We may have missed a week, but we’re back now. Taking the week off allowed us to collect a whole show’s worth of cruise line news too.
Carnival Sensation will be getting her Evolutions of Fun upgrades in January, while Carnival Fantasy will be staying in Mobile until she heads to the shipyards for her own Evolutions of Fun upgrades.
MSC will be sending their two newest ships to the Caribbean for the 2009/10 season and orders two new Musica class ships from Aker Yards.
Carnival will be recategorizing their staterooms and we get some insight into how Joe Farcus designs ships for Carnival and Costa.
Cabo San Lucas is getting some infrastructure updates and is considering an actual cruise ship pier.
Princess has selected the Godparents for Ruby Princess and we get a look at some of what’s planned for Seabourn Odyssey.
Be sure to check in next week when I’ll be talking about a different sort of cruise that I’m taking this week.
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Filed under: Carnival Cruise Lines, MSC Cruises, Podcast, Princess Cruises, The Yachts of Seabourn Posted by Michael on 08/14/08
In celebration of National Romance Week,* Princess Cruises announced that celebrity couple Trista and Ryan Sutter will christen the newest cruise ship in the Princess fleet, Ruby Princess, on November 6 in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The Sutters, who met on ABC’s hit reality series, The Bachelorette, the most romantic franchise on TV since the Love Boat, will celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary this fall, and will mark this milestone event during the Ruby Princess inaugural, which will be themed around “romantic moments and milestones.”
Trista and Ryan are one of the best-known romantic duos in recent broadcast history, as they are the first and only couple from the The Bachelor and Bachelorette franchises who have actually gotten married. The Sutters also recently celebrated the first birthday of their son, Max.
Trista and Ryan Sutter met in 2002, when she was America’s first Bachelorette. The Bachelor and The Bachelorette on ABC-TV were the first and are still the most popular reality dating shows in which one man or woman searches for their soul mate out of 25 potential suitors. Over the course of the show, the bachelorette bestows roses on those bachelors she wishes to continue dating. Trista presented Ryan with her final rose and he then proposed on the show’s finale in November 2002. The couple wed on December 6, 2003 in an elaborate television ceremony watched by 26 million viewers, making it one of the most widely viewed episodes in the history of reality TV and one of ABC’s top rated shows of the year. After their highly visible courtship, Trista and Ryan moved to Vail, CO, where they currently reside with their son, Max. In addition to frequent TV interviews and promotional appearances, he is a firefighter and she is a stay-at-home mom and designer for her new diaper bag line, Trista Baby.
The 3,070-passenger Ruby Princess includes a dramatic piazza-style atrium featuring small-bite eateries and an ever-changing array of performing street entertainers. Passengers will also enjoy Princess’ other array of dining venues including the signature Sabatini’s Italian trattoria and the Crown Grill steak and seafood restaurant, plus a relaxing oasis just for adults called The Sanctuary.
The new cruise ship will also offer the many other innovations that define the Princess experience, including the popular Movies Under the Stars poolside movie screen, Personal Choice Dining featuring traditional or Anytime seating, multiple entertainment venues, a relaxing Asian-style Lotus Spa with fitness center, an extensive children and teen’s center, a wedding chapel and nearly 900 staterooms with private balconies – perfect for enjoying a scenic Caribbean islands cruise.
During Ruby Princess’ inaugural season she will make seven-day weekly sailings from Fort Lauderdale, FL to the Western Caribbean. Calls include Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Cozumel, Mexico and Princess Cays in the Bahamas. Next spring the ship will move to Europe for 12-day sailings in the Mediterranean and Greek Islands.
(0) Comments (Leave a Comment)Filed under: Princess Cruises Posted by Michael on 08/05/08
Ruby Princess has completed another major milestone in preparation for her November 8 debut, with the completion of her sea trials. The new ship set out to sea from her construction dock at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, and was put through her paces with a series of maneuvers to test her propulsion, steering and navigational equipment. After a successful four days of trials, the ship is now back in the shipyard for further exterior and interior finishing. Ruby Princess will be ready for her maiden voyage from Ft. Lauderdale, a seven-day Western Caribbean sailing taking passengers to Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Princess Cays.
Ruby Princess is a sister ship to Emerald Princess and Crown Princess, and will feature the same dramatic piazza-style atrium that have become so popular on those ships. Other ship highlights include Princess’ signature adults-only retreat called The Sanctuary, an Italian trattoria, a seafood and steak house, a “Movies Under the Stars” giant outdoor movie screen and 900 cabins with private balconies.
(0) Comments (Leave a Comment)Filed under: Princess Cruises Posted by Michael on 07/01/08
I’ve been struggling with hoarseness this week so we’re just doing another news show, amazingly enough I managed to keep some semblance of my voice throughout the entire show.
Last week Carnival had their big reveal, releasing a lot of information about Carnival Dream.
Crystal’s 2009 Experiences of Discovery (aka theme cruises) have been announced. You can find the full list of cruises here. Cunard is partnering with the Royal Astronomical Society for a variety of astronomy programs that will be offered on select sailings.
NCL is rolling out shore excursions geared to smaller groups, and Princess is rolling out the Wii Fit to all of their ships.
Fincantieri floated out two new ships for Costa which will be named together next year.
Finally, California’s “Ocean Ranger” bill dies in committee.
We’ve got three Deals of The Week, which Patricia promises to post this week - we’ll see…
(0) Comments (Leave a Comment)Filed under: Carnival Cruise Lines, Costa Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Podcast, Princess Cruises Posted by Michael on 06/30/08
Princess has lowered the cabin deposit requirements for new bookings on summer 2009 voyages and beyond.
Effective immediately, all bookings* will require a deposit of just 20% of the cruise or cruisetour fare, reduced from the previously announced 30% requirement.
The World Cruise deposit will remain at 10% for the initial deposit.
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