Tag Archives: Palermo

Three Princess Ships to Undergo Drydocks in April

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Three Princess Cruises ships are set to undergo drydocks in April: the Emerald Princess, the Grand Princess and the Regal Princess.

The first ship to enter dry dock was the Emerald Princess, which recently arrived at the Fincantieri shipyard in Palermo, Italy.

After repositioning to Europe earlier this month, the 2007-built vessel arrived at the facility for scheduled maintenance, in addition to class inspections and technical work.

Set to spend the upcoming summer season sailing from Southampton, the Emerald Princess will resume service on April 29, 2025.

Before kicking off a summer deployment in Alaska and Canada, the Grand Princess is also undergoing a dry dock.

The 1998-built ship arrived at the Vigor Shipyard in Portland in mid-April and is now going through regular maintenance.

Before welcoming guests back in early May, the Grand Princess is also scheduled to undergo class inspections, as well as upkeep and minor updates to public areas and staterooms.

A third Princess ship is undergoing a dry dock later this month, the Regal Princess.

Currently sailing in Northern Europe, the vessel is set to arrive at the Damen Shiprepair Yard in Rotterdam on April 25, 2025.

The 3,600-guest ship is expected to undergo technical work and general maintenance before resuming service in early May.

Sailing from Southampton, the Regal Princess is set to offer 12-night cruises to the British Isles during the summer of 2025.

Earlier this year, the Majestic Princess also visited a shipyard in Europe, emerging from dry dock with new venues and reimagined spaces.

According to Princess, the 2017-built vessel saw the addition of new bars and restaurants, including O’Malley’s Irish Pub, Sabatini’s Italian Trattoria and Good Spirits at Sea.

Sailing in Europe for the first time in eight years, the ship is currently offering itineraries in the Mediterranean.

Carnival Luminosa Sets Sail with New Livery

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The Carnival Luminosa set sail today for the first time with her new livery and funnel.

Under the command of Captain Adriano Binacchi, Carnival Luminosa departed her Palermo, Italy, dry ock to head to Dubai where the ship’s crew will soon join and get to know their new home before heading to their final Australian destination.

“We’ve been anticipating the day where we could see Carnival Luminosa sail the open seas with our new hull design and updated funnel, and it’s even more special than we imagined,” said Captain Binacchi. “Now, she’s on her way to what truly makes a Carnival cruise vacation special – getting our crew on board! With Luminosa’s uniqueness and our team members who make everyone feel at home, this ship is truly going to deliver a new level of fun that our guests have not experienced before.”

Today also marks the first time Carnival Luminosa is sailing with its new Bahamian flag. The ship was officially registered last week with the Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA).
Carnival Luminosa will sail from Brisbane to a variety of seasonal itineraries from Nov. 6, 2022, to April 13, 2023, offering something for everyone, before repositioning for seasonal service from Seattle to Alaska next May, including some exotic, first-time-for-Carnival destinations.

Costa Marks Cruise Restart from Genoa with Firenze

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The Costa Firenze has made its debut in Genoa, marking the restart of Costa’s cruises from the city.

Guests will be able to disembark freely as the company will no longer require bubble-style excursions. 

Costa said it will call at Genoa every Thursday through November as part of a one-week Western Mediterranean itinerary, which also includes Marseille, Barcelona, Cagliari, Palermo and Civitavecchia/Rome.

In addition to the Costa Firenze, starting in November and through the end of the year, the Costa Luminosa will also be in Genoa every Sunday, again for one-week cruises in the Western Mediterranean.

In 2022 Costa will be in Genoa for a total of 45 calls, after only a few calls in 2021 and 2020.

Numbers will continue growing in 2023 too with weekly calls on Fridays from the new Costa Toscana. 

“After a two-year pause, we are finally returning regularly with our cruises to Genoa. We are doing so with a new-generation ship, Costa Firenze, and an even richer product that will allow exploring our destinations in the best possible way,” said Mario Zanetti, President of Costa Cruises.

“Costa Firenze, as well as the other ships in the fleet, offer the opportunity to generate shared value in the territories and contribute to creating models of future development that are sustainable and able to multiply growth opportunities for the territory. I am thinking, for example, of projects such as cold ironing, i.e., the use of land-based energy for ships calling at ports,” he said.