Norwegian Cruise Line Corp. struck a deal with Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany to build a second sister ship to the Norwegian Jewel, which is due to be completed by October 2007. The Norwegian Jewel, at 2,384 passengers and 92,000 tons, is a modified version of the line´s Norwegian Star and Norwegian Dawn. The third Jewel-style vessel -- the Norwegian Jewel will be delivered in August, and a second ship was ordered in December for a February 2007 delivery -- will enter the fleet in place of a previous plan to build a ship at Aker Yards. That deal was called off in April.

Rio de Janeiro´s cruise season is in full swing and breaking records as the Brazilian city has so far welcomed 85 vessels and 135,000 passengers who have spent $55 million. According to official stats, the ongoing cruise season kicked off on October 30 with the docking of a couple of deluxe ships to Brazilian ports that brought in 724 sea trekkers.

For a group of Disney Cruise Line execs now visiting the Mexican travel destination of Puerto Vallarta, the place is packed with natural allures that could captivate American tourists. A bunch of U.S. citizens will land in Puerto Vallarta on May 31 aboard the Disney Magic liner. After a three-hour grand tour of Puerto Vallarta, Disney Cruise Line´s Marketing and PR Manager Mark Witko and the company´s Groups & Services Chief Matt Becker left town convinced the destination has it takes to clinch passengers´ safety and security. Infrastructure and services are good, Mr. Witko commented.

The Jamaican government has imposed what it calls tourism enhancement fees on all arriving air and cruise passengers, as of May 1. The new fees - $10 per air traveler and $2 per cruise passenger - will be levied in addition to the country´s existing $20 departure tax, and likewise will be rolled into air and cruise ticket prices. Jamaican tourism minister Aloun Ndombet-Assamba explained the new fees, first proposed last spring, will raise much-needed capital for the maintenance and improvement of tourism infrastructure. Unlike departure tax monies, which end up in general-use government funds, the tourism enhancement fees will be deposited in a tourism-specific account.

Dominican Tourism Secretary Felix Jimenez said recently the local travel destination of Samana will welcome 23 cruise liners that are expected to carry some 40,000 passengers and crew members aboard. Mr. Jimenez noted the deluxe vessels will dock in Cayo Laventado, across from Samana, and that companies in charge of bringing those ships to the region are planning heavy investments in the location with the addition of a handicraft market and other services.

No passengers or crew were injured when the Grandeur of the Seas struck a pier in Costa Maya, Mexico, while performing a docking maneuver, due to 15-knot winds and a 3-knot current, the Royal Caribbean International informed. The boat suffered a 42-foot-long football-shaped gash in its bow. The puncture, on the bow’s starboard side, is about five feet wide at its widest point.