Monday, January 27, 2014

Norovirus Strikes Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas



Explorer of the Seas Royal Caribbean Struck With Norovirus

With over 577 passengers and 49 crew having become ill on the Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas, company officials have decided to end the cruise two days early. The Explorer of the Seas is expected to return to Bayonne on Wednesday.

The cruise originally departed from Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, NJ. on January 21st on what was to be a 10-day Caribbean Cruise.

Representatives of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line said Sunday that they were “unable to deliver the vacation our guests were expecting” due to the widespread sickness.

It is assumed that an infected passenger or crew member introduced the Virus on-board the ship.

Test results are expected mid-week, but the symptoms of the outbreak, vomiting and diarrhea, are consistent with the highly contagious norovirus, the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis in the U.S.

Royal Caribbean is offering impacted cruise passengers compensation for missed cruise days and ports plus credit on a future cruise.

After two full days of sanitation and decontamination, the Explorer of the Seas is expected to sail on her next cruise on January 31 which is a 9-day cruise to the Caribbean as planned.

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Norwegian Getaway Sails for Two Night Cruise


Norwegian Cruise Line's New Norwegian Getaway Sails on 2-Day Cruise
Norwegian Cruise Line's New Norwegian Getaway sailed from New York at 8:00 PM for a two night cruise to Nowhere. The cruise, which was invitation only, sailed around 8 PM and slowly proceeded down the Hudson River by Liberty State Park just in time for a fireworks display in celebration of the Superbowl.

The Norwegian Getaway will return to New York on Janaury 29th when the charter to Budweiser / Anheiser-Bush will begin on January 30th.

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Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Getaway Arrives


Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Getaway Arrives In New York for Superbowl Festivities
Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Getaway Arrives In New York for Superbowl Festivities

At 6:30 AM on Sunday 1/26/2014, Norwegian Cruise Line's New Norwegian Getaway tied up to the right side of Pier 88 in Manhattan. The new cruise ship, which was delivered from her builders to NCL in early January, is staying in New York until February 2nd. The Norwegian Getaway will be serving as a hotel for  Anheiser-Bush guests and employees for the Superbowl . Temporarily deemed the Bud Light Hotel, the ship will serve as entertainment venue, accommodations and general fun for invited guests.

Tonight a light-show from the Intrepid pier, displayed various colors  on the side of the ship changing from blue, to purple, to multi-color and white. I assume the light show will continue during the ship's stay in NY.

Due to the extremely cold weather, few passengers will probably take advantage of the water-park, water-slides, pool or the  ship's  waterfront - which provides outdoor cafes and sitting areas. Passengers will definitely opt for many of the ship's indoor activities, show lounges, live music and more.

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Saturday, January 25, 2014

Norwegian Getaway - The Bud Light Hotel for the Superbowl


Norwegian Getaway Chartered By Anheiser-Bush as the Bud Light Hotel for Superbowl XLVIII
Norwegian Getaway Chartered By Anheiser-Bush as the Bud Light Hotel for Superbowl XLVIII

Norwegian Cruise Line's New Norwegian Getaway will become Budweiser's  Bud Light Hotel for the Superbowl. The Norwegian Getaway is scheduled to arrive in New York on Sunday (1/26) early AM and remain tied up at Pier 88 in Manhattan until.February 2nd.

Anheuser-Busch has set up a website specifically for the occasion, previewing the ship and the planned events. Bud Light Hotel Overview.

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Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Nova Star Cruise To Start Seasonal Ferry Operations Between Portland, ME and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia


Nova Star Cruises to Operate Nova Star Between Portland ME and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
Nova Star Cruises to Operate Nova Star Between Portland ME and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia

Visitors to Nova Scotia and New England will soon be able to travel on the new cruise ferry that will start service between Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and Portland, Maine in May 2014.

The Province of Nova Scotia announced it has signed an agreement with Quest Navigation, Inc. and ST Marine Ltd. to re-establish the Yarmouth-Portland ferry service. The cruise ferry service will operate under the brand name Nova Star Cruises and provide daily round-trip service within 24 hours, from May 1 to November 2, 2014.

“We are excited to have reached an agreement with the province, and are looking forward to offering passengers a unique and entertaining travel experience between Yarmouth and Portland,” said Mark Amundsen, president and CEO, Quest Navigation. “Over the next few months we will continue to work full steam ahead with the province, our partners and the tourism industry to begin ferry service in May 2014.”

As part of the agreement, the Province of Nova Scotia will provide Nova Star Cruises with up to CDN $21 million of financial support over seven years to assist the company with re-establishing the ferry service.

Nova Star Cruises estimates that more than 100,000 passengers will step aboard the brand new, 161-meter cruise ferry, Nova Star, in the first year of operation.

Nova Star will leave Portland each evening at 8 p.m. EST and arrive in Yarmouth at 7 a.m. AST the next morning. The ship will depart two hours later and arrive back in Portland at 5 p.m. local time.

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Monday, January 20, 2014

Carnival Cruises Offers Shore Excursion Price Guarantee

 
Carnival Cruises Introduces Shore Excursion Price Guarantee
Carnival Cruises Introduces Shore Excursion Price Guarantee


Guests sailing on a Carnival cruise who book a shore excursion through the cruise line can be completely confident they are getting the best price and best value with the introduction of a new shore excursion best price guarantee.  The only guarantee of its kind in the cruise industry, the program is now available fleet-wide for all Carnival Cruise Lines shore tours on ships sailing from North America.
            Under the best price guarantee, guests who find the same tour offered by another operator at a lower price than their booked excursion either before or during their cruise can complete a claim form to receive 110 percent of the difference in the form of a shipboard credit. 
            The guarantee is available for excursions booked prior to or during a cruise. If guests pre-book an excursion, then find a comparable tour advertised online at a lower price, they can complete an online form up to seven days prior to the cruise to invoke the guarantee. Guests can also complete a form during the cruise either before or after their excursion has taken place.  Claims are typically processed within 24-48 hours.
“Many of our repeat guests who have booked Carnival shore tours previously are already knowledgeable on the outstanding value our tours provide,” said Mico Cascais, vice president of tour operations for Carnival Cruise Lines.  “However, our research indicates that many others, particularly first-time cruisers, are interested yet concerned as to whether or not they are getting the best deal.  The best price guarantee program will assure our guests they are getting both the highest quality and the best value on all of our tours,” he added.
            Guests who book their excursion through Carnival enjoy the convenience of having shore excursion tickets delivered to their stateroom, 24/7 access to shipboard staff to answer questions and obtain assistance, and an assurance that they will receive a refund or the excursion time will be adjusted as needed based on weather or other issues affecting a ship’s scheduled port of call visit.  Additionally, ongoing communication between tour operators and shipboard staff ensures that the cruise line is aware and can make necessary changes to a ship’s departure time when a tour is running late or unexpected circumstances arise.
The online and onboard claim forms require guests to provide the name of the competitor offering the comparable tour, excursion name, where the tour was advertised and the duration, price and any items included in the tour such as lunch, drinks, transportation or admission fees. The best price guarantee is applicable to shore excursion matches on the same date as the tour purchased from Carnival.

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Friday, January 17, 2014

Cool Video - Lego Queen Mary 2

Found this interesting video of the construction of a Lego Version of the Queen Mary 2. The model is 7 Meters long (approximately 21 feet), weighs over 1 ton and took over 6 months to build.


Click on the Video above and enjoy.


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Thursday, January 16, 2014

Norwegian Cruise Line Offers Speciality Dining Package

Norwegian Cruise Line Specialty Restaurant
Norwegian Cruise Line today introduced an all-new way for guests to have access to one of Norwegian’s specialty restaurants every night of their cruise. Called  “Norwegian’s Ultimate Dining Package,” this new program provides the opportunity for guests to  experience each of the line’s most popular specialty restaurants including Cagney’s, the line’s signature steakhouse; French bistro, Italian restaurant, Moderno Churrascaria, Asian-Fusion Restaurant and more*, at a special  rate based on the length of the cruise. The package is currently available on all Norwegian ships fleet wide.
            “We are excited to offer guests the Ultimate Dining Package, giving them the opportunity to experience each of our incredible specialty restaurants,” said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line's chief executive officer. “The Ultimate Dining Package truly captures the essence of Freestyle Cruising by allowing guests to dine in the specialty restaurant of their choice, every night of their cruise, at one very reasonable package price.”
The Ultimate Dining Package gives guests the opportunity to have a taste of something deliciously new every night of their cruise when they experience the array of specialty restaurants found on board Norwegian ships. Diners will delight in Norwegian’s signature steakhouse, featuring succulent grilled steaks, perfectly cooked double cut lamb chops and other delectable steakhouse favorites. Another one of Norwegian’s signature specialty restaurants is the French bistro, where guests will enjoy French favorites such as escargot, coq au vin and a spectacular vanilla crème brulee for dessert. Guests will also love dining in Norwegian’s traditional Italian restaurant, where they can feast on a variety of pastas, made-to-order specialty pizzas, and other Italian favorites such as chicken parmesan and osso bucco in a casual atmosphere. At Norwegian’s Asian Fusion restaurant, guests can experience the flavors of the far east including Japanese Teppanyaki, Chinese or Pan-Asian Cuisine. Meat lovers will delight in the opportunity to dine in Moderno Churrascaria, where unlimited servings of succulent Brazilian barbeque are served tableside by Norwegian’s own passadores.
Norwegian’s Ultimate Dining Package is available in tiers based on cruise length. On three to six day voyages, guests can dine anywhere throughout their cruise at a set price of $59 per person; for seven-day voyages, the package is $119 per person; $149 per person on eight to 10 day cruises; $199 per person for cruises of 10 to 15 days; $259 per person during cruises of 16 days to 25 days; $299 per person during cruises of 26 days to 35 days and $349 per person during cruises of 36 days to 45 days. 

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Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Norwegian Cruise Line Announces 2015-2016 Itineraries.

Norwegian Cruise Line announced their 2015/16 Itineraries from New York and Boston. Other than adding some new itineraries - the line up appears to be the same. With Both the Norwegian Gem and Norwegian Breakaway sailing from New York and the Norwegian Dawn from Boston.

Norwegian Gem - Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Gem - Norwegian Cruise Line

The Norwegian Gem will sail from New York on
  • 7 or 8 Day cruises to Florida and the Bahamas
  • 6 or 7 Day cruises to New England Canada

Water Slides on Board the Norwegian Breakaway - Norwegian Cruise Line
Water Slides on Board the Norwegian Breakaway
The Norwegian Breakaway will sail from New York on
  • 7 Day cruises to Bermuda
  • 2 Night Cruises to Nowhere
Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Dawn Sails from Boston and Quebec Canada
Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Dawn Sails from Boston and Quebec Canada

The Norwegian Dawn will sail from Boston Ma, on
  • 7 Day cruises to Bermuda
  • 7 Day New England Canada Cruises (ending in Quebec Canada)
The Norwegian Dawn will sail select cruises from Quebec, Canada on
  •  7 Day cruises to new England and Canada (ending in Boston).

More cruises will be announced for the winter program for the Norwegian Breakaway and the repositioning cruise for the Norwegian Dawn from Boston to New Orleans, La.

For More details - check out the Norwegian Cruise Line website.

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Tuesday, January 14, 2014

A Decade of Excellence: Queen Mary 2 Celebrates Her First Ten Years


Cunard's Queen Mary 2 In New York Harbor - Soon to Celebrate Her 10th Anniversary

Cunard Flagship has Traveled Nearly 1.5 Million Nautical Miles and Carried 1.3 Million Passengers

Major 10th Anniversary Celebrations to Occur on 9 May and 16 May 2014 Transatlantic Crossings


Cunard Line’s flagship Queen Mary 2 will celebrate her first ten years of service in 2014.  Since her spectacular naming by Her Majesty The Queen on 8 January 2004, Queen Mary 2 has undertaken a total of 419 voyages, including over 200 Transatlantic Crossings, and has called at 182 ports in 60 countries. Please click on this link to view a special three-minute tribute video to Queen Mary 2: http://bit.ly/1koe4jr


"Since entering service in 2004, Queen Mary 2 has reigned supreme on the Atlantic and around the world, proudly carrying more than a million guests,” said David Dingle, CEO of Cunard Line.  “She has attracted awards, accolades and admiration as the greatest ocean liner ever built for a decade now and we intend to mark her first ten years of service in style.”

Since becoming Cunard flagship on completion of her maiden Transatlantic Crossing in May 2004, Queen Mary 2 has remained unchallenged as the world’s largest, longest, tallest, widest and most expensive ocean liner ever built and the most famous and fastest passenger ship in operation today.

At 1,132 feet in length, if stood on her stern, Queen Mary 2 would be taller than New York’s Empire State Building and more than three times the height of St Paul’s Cathedral in London.  Her 151,400 gross tonnage is the equivalent of nearly 19,000 London buses, and she boasts over four times as many rooms as the Dorchester Hotel.  She took a million hours to design and eight million hours to build, and the 1,000 miles of welding that holds this amazing liner together would stretch from London to Moscow.

In her first ten years of service, Queen Mary 2 has sailed the equivalent of three times to the moon and back, carrying more than 1.3 million guests, enough to fill Westminster Abbey 651 times. In addition, more than 2,000 dogs have travelled on Queen Mary 2, five times as many as in the UK’s famous Battersea Dogs Home.

Looking after the guests on board Queen Mary 2 is what Cunard does best, and over the past decade the crew have served over 58 million meals, sufficient to feed the combined population of Hong Kong, Sydney, Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro and Dubai for an entire weekend.  The 21.9 million cups of tea served on board to date would fill an Olympic swimming pool three times over.  If the 2.7 million scones baked on board were stacked on top of each other, they’d reach 80 miles in height.

Cunard’s passengers have enjoyed almost 8,000 guest lectures, the equivalent of nearly a year’s continuous radio broadcast.  And they love to celebrate on board, too: the one and a quarter million bottles of champagne consumed since Queen Mary 2’s launch would be enough to fill 200 world-record-breaking 23-foot-high champagne waterfalls.

Queen Mary 2 will depart on her tenth World Cruise on 10 January 2014 when she and Queen Elizabeth sail together from Southampton after a fusillade of celebratory fireworks.  The major 10th Anniversary celebrations will begin on 9 May 2014 when all three ships of the Cunard fleet will arrive together in their homeport of Southampton and sister ships Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth will salute the flagship’s first ten years.  The day will feature special sail-pasts, a celebratory lunch and a spectacular send-off of fireworks as all three ships set sail together from Southampton that evening, with Queen Mary 2 leading the way.  Further details about the day’s events planned will be forthcoming soon.

That day, 9 May 2014, Queen Mary 2 will set out on the first of two special commemorative Crossings to and then from New York that underline her role as the only passenger ship in the world maintaining a scheduled service across the Atlantic, something a Cunard ship has done since 1840.

Taking part in Cunard’s acclaimed Insights speaker program during the 9 May 2014 Crossing to New York will be two special speakers: Commodore Ron Warwick, who holds the distinction of being the first Master of Queen Mary 2, and Stephen Payne OBE, who was largely responsible for the overall design of the ship.  In their separate talks, they will present fascinating insights into the operation and construction of the world’s grandest ocean liner.

Both Commodore Warwick and Payne will be guests of honor at a gala evening on board which will include a commemorative dinner with a special menu.  In addition, vocalist/tenor Ben Makisi (billed as “The Voice of the South Pacific”), magician Philip Hitchcock and violin duo “Elektra” will thrill passengers on board for the Crossing.

Both the Commodore and Stephen Payne will sail from New York to Southampton with Queen Mary 2 on the 16 May 2014 Crossing, and will be joined by comedian Roy Walker as part of the entertainment line-up.

For more information please check Cunard's website.

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