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AuthorTopic: Recent News (Read 346 times)
Ian
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Recent News
« Thread Started on Mar 6, 2009, 6:22pm »
Today there were two cruise ship events in the news.

1st) The Fred Olsen Line cruise ship, Balmoral, was forced to sail in a zigzagged route to avoid pirates of the coast of Somalia and was required to send out distress flares and signals.

2nd) the MSC ship, Fantasia, had its lines snap while in a spanish port resulting in its passenger gangway to fall in the water.
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shipdaughterwife
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Re: Recent News
« Reply #1 on Mar 26, 2009, 10:12pm »
There will be some cruise ships going into Esquimalt Dry Dock in April, for repairs.
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Northern Exploration
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Re: Recent News
« Reply #2 on Mar 27, 2009, 6:48am »
With the economy being what is, cruise lines for the first time have been cancelling or delaying new ships. After the downturn following 9/11, orders were kept and the industry took advantage of their strong bank accounts and financing in place to prepare for the return to normal travel and perhaps even gain an advantage over competitors. Long story short, more cruise ships are now going into dry dock for extensive refits rather than be sold to other (lesser) cruise lines and replaced with new ships. Whether Victoria will see the bigger refits or will continue with the routine ones, remains to be seen. But it bodes well for the local industries because the builds are done overseas and more refits means more jobs in North America.
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Re: Recent News
« Reply #3 on May 11, 2009, 10:52am »

Quote:
Cruise line makes more room in Vancouver for 2010 Olympics

12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, May 10, 2009
Mary G. Ramos

More than 1,000 additional hotel rooms and suites will float into Vancouver for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Norwegian Cruise Lines' ship Norwegian Star will dock in North Vancouver during the Games Feb. 12-28, offering three- and four-day packages that include all shipboard meals and free shuttle service from the ship to the Sea Bus terminal for transportation into downtown Vancouver.

The ship offers 13 dining areas, eight lounges, a spa and nightly entertainment. Packages range from $1,050 to $8,800 per person depending on cabin and number of nights. Fees and taxes will add $100 per person per day.

Contact: New West Travel, 1-800-661-7281; www.newwesttravel.com/Van2010.cfm (click on "Stay at the Winter Games").

Link to article HERE.

I wonder where exactly the Norwegian Star will exactly be docking in North Van, especially since it mentions that a shuttle service will be required between the ship and the Lonsdale Quay Seabus terminal.

A good friend of mine has been trying to negotiate a place in North Van to dock their floating fishing lodge for the 2010 games. After all, the lodge spends 5 months in the Charlottes and 7 months under the Alex Fraser Bridge. . .might as well try and generate some revenue if you can.
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Re: Recent News
« Reply #4 on May 11, 2009, 1:25pm »
Shuttle service is vague enough the ship could be anchored in the harbour and a boat shuttle used ;). Seriously, I would think one of the shipyard piers could be even used if a van/bus service shuttled people to the Sea Bus.
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Re: Recent News
« Reply #5 on Sept 15, 2009, 7:59am »
I'm not sure this the correct thread.

The new Queen Mary 2 has a cruising speed of 29.62 kn. that''s very fast for an Ocean Liner.
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Re: Recent News
« Reply #6 on Sept 15, 2009, 8:06am »

Sept 15, 2009, 7:59am, gordon wrote:
I'm not sure this the correct thread.

The new Queen Mary 2 which I think goes into service early next year has a cruising speed of 28.5 kn. that''s very fast for an Ocean Liner.


If you don't see a thread that would be appropriate for your question, you can start a new thread...
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Re: Recent News
« Reply #7 on Sept 15, 2009, 8:32am »

Sept 15, 2009, 7:59am, gordon wrote:
The new Queen Mary 2 which I think goes into service early next year has a cruising speed of 28.5 kn. that''s very fast for an Ocean Liner.

Gordon, try running a search on the Queen Mary 2 before making your post and you will realize that she has been in service since 2004.

I have seen two good documentaries on this ship: one for the construction of the vessel, and another that does the trans-atlantic voyage with a full load of passengers.
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Re: Recent News
« Reply #8 on Sept 24, 2009, 4:39am »
In yesterdays Seattle Times http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/tr....rmissing23.html

Passenger missing from Alaska cruise ship

U.S., Canadian authorities search for a 67-year-old woman missing from the Sapphire Princess cruise ship sailing from Ketchikan to Vancouver, B.C.

By Kristin Jackson

Seattle Times Travel staff

U.S. and Canadian ships and aircraft are searching for a passenger who is missing from a cruise ship traveling from Ketchikan, Alaska, to Vancouver, B.C.

The 67-year-old woman was reported missing to the U.S. Coast Guard about 11 a.m. today.

The woman, a U.S. citizen, was noticed to be missing when she didn't leave the Sapphire Princess after it arrived in Vancouver this morning. The Princess Cruises ship left Ketchikan on Monday afternoon.

The U.S. Coast Guard said its search area begins in Ketchikan and runs 86 miles south to include Dixon Entrance, Tongass Narrows and the northern end of Hecate Strait; it's using a plane, helicopter and boat. Canadian authorities are searching along the British Columbia coast from Hecate Strait south about 500 miles to Vancouver, B.C. The cruise ship has been searched by crew; no signs of the woman were found, said the Coast Guard, and her belongings were found in her stateroom. Her name is being withheld until next-of-kind are notified.

In August, another passenger went missing from an Alaska cruise ship. Amber Malkuch, of Arlington, Snohomish County, who was traveling aboard Holland America's Zaandam cruise ship, was found dead in the waters off Alaska's Douglas Island. Foul play was not suspected.
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Re: Recent News
« Reply #9 on Sept 26, 2009, 9:10am »
An update from Friday's Juneau Empire http://juneauempire.com/stories/092509/reg_497333441.shtml
Thoughts and prayers to the victim's family and friends.

Coast Guard suspends search for missing passenger

Juneau Empire

ANCHORAGE - The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for a missing cruise ship passenger.

Coast Guard officials say recent information from Princess Cruise Line officials indicates that 67-year-old Edelgard Carney of Sutter Creek, Calif., reportedly went overboard in Canadian waters.

The Coast Guard began searching Wednesday when the ship arrived at the Port of Vancouver, British Columbia, and Carney did not leave the ship. The search was concentrated between Ketchikan and Vancouver.

The Coast Guard says Carney is now reported to have fallen from the cruise ship Sapphire Princess early Tuesday morning, about 200 miles south of Ketchikan, or 57 miles east of Graham Island in Canada.

The Coast Guard searched more than 800 miles of ocean in two days. The Coast Guard says it will assist Canadian authorities if needed.
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M/V LeConte
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Re: Recent News
« Reply #10 on Oct 29, 2009, 2:37am »
That's right, "225,282 gross registered tons!" That would only be 169.6, "1328 gross registered ton" LeConte's all rolled into one! :o


From the MarineLog: http://www.marinelog.com/DOCS/NEWSMMIX/2009oct00280.html


Royal Caribbean takes delivery of Oasis of the Seas

October 28, 2009

Royal Caribbean takes delivery of Oasis of the Seas
After nearly six years in the making, Royal Caribbean International took delivery today of the world's largest cruise ship, the 225,282 grt Oasis of the Seas, from STX Europe in Turku, Finland.

Kicking off the 12-day countdown until her U.S. debut into Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, Oasis of the Seas will be departing Turku on Friday, Oct. 30 with Captain William S. Wright at the helm.

The Oasis of the Seas is 361 meters long and 66 meters wide at its widest point and, at the highest, it rises 72 meters above the sea level. The gross tonnage is 225,000. At the best, the vessel can accommodate 6,360 passengers and 2,100 crew members. The ship features 16 passenger decks and 2,704 staterooms.

Oasis of the Seas is equipped with a total of six Wartsila 46 engines, three 12-cylinder and three 16-cylinder engines, generating more than 96 MW. Cruising speed is 22.6 knots.

An architectural marvel at sea, she spans 16 decks, encompasses 225,282 gross registered tons, carries 5,400 guests at double occupancy, and features 2,700 staterooms. Oasis of the Seas is the first ship to feature the cruise line's new neighborhood concept of seven distinct themed areas, which includes Central Park, Boardwalk, the Royal Promenade, the Pool and Sports Zone, Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center, Entertainment Place and Youth Zone.

Oasis of the Seas introduces many other industry "firsts" including the first park at sea, a thrilling zip line that races diagonally nine-decks above an open-air atrium, an original handcrafted carousel, 28 multilevel urban-style loft suites boasting floor-to-ceiling windows, an aquatic amphitheater-- called the AquaTheater--that serves as a pool by day and a dazzling ocean front theater by night; and what's described as "an array of epicurean innovations that allow for new culinary experiences each day of a guest's cruise vacation."

The official naming ceremony for Oasis of the Seas will take place on November 30 during a one night inaugural celebration-fundraiser to benefit the non-profit Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.
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Flugel Horn
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Re: Recent News
« Reply #11 on Nov 1, 2009, 10:52pm »
World's largest cruise ship narrowly clears Danish bridge


Quote:
The world's largest cruise ship cleared a crucial obstacle Sunday, lowering its smokestacks to squeeze under a bridge in Denmark.

The Oasis of the Seas — which rises about 20 stories high — passed below the Great Belt Fixed Link with a slim margin as it left the Baltic Sea on its maiden voyage to Florida.

Bridge operators said that even after lowering its telescopic smokestacks the giant ship had less than a half-metre gap.


Full story here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/worl....article1347025/
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Re: Recent News
« Reply #12 on Nov 2, 2009, 7:07am »

Nov 1, 2009, 10:52pm, Flugel Horn wrote:
World's largest cruise ship narrowly clears Danish bridge


Quote:
The world's largest cruise ship cleared a crucial obstacle Sunday, lowering its smokestacks to squeeze under a bridge in Denmark.

The Oasis of the Seas — which rises about 20 stories high — passed below the Great Belt Fixed Link with a slim margin as it left the Baltic Sea on its maiden voyage to Florida.

Bridge operators said that even after lowering its telescopic smokestacks the giant ship had less than a half-metre gap.


Full story here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/worl....article1347025/


I can't imagine being on a ship with 6,000 or so other people. Friends just went on a small ship cruise of the mediterranean. That sounds like much more my style. I think they said there was only 400 people on the ship.

I always chose to stay at a particular brand of hotel in NYC. Instead of staying at the largest convention hotel in midtown NYC, I stayed downtown because it was much less crowded and humane in scale. I have friends who hate hotels and stay in small B & B's. That as well doesn't feel like my style either.

So different strokes for different folks. For routine cruisers, the larger and the more choice of restaurants and activities the better. The one neat thing that I find intriguing about this new ship is the outdoor ampitheatre. The rest just sounds like Vegas on the water to me.
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Re: Recent News
« Reply #13 on Nov 27, 2009, 12:49am »
Hmmm... I think this falls under news more than photos, though there are great photos.

Princess Cruises is doing a complete makeover of the Tahitian Princess (soon to be the Ocean Princess). They have put together a Journal to show the work and their progress. I am always amazed at how much they can get done in such a short period of time!

http://www.princess.com/oceandrydock/index.html

Enjoy!
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