Carnival Panorama to Have Funnel Removed Before Drydock in Portland

Too tall for the bridges of the Columbia River, the Carnival Panorama will have its funnel removed before entering drydock in Portland, Cruise Industry News confirmed.

Facing propulsion issues, the Carnival Cruise Line vessel is currently docked in Victoria, Canada, to get the work done before heading to the Vigor Shipyard in Oregon.

The Panorama will then undergo repairs and a technical overhaul before resuming service on Dec. 23, 2023.

On Dec. 23, the 2019-built ship is scheduled to sail from Long Beach on a seven-night cruise to the Mexican Riviera that features visits to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta.

After experiencing an issue affecting its maximum cruising speed in early November, the Carnival Panorama saw four of its scheduled cruises cancelled.

“Unfortunately, we will be unable to operate the voyages, as it is necessary to remove the ship from service to complete the required repairs,” Carnival said at the time.

The ship then spent a week docked in Astoria, while the company arranged all the details of the repairs.

Two additional week-long cruises were cancelled on Nov. 17, Carnival said, pushing the vessel’s service resumption to late December.

“While we have secured one of the limited number of drydock facilities on the West Coast for the work to be done, we do not have immediate access to the shipyard and will need more time to complete the work,” the company explained in a statement shared at the time.

The third and final ship in Carnival’s Vista Class, the Carnival Panorama entered service in late 2019. Based on the West Coast, the 4,000-guest vessel sails from Long Beach on a year-round basis.

The program features a series of six- to eight-night cruises to Baja Mexico and the Mexican Riviera, with visits to La Paz, Mazatlán, Ensenada, Puerto Vallarta, and ore.

Modern Mississippi riverboat to be named American Song

The first of American Cruise Lines’ modern riverboats will be named American Song.

The vessel will launch on the Mississippi River in fall 2018 and will head to the Pacific Northwest’s Columbia and Snake rivers for 2019.

The American Song will be wider, faster, and quieter than any of ACL’s other river cruise ships. Like ACL’s other vessels, the American Song is being built at Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Md., and thus will be U.S. flagged and crewed.

The vessel will have a four-story glass atrium and large lounge areas. It is being designed to have sweeping views throughout the ship. The staterooms will be the largest in the industry, according to ACL, and will have private balconies and large bathrooms.

With the launch of American Song next year, ACL will operate a fleet of 10 vessels, including coastal cruisers and paddlewheelers.

The company sails along the coasts and inland waterways of Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, the Mississippi River region, the Southeast and New England.

Un-Cruise Adventures bringing the Legacy back to Alaska

The Legacy doing river cruising.

Un-Cruise Adventures unveiled its schedule of Alaska voyages for 2018, including a repositioning of the 88-passenger Legacy to once again sail in Alaska in the summer.

The coastal steamer replica has been doing an itinerary on the Columbia River from Portland for the past few summers.

Un-Cruise said the Legacy and the 84-guest Safari Endeavour sail 13 departures from Juneau to Sitka and see glaciers in Tracy Arm or Endicott Arm, Thomas Bay, Baird Glacier, Le Conte Glacier, Ideal Cove, Frederick Sound, Baranof Island, Sergius Narrows and the native village of Kake. The Legacy will be newly equipped with kayaks and skiffs.

The two vessels will also offer 13 departures on an upper Inside Passage-focused itinerary from Sitka to Juneau. This route explores Krestof Sound, Icy Strait, Glacier Bay National Park, Chichagof Island and Lynn Canal.

Also new in 2018, the adventure outpost of Haines has been added to five itineraries. A full day of activities in Haines includes a float trip down the Chilkat River (on most itineraries), a guided hike, bikes for riding into town and a shipboard presentation by local Chilkat Tlingit members.