Depend on Cruise Hive to ship all of the cruise information you might want to find out about on a regular basis. On this week’s cruise information replace, we’ve received protection from Carnival Cruise Line, American Queen Voyages, and Movie star Cruises.
Cruise Information Replace
Let’s get going with this week’s cruise information replace from Cruise Hive, the go-to web site for breaking information, cruise options, and extra.
On this week’s protection, examine a pier enlargement deliberate for Carnival Cruise Line’s new Celebration Key, adjustments within the perks that back-to-back cruise friends can anticipate at Carnival Cruise Line, American Queen Voyages ceasing operations, Movie star Cruises loosening its adults-only coverage within the Solarium, Carnival Cruise Line renewing efforts to curtail chair-saving on its pool decks, and a Carnival Cruise Line visitor complaining that she was unfairly denied boarding.
Carnival to Add Ship Berths at New Vacation spot
Celebration Key, the brand new non-public vacation spot Carnival Cruise Line is growing on Grand Bahama, is just not slated to open till the summer time of 2025, however the line and its father or mother firm are already revealing plans for an enormous dock enlargement.
An extension of the retreat’s pier will allow 4 massive ships to dock on the identical time. The berths will accommodate the road’s largest ships, together with the Excel-class vessels Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration, and Carnival Jubilee, which have a capability for between 5,000 and 6,500 friends every.
Below the unique design plan for Celebration Key, simply two ships would berth on the pier concurrently. The expanded pier might be accomplished about one 12 months after the non-public vacation spot opens, which means that, for the primary 12 months of operation, simply two ships will name on the identical time.
Carnival Company, the cruise line’s father or mother firm, is investing a complete of $600 million to create Celebration Key, which might be its largest land-side improvement so far.
The brand new vacation spot will function 5 portals, or zones, every providing distinctive experiences for friends. The cruise line already has opened on the market many itineraries that embody calls at Celebration Key in 2025 and 2026, on 3- to 14-night cruises crusing from eight US homeports.
Coverage Change for Carnival Friends on Again-to-Again Voyages
Carnival Cruise Line is altering among the perks and particular companies supplied to friends booked on back-to-back sailings aboard the identical ship. These are the fortunate ones whose holidays at sea don’t finish when the ship returns to its homeport; quite they get to get pleasure from one other voyage.
Previous to the adjustments, which took impact fleet-wide this week, back-to-back (B2B) cruisers would depart the ship on the morning when the primary crusing concludes, full immigration procedures, after which reboard the ship, the place new cruise line ID playing cards and stateroom keys can be ready.
As soon as the entire B2B friends are again onboard, a bunch picture can be taken and offered as a present to every cruiser, and the group is invited to get pleasure from a champagne or orange juice toast as half two of their journey begins.
Below the brand new coverage, the group picture and celebratory drink are nixed in favor of two coupons for every visitor — one for a free picture on the primary night time of the crusing and one for a free drink at any bar on the ship.
It seems to be a welcome change for some veteran B2B cruisers and people booked on upcoming B2B voyages. For one factor, making ready to have a photograph taken within the early morning is usually a problem, and secondly, not everybody needs champagne so early within the day.
America Queen Voyages Recordsdata For Chapter
American Queen Voyages, greatest identified for its riverboats that ply the Mississippi and different in style US waterways, ceased operations, filed for Chapter 11 chapter, and cancelled all future cruises.
In a press release issued on February 20, 2024, the cruise line attributed the shutdown to impacts from the pandemic, and inadequate demand. Operations, it stated, had develop into financially unsustainable.
The corporate’s genuine riverboats included American Queen, American Countess, American Duchess, and American Empress. It additionally owns the expedition ship Ocean Victory, which was slated to sail Alaska voyages in summer time 2024. Two further expedition ships had been within the strategy of decommissioning and had been on the market.
American Queen Voyages offered declare kind particulars on its web site for friends who paid deposits on future sailings, saying that each one such monies can be refunded by the cruise line’s insurance coverage agency, Argo Surety.
The corporate’s failure was not a shock to cruise watchers, since a number of main journey businesses had suspended gross sales of its cruises in latest weeks, citing service points and gradual funds of commissions.
Previously often called Nice American Steamboat Co., the cruise model was based in 2011 by John Waggoner, who launched the corporate after shopping for the American Queen riverboat from the US Maritime Administration.
Movie star Cruises Loosens Adults-Solely Rule in Solarium
Movie star Cruises’ adults-only Solarium, a restricted, glass-enclosed retreat space with swimming pools, sizzling tubs, and lounge chairs, has all the time been off-limits to friends below 16, however no extra.
In a brand new coverage that impacts choose cruises to the chilly locations of Alaska, the Baltics, and Antarctica, the road is offering Solarium Child hours, from 5-7 p.m., every day.
The change was detailed in a publication despatched to journey brokers on February 20, 2024, and is predicted to be famous within the cruise line’s app and on shipboard indicators. All Movie star Cruises’ ships function the Solarium house.
Little visitor suggestions is out there but, however the change is prone to obtain combined critiques. Households touring with youngsters would possibly admire the possibility to share the retreat expertise when temperatures are too low for outside swimming pools, whereas others would possibly develop into annoyed if children alter the quiet vibe many friends search within the Solarium.
It is also unknown how crew members will implement the time limitation if, for instance, a youthful visitor stays within the retreat space past 7 p.m. Will they be requested to go away?
Movie star Cruises welcomes youngsters and presents specialised programming. With its fleet-wide Camp at Sea program, age-appropriate actions for children 3 to 12 are featured on all ships. Occasions and actions embody themed events, treasure hunts, sports activities tournaments, and extra.
Cruise Line Renews Effort to Curb Chair-Saving
Carnival Cruise Line is doubling down on friends who violate the road’s no-saving-chairs coverage, a rule aimed toward discouraging cruisers from leaving a towel or different private merchandise on a poolside lounge chair whereas they’re off doing one thing else.
John Heald, the road’s model ambassador, made a degree of addressing the problem throughout his present FFS (For Enjoyable’s Sake) Cruise aboard Carnival Horizon. In a video he later posted on social media, Heald says the road is making an attempt to curtail the issue.
As an illustration, the road’s “ChairShare Group” screens the pool decks and locations stickers on any empty chairs that look like saved. Cruisers typically will depart a guide, towel, sandals, or different issues on chairs, making them unavailable for friends who want to sit poolside.
Below the coverage, stickers word the time that the group member noticed a saved chair and states that in 40 minutes, any private gadgets might be eliminated “to the towel hut for safekeeping,” thus making the chair out there to others.
The timed sticker coverage started in October 2022, and appears to have had solely restricted success. Cruisers nonetheless attempt to save chairs for prolonged time intervals, regardless that there are indicators explaining the no-saving coverage on the pool decks, together with shipboard bulletins concerning the rule.
Visitor Cries Foul After Being Denied Boarding
A would-be cruiser from Brisbane, Australia, might be wishing she had learn her cruise contract’s nice print.
The girl, Kaylee Farrington, was 26 weeks pregnant when she tried to board her 3-night crusing, however she was turned away and denied a refund. The girl was trying ahead to a getaway cruise along with her household aboard Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Luminosa, which is homeported in Brisbane.
Farrington and her mom, who had paid for her daughter’s cruise fare, consider the coverage is discriminatory, and complained that the being pregnant rule ought to have been made clear on the time of reserving. Furthermore, Mother needs her a refund.
Nevertheless, the road’s being pregnant coverage states: “Any Visitor who has entered, or who will at any time through the cruise enter, the twenty fourth week of estimated gestational age in her being pregnant, agrees to not guide a cruise or board the ship.” The cruise ticket contract repeats the coverage.
The explanation behind the regulation, which has similarities to guidelines in impact at different cruise strains, is tied to the shortage of specialised prenatal or toddler care onboard cruise ships or in ports of name. Consequently, the cruise line’s place is that it’s unsafe for ladies within the second half of being pregnant to set sail.
Extra Cruise Headlines
These had been only a handful of the cruise information tales Cruise Hive lined this week. There are loads extra you gained’t need to miss, together with Cunard’s new ship, Queen Anne, finishing her sea trials, P&O Cruises reporting its best-ever January within the line’s reserving historical past, Saga Cruises revealing plans to construct a brand new river ship, MSC Cruises rolling out a brand new sequence of voyages from the Canary Islands, and AIDA Cruises opening gross sales on its longest-ever world cruise.
