Carnival Sunshine Cruise Will Replace Carnival Conquest Cruise

The Carnival Destiny will be renamed the Carnival Sunshine and will replace the Carnival Conquest in New Orleans in November 2013 following a $155 million renovation, Carnival Cruise Lines announced Tuesday morning. The 2,642-passenger Carnival Destiny is now based in Miami and travels to the Caribbean and Bahamas.

Carnival Cruise Lines Rendering of the Carnival Sunshine, which will replace the Carnival Conquest at the Port of New Orleans in November 2013.

When it arrives in New Orleans as the Carnival Sunshine, it will be a larger ship, able to carry 3,006 passengers, slightly exceeding the 2,974-passenger capacity of the Carnival Conquest.

Carnival has not said what will become of the Conquest, which sails year-round from the Port of New Orleans. The Carnival Destiny will be replaced in Miami by the Carnival Victory, which had sailed from San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Florida city also is getting the newly constructed Carnival Breeze.

The Miami cruise company called the planned redesign and renaming of the Destiny its “most ambitious refit and transformation project ever.”

The redesign calls for a reconfigured layout, the expansion of two decks and the addition of 182 cabins, among other things, during a 49-day dry dock that will take place from February through April 2013.

An executive from the company said Carnival decided to position the refurbished ship in New Orleans in part because the city is one of its most popular destinations and is within an easy drive or flight to major cities.

“New Orleans is a great port for us, so we really wanted to bring a ship with all these features to New Orleans, ” said Ruben Rodriguez, Carnival’s executive vice president of ship operations. “It’s just a wonderful city for us. It’s a friendly, welcoming port not only for our guests but for our crew.”

The Carnival Destiny is the seventh-oldest ship in Carnival’s 23-vessel fleet. Although the ship was already scheduled for routine maintenance and repair, Rodriguez said the addition of features like a cigar bar and a three-deck adults-only retreat falls far outside what the cruise line typically does during repair periods.

“It was its time, ” Rodriguez said. “But we decided to make a much more significant investment this time to add a lot of features that have emerged as very popular.”

This is the first time Carnival has decided to change a vessel’s name along with renovating it, Rodriguez said.

“The reason that we did it is because the ship is completely transformed, ” Rodriguez said. “There is a dramatic increase in the number of features. We thought it was appropriate to rename the ship.”

Rodriguez said Carnival hopes the name change, added features and a new sailing path will attract both past Carnival customers and new ones.

After the redesign, the Sunshine will sail the Mediterranean Sea from Barcelona and Venice through October 2013 before landing in New Orleans for the launch of a year-round, seven-day Caribbean sailing schedule in November 2013.

The Carnival Sunshine will operate three different weeklong itineraries from the Crescent City. One will be a Bahamas-Florida route to Key West, Freeport and Nassau, and the Bahamas. The other two itineraries will be Caribbean routes: one to Belize City, Belize, and Mahogany Bay, Isla Roatan and Cozumel, Mexico; and another to Montego Bay, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; and Cozumel.

 

Source : gnohla.com

Posted on 9:48 PM / 0 comments / Read More

Costa Allegra Passengers Complaint And Left The Ship

(Reuters) Weary passengers complained of unbearable heat and appalling hygiene for 3 days within the Indian Ocean aboard cruise ship Costa Allegra once a hearth knocked out the vessel's main power provide.

With no air con, running water, lights or hot food, the 627 passengers were forced to sleep on deck within the stifling heat till the liner was towed intoSeychelles capital Victoria on Thursday.

One of the Costa Allegra's 3 diesel generators caught hearth on Monday and though the blaze was extinguished at intervals an hour 2 additional generators within the engine space then failed, the ship's captain, Niccolo Alba, told a news conference.

Alba said a general emergency was declared when the generator caught hearth, the lifeboats were ready and passengers were able to abandon ship because the liner drifted within the Indian Ocean, where Somali pirates roam.

"It was terrible, as you'll be able to imagine. Hygiene conditions were completely deplorable. I actually have some photos that show the state of the bogs. we tend to stayed for 3 days while not electricity, it's totally tough to measure in such conditions, particularly in such heat," one passenger told Reuters tv.

Alba said 2 folks had fallen within the dark and hurt themselves, however he denied an earlier report from a Seychelles health ministry official that six folks had broken limbs.

"They were able to place the fireplace out and from that time on, it had been simply a matter of inconvenience, not having enough food, not having the ability to rest well at the hours of darkness...the heat is unbearable, thus we tend to had to pay most of our nights on the highest deck of the ship," said another passenger.

More than 0.5 the passengers took up the provide of a seven or 14-day vacation on the archipelago from the ship's ownerCosta Cruises, an equivalent company whose large liner Costa Concordia smashed into rocks off Italy in January.

At 29,000 gross tonnes, the ship is significantly smaller than the large Costa Concordia that capsized, killing a minimum of twenty five folks.

A team from Costa Cruises, a unit of the U.S. cruise line giantCarnival Corp., boarded the Costa Allegra on Wednesday to rearrange hotel accommodation and onward flights for the passengers. It said over 600 airline seats and four hundred rooms had been reserved.

"I wish to travel HOME"

A small generator was put in within the crippled vessel, however was solely powerful enough to run its auxiliary communication system, not the air con or cooking systems.

With no lights functioning on board, the corporate said it had dropped many torches onto the ship to assist passengers notice their method around at the hours of darkness.

A passenger from Germany praised the crew, saying that they had tried their best to create those on board comfy.

Another passenger from the Indian Ocean island of Reunion said he felt tired and dirty and had been frightened of pirates, however there was never any shortage of drinking water or sandwiches.

Norbert Stiekema, government vice-president at Costa Cruises, told the news conference that every one passengers were offered the choice of a vacation or a flight home, which all outstanding bills on the ship had been cancelled.

The passengers were met in Victoria by ambulances, aRed Cross medical team and a fleet of tiny buses to require them to hotels on the country's main island of Mahe.

One girl was rushed into an ambulance and another had to be supported as she walked off the ship.

The passengers, together with four kids, are from twenty five nations. the most important contingents are 127 from France and 126 from Italy. there have been conjointly thirty eight Germans, 31 Britons, thirteen Canadians and eight Americans.

The Costa Allegra left Diego Suarez in Madagascar on Saturday and, sailing northeast, had been as a result of dock in Mahe on Tuesday. whereas 376 passengers opted to remain on within the Seychelles, others had had enough

"I am not within the mood for a vacation. i need to travel home as soon as I will," said another passenger.

Posted on 5:17 AM / 0 comments / Read More

Cruise Ship Robbery, 24 Passengers Of Carnival Splendor

Thе Carnival Splendor hаѕ sail οn another Mexican Riviera cruise, аftеr passengers frοm a previous cruise wеrе robbed аt gunpoint аll through аn expedition. Thе tourists wеrе раrt οf a weeklong cruise ship theft thаt left frοm thе Port οf Long Beach οn Feb. nineteen аnd came back οn Sunday.

Abουt twenty four passengers wеrе robbed аt gunpoint ѕіnсе thеу traveled bу bus frοm a nature hike іn thе jungle fοr thе Mexican port capital οf scotland- Cabo san lucas. Hooded gunmen intercepted thе tourists’ bus аbουt five p.m. Thursday ѕіnсе іt came back frοm thе pueblo οf El Nogalito. Thе gunmen took passports, along wіth cameras, money, watches аnd οthеr valuables before fleeing tο thе countryside, native papers ѕаіd.

“Hе hаd hіѕ gun brandished up here, аftеr whісh hе brought іt down аnd displayed hіѕ shirt tο exhibit thе knife,” one girl ѕаіd, recounting thе incident.

“I very wаѕ frightened, tο bе hοnеѕt along wіth уου. At thе same time I used tο bе atiny low mаd ѕіnсе wе wеrе јυѕt minding ουr business, experiencing thе day.”

Nο one wаѕ injured аnd аll kinds οf thе passengers came back fοr thе ship safety. Carnival released thе following statement: “Carnival sincerely apologizes tο thе guests ѕіnсе οf thіѕ terribly unfortunate аnd disturbing event аnd іѕ аlѕο providing іtѕ full support аnd hеlр.”

Thе cruise ship line іѕ serving to victims notice lost passports аѕ well аѕ οthеr identification аnd іѕ аlѕο reimbursing thеm fοr јυѕt аbουt аnу lost valuables, аѕ well аѕ fοr thе trip itself. Thе kind path tour, thаt іѕ operated bу Carnival, continues tο bе suspended. Thе Carnival Splendor sometimes carries plenty a lot of thаn 3,000 passengers аnd operates year-round weeklong cruises frοm Long Beach.

Aѕ οf last fall, one cruise line, Princess Cruises, hаd mаdе a сhοісе tο suspend stops іn Cabo san lucas, a well lονеd scale, due tο thе country’s ongoing drug war. Carnival itself dіd nοt cancel stops іn Cabo san lucas, аnd Princess Cruises wаѕ set tο resume visits tο Puerto Vallarta thіѕ month.

A port north οf Puerto Vallarta іn addition hаѕ experienced issues. Following a February 2011 shooting left 2 dead within a hotel automotive park іn thе tourist раrt οf Mazatlan, many cruise lines ѕtаrtеd canceling stops, as well as Carnival Cruiselines. Spokesman Vance Gulliksen ѕаіd Carnival’s cancellation οf visits tο Mazatlan remains іn result.

“Wе wіll work wіth native officers ѕіnсе thе investigation continues, аnd thаt wе don’t hаνе аnу itinerary changes ѕіnсе іt pertains tο Puerto Vallarta аt thіѕ time,” Gulliksen ѕаіd.

Earlier thіѕ month thе U.S. State Department issued a travel warning tο Mexico аftеr tourism officers expressed concern over thе rising crime rate іn thе uk.

Source : smallwu.org

Posted on 1:15 AM / 0 comments / Read More

TTNQ Falling To Cater 900 Passengers On Arcadia

The manager of a tourism info service in Cairns, in way north Queensland, says he was flooded with complaints from cruise ship passengers who were "stranded" at Yorkeys Knob yesterday.

Leigh Jorgensen has criticised Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) for failing to cater for regarding 900 passengers on the cruise liner 'Arcadia'.

He says several of the passengers visited his business yesterday, angry it had taken quite an hour to organise buses into the town.

"Now you'll be able to imagine the logistics with 900-odd folks needing to get into the town," he said.

"It took over 2 hours to induce all of them into the town, that gave them nearly no time to try and do something ... lots of standard comments were that Cairns was the worst port that they'd been in, that i used to be terribly embarrassed by.

"I'm a tour operator. it isn't the kind of feedback you wish."

TTNQ chief government Rob Giason says he's wanting into the incident.

"This has been a really unfortunate issue ... this year we've serviced over eighty vessels and we've not had this kind of issue, therefore clearly we're terribly keen to spot what yesterday's specific issue might are as a result of we do not need to inconvenience our customers that are needing to return into city," he said.

Source : abc.net

Posted on 12:52 AM / 0 comments / Read More