NORWEGIAN
CRUISE LINE became the latest cruise company to update its
smoking policy. Some outdoor areas and all public interior venues,
with the exception of the cigar rooms and casinos, are now
designated nonsmoking. Cigarette smoking is still allowed in cabins
and on balconies. The line also changed its evening dress codes and
will allow passengers to wear jeans in all but one onboard
restaurant during dinner. The more formal venue will vary on each
ship, but it typically will be the aft main dining room.
AMERICAN
SAFARI CRUISES will double its passenger capacity in 2008
with the addition of two new vessels: a 150-foot, 39-passenger
vessel, the Safari Explorer, and a 108-foot, six-passenger,
charter-only yacht, the Safari Legend. The Safari Explorer, which
currently runs scuba expeditions in California, will undergo a
multimillion-dollar retrofit before entering service as the line's
largest ship; American Safari currently offers cruises on vessels
of no more than 22 passengers. The two vessels are scheduled to
enter service in Alaska in May, and the Safari Explorer will sail
interisland Hawaii cruises beginning in December 2008.
HOLLAND
AMERICA LINE will debut a new line of shops when it debuts
its first Signature-class ship. Called Signature Shops, the four
main stores would be the center of a substantially expanded
shopping promenade and would include Merabella, offering designer
jewelry collections; Fine Jewelry, specializing in diamonds and
gemstones; Fine Watches; and Destination & Apparel, offering
classic nautical wear and a selection of items tailored to the
climate where the cruise will be, HAL said. With the exception of
Merabella, which has been in place on two HAL ships since May, the
new shops will debut in June 2008 on the 2,104-passenger
Eurodam.
P&O
CRUISES AUSTRALIA last week cancelled its third cruise in
a month on the Pacific Star, an eight-day sailing from Auckland,
New Zealand, to Brisbane, Australia, in order to repair a
ventilation duct on the ship. The ship had been scheduled to depart
from Auckland on Aug. 7 but had remained in port in order to make
the repairs, P&O Cruises Australia said; it decided on Aug. 9
to cancel the sailing and send the ship to drydock. The line had
canceled two Pacific Star sailings in July due to storm damage. The
latest setback came just after P&O Cruises Australia confirmed
that a 31-year-old male passenger traveling on another of its
ships, the Pacific Sun, had died onboard during a South Pacific
cruise. An investigation is underway into the cause of his
death.
Cruise
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