The Carnival Splendor welcomed its first passengers since it emerged from dry dock to repair damages from an engine fire that crippled the ship last November. The vessel hosted travel agents and media on Saturday night at its homeport of Long Beach, Calif., before it embarked on it first Mexican Riviera cruise in three and a half months. The overnight stay (the ship remained docked) was a thank-you to travel agents, whom Carnival President and CEO Gerry Cahill lauded as instrumental in the logistics of rebooking guests who were affected by the accident.
As part of its corporate reorganization following the relocation of Seabourn to Seattle, Holland America Line has promoted Cyril Tatar to director of Seabourn technical operations. As part of his new responsibilities, Tatar will oversee the completion of construction on the Seabourn Quest, scheduled for delivery in May. He reports to Dan Grausz, executive vice president-fleet operations for Holland America Line and Seabourn.
Costa Cruises has released its 2012 brochure, featuring 400 pages and more than 130 itineraries on five continents in more than 250 destinations. Costa’s 2012 itineraries also are available on all digital information channels, including websites, social networking sites, smartphones (via a QR code), iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads (Costa Digital Library application).
MSC Cruises has cancelled all calls in Tunisia on four of its ships from April through early November unless conditions improve. The country has been experiencing political and social unrest. Affected ships are the MSC Fantasia from April 16 to Oct. 15, MSC Splendida from April 10 to Nov. 6, MSC Lirica from April 18 to Oct. 7, and MSC Sinfonia from June 4 to Oct. 15.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has signed a letter of intent with shipyard Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany, to build the first of a new generation of Royal Caribbean International cruise ships. Developed under the code-name “Project Sunshine,” the order calls for one ship to be delivered in fall 2014 with an option for a second ship for spring 2015. The 158,000-ton newbuild will carry just over 4,100 guests based on double occupancy.
Crystal Cruises’ Crystal Serenity will undergo a $25 million renovation May 8 to 22 at Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. The 14-day dry-dock project will redesign the ship’s 531 staterooms and suites, retail centers and outdoor pool deck. To complete the massive project on time, more than 400 technicians flown from around the world will work around the clock.