(PRESS RELEASE)_MIAMI (Aug. 29, 2018) - Carnival Cruise Line took to the sky today with the Carnival AirShip - a massive 128-foot-long red, white, and blue blimp that takes center stage as part of the line’s innovative Homeport Advantage campaign, designed to raise awareness of new cruise ship deployments in several key markets along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts.

The AirShip made its aerial debut today at Carnival’s Sixth Annual Day of Play at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. – the first stop in a 30-day airborne journey across seven U.S. states.  After departing Memphis, the AirShip will proceed to Dallas before heading down to Houston then continue the journey with visits to homeports in Galveston, New Orleans, Mobile, Tampa, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Port Canaveral, Jacksonville and Charleston before ending in Atlanta.

As part of the campaign, consumers will have a chance to win free cruises, Carnival swag, VIP event passes and Carnival cruise gift cards when they take a picture or video of the AirShip and post it on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter with the hashtag #ChooseFun. The hashtag will also trigger a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital ®, Carnival’s longtime charitable partner.

(ROYAL CARIBBEAN)_The Royal Zombie is a signature cocktail at The Bamboo Room, a new Polynesian-themed bar on the amped-up Mariner of the Seas.
 
Ingredients:
1oz lime juice
3/4oz cinnamon syrup
1/2oz passion fruit juice 
1/2oz velvet falernum liqueur
1oz white rum
1/2oz dark rum
1/2oz orange liqueur
2 shakes of angostura bitters and anise liqueur
 
Serve in a tall tiki glass, topped with crushed ice, fresh mint and a cherry.

PRESS RELEASE_​PORT CANAVERAL, FLA. (Aug. 21, 2018) – Carnival Cruise Line, the world’s largest cruise operator, has reached an agreement in principle with the Canaveral Port Authority on a new state-of-the-art terminal able to accommodate its new 180,000-ton ship, the largest ever constructed for the line, set to debut in 2020.

The terms of the agreement are expected to be included on the agenda of the Canaveral Port Authority Board of Commissioners’ meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018. If approved, the agreement will clear the way for Carnival Cruise Line’s plans to homeport the as-yet-unnamed 5,286-lower berth ship at Port Canaveral, further bolstering the line’s position as the port’s number one cruise operator.

The vessel will offer an array of groundbreaking, never-before-seen features and attractions while also being the first North American-based cruise ship to be powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), part of Carnival Corporation’s “green cruising” design platform.  

“We are very excited about the prospects of homeporting our largest ship at Port Canaveral, a valued business partner for more than 25 years,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.  “Easily accessible from all over the southeast with excellent facilities and friendly staff, Port Canaveral is one of our most popular and fastest-growing homeports.  This fantastic new ship, coupled with our future plans for Port Canaveral, will provide guests with an unparalleled seagoing vacation experience from the minute they arrive. ”

“The Port and Carnival Cruise Line have worked closely for decades building a successful partnership together. We are proud of our partners at Carnival and eager to begin this new chapter in our business relationship,” said Canaveral Port Authority Port Director and CEO Capt. John Murray. “Carnival’s commitment to Port Canaveral demonstrates their confidence in our ability to support one of the world’s most successful cruise brands.  We’re excited and looking forward to having their largest and newest class of ship homeported here.”

Construction of the 180,000-ton cruise ship is scheduled to begin in November 2018 with the official steel-cutting ceremony at the Meyer-Werft shipyard in Turku, Finland.  Further ship details, along with itineraries from Port Canaveral, are expected to be announced in 2019.  

The decision to base the new ship on the Space Coast continues a decades-long relationship and reinforces Carnival Cruise Line’s position as Port Canaveral’s number one cruise operator.  The line currently has three year-round ships based in Port Canaveral carrying upwards of 650,000 passengers a year. In October, Carnival Cruise Line will also reposition the newer Carnival Breeze to homeport at Port Canaveral.

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (August 20, 2018) – As Princess Cruises fleet expansion continues, the premium international cruise line reveals the name of the ship it will launch in 2020 – Enchanted Princess.

Enchanted Princess is scheduled to debut on June 15, 2020 sailing on a series of European voyages. Bookings for her maiden season, summer 2020, will open on November 8, 2018.

“The name Enchanted Princess is captivating and conveys the elegance and grace of our new ship which will introduce more travellers to the pleasures and value of cruising,” said Jan Swartz president of Princess Cruises. “We are certain Enchanted Princess will exceed the expectations of our guests, ensuring they have the most memorable cruise vacation.”

Ms Swartz said Princess has the strongest pipeline of premium new ship builds in the world. The arrival of Enchanted Princess will be followed by the debut of the sixth Royal-Class vessel for Princess Cruises in 2021. The cruise line also has two new Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) powered ships on order, bringing its new ship order to five ships in six years.

Construction of the 143,700-ton, 3,660-passenger Enchanted Princess will take place in the  Fincantieri Monfalcone shipyard with the ship set to feature an evolution of the design platform used for the cruise line’s previous Royal-Class ships.

Princess Cruises currently operates a fleet of 17 modern cruise ships, sailing voyages around the globe. Enchanted Princess is a sister ship to four other Royal-Class ships in the cruise line’s fleet – Royal Princess, Regal Princess, Majestic Princess and Sky Princess (joining the fleet in October 2019).

For more Enchanted Princess updates visit www.princess.com/enchantedprincess

(ROYAL CARRIBEAN)_For Oasis, one of the world’s largest cruise ships, arriving to St. Thomas in the Caribbean can be daunting. With narrow waterways, sailboats anchored in the harbor, a tight turn and just six feet of clearance below the keel, the water around this popular port is one of the most difficult to maneuver. But thanks to an expert marine team using the industry’s leading technology, arriving is just another day at the office for the Oasis of the Seas crew. With a local pilot offering his expertise on the currents and local marine environment, and powerful bow thrusters, which give the captain the control he needs to pull the 1,187-foot ship, this is nothing but smooth sailing.

PRESS RELEASE_MIAMI – August 13, 2018 – With its transformational design, Celebrity Edge is poised to raise the bar on modern luxury travel to even greater heights, and the entertainment on board is just as game-changing as the ship itself. On Celebrity Edge, guests will experience the brand’s most technologically advanced main theater, the most production shows of any ship in the brand’s history, the largest cast of world-class performers on any premium cruise ship, and more entertainment venues than ever before. Guests should expect nothing less from the ship that is leading THE CELEBRITY REVOLUTION.

“With Celebrity Edge, we have created our biggest and most comprehensive lineup of entertainment to date. We’ve truly taken entertainment to the edge,” said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, President and CEO, Celebrity Cruises. “Entertainment on Celebrity is daring and bold, dynamic and refreshing, surrounding you at every turn. It makes every moment of your vacation an unforgettable journey, and the entertainment on Celebrity Edge takes this philosophy further than ever before. We are changing the future of our entertainment – just as we are with everything we are doing on Celebrity Edge.”

INTRODUCING THE THEATRE – A FEAT WORTHY OF A STANDING OVATION

The Theatre on Celebrity Edge throws away the curtain altogether, blurring the line between audience and performance and immersing guests in an entertainment experience like no other. With four stage areas and three gigantic, moving projection screens, The Theatre offers an ever-changing canvas for the productions that live here.

The main stage extends into the audience creating a theater-in-the-round sensation. A duo-directional rotating platform raises almost seven feet above the stage to take performances to a whole new level. With two rotating spiral staircases, 10 synchronized panoramic projection screens, 16 state-of-the-art video mapping laser projectors, aerial performance rigging, and more, the technology behind the scenes will at times steal the show.

PRESS RELEASE_VALENCIA, Calif., August 10, 2018 – On the evening of August 10, 2018, Cunard’s three queens—Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth—sailed from Southampton and were sent off by the Red Arrows, The Royal Air Force Aerobic Team with a display of a flying formation.

The sendoff marks the first time in Cunard’s history that guests had the opportunity to see the Red Arrows flying display while onboard.

Guests on board Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria will also be treated to a special commentary while the jets performed. Listeners in the United Kingdom were also able to tune into the commentary on Cowes radio – 87.7FM. 

The Cunard fleet set sail from Southampton at 5:30p.m., heading for the Isle of Wright. The fleet also received a memorable and unique send off from the yachtsmen and spectators at Cowes and the Royal Yacht Squadron.

Friday was a day of celebration for the luxury cruise line in Southampton. In addition to the amazing display, Cunard is hosted five lucky children who won a competition to visit the three Queens and enjoy a ‘Captain for the Day’ experience. To win the competition they had to share with Cunard, in their own words, why they deserved to be a ‘Captain for the Day’ and they were judged on the creativity of their entry.

The children were given a tour of Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth, spending time with Captain and a visit to the Bridge. They also enjoyed lunch on board and finished their day with a trip round all three Queens in a speedboat.

For more information about Cunard, or to book a voyage, contact your Travel Consultant, call Cunard Line at 1-800-728-6273 or visit www.cunard.com.

PRESS RELEASE_Honiara, Solomon Islands - Heralding a long-awaited return to dedicated Solomon Islands small ship cruise programs, newly-formed Solomon Islands Discovery Cruises (SIDC) has announced its plans to operate six adventure itineraries in 2018-2019.

Operating ex-Honiara and timed to dovetail with Solomon Airlines’ Brisbane-Honiara services, SIDC has employed the 30-metre MV Taka to operate the six and seven-day cruises, each of which have been designed to highlight two of the South Pacific’s truly unspoiled and culturally-rich regions - the Florida and Russell Islands archipelagos in Solomon Islands.

Passengers will have the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in both region’s distinctive cultures and environments.

The cruise itineraries feature visits to remote villages along with plentiful opportunity to discover the region’s amazing coral pastures and abundant marine life with daily dive and snorkel options.

Both areas are also rich in WWII history giving passengers insight into the infamous Guadalcanal campaign in 1942 via the many wrecked US and Japanese aircraft, warships and relics which literally litter the seabed.

Congratulating SIDC on its initiative, Tourism Solomons CEO, Josefa ‘Jo’ Tuamoto said the very nature of the Solomon Islands archipelago of 992 islands lent itself to dedicated small ship adventure itineraries.

“Lindblad Expeditions left a big hole when it decided to redeploy its small ship operation to the Galapagos two years ago,” he said.

“And while we regularly welcome Expedition Cruises’ vessels, these itineraries are always in conjunction with other destinations, such as Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, and passengers only get a very small taste of what we have to offer,” he said.

“Having a dedicated niche adventure cruise program, operated by a local company with local experts and one that offers insight into our unique culture, history and environment plus the opportunity to experience our amazing underwater world is a huge build on our existing tourism product.  

“Add to this, the amazing benefits our local people will accrue from this environmentally-oriented program are immeasurable.

“This product is long overdue and one that I see as being highly successful going forward.”

Prices for an inaugural 24 August seven-day/six-night cruises lead in at AUD2499* per person (approx. USD1835) in quad share accommodation inclusive of all meals and all activities.

A daily per person AUD30.00 ‘kastom’ fee applies (approx. USD22). SCUBA diving gear is available to rent.

About the MV TAKA

Serviced by a 12-strong crew, the 30-metre MV Taka features six upper deck cabins all with ensuite facilities and six lower deck cabins in twin and quad configuration with shared bathrooms. All cabins are fully air conditioned and come with reading lights, towels, bedding and charging stations. 

PRESS RELEASE_​Los Angeles (August 9, 2018) – Viking® (www.vikingcruises.com), widely known for its sponsorship of PBS’ celebrated series MASTERPIECE and the iconic television advertisements that aired during the Emmy® Award-winning series Downton Abbey, today announced it has extended its partnership with Highclere Castle, the country seat of the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon that served as the setting for the show. As part of the relationship, Viking has signed on as headline sponsor of “Heroes at Highclere,” a weekend to raise money for those who serve and those who save, taking place at the Castle on September 8-9, 2018. Representatives from more than 20 countries will gather on the lawns for the event, which will honor the centennial anniversary of the end of World War I and will highlight the history of flight, as well as the creation of the Royal Air Force (RAF), culminating in a memorial service on Sunday. Adding to the partnership, Viking has also launched a series of online videos to complement the first-ever coffee table book about Highclere, At Home at Highclere, written by the Countess of Carnarvon.

                The enhanced partnership with Highclere Castle builds on Viking’s long-standing commitment to promoting cultural enrichment, with current partners including NBCUniversal International Studios’ “Downton Abbey: The Exhibition,” PBS’ MASTERPIECE, National Geographic’s Genius, TED, The Metropolitan Opera, Greenwich Music Time, Opera Holland Park, BBC, LIBERA, Ballet Sun Valley, RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Oslo’s Munch Museum, Oslo’s Viking Ship Museum and St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre, among others.