Tag Archives: Carnival Miracle

New York knocks Venice off the top

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New York knocks Venice off the top

According to the PSA (Passenger Shipping Association) New York has knocked Venice off the cruising top spot!

Yep, Brits have voted the Big Apple as their favourite port destination.

Nearly one-fifth of those who took part in the YouGov survey voted it number one, with Venice receiving 13 per cent, dropping to second place.

Barcelona, Rome and Singapore shared third position glory with 7 per cent of cruisers saying they were their favourite stop-offs.

The survey which marks the start of National Cruise Week, shows that a whopping 1.7 million Britons will go on a cruise holiday this year.

The cruise sector has been growing in recent years, bucking the downward trend experienced by the rest of the travel market.

In 2010, cruising accounted for 4.5 per cent of the foreign travel market for Britain and 11.5 per cent of the package holiday market.

So why do us Brits love cruising so much? Over half of us relish the chance of sightseeing in so many different places in one holiday, while 36 per cent are attracted by the all-inclusive deals.

Director of the PSA Bill Gibbons said: ‘The survey highlights why more cruise holidays are being taken by Brits than ever before – it’s an effortlessly way to visit many great destinations across the world while only unpacking once.’

Carnival Breeze floated out

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Carnival Breeze floated out

By Donna Tunney
The Carnival Breeze was floated out Sept. 16 at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy.

The 3,600-passenger ship was repositioned to another dock where it will undergo final interior work in preparation for its June 3 debut.

The Carnival Breeze, a sister ship to the Carnival Magic, will sail an inaugural 12-day cruise from Venice to Barcelona, positioning the vessel for a summer schedule of 12-day Mediterranean cruises.

Following its transatlantic crossing, the ship will launch year-round six- and eight-day Caribbean cruises from Miami on Nov. 24, 2012.

The Breeze will be the largest Carnival ship to ever sail from Miami.

Royal Caribbean changes course on compensating stranded guests

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Royal Caribbean changes course on compensating stranded guests

By Donna Tunney
Royal Caribbean International backed off on its policy that says it won’t compensate passengers for weather events that alter a cruise.Royal Caribbean drew criticism after 130 people booked to sail on the Serenade of the Seas on Aug. 21 were stranded in San Juan after the ship departed early to avoid Hurricane Irene.

The cruise line is keeping mum on the amount of compensation.

“We are in the process of contacting those guests who were not able to sail with us to inform them of their compensation, and would prefer that the impacted guests learn of the amount directly from the line before it is disclosed publicly,” said spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez.

“We are compensating these passengers,” she added, “because we understand that this was an unusual situation, and we want to provide our guests with another opportunity to sail with Royal Caribbean International in the near future.”

Fifteen passengers who had booked their air through Royal Caribbean were provided hotel accommodations in San Juan on Aug. 21 and 22, along with air transportation to Aruba on Aug. 23, where they boarded the Serenade. These passengers also will be compensated, the line said, with a future cruise certificate for 30% of the cruise fare they paid.