Royal Caribbean is ordering a new ship, a mammoth 5,400-guest, 220,000-ton vessel that jumped off the drawing board recently and is now a prototype developed under the project name Genesis.
Finnish shipbuilder Aker Yards will build the ship for a Fall 2009 delivery, continuing a 35-year collaboration with Royal Caribbean.
MSC Cruises announces an exciting lineup of new 2006-2007 Caribbean itineraries along with repositioning sailings to New York and the debut of the MSC Musica in the North American market.
“It´s going to be a memorable season, from beginning to end,” says Richard E. Sasso, president and CEO of MSC Cruises USA. “With a new ship and exciting itineraries, we are continuing to make new cruising experiences available to our guests.”
Royal Caribbean Cruises posted a record net income for 2005 at $716 million on revenues of $4.9 billion, compared to net income of $474.7 million on revenues of $4.6 billion in 2004.
At the same time, RCCL stemmed losses during the fourth quarter with $3.6 million, as compared to a net loss of $25.8 million in the year-ago period.
An official of the Nevis Tourism Authority says the cruise season for Nevis has been good so far and the outlook for the remainder of the season is very promising.
Ms. Charmin Jeffers, Statistics and Cruise Officer, made the disclosure on Thursday during the inaugural visit of the MV Silver Whisper, which docked in the Charlestown Harbour with 382 visitors. This visit came on the heels of a visit of the MV Zuiderdam with 1,748 passengers and the MV Windsurf with 308 passengers. Both vessels docked at the Charlestown Harbour on January 24, 2006.
Norwegian Cruise Lines is coming back to the Big Easy. The Port of New Orleans and NCL announced that the Norwegian Sun will be the first ship to homeport in the city since Hurricane Katrina when it returns October 15.
The ship will sail seven-day Western Caribbean cruises. Prior to the hurricane, New Orleans was on pace to break the 1 million-passenger mark, according to Port of New Orleans President and CEO Gary LaGrange.
Cruise liner Queen Mary 2 with its 2,600 passengers is currently sailing for Ushuaia and Punta Arenas after having spent thirteen hours in Montevideo, where Cunard Lines put on a big public relations operation.
The world´s largest, longest, tallest, grandest ocean liner ever was received last Sunday in Montevideo by the Uruguayan Minister of Tourism Hector Lescano and a display of typical River Plate music and dance groups.