Cruise News Update
Here we go with another cruise news update breaking the big lines, and in this week’s article there are reports of Royal Caribbean removing a key feature on its ships, the first of six engines debuting on the Icon of the Seas turns on, NCL returns to E-type passenger exercise, bookings open for the Carnival FlorenceBookings also for Dicney’s new private destination in the Bahamas and one of the world’s largest cruise lines breaks a transatlantic record.
Royal Caribbean ditches a key feature
The Sky Pad is a virtual reality bungee trampoline experience where guests don VR masks and jump using bungee cords and harnesses. As they jump, they “see” their progress and notable jumps in the VR world of their choice.
Guests also have the option to enjoy the experience without wearing the VR masks and instead see the great sea views around them as they jump.
These experiences are now discardedand Travel Advisors have been notified of the closure via email with program changes from Sky Pad.
“Starting in April, the Sky Pad will retire the bungee virtual reality experience and become a versatile new venue for exciting onboard activities.” read the email.
Travel advisors are urged to review all of their internal marketing materials to ensure advertising and other promotional materials are updated to reflect the closure.
The email does not indicate that the yellow orb with its cutouts will be removed, only that new activities will be offered in the space. “All activities taking place at the Sky Pad venue will continue to be complimentary and included in your customer’s cruise fare.” the email cleared.
This also confirms that new options will be available soon and will not come with a la carte fees or additional fees. No timeline or exact date for the debut of new options has been announced.
The first Sky Pad debuted on board independence of the seas in spring 2018 during the renovation of the ship “Royal Amplification”.
Then the attraction was added sailors of the seas in June 2018, and was included in spectrum of the seas And Odyssey of the Seas as well as. Now all four ships will close the venue and cease activity.
Norwegian Cruise Line returns to E-Pattern
Frequent riders will be excited to learn the streamlined, at their leisure e-Sample Drill will return to Norwegian Cruise Line this spring, for some ships as early as April 1, 2023.
The cruise line announced the change via communications to travel partners, noting that the reintroduction of the E-type exercise is also part of the effort “Improve the guest experience on board”, However, the change may not occur immediately on all ships.
“We will reintroduce E-pattern exercises via our online check-in for departures from April 1, 2023.” the message reads. “We are committed to providing an exceptional and safe onboard experience and as such will continue to actively evaluate and adapt our processes for best practices.”
Although the E-pattern option is scheduled to roll out across Norwegian Cruise Line’s fleet beginning April 1, it may not be available immediately on all ships.
This indicates that there may be a slight delay in the reintroduction of the new exercise, which could be related to crew member training and onboard operational policy updates for E-muster instead of the traditional exercise.
First icon of the powered Seas engine
Royal Caribbean’s new LNG engine Icon of the seas has already reached some important milestones during construction at Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland. Now the ship has reached another milestone, with the launch of the first of six engines For the first time.
These engines will ensure the massive new class ship is fully powered as over 7,000 passengers and crew work or enjoy on board. The first engine was started on March 15 on diesel fuel. However, the main engines can run on fuel and gas.
Chief Engineer Tuomas Auvinen says: “The Icon of the Seas has six Wärtsilä main engines. The first of them (number 2) was born today, Wednesday 15.3. at 11:00 Both diesel and natural gas can be used as fuel in the main engines, diesel started on Wednesday.”
With the complex technology, it is a major milestone for the shipyard workers. It shows that the installation was successful, which is particularly important with a new design.
Royal Caribbean plans to use the six multi-fuel Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) engines, each providing 67,500 KW of power to power the ship. The cruise line will check kilowatts to ensure this Icon of the seas is energy efficient and reduces emissions.
RoyalCaribbean Icon of the seas is under construction at Meyer Turku since the first piece of steel was cut on June 16, 2021. Icon of the seas will be delivered at the end of 2023 after the necessary sea trials. The ship will make its debut on January 27 in Miami, Florida.
Carnival Firenze Cruises opened
The soon Carnival Florence is now open for its first reservations as part of the Fun Ship fleet beginning in May 2024. The ship will operate year-round from Long Beach, California and bookings are available from her first departure on May 2, 2024 to departures in April 2025.
The first-ever cruise will be a 5-night voyage, departing Long Beach on Thursday, May 2nd and visiting both Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada, Mexico, with two days at sea to allow guests to soak up all the Italian atmosphere and the renovated ship can experience the carnival fun.
A total of 15 itineraries with different departure days are now available to choose from Carnival Florenceand all will visit some of Mexico’s liveliest and most charming ports of call, including Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán and Cabo San Lucas.
Of particular interest are the 6-night cruises that spend two days in Cabo San Lucas at the tip of the Baja Peninsula, one of the most beautiful destinations on the Mexican Riviera. There, guests can enjoy a range of excursions from dolphin encounters to camel rides to snorkeling, pirate ships, beach resorts, luxury sailing and much more.
Along with Mexican ports of call, Carnival Florence will also visit Catalina Island, a luxury destination off the Southern California coast and home to fantastic snorkeling, diving and other exploration opportunities.
The Vista class, 135,156 gross tons Carnival Florence will be the third ship to join the Carnival fleet from Costa Cruises, bringing distinctive Italian flair but with the familiarity and convenience of Fun Ship.
Symphony of the Seas breaks transatlantic record
With 7,604 people on board, including 5,350 passengers and 2,224 crew members, Symphony of the Seas arrived in Malaga, Spain on March 19th, completing a voyage across the Atlantic that will go down in history.
The Oasis-class cruise ship is now the world record holder for the ship that carries more people across the Atlantic than any other ship in peacetime history. After visiting Málaga on March 19th and Valencia today, March 20th, Symphony of the Seas is scheduled to complete the 12-day cruise and arrive in Barcelona, Spain on March 21.
The 228,081 gross tons Symphony of the Seasbuilt in 2018, was the world’s largest cruise ship between 2018 and 2022. She will dry dock in Cadiz and undergo routine maintenance and class work at the shipyard.
Symphony of the Seas will resume operations on April 16 with a series of seven-night Western Mediterranean cruises departing every Sunday from Barcelona. Ports of call are Palma de Mallorca, Marseille, La Spezia, Civitavecchia and Naples.
The season in Europe will be relatively long Symphony of the Seas. The cruise ship will be sailing in the Western Mediterranean until October 29 this year.
Disney opens cruises for new private destination
Disney Cruise Line recently announced this Lighthouse Point would open in the summer of 2024, and the family-oriented beach retreat is one of the most anticipated destinations for future cruises. Now guests can prepare to book these future cruises.
The new island will be featured on both 3, 4 and 5 night cruises Disney magic And Disney fantasy Sailing to Lighthouse Point.
Disney magic will sail from Fort Lauderdale and visit Lighthouse Point regularly, beginning with a special 3-night preview cruise departing June 6, 2024 to get a little taste of the island. Due to the nature of the preview event, not all features on the island may be accessible for this inaugural visit.
Disney fantasy will also be offering a special crossing to Lighthouse Point, a 7-night cruise departing from Port Canaveral on June 8, 2024.
This “Disney Cruise Line Ultimate Island Itinerary” will include not one, but two stops at Lighthouse Point and will also visit Disney Cruise Line’s other private destination in the Bahamas, Castaway Cay. A visit to Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, is also on the itinerary.
One second Disney fantasy The cruise will also visit Lighthouse Point later in the summer. This longer voyage is a 10-night Southern Caribbean itinerary departing from Port Canaveral on Thursday, July 25 and includes stops in Antigua, St. Lucia, Dominica and Tortola, as well as Lighthouse Point and Castaway Cay.
All bookings that include Lighthouse Point will open to the public on March 30, 2023 and are sure to sell out quickly.
More cruise headlines
It’s been just another busy week in Cruise News and we have all the Cruise Hive coverage including Grand Turk admits unvaccinated cruise visitors To explore the island freely, a huge Clumps of seaweed on the way to the Caribbean, Mardi Gras Pride Itinerary Changes, Royal Caribbean Abolition of the obligation to test for transatlantic voyages, new entertainment announced for the new MSC EuribiaThe Structural challenges before the new Icon of the seas cruise ship, that Carnival Venice official handover from Costa Cruises and much more.
Source: News Network
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