STAR CLIPPERS will
return the Star Flyer to its Phuket, Thailand, homeport for its
Feb. 12 sailing; the Feb. 5 cruise was revised to sail from
Singapore to Phuket. The 170-passenger ship has been sailing from
Singapore in January after the tsunami swept through parts of Asia.
After receiving reports that the infrastructure in Thailand is
ready to receive tourists, Star Clippers executives decided that
returning & to Phuket was the best way to aid the recovery
efforts.
SEABOURN,
meanwhile, dropped its April calls in Sri Lanka on the Seabourn
Spirit and instead will visit Ko Ngai, Thailand.
THE NORWEGIAN SEA
will stay in Houston for an additional two months before it leaves
the Norwegian Cruise Line lineup for a position in sister line Star
Cruises fleet. The 16-year-old Sea was scheduled to transfer to
Star Cruises in May, but NCL said last week that the ship will stay
for an additional 11 sailings from Houston. No reason was given for
the date change, but NCL said the revised date would narrow the gap
between the Seas departure from Houston and the Norwegian Dreams
arrival in October.
PRINCESS CRUISES
last year unveiled two shipboard spas that it operated in-house a
break from spa-operations giant Steiner Leisure, which runs most
shipboard spas under various brand names. But that program is over:
Last week Steiner said it signed a renewal contract for Princess
that includes the two in-house spas, on the Caribbean Princess and
the Sapphire Princess, as well as two future builds and any other
ships contracted by the end of 2006.
CRYSTAL CRUISES
released its 2006 schedule, which includes a cruise to the Arctic
Circle on the Crystal Serenity; a Christmas and New Years cruise in
Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand on the Crystal Harmony; and
uninterrupted summer Mediterranean cruising on the Crystal
Symphony. The line said it will offer 20% more ports and visit 50%
more countries next year than it visited in 2004 and added more
overnight stays in ports than at any time in the past. Crystal said
17 maiden calls are scheduled, including Tripoli, Libya; Pisco,
Peru; and Ayr, Scotland.
THE CARNIVAL
FREEDOM will debut earlier than expected (February 2007),
but Cunards Queen Victoria will be delayed (until December 2007)
under a revised new building schedule from Carnival Corp. and
shipbuilder Fincantieri. The delivery dates were altered to make
room at Fincantieri for another ship for Costa Cruises, which will
be a sister to the 3,000-passenger Costa Concordia. In addition,
the Costa Tropicale veteran Carnival cruisers know it as the
Tropicale will move to Australia in October to become the third
vessel in the rapidly growing P&O Cruises Australia
unit.