The newest addition to the Princess fleet, Ruby Princess, was delivered to Princess Cruises yesterday in Monfalcone, Italy by the ship’s builder, Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani. The 3,080-passenger vessel has set sail for Fort Lauderdale where she is scheduled to arrive on November 4.
The ship will be christened on November 6 by celebrity couple Trista and Ryan Sutter from ABC’s hit reality series, “The Bachelorette.” In keeping with the launch’s “romantic milestones” theme, Princess will help the duo celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary.
Cruise West, is waiving the fuel surcharge on all 2009 Alaska cruise itineraries for guests who book and pay in full by December 12, 2008. The waiver is applicable for all new and current bookings. Guests can save from $105 per person on a seven-night cruise to $360 for a 24-night cruise with the fuel surcharge promotion. Cruise West guests can also combine this value with early booking incentives to save additional dollars.
Guests can save $455 to $655, for example, on a 2009 eight-night/nine-day Alaska’s Inside Passage cruise, including one-night hotel accommodations in Juneau, by booking and paying in full by December 12, 2008. This savings represents both the early booking discount and waived fuel surcharge promotion. The Alaska Inside Passage itinerary starts at $3,999 per person, based on double occupancy.
All Cruise West voyages include an excursion at every port, transportation to/from the airport, all gratuities and tips as well as the line’s signature Exploration Leaders who share insightful information on the flora, fauna, culture and history of the region.
Alaska cruises range from three-night/four-day to 24-night/25-day, and start from $1,149 per person.
The most widely heralded cruise ship to enter the market this year, Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Solstice, was delivered today at a ceremony in Emshaven, Netherlands, marking the formal transfer of the ship – the first in a class of five – from shipbuilder Meyer Werft to Celebrity Cruises. The ship will begin its transatlantic voyage October 25, with arrival in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., anticipated November 3.
“With its innovative, half-acre Lawn Club with real, growing grass; the Hot Glass Show offered through our alliance with The Corning Museum of Glass; 10 widely varied restaurants, including four in the specialty category; stylish, spacious staterooms whose design was influenced by a panel of five women with unique travel and hospitality insights; and, of course, the intangible attribute found on every Celebrity ship – extraordinary service – Celebrity Solstice is the perfect manifestation of what the Celebrity brand is all about,” said Celebrity’s President & CEO Dan Hanrahan.
Soon after its arrival in Fort Lauderdale on November 3, Celebrity Solstice will serve as the perfect platform for Celebrity Cruises’ first Global Sales Meeting, followed by a series of exclusive, two-night preview cruises for invited travel agents, press and other dignitaries. Celebrity Solstice will be named in formal ceremonies on November 14, and will embark on its inaugural season November 23, on a series of seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruises roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale. In spring 2009, the stunning new ship will introduce a series of romantic 10- and 11-night Mediterranean sailings roundtrip from Rome.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. today announced that the company’s fuel supplement will no longer apply to new Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Cruises bookings made on or after November 10, 2008, anywhere in the world, for sailings that depart on or after January 1, 2010.
This decision takes into consideration the recent reductions in global fuel prices. The company has also established specific guidelines that will determine whether fuel supplement refunds will be provided for sailings that begin in 2009 and later, which were booked prior to November 10, 2008, if fuel prices remain below a specific price threshold.
For 2009 sailings and 2010 sailings booked before November 10, 2008, the company will determine on a quarterly basis whether fuel supplements will be refunded. Refunds, in the form of an onboard credit, will be provided if the closing price of West Texas Intermediate fuel is $65 or less, at the closing time of the New York Mercantile Exchange, two weeks prior to the beginning of the upcoming calendar quarter. When those conditions are met, an onboard credit will be provided to all guests on sailings that begin during the upcoming calendar quarter.
The dates on which the price of West Texas Intermediate fuel will be measured, and the quarters during which refunds could apply are:
| Fuel Price Determination Date | Quarter of Possible Fuel Supplement Refunds |
| December 18, 2008 | First quarter 2009 |
| March 18, 2009 | Second quarter 2009 |
| June 17, 2009 | Third quarter 2009 |
| September 17, 2009 | Fourth quarter 2009 |
| December 18, 2009 | First quarter 2010 |
| March 18, 2010 | Second quarter 2010 |
| June 17, 2010 | Third quarter 2010 |
| September 17, 2010 | Fourth quarter 2010 |
The company will continue to closely monitor the movement of global fuel prices and recognize that an upturn in those prices could necessitate the reinstatement of a fuel supplement
No we haven’t abandoned the show! It’s taken us a bit to collect our thoughts after this whirlwind trip.
There was so much to talk about we divided the trip into two different shows. This one is the shorter of the two. On this show we talk about the ship and the impression we had of it.
There was a change in the sailing from what had been planned, we talk about that and our first port call. Watch for the second show where we talk about the rest of the trip – it’s also a much longer show….
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