Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy The Today show was broadcast on American TV this morning live from Allure of the Seas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Watch as hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb explore the ship.
We have seen one preview of the Aqua Duck water coaster, the most talked-about feature on the new Disney Dream cruise ship. Just to make sure everything is in perfect working order, cruise director Rachel Quinn took another ride before the vessel left the shipyard last weekend. It must have been a chilly day in Germany, because the lively entertainer, who is originally from Doncaster, got togged up in a wet suit before setting off on the 765ft ride. She won't need that when the ship is sailing on cruises between Port Canaveral in Florida and the Bahamas Disney Dream [...]
Official confirmation came today that - as I reported last week - Saga Cruises will be extending their fleet with the purchase of Bleu de France. A spokesman said this afternoon: "The Bleu de France has been acquired and will enter service with Saga in 2012. After completing her published itineraries for current operators, the ship will undergo a multi-million pound refit starting in November 2011, before joining the Saga fleet in her new livery in March 2012. "The acquisition is in response to the continued and growing popularity of the Saga cruise experience," he added. There was no official [...]
As I reported exclusively last week, French cruise line CDF Croisieres de France has sold its only ship to Saga, who will take possession of it in about 12 months' time. The company is not about to disappear, however. It is to take over Pacific Dream, currently being operated by parent company Pullmantur. The ship, originally built as Horizon for Celebrity, was also briefly Island Star (shown above in Bridgetown, Barbados) for Island Cruises, which was a joint-venture operation between Royal Caribbean and First Choice. With 721 cabins accommodating up to 1,875 passengers, the ship - built in 1990 - [...]
Within hours of arriving at the Netherlands port of Eemshaven today, cruise ship Disney Dream has begun her sea trials. She hasn't gone far but she is certainly being put through her paces as far as manouevring is concerned, as this image from MarineTraffic shows. Either that or Admiral Donald Duck has taken over on the bridge. The blue line entering the chart from the bottom right shows the ship's course earlier today from the River Ems. The tangle in the middle of the picture is what the ship has been doing since then, testing its propulsion and steering systems [...]
It was a tense moment on the bridge as Cunard's Queen Elizabeth arrived in Monte Carlo for the first time last week. On her maiden Mediterranean voyage, high winds were threatening to ruin the day for the 2,000 guests hoping to go ashore for a flutter in the casino, a spending spree in the famous name shops, or to visit the cathedral and see the white marble grave of Princess Grace. The ship's master, Chris Wells, and staff captain Hamish Sunter were determined to bring the 92,000-ton vessel alongside in Port Hercule, which is packed with some of the most [...]
Here they are at last - the pictures they wouldn't allow me to take yesterday inside Disney Dream. The company's own photographer, Kent Phillips, was on hand to take pictures of the interiors of the cruise ship. Some of them are already close to the computer renderings, which are shown here for comparison. Others demonstrate just how much work remains to be completed in the next five weeks. First, the three-deck high Central Atrium, showing craftsmen assembling the gold and Swarovski crystal chandelier shown in the rendering below. The hand-tufted carpet will not be laid until there are no more [...]
The weekend's visit to Papenburg, Germany, for the float-out of Disney Dream has been fascinating and frustrating in equal measure. It was exciting to be among the crowd of 10,000 who stood in the rain to witness Saturday's event, and thrilling to be one of the first people on board for an extensive tour today - I was one of only two British journalists invited - but the hectic schedule and an almost non-existent internet connection at our hotel left me unable to file proper updates. I can't bring you any new pictures - Disney allowed only their official photographer [...]
Today is going to be exciting. After watching Disney Dream being floated out from the shipyard on Saturday evening, and spending Sunday morning with Bruce Vaughn, the man who led the team which designed most of it, I will finally get the chance to go on board and have a look around. The cruise ship is the biggest ever built in Germany, and at 128,000 tons and with a capacity of 4,000 passengers, dwarfs Magic and Wonder, the two ships which make up the current Disney fleet. It will be the first ship at sea with a water-coaster, the 765-ft [...]
What a day it has been for new cruise ships. The biggest in the world squeezed under a giant suspension bridge in Denmark, while the biggest ship ever built in Germany emerged from a huge construction shed into the open air for the first time. Allure of the Seas (above) is on its way from Finland to Florida, but first had to negotiate the Great Belt Bridge - with inches to spare. As my picture shows, Capt Hernan Zini guided it through safely. A few hundred miles south, thousands gathered in the rain to watch Disney Dream inch slowly out [...]