THE
ENCHANTMENT OF THE SEAS went in for major surgery this
weekend: It will be lengthened by inserting a 73-foot section into
the middle of the ship. The Enchantment, which is in drydock at the
Keppel Verolme shipyard in Rotterdam, Netherlands, was cut in half
this weekend using gas/oxygen torches and circular saws; the new
midsection, which was floated down from Aker Finnyards, is sitting
in the drydock next to the ship and will be skidded into alignment
this week. The ship will be out of service (the yard will have to
weld the vessel back together and finish a major onboard
refurbishment) until early July, when it makes its debut at Royal
Caribbeans Cape Liberty cruise terminal in Bayonne, N.J.
THE NEW
MIDSECTION, which will add 151 cabins, or 302 berths, to
the Enchantment, is the only capacity growth Royal Caribbean
Cruises has scheduled in 2005. The line said the cost of the
expansion is about $60 million.
BORROWING A
PAGE, or a plunge, from sister company Princess Cruises,
Carnival Cruise Lines said last week it will install a
270-square-foot TV screen above the pool deck on the Carnival
Liberty. Like Princess LED movie/TV screens on its biggest ships,
the Carnival Libertys LED screen will show movies, sporting events,
concerts and other programming. It also will show the ships own
Morning Show hosted by the Libertys cruise director. The Liberty is
currently under construction in Italy and is to be delivered in
July.
PRINCESS has no plans to Princessify Cunard
Lines Queen Mary 2, Peter Ratcliffe, the companys CEO, told Travel
Weekly last week. In the initial stages we had some interchange
with [hotel staff] on the senior level, because it was a very big
ship and not easy to operate, he said. But the idea is the hotel
crew remains focused on [individual] brands. The two companies
announced earlier this month they would combine sales forces. Five
of Cunards 13 district sales managers and 10 of Princess 54 sales
reps were let go in the reorganization. David Gevanthor, Cunards
former vice president of marketing, left the company, as
well.
COSTA
CRUISES will operate two sailings to Bermuda on the Costa
Magica as part of the ships maiden Caribbean season here. The ship,
which will operate alternating eastern and western cruises from
Fort Lauderdale plus a new southeast itinerary, will sail to
Bermuda April 21 and April 28.