CARNIVAL
CRUISE LINES said it would postpone sending the Carnival
Triumph to New Orleans in August to operate weekly, year-round
cruises there. Carnival CEO Bob Dickinson said that "lingering
misconceptions by the vacationing public as to the recovery of New
Orleans' tourism infrastructure... has necessitated a reevaluation
of our timeline for adding a second ship to that port." The
Triumph will instead stay in Miami at least through April 2008,
Carnival said, and offer week-long Caribbean itineraries that
Dickinson said have "received a tremendous amount of enthusiasm
from consumers and travel agents." Carnival reintroduced its cruise
program from New Orleans in October with the launch of four- and
five-day cruises on the Fantasy, and it had planned to make the
Triumph the only year-round ship sailing out of New Orleans
beginning in late August.
THE PORT OF
NEW ORLEANS was disappointed by Carnival's decision but
also encouraged that Carnival was still committed to bringing the
ship to New Orleans at a later date, said Chris Bonura, the port's
communications manager. "We also understand that many travelers
continue to have misconceptions about the city's recovery," Bonura
said. "The French Quarter and other parts of the city where
tourists congregate are back in full swing with hotels, restaurants
and attractions reopened and eager to welcome visitors." The city
formed a coalition that includes the port; the Louisiana Office of
Tourism, Recreation and Culture; the Greater New Orleans Convention
and Visitors Bureau; the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation;
and the cruise lines that sail from New Orleans, "to get this
message out," Bonura said.
THE MAJESTY
OF THE SEAS reentered service this week following a
refurbishment during a drydock in the Bahamas. The Royal Caribbean
International ship will resume its year-round, three- and
four-night schedule of Bahamas cruises from Miami. During the
28-day drydock the ship received several new dining and
entertainment options, and overhauls were done on cabins, the
Majesty Day Spa and ShipShape Fitness Center, conference rooms, the
pool deck, the theater, the casino and the Adventure Ocean youth
area, which has a new, teen-focused nightclub and lounge. The
Majesty, constructed in 1992, is the third ship in the Sovereign
class to be refurbished; the Monarch of the Seas was refurbished in
2003 and the Sovereign of the Seas in 2004.
AIDA
CRUISES will call the second of four vessels it has on
order the AidaBella. Currently being built by German shipbuilder
Meyer Werft at a cost of about $409 million, the 68,500-ton ship is
scheduled to enter service in spring 2008. Its sister ship, the
AidaDiva, will be the first of the four newbuilds to enter service
when it is inaugurated in Hamburg, Germany, on April 20. Aida
Cruises is a subsidiary of Carnival Corp. and currently has a fleet
of four ships: the AidaCara, AidaVita, AidaAura and
AidaBlu.
NORWEGIAN
COASTAL VOYAGE said there were no traces of pollution or
environmental damage at or around Deception Island in Antarctica,
where its ship the Nordkapp was grounded Jan. 30. The cruise line
said that an extensive analysis of the area was done by several
authorities at the request of the NCV's parent, the Hurtigruten
Group, and that all traces of the limited discharge of marine gas
oil from the Nordkapp had disappeared by Feb. 3, consistent with
the fact that marine gas oil easily evaporates and rapidly
degrades, NCV said. The ship suffered minor damage to its outer
hull after striking underwater rocks near Deception Island, one of
the South Shetland Islands in Antarctica.
Cruise
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