Tag Archives: Fort Lauderdale

Carnival gets bigger in Texas

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By Jerry Limone
Carnival FreedomCarnival Cruise Lines will have three ships based in Galveston when the Carnival Freedom joins the Magic and Triumph at the Texas port next February.

Carnival said no other cruise line has deployed three year-round ships in Texas.

“In partnership with the Port of Galveston and the local community, we have been able to increase our passenger counts fivefold since we first launched service from Galveston in 2000,” Carnival Cruise Lines CEO Gerry Cahill said. “Additionally, we are extremely grateful for the support of our travel agent partners who have played a key role in the growth of our Texas cruise program.”

Before arriving in Galveston, the 3,000-passenger Freedom will undergo a previously announced makeover that will add Fun Ship 2.0 product enhancements, including Guy’s Burger Joint, BlueIguana Cantina, RedFrog Pub and the Camp Ocean kids’ club.

Carnival Freedom will sail a 12-day repositioning cruise departing Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 2, arriving in Galveston on Feb. 14. The cruise will call in St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Curacao, Aruba and Grand Cayman.

The Freedom will kick off its new schedule from Galveston with a six-day Caribbean voyage to Costa Maya, Mexico; Belize; and Cozumel. Following the six-day voyage, the Freedom will sail seven-day Caribbean cruises year-round.

Crew member arrested for assault on HAL ship

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By Tom Stieghorst

A 28-year-old crew member on Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam ship has been arrested following an assault on a passenger in her cabin last week.

The crew member was taken into custody by the FBI when the ship docked in Fort Lauderdale at the end of a chartered cruise on Feb. 16.

He has been charged with attempted murder and sexual assault, according to South Florida media reports. Court records say the Indonesian man confessed to the attack, and told investigators that he was responding to a perceived insult to himself and his family.

Holland America has fired him.

“No words can adequately express our shock at this event,” Holland America said in a statement. “We continue to work closely with authorities to understand how this incident occurred and what additional actions we can take to help ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.”

The 31-year-old U.S. citizen was cared for and her condition was stabilized in the ship’s hospital, the statement said. She disembarked the ship on Saturday in Roatan, Honduras, and was transferred by air to a hospital in the U.S.

Nieuw Amsterdam left Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 9 for a week-long western Caribbean cruise. It had been chartered by Bare Necessities Tour & Travel, in Austin, Texas, which specializes in clothing-optional vacations.

Holland America Line said the cabin steward was hired in 2012 following a screening that included a clean criminal history check.

He had no performance issues and came with good references, the statement said.

The line reiterated that it asks for a police screening of nearly all shipboard employees in their country of origin, and that virtually all crew members must get a U.S. visa and be screened by the U.S. government prior to employment.

Independence of the Seas to sail Caribbean cruises

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By Tom Stieghorst

Royal Caribbean International said the Independence of the Seas will spend its first summer in the Caribbean in 2015, returning from deployment in Europe.

The ship will sail alternating seven-day eastern and western Caribbean itineraries from Fort Lauderdale.

Royal Caribbean recently announced that its largest ship, Allure of the Seas, which had been sailing from Fort Lauderdale year round, would be sent to Europe for the summer in 2015.

Oasis of the Seas will continue from Fort Lauderdale, and Freedom of the Seas from Port Canaveral next summer.

Grandeur of the Seas will continue sailing to Bermuda and the Bahamas in the summer of 2015 from Baltimore, and alternate Bermuda with Canada/New England itineraries in the fall.

Brilliance of the Seas will do Canada/New England fall itineraries from Boston, while Serenade of the Seas will sail back and forth between the New York area and Quebec City on 10- to 14-day foliage sailings.