Amsterdam’s Cruise Terminal could be relocated away from the city centre to ease congestion in the city. Such a move will surely bring mixed blessings as the current terminal allows cruise guests to stroll into the city if they so wish.

AIDA’s AIDAprima (above) was awarded during the 6th Cruise Congress in Hamburg not once but twice with a Cruise Guide Award on 16th November. The 12-member panel of experts voted the ship the winner in the categories of Sport and Spa Facilities and Family Friendliness. Meanwhile the AIDAperla has gained her trademark “lips” on her bow during fitting out in Nagasaki, Japan.

Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Vista was welcomed by Port Miami on 27th November when she arrived to commence a year-round schedule of six and eight-day cruises to the Caribbean. To officially welcome Carnival Vista to its Miami homeport, Captain Stefano Battinelli and Port Miami Assistant Director Fred Wong participated in a traditional maritime plaque exchange prior to the ship’s inaugural departure from Miami. The port has been CCL’s home since the company’s inception in 1972. The 110,320gt/2005 built Carnival Liberty was constrained by technical problems that affected her maximum speed resulting in a series of modifications to her Caribbean cruise itineraries departing 19th & 26th November. On board credits and future cruise discounts were offered as compensation with guests also given the option to cancel. Repairs were expected to be completed by the end of November.

Croisières M/S Jacques-Cartier Inc., a new operator, has announced its intentions to enter service on the St. Lawrence River in summer 2018 with the Jacques Cartier. The cruise line is promising “active cruises” on its niche Quebec-flagged vessel. Cruises will range from 5 to 10 days in length, and the public can even vote online for the 2018 deployment, including homeports and transit ports. The refurbished, 66-passenger capacity Jacques-Cartier is 40 years old and has a service history as a tour vessel. Facilities on board include an observation room, a health and well-being zone, spa, a sauna and a launching area for the zodiacs.

Cunard Line’s 149,215gt/2003 built Queen Mary 2 departed from Southampton for New York on 19th November and headed out into the teeth of the incoming Storm Angus. The ship recorded gusts of 98mph in the English Channel prior to heading out into the Atlantic. Fathom’s 30,277gt/2001 built Adonia will return to the P&O Cruises stable from late June 2017 so will be coming back to Southampton and Europe from her Cuba itineraries before a winter 2017/18 season in the Caribbean.

Holland America Line’s 82,820gt/2003 built Oosterdam arrived at Port Tampa Bay on 18th November for her 2016-2017 winter cruise season there. Holland America Line initiated this home port back in 1982 and has been part of the Tampa Bay market ever since. The Oosterdam replaces the smaller Ryndam on these itineraries.

Lindblad Expedition’s newest addition to their fleet, the 96-guest National Geographic Endeavour ll, made her maiden voyage on 3rd December 2016, one month ahead of schedule. The first voyage was a 17-Day Epic Galápagos Photography Expedition. Before setting off the ship was celebrated in Guayaquil with a traditional Ecuadorian religious blessing. The ship offers the choice of suites on two decks, double cabins with beds that can be configured as twins or a queen size, seven sets of connecting cabins for families and friends, triple cabins and dedicated solo cabins, which are equal in size and amenities to the doubles. The 2,716gt/2005 built ship’s shallow draft affords up close viewing from all public spaces, large windows in cabins and suites, state-of-the-art tools for exploration, and a fast, seamless twin Zodiac loading platform.

NCL has opted for a godfather to christen the Norwegian Joy in the form of Chinese pop artist Wang Leehom. He will also serve as brand ambassador for NCL China and promote the line to Chinese consumers through television and radio adverts and on social media as well as becoming the first Chinese godfather of any cruise ship brand. NCL’s first godfather was rapper Pitbull, who named the Norwegian Escape in 2015.

Oceanwide Expeditions has ordered a 180-passenger, icestrengthened ship at Brodosplit shipyard in Croatia. The ship, to be named the Hondius (above), will (according to Oceanwide) be the strongest ice-strengthened (LR PC6 Class) vessel in the Polar regions once delivered in the first half of 2019. The ship will join the ice-strengthened 116-passenger vessels Plancius and Ortelius. The name Hondius follows a custom to name the company’s ships after celebrated Dutch-Flemish cartographers. The 107m long/17.6m wide Hondius was specially designed to support and serve Oceanwide’s exploratory programmes and activity-based shore excursions in the Arctic and Antarctica. She will be equipped with two main engines for a total of 4,200 kW, generating a speed of 15 knots.

P&O Cruises Australia has witnessed a 55% passenger surge in the 12 months since the 55,877gt/1994 built Pacific Aria and 55,877gt/1993 built Pacific Eden joined the fleet, topping a record 460,000, a 55% increase on the previous period. The two ships allowed P&O to open Cairns as a homeport in September and bring back Asian cruise holidays, with the ‘Eden offering a season from Singapore. This year P&O has visited 17 new ports, mostly on the Pacific Eden, including the first visits to Honiara and Gizo Island in the Solomon Islands.

P&O Cruises’ 69,840gt/1995 built Oriana departed from Southampton for her refit at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg on 25th November. Ironically the ship’s whistle jammed on as she sailed down Southampton Water, so that was another job to add to the list! The 77,499gt/2000 built Oceana had also arrived back late that day after encountering heavy weather.

Ponant Cruises will offer no single supplement for solo travellers on 34 Ponant cruises spanning both Northern and Southern hemispheres in 2017/18. Destinations include Brazil, Indonesia, Panama, Vietnam, Portugal, the Canary Islands, Australia, Scandinavia and Melanesia, with voyages ranging from 7 to 16 nights. Such single supplement charges have long caused consternation among single Cruisers so perhaps this will trigger a trend.

Royal Caribbean Cruises & Celebrity Cruises announced on 1st December that service charges are to be included for Australia and New Zealand sailings. The new streamlined fare structure includes gratuities for stateroom attendants and dining room staff. This means that clients will pay a single inclusive cruise fare incorporating all main meals, accommodation, kids club, entertainment and activities. Passengers will continue to have the option to provide a discretional additional gratuity. The all-inclusive fares apply to new bookings effective 12th December 2016 onwards, on sailings departing on or after 15th January 2017. The cruise line’s unique North Star attraction has broken the record for being the “Highest Viewing Deck on a Cruise Ship,” as announced on 1st December. The Quantum Class innovation has officially made it into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Silversea Cruises’ Silver Cloud’s inaugural voyage as an ice-class expedition ship will take place on 17th November 2017. A year in advance of this the company released details of the refurbishment and conversion. The inaugural voyage will be to Antarctica and will provide the highest space-to-guest and crew-to-guest ratios in expedition cruising. A guest capacity of 260 in non-Polar regions and just 200 in Polar Regions means that guests will enjoy the highest levels of personalised and attentive service on board. The 16,927gt/1994 built Silver Cloud’s transition to the expedition fleet will bring expedition guests the luxury, style and comfort synonymous with Silversea’s classic fleet. The renderings clearly showcase the luxurious, all ocean view suites which will be elegantly decorated with new furnishings and upholstery in a refined colour palette. The ship will also boast the largest suites in expedition cruising and over 80% of the suites have a private veranda. In 2018 the Silver Cloud will travel over 70,500 nautical miles, visit almost 190 destinations, with over 380 ports of call, and make more than 30 maiden visits. She will embark on 11 Antarctic and 8 Arctic voyages, sail under London’s Tower Bridge, discover the history and culture of the British Isles, explore the Norwegian Fjords, transit the Panama Canal, enjoy culinary discoveries in Europe and South America and spend Christmas in the Falkland Islands. The Silver Cloud (above) will also be equipped with 18 new zodiacs, enabling ship-wide simultaneous explorations in groups of no more than 14 people.

Thomson Cruises’ 41,622gt/1992 built Thomson Majesty, owned by Louis Cruises, underwent a two week refit at Gibraltar’s Gibdock in November. The ship departed the dry dock on 18th November and sailed from the yard three days later. The dry docking coincided with the ship’s intermediate special survey. In addition to high pressure hull-washing and a new antifouling coating, the renewal of seals on one stabiliser and one stern thruster, pipework and anchor chain renewals and propeller polishing tasks were completed.

Ulstein Verft in Norway has won a contract for the modernisation and upgrading of the 4,376gt/1975 built expedition cruise ship Sea Adventurer owned by Adventurers Partners and operated by Quark Expeditions. The ship is expected to arrive at Ulstein Verft in early April 2017 and will be refurbished by mid-June 2017 in time for the Arctic cruise season. The ship was originally built as the Ailla Tersova. The contract for upgrade works includes renovating the ship’s interior, significant technical upgrades such as the replacement of main engines as well as the addition of new passenger cabins. The interior renovations include en-suite outside cabins, a spacious forward lounge and bar, the addition of new passenger cabins, new bathrooms in every cabin, plus upgrades to the main lounge, dining room, gym and selected suites. The Sea Adventurer will be a very different ship when the task is complete.