Power Cruising

Royal Caribbean defends cruise-ship calls on Haiti after earthquake

(latimes) Royal Caribbean International, which last week pledged at least $1 million in relief for quake-ravaged Haiti, this week defended its decision to continue cruise-ship calls on its private Labadee resort on the country’s northern coast, which was undamaged.  READ MORE

Main engine still dead, Princess cleared to sail

(palmbeachpost) The sidelined Palm Beach Princess casino ship, though equipped only with backup engines, has regained permission to sail, the result of weeks of behind-the-scenes wrangling with international maritime inspectors.  READ MORE

Winter boat show roundup

(soundings) The Providence Boat Show, known as the first winter boat show in New England, is scheduled for Jan. 7-10 at the Rhode Island Convention Center.  The show primarily presents exhibits of powerboats that appeal to the family cruising and fishing audiences, plus small sailing craft, personal watercraft and inflatables. In addition, there are hundreds of exhibits that feature fresh- and saltwater fishing gear, technology, engines and electronics.  READ MORE

Gambing ship faces Coast Guard-ordered shutdown

(palmbeachpost)  The Palm Beach Princess will be ordered today to halt its gambling cruises-to-nowhere if the owners do not come up with a detailed plan to fix the ship's main engine, which died three months ago.  READ MORE 

Carnival and other lines buck bad economy and order new ships to be built

(examiner)  Carnival Corporation announced that they are indeed flourishing in these troubled economic times. Well, not exactly in that fashion, but the statement was made when it announced that they have ordered another ship to be built. Carnival signed an agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri to build another sister ship to the newly-released Carnival Dream. The ship will also be built at 130,000 tons, same as the Dream, which gives indication that times when shipbuilding was on hold are now over for the major cruise lines.

Passengers recount chaos as cruise ship lost power in the Caribbean

(USA TODAY) Passengers returning home from the Norwegian Cruise Line ship that lost power over the weekend in the Caribbean are recounting a situation that quickly became unbearable.  READ MORE

On board the world's biggest cruise ship

(BBC) From the outside, the world's biggest and most expensive cruise ship looks like a floating block of flats.  It is only when you are on board the Oasis of the Seas that you start to get a sense of the scale of this enormous liner, which can cater for more than 6,000 passengers.  READ MORE and WATCH THE VIDEO

Cruise ship breaks Antarctic ice, nears open water

(AP) A Russian icebreaker carrying over 100 tourists and scientists to see emperor penguins in Antarctica has been crunching through pack ice and should reach clear water soon, a shipping official said Wednesday.  READ MORE

Russian cruise ship icebound in Antarctica

(UPI) A Russian cruise ship with 105 passengers aboard is stuck in the ice near Antarctica, shipping sources said.  READ MORE

Berth of a Cruise Ship: World’s Biggest Gets a Home

(NYTIMES) When the Oasis of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, departed Finland on its maiden voyage earlier this month, it barely squeezed under Denmark’s Great Belt Bridge, with less than two feet to spare. There will be no such close calls when the Oasis, owned by Royal Caribbean International, docks in its new home, Cruise Terminal 18, a huge complex that opened Nov. 8, at Port Everglades, Fla.  READ MORE
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