Following a backward river transit that involved the dismantling of a railroad bridge and several tight squeezes, the 122,400-ton, 2,884-passenger Celebrity Silhouette inched a step closer to its July 21 launch.

The backward cruise, termed a "conveyance," took more than 12 hours and covered 26 miles of the River Ems. A tugboat pulled Silhouette from Meyer Werft's inland shipyard in Pappenberg, Germany, to the North Sea port of Eemshaven, Netherlands, where the fourth ship in Celebrity's Solstice-class will undergo finishing work and sea trials.

"The scale of the vessel and the geography of the shipyard forces the Captain to steer the ship backwards out of the yard, assisted by tugboats fore and aft, and along the River Ems," said Celebrity in a statement. At points along the route, there were less than 5 feet of room to maneuver, and at the town of Weener, a railroad bridge was dismantled and a section lifted out by a floating crane to allow Silhouette to pass.

Silhouette completed the conveyance under ideal conditions -- at high tide and with little wind -- and traveled at a speed of less than four miles per hour.

The window for a successful transit can close quickly. Celebrity turned away a group of journalists scheduled to make the transit at the last moment after Silhouette was given the all clear several hours earlier than expected. "The timings for the conveyance have shifted a few times in the last few days. This is the nature of the beast as the weather conditions have to be absolutely right," said Celebrity spokeswoman Sarah Rathbone.

Silhouette will be named on July 21 in Hamburg, Germany, and Cruise Critic will be on hand for the festivities. The ship will then sail a series of 12-night Eastern Mediterranean cruises from Rome, before repositioning to Cape Liberty, New Jersey, for a season of 12-night Southern and Eastern Caribbean cruises.

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This item was written by veteran cruise writer Fran Golden, who is serving as Guest Editor of The Cruise Log while USA TODAY Cruise Editor Gene Sloan is away.

UPDATE, 12:12 p.m.: A Princess spokeswoman says 44 passengers were also reported ill with norovirus on the Sea Princess' May 10 sailing.

ORIGINAL POST: The beginning of the Alaska cruise season has already seen two significant outbreaks of norovirus on the 2,000­passenger Sea Princess, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

The ship last month began its season of 10­day Inside Passage cruises from San Francisco, calling at Victoria, British Columbia and ports in Alaska.
On the May 20 cruise, 128 passengers and 13 crew fell ill with symptoms of norovirus, which include vomiting and diarrhea, according to the CDC.

On the next sailing, which embarked on May 30, 135 passengers fell ill along with 6 of the 840­member crew.

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In both cases Princess Cruises dispatched additional housekeeping and health staff from the corporate office "to supervise prevention and control measures," according to the CDC.
Health officers from the CDC Vessel Sanitation Program and Canadian health officials boarded the Sea Princess at ports to conduct tests. The Health Canada lab confirmed all specimens taken from the first cruise were positive for norovirus, genotype II.

According to KCAW­FM Public Radio in Sitka, Alaska, embarkation of the Sea Princess' current sailing, from San Francisco on June 9, was pushed back four hours while crews conducted an extensive disinfection of the ship.

The delay was significant enough to force itinerary changes – Sitka received an unscheduled visit this week after a call at Haines was canceled, the radio station reports.
According to the CDC, the cleaning was "red level."

Princess says there have been no additional cases of norovirus on the current Sea Princess sailing. "We're in a much better place, thankfully," said spokeswoman Karen Candy.
The CDC requires cruise ships that call at U.S. ports to report the total number of gastrointestinal illness cases before the ship arrives. A separate notification is required when the GI illness count exceeds 2% of the total number of passengers or crew onboard. The CDC issues a public report when the number exceeds 3% ­­in the two Sea Princess cases, 6.23% and 6.3% of passengers were ill, respectively.

As reported in Cruise Log in January, the number of outbreaks of norovirus on cruise ships has decreased in recent years. The CDC recorded just 14 outbreaks on ships in 2010.

In 2010, the Ocean Liner Society chose Croisières de France and its 37,301­ton Bleu de France (delivered in 1982 as Hapag­Lloyd Cruises’ previous Europa) for its annual group cruise. This “all­inclusive” cruise proved such a success that in 2012 the Society is returning to Croisières de France to sample its latest ship, the 46,811­ton Horizon, the first new ship to be built for Celebrity Cruises in 1990.

The 2012 cruise will take the “Tutti Frutti” itinerary, departing Marseilles on Sunday, 27th May for Portofino, Rome, Salerno, Trapani and Valetta, with a full day spent at sea before returning to Marseilles.


Celebrity Cruises was formed by Chandris Cruises in April 1988 in order to fulfil a new cruise contract it had negotiated with the Government of Bermuda. As well as acquiring the Italian liner Galilio Galileo, which it rebuilt in 1988/89 and renamed Meridian, Celebrity built two new ships specifically for the Bermuda run. These were the sister ships Horizon of 1990 and the Zenith of 1992. The Horizon‘s initial run was the weekly service between New York and Bermuda, serving both St George’s, on the islands’ east end, and Hamilton. Regular service between New York and Hamilton had been started as far back as 1864 by the Quebec Steamship Co Ltd, which was taken over in 1919 by the Furness Bermuda Line, and which in turn lasted until 1966.

In 1997, Celebrity Cruises was bought by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd and the newer and larger ships of the Century and Millenium classes were introduced, eventually making the Horizon the smallest ship in the fleet. In 2005, the Horizon was allocated to a new joint venture with TUI Group called Island Cruises, taking on the new name of Island Star. When Royal Caribbean withdrew from Island Cruises, she rejoined her sister ship Zenith at Royal Caribbean­controlled Pullmantur Cruises in Spain and was again renamed, this time as Pacific Dream. Now having reverted to her original name, Horizon will join Pullmantur’s French­based cruise operation Croisières de France in the spring of 2012 to replace the Bleu de France, which has been sold to Saga Cruises to become the Saga Sapphire.
OLS group fares are valid for a minimum number of double cabins, and there is a limited number of category DE and DI cabins available for singles with no single supplement provided enough doubles are booked. Bookings can be made through the OLS group agent The Cruise People Ltd in London.

2012 Horizon fares compare very well with Bleu de France fares in 2010 as lead­in prices are lower – €510 per person for an inside cabin compared to €585 in 2010 and €630 per person for an outside cabin compared to €850 in 2010.
While fares are all­inclusive of passage, full board, port charges and drinks, spirits, wine and beer in the dining rooms and bars on board, a service charge of €65 per person for gratuities will be added to your on board account.

Barcelona (ACN).- Friday was the second busiest day for number of cruise ship passengers at the Port of Barcelona. Seven liners arrived on Friday with a total of 27,200 passengers on board. Three of the ships are more than 300 metres long. Three of the seven ships do a "turnaround" (ending a trip and starting a new one) through Barcelona's harbour: the Costa Serena, Carnival Magic, and MSC Splendida. The other four are only passing through: the Noordam, Aidavita, Thomson Dream and Independence of the Seas. According to the journey scheduled, the busiest day of the year will be August 20th, when nine cruise ships with a total of 31,000 passengers will be stopping in the city. This data shows the importance of Barcelona Port on the world's cruise ship map.

The industry is clearly led by the United States, and the State of Florida in particular, as the top three ranking ports are from there (Miami, Everglades and Canaveral). The fourth position belongs to the Port of Barcelona, being the top European port as well as the first in the Mediterranean Sea. It is the preferred origin and ending point, and a must-do stop within cruise trips in the Mediterranean Sea, before Palma de Mallorca, Naples, Civitavecchia (Rome), or Piraeus (Athens).

In 2010, 2,347,976 cruise passengers passed through Barcelona, a 9.06% increase compared to 2009. However, forecasts for 2011 foresee an increase that could reach 18% if the most optimistic predictions are met. More than 50 cruise liners operate through the Port of Barcelona and many of them use it for boarding and embarkment. Barcelona's port authorities are fostering this trend by installing flight check-in facilities into the cruise terminals, which enable passengers to check in next to the ship and not at Barcelona El Prat Airport.
Cruise liners specialise in different market niches, depending on the client's socioeconomic situation and nationality. 18% of cruise ship passengers going through Barcelona are British, 17% come from the United States, 17% are Spanish, 14% are Italian, 9% are German and 4% are French.

P&O Cruises New 141,000-ton Cruise Ship For March 2015 Will Have Two Funnels
01/06/2011

The new P&O cruise ship will have two traditional fore-and-aft funnels
P&O Cruises has today announced an order for a new 141,000-ton cruise ship to be based on the recently-designed platform for Princess Cruises' Royal Princess and Regal Princess, which will be introduced in 2013 and 2014, respectively. The new P&O ship will accommodate 3,611 passengers in lower berths. What is most interesting about the design is P&O's reversion in the new ship to a more traditional appearance in that she will feature two conventional funnels in P&O's sandy yellow. This is unusal in that P&O went straight from three funnels with the Strathnaver and Strathaird, the first P&O ships to carry the now traditional white hull in 1931-32, to one funnel in the Strathmore, Strathallan and Stratheden of 1935-38. The last important P&O ship to have had two funnels arranged fore and aft was the original Oriana, built for the Orient Line in 1960. Previous to that, the most famous two-funnelled P&O ship was the Viceroy of India, delivered in 1929.

The last major P&O ship to have been built with two funnels was the Viceroy of India in 1929
To be built at Fincantieri's Monfalcone yard, the new ship will cost about €560 million, or €155,000 per lower berth. Ushering in a new era for P&O Cruises, the ship will offer a stylish and innovative design and an unprecedented number of passenger facilities, along with many of the line's classic and iconic features. Specifications will be announced at a later date.

The original Oriana was built for the Orient Line in 1960 and became a P&O ship in 1965
Commented Micky Arison, Carnival Corporation & plc's chairman and CEO, "P&O Cruises is Britain's number one cruise operator, and is synonymous with high quality holidays that celebrate its rich British heritage. The UK continues to be a key growth market and innovative vessels such as this new P&O Cruises ship – targeted specifically to British clientele – underscore our commitment to leading the expansion of this important cruise region. With a progression of highly successful new ships introduced over the last 15 years, P&O Cruises is uniquely experienced in designing vessels to meet the specific needs and aspirations of British passengers."

P&O Cruises Managing Director Carol Marlow said, "This next-generation ship will deliver the ultimate P&O Cruises experience, with 'sophisticated wows' and new features to attract thousands of newcomers to our brand, and equally to resonate with existing P&O Cruises passengers by giving them the 'P&O-ness' they recognise and love. She will offer 'the best of the best,' combining the favourite classic features of Oriana and Aurora, the choice and variety of Azura and Ventura, and a host of new ideas and concepts which together will deliver to our passengers the holiday of a lifetime, every time they travel with us."
Two funnels have made quite a comeback in the past decade or so. Starting with the original Disney Magic and Disney Wonder in 1998-99, these were followed by six Holland America "Vista" types (Zuiderdam through Nieuw Amsterdam) in 2002-10 and joined by five Celebrity Solstice class ships in 2008-12, then Disney Dream this year and Disney Fantasy to follow next. Cruise ships have now entered a size bracket where two funnels have become relatively common once again. Indeed, after the new P&O ship is delivered there will be sixteen ships carrying two funnels in the fore-and-aft mode. Meanwhile, the last of the traditional two-funnelled ships, NCL's Norway, was retired in 2003.

Thursday, 02 June 2011

The sleek silhouette of Celebrity Cruises' new Celebrity Silhouette has emerged from Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, where numerous area residents lined up to be among the first to see the fourth in Celebrity's stylish, five-ship Solstice Class fleet.

Celebrity Silhouette sets sail in July of this year, enhancing guests' precious vacation time with a host of industry-first venues and experiences within The Lawn Club, including the interactive "Lawn Club Grill," where guests can select and grill their own meats side-by-side with Celebrity's expert chefs, or have them cooked to order; the relaxing, private, wi-fi-equipped cabanas called "The Alcoves";

"The Porch," a breezy, casual dining spot offering sandwiches, coffees and captivating views of the sea and the ship's lush lawn, and "The Art Studio," where vacationers can bring out their inner artist. The ship also will present another entirely new venue, "The Hideaway," an intimate, quiet space reminiscent of a childhood tree house

MONDAY, 06 JUNE 2011

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, the world's second largest cruise shipping group, will transfer 11 ships to a new company in the UK to facilitate the group's growth and to take advantage of the UK tonnage tax system, the company says in its 2010 annual report.
"The Brilliance of the Seas is operated by a company that is strategically and commercially managed in the United Kingdom,which has elected to be subject to the United Kingdom tonnage tax regime," RCCLsaid.

"Commencing in 2011, to facilitate our growth strategy, an additional 11 ships from our fleet will be operated by a newly created company that is strategically and commercially managed in the UnitedKingdom and will also elect to be subject to the U.K. tonnage tax regime."
"Companies subject to U.K. tonnage tax pay a corporate tax on a notional profit determined with reference to the net tonnage of qualifying vessels. Normal United Kingdom corporate income tax is not charg-able on the relevant shipping profits of a qualifying U.K. tonnage tax company. The requirements for a company to qualify for the U.K. tonnage tax regime include being subject to United Kingdom corporate income tax."

Operating qualifying ships, which are strategicall yand commercially managed in the United Kingdom, also have to fulfill a seafarer training requirement. "Failure to meet any of these requirements could cause us to lose the benefit of the tonnage tax regime which will have a material effect on our results of operations," RCCL said.

United Kingdom income from non- shipping activities which do not qualify under the U.K. tonnage tax regime and which are not considered significant, remain subject to United Kingdom