MIAMI, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival Cruise Lines has rolled out a new sales event offering free best available upgrades on a wide variety of "Fun Ship" departures throughout 2009.
The new "Fun4All" promotion is available in conjunction with virtually all three- to 12-day cruises departing through Dec. 18, 2009, including voyages to the Caribbean, Bahamas, Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, New England and Europe. To be eligible for this special offer, bookings must be made between Jan. 5-23, 2009.
Cruisers are ready to embark on a new year, and what a year it is likely to be!
As I try to crystal ball what cruising will look like during 2009, I find that my 25 years of monitoring the industry is of little use. Unprecedented economic challenges face the cruise lines this year. The industry is too young to have developed a playbook for economic downturns of this magnitude. How it will adapt is anyone’s guess.
Into these uncharted waters, I’ll toss my prognostications:
GALVESTON – A 14-year-old girl aboard a cruise ship bound for Galveston had to be airlifted off the ship Saturday after she fainted. The unidentified teen was aboard Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas, which was returning from a seven-day cruise after setting sail from Galveston on Dec. 28.
Costa Cruises is to showcase its two major ship launches for 2009 with dedicated websites for each ahead of their join ‘christening’ in June. According to a recent report by Kevin May in travolution.co.uk, the Costa Luminosa and Costa Pacifica, which will be launched simultaneously in the Italian city of Genoa this summer, will be previewed on micro-sites from costacruises.co.uk.
MIAMI -- The Coast Guard has called off the search for a cruise ship employee whose co-workers say fell overboard off Florida.
The workers on the Carnival Sensation had reported the man falling overboard early Thursday. He was identified by the Coast Guard as 26-year-old Antonio Matabang from California.
With tug boats spraying a watery welcome, MSC Orchestra arrived in Port Everglades today to begin her inaugural season of Caribbean sailings.
MSC Orchestra is the largest of the line's ships to sail in North American waters. At 92,400 gross tons, the MSC Orchestra can carry 2,550 passengers and the majority of staterooms have private balconies.
NAWILIWILI, Hawaii — Visitors disembarking the Norwegian Cruise Line ship yesterday morning at Nawiliwili Harbor were greeted with an interesting sight: no greeters.
After decades of meeting cruise ship tourists at the boat and directing them to various island activities, greeters who work for private tour companies or even free shuttles to various stores were informed of their expulsion from harbors property, effective Jan. 1, in a December letter from Bob Crowell, harbors district manager for Kaua‘i.
The Coast Guard is searching for a crew member of the Carnival cruise ship Sensation who apparently went overboard early Thursday while other crew members watched.
A public information officer for the Coast Guard in Miami said the crew member was working on the Sensation shortly before 1 a.m. when he was seen going over the side. The ship was stopped, and began a search of the area as officers notified the Coast Guard and asked for help.
Miami Coast Guard officials launched three helicopters to begin searching the waters off Vero Beach where the ship was sailing, was well as 2 cutters and a Ft. Pierce-based patrol boat.
An eight-story plunge off a cruise ship may have been the purposeful last moment in a life that alternated between happiness and struggle for writer Jennifer Seitz, her brother told "Good Morning America" today in an exclusive interview.
Investigators say cameras captured the missing cruise passenger going overboard.
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 31 December 2008 16:19 )
Despite its upbeat name -- and purpose -- the ''Yes We Can 2009 Cruise'' is in jeopardy.
The cruise, designed to provide an affordable way for Barack Obama supporters to attend his historic January inauguration, has not drawn enough ticket sales so far to meet the minimum required by the cruise company.
Obama volunteers partnered with the Chicago-based travel company HotelBlox to organize the eight-day trip on the Imperial Majesty line's MV Regal Empress cruise ship. The plans for the trip raised hopes among those who worked hard for Obama's election.
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 31 December 2008 15:47 )
A Carnival Cruise Lines spokesman said Tuesday that the Miami-based company has not scrapped plans to sell the Holiday to its Spanish subsidiary, Iberocruceros, as reported by online industry publication Maritime Matters.
The downturn in the economy hasn't stopped the cruise industry. Over a half-dozen new ships will be launched in 2009, complete with the prerequisite bells and whistles. Cruise-loving travelers have a bevy of decked-out ships to choose from at bargain-basement prices.
The plummeting cruise prices offer a unique opportunity for vacationers. "In retrospect, I'm so glad I postponed my cruise last year," said Cynthia Gailor, a nurse from Columbia. "I'm now booked on a brand new ship at almost half the cost."
MIAMI, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival Cruise Lines has rolled out a new sales event offering free best available upgrades on a wide variety of "Fun Ship" departures throughout 2009.
With tug boats spraying a watery welcome, MSC Orchestra arrived in Port Everglades today to begin her inaugural season of Caribbean sailings.
NAWILIWILI, Hawaii — Visitors disembarking the Norwegian Cruise Line ship yesterday morning at Nawiliwili Harbor were greeted with an interesting sight: no greeters.
The Coast Guard is searching for a crew member of the Carnival cruise ship Sensation who apparently went overboard early Thursday while other crew members watched.
An eight-story plunge off a cruise ship may have been the purposeful last moment in a life that alternated between happiness and struggle for writer Jennifer Seitz, her brother told "Good Morning America" today in an exclusive interview.
Despite its upbeat name -- and purpose -- the ''Yes We Can 2009 Cruise'' is in jeopardy.