Ponant’s 10,944gt/2010 built Le Boréal was transported back to Europe from South America following her serious fire in November. The 264-passenger ship was taken to Punto Arenas, Chile, while the extent of the damage was inspected. The repair work was deemed too complex to complete in South America so, in mid-January, Le Boréal was secured onto the semi-submersible heavy-lift ship Kang Sheng Kou, which had arrived on 9th January, and departed on 20th January bound for Genoa where the ensemble was expected on 15th February. The complex repairs could then get underway and are scheduled for completion in May, ready for the first sailing on 9th May from Lisbon on a 7 night cruise to Dublin.

AIDA’s new 3,300 passenger AIDAPrima suffered a fire aboard at the Mitsubishi Heavy industries shipyard in Nagasaki on 31st January. Believed to be arson, this was the third fire in a month to hit the shipyard, following an electrical wiring fire on 11th January and a second small blaze on 13th January.

Australis, an expedition cruise line, confirmed in January its intention to build a new ship to replace the via Australis, which was sold to Lindblad Expeditions with delivery scheduled for April 2016. The sale leaves Australis operating the 210-passenger Stella Australis with a replacement vessel being added by the end of 2017. The Stella Australis was built at the ASENAV shipyard in Chile.

Carnival Cruises’ 70,367gt/1996 Carnival inspiration underwent a multi-million-dollar makeover from 18th January to 5th February in Portland, Oregon. Following the renovation, the ship resumed her year-round schedule of three and four-day Baja cruises from Long Beach, California.

Celestyal Cruises is reported as considering building two new 1,800-passenger vessels. The company had carried 20 percent more passengers in 2015 year-over-year and is looking at expanding its fleet.

Costa Cruises announced on 1st February that it had appointed New York based hospitality designer Adam D. Tihany as Creative Director for two new ships scheduled for delivery in 2019 and 2020. The new ships will be the first cruise vessels powered with Liquefied Natural gas (LNG) and their layout will reflect suggestions from Costa guests, with the aim of creating a more efficient use of the ships’ space and ultimately an enhanced experience for guests. Built in Turku, Finland, each of the new Costa ships will exceed 180,000gt, offering more than 2,600 passenger cabins for a total of 6,600 passengers on board.

Hapag-Lloyd has unveiled new branding, along with a modest name change that will help promote the luxury cruise line to a global audience. The old Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten name has been changed to Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, in a bid to attract a global clientele rather than just German speaking guests. The company is also celebrating its 125th anniversary.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises has announced plans for an extensive $125 million upgrade to its fleet. Enhancements will see public spaces and suites refurbished to match those of the upcoming Seven Seas Explorer. The 28,803gt/1999 built Seven Seas Navigator will be the first to benefit from the improvements, when she enters dry dock on 31st March in Marseilles. Former regent CEO Mark Conroy has been appointed as Silverseas’ Manager for the Americas.

Royal Caribbean Cruises’ 48,563gt/1990 built Empress of the Seas will return to the fleet in March after a period with Pullmantur as their Empress, to offer short 4 and 5 night Caribbean getaway cruises from Miami to Nassau, The Bahamas, Cozumel and Costa Maya, grand Cayman and Key West, Florida. Originally launched as the Nordic Empress in June 1990, the ship was the first to set sail from Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, New Jersey in 2004. Built by Chantiers de L’Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France, she has a double occupancy capacity of 1,602 guests.

The Anthem of the Seas headed back to its New Jersey port on 8th February after a storm packing high winds and 30 foot waves toppled furniture and shattered glass on the vessel, slightly injuring four people. The cruise company said the storm off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, was more severe than expected.

Saga Cruises and German shipbuilder Meyer Werft have signed a memorandum of agreement for the delivery of a new cruise vessel in summer 2019 and the option to order a second for delivery in 2021. This confirms the memorandum of agreement which Saga Cruises and Meyer Werft initiated in September 2015. The 55,900gt vessel will be approximately 234m long, 30.8m wide. With this project Meyer Werft’s building dock I, which is presently used for block construction, will be reactivated. Therefore in 2019, Meyer Werft will deliver three new cruise ships to clients instead of the currently planned two ships.

Princess Cruises announced today, on Chinese New Year, that Majestic Princess (above), the first cruise ship built and designed specifically for the China market will also be the first ship in the fleet to debut an elegant new livery design featuring the company’s iconic logo. The new livery design will roll out fleetwide over the next few years.

Scenic, an Australian riverboat operator, has announced a new 16,500gt ocean-going cruise vessel for 228 passengers. To be named the Scenic Eclipse, the luxury vessel will enter service in 2018. The vessel is being built at the Uljanik Shipyard in Croatia. The company promises that luxury will meet discovery, with five-star facilities and a double-hull designed to 1a-super ice class.

Virgin Cruises’ court case, brought by Colin Veitch, came to a settlement in the New Year. The lawsuit was officially closed by Chief Judge K. Michael Moore on 25th January, after some 10 months. The prosecution had claimed that Sir Richard Branson and virgin had stolen the ideas and business plan of Colin Veitch so as to enter the cruise industry. The lawsuit sought more than $300 million in damages and asked a judge to stop the London-based virgin from going forward with its recently announced cruise line. The dispute was amicably resolved with both parties praising the other’s attributes.