This week Disney Dream celebrated a major construction milestone as the last block of the hull was put in place.

Norwegian introduces a unique new opportunity – for the privacy of your stateroom, plus they’ve installed the largest chandelier at sea AND have announced that lifeboat drills will soon not require lifejackets on all ships except Pride of America.

The keel is laid on Oceania’s newest ship Riviera and Azamara Club Cruises wants us to remember that their butlers are not just cabin attendants.

Royal Caribbean has tweaked the Crown & Anchor Society benefits (although we’re not sure that any substantial changes have been made) and they’ve announced an exciting partnership with Dreamworks Animation.

After launching on Allure of the Seas, the Animation-themed activities and amenities will be incorporated into Royal Caribbean’s entertainment programs on Oasis of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas, with some of the studio’s most popular feature films – “Shrek,” “Madagascar,” “Kung Fu Panda” and “How to Train Your Dragon” – anchoring the integrations.

Year round, “celebrity” characters including Shrek, Fiona and Puss In Boots of “Shrek;” Alex, Marty and the Penguins of “Madagascar;” Po of “Kung Fu Panda” and Hiccup of “How to Train Your Dragon” will engage guests of all ages, day and night, with unique experiences, including exclusive special events and energetic parades, as well as through interactive character meals in the main dining room, and of course plenty of photo opportunities. Royal Caribbean’s younger guests who choose to participate in the complimentary award-winning Adventure Ocean children’s program will relish in an exhilarating new lineup of activities, games and adventures rooted in the popular Animation movies.

What’s more, Royal Caribbean will install 3D screens in the ships’ theaters. The new addition will give guests the opportunity to experience both new and longtime favorite Animation movies on the big screen.

Taking the strategic alliance even further, Royal Caribbean will celebrate the addition of Allure of the Seas to the cruise line’s 21-ship fleet by inviting the Animation cast of characters to take the stage in the AquaTheater, the impressive outdoor venue located at the stern of the ship, to perform a one-of-a-kind aquatic based show full of acrobatics and high-diving stunts. In addition, Royal Caribbean’s popular ice-skating venue on Allure will feature the characters from the recent hit film, “How to Train Your Dragon” in a spectacular ice show for guests. The experience on the Royal Caribbean ships is included in the world-class entertainment programming at no additional costs to guests.

Crown & Anchor Society members will now have the exclusive privilege to reserve their next cruise while onboard a Royal Caribbean vacation.  The new and exclusive Onboard Booking Bonus offers members the exclusive privilege to book a future cruise onboard and receive an onboard credit to spend on the future sailing, which can now also be used with either a Crown & Anchor Savings Certificate or a Balcony and Suite Discount (the latter applicable for Platinum, Diamond or Diamond Plus members), offering member guests great savings for their next cruise. Travel agent partners will continue to earn commission for onboard bookings.

An additional Crown & Anchor Society Loyalty Staff member also has been appointed aboard each ship to offer more personalized service and deliver the Royal treatment to each member guest.  The Loyalty Staff members can help answer member guests’ questions and help them reserve future cruises to take advantage of the new and enhanced vacation offers, available only to members of the Crown & Anchor Society.

Crown & Anchor Society members also will notice the new program enhancements both at home and onboard. Members will continue to enjoy first-to-know priority notice and access to new developments, special events, and exclusive offers that reward members for their loyalty. Travel agent partners also will be notified simultaneously. Onboard, member guests will be recognized every time they advance to a new level; and enjoy new enhanced benefits in their Ultimate Value Booklet, filled with new onboard savings for beverages, internet packages, photo and logo merchandise, supplementing classic favorites such as casino and spa discounts, to name a few.

This week Celebrity Constellation debuted with features from the Solstice class.  Carnival went a different route with their newest ship – and didn’t lift the name from another ship (or line!)

Silversea’s Prince Albert II got held up in Portsmouth due to overloading and the former Majestic America Line paddlewheeler Mississippi Queen has been sold.

Norwegian Epic and Seabourn Sojourn both had their godmother’s revealed.

There was a lot coming out of Royal Caribbean this week with Oasis of The Seas reveals, announcements about new features coming to Freedom of The Seas and Independence of the Seas, the end of Park West auctions onboard Royal Caribbean ships, and some comments from Adam Goldstein regarding Royal’s shift from Miami to Port Everglades.

Crystal visits Mexico, Princess gets two new builds and Cunard re-introduces the dreaded fuel supplement.

A criminal investigation is underway to determine the cause of a fire onboard Norwegian Epic.

Carnival ships will be frequent visitors to Bermuda, and there was a lot of Royal Caribbean news this week – from new shows on Allure of the Seas to a crew member overboard from Explorer of The Seas and an explanation about Royal’s decision to pull out of California and the Mexican Riviera.

The Mexican Riviera has traditionally been an important market for Royal Caribbean International, with the Port of Los Angeles and Mexican local, state and federal government agencies, and their private sectors playing a supportive role as valued partners.  While Royal Caribbean International looks forward to returning to the region in the future, Mariner of the Seas will sail its final round-trip Mexican Riviera itinerary from Los Angeles on January 9, 2011.

Guests currently booked on Mariner of the Seas’ Mexican Riviera sailings from January 16, 2011, and onward will be contacted with the following offer.  Until May 6, 2010, affected guests can opt for a full refund of any fares paid, or enjoy $200 onboard credit per stateroom ($400 per suite category stateroom) when they rebook their vacation, at the same fare or lower prevailing fare, on a Mariner of the Seas sailing before January 16, 2011, or on the same 2011 departure date aboard Voyager of the Seas, sailing from Galveston.

On January 16, 2011, Mariner of the Seas will reposition from Los Angeles on a 16-night itinerary to Valparaiso, Chile, followed by a 14-night voyage that cruises the Straits of Magellan and Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America to Sao Paulo (Santos), Brazil.  The ship will then offer a short Brazilian cruise season, before crossing the Atlantic to debut in Europe at its new seasonal homeport of Rome (Civitavecchia), where Mariner of the Seas will sail seven-night Western Mediterranean and 12-night Mediterranean Holy Land and Mediterranean Egypt itineraries.  In November 2011, Mariner of the Seas will debut at Galveston to offer Texas vacationers two roundtrip seven-night Western Caribbean itineraries through April 2012.  Mariner of the Seas’ new 2011 Europe and South America, and 2011-12 Western Caribbean itineraries, Splendour of the Seas’ new 2011 Europe itineraries, and Voyager of the Seas’ new 2011-12 Western Caribbean itineraries will be opened for booking in the near future.

Guests aboard Mariner of the Seas’ new 2011 Holy Land itineraries can choose a variety of shore excursion options, at an additional charge, that visit some of the most sacred sites in Israel, including Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Wailing Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and many others.  “Grand Overland” takes guests on the most comprehensive overview of this fascinating region with an overnight stay in Jerusalem.  On the Egypt cruises, “Grand Egypt Tour” offers guests a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit the awe-inspiring Pyramids and mysterious Sphinx at Cairo, and the Valley of the Kings in Luxor.  Guests also should not miss the largest collection of Roman ruins in the eastern Mediterranean and the iconic Library of Celsius on “Best of Ephesus.”

Cunard announced that QM2 will spend almost a month in Australia next year…

A passenger is accused of doing something stupid on Carnival Paradise…

Celebrity Eclipse makes the River Ems transit…

Crystal offers Cosmonaut training…

Oceania, Princess and Royal Caribbean announce their 2011 European deployments, and Royal Caribbean announces that year round cruising will continue in 2011 from Baltimore and New York.

We also took a look at the idox Traveler iPod case.  For some reason I kept calling this a dock – it’s not, it’s a case.  Bottom line, we were impressed with it for what it is.  To purchase one or for more information visit the idox website.  Sorry Zune fans, this one is only available for iPods…

We also had a quick review of Brian David Bruns’ book Cruise Confidential: A Hit Below the Waterline.  Mr. Bruns was and may still be the only American to successfully complete a contract in the dining rooms of Carnival without quiting or transferring to a different department.

This week – NCL gave us more details about their Studio cabins – most importantly they’re going to be singles and shouldn’t include a single supplement!

NCL also announced a partnership with Nickelodeon to bring Nick themed entertainment to some ships.

The keel of Carnival Magic was laid this past Tuesday, and Royal Caribbean and Rolls Royce have kissed and made up over Celebrity’s Mermaid Pods.

The situation in Haiti also touched the cruise industry and we talk about Royal Caribbean’s aid efforts and their return to Haiti as well as some of the other things going on to help out those in need.

What are your thoughts about Royal Caribbean’s quick return to Labadee?  We want to know, and you can leave your thoughts over on the Facebook page…

When first designed and implemented, podded propulsion was a significant technological advance over traditional shaft propulsion, but there were a number of technical issues in the early years of use.

Mermaid pods are installed on four Celebrity ships, Millennium, Summit, Infinity and Constellation. Over the years, a number of cruises were disrupted or canceled due to pod issues.

Royal Caribbean filed a $300m lawsuit against Alstom and Rolls-Royce in 2003, alleging pod defects. Alstom subsequently settled with RCL for $38m.

In late 2008, Carnival Corp. & plc sued Rolls-Royce and Converteam (Alstom Power Conversion) seeking $100m in alleged damages related to the Mermaid system on Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2.

We’re also seeking information on the status of Agent Edelette Methelus, of the Haitian Coast Guard. She may have been in either Gonaive or Port Au Prince.

UPDATE:

“All is fine in Labadee. No one is hurt and we believe there are no issues with our new pier,’ RCCL’s Craig Milan, svp land operations, told Seatrade Insider. He added that Cap Haitien is, by all accounts, in relatively good shape, too.

Engineers will assess the pier today, ‘but we do not think there are any issues,’ Milan said.

Carnival Conquest and Voyager of The Seas were stuck in Galveston, Carnival Fantasy’s arrival in Mobile AL was delayed, and Carnival Inspiration’s arrival in and departure from Tampa was delayed.

How thick was the fog? Voyager of The Seas was stuck in Galveston for TWO DAYS!

Before we dive in to our recap of Westerdam though we give you a quick recap of the news while we were gone…

First up was some new build news – Disney revealed that Sorcerer Mickey would ride the stern of Disney Dream, Carnival ordered a third ship for their Dream class, and Princess may be get a new ship too…

Mahogany Bay is welcoming visitors, and Labadee’s upgrades are ready in anticipation of Oasis of The Seas arrival.  Speaking of Oasis of The Seas the ship has been officially named…

Finally  Norwegian Dawn has been repaired and has returned to service after a experiencing a power failure off San Juan PR.

Even though we run long this week – you’re getting an abbreviated run down of our thoughts and experiences onboard Westerdam.  There were some unexpected high points on the trip and sadly some pretty dismal low points as well.  Don’t forget to watch the photo gallery – we’re still posting pictures from the trip – and also the pages here as we post more video from the trip as well.

The brands of Royal Caribbean are expanding their e-doc program, and Celebrity is rolling out a seasonal wine program.

Carnival is considering a return to Europe and Princess may be getting ready to order a new ship…

Port Everglades is welcoming 4 new ships in the coming months – 3 in the next few weeks alone…

Princess looks for new acts…

Juneau moves forward with pier expansion plans that the cruise lines aren’t interested in, and a line returns to Alaska for the first time in 40 years – with an Alaskan itinerary that departs from Southampton!

Look for Sailor Mickey in this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

A quick reminder for you as well – there won’t be a show next week or the week after as we’ll be onboard Holland America’s Westerdam.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

In an effort to offer guests more information in a visually appealing way with less burden on the environment, all Azamara, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean bookings made on or after December 13, 2009, will generate eDocs as the default format for guest travel documents. eDocs also will be the default format for any bookings made before December 13, 2009, that didn’t include a selection of a hard-copy guest travel documents preference. Guests will access their eDocs via each cruise line’s consumer website: Azamara Cruises, Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean International.

The technology behind the eDocs brings with it various conveniences for the guests and travel partners who use them. Not only do the eDocs give guests and travel partners around-the-clock access to important pre-cruise information, they also offer hyperlinks to all pre-cruise activity reservation opportunities. Additionally, eDocs offer a table of contents with hyperlinks that take the guest to the exact page they’re interested in, the ability to email a copy to friends and family, and the option to print specific pages. As an added bonus, the eDocs that Azamara, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean will offer are visually stunning, colorful and easy to read.

Celebrity and Royal Caribbean will offer guests the option of ordering printed cruise documents, for a fee of $35 per document. The up-market, smaller-ship brand Azamara, however, will waive this fee for its guests who order printed cruise documents.

It is also possible for travel partners and guests to self-print eDocs at no charge using a printer-friendly format; however, this version will lack the interactive qualities of the online eDocs.

For all bookings made through travel partners, the Azamara Cruises, Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean International eDocs will be customized to display the travel agency name and phone number. Travel partners can access eDocs through the three lines’ travel agent portal, CruisingPower website.

Not only will the new eDocs program help travel partners avoid shipping costs by eliminating the need to mail printed documents to their clients, but travel partners also have options around how their clients receive their eDocs. Agents can receive eDocs on behalf of a client, they can give the cruise line the client’s email address or provide the client with the booking number so that the client can self-manage their eDocs (which saves the travel partner valuable administrative time). Alternatively, travel partners can offer their clients the opportunity to purchase a printed document.

A new eDocs luggage tag system designed to save guests time at the pier and streamline the onboard luggage sorting and delivery process is a crucial part of the three cruise lines’ revamped pre-cruise planning and documentation experience. Qualified guests may request luggage tags to be mailed to them by completing the request form available on each brand’s website. With the new program, guests will receive, via mail, a complimentary set of eight pre-printed, self-adhesive, color-coded and personalized luggage tags. Luggage tags can be requested as soon as documents are issued and must be requested no later than 14 days prior to sailing. Alternatively, travel partners can request that a client’s luggage tags be mailed either to the client or the travel agency by providing a mailing address at the time of booking; these will be mailed 13 days prior to sailing.

The new eDocs luggage tag program is already available for Royal Caribbean International’s guests, and will become available for Azamara Cruises’ and Celebrity Cruises’ guests beginning November 16, 2009.

Carnival is putting a chairlift in Roatan, and Holland America is hosting Windows 7 launch parties.  Holland America’s newest Nieuw Amsterdam was floated out too.

Book a Royal Caribbean cruise with us next week and help support the Fisher House Foundation.

Royal Caribbean took deliver of Oasis of The Seas and check out the daily video we’re getting from the ship too…

Finally, Disney announced a lot of the details about Disney Dream and we’re excited about them.