During the 2013-14 season Grand Princess will sail roundtrip from San Francisco to:

Alaska — Grand Princess’ first Alaska season features 10-day Inside Passage sailings. The ship will offer 13 voyages featuring the stunning scenery of Glacier Bay National Park or Tracy Arm, with calls at Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Victoria. Cruises depart between May 10 and September 7, 2013.

Mexico — Grand Princess will offer two sailings on a new 10-day itinerary to Mexico, featuring two new ports for Princess — Loreto and La Paz, both in Baja California. Passengers will also enjoy calls at Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta. Sailings depart on September 17, 2013 and March 5, 2014.

California Coastal — An increasingly popular Princess itinerary, Grand Princess will take passengers to Santa Barbara, Los Angeles (Long Beach), San Diego, and Ensenada. Four sailings are offered on September 27 and October 19, 2013; plus March 15 and April 6, 2014.

Hawaiian Islands  — Passengers can explore each of the main Hawaiian islands on this 15-day voyage to the Big Island (Hilo), Oahu (Honolulu), Kauai (Nawiliwili), Maui (Lahaina), and Ensenada. Grand Princess will offer 12 departures between October 4, 2013 and April 28, 2014.

 

Princess will be the first modern day line to base a ship year-round out of the Bay area. This seems strange as the itinerary selection is extremely lacking. Also the fact that other lines, Carnival (Carnival Splendor) and RCCL (Mariner of the Seas) have recently puled ships out of the area due to lack of sales doesn’t help Princess’ case. California has always been a tough region to attract passengers from. On an related unrelated note, Princess HQ is in California.

Explorer of the Seas returns to Bayonne for winter 2013/2014,

via RCCL:

Vacationers also can choose seven-night Bahamas cruises, featuring calls at Nassau , Bahamas; Port Canaveral, Fla.; and Royal Caribbean’s private island CocoCay. The December 22 and 29 departure will see guests celebrating Christmas and New Year’s Day, respectively, at Nassau; while the Mar. 21, 2014 sailing will offer guests an eighth night at sea.

NCL has been pioneering the 7-night NYC to Bahamas and Florida since the Norwegian Sea first started sailing it back in 2001. I’m surprised it took this long for another cruise line to give NCL some strong competition on these short Bahamas routes.

The Norwegian Dream will join her sister, SuperStar Aquarius (ex-Norwegian Wind), at sister line Star Cruises. The 2150pax ship has been laid up and floating around the Med and Singapore since she was removed from service in 2008.

Genting Chairman and CEO Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay:

We look forward to returning the SuperStar Aquarius for a second seasonal deployment in Hainan, and the deployment of the Norwegian Dream in the region, after her refurbishment.

Operating income for the first quarter grew 23.8% to $46.4 million, with Adjusted EBITDA posting a 10.3% increase to $93.5 million, from strong revenue performance and the benefits of ongoing business improvement initiatives. Net Revenue grew 4.6% in the quarter from an increase in Net Yield and a 2.3% increase in Capacity Days. Net Yield increased 2.2%, or 2.3% on a Constant Currency basis, as a result of higher average ticket pricing across the fleet coupled with increased onboard and other revenue per Capacity Day, particularly in tour and gaming operations.

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Security in the Maritime Industry is a Joke. Considering now DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano is no longer mandating 100 percent screening of cargo containers into the US.

From CNN Investigations:

On May 16 last year, a 22-year-old Austrian named Maqsood Lodin was being questioned by police in Berlin. He had recently returned from Pakistan via Budapest, Hungary, and then traveled overland to Germany. His interrogators were surprised to find that hidden in his underpants were a digital storage device and memory cards.

Buried inside them was a pornographic video called "Kick Ass" — and a file marked "S— Tanja."

Several weeks later, after laborious efforts to crack a password and software to make the file almost invisible, German investigators discovered encoded inside the actual video a treasure trove of intelligence — more than 100 al Qaeda documents that included an inside track on some of the terror group’s most audacious plots and a road map for future operations.

Future plots include the idea of seizing cruise ships and carrying out attacks in Europe similar to the gun attacks by Pakistani militants that paralyzed the Indian city of Mumbai in November 2008. Ten gunmen killed 164 people in that three-day rampage.

With Carnival’s first extended cruise program from Boston starting up in just six weeks, the line and Crusieport Boston announced that the Carnival Glory will return to the refurbished Black Falcon Cruise Terminal in 2013 to operate a series of cruises to Atlantic Canada next summer.

When Carnival Glory arrives in Boston next year, it will do so with some new dining, bar and entertainment options, including Guy’s Burger Joint, EA SPORTS bar and Punchliner Comedy Club presented by George Lopez. The new features will be added during a dry dock in November 2012, all part of the line’s ongoing “Fun Ship 2.0” enhancement program.

Carnival Glory’s 2013 schedule from Boston will encompass four-day cruises to Saint John, New Brunswick, departing Sundays and five-day voyages to Saint John and Halifax, Nova Scotia, departing Tuesdays and Thursdays, from June 4 to July 7. Carnival is the only cruise line offering short cruises from Boston. Carnival Glory will also offer three seven-day cruises departing June 9 and July 14 and 21, 2013, visiting Portland, Maine; Saint John; Halifax; and Sydney, Nova Scotia.

We finally have more details about some out door areas on NCL’s latest ship. When she launches next April, the ship’s top decks will feature the Aqua Park. The area has five full-size water slides, including twin Free Fall slides, the first ever at sea, and a three-story sports complex that includes the largest ropes course at sea, a nine-hole miniature golf course, basketball court, and rock climbing wall.

NCL also announced a partnership with Nickelodeon, and will theme certain areas like the Kids’ Aqua Park. The Kids’ Aqua Park, will have Nickelodeon characters from Bikini Bottom, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick, Squidward among others.

Also back on the Breakaway are NCL signatures like Spice H2O off the fantail and Garden Café. On deck 17, guests ages 18 and over will have the opportunity to enjoy another private retreat – Vibe Beach Club – by purchasing an access pass. Complete with ocean views, an oversized hot tub, luxurious chaise loungers and a relaxing water feature, Vibe Beach Club will be another exclusive experience for NCL’s premier cruises willing to shell out more money.

Saturday morning, while maneuvering into dock at New York’s Manhattan Cruise Terminal, the Norwegian Star “gently” scrapped the pier.

Video NSFW-L

The 105 foot Safari Spirit caught fire early Friday morning while docked in Seattle. The ship is currently laid up while undergoing upgrades prior to commencing her Summer Alaskan deployment. There was only the vessel owner and the engineer onboard. Both were able to escape.

The pictures are pretty dramatic. She will be considered a Constructive Total Loss once surveyors have had the time to go through it.

All guests booked will have their bookings transferred to other sips in their fleet.

This is not the ships first incident. On May 8, 2003, she ran aground and had to be evacuated in Alaska.

Blame it on the terrible economy of Europe right now. Blame it on the Costa Concordia fallout. Either way Pier Luigi Foschi, Costa Cruises CEO has announced that he will retire effective July 1, 2012. The 65 year old Italian, will still remain with Carnival plc. as chairman and managing director of Costa. He also will stay on the Board of Directors of Carnival plc. 

Foschi’s replacement will be Michael Thamm. He currently serves as president of AIDA Cruises.