Costa Pacifica and Luminosa Dual Inaugural Tonight

Costa Cruises welcomes its two newest ships to the fleet during inaugural festivities in Genoa, Italy, tonight at 10 pm local time (4pm US eastern time). In fact, Costa reports that the dual christening, of Costa Luminosa and Costa Pacifica, represents a Guinness World Record. You might even be able to watch live, except the Webcast seems totally overwhelmed in the hours leading up to the main event.

Both ships feature specialty restaurants with menus created by Ettore Bocchia, executive chef at Michelin-starred Mistral at the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio, Italy.

Costa Luminosa, the "ship of light," hosts 2,260 guests and is the first in a new class of ships for Costa. In addition to the standard features that are expected from today's newbuilds (like a terrific spa, and a ton of balcony staterooms), the ship offers some surprises:

• A 4D cinema with touch and scent in addition to sight and sound to form a ultra-sensory experience for guests. Plus the seats roll in tandem with action as it unfolds onscreen.
• Costa is also bringing Sony PlayStation onboard with exclusive dedicated areas equipped with PS3 consoles and the latest-generation videogames, plus in-stateroom PS3 access.
• A roller skating track on one of the ship's top decks will allow guests to try roller skating with strap-and-go "Skorpion" skates that attach to your shoes.
• Golf lovers get an 18-hole golf simulator with 37 virtual courses, while a putting green on one of the ship's top decks offers a real-life golf experience--both Costa firsts. For race car fans, the ship features a Grand Prix race car driving simulator.

Costa Pacifica, the "ship of sound," carries 3,000 guests and is a sister ship to the Costa Serena and Costa Concordia. A soundtrack created especially for the ship by the famed Italian composer Mauro Pagani offers a musical treat along with some other goodies:

• A state-of-the-art recording studio allows guests to record their very own CD with the assistance of a special engineer. From what we've heard, it seems that the studio features advanced pitch-correction technology so even novices can end up sounding like a pop-star.
• Each corridor on the ship has its own music by masters from Chopin to Beethoven while each lounge will feature its own international music, chosen by Pagani.
• Similar to the Costa Luminosa, the Costa Pacifica also has Sony PlayStation areas, a Grand Prix race simulator and expansive lido pool area with a retractable dome extending over two decks.

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Royal Caribbean goes hip-hop; guests star in onboard Gotta Dance show

Putting guests in a hip-hop dance show!? We have to give Royal Caribbean credit. Ever since introducing their "Get Out There" tag line years ago, the cruise line has lived and breathed that brand essence, enabling adventurous guests to immerse themselves in out-of-the-box experiences during their vacation. First it was rock climbing, then surfing, boxing, zip-line excursions... you get the drift.

And the latest experiential innovation is a Hip Hop dance adventure open to all ages and skill levels, which will be fleetwide this summer. In Gotta Dance, based on the documentary film of the same name by award-winning director Dori Berinstein, guests let loose and 'wow' their cruisemates with cool new dance moves.

You probably haven't heard of the movie Gotta Dance yet, but you will. It's an award-winning documentary film hitting the big screen in July. Gotta Dance (www.GottaDanceTheMovie.com) chronicles the first-ever senior-citizen, hip-hop dance troupe for the New Jersey Nets Basketball Team. Just like the film, Royal Caribbean's Gotta Dance program will offer guests, from the young to the young-at-heart, a chance to grab their moment in the spotlight.

Kicking off each cruise will be a special screening of the film. Participants are divided into teams and, during their vacation, learn choreographed routines with a member of the Royal Caribbean dance team in sea-day rehearsals. Then the main event is a show on the cruise's last evening where each team performs in the ship's main theater. The routines were choreographed by New Jersey Nets Dance Coach Kimberlee Garris, who also appears in the Gotta Dance film.

Sounds like fun!

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Swine Flu hysteria ebbs; cruise lines returning to Mexico

As reason has gradually displaced the initial irrational hysteria about Swine Flu (yes, we know we're supposed to call it H1N1 Flu now, but choose not to), the cruise lines that had canceled their Mexico ports of call are now trickling back.

To be fair to the cruise lines, they really had no choice but to pull out of Mexico when the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommended avoiding non-essential travel there on April 27.

But since then, as it became clear that Swine Flu has more in common with a garden-variety flu than some mutant killer disease, CDC rescinded its no-go recommendation and replaced it with the same common sense guidelines one should follow to avoid illness at any time. The #1 rule? Wash your hands often with soap and water. You can see the rest of the suggestions here. CDC still says that those at high risk for complications from any flu might want to avoid Mexico, like the very young or old.

At any rate, Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line are already stopping in Mexico again, while other cruise lines will return throughout the rest of the year as ships are repositioned back into Caribbean or Mexican Riviera service for the fall and winter.

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New Norwegian Epic breaks sales records

Norwegian Cruise Line cheerfully announced that opening-week sales for its new Norwegian Epic--which sets sail mid-2010--broke all its previous records including those of its last two ships, Norwegian Pearl and Norwegian Gem. Epic represents a new class of ship for NCL, purpose-built with cool features and amenities supporting the well-received Freestyle Cruising concept. More on all this in a minute.

We're glad to hear NCL meeting with success for two reasons: first, because NCL has done a great job with its stylish new ships; and second, since it supports our unscientific feeling that the worst of this recession is in the rear-view mirror (but, we're unabashed optimists, so don't reallocate your stock portfolios based on our gut reaction).

Epic promises to be even more enjoyable that the excellent Pearl and Gem. For one, Blue Man Group will be aboard spreading the wonderful drum-, paint-, and PVC-tube-driven chaos which has won them rave reviews worldwide. This show is a complete must-see. These guys are crazy-fun. "An absolutely ecstatic experience," agrees USA Today.

For another, Epic adds more of a good thing: bowling. Now, don't roll your eyes.

We're not really bowlers here, but we can tell you that the integration of bowling alleys into the nightclubs on Pearl and Gem (and now, Epic) is genius. At night-time, bathed with intimate mood lighting and tunes spun by a DJ in the ultra-plush lounge, bowling enters a new dimension. Been to a Lucky Strike bowling ultra-alley? It's like that, but even better. Anyway, Epic offers six lanes in two venues. Enjoy!

NCL also introduces the first "big top" at sea. In an intimate 265-seat theater-in-the-round, guests are treated to Cirque Dreams and Dinner. This "interactive theatrical dining experience" will be performed in the air, while juggling dinner courses, with music, mayhem and acrobatic imagination.

Nobody will go hungry or thirsty with fourteen restaurant choices-–the most at sea-–and 18 bars and lounges. Other goodies include unique nightlife options like an ice bar, Spice H20 with non-stop entertainment day and night, an Aqua Park with the only tube slide and largest bowl slide at sea, a 33-foot high, 64-foot wide extreme rock climbing wall and the first-ever rappelling wall at sea, and three separate kids' and teen activity areas and the first squash court at sea.

Click to browse Norwegian Epic pricing and itineraries or to see photos and details about the ship. At the moment you can come aboard for a week for less than $649 per person, double occupancy, plus tax.

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New passport rules now in effect to enter the US via land or sea

Finally! June 1st, 2009, marks the day when the final, much-delayed, phase of the new US passport requirements became effective. The short story is that US citizens traveling out of the country should now have a passport for re-admittance to the US from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean, where previously a passport wasn't required for land and sea border crossings.

The longer version of the rules is less simple, because in the time since 2004 when the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) was announced, lots of political wrangling and cruise industry lobbying added complexity to what initially was straightforward "passport now required" rule.

As a result, while a passport is still the recommended gold standard, US citizens re-entering the country via land or sea from one of the WHTI countries may also use a passport card, enhanced driver's license (if available from their state), or one of several other approved documents.

Plus there's one more loophole: if you're traveling on some but not all "closed-loop" cruises from the US, meaning a ship that sails from a US port and returns to the same US port, then US citizens can still get by with a certified birth certificate and driver's license for re-entry to the US.

Even so, bring a passport! What if, for example, you need to fly home in the middle of your cruise due to an emergency? Then you're re-entering the US by air and a passport would be required. Or what if you happen to miss the ship's sailing and need to fly to the first port of call to start your vacation? Again, you'll need a passport to make it happen. Just get a passport for crying out loud!

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Fuel surcharge intrigue continues

Back in November when Carnival Corporation announced the retroactive addition of fuel surcharges to existing bookings, we knew, first, that the rest of the industry would follow, and second, that there would be eventual pushback from customers or regulators. Nobody likes making a reservation, paying a deposit, and then being told sometime later that more money is due.

Sure enough, other brands owned by Carnival (like Cunard, Holland America, and Princess) added the fuel surcharge retroactively to existing bookings and, shortly thereafter, so did Royal Caribbean (and its siblings Celebrity and Azamara).

Meantime one cruise line, Norwegian, stands out as taking the most consumer-friendly approach to skyrocketing fuel prices. They added a fuel surcharge only for new bookings. Good for them!

Which brings us to earlier this month, and the regulatory pushback from Florida's attorney general Bill McCollum. The cruise lines had gotten themselves in hot water in Florida in 1997 over the issue of "port charges," since when ports were skipped (say, due to inclement weather), the "port charges" weren't reliably refunded. This resulted in an agreement between the cruise lines and the state requiring clear explanation of charges that make up the fare.

Apparently when Royal Caribbean was approached by Attorney General McCollum about whether, by adding retroactive charges now, they had run afoul of that 1997 agreement, the cruise line thought his argument was persuasive enough to cave in. So last week Royal Caribbean announced they're going to give back the retroactive charges, and clearly disclose the charges on new bookings.

Carnival, though, is resisting the idea of a rebate. Yesterday, Carnival Corp. dug in its heels on its quarterly conference call with financial analysts, falling back on its fine print which it said had mentioned for some time the possibility of future fuel surcharges. The attorney general disagrees that this constituted adequate disclosure, and it will be fascinating to see how this plays out over the next few weeks. We're thinking that kicking sand at their home-state attorney general will probably not serve them well in the long term.

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Carnival singer makes top 20 in America's Got Talent

The sometimes-maligned corps of professional cruise-ship entertainers got a boost from the success of Carnival vocalist Jason Pritchett at cracking the top twenty on hit TV show America's Got Talent.

Pritchett, of Kansas City, Mo., performs lead male vocals during two production shows each week on board Carnival Spirit, which is currently operating seven-day Alaska cruises through mid-September.

"We strive to find truly talented vocal performers for our production shows, which are a highlight of the cruise vacation experience," explained Carnival vice president Roger Blum. "Jason certainly personifies the exceptional talent our guests can look forward to when sailing with us, and all of his friends here at Carnival are cheering him on."

Created by Simon Cowell's production company, America's Got Talent airs Tuesdays at 8 pm eastern on NBC.

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Norwegian Majesty crew clean up Bermuda

Kudos to the crew of Norwegian Majesty, who were reported by the Bermuda Sun as having invested a day in picking up trash around the ship's port in St. George's, and planning to do so again regularly.

Bermuda has a well-earned reputation for being immaculate, so no doubt this effort on the crew's part is appreciated by the locals.

Majesty has spent every summer for many years sailing round-trip Bermuda cruises from Boston, and will keep visiting next year too, although from Charleston, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Norwegian Dream will take over in Boston next summer.

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