Endeavor and Le Boreal.

Nightly Blackouts and Pirate Drills on World Cruise

PHOTO: The Indian Ocean and nearby bodies of water face a higher threat of piracy.

Passengers aboard a 104-day luxury world cruise were forced to sail without lights for 10 days out of an abundance of caution.

According to passenger Carolyne Jasinski, guests aboard the Sea Princess experienced nightly blackouts and participated in pirate drills while sailing through the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Suez Canal. The aforementioned bodies of water are at higher risk of piracy, causing the blackouts to affect the first leg of the world cruise, which sailed from Sydney to Dubai.

"No deck parties, no movies under the stars, no late-night outdoor bar hopping or pool dipping. No lights, no party atmosphere, no lapping up tropical breezes on their balconies," wrote Jasinski, who is also a travel writer, in a piece for News.com.au.

"All around the ship, as the sun set, all curtains were drawn and all shutters closed. Bright lights, which normally signal the presence of the Sea Princess on the ocean, were dimmed or turned off altogether."

Jasinski said that the ship's captain addressed passengers, apologizing for alarming them but warning that the threat of a pirate attack was real.

"[Passengers] were advised to sit on the floor and to hang on to hand rails in case the ship had to maneuver away from pirate ships," added Jasinski. "In the case of a real threat, those passengers in outside cabins were told to close and lock their balcony doors, then lock their entrance door to their cabin and take shelter in the corridors."

She noted that the precautions "changed the mood on the ship."

However, by Jasinski's account, "it was all smooth sailing" and passengers had little criticism of the safety-first approach.

"Surprisingly there were very few complaints about our dusk-til-dawn limits," she wrote. "Passengers took it all in stride."

"In addition to our normal ongoing security training, additional piracy specific training is conducted prior to any of our vessels entering areas of concern," a Princess Cruises spokesperson said in a statement to the New York Daily News.

"Any measures aboard Sea Princess were simply taken out of an abundance caution and not in response to a specific threat and are common to international shipping sailing in the region."

The Miami Herald also points out that Princess Cruises' passage contract specifically states that the "carrier has the absolute right and sole discretion to respond to safety concerns of any kind, including but not limited to sailing with or without lights."

The world cruise departed New Zealand in May and wraps up next month.

Cruise Ship Passengers FAIL To Smuggle 210lb Of Cocaine Into Sydney

Report by GCaptain.com

Yesterday Australian Border Force (ABF) officers seized 95 kilograms (210 lb) of cocaine from three Canadian cruise ship passengers.

On Sunday 28 August, ABF officers boarded the Princess Cruises ship Sea Princess when it berthed in Sydney Harbour, and with the assistance of detector dogs, searched a number of passenger cabins on the ship. During this search, approximately 95 kilograms of cocaine was located, packed in suitcases.

AFP officers then arrested three Canadian nationals, a 63-year-old man, a 28-year-old woman and a 23-year old woman.

All three will face Sydney Central Local court today, charged with importing a commercial quantity of cocaine.

The maximum penalty for this offence is life imprisonment.

ABF Assistant Commissioner, Strategic Border Command, Clive Murray said the arrests were the result of international cooperation between a number of organizations including US Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), The New Zealand Customs Service (NZCS) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) .

“Drug syndicates should be on notice that the Australian Border Force is aware of all the different ways they attempt to smuggle drugs into our country and we are working with a range of international agencies to stop them,” Assistant Commissioner Murray said.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Crime Operations Shane Connelly said that the AFP’s first priority will always be the safety of the community, and police will continue to target criminals looking to cause harm in Australia.

“Today’s successful operation has resulted in three arrests and we will not rule out further activity as we continue our investigations.” Assistant Commissioner Connelly said.

Emerald Princess to sail in Australia

Princess Cruises is redeploying the Emerald Princess to Australia, giving it five ships there during the winter season.

The 3,082-passenger ship will be the largest and youngest of the five. It was built in 2007.

The Emerald Princess will be based in Sydney from November 2016 to April 2017. Currently it sails in the Caribbean. Its itineraries to New Zealand, Australia and the South Pacific will be announced in detail later this spring.

The Dawn Princess, Sea Princess and Sun Princess sail year-round from Australia. The Diamond Princess splits its time between Australia and China.