Tag Archives: Latin America

Rhapsody of the Seas Starts Homeporting Season in Colombia

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The Rhapsody of the Seas is kicking off its homeporting season in Cartagena de Indias today.

Part of Royal Caribbean International’s return to Latin America after a seven-year gap, the operation includes 12 cruises departing from the Colombian port.

Through April, the vessel is set to offer a series of seven-night voyages to the Southern Caribbean that also feature visits to other destinations in the region, including Panama and Aruba.

While some of the itineraries also feature overnight calls at selected ports, Rhapsody’s regular itinerary sails to Willemstad, in Curaçao; Kralendijk, in Aruba; Oranjestad, in Bonaire; and Colón, in Panama.

The latter also serves as homeport for the operation, with passengers being able to embark on the cruise in both Cartagena and Colón.

Upon completing the winter program in mid-April, the Rhapsody sets sail on a repositioning cruise to Fort Lauderdale before returning to the Southern Caribbean.

Remaining in the region for the entire year, the Vision-Class ship is set to kick off a year-round program out of San Juan in late April.

The deployment includes seven-night cruises to additional destinations in the region, such as Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Croix, and Antigua.

Built at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in France, the Rhapsody of the Seas originally entered service for Royal Caribbean International in 1996.

Extensively refurbished over the years, the 2,000-guest vessel offers several of the company’s signature features, including a rock climbing wall, an adults-only Solarium, and an array of specialty restaurants.

Among the dining venues available onboard is Chops Grille, an American-style steakhouse; Giovanni’s Table, a specialty restaurant that serves Italian food; and the self-service buffet Windjammer Café.

Virgin Voyages to Create 300 Jobs in Ft. Lauderdale

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Image result for virgin voyages cruise ship

Florida Governor Rick Scott today announced that Virgin Voyages has selected Plantation for its new headquarters, which will create 300 new jobs.

The company will also invest $15.9 million in the local community, according to a statement.

Governor Scott said, “I am proud to announce that Virgin Voyages has selected Florida to locate their new headquarters, which will create more than 300 new jobs for families in South Florida. As a top tourism destination, the gateway to Latin America and one of the most business-friendly states, Florida is the best place for Virgin Voyages’ new headquarters.”

Thomas McAlpin, President and CEO of Virgin Voyages said, “Virgin brands have a long history of raising the bar in every industry we enter. We are proud to bring that mindset to the South Florida community and introduce new jobs and business opportunities to the area.”

Richard Branson, founder of Virgin said, “We basically decided, ‘Let’s have a blank sheet of paper, let’s create the kind of voyage company that we would like to go on,’ and that’s what we’ve done.”

Virgin Voyages will be hiring a range of roles in different departments from Finance to Customer Care, according to the statement.

Peter Antonacci, CEO of Enterprise Florida, Inc., said, “Broward County is the ideal location for Virgin to launch its new cruise line Virgin Voyages. Enterprise Florida’s Board of Directors are enthusiastic that Florida won this exciting new project.”

VISIT FLORIDA President & CEO Ken Lawson said, “Virgin Voyages decision to open headquarters in South Florida is fantastic news for tourism in our state. At VISIT FLORIDA, we are marketing the diversity and beauty of our state to the rest of the world. By creating more opportunities for travelLers from around the world to experience Florida, Virgin Voyages is helping us make Florida the number one global destination, and I look forward to their continued success.”

Cissy Proctor, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, said, “Congratulations to Virgin Voyages on locating their new headquarters in the Sunshine State. South Florida is an excellent choice for growing a company, with its strong business community and robust workforce. We look forward to your success.”

Bob Swindell, President and CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance said, “Congratulations Virgin Voyages, we are thrilled to be home to a company with the great potential to reinvent the cruise industry under the iconic Virgin flag.”

Mayor Diane Veltri Bendekovic of the City of Plantation said, “Plantation has a long reputation as a location of choice for game-changing companies like Virgin Voyages. We look forward to their success and are proud to be home to the newest Virgin brand.

Mayor Beam Furr of Broward County said, “We’re glad that Virgin Voyages and other major global companies continue to choose Broward County for their headquarters operations. We look forward to the company’s continued growth as part of an important targeted industry for our community.”

Cruise ship cocaine smuggling racket uncovered

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By Phil Davies

Cruise ship cocaine smuggling racket uncoveredA sophisticated system of smuggling cocaine from Latin America and the Caribbean to Europe via cruise ships is reported to have been uncovered by Italian investigators.

Costa Concordia, which capsized killing 32 passengers, was said to have been used by the mafia to smuggle large amounts of the drug, theTimes reported.

Police stumbled on the smuggling operation during an investigation into the ’Ndrangheta mafia that led to 20 arrests.

In one overheard conversation, two mafia members discussed “the ship that made us look ridiculous all around the world”.

Prosecutors said there was no doubt that the men “were referring to the Costa Concordia and the shipwreck of January 13, 2012”, court documents cited by La Repubblica stated.

Police monitoring internet chat recorded them discussing a large quantity of cocaine they believe was destined for Costa Concordia.

The organisation has relied on Spanish ports to bring cocaine into Europe, as well as the Italian port of Gioia Tauro in the mafia branch’s home region of Calabria.

It is believed that cruise ships have become a useful conduit, with drugs either smuggled on board with supplies or taken by couriers posing as passengers.

The smugglers also allegedly used cruise ships operated by MSC and Norwegian Cruise Line, investigators discovered.

It was not clear whether cocaine was being transported on Costa Concordia on the night it hit rocks off the island of Giglio, nor have authorities reported finding drugs as they searched the ship for bodies. The ship is being broken up after being towed last year to the port of Genoa.

A spokesman for Costa Cruises declined to comment.

Five staff with Norwegian Cruise Line were arrested in Florida this month after allegedly smuggling 5kg of cocaine from Honduras in their spandex underwear aboard the Norwegian Sun, the newspaper reported.

Customs officials in Argentina seized cocaine worth more than $1 million from two crew members who allegedly attempted to board Royal Caribbean International’s Splendour of the Seas with the drug taped to their bodies.