The first phase of the operation to right Costa Concordia was completed successfully in the early hours of this morning. Next step is to attach steel caissons to the starboard side of the vessel, which has been lying underwater off the coast of Giglio for 20 months. Once complete, probably by spring 2014, the wreck will be towed away to be scrapped. My thanks to ShipsOnCamera for compiling this time-lapse video from images provided by webcams on the shore.
The grandees of UK's cruise industry will gather in Liverpool next week for CLIA's Columbus Day - a conference and networking extravaganza culminating in a dinner and awards presentation. They do love their awards in the travel industry! Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises, and Christine Duffy, who holds the same positions and titles at the Cruise Lines International Association, are flying in from America. They will be joined on stage by Geneva-based Neil Palomba, commercial operating officer of MSC Cruises; Nathan Philpot, sales and marketing director of Fred Olsen; and Jo Rzymowska, the chair of CLIA UK [...]
Luxury cruise line Silversea has today announced a new expedition ship, Silver Discoverer, will join its fleet in March 2014. The 128-passenger vessel, formerly Clipper Odyssey, is to undergo a major refurbishment before making its maiden voyage for Silversea on March 1, from Bali. The ship will explore remote areas of the South Pacific before heading to the almost uncharted waters (in terms of western passengers) of the Russian Far East. It joins Silver Explorer, which has been with Silversea for five years, and Silver Galapagos, which makes its maiden voyage in Silversea colours later this month. The line also [...]
The publicity machine is cranking itself into gear for P&O's new baby - the biggest cruise ship ever to be built for the British market. As construction gathers pace in an Italian dry dock, the company has disclosed the team of senior officers who will command the ship. The long-awaited announcement of the vessel's name is expected to be made before the end of the month, and speculation is beginning to build. The only certainty is that - in common with every other vessel in P&O's fleet - it will end with an 'a.' Beyond that, predictions (or guesses) have [...]
There's an army of cruise fans who live, eat and breathe ships and shipping. Many of them may only spend a few precious days each year at sea, but devote the rest of their time following the activities of their favourite operator or ships, tracking progress and developments on every news source available. They don't simply wait for cruise lines to make official announcements; they trawl the internet on a daily basis, sometimes making deductions from the flimsiest of evidence. Sherlock Holmes and Inspector Poirot have nothing on these maritime detectives. A couple of days ago, some of them noticed [...]
In his earlier life as a maitre d' and a hotel director, Michael Bayley probably thought a pitcher was nothing more than a jug of water. Yesterday he discovered a whole new meaning to the word. Bayley, originally from the UK and a graduate of Bournemouth University, has been president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises for 12 months. The company is the "official cruise line" of the Boston Red Sox - and a perk of the liaison means Bayley was given the first pitch in last night's game against the Baltimore Orioles. As a Brit who knew nothing about the [...]
National Cruise Week is approaching - it's just over three weeks away - and the lines are falling over themselves to come up with special deals that will stand out from the rest. Royal Caribbean set the ball rolling with $100 onboard credit per cabin for cruises booked between September 21 and 29. Passengers can put the money towards spa treatments, excursions, or bookings in the ships' speciality restaurants. But the deal is for a limited number of cruises between October 1 and December 31 and only for guests booking a balcony cabin or better. Celebrity Cruises will throw in [...]
Persistent propulsion problems have brought a premature end to Celebrity Millennium's Alaska season. The 13-year-old ship has disembarked more than 2,000-passengers and is heading to dry dock in Grand Bahama for repairs. Three recent cruises were disrupted by the problems; now the four remaining Alaska cruises of the summer have been cancelled as well as a re-positioning voyage from California to Florida. Problems first struck earlier this month when Millennium arrived late into Seward at the end of a seven-day cruise from Vancouver and then remained in port for four days for repairs to be carried out. Its subsequent return [...]
Film crews set up in Dubrovnik this week to shoot scenes for the next season of Game of Thrones, the latest in a line of critically and popularly acclaimed TV shows from HBO. The series, adapted from George Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy novels, documents a war waged by several noble families for the Seven Kingdom's Iron Throne. The medieval walled city doubles for the King's Landing in seasons two and three of the show; capital of Westeros and home to the much fought-over Iron Throne, currently occupied by the mercurial young king Joffrey Lannister (Jack Gleeson). [...]
Thomson Cruises has finally bowed to the inevitable and cancelled its remaining Red Sea cruises scheduled for this winter as a result of the worsening crisis in Egypt. Until last week the ports of Sharm el Sheik and Safaga, and the resort of Hurghada - visited on shore excursions - were considered safe and immune from the violence and demonstrations in Cairo and elsewhere. But in the present circumstances it would be impossible to operate excursions to the Pyramids and the Valley of the Kings, the main reason passengers travel on the Red Sea cruises. Thomson had already cut short [...]