Enhanced Princess Itineraries

Princess Cruises announced on 17th November the biggest ever season of sailings from the UK for 2018. For the first time, the line will offer over 1 million cruise nights on sailings to northern and southern Europe, a significant increase on recent years. The announcement forms part of Princess Cruises’ 2018 programme, which includes Europe, Alaska, Caribbean, Panama Canal, Canada and New England. Highlightsof the 2018 schedules include: The Sapphire Princess will make her maiden visit to Europe, sailing from Southampton to the Mediterranean and northern Europe and the Royal Princess will return to the UK offering round-Britain cruises. New for 2018 will be late night stays in Belfast and overnight stays in Dublin, Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Pacific Princess will sail from Dover and will offer a new 12-night European capitals cruise, among others, calling at destinations including Amsterdam, Oslo and Copenhagen. For the first time in three years summer Caribbean cruises will be available and Alaska will have its largest ever deployment with seven ships sailing the region from May to September. Also, a longer season of cruises from Southampton will be offered on the Sapphire Princess (16 departures) April-October. The 115,875gt/2004 built ship will sail from Singapore to Southampton on 28th March 2018 on an Indian Ocean and Europe Grand Adventures 38-night cruise. Ports of call include Colombo, Cochin and Dubai. After six months at Southampton she will return to Singapore, providing two opportunities for guests to sail the unique 38-night itineraries. In May 2018 the 142,714gt/2013 built Royal Princess will sail the British Isles roundtrip from Southampton, marking five years since she was named at the port by HRH, the Duchess of Cambridge. The Alaska itineraries total 130 cruise departures in summer 2018. More than 75% of these voyages will sail to Glacier Bay National Park, departing from Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver, and Anchorage (Whittier). Also new for 2018, the Island Princess will feature a full season of calls to Icy Strait Point, a unique and remote wilderness experience, on every seven-day northbound Voyage of the Glaciers itinerary.

Alas the positive news for 2018 was a little overshadowed by headlines at the beginning of December stating that Princess Cruises had agreed to plead guilty to seven criminal charges stemming from illegal oil dumping at sea and intentional acts to cover it up. The company was ordered to pay a $40 million penalty, the largest-ever such penalty involving deliberate vessel pollution. The charges are linked to the 112,894gt/2004 built Caribbean Princess (above) which visited various U.S. ports. The U.S. investigation was initially launched after information was provided to the U.S. Coast Guard by the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) indicating that a newly hired engineer on the Caribbean Princess reported that a so-called “magic pipe” had been used on 23rd August 2013 to illegally discharge oily waste off the coast of England. According to the Justice Dept., after the incident the individual concerned quit when the ship reached Southampton. The chief engineer and senior first engineer reportedly ordered a cover-up, including removal of the pipe and directing assistants to lie. But the MCA shared evidence with the U.S. Coast Guard, including before and after photos of the bypass used to make the discharge and showing its disappearance. The U.S. Coast Guard conducted an examination of the ship upon arrival in New York City on 14th Sept 2013. According to papers filed in court, the Caribbean Princess had been making illegal discharges through bypass equipment since 2005, one year after entering service. Other issues involving other ships in the fleet were also identified. The court penalty is intended to send a powerful message to other companies that the U.S. government will continue to enforce a zero tolerance policy for deliberate ocean dumping that endangers the countless animals, marine life and humans who rely on clean water to survive. Early on 3rd December the 107,517gt/1998 built Grand Princess sustained damage whilst at sea when the starboard side tender platform opened for unexplained reasons. The ship was en-route to Ensenada in Mexico, after leaving Maui on 1st December but subsequently returned to Honolulu in the Hawaiian Islands for the damage to be assessed. The platform could not be closed due to the damage but is not part of the watertight integrity of the vessel so safety was not compromised.

To the Cruising Edge and Beyond

The next generation of cruise ships moved from concept to construction on 21st November as the first piece of steel was cut at the STX France shipyard in St. Nazaire for Celebrity Cruises’ newest, and boldest, ship. The new ship will be called the Celebrity Edge, a name apparently bestowed upon her because it is befitting the many daring design advances and innovations of Celebrity Cruises’ first new ship class since 2008. The sistership will be christened Celebrity Beyond, another marketing inspired name “signalling the incredible experience guests can expect aboard the Celebrity Edge and the entire Edge Class, changing the way travellers see the world.” So, now we must await the time when the Celebrity Infinity and Celebrity Beyond are moored side by side, thus allowing their guests to go to “Infinity & Beyond.” The Edge Class is destined to be a leader in modern luxury travel and will be on “the cutting edge of innovation and the leading edge of design, so the ship names are spot on and offer a sense of how Celebrity Cruises is looking into the future.” The company expects delivery of the Celebrity Edge in autumn 2018 whilst the Celebrity Beyond is scheduled for delivery in spring 2020. The third and fourth sisterships will follow in autumn 2021 and autumn 2022 respectively.

The 2018-2019 fleet deployment includes the most extensive ever UK and Ireland placement. For the first time ever, the 122,210gt/2011 built Celebrity Silhouette will homeport in Southampton, starting summer 2018 for Norway, Baltic, Mediterranean and Canary Isles itineraries. The 121,878gt/2010 built Celebrity Eclipse will bid a sad farewell to Southampton in 2017 after 8 summer seasons. However, in April 2018 the ship will be based in Dublin until June 2018. Itineraries will include a 10-night Ireland and Iceland sailing calling at Belfast, Northern Ireland, Reykjavik, Iceland, Akureyri, Iceland, Lerwick/Shetland, Scotland, and Cork, Ireland, as well as offering an 8-night Norwegian Fjords itinerary. From late June 2018, the Celebrity Eclipse will be based out of Amsterdam, offering 12-night British Isles itineraries and 12-night Scandinavia and Russia sailings In September, the ship will sail from Barcelona for a 12-night Western Mediterranean and a 12-night Italy and Greek Isles sailing. The Celebrity Constellation will serve the Mediterranean and Adriatic, the Celebrity Reflection will operate Eastern and Western Mediterranean cruises whilst the Celebrity Infinity/Solstice/ Millennium will cruise Alaska.

MSC Cruise Back To The UK

On 16th November came the welcome news that MSC Cruises will return to the U.K & Irish market in 2018 with the 95,128gt/2010 built MSC Magnifica (above) operating from Southampton. The ship first called here when brand new on her delivery voyage in 2010. From March to October 2018 the ship will offer 7-14 day cruises including five new itineraries. A North Sea circuit will visit Stavanger, Bergen, Olden and Alesund in Norway plus a round-UK cruise. The 139,072gt/2013 built MSC Preziosa will also operate five itineraries from Southampton in the autumn of 2017 whilst the MSC Meraviglia, the Company’s newest next-generation ship to be christened in June 2017, will also call at Southampton. On 21st November MSC introduced a second ship, the recently fully refurbished 65,542gt/2001 built MSC Armonia, to homeport in Havana alongside the 65,591gt/2004 built MSC Opera. On this day the MSC Armonia made her maiden call as she arrived in Havana on the final leg of a Grand Voyage from Genoa.

The MSC Seaside (above), the vessel dubbed as the ship that follows the sun, was floated out of her building dock on 26th November at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone Shipyard in Italy. The MSC Seaside will homeport in Port Miami as of December 2017 and will sail year round in the Caribbean. The MSC Seaside Class has been specifically designed to provide guests with a unique onboard experience in warmer regions and boasts one the highest ratio of outdoor space in the industry so that guests can enjoy a range of openair activities such as dining and drinking al fresco, strolling along the promenade or simply taking in the beautiful sea views from the privacy of one of the many balcony cabins.

The MSC Seaside prototype was inspired by an elegant beach condo. Every element of the ship is designed to bring the guests closer to the sea with special design features such as a unique 360° ocean level promenade, panoramic glass lifts, a breath-taking 30- metre bridge on the top deck and, with 76% of the cabins positioned on the outside of the ship, guests will never be far from a view of the ocean. The MSC Yacht Club has been taken to the next level aboard the new ship. Located on the prestigious foredecks offering a 1,600 metre private sun deck, a private lounge and restaurant, this unique ship-within-a-ship concept first introduced by MSC Cruises has been expanded over five decks and now features two coveted apartment suites with a living room and a large balcony with a dining area and private whirlpool. At 323m long the 160,000gt ship will feature a maximum capacity of 5,179 guests. Sistership MSC Seaview is set to enter service in the Spring 2018 and will be based in the Western Mediterranean, while a third one, reflecting an existing option for one additional Seaside generation ship, would be delivered by 2021.

Construction commenced on the MSC Bellissima, the fourth of eleven next-generation ships due to come into service over the next ten years, at STX France on 28th November. The 167,000gt/5,700 guest capacity ship is the second of the Meraviglia generation of ships that will come into service in 2019. The ship is part of a 9 billion Euro investment that will see MSC Cruises’ capacity treble over the next ten years.