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.

Read more...

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.

Read more...

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.

Read more...

NCL decision to move Pride of Hawaii to Europe justified by larger Q1 loss

Norwegian Cruise Line just announced a wider first-quarter loss, $60.8 million versus $28.8 million a year earlier, that completes the picture surrounding the line's April decision to move Pride of Hawaii away from the islands and to the Mediterranean. At that time, NCL acknowledged the cause to be "downward pricing pressure in the Hawaii cruise market" caused by NCL's own capacity surge and new Hawaii competition from other lines sailing from the US west coast.

It is now surely a cruise buyer's market for those looking to sail to Hawaii, the Caribbean, and even Alaska to come extent.

Along with NCL's Pride of America and Pride of Aloha, Pride of Hawaii is one of only three vessels allowed to sail inter-island Hawaii cruises due to being US-flagged, whereas everyone else's foreign-flagged vessels must call at an inconvenient foreign port somewhere on their Hawaiian itineraries due to US federal laws.

In search of better pricing, Pride of Hawaii will be pulled out of service in February 2008, renamed Norwegian Jade, repainted, and switched into Mediterranean cruise service as part of the regular Norwegian fleet.

Read more...

Wii comes onboard Norwegian in new partnership with Nintendo

Have you heard about the video game consoles where players get so involved and active that cracked TVs have resulted? Well, Norwegian Cruise Line announced that shortly all of its vessels will feature these addictive Nintendo Wii (pronounced "whee") games, displayed on huge screens in public areas, making them a good time for players and spectators alike.

The Wii has received a ton of news coverage lately as a triumph of great design over glitzy technology. While the expensive and feature-laden Sony PS3 was expected to be the new must-have gamer's toy, instead the technologically simpler and cheaper Wii seems to be triumphing thanks to its unique controllers that encourage players to take their best tennis, golf or baseball swing, or boxing punches and bowling moves.

And with all this swinging, that's how some folks have broken vases or TVs in their living rooms. Presumably Norwegian will position the games far from anything breakable.

"With its active, engaging and inviting game experiences appealing to every age from kids to parents to grandparents, the Wii is a natural fit for Freestyle Cruising," said Colin Veitch, NCL’s president and CEO. "Cheering, yelling and high-fives will be highly encouraged."

On each ship, Wii systems will be in the atrium and other public rooms allowing guests to gather and play against each other while viewing the game on large video screens. Each ship's Kid's Crew facility will also feature two Wii kiosks for kids-only fun. The ships will also host tournaments and other activities around the games.

Read more...

Norwegian Dawn engine problems cause skipped ports

Norwegian Cruise Line let us know that tomorrow's sailing of Norwegian Dawn, cruising from New York, will be skipping two ports and adding one due to "unexpected necessary engine repair work." While the problem persists, the ship's speed is reduced, necessitating the itinerary changes.

The Ocho Rios and Bahamas port of calls have been eliminated, while a stop at Key West, Florida was added.

Booked passengers were given two options. They could go ahead and sail the modified trip, which still sounds like a winner to us, and receive a $50 per person onboard credit as an "apology for any inconvenience." Or they could cancel their trip, and receive future cruise credit on another Norwegian cruise in the amount of the fare they paid.

No mention was made of whether any future sailing dates might be impacted.

Read more...

Rosie O'Donnell cruise causes cancellations for those already booked

A cruise ship getting chartered is not newsworthy. Neither is the cruise line cancelling the reservations of people who booked the sailing before the cruise charter. But it is newsworthy when Rosie O'Donnell is the person doing the chartering for her gay- and lesbian-friendly family vacation company, when the cruise sails in less than five months, and when the cruise line's compensation to the bumped passengers seems weak.

That's what just played out with Norwegian Dawn sailing July 7 for a Bermuda cruise.

Rosie's R Family Vacations completed a full-ship charter with Norwegian Cruise Line. And since Norwegian agreed to it, naturally Norwegian also knew it would need to cancel the existing reservations of people who were already booked, and offer them some kind of compensation.

Of course, these folks could rebook their trip on Rosie's cruise, but their preferred accommodations might not be available, prices are somewhat higher, and some will be uncomfortable on a gay- and lesbian- targeted cruise.

It's very unusual for a ship to be chartered so close to the sailing date. That means more people booked already, and thus more people inconvenienced by having their vacations now cancelled. Most full-ship charters happen about a year out, as opposed to less than than five months in advance like this one. We're also sure it helped that R Family Vacations and Norwegian Cruise Line have a longstanding business relationship.

As far as we've been able to ascertain, Norwegian is offering the cancelled people $100 per stateroom on board credit to rebook on a different date. Some people may find that fair, but certainly plenty others won't, who for example may face airfare change fees and other inconveniences.

Anyway, the many pundits bashing Rosie about this have their ire somewhat misplaced. Rosie's company asked Norwegian whether they could charter the ship, and Norwegian agreed. Any ire about the inconvenience to Norwegian's previous customers belongs with Norwegian. Even so, Rosie's publicists should have been able to foresee some blow back on this. Hopefully they'll charter farther in advance next time.

Read more...

Pride of America breaks moorings, takes short, unscheduled trip

The Maui News reports that Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America busted loose Monday from her pier in Kahului, Maui, and had to suffer the indignity of being pushed back to the dock by a tugboat. While nobody and nothing was injured, the mishap could have ended quite badly.

Besides the tremendous force of mooring lines snapping, the ship's gangway was pulled away along with the ship, thankfully with nobody on it. The unscheduled jaunt took about 90 minutes before the ship was safely tied up again. The coincidental lack of other ships in the area is credited with sparing any ship-to-ship fender-benders.

Read more...

Carnival cancels New Orleans return for Triumph

Carnival will not be moving Carnival Triumph back to New Orleans in September as it had planned. Although the cruise line stated it had wanted to return the mega-liner to The Big Easy, weak bookings jinxed its plans. Carnival's Fantasy, already sailing from New Orelans, will remain.

Carnival said that travelers seem to still be taking a hesitant about cruising from New Orleans, undoubtedly driven by persistent reports of slow or stalled recovery efforts. We haven't been to New Orleans lately to judge for ourselves, but since the vast majority of cruise passengers simply "pass through" their embarkation city anyway, there seems to be no major reason to avoid the port.

Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line also have vessels sailing from New Orleans already.

Read more...

So how big an extension cord do you need for an entire cruise ship, anyway?

Everybody who's ever been on an interstate behind a tractor-trailer knows that diesel engines create visible, stinky pollution. And cruise ships, when docked, rely on diesel engines to generate power for the ship. So it's welcome news that both Princess Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line will instead be plugging into shore-side electrical power in pollution-prone Los Angeles.

They'll shut off their diesel engines when docked, starting in 2008 when the required equipment is installed in LA. Ship upgrades are also required.

The technical term for the process is cold-ironing, but fancy terminology aside, it does simply amount to plugging the ship into a shore-side outlet with a massive electrical cord. This same technique has been used successfully in the port of Juneau, Alaska for several years by Princess.

If anyone out there has an actual photo of the connection, we'd love to see it!

Read more...

Crazy story we missed... Norwegian Pearl caused pan-European power outage

We don't generally dredge up old news, but this story seemed hard to believe until we verified it. The brand-new Norwegian Pearl cut power to millions of Europeans in November last year. How, you might ask? So did we!

The outage started with the planned shutoff of a 380,000 volt power line over the River Ems so that the newly-built Norwegian Cruise Line vessel could pass safely underneath on her way from the German shipyard to the North Sea. This seems to have caused a cascading power grid failure like falling dominoes.

After all the dominoes were counted, a large part of Western Europe, including parts of Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Spain, were without electrical power.

Included in the blackout were 5 million French residents Paris, Lyon and elsewhere. In addition, over 100 electric trains in Germany and Belgium were brought to a halt.

Read more...

Norwegian Dawn trapped in Norfolk, finally escapes

Norwegian Dawn had sailed Sunday for a warm Caribbean cruise from New York, but mechanical problems forced the vessel to Norfolk on Monday for repairs. Then the east coast's foul weather trapped the ship there until Thursday morning. Fortunately, Norwegian delivered fair compensation, refunding the cruise fare and offering a discount on a future cruise.

Norwegian Cruise Line and the Norfolk port authority tried to keep the passengers entertained, offering shore excursions in the area. Norwegian also bused some passengers back to New York on Tuesday for those who were ready to give up then.

After leaving Norfolk Thursday morning, Dawn headed straight back to New York instead of trying to salvage some of the trip by heading south, since propulsion system problems remained. No word yet as to how upcoming trips on the ship will be impacted.

Read more...

Regular cruise traffic returns to New Orleans

Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Sun has begun regular weekly departures from the Port of New Orleans, making it the first cruise ship to resume homeporting in the Gulf city since last year's Hurricane Katrina. The Sun is the first of four ships scheduled to homeport for New Orleans cruises by the end of 2007. The Sun makes weekly voyages to ports in Mexico and Central America.

Before the storm, the Port of New Orleans handled over 700,000 cruise passengers annually.

Among the first cruise passengers departing New Orleans was the president and CEO of the Port of New Orleans, Gary LaGrange. He told an AP reporter that the voyage was his first vacation since Katrina.

Read more...

NCL cruise passengers jailed in Bermuda for beating third passenger

A minor brawl outside a Bermuda nightclub has left two American tourists who arrived aboard Norwegian Crown cooling their heels for 90 days in a Bermuda jail. The two pled guilty to inflicting grievous bodily injury to another passenger outside of a Hamilton nightclub, and had apparently expected to be released after paying a substantial fine. But Bermuda Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner had other ideas, and sentenced the two to jail.

Michael Donovan of New Jersey and Joseph Pontieri of Staten Island pled guilty to beating and breaking the jaw of American tourist Christopher Emanuel on October 5, after a dispute in the nightclub involving a woman. Their prison sentence has since been upheld on appeal.

Bermuda police boarded the Norwegian Crown, in Hamilton for a three-day stint, to arrest the pair after the incident. The men had faced up to three years in jail and a $7,500 fine.

Read more...

Cruise ship Webcams and Bridgecams: cruise live from your desk!

The ongoing Internet-enabling of cruise ships now brings live cruising to your computer. Many ships offer near-real-time Webcams and Bridgecams with views from their ships' bridges and elsewhere onboard.

Admittedly, port areas aren't always the most scenic part of cruising, but every once in a while you'll get a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty, or the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City, or picturesque Villefranche on the French Rivera. It's a fun diversion for any cruise lover.

Among cruise lines offering Webcams are:

• Princess Webcams
• Crystal Webcams
• CostaWebcams
• Carnival Webcams (Liberty and Valor only)
• Norwegian Webcams (select ship of interest, then Webcam option)
• Cunard for the QE2 Webcams and QM2 Webcams
  
• Royal Caribbean only on Voyager of the Seas Webcams
• Celebrity Webcams
  

Read more...

Norwegian Cruise Line to unveil new identity

Norwegian Cruise Line, the cruise company that brought the cruise world "Freestyle Cruising," has decided it's ready to play with the industry's big boys, Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Since being acquired by Malaysian firm Star Cruises in 2000, Norwegian has busily added a fleet of spectacular new ships that can compete with its bigger neighbors who are also headquartered in Miami. To celebrate, NCL announced that it will launch a new marketing campaign, online presence, and brand identify to publicize the non-traditional, free-spirited approach towards cruising it pioneered.

Over the past couple of years, Norwegian executives have told us that historically they didn't have the modern product to compete head-on with Carnival and Royal Caribbean... but now they do. With 15 ships in service, Norwegian will take delivery on three new state-of-the-art vessels by 2007, giving the line the youngest cruise fleet in the industry. NCL's new marketing campaign emphasizes its youthful philosophy of cruising, which includes no dress codes, no rigid dinner hours, relaxed disembarkation routines, and 10 different onboard dining venues.

The new look, which begins on October 2, includes print, radio, and TV ads as well as a revamped website with many interactive elements.

Read more...

Hurricane Florence spares Bermuda... but Gordon is close behind

Hurricane Florence breezed by the British island chain of Bermuda early this week, knocking out a few windows and peeling off roofs, but leaving the colony largely unscathed, thanks to the island's long-time strict building codes. An employee at the cliffside Reefs resort reported an unworried atmosphere during the storm to the Associated Press, "We have a lot of repeaters in house, and they're having fun."

Only a few minor injuries and no deaths were reported as a result of the storm. Bermuda's International Airport and its ferries and bridges were back in operation on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Gordon, the seventh named tropical storm of the 2006 season, formed in the Atlantic northeast of the Leeward Islands and while headed in the general direction of Bermuda is expected to miss the island. Gordon is moving at a speed of approximately 8 mph and has sustained winds of near 60 mph.

Norwegian Cruise Line, whose Norwegian Crown and Norwegian Majesty cruise ships were en route to Bermuda at the time of the storm were delayed in arriving at Bermuda, as they took a southerly route as opposed to the usual direct route from the United States. After the ships' arrival, the itineraries were not expected to change. A statement from NCL restates the importance of passenger safety to the line and advices that the company will continue to monitor the progress of Hurricane Gordon.

Read more...

Are rogue waves the cruise lines' fault? Federal judge says no

You may remember the rogue wave that hit Norwegian Dawn in April 2005, causing a serious scare and superficial ship damage, but no major injuries. Naturally in our litigation-happy country, a class-action lawsuit was threatened, claiming that the episode was somehow Norwegian Cruise Line's fault... that the wave should have been foreseen and avoided. Well, US District Court Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga yesterday disagreed, by denying a motion for class certification.

Even applying the best science that's available today, rogue waves are just that: unpredictable surprises. Some research has suggested they're more common than sparse anecdotal evidence would have you believe, and studies are ongoing into how to predict them.

Giving a little Hollywood flair were accusations that the ship was rushing back to New York to appear on The Donald's hit Apprentice TV show, but that was not the case. In fact, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Bahamas Maritime Authority both concluded that the cruise line and the ship's captain acted properly in the incident. Though the rough water made the voyage unpleasant, no crew or passengers were seriously injured.

Norwegian Cruise Line's website quotes the company's president and CEO, Colin Veitch, as saying, "We are pleased and gratified with Judge Altonaga's decision."

Norwegian Cruise Line offers year-round seven and eleven-night cruises from New York City to Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean.

Read more...

Norwegian Jewel to appear on The Apprentice

Since Melania Trump christened Norwegian Jewel on November 3, it seems fitting that the ship will be featured on The Donald's hit show The Apprentice on March 27. We'll be tuned in at 9 eastern just to see what over-the-top hyperbole The Donald uses to praise Jewel.

Norwegian seems to be betting its marketing budget on TV partnerships like this one, on the heels of hosting Good Morning America for a week aboard the same ship, and Regis and Kelly onboard Pride of America last year.

Read more...

Boxing? Bowling? On a cruise ship?

In this Olympic season, you have to wonder whether the cruise industry, given ten years, will be adding snowboarding half pipes, slalom runs and ski jumps to their ships, since it seems anything's possible onboard nowadays. For the time being, though, we'll have to made do with the most recently announced gee-whiz features, a boxing ring and a bowling alley.

Norwegian Cruise Line announced that its Norwegian Pearl, to be launched in 2007, will offer a full-size, four-lane bowling alley. The alley will be the focal point of the sports-bar-by-day, ultralounge-by-night, complex named Bliss. Norwegian has been doing a great job creating surprising, stylish nightspots on their ships, and this promises to be another. Although championship bowling won't be in the offing due to the motion of the ship, the four lanes will undoubtedly provide a lot of amusement.

Meantime, Royal Caribbean has unveiled another feature on the soon-to-sail, world's largest Freedom of the Seas... a regulation-size, 20' by 20', Everlast boxing ring. The facility named Fight Klub will give Rockys-in-training the chance to step into the ring to spar with an instructor, work with speed bags, jump ropes, punching mitts and heavy bags. Royal Caribbean continues to impress us by embracing and building on their brand identity of "active cruising," and the boxing facility fits perfectly alongside the previously announced onboard surfing, and now-iconic onboard rock-climbing walls and ice skating rinks.

Read more...

Norwegian Sun first post-Katrina ship to homeport in New Orleans

Our industry has always been supportive of New Orleans cruising, and now Norwegian Cruise Line has won the race to return a home-ported ship there. The beautiful Norwegian Sun will begin sailing from the Big Easy on October 15, 2006.

Norwegian Sun's 7-day itinerary from New Orleans calls on Costa Maya, Mexico; Santo Tomas De Castilla, Guatemala; Belize City, Belize and Cozumel, Mexico. The 1,936-passenger ship features nine restaurants as part of Norwegian's popular Freestyle Dining concept.

Read more...

First cruise ship calls in New Orleans since Katrina

As is the rest of the city, New Orleans' cruise business is sailing back. The first ship has called at the port since devastating hurricane Katrina, the German vessel Delphin Renaissance. Later in 2006, the cruise lines more familiar to U.S. travelers will also return.

Carnival will bring back its Carnival Conquest, currently operating from Galveston, at a to-be-determined date, and its Sensation in October 2006. Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas will be back in December 2006, and the Norwegian Sun returns in November 2006.

Washington Times: Cruise lines returning to New Orleans

Read more...

Norwegian Dream engine problems inconvenience passengers

Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Dream, one of the line's older ships built in 1992, experienced engine problems in Alaska that slowed the ship, causing missed ports and flights and a six+ hour late arrival in Seattle on August 11.

An amusing side note here is that the Coast Guard was alerted to the problem, which by all accounts impacted speed but not safety, via phone by a passenger onboard the ship. The Coast Guard subsequently met the vessel in Seattle and found two of its four engines under repair but the ship still seaworthy.

Now we don't fault a cruise line for the occasional mechanical difficulty, which is a fact of life as anyone knows who has ever owned anything with a motor in it. However, press reports suggest that Norwegian's handling of the passengers affected by the delay could have been better. For example, passengers who expected to be boarding the ship for a 4pm sailing were instead shuttled to a hotel, where a promised lunch and city tour turned out to be chips without a tour, and eventually sailed at 9pm.

Seattle Times: Ship fix lands guests in hotel

Update 8/25/05: On August 25 Norwegian told us the ship, while sailing, is still not yet capable of full speed.

Update 9/9/05: Ship still not repaired, still operating on one engine at slower-than-normal speed. Awaiting parts.

Seattle Times: Norwegian Dream trip haunts some

Read more...

Pride of America Arrives, One Year Late

Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America was abuzz with activity on Friday afternoon in New York after its arrival from the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Germany. Although delivered about a year late, due to swamping in the shipyard itself during a storm while under construction, our feeling is that the ship is well worth the wait.

At one end of the ship were the inaugural festivities including Hawaiian dancers and the christening by US Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, and at the other end workers feverishly put the finishing touches on the outdoor stage to be used by the Live with Regis and Kelly show all this week. We asked one of the production crew what the rain plan would be, and he said, "seriously, umbrellas." Might be worth tuning in and checking it out.

Cruise-a-holics will remember that the first US-flagged vessel, Pride of Aloha, delivered disastrous onboard customer service when it was first introduced last year, due to difficulties in hiring and training the entirely new American crew members. So, frankly, the travel industry has been taking a wait-and-see attitude on this new ship. We're delighted to report that NCL had clearly learned from its past mistakes, with friendly and efficient service already up to a solid standard onboard Pride of America. We sought out several front-line crew members who had sailed from the beginning on both ships, and they agreed that there is no comparison.

One unique Pride of America feature designed for group corporate cruises is the spectacular in-the-round auditorium, suitable for large on-board meetings. The ship's US registry lends tax deductibility advantages for business meetings held onboard, and NCL clearly means to capitalize on this market.

Another emphasis found on both Pride ships is Norwegian's Hawaii Golf program, whose hub is the onboard pro shop. Golfers can pre-book Hawaii's top courses and have NCL take care of everything -- from club cleaning and storage or club rentals, to transfers to and from the golf courses, and of course arrangement of tee times compatible with the ship's schedule. Reduced-rate packages are available for those who want to maximize their time on the links.

If you're interested in seeing more of the ship, our Pride of America Photo Gallery is available and chock-full of images from the inaugural weekend.

After completing its introductory cruises around the continental US, the ship will begin its Hawaii cruises in July.

Read more...

$100 million lawsuit filed by "rogue wave" passengers against Norwegian

It had to happen. About 20 passengers who were onboard the Norwegian Dawn when it was hit by a 70-foot rogue wave on April 17 have banded together to sue Norwegian Cruise Line for $100 million, and they hope to get class-action status for all those who were aboard. The group alleges that the ship was unsafely rushing through the storm to New York for an appointment to appear on The Donald's hit TV show, The Apprentice.

Norwegian points to a report from the Bahamas Maritime Authority that forcefully absolves the captain and cruise line from any wrongdoing. But the passengers smell a cover-up, and plan to use the lawsuit to force access to Norwegian's records on the matter.

Four passengers received minor injuries and the ship diverted to Charleston, SC for repairs after the wave hit.

Sun-Sentinel (South Florida): Plaintiff in suit says 70-foot-high wave was like scene from Perfect Storm

Read more...

Onboard drug smuggling ring busted

In a news development that's shocking to us -- are we naive? -- the feds have busted a drug smuggling ring active on at least 20 cruise ships! News reports say that the ringleaders were recruiting shipboard employees and passengers to be drug mules for their brazen scheme. A partial list of victimized cruise lines includes Disney, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Carnival. Fifty-five arrests have been made so far, and these alleged knuckleheads are now eligible for well-earned hard time on federal charges.

NBC6 (South Florida): Smugglers move cocaine, heroin on cruise ships
Sun-Sentinel (South Florida): Drug ring sweep nets another 10

Read more...

Dueling Godmothers

OK, OK, the Godmothers aren't dueling, but today's cruise line announcements bragging about the Godmothers of their new ships seem to be. Who do you think would come out victorious in a fair arm wrestle, Carnival Liberty's Mira Sorvino, or Pride of America's Elaine Chao?

Norwegian Cruise Line's choice of Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao seems fitting, since Pride of America is the first newly-built ship to fly the American flag in 50 years. We'll be on hand to report back to you as Secretary Chao christens Pride of America in New York on June 17, during the vessel's tour of the east coast prior to heading for its permanent home sailing Hawaiian cruises.

Carnival, meanwhile, made no pretense of having actress Mira Sorvino fit a theme as Godmother of Carnival Liberty--they're just going for star power. Sorvino will have her chance to break the traditional bottle of champagne against the ship's bow in a naming ceremony in Civitavecchia (the port for Rome) on July 19.

As far as the arm wrestling? Our money's on Mighty Aphrodite.

Read more...

Wait-time monitors to smooth Freestyle Dining on Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line's Freestyle Dining program, although very well reviewed overall, has occasionally annoyed hungry travelers surprised by a wait to dine. Norwegian is now installing flat-panel monitors throughout the ship that display the current wait time, if any, at each of the ship's restaurants.

With up 10 ten open-seating restaurants serving from 5:30 pm to midnight, from tapas cantinas to Teppanyaki, it was inevitable that occasional bottlenecks would occur. With the new monitors, starving passengers can make a beeline straight to an open table. After a trial run on Norwegian Spirit, the system will officially debut on the brand-new Pride of America,  then Norwegian Jewel, followed by the remainder of the fleet.

Read more...

Supreme Court: Americans with Disabilities Act applies to cruise ships

In a much-anticipated ruling that divided the court, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 this morning that foreign-flagged cruise ships calling at US ports are subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The precise impact remains unclear for now, since a lower appeals court will be working out the details of how the Act will apply onboard in what will likely be a lengthy process.

Cruise lines serving the North American market have made strides in accommodating passengers with disabilities, but until now their efforts have been strictly voluntary since their mostly foreign registrations had shielded them from mandatory ADA compliance. Because the ADA specifies that only "readily achievable" modifications must be made, exactly how ADA requirements will apply onboard a ship -- a more complex environment than hotels or other buildings -- remains to be clarified.

A bit of background on what "foreign" means in the context of the cruise industry. Mainstream press reports are misreporting this issue as relating to "foreign cruise lines." That's wrong...the current question is around "foreign-flagged ships," meaning those ships that are registered in a country other than the United States, regardless of where the cruise line is based. To avoid the expense of complying with US laws, notably related to nationality of onboard employees and minimum wage requirements, almost all ships owned by major US-based cruise lines are registered elsewhere, from the Bahamas to the United Kingdom. The only US-registered vessels are Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of Aloha, and upcoming Pride of America and Pride of Hawaii, which if not registered in the US, would have been forbidden under federal law from sailing inter-island Hawaii cruises without a time-consuming detour to a foreign port along the way.

Reuters: US disability law covers foreign cruise ships
Cruising with your wheelchair

Read more...

Norway future uncertain, heading for Malaysia

The Norway, pulled from Caribbean cruise service by Norwegian Cruise Line after a tragic boiler explosion in 2003 killed eight crew members, is reported to be headed toward Malaysia for an unsettled future.

Immediately after the catastrophe, whose power knocked doors out of their frames three decks away, it seemed that Norwegian planned to repair the ship and press it back into service. Those plans failed to materialize, and the Norway has languished in mothballs since then. At the time, the Norway was the consistent low-price leader for Caribbean cruises with fares frequently dipping as low as $350 per person including taxes for a 7-night cruise. Today, though, rumors have the Malaysia-bound ship becoming a training vessel for hotel staff.

In spite of its low-rent reputation prior to the accident, the ship pulled a loyal following as a classic, true ocean liner with beautiful lines. The world's largest ship when launched as the France in 1961, the Norway is a mere 100 feet shorter than the Queen Mary 2, today's largest ship in the world by any measure.

AFP Via Yahoo! News: Giant 'Norway' liner sets sail for new life in Malaysia

Read more...

Cruising with your wheelchair

Do you know anyone with limited mobility, or confined to a wheelchair? I had an elderly relative who was mentally just as sharp as a tack, but couldn't get around too well, and my wife and I spent years trying to convince her to join a family cruise. But she was afraid of being a burden to others, and downright refused to consider it. Too modest for her own good, she didn't realize the pleasure that everyone else would gain from her company.

These memories came back when I read an article about a bunch of disabled travelers and their friends from a rehabilitation center who are setting sail on their second cruise next week, and I thought, "Good for them!" I hope this becomes a growing trend. While older cruise ships can be hit-or-miss, most new cruise ships are more accessible than is generally known: accepting of service animals, with specially equipped staterooms and public restrooms, wheelchair seating in showrooms, and even some lifts into pools and jacuzzis.

At the same time, travelers cannot expect full Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance on cruise ships. For one, almost all major-line cruise ships are foreign-flagged which makes their ADA compliance strictly voluntary, although this is a matter of current governmental debate. The only US-flagged vessels are the Hawaiian "Pride" ships of Norwegian Cruise Line--Pride of Aloha, Pride of America, and the upcoming Pride of Hawaii--which do fall under the aegis of the ADA, yet you still can't fully predict their level of accessibility since there are no final ADA rules for cruise ships.

The bottom line? Do consider a cruise vacation to bring together your family, including those with disabilities. Everyone can have a wonderful time together. Yet research and plan carefully to thoroughly understand your chosen cruise line's policies and ship's facilities and limitations. Cruise line Web sites will give general information and a good starting point.

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Wheelchairs packed, they'll cruise to paradise

Read more...

Dinner with MassPort: sports, politics and revenge

Last night we were invited to dinner by the Massachusetts Port Authority (MassPort) and Norwegian Cruise Line, as a thank-you for our support of cruises sailing from Boston. The two questions on everybody's mind in The Hub are always: when will Norwegian put a new ship in Boston to replace the Majesty, and, when will MassPort upgrade its cruise terminal facilities.

In regards to the latter, port director Mike Leone related a quote oft-repeated locally that in Boston, there are three pastimes: sports, politics and revenge. These last two present a challenge for even the best efforts of MassPort officials to improve or expand on Black Falcon Cruise Terminal since many powerful constituencies need to, ummm, benefit from any such project. That, plus the fact that at present Boston is a seasonal port, meaning that the facility must be either multi-use or paid for in a complex private/public partnership including private businesses who would benefit financially from a new cruise terminal. Who knows, since the Norwegian Dawn started sailing successfully to the Caribbean year-round from New York, perhaps Boston will eventually see similar service.

The question of Norwegian replacing the aging-but-well-maintained Norwegian Majesty (former flagship of now-defunct Majesty Cruise Lines) with a newer and larger ship has almost become a matter of "when," not "if." We say "almost" since there are some hard-to-predict complexities with getting docking rights from the Bermudan government. Provided that hurdle is overcome, the most recent scuttlebutt we hear suggests a new Norwegian ship in Boston for the 2007 Bermuda cruise season.

Read more...

Norwegian Majesty collision in Bermuda

Norwegian Cruise Line's string of recent misfortunes has continued as the Bermuda Royal Gazette reports a collision in high winds between the Norwegian Majesty, attempting to dock in St. George's, and several moored yachts. Norwegian confirmed the incident to us but was unable to offer further details at the moment.

Royal Gazette (Bermuda): Cruise ship smashes into yachts

Read more...

More rough weather for Norwegian Dawn

Norwegian Dawn experienced rough weather again this weekend, causing a delay on its run back to New York and the cancellation of a planned 1-night Mother's Day getaway cruise on May 8. Those booked on the cancelled cruise received a full refund and half off a future cruise.

Read more...

$24M cruise terminal coming in Honolulu

The reinvigoration of the inter-island Hawaiian cruise market driven by the new Norwegian Cruise Line ships Pride of Aloha and Pride of America have inspired the state of Hawaii to build a new Oahu cruise-ship terminal, planned for completion in November 2005.

Honolulu Advertiser: $24M cruise terminal coming

Read more...

Regis Philbin to Broadcast From Cruise Ship

Reeeeeg! That's right, Live with Regis and Kelly is setting sail aboard Norwegian Cruise Line's new Pride of America. From June 18-24 the ship will be sailing along the east coast of the US on an introductory cruise with the show aboard before relocating to Hawaii for its year-round 7-night Oahu-roundtrip itineraries.

Pride of America, you may recall, is the ship that sank in 2004 during its construction in a major storm at its shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany, adding a lengthy delay to its introduction. Its hull had been one of the two Project America ships commissioned by American Classic Voyages (parent of the American Hawaii cruise line) that went bankrupt post-9/11. NCL scooped up the two hulls, creating the first two new US-flagged cruise ships in many years, the other being Pride of Aloha that is already in service in Hawaii. The US-flagging means that these ships are permitted under the Passenger Services Act to sail inter-island Hawaiian itineraries without the inconvenient and time-consuming detour to a foreign port such as Fanning Island, Kiribati required of foreign-flagged vessels.

AP via Yahoo! News: Regis Philbin to Broadcast From Cruise
Pacific Business News: Pride of America Sinks at Dock

Read more...

Cruise Ship Returns After Wave Damage

The media feeding frenzy seems to be subsiding over the freak wave that hit Norwegian Dawn, which has returned to regular service. In case you missed it, the 70-foot wave broke the windows in four staterooms, flooded 65, surprised everybody on board, and caused the ship to divert to Charleston for repairs. Norwegian tells us they arranged a charter flight back to New York for the passengers in the flooded staterooms, found hotel rooms and commercial flights for others who wanted to jump ship, and offered everybody a 50% refund on their cruise plus 50% off a future cruise. We think it was a solid response to the situation.

Consipiracy theorists, meanwhile, point to the cruise line's disclosure that the ship was planned for an appearance on The Donald's TV show The Apprentice upon its return to New York as proof that the captain took an unnecessary chance "rushing into the storm." Not likely in our opinion.

UPDATE 5/26/05: Bahamas Maritime Authority clears captain, stating his "actions have been found to be prudent and appropriate throughout."

ABC News: Cruise Ship Returns After Wave Damage
New York Daily News: Captain can take bow in scary cruise's wake

Read more...

Four major cruise lines introduce advertised pricing rules

[2/6/2006: LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ABOUT ROYAL CARIBBEAN'S PROJECT GENESIS CRUISE SHIP? CLICK HERE.]

So did you think you can always find the best pricing for cruises online? Not any more!

First Royal Caribbean and Celebrity (which is owned by Royal Caribbean), and now Carnival and Norwegian, have announced new policies that are songs from the same hymn book. All four have announced that any publicly advertised cruise pricing must be the cruise line's officially approved rate, whether on the Internet, newspaper, radio, or anywhere else.

While Carnival and Norwegian will still allow a travel agent, once on the phone with a customer, to rebate some of their commission back to the customer, in effect lowering the cruise's price, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity went a step further to say that rebating itself is forbidden--that all customers must actually pay the company-approved price.

The impact to you, the customer? At least where Norwegian and Carnival are concerned you may be able to get a better price when you call a travel agency, than the price you see advertised online or in your newspaper or from the cruise line itself.

And with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity the situation is mayhem. Travel retailers forbidden from giving back cold, hard, cash are instead offering everything from free merchandise, to free insurance, to free hotel stays, to free champagne, in a quest to gain your business. Plus there are undoubtedly those who rebate behind the back of the cruise lines by mailing consumers a post-cruise check, although these agencies risk being cut off by Royal Caribbean and Celebrity altogether if discovered. One of Royal Caribbean's stated goals was to reduce consumer confusion, whereas more confusion has been the result.

Up until now, big-boy travel agencies earning more lucrative commission rates from these cruise lines advertised better pricing than their smaller competitors, since they could afford to give some of their higher commission back to their customers. Within the travel agency community there has been a lot of animosity toward these "rebaters" under the socialistic logic that the "little guy" and the "big guy" should be on a "level playing field." Although I can see the popular appeal, the last time I checked, this is not the way the real world functions. The irony is that the mega-agencies can afford to build entire departments to manage new value-added programs, like lining up free pre- and post-cruise stays at hotels, that the "little guy" will never be able match.

Frankly the populist angles of the cruise line press releases are a smokescreen. They can't come right out and say so, since travel agents currently sell the vast majority of cruises, but the cruise lines are trying to cut their payments to travel agencies. Which is 100% reasonable, given that these public companies' obligation is to deliver the highest possible return to shareholders. With larger travel agencies earning as much as twice the commission of smaller ones, by moving market share from larger agencies to smaller ones, the cruise lines save a pile of dough. Plus, now the cruise lines' own direct-to-consumer sales departments won't be in the embarrassing position of offering an "official" price on a cruise only to have it undercut by a mega-agency.

Another red herring served up by the cruise lines has been a stated concern that Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Smith, sitting down for dinner on the ship, might compare pricing and discover that the amount they paid was very different for a similar accommodation--due to travel agent rebating.

While Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Smith may well have an experience like this, travel agency kickbacks are unlikely to be the culprit. This is silliness for one big reason. Anybody who's bought an airline ticket is well aware that pricing varies wildly depending on when you bought it. The same holds true for cruise tickets, and in fact cruise line pricing yield management systems--that adjust fares as often as several times daily--had their genesis in that same airline technology. The amount of variance in pricing that a travel agency could introduce is absolutely trivial compared to the fluctuations driven by the cruise lines' own pricing techniques.

It will certainly be fascinating to see how this trend develops!

Read more...