MSC PREZIOSA Contract Finalized With STX France By Shawn J. Dake After months of speculation MSC Cruises has officially announced that the newest addition to the fleet, and the fourth ship in the “Fantasia Class” will be named MSC PREZIOSA. The negotiations between the line and the shipyard took nine…
S.S. LANE VICTORY On The Move By Shawn J. Dake After two decades in residence at Berth 94 in Los Angeles Harbor, the World War II vintage steamship LANE VICTORY has moved to a new location within the port. On February 6, 2012, at 9:37am, with the aid of tugs,…
Byron Huart, an energetic and enthusiastic ship chaser from New York, has blogged on his experiences the morning DISNEY FANTASY arrived in New York: In Byron’s words and pictures: DISNEY FANTASY, A New York Maiden Arrival February 28, 2012 was a historic day for the City of New York, it…
The 19,903 gt, 600 passenger PACIFIC (ex SEA VENTURE, PACIFIC PRINCESS) has been sold for 2.5 million Euros to the Turkish company “Cemsan”, which specializes in ship breaking. The 1971-built PACIFIC has been idle at Genoa’s San Giorgio del Porto shipyard since being seized by the Italian Coast Guard in…
Carnival Cruises’ CARNIVAL DESTINY will undergo a dramatic transformation during a USD $155 million refit in early 2013. CARNIVAL DESTINY will be renamed CARNIVAL SUNSHINE and operate Mediterranean itineraries from April to October 2013 before homeporting in New Orleans. The major refit will incorporate all of Carnival’s “Fun Ship 2.0” dining,…
Update: Dramatic POV footage of the Bangor lifeboat arriving at the bow of UNION MOON. Update: The BBC reports that the captain of a UNION MOON will appear in court on Friday on a charge of having excess alcohol in his blood. The masters of both vessels were breathalyzed after…
Louis Cruise Lines which charters or sub-charters several ships to Thomson Cruises has agreed to swap their recently acquired LOUIS MAJESTY (ex ROYAL MAJESTY, NORWEGIAN MAJESTY) for the older THOMSON DESTINY (ex SONG OF AMERICA, SUNBIRD). The two ships carry almost exactly the same number of passengers, approximately 1,460, but…
The beginnings of a rise in the domestic Chinese cruise market has been going on for a few years, but now a new cruise line is bringing a relatively modern, well-appointed vessel into the trade under private Chinese ownership. The CHINA STAR is scheduled to begin service from Hong Kong…
From MaritimeMatters Helsinki correspondent Kalle Id: In 1990-1991 the Finnish-Swedish Silja Line built two superb cruise ferries for the Helsinki (Finland)-Stockholm (Sweden) service. The SILJA SERENADE and SILJA SYMPHONY were the largest ferries of the time and the first ships of any kind to feature a large horizontal atrium (or…
Royal Caribbean International’s RHAPSODY OF THE SEAS entered Sembawang Shipyard (a subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine Ltd.) in Singapore March 2, to begin a month-long, US$54 million drydock where she will undergo a major revitalization. The RHAPSODY OF THE SEAS refit is the largest of its kind o take place in Singapore and…
