Allure of the Seas to be based in Europe for first time

Posted on 5 February, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

By Hollie-Rae Merrick

Allure of the Seas to be based in Europe for first time

The world’s biggest cruise ship, Allure of the Seas, will be based in Europe for the first time next year as Royal Caribbean International targets new customers.

The cruise line said support from the UK trade had been a key factor in the decision.

UK managing director Stuart Leven said agents would have an opportunity to sell “a unique and innovative ship”, perfect for the family market, when the 6,318-berth Allure, which launched in 2010, starts sailings from Barcelona on May 3, 2015.

He said: “We look at the support from the trade when making these decisions, just as we did when we decided to base Anthem of the Seas in Southampton. We look at the markets that support the brand. The UK has always been supportive of Independence of the Seas out of Southampton and it was an obvious decision to take Allure to the Med and open it to a new customer base.”

Royal Caribbean has produced a mini-brochure about the ship and a marketing toolkit that includes videos, campaign tools and images.

Leven said operating Allure in Europe alongside Anthem of the Seas, which will be based in Southampton when it launches in 2015, demonstrated the line’s commitment to the European market. It will be the first time Allure has sailed outside the Caribbean.

The ship will operate seven-night cruises from Barcelona between May and October 2015, calling at Palma, Marseille, La Spezia and Civitavecchia, where there is the chance to join the ship.

Upgraded Navigator of the Seas gets ‘virtual balconies’

Posted on 5 February, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

By Tom Stieghorst

Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas is expected to resume cruising on Feb. 5 after a drydock to install Royal Advantage upgrades.

Also, Navigator will be the first Royal Caribbean ship to feature the virtual balconies that are coming later this year to the Quantum of the Seas.

The virtual balconies are nearly floor-to-ceiling projection screens that display external images of the ocean, making it seem like interior cabins have balconies. The balconies even come with projection railings.

A total of 81 cabins have been fitted with the virtual balconies.

Navigator of the Seas is scheduled for a four-day cruise from Galveston, Texas, to Cozumel, returning to Galveston on Feb. 9.

Caribbean Princess cutting cruise short due to fog and illness

Posted on 4 February, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

Princess Cruises has been forced to cut short the current voyage onboard Caribbean Princess because of impending weather forecasts and a suspected outbreak of norovirus.

The vessel is scheduled to return to US waters today, one day earlier than had been intended in the itinerary, because of a heavy build up of dense fog that is expected to descend along the US coast tomorrow and for most of the weekend.

It will also require extra time for sanitisation under the watchful eye of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, after passengers reported symptoms of the vomiting bug to the ship’s medical bay. According to reports, five passengers are sick with nausea and diarrhoea at present, however some 165 passengers and 11 crew are believed to have fallen ill during the course of the trip.

That represents five per cent of the 3,104 guests aboard Caribbean Princess and less than one per cent of the 1,148 staff members, which is someway short of the eye-watering number of sick reported aboard Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas this week, when more than 20 per cent of the 3,071 passengers reported with symptoms.

However, this represents the third confirmed outbreak of norovirus already this year. Last year by way of comparison, there were nine outbreaks in total. In order to stay on track with its accelerated timeline, the ship, which has been sailing since January 25th, was forced to skip a planned call at the port of Belize.

Princess said in a statement: “Because of the increased sensitivity surrounding Norovirus by both cruise lines and the CDC in this winter season, we notified the CDC who will be boarding on Friday to ensure all appropriate measures are followed for an extensive sanitation of the ship prior to the next cruise.”

Passengers will be provided with overnight accommodation in local hotels once the ship arrives in port, as well as a future cruise credit worth 20 per cent of their fare and a one-day allowance to put towards meals and other costs.