MSC Cruises celebrated three events in one day on Sept. 9 at Aker Yards´ St Nazaire, France, shipyard: the floating out of the Orchestra, the cutting of the first steel for the Fantasia, and a viewing of the first panel laid for the construction of the Poesia. MSC has three ships under construction with Aker Yards with the Orchestra scheduled for delivery in spring 2007 and the Poesia and Fantasia both slated to enter service in 2008. Construction on post-panamax, sister ship to the Fantasia, the Sereneta, is expected to begin in 2007.

The operating companies of Carnival Corporation & plc have successfully completed implementation and certification of their respective environmental management systems to the ISO 14001 standard. Certifications have been issued to the company´s operating units by four different internationally recognized maritime regulatory agencies in recognition of Carnival´s commitment to systematic management of its processes, products and services to minimize environmental impact.

America´s favorite Italian cruise ships –MSC Opera and MSC Lirica- will sail magical themed transatlantic voyages to return to their American homeport in Fort Lauderdale for the exciting 2006-2007 Caribbean vacation season. Guests on these special journeys will have the opportunity to explore exciting ports on both sides of the Atlantic and enjoy leisurely days at sea.

Windstar Cruises´ 148-guest Wind Spirit and 308-guest Wind Surf set sail in the Caribbean this winter on 41 voyages featuring six itineraries roundtrip from St. Thomas and Barbados. Sailing from December through March, both ships aim to combine Caribbean ports with an intimate experience akin to sailing on one´s personal mega-yacht.

Princess Cruises said it will be the first cruise line to convert completely over to electronic ticketing, a move the line said will enable it to provide cruise documents to its passengers earlier than any other line in the industry. According to Princess, travel agents and their passengers will receive their travel documents sooner and more conveniently with the company´s new e-tickets program.

Carnival Cruise Lines has received certification of its ISO14001:2004 Environmental Management System (EMS) from Lloyd´s Register Quality Assurance, an accredited ship classification society. The certification applies to Carnival Cruise Lines´ fleet of 21 ships and its Miami headquarters. The requirements for certification are established by the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization, an internationally recognized standards organization that promotes the development and implementation of international standards, including those for environmental management issues.