Star Kicks Off Norwegian’s 2023-24 Season in South America and Antarctica

Posted on 28 December, 2023 by Spacejunkie2

The Norwegian Star recently arrived in South America to kick off Norwegian Cruise Line’s 2023-24 in the region.

Extending through April, the local program features different itineraries to Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, the Falkland Islands, Chile, and Antarctica.

After concluding its summer program in Northern Europe, the 2,200-guest vessel arrived in Brazil in early December.

Before concluding its repositioning cruise in Rio de Janeiro, the Star visited several destinations in the country, including Recife, Maceió, Salvador and Búzios.

Continuing its way to the Southern tip of the continent, the ship also offered a ten-night cruise to Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay in mid-December.

The one-way cruise sailed from Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires and featured visits to Búzios, Ilha Grande, Ilhabela, Santos, Balneário Camboriú, Punta del Este and Montevideo.

Once in Buenos Aires, the Norwegian Star kicked off the first sailing of a regular series of cruises to Argentina, Antarctica, Uruguay, and the Falkland Islands.

The 16-night cruise features visits to several destinations in the region, such as Puerto Madryn, Punta Arenas, Port Stanley and Punta del Este.

Before returning to Buenos Aires, the Norwegian Star is also scheduled to spend a few days cruising around Elephant Island and other parts of Antarctica.

After additional itineraries in the region, the 2001-built vessel is scheduled to return to Europe in mid-April, via a transatlantic crossing that starts in Rio de Janeiro and ends in Lisbon, Portugal.

In addition to the Star, Norwegian Cruise Line’s 2023-24 program in South America also includes the Norwegian Sun.

Between January and early March, the vessel is scheduled to offer a series of cruises to the Andes, Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego that include visits to destinations in Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and the Falkland Islands.

Carnival Cruise Line Announces New Enhancements

Posted on 27 December, 2023 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival Cruise Line announced a series of new enhancements in time for the new year, from a revamped Chef’s Table and a dedicated cooking class to online improvements.

Dedicated Cooking Class with Chef Lagasse’s Favorites

Debuting onboard the Carnival Jubilee as part of the Carnival Kitchen offerings, the Carnival Culinary Center features a dedicated cooking class curated by Chief Culinary Officer Emeril Lagasse. Guests will learn to create a three-course meal with recipes selected by Emeril, including his New-New Orleans Pasta, Shrimp and Okra Gumbo with Filé and Strawberries Romanoff.

Chef’s Table Revamps with New Menu and Wine Selections

Carnival launched a new option for its Chef’s Table, a VIP culinary experience featuring a multi-course dinner hosted by the Executive Chef onboard. The experience starts with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres for a group of 14, followed by a tour to see the galley in operation and a dinner of appetizers, entrees and desserts. The Chef’s Table 2.0 menu offerings are available fleetwide.

“Behind The Fun” Ship Tours Now Available Online

Carnival’s “Behind The Fun” tours will now be available for bookings pre-cruise on Carnival.com starting Jan. 1.

The new option will be rolled out fleetwide. To book, guests need to select the tour as a shore excursion under their ship’s homeport. An accessible, abbreviated tour is also now available for guests with disabilities.

New HUB App Feature

To simplify debarkation, the cruise line added a new feature to the HUB App. Guests no longer need to pick up zone tags for their luggage but can indicate a debarkation time via the app. Guests should list the number of bags to be placed outside their stateroom so the tags can be delivered directly to them.

VIFP members and suite guests will still receive special tags with priority debarkation as normal, and travelers who prefer not to use the app can still follow the traditional debarkation process.

AIDAnova Celebrates Five Years in Service

Posted on 27 December, 2023 by Spacejunkie2

The AIDAnova is completing its fifth year in service this month. After being delivered by the Meyer Werft shipyard, the LNG-powered vessel joined AIDA Cruises fleet on December 12, 2018.

As the first in a series of LNG-powered cruise ships built by Carnival Corporation, the AIDAnova introduced a new generation of vessels for AIDA.

Now sharing the title of largest ship in the fleet of the German operator along with its sister ship AIDAcosma, the 5,200-guest vessel spent its inaugural season in the Canary Islands.

Soon after being delivered, the AIDAnova welcomed guests for its inaugural cruise in St. Curz de Tenerife on Dec. 19, 2018.

On that day, the vessel departed on a seven-night cruise that sailed across the Spanish archipelago and also included a visit to Funchal, in Portugal’s Madeira Island.

In late April 2019, the AIDAnova repositioned to Southern Europe for a summer season in the Western Mediterranean.

Sailing from Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona, in Spain, the ship’s regular seven-night itinerary featured three additional ports in Italy and France: Civitavecchia for Rome, La Spezia for Florence, and Marseille.

Currently sailing from Hamburg, in Germany, the AIDAnova is offering a series of cruises to Northern and Western Europe during the 2023-24 winter.

Different itineraries will be offered through late April, including seven-night voyages to Norway and Denmark, and week-long cruises to Germany, England, Belgium, the Netherlands and France.

The cruises can be combined to create a single 14-night cruise that visits Western Europe, the North Sea and Scandinavia.

The AIDAnova remains in the region during the 2024 summer, offering different itineraries to the Norwegian Fjords, Scandinavia and more departing from the German port of Kiel.