Royal Caribbean Cruises to buy Adonia from P&O Cruises

Posted on 26 September, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

Azamara Club Cruises is to buy P&O Cruises’ ship Adonia, taking its fleet to three ships.

The 30,000-ton ship will join Royal Caribbean Cruises’ upmarket Azamara fleet in March 2018.

It will be renamed Azamara Pursuit and will join two similar-sized ships – Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest.

The 704-passenger ship will undergo refurbishment before Azamara takes delivery. Information about deployment and itineraries will be released in October.

Adonia’s last cruise for P&O will be on February 23 to March 9 starting and ending in Barbados.

Guests booked on any Adonia cruises after March 2018 will be contacted directly either by P&O Cruises or their travel agent.

Adonia returned to P&O’s fleet in Southampton in June after a year on secondment to social impact brand Fathom when it ran the first US sailings from Miami to Cuba in 50 years.

Most recently, the adults-only ship has been running a series of “discovery” itineraries with P&O, including a seven-night cruise to Bordeaux, Honfleur and Guernsey.

P&O Cruises senior vice president Paul Ludlow said: “During her time with us Adonia has captured the hearts of many thousands of P&O Cruises guests. She has ventured into new ports of call around the globe and has negotiated Icelandic Fjords, European rivers and Caribbean coves. We will ensure that these discovery itineraries are continued on other ships in the fleet.

“With almost six months until Adonia leaves the fleet, we will ensure that each of the cruises in her final season with us are extra special and celebratory.”

President and chief executive of Azamara Club Cruises Larry Pimental said: “We are pleased to expand our portfolio by 50%, allowing us to visit even more regions of the world through the acquisition of this sister ship.

“Our loyal guests and travel partners have asked for this expansion for a long time; we are very pleased to deliver this to them.”

Last year, Pimentel described extra capacity in the luxury cruise sector as “too much, too quick and too fast” and warned it would drive down prices.

Earlier this month Silversea Cruises announced it would launch a new ship in 2020 and unveiled plans to build two more.

Ritz-Carlton also revealed its plans to enter the cruise sector with three yachts, while Celebrity Cruises has three ships on order, Ponant has four, and Crystal Cruises, Scenic, Seabourn and Star Clippers also have new vessels set to launch.

Cruise lines to help evacuate Irma-ravaged St. Thomas

Posted on 10 September, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

A picture shows a wrecked car in the streets of Marigot,

Damage caused by Hurricane Irma

Two cruise lines on Saturday said they were diverting ships to the hurricane-ravaged island of St. Thomas to drop relief supplies and evacuate stranded travelers.

Norwegian Cruise Line said it was sending the 2,004-passenger Norwegian Sky to the island with the goal of retrieving as many as 2,000 vacationers who were unable to leave before Hurricane Irma hit on Wednesday. The ship currently is off the coast of Mexico and should arrive in St. Thomas by late Monday.

Royal Caribbean said it was redirecting its 2,350-passenger Majesty of the Seas to the island to similarly evacuate several thousand travelers and also to drop water, food, ice and other provisions that are needed. The ship is off the west coast of Cuba and expected to arrive in St. Thomas on Tuesday.

The two ships are based in Miami and Port Canaveral, Fla., respectively, and currently are sailing without passengers. The lines previously had canceled their weekend sailings due to the approach of Irma and sent the ships toward Mexico to seek shelter from the storm.

Royal Caribbean also plans to redirect its 3,114-passenger Adventure of the Seas to the hard-hit island of St. Martin on Sunday for an unscheduled stop to drop relief supplies. The vessel is departing San Juan, Puerto Rico late Saturday on a previously scheduled cruise to the Southern Caribbean and is loading on provisions that are needed for a mounting relief effort.

Royal Caribbean uses ship as hurricane safe haven for employees

Posted on 10 September, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

The Enchantment of the Seas holds 2,252 at double occupancy.Royal Caribbean International will use one of its ship as a vehicle to keep employees and their families safe from Hurricane Irma, which is expected to strike the Miami area this weekend.

The Enchantment of the Seas’ Sept. 8 cruise was canceled because of the hurricane, so Royal Caribbean opened the ship to its workforce. The ship will depart around noon on Friday and sail out to sea away from the projected path of the storm. The plan is to return to Miami once the storm passes and the port reopens.

The-20 year-old Enchantment holds 2,252 people at double occupancy and typically offers three- and four-day cruises to the Bahamas.

“We decided to offer the ship to our employees and their families so they could evacuate,” said spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez. “[We] felt that it was the right thing to do.”