Travel agents can now make commissions from selling MSC Cruises shore excursions. The cruise line announced Monday it will pay travel agents commissions on shore excursions. Agents who pre-book excursions at least three days prior to the departure date will earn 10 percent commissions.

Carnival Corporation and Orizonia Corporacion, Spain’s largest travel company which operates its own cruise fleet under its Iberojet division, have signed a letter of intent to form a joint venture to operate and expand the existing Iberojet Cruise brand in Spain.

MSC Cruises is presenting an expanded mix of cruise lengths and itineraries in the Caribbean for the 2007-2008 winter season.

Princess Cruises has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of not operating the Dawn Princess at a slow and safe manner near Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park stemming from a 2001 incident where a humpback whale was later found dead.

Norwegian Cruise Line has inked a multi-year deal with the Port of Los Angeles, which includes measures designed to support the port’s clean air initiatives.

The grounding of a cruise liner in Antarctic waters on Wednesday appears to have been handled without damage either to the environment or to passengers, according to Grant Munro, Manager of the Falkland Islands non-governmental organization, Falklands Conservation, which is an associate member of the International Association of Antarctic Cruise Organizations ( IAATO).