Inflatable turkey gobbles up cruise ship

Posted on 26 November, 2012 by Spacejunkie2

Inflatable turkey gobbles up cruise ship

A special inflatable turkey featured aboard the Carnival Breeze

Miami locals were treated to a rather unusual spectacle yesterday (November 21st) when a Carnival Cruise ship arrived in port with a special guest onboard – a giant inflatable turkey.

The blown-up bird was in attendance as part of the cruise provider’s nod to this week’s Thanksgiving holiday celebrations, arriving aboard the company’s Carnival Breeze liner.

Measuring 55 feet in height and weighing 1,250 pounds, the rather fetching fowl was adorned in a straw hat and snazzy Caribbean shirt.

Fortunately for the big bird in question, she was soon back at sea before anyone caught wind of her rather delicious looking presence in port.

The Carnival Breeze set off on a two-day cruise today to mark the annual occasion.

From Saturday the vessel will then begin a year-round series of six and eight day Caribbean cruises, setting off from the same Miami port.

The Carnival Cruise Lines made travel headlines earlier this month when the Carnival Glory returned to action following a multi-million pound renovation.

Cruise passengers robbed on excursion in Puerto Vallarta

Posted on 27 February, 2012 by Spacejunkie2

Cruise passengers robbed on excursion in Puerto Vallarta

By Donna Tunney

Carnival Cruise Lines suspended a guided nature-trail excursion in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, after 22 passengers sailing on the Carnival Splendor were robbed at gunpoint during the tour on Feb. 23.

There were no injuries and all passengers returned safely to the ship, Carnival said in a statement.

“Numerous authorities were notified and responded to investigate, as well as assist the affected guests. The tour in question has been suspended until further notice.”

Carnival said it is working to reimburse robbery victims for lost valuables and assist with lost passports or other forms of identification that were stolen.

“Carnival sincerely apologizes to its guests for this very unfortunate and disturbing event and is providing its full support and assistance,” the cruise line said.

The 2,974-passenger Splendor was operating a seven-day cruise that departed Long Beach, Calif., on Feb. 19.

Puerto Vallarta, a city of 255,000, is located in Jalisco state. The most recent U.S. State Department travel warning concerning the region tells Americans to “deter nonessential travel to areas of the state that border the states of Michoacan and Zacatecas.”

Michoacan is located to the south and Zacatecas to the northeast of Jalisco. The warning does not specifically mention Puerto Vallarta.

Princess Cruises last June suspended calls to Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan, citing security concerns, but announced last October it would include both destinations on six Sapphire Princess cruises in winter 2012-13.

At the time, Princess said it could alter its decision to include Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan closer to departure, if its comfort level with the destinations changes again.

Holland America Line had extended its suspension of Mazatlan port calls through March 2012, replacing the visit with an overnight in Puerto Vallarta.

Meanwhile, Puerto Vallarta is poised to host a major trade show, Tianguis Turistico 2012, March 25 to 28 in Puerto Vallarta and the Riviera Nayarit.

Puerto Vallarta’s conference center will serve as the venue for the trade show, meetings and press conferences.

Tui claims to have outperformed the market in January

Posted on 7 February, 2012 by Spacejunkie2

Tui claims to have outperformed the market in January

Tui Travel claims to have “significantly outperformed” the market in the peak January selling period for summer holidays.

Sales volumes are now ahead of the company’s 9% capacity reduction, and is 35% sold to date, described as in line with the previous year.

Capacity has been cut for North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, with some of this reduction offset by increased capacity in the Canary Islands.

“Turn of year trading has been ahead of expectations and we are particularly pleased with our online performance,” Tui said.

The average selling price is up 8%, reflecting cost base inflation of approximately 5% and the continued increase in differentiated content.

“We have continued to increase the proportion of holidays sold online with 42% booked online for summer 2012, up six percentage points versus the prior year.”

All inclusive bookings are up by seven percentage points to make up 55% of bookings to date for the first summer that First Choice becomes exclusively all inclusive.

The ‘all in’ holiday concept is proving attractive, particularly in the current economic environment.

“As we continue to expand our differentiated offering, which traditionally books earlier, these products have accounted for 64% of bookings to date, up seven percentage points on the prior year,” Tui said.

UK bookings for this winter have improved since early December, with volumes continuing to move towards a capacity reduction of 9% and there is less left to sell against this time last year.

The booked load factor is currently 71%, described as being broadly in line with last year.

“We are pleased with our price performance, with average selling prices up 5% in light of inflationary cost increases and increased differentiated sales,” Tui said.

“Demand for differentiated products continues to be strong with volumes up 15%. These products now account for 62% of our sales, up 12 percentage points on prior year.

“As anticipated, North Africa remains challenging with volumes down 23%. Across our programme strong demand in the lates booking period has resulted in improved load factors for November, December and January.”