Silversea Cruises has announced a new Luxury Wellness Program called Otium for its new ship Silver Dawn, which will revolve around relaxation and dining. Silversea’s new Otium program is based on the abstract Roman concept of the same name, which related to elite citizens engaging in leisure, drinking, eating, bathing and entertainment. <img … [Read more...]

MSC Cruises South Africa, the local subsidiary of MSC Cruises, has confirmed that the Durban Cruise Terminal is in the final stages of completion. The R300-million cruise terminal is expected to significantly boost the local cruise sector and will be up and running during MSC Orchestra’s coming cruise season out of Durban. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-10309" … [Read more...]

Cruise Saudi, the cruise promotion arm of Saudi Arabia’s tourism authority, has joined the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) as part of its efforts to position the country as a cruise destination. Cruise Saudi’s membership of the World Travel & Tourism Council comes just weeks after it became a member of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which represents the global cruise … [Read more...]

AIDAcosma has left her shipyard at Meyer Werft in Papenburg to begin her conveyance down the Ems River to the North Sea for sea trials. AIDAcosma’s conveyance on the Ems River from Papenburg to Eemshaven is an unofficial ‘launch’, but marks a major milestone in her construction. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-15459" data-attachment-id="15459" … [Read more...]

After a long delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mardi Gras has finally been christened in Port Canaveral, just a few months after she began carrying passengers for the first time. Mardi Gras was delivered to Carnival Cruise Line back in 2020, but she wasn’t able to enter service until July this year, and wasn’t able to be christened until this weekend, due to the pandemic. <img … [Read more...]

MSC Cruises has secured government approval to resume cruising from South Africa and will restart its cruise itineraries in the country on December 6th. MSC Cruises was forced to cancel its 2020/21 South African cruise season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but has secured permission to sail this year’s season. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-6299" … [Read more...]

Royal Caribbean has revealed a 2023 World Cruise that is one of the longest in the world at 274 nights, and several Middle East ports are included in the itinerary. The 9-month World Cruise aboard Serenade of the Seas will visit 150 destinations in 65 countries on all seven continents, with an autumn departure from Dubai. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16839" … [Read more...]

Istanbul is seeing a resurgence of cruise tourism since the opening of its new Galataport cruise terminal, with Viking Sky the latest cruise line to call in the city. Viking Sky called in Galataport for the first time this week, just two days after Viking revealed the name of her new sister ship as Viking Saturn. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16410" … [Read more...]

MSC Cruises has announced that a second ship, MSC Magnifica, will be added to its 2023 World Cruise program for 2023. MSC Magnifica will join MSC Poesia, which was earlier confirmed to sail a World Cruise in 2023, after her 2022 World Cruise was cancelled due to the pandemic. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-12705" data-attachment-id="12705" … [Read more...]

Holland America Line has announced that HKH Princess Margriet of the Netherlands will be godmother to its new cruise ship Rotterdam, which will be christened in its namesake city in spring. Rotterdam was delivered earlier this year and will sail her maiden cruise on October 20th, 2021, before being officially named by Princess Margriet next year, continuing a tradition that began in the … [Read more...]

Marella Cruises will acquire Mein Schiff Herz from TUI Cruises and rename the ship Marella Voyager, the cruise line has confirmed. Marella Voyager, currently sailing as Mein Schiff Herz, will be the fifth ship in the Marella fleet and is intended to enter service for the line in June, 2023. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-7863" data-attachment-id="7863" … [Read more...]

Windstar has taken delivery of its stretched Star Pride cruise ship following a major refurbishment, the same week it announced it now has two ships deployed in French Polynesia. Star Pride is the third and final of Windstar’s Star Plus class cruise ships to leave the shipyard following the overhaul, which saw her cut in half and lengthened, with a new mid-section inserted. <img … [Read more...]

There has been a surge in bookings for Dubai cruises from Spanish cruise tourists after Madrid lifted a ban on international cruises and other travel restrictions on June 7th, 2021. With the ongoing COVID-19 situation in Spain continuing to improve, restrictions on domestic tourism and international travel have been relaxed, including cruises. <img … [Read more...]

Oceania Cruises‘ European and North American voyages for 2023 aboard its seven-ship fleet will sail to 260 cruise destinations on 179 itineraries, including a Dubai departure and two Cape Town cruises. Oceania Cruises will be featuring the Middle East and Africa on dozens of its 179 cruise itineraries for the 2023 cruise season, with the Dubai and Cape Town departures among 25 itineraries … [Read more...]

Cruise itineraries between Greece and Turkey have been re-established, in a major boon for Istanbul and its new Galataport cruise terminal. The Greek government this month removed anti-COVID-19 restrictions imposed on cruise ships calling in Greece after visiting Galataport Istanbul and Kusadasi. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16410" data-attachment-id="16410" … [Read more...]

MSC Cruises has marked the beginning of construction for it second cruise ship for its new luxury subsidiary line Explora Journeys. The steel cutting for Explora II took place at the Castellammare di Stabia (Naples) shipyard although the ship will be built at the Sestri Ponente (Genoa) yard. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16765" data-attachment-id="16765" … [Read more...]

Cruise Saudi says Jeddah will get an ‘iconic’ new cruise terminal within the next five to seven years as Saudi Arabia’s cruise sector rapidly emerges. Speaking at the Seatrade Cruise Global conference in Miami, Cruise Saudi’s Chief Strategy Officer Ghassan Khan said Saudi Arabia has “come on the map” this year. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16405" … [Read more...]

MSC Cruises has made several changes to the onboard cruise experience during its deployment of MSC Bellissima out of Jeddah, to better suit the local Saudi Arabian cruise market. Changes made to experiences and services aboard MSC Bellissima include female-only swimming pools, all-female dance classes and other events, as well as events and activities tailored to the local market. <img … [Read more...]

The German cruise line AIDA Cruises has announced that AIDAnova will be redeployed from the Middle East to the Canary Islands for the upcoming winter Dubai 2021/22 cruise season. The change in AIDAnova’s winter itineraries means that she will be replaced with AIDAbella for the Middle East cruise season, which the cruise line says is a result of fleet availability rather than demand. <img … [Read more...]

Royal Caribbean has revealed the number of passengers that have caught COVID-19 aboard its cruise ships since it resumed operations earlier this year. In a video released by the cruise line, Richard Fain, CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises, said 41 passengers had caught COVID-19, out of more than 500,000 that had undertaken cruises thus far. RELATED: MSC Virtuosa first to suffer true COVID-19 … [Read more...]