Carnival Cruise Lines said the Holiday will resume cruises from Mobile, Alabama, that kicked off with its September 3 cruise. The Holiday was relocated to Tampa, Fla., after Hurricane Katrina blew through the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29. The ship departed Tampa on September 1 and will head to Mobile, Carnival said. The vessel operates four- and five-day cruises from Mobile all year round.

Viking River Cruises, the world´s leading river cruise line, released its 2006 sailing schedule for Europe, Russia and China. In addition to introducing a new ship on the Yangtze River, Viking River Cruises also added new itineraries in China due to high traveler demand. And to provide its passengers with the best deals possible, Viking River Cruises is offering up to $700 savings on all 2006 sailings.

Fort Lauderdale´s Port Everglades reopened to daytime vessel traffic late last week, but the Port of Miami remained closed following the landfall of Hurricane Katrina. Carnival Cruise Lines altered the Aug. 28 departure of the Carnival Miracle, pulling the ship from Tampa to avoid running into Hurricane Katrina.

A new passenger ferry service linking Barbados and several other eastern Caribbean islands will be launched next month, a local official said earlier this week. The Star Ferries inter-island service will be based between Barbados and the French territory of Guadeloupe and will make stops in St. Lucia, Dominica and Martinique, said Reynold McClean, CEO of Remac Tours, a Barbadian company that will operate the service.

Travelers who can grab vacation time on short notice can cruise to Mexico for as little as $99 on a Carnival ship transferred temporarily to Galveston after Hurricane Katrina closed the Port of New Orleans. Carnival´s 2,052-passenger Sensation, based in New Orleans, will depart Galveston Thursday on a four-day voyage to Cozumel. The Sensation will again depart Galveston on Monday for a five-day cruise to Calica/Playa del Carmen and Cozumel. Interior staterooms on the four-day itinerary are priced at $99 per person, based on double occupancy.

A cruise ship line will make 11 daytime stops in St. Croix starting in October, bringing a desperately needed surge of visitors to the poorest island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the government announced Thursday. The Norwegian Dawn, with a crew and passenger capacity of more than 5,500, will make its first stop October 15, the government said. No dates for the other stops were announced.