Carnival Cruises

Carnival Cruises have confirmed availability of a new upgrade for passengers.

The “Faster To The Fun” option, costing $49.95 per stateroom, will be trialled on the Carnival Imagination from 20th August and the Carnival Liberty from 25th August.

Benefits include:

• Priority Boarding
• Stateroom Available Immediately
• Luggage Sent To Your Stateroom Immediately
• Priority Disembarkation At Ports Of Call (Including Priority Tender)
• Priority Dining Reservations

cruiseastute.com says …

“Cruise lines typically ask you to board at around 3pm, however it is quite normal for passengers to start to arrive around noon. With staterooms typically available between 1pm and 3pm these early passengers tend to wander off to the lunch buffet and explore the ship whilst waiting for their cabins to become available.

Luggage is taken to your stateroom as standard, however this may not happen until 5pm or even after the ship sails.

This new option will allow you to use your cabin immediately and to unpack your suitcase or have a nap prior to exploring the ship. With the additional port & dining benefits it certainly seems good value at $49.95 per cabin and we expect it to be popular (book early as places are limited).

BUT… all is not as rosy as it sounds.

Passengers who are at Platinum or Diamond grade on Carnival’s VIFP (Very Important Fun Person) loyalty programme already get these benefits and are unlikely to be impressed with them being offered to others at a price. Particularly as it’s likely to make their priority queues longer.

It could also be said that this is the beginning of the cruise lines copying the airlines where your ticket is for the basic amenities (the cruise) and all other items (dining, entertainment, sports facilities etc) are extra cost options.”

The “Faster Way To The Fun” option can be purchased online here or via your travel agent.

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Costa Concordia

The Costa Concordia hit a rock close to the Isola Del Giglio, Italy on 13^th January 2012. In this article we piece together the various stories and reports of the disaster to create a comprehensive review of events to date. Of course further details will emerge later this year during the inquiry and trial of the captain as well as during the salvage of the vessel and we will provide further updates in our daily articles.

It is 9:42pm on the night of 13^th January 2012. The Costa Concordia, a 952ft long Italian cruise ship with 3,206 passengers and 1,023 crew on board, is on a seven night cruise bound for the Italian port of Savona. Passenger muster drills which legally don’t have to be carried out for 24 hours but are normally completed before or shortly after sailing have not taken place.

The ship has left the Italian mainland port of Civitavecchia, a major cruise embarkation port and the main port for the Italian capital Rome, at 7:33pm. The 114,137 ton vessel built in 2006 is the largest ship ever to have been built in Italy and one of the larger cruise liners in the world.

The Captain, Francesco Schettino, has turned off the ship’s navigation alarm at 9:39pm and is navigating by sight as he deviates from the programmed course to perform a sailpast of the Isola del Giglio. Some Costa ships have occasionally performed this sailpast before but Schettino is taking the €450million Concordia much closer to the island claiming that “I knew those seabeds well. I had done the move three, four times”.

The ship’s Maitre d’hôtel is on the bridge watching the ship sail past his home having been invited by the Captain. Schettino himself is on the phone to retired Costa Captain Mario Palombo telling him “Seeing as we’re passing the island, we’ll sound the siren for you”. Suddenly he sees waves breaking on the Le Scole reef about 800 metres south of the entrance to Giglio harbor on the east coast of the island. He turns the Concordia abruptly but the side of the ship hits the exposed reef at 16 knots embedding a large rock in the port side of the ship and creating a 160ft gash. Two long strips of steel are sheared from the ship’s hull breaching three of the seven watertight compartments.

Most passengers are in the main dining room when they hear a loud bang and feel a shudder. Dishes crash to the floor and the ship lists to port. A crew member speaking over the ship’s public address system blames the situation on an electrical failure.

A few minutes later the head of the engine room warns Captain Schettino that the ship has an irreparable 70 metre tear in the hull and that the engines and generators are submerged. The Concordia now continues north past Giglio harbor under her own momentum.

At 9:56pm, Schettino phones Roberto Ferrarini, an officer at Costa Cruise’s head office. “Roberto, I ****ed up” he says.

At 10:10pm, the ship makes a sharp turn south causing it to list to Starboard by about 20 degrees. This list would later cause difficulty in launching the lifeboats.

At 10:12pm, the ship is contacted by the coastguard on the Italian Mainland following mobile phone calls from passengers to Italian police reporting that the ship was in trouble. An unidentified crew member tells the coastguard that the ship is suffering from an “electrical blackout”.

At 10:20pm, passenger video footage shows passengers in lifejackets being told by the crew that “everything is under control” and urging them to return to their cabins.

At 10:26pm, the Captain tells the Port of Livorno’s harbormaster that the ship has taken in water on the port side and requests a tug.

At around 10:30pm, nearly an hour after the collision, the ship’s cook claims that Captain Schettino orders dinner, whilst a police patrol boat calls the Concordia but receives no reply.

It’s 10:42pm when the ship’s crew finally sound the general emergency alarms and alert port authorities to the collision.

At 10:44pm, the Concordia comes to rest at Punta Del Gabbinara leaning at an angle of 70 degrees in 20 metres of water. Some passengers jump into water and swim to shore whilst others are forced to wait as the crew delay launching the lifeboats.

The off-duty captain of the Costa Serena, Roberto Bosio, happens to be onboard catching a lift back to Savona. Bosio, suspecting that ship is doomed, begins to co-ordinate the evacuation of the ship whilst, back on the bridge, video shows Captain Schettino seeming confused and dithering about what to do.

Finally, at 10:50pm, the order to abandon ship is given.

At around 11:30pm, according to investigators, Captain Schettino leaves the ship.

At 12:42am Captain Schettino tells the coastguard that he’s in a lifeboat, he would later claim that he tripped and fell into it.

At 1:04am an Air Force officer is lowered onboard from a helicopter and reports 100 people still aboard.

At 1:46am Italian Coastguard Captain Gregorio De Falco contacts Schettino in the lifeboat and orders him to get back onboard the ship. Schettino makes various excuses as to why he can’t.

At 3:44am, the Air Force officer reports that around 40 to 50 passengers are still on board.

At 4:46am the Port of Livorno harbormaster notes that the evacuation is completed in his log.

The days immediately after the disaster

Italian dive teams began to search the wreck and sea bed the following day (14^th January 2012) in an operation that lasted for 16 days until 30^th January.

The divers worked in pitch black conditions with large items of furniture floating around inside the wreck. They worked in pairs for safety searching each area slowly in a zigzag manner for up to 40 minutes at a time. The two torches on their helmets provided visibility from a few inches to about 2 feet.

On 14^th January two South Korean newlyweds Jeong Hye Jim and Kideok Hanmarito who were rescued from a cabin two decks above the waterline. The ship’s Cabin service director Manrico Giampedroni was also rescued after suffering a broken leg.

The search effort had to be suspended several times as the ship, which was resting on a marine ledge with a drop of 68m, shifted slightly. Holes were blasted into the Concordia’s hull to access further areas.

On 20^th January, divers recovered the body of the 16^th victim on deck 4.

On 28^th January the 17^th victim, Peruvian crew member Erika Fani Soriamolina was recovered from a submerged part of the wreck on deck 6.

On 12^th February, after being delayed due to poor weather at the site, the Dutch salvage firm Smit began to remove 2,380 tonnes of fuel and oil from the ship.

Despite the diving operation being terminated on 31^st January, information from passengers guided rescue teams to the location of 8 further bodies on 28^th February including that of 5-year-old Dayana Arlotti.

On 22^nd March the bodies of Americans Barbara and Gerald Heil, Christina Mathi and Norbert Josef Ganz of Germany, and Giuseppe Girolamo, an Italian were discovered in a location believed to be in the ship’s hull.

On 24^th March the de-fuelling operation was completed.

The Future

It is believed that although the Concordia will be recovered to an Italian port, it is likely to be a total insurance loss and will therefore be broken up for scrap. The CEO of Costa Cruises told an American Senate committee “We believe that the wreck can no longer be put to use”.

For more information about the salvage operation, please consult our previous article.

The post Costa Concordia Disaster – A Review appeared first on Cruiseastute Blog.

Crystal Symphony

Crystal Cruises have completed their $65 million refit of the Crystal Symphony.

Design teams from the UK and US have taken over 5 years to redesign every room on the ship. The major public rooms such as the Galaxy Showroom and Hollywood Theatre have also received makeovers

cruiseastute.com says :

“Despite only having a fleet of 2 ships, Crystal Cruises are consistantly rated highly winning many annual awards.

Their medium sized ships nicely fill a gap between the mega-ships of the large cruise lines and the small specialist ships.

You should expect some nice luxury touches without the close-knit and sometimes stuffy atmosphere of the smaller lines.”

You can track the Crystal Symphony here or view its webcam here.

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Titanic 2

In their song “Little Blue”, the Beautiful South sang “..you don’t name your boat Titanic 2…”, however on 30th April Australian company Blue Star Line announced their intention to do just that.

The company has today released a preliminary deck plan of the proposed new Liner, drawn up by Finnish marine design specialists Deltamarine.

Titanic 2 Deck Plan

Blue Star Line, lead by Australian magnate Clive Palmer, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese shipbuilders CSC Jinling to build the new ship. CSC Jinling are better known as container and cargo shipbuilders, however the Chinese are known to want a larger share of the cruise shipbuilding market which is dominated by European yards.

Controversially, Mr Palmer has invited the Chinese Navy to escort the Titanic 2 into New York Harbour on its maiden voyage in 2016.

Mr Palmer said that the Titanic would have the same dimensions as its ill-fated predecessor but would be powered by 21st century technology. He suggested that it would adhere to the first, second and third class passenger system as practised on the original Titanic. A few changes have been forced on the design team to comply with current safety standards including the insertion of a new “safety deck” which would include extra lifeboats.

cruiseastute.com says …

“The tone of the press releases for this project and the heavily media focussed nature of the company’s website lead us to question whether this is just a publicity stunt for Mr Palmer’s business empire, particularly as he indicates that a deck of the ship will host an exhibition to the business opportunities in his native Queensland, Australia. We also can’t see that the American’s would be too pleased at having the Chinese navy escorting her into New York Harbour!

It will be interesting to watch the project and see what happens – 4 years is not long to design a ship from scratch and build her. The big designers and shipyards are capable of working to this timeframe, however these ships are all of a fairly standard design and construction, whilst Titanic 2 would be quite unique. Let’s wait and see”.

The post Will Titanic 2 Ever Sail ? appeared first on Cruiseastute Blog.

Queen Elizabeth II

When the QEII retired, a Dubai firm bought her for $100million with a view to turning the iconic ship into a luxury hotel.

The plan was to transform the liner into a majestic hotel, however this fell victim to the 2009 financial crisis in Dubai.

The iconic ship is now set to be the main attraction in the rejuvenation of Port Rachid, the Dubai commercial port where she is currently moored.

Traditionalists will be pleased that the owners have realised people like the ship as she originally looked instead of something totally different. Rather than being rejuvenated into a 1,000 room floating resort, the QEII will now keep 300 authentic rooms along with many original fittings.

The post QEII To Retain More Of Her Original Rooms appeared first on Cruiseastute Blog.

MSC Divina In Venice

The arrival of the 140,000 tonne MSC Divinia, the largest cruise ship to visit Venice, sparked protests on Saturday.

Campaigners are complaining that the large cruise ships block views and pollute the air.

Sophia Loren, Italian film star and godmother of the MSC Divinia, became embroiled in the dispute as the “No Big Ships Venice Committee” called on her to dis-associate her name with the ship. The group claim that the big ships not only pollute the air, but that their vibrations and wake cause damage to the foundations of the historic buildings.

cruiseastute.com says …

“Whilst we have some sympathy with the protesters – clearly people visit Venice for the architecture and not to look at modern cruise ships – these ships also bring valuable tourism to the local economy. With ships such as the MSC Divina carrying more than 4,000 passengers the cruise industry is worth many millions of euros and countless jobs for local people who should be careful what they wish for. Would they rather look at a couple of cruise ships (which only pass the main tourist areas as they dock on the outskirts of the city), or be unemployed?”

The post Venice Residents Want To Ban Cruise Ships appeared first on Cruiseastute Blog.

Costa Concordia Satellite Image

The salvage operation which will re-float and then remove the Costa Concordia from the Isola Del Giglo in Italy will be the biggest and costliest in history, the ship’s owners Costa Cruises revealed today.

The £190m project will begin in the next few days but will take over a year to complete.

Stage 1 – Flotation tanks to be attached to the side of the hull

An Italian-American consortium Titan-Micoperi will carry out the salvage operation on the ship which is currently lying on rocks at an angle of 80 degrees.

Stage 2 – Chains will prevent the wreck sliding during the lifting operation

A 40m platform will first be built underneath the ship and the 160ft gash in the hull repaired.

Stage 3 – Platform will support the ship during operation

Once all parts are in place, two cranes will pull the Concordia upright before it is re-floated and taken away.

Stage 4 – The Concordia is ready to be pulled upright

Once the wreck is removed the platform will be dismantled, the sea bed cleaned, and marine flora replanted.

Stage 5 – The ship is pulled upright and will rest on the platform ready to be floated

The operation will be co-ordinated on the Italian mainland in order to reduce the impact on normal port operations.

cruiseastute.com says …

“The scale of this operation is unprecedented and is additionally complicated by the fact that the area is environmentally sensitive meaning that the ship can’t be cut up.”

The post £190m Plan To Salvage Costa Concordia Revealed appeared first on Cruiseastute Blog.

Costa Fascinosa Leaving Venice

Costa have today taken delivery of the new Fascinosa from Italian Shipbuilders Fincantieri.

The 114,500 ton cruise ship which can carry 3,800 passengers was handed over at a ceremony in Venice. Over 3,000 workers have built the €510 million Fascinosa at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard.

The Costa Fascinosa will sail from Venice on her maiden voyage on 11th May bound for Greece, Israel and Turkey.

The ship implements the latest green technology, plugging into local power in ports to allow the engines to shut down. The ship is also equipped to separate waste and recycle aluminium and glass.

cruiseastute.com says …

“It must be a relief for Costa Cruises executives to have something positive to celebrate after a torrid start to the year with the Concordia disaster and the fire aboard the Costa Allegra.

The Fascinosa is of the same design as the Costa Concordia, however this should not concern passengers as it increasingly seems that the Concordia disaster was caused by the Captain and crew rather than any problem with the ship itself.”

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Azamara Quest Docking In Malaysia

The Azamara Quest, which suffered a fire in the engine room on Friday has today docked in the port of Sandakan, Borneo.

Escorted by two Malaysian patrol vessels, the ship made its way into port at around 8.30pm local time.

Due to the fire damage the remainder of the 17 night cruise which began in Hong Kong last Monday has been cancelled Azamara Cruises said.

‘As a gesture of goodwill and to thank our guests for their understanding, we will be providing all guests with a full refund for their cruise,’ the company said in its statement.

cruiseastute.com says …

“Small fires, particularly in the engine room, are not uncommon in any ship, however this does seem a little larger than normal as the remainder of the cruise has had to be cancelled. Nevertheless, it is doubtful if it would have been reported in the mainstream press if the Concordia disaster and Costa Allegra fire had not taken place earlier this year.”

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Azamara Quest

A fire broke out in the engine room of the Azamara Quest at 8:19pm on Friday (30th March) in the Sulu Sea about 130 kilometers (70 nautical miles) south of the Philippines’ Tubbataha Reef but was quickly extinguished by the crew.

It is understood that power and propulsion was briefly lost, but quickly restored and the ship is moving slowly towards Sandakan which is the next scheduled port of call.

The ship’s Captain has apparently emailed the coastguard to say that everything is under control and no assistance is required, however the coastguard has said that it will provide assistance to the vessel ‘while it is inside our area of  responsibility.’

Five crew suffered smoke inhalation,  including one who was seriously injured and needed hospital care.

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