I love all things Cruise and add that to my hobby Photography I’m in dreamland, I’m an exTravel agency owner with the inside contacts, so I will try to keep you updated in all things travel related with a side serving of images and other maritime stories.
Oceania Cruises plans to completely revamp two of its ships, Riviera and Marina, and give them a full “stem-to-stern” overhaul.
The undertaking, which will be completed over the course of this year and next, is the next step in its ongoing OceaniaNEXT programme.
Once completed, Oceania said it would proudly deploy a fully refreshed fleet comprising brand new or “better-than-new” ships in every destination.
Oceania expects Riviera to re-enter service in December 2022 and Marina in November 2023. Each ship will accommodate 1,210 guests.
Every suite and stateroom will be renovated, while public spaces will feature a refreshed colour palette, new fabrics, furnishings and light fittings.
“At Oceania Cruises, we continue to raise the bar and elevate the guest experience at every opportunity,” said president and chief executive Howard Sherman.
He added the work would extend to new culinary concepts and “immersive new destination experiences”.
Riviera will debut on 7 December sailing a 16-day Mediterranean, Atlantic and Caribbean cruise from Rome to Miami.
It will then resume sailing seven- to 14-day trips from Miami to the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America before returning to Europe in late March 2023. An inaugural Far East season will follow in late 2023 and early 2024.
Marina, meanwhile, will return to service on 13 November 2023 sailing a seven-day cruise from Barcelona to Lisbon. From Lisbon, Marina will sail to Miami to sail its annual South America season, starting 3 December 2023. Details of Oceania’s 2024 itineraries will follow in the coming weeks.
Oceania’s other ships – Insignia, Regatta, Sirena and latterly Nautica – have all been refreshed, with Nautica returning to service on 1 April.
As the Carnival Sensation is retired from service, Cruise Industry News looks at the history of this popular Fantasy-class vessel.
1990: The Fantasy entered service as the lead ship of an eight-vessel class that also includes the Sensation – a 2,040-guest vessel built by the Kvaerner Masa-Yards in Finland, at a cost of $300 million.
1993: The Sensation is christened in November, with four Carnival vice presidents serving as godmothers: Vicki L. Freed, Roberta Jacoby, Cherie Weinstein and Geri Donnelly. The vessel then sets sail on its inaugural voyage, launching a year-round program of weekly Caribbean cruises from Miami.
1998: After undergoing its first mandatory drydock, the Sensation is repositioned, debuting in Tampa. In December, the vessel launches a series of week-long cruises to Grand Cayman, Cozumel and New Orleans from its new Florida homeport.
2000: The Sensation is reflagged, with its registry port changing from Monrovia, Liberia, to Nassau, Bahamas.
2002: As Carnival shifts its fleet around Florida and the Gulf Ports, the Sensation is transferred to the short cruise market. Still sailing from Tampa, the vessel takes over the 1986-built Jubilee’s schedule in August, offering four- and five-night cruises to the Western Caribbean.
2004: With the new Carnival Miracle debuting in Tampa, the Sensation is once again repositioned. This time, the vessel debuts in New Orleans, launching a series of four- and five-night cruises to Mexico in October.
2005: As Hurricane Katrina hits Louisiana in September, the Sensation is diverted to Galveston with two of its scheduled cruises now departing from the Texas port.
2005: Soon after, the vessel is chartered to FEMA as part of the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in New Orleans. During a six-month period, the Sensation remained docked in the Gulf region while serving as a temporary house for people affected by the natural disaster.
2006: After its first significant renovation, the Sensation resumed service in March. With new features that included a nine-hole mini-golf course, larger kid facilities and a reconfigured aft lounge, the vessel kicked off a series of short cruises to the Bahamas from Port Canaveral.
2007: In line with other ships of the fleet, the Sensation received the Carnival prefix to its name, becoming the Carnival Sensation.
2016: As part of a deployment shuffle, the ship is replaced in Port Canaveral by the Carnival Victory and returns to Miami. Starting in February, the Carnival Sensation debuts a program of five- and four-night cruises from its new homeport, with itineraries visiting the Caribbean, Mexico and the Bahamas.
2020: On March 9, the vessel departed on what ended up being its last revenue cruise. Leaving from Miami, the five-night voyage included visits to Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios. Soon after the voyage, the vessel entered a lay-up status, along with the entire Carnival fleet.
2022: As part of reviews of its fleet and homeport strategies, Carnival announced the retirement of the Carnival Sensation in February. A few weeks later, in late March, the vessel sailed from Miami to Aliaga, where it is set to be scrapped over the next months.
Citing crew availability issues, P&O Cruises UK has cancelled seven cruises on the Arcadia, extending through a June 23 departure to the Norwegian fjords.
The ship had just restarted service for the brand in late March, marking the Carnival-owned company’s return to full operations.
“The impact of Covid upon airlines and general disruption has necessitated the cancellations as we need to move crew from Arcadia to other ships in the fleet,” P&O said, in a social media post.
With the Arcadia going into a pause state, the ship now returns to service on July 5 for a two-week journey to Iceland, sailing roundtrip from Southampton, England.
