The 2,550-passenger MSC Poesia, which ran aground in shallow water off of Port Lucaya, Grand Bahama, on Saturday morning, is now sailing on its regular schedule of Caribbean itineraries. The ship and its guests were safe during the mishap, and all onboard equipment and services continued to operate normally, including all previously scheduled tender service and shore excursions, according to an MSC spokeswoman.

The arrival in Santiago de Cuba of the Braemar ship sailing from Jamaica on a Caribbean cruise marked the beginning of the season of this tourism modality in the eastern city of the island this year.

The 4,000-passenger Disney Fantasy, Disney Cruise Line’s newest cruise ship and sister to Disney Dream, floated out of the enclosed building dock at the Meyer Werft shipyard on Sunday as fireworks filled the sky. The even symbolizesome of the final stages of theship’s construction and leads upto the March 31, 2012 maiden voyage.

The Caribbean continues to be the destination of choice for most cruise passengers, according to a new survey. The region topped the Cruise Holidays 2012 Cruise Trends ranking with 59.88 percent bookings, leaving Europe (including Mediterranean, Baltic, Scandinavia & Greek Isles) a far second at 11.47 percent.

Royal Caribbean International’s Vision of the Seas will operate 19 Caribbean and Panama Canal cruises in winter 2012-13. The cruises range from 10 to 15 nights roundtrip from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.

Cruise prices remain in consumers’ favor going into 2012, according to the Cruise Holidays 2012 Cruise Trends survey. The firm’s research shows that prices for Caribbean and the Mediterranean cruises remain lower than they were in 2008, 2009 and 2010. But prices have actually risen slightly since 2011.