Princess Cruises to put new build in China

Posted on 6 May, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

Photo of the Regal Princess.

Princess Cruises said its 3,600-passenger ship under construction for delivery in 2017 will be deployed to China full time, with special modifications for the Chinese market.

The announcement makes Princess the second line, and the first owned by Carnival Corp., to commit an as-yet unfinished ship to China.

Royal Caribbean International broke the mold by announcing last year that the Quantum of the Seas would be stationed year-round in Shanghai after a six-month season in New York. More recently, it said a third ship in the Quantum class, the Ovation of the Seas, would also be devoted to China and Australia.

With the news, Princess Cruises dramatically increases its involvement in China. To date, Costa Cruises has been the main Carnival Corp. vehicle for China-sourced business, with the Sapphire Princess stationed in China only last year for a four-month summer season.

“Deploying our next new ship in China underscores our strong commitment to growing the China cruise market,” said Princess President Jan Swartz.

The new ship, as yet unnamed, is based on the same platform as the Royal and Regal Princess. However, it will also include distinctive features created for the Sapphire Princess, such as the World Leaders Dinner, traditional English afternoon tea, a Lobster Grill, Ultimate Balcony Dining, an ocean-view hot pot dinner option, ballroom dancing and an unparalleled duty-free shopping experience.

“And as this ship is still in the design phase we are looking forward to creating other new and exciting venues and experiences catering to the Chinese vacationer, which we will reveal in the coming months,” Swartz added.

In Puerto Rico, a Cuba-like cruise experience

Posted on 5 May, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

This year, everyone is excited about visiting Cuba. With good reason: President Obama’s attempt to thaw relations revived dreams about the possibilities of the island nation 90 miles off Florida’s coast.

Yet except for the Celestyal Crystal operated by Cuba Cruises, and a few other small ships, cruising in Cuba is still not possible. Some cruise executives say it is at least three to five years off.

So what to tell clients about visiting the island? One answer is to suggest Cuba’s cousin, Puerto Rico. There’s a lot of what a client would experience in Cuba itself, with the bonus of being available today, not in the hazy future.

Cuba and Puerto Rico share a common heritage. Both were freed from Spain in the lopsided Spanish-American War of 1898. Cuba’s independence movement was more advanced, so it became a new nation. Puerto Rico became a territory of the U.S., which it remains today.

Much of what travelers would find in Cuba they can also find in Puerto Rico, including Caribbean-Latin cuisine, great music, fabulous beaches and intriguing Spanish colonial architecture. The mountains, the foliage, the urban energy and rural charms are the same.

An arrival at San Juan harbor with its picturesque 16th century forts is a real pleasure, with the ships docking conveniently at the foot of the Old San Juan historic district.

Some things are different, of course. Charming 1950s automobiles are harder to find, and McDonald’s and other signs of U.S. commerce are part of the landscape. Making up for that, perhaps, is widely prevalent bilingualism and the comforts of being in U.S. territory (with the simultaneous appeal of being someplace that feels foreign).

About 1.5 million cruise passengers arrived or departed a cruise in Puerto Rico last year. A Quantum of the Seas call in December marked the largest cruise ship ever to dock there.

San Juan is unusual in being both an active port of call and a homeport for Royal Caribbean International and Carnival Cruise Line, which offer southern Caribbean itineraries that are different and less traveled than those departing from mainland ports.

Next year, Carnival plans to station a larger ship in Puerto Rico, the 2,758-passenger Carnival Victory, which will visit Barbados and St. Lucia, among other stops. It is expected to carry 150,000 passengers annually.

For someone who really wants a Cuba-like cruise experience without waiting for the bureaucratic and diplomatic wheels to turn, Puerto Rico is a good bet.

Couple gets married in Quantum of the Seas gondola

Posted on 1 May, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

Sharron Bowman and Mark Burden tied the knot in the Northstar observation gondola.

Royal Caribbean International said a couple from the United Kingdom became the first to get married above the ocean while at sea in the Northstar observation gondola on Quantum of the Seas.

Mark Burden and Sharron Bowman tied the knot off the coast of Haiti while the ship was en route to Labadee from its home at Cape Liberty, N.J.

The officiant was Captain Felix Srecko, who like all Royal Caribbean captains is authorized by the Bahamian government to perform official weddings at sea.

Joining them in the capsule, built to carry up to a dozen guests, were the ship’s hotel director, a wedding coordinator, two still photographers, two motion picture camera staffers and the gondola operator. A crowd at the pool watched below, and the captain even arranged for the bridge to sound the horn as they went up.

After the cruise, the couple plans to reside in West Yorkshire, England.