A Chilean based cruise company is incorporating a second vessel for this coming season´s tours of Antarctica, beginning in Puerto Montt and concluding in Ushuaia, Argentina, with a call in Punta Arenas. Diego Hurtado, C & O Tours CEO who visited Punta Arenas over the weekend with foreign tourist operators said the company for the last three years has been successfully operating Antarctic cruises with the Norwegian flagged “Nordnorge” which has a 350 passenger capacity and a crew of 70.

Member lines of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) carried 2.66 million passengers during the second quarter of 2005, a 2.3 percent increase over second-quarter 2004. In addition, the number of passengers sourced in North America climbed 6.2 percent, to 2.41 million. CLIA called the growth “robust.” The short-cruise market grew slightly during the first half of the year: 34.8% of the cruises operated by CLIA members during the first six months of 2005 were between one and five days in length, up from 31.2% of cruises last year.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) shifted the Norwegian Sun to Houston, Texas, where it will conduct seven-day cruises through early January. The ship will then relocate to Miami for seven-day eastern and western Caribbean itineraries. The ship originally was scheduled to sail out of New Orleans beginning Oct. 16. The Sun´s Panama Canal cruise, departing Los Angeles Sept. 30, will now end in Houston on Oct. 16. The ship will stay in Houston through Jan. 8, sailing a slightly amended itinerary that calls in Playa Del Carmen and Cozumel, Mexico; Belize; and Roatan, Honduras. It then repositions to Miami to sail one four-day cruise Jan. 17 before beginning seven-day service through April 16.

Carnival Cruise Lines chartered three of its cruise ships for six months as part of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. The ships, the Ecstasy, the Sensation and the Holiday, have been chartered to the Military Sealift Command on behalf of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The ships will be used to house people affected by the hurricane, said Carnival CEO Bob Dickinson. Carnival has canceled the ships´ scheduled sailings through early March -- each operates short Caribbean cruises -- and providing full refunds to passengers booked on affected sailings. Passengers who rebook will receive a $100 per-person shipboard credit; agent commissions are protected.

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.