(PRESS RELEASE)_MIAMI, October 8, 2020 – Reservations are now open for Carnival Celebration, Carnival Cruise Line’s newest ship set to debut in November 2022 as part of the company’s 50th birthday.

A sister to the line’s first XL-class ship, Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration will debut with an inaugural 14-day Carnival Journeys cruise Nov. 6, 2022, followed by the launch of year-round service from PortMiami Nov. 21, 2022.  The addition of Carnival Celebration to Miami will maintain PortMiami's position as the top embarkation port for Carnival Cruise Line.

Carnival Celebration will include many of the features that have made Mardi Gras one of the most anticipated ships in cruising, including BOLT, the first roller coaster at sea, along with other unique design features created specifically for this vessel.  

Carnival’s 50th Birthday  celebration kicks off in March 2022 – the company’s birthday month – with a series of commemorative sailings that will feature special entertainment and itineraries and continuing all year long, culminating with Carnival Celebration’s arrival in November.  Additional information on the March 2022 sailings is available at www.carnival.com/sailabration.

“Carnival Celebration promises to be a spectacular addition to our fleet – just in time for our 50th birthday – and we’ve put together a terrific array of itineraries kicking off with a two-week-long inaugural transatlantic cruise and then year-round Caribbean sailings from PortMiami featuring some of the most beautiful and popular destinations in the region,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.  

Inaugural Transatlantic Crossing

Carnival Celebration will debut with a 14-Day Carnival Journeys transatlantic crossing departing Southampton Nov. 6 and arriving in Miami Nov. 20, 2022.  Featured ports on this two-week-long seagoing adventure include La Coruña and Vigo, Spain; Funchal (Maderia), Portugal; and Tenerife (Canary Islands), Spain.  Carnival Journeys cruises offer unique activities where guests can sample local cuisine and enjoy entertainment and cultural opportunities, along with cooking, arts and crafts and other special activities.
 
Exciting Addition to PortMiami

Once in Miami, Carnival Celebration will offer a special six-day Thanksgiving cruise visiting Grand Turk, Amber Cove and Nassau Nov. 21-27, 2022, then begin its year-round seven-day Caribbean cruise rotation on Nov. 27, 2022, offering week-long voyages departing Sundays to the eastern and western Caribbean.  Eastern Caribbean cruises call at Amber Cove, Dominican Republic; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. or St. Maarten, N.A., while the western Caribbean route features Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico; and Mahogany Bay, Isla Roatan.  

Two special eight-day cruises will depart Dec. 11 and Dec. 19, 2022 featuring stops at Grand Turk, Amber Cove, San Juan and St. Thomas, while a one-time five-day cruise to Amber Cove and Grand Turk will operate Jan. 3-8, 2023.
 
Additional Information and Reservations

More information on Carnival Celebration is available here.  To make a reservation on Carnival Celebration or any other of Carnival Cruise Line’s ships, contact any travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit www.carnival.com. 

HOME_Normally, reporting from Seatrade Global would carry a Miami dateline. But in the upside down year of 2020, the premier event for the cruise industry is being held virtually this week. So speakers, vendors, participants and press are attending from all over the world via the Internet.
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With the cruise industry mostly in drydock since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in March, dealing with the virus and when will cruising will fully restart dominate the discussions taking place, including Tuesday’s keynote — “State of the Global Cruise Industry: Perspectives on Cruising in the COVID-19 Era.”

READ MORE AT ALL THINGS CRUISE.

(PRESS RELEASE)_MIAMI, October 6, 2020 – Discerning travelers have once again recognized Crystal as the very best in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2020 Readers’ Choice Awards. Crystal Cruises and its Ocean ships Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity earned first place in the “Best Medium-Ship” category, while Crystal Yacht Cruises’ Crystal Esprit took the top spot in the “Best Small-Ship” category. Crystal River Cruises, which won Travel & Leisure’s World’s Best River Cruise Line this year, was also honored by Condé Nast Traveler readers as one of the best in the “Best River-Ship” category.  Every year, Condé Nast Traveler invites its readers to vote for the awards, recognizing excellence throughout the travel industry. The 2020 awards mark the 27th year that Crystal has earned top acclaim.

“To earn the continued recognition of the world’s most discerning travelers is truly humbling and an honor we do not take lightly,” said Jack Anderson, Crystal’s interim president and CEO. “These awards are a testament to the dedication of our officers, staff and crew fleetwide, professionals who welcome every guest aboard as family whether they travel with us by Ocean, River, Yacht or soon, Expedition.  On behalf of our entire Crystal Family, I extend our sincere gratitude to the guests who voted for us and who continue to choose Crystal.

“The 2020 awards are especially poignant as we remember and honor the tireless expertise and passionate enthusiasm of Toni Neumeister, our senior vice president of hotel operations who passed away earlier this year. The steady leadership of Tom Wolber (former president & CEO) over the last three years as well as the support of the travel advisor community whose expert knowledge is valued by savvy travelers have also played critical roles in Crystal’s receipt of these accolades.

“This year has presented challenges for our company and our industry, and we know that travelers are eager to begin exploring again. As we continue preparations to welcome them back on board, we are focused on the well-being of our guests and crew, restoring trust in our shoreside service and continuing to elevate the experience aboard each and every Crystal ship,” Anderson continued.

Crystal’s Ocean ships remain the most awarded luxury ships at sea, inherently designed to offer more social space than most ships of similar size. Multiple globally inspired dining venues, an array of entertainment and acclaimed enrichment programs, fitness and wellness pursuits and a philosophy rooted in catering to the personal preferences of each guest continue to distinguish the Crystal Experience.

​Crystal Yacht Cruises’ Crystal Esprit is a distinctly exclusive destination unto itself. The 62-guest yacht offers the exceptional caliber of cuisine, service and elegant suites for which Crystal is known, in an intimate atmosphere that mirrors that of a private yacht. Crystal Esprit’s private marina is equipped for all manner of water adventures, complete with kayaks, paddle boards, snorkeling and scuba gear and even a private submersible for deep-water exploration.

Crystal’s award-winning brand experiences – Crystal Cruises, Crystal River Cruises, Crystal Yacht Cruises and the upcoming Crystal Expedition Cruises – offer all-inclusive itineraries of just a few nights to more than 100 nights, spanning all seven continents across the globe.

The safety of guests and crew members is Crystal’s number one priority and the fleet will resume service only when the company’s expert team and global health and government authorities indicate that it is safe to do so. Crystal has suspended all voyages across its fleet for the remainder of 2020, and introduced Crystal Clean+ – an evolving, enhanced version of Crystal’s already stringent protocols. The policies were developed with the latest data available from health experts and will be updated as new information and announced guidelines become available.

(PRESS RELEASE)_Seattle, Wash., Oct. 1, 2020 — In anticipation of Rotterdam’s float-out next week, Holland America Line celebrated the ship’s coin ceremony today, Thursday, Oct. 1, at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard in Italy. Following Italian shipbuilding tradition, Mai Elmar, executive director of Cruise Port Rotterdam in the Netherlands, served as the ship’s madrina and participated in the festivities.

During the socially responsible ceremony, Dutch coins minted in 1872 to honor Holland America Line’s first Rotterdam were welded to the outside deck of the ship to bring good fortune, followed by a blessing by the shipyard chaplain. In attendance were Antonio Quintano, director of the Fincantieri Marghera Shipyard; Cyril Tatar, Holland America Group’s vice president of newbuilding services; and Nico

Bleichrodt, vice president, international sales, for Holland America Line.  
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“We are pleased to honor the coin ceremony tradition and celebrate this milestone that signals less than a year until Rotterdam’s delivery,” said Gus Antorcha, president of Holland America Line. “With a name like Rotterdam, there is no other person more ideal than Mai Elmar to serve as the ship’s madrina. Mai’s name is synonymous with the cruise industry in the port city of Rotterdam and she has been a tremendous champion of our brand for decades. We’re thrilled to have her take on this special role.”

On Oct 7 Rotterdam’s drydock will be filled with water and the ship will be floated out to begin the next stage of construction at an outfitting pier. Rotterdam is scheduled to be delivered July 30, 2021.

(PRESS RELEASE)_MIAMI, October 1, 2020 – Following the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) decision to extend its no-sail order for cruise operations, Carnival Cruise Line is notifying guests and travel agents that it has cancelled cruises from all U.S. homeports except Miami and Port Canaveral for November and December 2020.  While operations from Miami and Port Canaveral in November and December are still not certain, Carnival is focusing its initial return to service from those two homeports, whenever that might occur.   

Carnival continues to work on protocols and procedures that would allow for the resumption of cruise operations, with a gradual, phased-in approach, designating Miami and Port Canaveral as the first two homeports for embarkations.  Cruises currently scheduled for November and December from those two homeports will remain in place for the time being while Carnival evaluates options.  However, the cruise line is providing guests booked on cruises in November and December out of Miami and Port Canaveral the ability to voluntarily cancel their reservation and receive the same offer that all other impacted guests are receiving, which includes a combination future cruise credit and onboard credit, or a full refund.

“As we have said throughout this pause, our return to operations will be gradual and phased in.  And while we are not making any presumptions, once cruising is allowed, we will center our initial start-up from the homeports of Miami and Port Canaveral,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.  “The health and safety of our guests, crew and communities we serve remain the cornerstone of our plans and decisions.  The patience and support of our guests and travel agent partners have been a huge motivation to our team as we have worked through this unprecedented situation and we are dedicated to getting back to operations when the time is right.”