Passport Now Required


     Barbados has changed its rules regarding entry requirements for North American citizens. Effective March 1, 2004, citizens of the United States and Canada will be required to posses a valid passport to enter Barbados.

     How will this effect cruise passengers?

     It won’t really -- unless guests are beginning or ending their cruise on the British-owned island.

     The new regulation mainly applies to travelers who are planning a land vacation to the British-owned island. Cruise ship passengers considered to be “in-transit” and who are continuing on with their cruises are not subject to immigration control and, therefore, not required to carry a valid passport. “In-transit” cruise ship visitors are permitted to go ashore and return to their ship without any hindrance using their ship’s magnetic identification card.

     So why the sudden change in policy?

     In the early 1970s Barbados relaxed its entry requirements for North American citizens in an effort to attract visitors from the region. Until now, photo identification and proof of citizenship have been the only requirements for entry. Recent world events, however, have created changes in security requirements in North America and the Caribbean, and Barbados has had to review its policies.

     “We don’t see this as being a major change, or an inconvenience to our North American travelers,” said Bill Silvermintz, Barbados’ Vice-President of Marketing for the Americas. “At the present time, according to our immigration officials, less than one percent of visitors from the USA and Canada arrive without a passport. Travelers from North America, like the rest of the world, are aware of the higher security measures in all aspects of travel and have adjusted accordingly. We are revising our policy to ensure that visitors to Barbados are guaranteed the utmost in safety and security.”

     The Immigration Department in Barbados has been tracking visitor entry for the past two years and has documented a noticeable decline in the number of visitors from North America who travel without a valid passport. Their observations indicate that in cases where the photo ID and/or proof of citizenship presented by a traveler were not sufficient; the visitor was able to produce a passport when asked for alternate identification by the immigration officer.

     The lesson here is: get a passport if you don’t have one already. It makes traveling much more hassle-free!

Pride Salvaged

The Pride of America’s construction is back on track, according to Norwegian Cruise Line. The ship has been refloated and has entered dry dock at Lloyd Werft shipyard in Germany, where last month the ship partially sank due to storm.

According to Lloyd Werft's Managing Director Werner Lueken, the ship’s hull was not damaged – a good sign. However, a complete damage assessment is now underway and a work plan is being prepared, first for repair and replacement of the equipment, and interior parts of the ship that have been submerged in brackish water for a month, and second for completion and delivery of the finished vessel.

"We are happy to report that the ship is in dry dock and will be completed," Lueken said.

Star Shines as Godmother


Former “Love Boat” star Jill Whelan, who played Captain Stubing's daughter Vicki, will play a new role on one of the real life love boats. Princess cruises has chosen Whelan to be the godmother of its newest “love boat” – the Caribbean Princess. She’ll christen the ship at an official naming ceremony in Ft. Lauderdale, on April 2.

As reported a few months ago in CruiseReports, Whelan also will be married on the ship on its inaugural Caribbean cruise departing April 3. The "Love Boat" cast, including Gavin MacLeod (Captain Stubing), Ted Lange (Isaac) and Bernie Kopell (Doc) will attend the ceremony and cruise.

Princess and Love Boat fans can watch the ship's christening and wedding festivities on Princess' website, www.princess.com, during a live broadcast from the ship's "Wed Cam."
The ship will visit Grand Cayman, Montego Bay, Cozumel and Princess Cays, during the cruise.

Half Back

Festival/First European Cruises has reported that its financial and operating restructuring plan is proceeding smoothly, but that it will no longer operate the Azur (formerly operated on an Eastern Mediterranean itinerary), Bolero and Flamenco (both chartered ships).

Instead the line plans to focus on its newer vessels, European Stars, European Vision and Mistral, which it considers to be a premium product that attracts a more upscale crowd.
Effective today, the Azur is no longer part of the Festival fleet and all scheduled cruises are cancelled. Passengers already booked on the Azur will be protected on other Mediterranean cruises aboard Festival’s ‘premium’ ships.

New Class For Costa

     Costa Cruises has signed a letter of intent with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri Cantieri Navali to construct a 112,000-ton ship to be delivered in summer 2006. The new class of vessel doesn’t have a name yet, but the line did reveal that it will be the largest passenger ship in the history of Italian seafaring, with 1,502 staterooms and a total guest capacity of 3,800.  Costa plans to deploy the ship in the Mediterranean year-round.

     So what can guests expect onboard?

     A wide range of formal and casual dining venues, one of the largest health and wellness centers at sea, four swimming pools — two of which will feature retractable domes — and state-of-the-art telecommunications capabilities that will enable people to use their cellular phones while at sea, according to the line. Sixty-two percent of the ship’s ocean view staterooms will have private balconies.

     The new Costa ship adds a fifth ship to the list of vessels slated for a 2006 delivery, including Holland America’s Noordam (January), Norwegian Cruise Line’s unnamed ship (spring), Princess Cruises’ Caribbean Princess 2 (May), and Royal Caribbean’s Ultra Voyager (May).

Celebrity Gets Adventurous

     The well-recognized X in Celebrity Cruises’ logo has taken on a new meaning.  The line is diving into the small-ship world of luxury expedition cruising, with the launch of Celebrity Xpeditions, a series of exotic sailings and special excursions.  First stop — Galapagos Islands.

     Celebrity recently purchased a 100-guest megayacht, aptly named Celebrity Xpedition (formerly Sun Bay), as the program’s flagship. The first batch of sailings is slated to begin on June 11, 2004, with a series of 10- and 11-night cruise packages that begin and end in Ecuador's capital city, Quito, and are paired with seven-day cruises round-trip from the Galapagos Island of Baltra to Espanola, Santa Cruz, Bartolome, Isabela, Fernandina, Rabida, Santiago, and Santa Maria. The journeys are packaged with two pre-cruise hotel stays, and a choice of one or two post-cruise nights at the new J.W. Marriott in Quito. 

     Guests will spend Friday and Saturday night at the hotel at the start of the trip, and then take a flight on Sunday to Baltra to spend seven nights aboard the Celebrity Xpedition. Travel time to Baltra is about four hours because there is a stop in Guayaquil along the way. After the cruise, travelers can choose to spend one or two nights in Quito before returning home.

     Besides packaging the airfare and hotel stays, Celebrity plans to make sailing on the Celebrity Xpedition an all-inclusive journey in itself. The Galapagos cruises certainly won’t be just any ordinary Celebrity cruise.  Think Lindblad Expeditions meets Radisson Seven Seas Cruises.

     For starters, the rates — which range from $2,800 to $14, 800 — include all of the above, as well as shipboard gratuities, shore excursions, and all soft drinks, beer, and cocktails (except for premium alcohol and wines).

     Guests won’t find Celebrity’s signature Cova Café, AquaSpa and Michael’s Club cigar bar onboard the Celebrity Xpedition. This completely smoke-free vessel, however, will supplement those hallmarks with many other new amenities, while maintaining its same level of service and cuisine.

     None of the ships 47 spacious staterooms are inside, and all of them have ocean views, with eight veranda suites. According to the line, the cabins range in size from 163 sq. ft. to 396 sq. ft., and each boast complimentary use of bathrobes and Egyptian cotton towels as well as the common staples — televisions, direct-dial phones, mini-bars, safes, hairdryers and complimentary room service.

     Celebrity Xpedition has two restaurants — an open-seating main dining room and a buffet and grill venue. There isn’t an alternative restaurant onboard, or a disco or casino.  Instead, the ship has a couple of low-key bars (which will have light entertainment) and a small library. There’s also a small sauna, spa and gym onboard. Something the ship doesn’t have, are children’s facilities. The guest relations desk won’t be open 24-hours as it is on most ships either. According to the line, it will only be open from 7 a.m. to midnight.

     The main focus during this experience is the Galapagos Islands — its culture, nature and inhabitants, such as lava lizards, sea lions, blue-footed boobies, tropical birds, whales, and more. The ship has a fleet of four Zodiacs for up-close explorations, as well as a staff of expert naturalists who will guide excursions and lead discussions and lectures at night.

     Passengers won’t have to worry about packing cocktail dresses and tuxes either — the dress code onboard is casual during the day and “smart casual” at night.

      This new venture to the Galapagos is the first of many Celebrity Xpeditions.

     “Our goal is to ultimately offer a Celebrity Xpedition on every cruise itinerary, from our year-round seven-night Caribbean product  to our long, exotic European product,” said Jack Williams, the line’s president and COO.

     The line plans to venture into Antarctica and the Arctic soon.  In fact, at the time of publication, CruiseReports learned that the line has chartered Quark Expeditions’ ice-breaker, Kapitan Khlebnikov for several sailings in the region. Although cruise dates haven’t been confirmed yet, a source from the line did say that they’ll be venturing into the regions earlier in the season than other ships sailing there do.  Quark Expeditions’ seasons run from November through August.

     The 112-guest Kapitan Khlebnikov was built in Finland in 1981 as a powerful polar class icebreaker, and was the first ship to circumnavigate Antarctica with passengers in 1996-97. The ship has 54 outside cabins and suites.

Sailing dates will be available in March.

Farewell Noordam

     After sailing nearly 800 voyages and carrying about one million guests for Holland America Line, the 20-year-old Noordam is leaving the fleet this fall.  It will sail its final cruise for the line from November 3-12, 2004, from Rome to Lisbon, and will then begin a “long-term” charter with UK-based Thomson Holidays as the Thomson Celebration. The charter agreement also provides Thomson Holidays with an option to purchase the vessel during the charter period.

     “The Noordam is a wonderful, classic vessel. She has provided our loyal guests with many happy memories, and she will be fondly remembered,” said A. Kirk Lanterman, Chairman and CEO of Holland America Line. “Beginning on April 15, 2004, we will celebrate the Noordam’s Farewell Season featuring 20 special sailings.”

     The season will begin with a transatlantic departure on April 15, from Tampa to Lisbon. The Noordam will then sail a total of seven Mediterranean cruises; eight Baltic sailings; two European Capitals cruises; a special D-Day Anniversary sailing and a Norwegian Fjords sailing, in addition to its final cruise.

     The Noordam name, however, will not leave Holland America’s fleet for good.  There’s too much history there.

      The line will name its fourth Vista-class ship — scheduled for delivery in January 2006 — the Noordam. The 1,848-guest ship will be the fourth Holland America Line vessel to sail with that name.

      The first Noordam joined the fleet in 1902; the second in 1938; and the third in 1984 (the current Noordam).

Trio Buys SUVs

     Bob Brennan, Doug Toms, and Don Simplot recently purchased the small ship cruise company of Glacier Bay Cruiseline from Juneau based Alaska native corporation, Goldbelt, Inc.

     The trio now owns the 87-passenger Wilderness Discoverer, 69-passenger Wilderness Adventurer and 31-passenger Wilderness Explorer — all labeled Sport Utility Vessels (SUVs) in 2001, when the company changed its name from Glacier Bay Tours & Cruises to its current name.

      “Once we experienced the product for ourselves, we were hooked,” said the line’s new president Bob Brennan, a 37-year industry veteran. “We were so impressed with the itineraries, the ships’ captains and crew, and most importantly, the concept of combining small ship cruising and sea kayaking, we bought the company.”

     Glacier Bay Cruiseline is well-known for its adventure cruises and up-close and personal experiences in Alaska’s Inside Passage, as it offers six- to nine-night cruises between May and September.

     Prior to his purchase Brennan had been looking to buy a niche product like Glacier Bay for more than 15 years.  Then 13 months ago a friend told him the company was up for sale, so he and his two investor partners bought it.

     Brennan has already made some changes, primarily to integrate more kayaking excursions into the trips.

     “We tweaked some itineraries and changed some ports to add more kayaking to the cruises,” he told CruiseReports.

     The line has a fleet of 77 Easy Rider-branded kayaks, which are split between the line’s three vessels.

     “Kayaking is the fastest growing outdoor sport today,” said Brennan, according to an article he recently read in the New York Times.

     And the line is capitalizing on that.

     Brennan said that many of the line’s guests end up buying kayaks after using them while on their cruise.

     Another addition the new owners have introduced is the company’s first seven-night cruises to Oregon’s Columbia, Willamette and Snake Rivers, which will begin in April.

     The cruises will boast more kayaking than any other cruise company, plus hiking, optional mountain biking and whitewater rafting and an included jet boat ride into Hell’s Canyon.

Newest Port Named Cape Liberty

     Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has decided to name its new port facility in Bayonne, New Jersey, Cape Liberty Cruise Port.

     As CruiseReports reported in December, the company will construct and operate a new cruise terminal at the former Bayonne Military Ocean Terminal in the northern New Jersey city. The new port is about 15 minutes from Newark airport and is located off the New Jersey Turnpike.

     “We are extremely pleased to be able to offer our guests a new and convenient cruise port as we expand our presence in the Tri-State area,” said Adam Goldstein, executive vice president, Brand Operations, for Royal Caribbean. “Cape Liberty Cruise Port is a fitting name as our guests will begin and end their vacations with a marvelous view of the Statue of Liberty and lower Manhattan.”

     From May through October 2004, Cape Liberty will seasonally house the 3,114-passenger Voyager of the Seas, and the 1,600-guest Nordic Empress.

     Voyager of the Seas will sail an alternating schedule of five-night Canada and nine-night Caribbean cruises, while Nordic Empress will offer alternating six-night and eight-night Bermuda itineraries.

     For now, Royal Caribbean will operate out of existing structures. Long-term plans call for construction of a new cruise terminal and supporting facilities.

     According to the line, the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority has plans to develop a vibrant mixed-use waterfront development, including commercial, residential and park areas on the remaining land on the peninsula — a 430-acre, man-made peninsula that extends into New York Harbor.

It’s NCVM

     This month is National Cruise Vacation Month — as labeled by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) — so check out your local news broadcasts to see interviews with some of the industry’s top shipboard personnel. 

      From February 1-13, representatives from CLIA and various onboard cruise staff members from Windstar Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Crystal Cruises and Royal Caribbean will travel across the country to promote cruising through radio and television appearances, as well as during newspaper interviews. They’ll make appearances in New York, Louisville, Nashville, Memphis, Birmingham, Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis, Chicago, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, and Salt Lake City, as well as Denver, San Francisco, Sacramento, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Tampa, Jacksonville, Raleigh-Durham, New Orleans, Dallas, Austin, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Boston, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Norfolk, and Knoxville.

     Look out!