Some times we have an episode that just names itself – and this was one of them…
It was a busy week Celebrity moves some ships around and trades Baltimore sailings for South Pacific Sailings.
Carnival is adding comedy clubs and testing out a new smoking policy.
HAL will sail to Bermuda from NY for another year, and MSC firms up the order for their latest newbuild (and renames the ship too!).
Emerald Princess has some trouble off Ft Lauderdale, and Cunard commemorates their 170th anniversary.
1 is dead and another injured after a bizarre incident in Genoa, and the Cruise Vessel Safety and Security Act has been signed into law.
We open this week with some feedback… Just a little about Carnival Pride from Baltimore.
We’ve added some news music – for now – I haven’t decided if it’s staying yet.
Crystal will be teaching Windows 7 classes a month before the new operating system is available to the public. A passenger on Freedom of The Seas died while on a cruise line shore excursion.
Six passengers from Carnival Victory are being detained in Antigua after getting in a fight with local police, and laser guns may be the latest weapon employed to defend against pirates.
Royal Caribbean will rent “WowPhones” on Oasis of The Seas and has introduced an alpine coaster on Labadee – which we feel rather strongly about…
Celebrity Eclipse will be delivered early and there will be a new sailing added to her schedule because of it while MSC Magnifica will sail with her first paying passengers right from the shipyard in St Nazaire.
Things appear to be getting better for the industry as a whole – and fuel supplements still appear to be staying away…
Oh – and did you hear about Disney’s summer 2011 plans?
Ok, this week no weird distortion on the show. I’m not sure if I fixed the issue – but at least it hasn’t come back so there’s that…
Princess decided to shift capacity from the Mexican Riviera in order to offer some new Hawai’i and Pacific itineraries. Patricia and I debate the wisdom of MSC using thermal imagers to as part of screening passengers for H1N1. Famed artist Wyland adds his touch to a pool on Ruby Princess New Orleans makes progress on upgrading the Julia Street Terminal Paul Gauguin Cruises has been sold – not Paul Gauguin the ship There was a minor fire on Pullmantor’s Zenith And finally a major art installation will happen this week in the new terminal in Fort Lauderdale that will be home to Oasis of The Seas
MSC Cruises is implementing thermal imaging cameras at embarkation as an additional screening tool for the H1N1 virus. The company said an infrared camera is an effective yet non-intrusive tool for detecting people infected with a viral disease even at a very early stage.
The camera produces infrared images or ‘heat pictures’ of a person’s body and detects whether their body temperature exceeds a certain threshold. The procedure, monitored by shipboard medical personnel, takes seconds. If required, further medical checks will then be carried out and anyone with symptoms that meet the case definition of H1N1 will not be allowed to embark.
Emilio La Scala, gm for MSC Cruises’ technical division, said passengers are happy to undergo the additional screening ‘since it makes them feel more secure.’
Thermal imaging has been installed on MSC Fantasia and MSC Splendida and will be rolled out fleetwide in September.
The company said it will take all steps to comfortably repatriate passengers whose boarding is denied and to arrange a similar cruise for them at a later date when symptoms have passed.
The countdown has begun! We’re just a few episodes away from our hiatus as we move most of the way across country. But before then there’s still some Cruise News to discuss – and none of it envolves Swine Flu, Monkey Pox, or even Chicken Pox!
Bermuda is ready for larger ships – it’s opened it’s second large pier. Crystal is celebrating the Theater Guild with some special guests and some special onboard performances.
NCL has revealed the hull art for Norwegian Epic and Holland America is trialing some new excursions that go beyond the usual sightseeing.
Costa details more about their Playstation partnership with Sony, and MSC made it’s first ever call to New York. Finally Princess is celebrating ALaska’s 50th Anniversary in their own special way.
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