AN ENGINEER was killed and five Carnival Cruise
Lines passengers suffered minor injuries Dec. 2 when a historic
shore excursion train operating near the Panama Canal struck
another engine that was stopped on the tracks. About 217 passengers
from Carnival Cruise Lines' 2,124-passenger Carnival Spirit were
aboard the train when the accident occurred. A Carnival spokesman
said it was too early to determine the cause of the accident. The
Panama Canal Isthmian Railway, which is operated by an American
railroad company not connected to Carnival, suspended operations
indefinitely after the accident. The train operates a one-track
service that runs along the Panama Canal from Colon to Panama City.
CELEBRITY CRUISES will follow the successful
move of the Galaxy to Baltimore by adding new cruises from that
harbor to New England and Canada. The Galaxy will depart May 27 and
Sept. 9 from Baltimore on 11-night cruises that will call in Bar
Harbor, Maine; Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia; Quebec City,
Quebec, and Portland, Maine, and cruise on the Saguenay River.
Fares start at $1,199 per person, double occupancy.
THE RENAISSANCE CRUISES ships R1, R2, R5, R6,
R7 and R8 were sold to Cruiseinvest LLC, a Marshall Islands-based
company, during auctions held in Gibraltar and Tilbury, England.
The company will be headed by Dominique Prunier, former CFO of
Festival Cruises. Cruiseinvest is reported to be setting up a
representative office in Paris, which will oversee the management
of the fleet. The technical management of the fleet will be handled
by Martinoli S.A.M., a ship-management company based in Monaco. It
will be marketed by American Marine Advisors, a New York-based
investment bank that will seek to sell or lease the ships to cruise
operators.
STEINER LEISURE renewed its agreement with
Princess Cruises to provide spa and fitness programs aboard its
existing ships and four new vessels -- the Coral Princess, the
Diamond Princess, the Island Princess and the Star Princess. The
extension expires in December.
HEAVY CANCELLATIONS of U.S. bookings prompted
by the events of Sept. 11 will depress Royal Olympic Cruises' final
results for 2001, said Yiannos Pantazis, CEO of the Greek Isles
specialist. "The [cancellations] will have a serious negative
impact on the fourth quarter and, consequently the year-end numbers
will show a higher loss than previously expected."