Carnival Corp. to build second cruise terminal in Barcelona

Posted on 26 July, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

Norwegian Jade in Barcelona.

Carnival Corp. has received approval to build and operate a second private cruise terminal in Barcelona, Europe’s busiest cruise port.

The cruise company said it will spend more than 30 million euros (about $33 million) on the project. Carnival said construction is slated to start in 2016 and that the facility could open as early as 2018.

The terminal, to be built at the port’s Adossat wharf, will be one of Europe’s largest at nearly 125,000 square feet, Carnival said.

There has been a “consistent surge in growth” in Barcelona over the past several years, said Giora Israel, Carnival Corp.’s senior vice president of global port and destination development. Barcelona is a destination and homeport for seven of Carnival Corp.’s 10 cruise brands.

Besides the terminal, Carnival Corp. will build and operate a new parking facility on the cruise pier.

The Port of Barcelona said it had 764 cruise calls in 2014.

German cruise line introduces social media access fee

Posted on 23 June, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

German line AIDA Cruises is introducing a flat fee for internet access to social media networks on board its ships.

Passengers will be able to share their experiences on board with friends on social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or WhatsApp for €4 a day or €19 a week.

AIDA claims to be “dramatically increasing” the bandwidth and speed of internet connections in addition to the new social media flat rate.

New internet packages to be introduced soon will allow unlimited access rather than be based on minutes of use.

Three options will be available with packages costing €25 for 250MB, €39 for 500MB and €99 for 3 GB of access.

Thomas Pfitzer, chief technical officer at the Carnival Corporation-owned line, said: “The use of mobile devices is continuously growing. We want to accommodate this trend and are offering our guests an additional service with the flat rate.

“With these package offers, we help keep the costs of satellite-based internet connections at sea reasonable and calculable for our guests.”

Six ships in the fleet will be equipped with enhanced internet access by next month, with completion due by November.

The new internet packages and fees will be part of the standard offering on new flagship AIDAprima (pictured).

Passengers who book internet packages in advance through the MyAIDA portal will receive a 5% discount.

Carnival Breeze’s Galveston deployment moved up

Posted on 21 June, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival Breeze

Carnival Cruise Line will reposition the Carnival Breeze to Galveston next May, seven months earlier than originally planned.

The 3,690-passenger ship will sail seven-day cruises from the Texas port, with the first departing on May 8, 2016.

The Breeze will replace the 3,690-passenger Carnival Magic, which will shift to Port Canaveral, Fla., and assume the Carnival Valor’s seven-day cruise schedule, beginning April 23, 2016.

The 2,980-passenger Valor will offer a new series of five- and eight-day cruises from Port Canaveral, beginning June 4, 2016.

The Breeze’s current six- and eight-day Caribbean cruise program from Miami will be taken over by the 3,002-passenger Carnival Splendor on May 1, 2016.

Reservations are open for the new itineraries.