CARNIVAL CORP. ordered two
cruise ships for Aida, its German brand. Germany's Meyer Werft
shipyard will build the 2,174-passenger vessels, which are
scheduled to enter service in April 2011 and May 2012, for an
all-in cost of $558 million and $565 million, respectively. The
order came days after TUI and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
announced their intent to launch a cruise line to serve the
German-speaking market.
COSTA CRUISES will double
its presence in Asia in 2009 with the addition of a second ship,
the 1,680-passenger Costa Classica. The Classica will be deployed
in Asia from March 27 to Nov. 7, 2009, and will sail from
Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tianjin. Like Costa's other
Asia-based ship, the Costa Allegra, the new tonnage will be aimed
at Chinese and international clientele. After a rocky start in the
region, Costa last week cited a "positive trend of its cruises in
Asia" and said that Chinese clientele "are responding to Costa's
product in ever-increasing numbers."
THE
GENESIS CLASS of ships reached a
milestone on Dec. 13 when Aker Yards laid the ship's keel in a
ceremony in Turku, Finland. Royal Caribbean International
executives were on hand for the event for the first of the line's
5,400-passenger ships, due to enter service in fall 2009. Back in
Florida, architectural firm Bermello Ajamil & Partners was
selected to design the $37.4 million expansion of Terminal 18 in
Fort Lauderdale, where the Genesis-class ships will
homeport.
CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES will
again increase its profile in Europe in 2009 and will deploy two of
its newest 110,000-ton ships, the Carnival Liberty and the Carnival
Freedom, in the region. The Liberty will offer 12-day Northern
Europe and Mediterranean cruises, and the Freedom will run 12-day
sailings in the Mediterranean. Carnival said that after getting
strong advance bookings for its first-ever Northern Europe program
on the Carnival Splendor, the company will now have the Carnival
Liberty operate the program from England in 2009, with twice the
number of voyages.
THE
EURODAM will take its maiden
voyage to Northern Europe, visiting Norway, Scotland and England
when it enters service in summer 2008. Holland America Line's next
ship will leave Copenhagen, Denmark, on July 5 and visit Norway's
fjords and Scotland's Highlands on a 10-day cruise. The
2,104-passenger Eurodam, which is currently under construction at
Fincantieri's shipyard in Marghera, Italy, will be the first vessel
in HAL's Signature class. HAL is also offering a couple of
three-day, introductory cruises during the Eurodam's inaugural
season: one departing July 2 from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and
the other departing Aug. 29 from New York.