THE PAUL
GAUGUIN will sail under the Radisson Seven Seas Cruises
brand through 2005, but after that its in the hands of new
management -- and it will leave French Polynesia, where the ship
has made its home for the past seven years. The vessel was sold to
Boston-based direct sellers Grand Circle Corp. and Deluxe World
Travel, which will jointly manage and sell the ship on cruises
through locales such as South America, the Mediterranean and Europe
and Antarctica.
CARNIVAL
CORP. entered into an unprecedented shipbuilding deal with
Italian company Fincantieri and will build four vessels and modify
an existing order. Fincantieris shipyards in Italy will build the
vessels, for delivery in 2007 and 2008. One ship will go to
Carnival Cruise Lines and another to Princess Cruises, but Carnival
has not yet decided which brands will get the other two ships.
Carnival also will alter the design of Cunard Lines previously
announced Queen Victoria by lengthening the ship and increasing its
capacity to 2,000.
FINCANTIERI granted Carnival preferential
building slots for future ships. Carnival also said it would
continue to work with Fincantieri on previously-disclosed plans for
a larger cruise ship, code-named the Pinnacle Project.
NEW FEATURES
WILL BE ADDED to the Enchantment of the Seas when it is
lengthened next spring. Two soaring, suspension-style walkways will
run lengthwise above the pool deck along Deck 10. The pool area
will be bigger and longer, and it will include a new kids splash
pool that at night will convert to a funky fountain that shoots
colored streams of water. Bungee trampolining will be available on
Deck 9 forward. Various areas of the ship will get updates and
refurbishments. And since the stretched ship will be just a tad too
long to fit into a Panama Canal lock, a special hinge on the front
of the ships bow will allow the tip of the ship to flip up when
needed. The project will be completed during a 30-day drydock
period at the Keppel Verolme yard in Rotterdam, the Netherlands
next May, when the ship will be cut in half and a new midsection
inserted.
HURRICANE
JEANNES TIMING again forced cruise lines to delay bringing
ships back into home ports. The Carnival Triumph, the Century, the
Navigator of the Seas, the Caribbean Princess and the Zuiderdam
stayed at sea an extra day or two before returning to their south
Florida ports to disembark passengers and take on new guests. Ships
on the western side of the state were affected, too. Carnivals
Sensation was to arrive and depart from Tampa on Tuesday, a day
late.