Costa Cruise Lines
Two Costa ships are pairing up with Carnival to offer a new concept. Costa ships will depart from the U.S., offering an experience that will “marry the great service, food, and entertainment that Carnival guests enjoy with Costa’s Italian design features.
The Costa Venezia will join the Carnival fleet in the spring of 2023, sailing from New York to be followed by the Costa Firenze, sailing from Long Beach, CA, in the spring of 2024.
Both ships are sister vessels to the Carnival Vista, Horizon and Panorama. Each of the ships accommodates 4232 guests at double occupancy. Both Costa ships will bring Carnival’s guests the ambiance and beauty of Italy, bringing a unique experience to those who love Italy’s culture, food and vibe.
The Costa ships will continue operating their regular itineraries until they are assigned to Carnival for dry dock work and deployment.
The Costa Luminosa will join the Carnival fleet in the fall of 2022. The ship will be renamed Carnival Luminosa and will be deployed to Brisbane, Australia, from November to April of 2023 and then repositioned to Alaska in May of 2023. The Luminosa, accommodating 2826 guests, is a sister ship to the four Spirit-class ships sailing for Carnival, the Miracle, Legend, Pride and Spirit.
Norwegian Cruise Line News
Norwegian Sun hits a piece of iceberg
The Norwegian Sun had to cancel the remainder of her Alaskan voyage after the ship hit a small iceberg while transiting Hubbard Glacier. On Saturday, June 25th. All guests remain on board during the trip back to Seattle. The Sun departed Juneau and is sailing at reduced speed, expected to arrive Thursday morning. The vessel was to make a scheduled call to Skagway but had to cancel that port and head directly to Juneau so divers could access any damage. Guest were allowed to go ashore on Sunday evening, but the ship did not allow anyone to go ashore on Monday. According to a statement made by the ship, there was dense fog while transiting to Hubbard Glacier, limiting the visibility and resulting in the ship coming in contact with a grower. As a result, the ship was given clearance by the United States Coast Guard to return to Seattle at reduced speed.
Norwegian Cruise Lines announced the cancellation of the Norwegian Viva‘s first two voyages. The sister ship to the Norwegian Prima is now scheduled to debut in July of 2023. The cancellation is a result of the global supply chain constraints impacting industries worldwide and the related downstream construction delays at the shipyard.
Carnival Cruise Line
A large fight broke out involving as many as 60 people aboard the Carnival Magic. It is being reported that the fight broke out around on a dance floor. The Coast Guard was called to help and escorted the ship back to pork. The Carnival Magic was on its way to New York City. The ship, which departed from the Cape Liberty Cruise Port in New Jersey on June 20, traveled to Dominicana, Turks and Caicos and a private island in the Bahamas before returning to New York.
Alaska Cruise News
Some Alaska cruises are once again requiring masks. Princess Cruises, Holland America Cruise Line, and Lindblad Expeditions have responded to stories about Alaska-bound cruise ships seeing higher numbers of Covid-19 cases onboard. Masks are now required at all indoor locations on northbound and southbound Alaska voyages between Whittier and Vancouver unless the guest is eating or drinking or in their stateroom.
Viking Cruise Lines will no longer conduct onboard daily Covid-19 tests and will not require pre-cruise testing in destinations where it’s not mandated. This does not include cruises sailing from U.S. and Canadian ports. The line is the first in the industry to stop pre-cruise testing, even if it’s not in all destinations. Vaccine requirements remain in place. This announcement comes with the CDC eliminating the mandated Covid-19 tests in order to return to the U.S. by air.
