Cuba Back on the Map

by Kevin Griffin writing for cybercruises.com

Earlier this month, Toronto-based Cuba Cruise announced a series of 7-night cruises around Cuba, to depart from Havana. This is the second time round for Cuba Cruise as in July 2011 it announced a similar programme of 7-night cruises by the same ship, the 966-berth Louis Cristal. These cruises were cancelled when the new cruise line said it needed more time to develop its sales channels.

Cuba – The Cathedral

The season will run from December 16, 2013, to March 31, 2014, and will offer a total of 15 departures. Cruise-only fares for the 7-night cruise will start at $586 in double occupancy and run to $1,204 per person in an Imperial Suite. Fly/cruise packages will also be available from Thomas Cook in Germany, and the Holiday Place in the UK, as well as a number of tour operators in Canada, which sent about a million tourists to Cuba out of the 2.8 million that visited last year.

Louis Cristal’s 7-night cruises will leave Havana every Monday at midnight and call at  Bahia Nipe, Cayo Coco, Holguin, Santiago de Cuba, Montego Bay (Jamaica), Cienfuegos, Trinidad and sail past Isla de la Juventud. Available on her itinerary will be six UNESCO World Heritage sites and four national parks. It will also be possible to join ship on Fridays at Montego Bay in Jamaica, where departures are scheduled for 11 pm.

With the exception of a 5 pm departure from Cayo Coco on Tuesdays, most port departures take place between 9 pm and midnight, giving plenty of time to explore ashore.

Although cruise lines that are controlled in the United States are barred from cruising to Cuba, other operators, mainly European, also cruise to Cuba. This year, these include Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and Thomson Cruises, both controlled by TUI, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery, while next year will see the addition of Star Clippers, which plans a Cuban series for 6- to 14-night cruises. These cruises are not sold to US citizens.

Since the Cuban Revolution, an American ban on its citizens travelling to Cuba and US-based companies trading with Cuba has kept cruise lines away from the largest island in the Caribbean. And under present US law, no ship calling on Cuba is allowed to trade into a US port for a period of six months after making a call in Cuba.

Nevertheless, there is slow progress towards a new future. While 900,000 Russians visited Cuba last year, almost 100,000 Americans also arrived on so-called people-to-people visits and charter flights have been allowed from many US airports.

To-day Marks The 100th Anniversary Of The First Cruises From Florida

by thecruisepeople

The first Evangeline, built on the Clyde in 1912 and owned by the Plant Line, offered the first cruises from Florida in 1913

One hundred years ago to-day, on January 7, 1913, not long after the completion of Henry Flagler’s Oversea Railway from Miami across the Florida keys to Key West,  the 3,786-ton Evangeline sailed from Key West on her inaugural cruise from Florida. She is shown here in a fine portrait by prolific Danish-American maritime artist Antonio Jacobsen (1850-1921).  Evangeline operated a season of eight 11-night cruises, the first such programme to be operated from a Florida port. Priced from $110 per person, they were sold as “Winter Outings on Summer Seas“: –

The s.s. Evangeline will leave Key West direct for Colon, Panama, remain at that port two days, and sail direct to Kingston, Jamaica, remain at that port for two days, thence sail for Key West, Fla, via Havana, Cuba. Persons desiring to stop in Havana may do so at will, and return to Key West on any of the P&O ships with no extra charge.

These first Florida cruises were offered between January and April 1913 by the Jacksonville-based Peninsular & Occidental Steamship Company, a joint venture of the Plant Line and Henry Flagler. They were followed by seven similar 14-night cruises in the winter of 1914, but this time from Jacksonville, much closer to the main population centres, with fares from $125.  All these cruises included a visit to the Panama Canal, then still under construction, as well as calls at Kingston and Havana, but with the First World War, no cruises were offered in 1915.

Evangeline, first of the name, had been completed in October 1912 by the London & Glasgow Shipbuilding Company of Govan for the Canada Atlantic & Plant Steamship Co Ltd of Halifax. She was named for Longfellow’s epic poem of the same name, and like her predecessors cruised both in the north and in the south.  She succeeded a number of other ships owned by the Plant interests, which had routes both between Florida and the West Indies  and between Canada and New England.

The Plant Line’s Olivette of 1887 carried the Young Winston to Havana in 1895

One of these, the 1,611-ton Olivette, had carried a 20-year-old Winston Churchill on the event of his first visit to Cuba. On November 19, 1895, Churchill sailed in her from Tampa to Havana, where he developed a particular taste for Cuban cigars.  Olivette had been built in 1887 by the famous William Cramp & Sons shipyard in Philadelphia as the second ship in a new service between Tampa, Key West and Havana. The first had been the 884-ton Mascotte of 1886, which features to-day on the crest of the City of Tampa. Starting in July 1892 Olivette joined the 1,738-ton Halifax in summer service between Boston, Halifax and Charlottetown PEI, and then Halifax started coming south by winter to assist Olivette.

The Plant Line’s Halifax of 1888 at Charlottetown. She also ran experimental cruises to Jamaica

Halifax had been built by the London & Glasgow Shipbuilding Company in 1888 for the Boston, Halifax and Charlottetown run. Early in her career, in March 1891, she had taken “an excursion of 185 Americans from Boston” to Jamaica. She also operated a series of experimental cruises from Tampa to Nassau and Jamaica in the winter of 1893. These ships had been joined briefly in 1899 by the 5,018-ton La Grande Duchesse, a white elephant that ended up being sold in 1901 to the Savannah Line, but that’s another story.

Miami also had a Peninsular & Occidental ship to its name in the 1,741-ton Cramp-built Miami, introduced in 1898, but she operated essentially as a night boat, crossing to Nassau two or three times a week, depending on the season. Similarly, the 1,414-ton Prince Edward ran between Miami and Havana in 1901-03, as did the 1,619-ton City of Miami in 1921-23. Although new passenger services were started between Miami and Philadelphia in 1923 and  New York and Baltimore in 1924, it would be January 1927 before regular cruises began operating from Miami. Its first foreign cruise ship, Blue Star Line’s 15,501-ton Arandora Star, would arrive in February 1932 and in January 1935, the Miami-Nassau route would offer its first all-inclusive cruises. The rest, as they say, is history.

Oceania Cruises’ Riviera offers some of the finest itineraries through the islands of the West Indies

But what could one think of to-day to reach something close to the original golden era of cruising? One needn’t look far. Oceania Cruises’ 66,084-ton Riviera is now conducting a series of 10-14-night cruises from Miami to “Sun Splashed Isles,” most of which are sold out.  One of the best of these leaves Miami for 14 nights on March 3, for two days at sea, Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Grenada, Barbados, St Vincent, Antigua and St Barts before two more days at sea on the way back to Miami. No San Juan, no St Thomas, no Cozumel, no Labadee, what could be better?

Riviera will be back in the Caribbean in 2014 sailing a series of ten similar 10-14-day cruises, so ask now while they are available. Please call Gay Scruton at The Cruise People Ltd in London on 020 7723 2450 or e-mail us at cruise@cruisepeople.co.uk. or in North America call The Cruise People, Ltd. at 1.800.961.5536 or e-mail cruise@thecruisepeople.ca.

Some Early Royal Caribbean History: The Beginnings of the Eastern Shipping Corporation and the s.s. Nuevo Dominicano

 

The 3,445-ton Nuevo Dominicano, formerly the Clarke Steamship Company’s New Northland, seen here at Miami in 1953. This ship pioneered cruising from Miami during the 1920s and 1930s, and again in the 1950s

The Beginnings of the Eastern Shipping Corporation

In May 1948, the former Canadian cruise ship New Northland, a vessel that had cruised from Montreal in the summer time and from Miami by winter before the war, was purchased by the Flota Mercante Dominicana, or the Dominican Line, which announced that it would run her between New York, Puerto Plata and Ciudad Trujillo, as Santo Domingo was known under the rule of Dominican dictator President Trujillo.

She was renamed Nuevo Dominicano and crewed by the Dominican Navy, and for a year and a half ran from New York. But not attracting enough passengers to fill her 177 berths, she was replaced by cargo ships.

This is where Frank Leslie Fraser came onto the scene. Fraser, whose family had started a banana shipping business from Jamaica in the 1930s, was the general administrator of the Flota Mercante Dominicana, president of Fraser Fruit & Shipping of Cuba, president of the Dominican Fruit & Steamship Co and managing director of the Maple Leaf Steamship Co of Montreal, through which he had purchased a number of coasters in Canada when his own banana boats had been requisitioned during the war. These coasters he had used to serve the Dominican Republic.

But most importantly, Fraser was president of the Eastern Shipping Corporation, which would now charter Nuevo Dominicano to cruise out of Miami.

While visiting Kingston in his native Jamaica, Fraser told the “Gleaner” that Nuevo Dominicano would make fortnightly trips to Jamaica, with stops at Kingston and Montego Bay as well as Ciudad Trujillo on a 12-night cruise. By arrangement with the Bahamian Government, she would also call at Nassau on Thursdays, leave on Friday morning and be in Miami by Saturday morning.

It was Fraser’s idea to bring Nuevo Dominicano back to Miami, where she had operated successfully in the past. Under his direction, she was readied for cruising out of Miami once more. Despite her renaming, Eastern still used the old name in brackets, with the new Eastern Shipping Corp brochure exclaiming:-

“An exciting life will be yours aboard the s.s. Nuevo Dominicano (formerly known as the s.s. New Northland) with luxury accommodations for 177 passengers, completely refitted from stem to stern to provide all cruise comforts, modern services and delicious cuisine.

“Attractively and comfortably furnished staterooms make this a giant, floating hotel for your enjoyment. You will delight in the spacious decks for sports or promenading, comfortable lounges, sunbathing and swimming in the ship’s swimming pool.”

The new swimming pool was installed where her forward cargo hatch had been.

The Bahamians were busy behind the scenes however and on April 16, 1950, the “New York Times” reported that Nuevo Dominicano would offer more Nassau voyages:-

“The Nuevo Dominicano, which made two Miami-Nassau cruises each month during the winter, has inaugurated a spring and summer schedule which includes six stops at Nassau each month. The vessel will visit Nassau twice on her nine-day cruises, one to Ciudad Trujillo, the other to Kingston, Jamaica, stopping at Nassau on both outward and homeward legs. The vessel also will make two Miami-Nassau cruises each month, with a two-day stop in Nassau.”

The ship’s most famous passenger during this period was actor Clark Gable who with his wife travelled to Nassau for a golfing holiday in December 1950.

Although the Eastern Shipping Corporation successfully inaugurated year-round cruises from Miami, at the end of three years it decided to end its charter of Nuevo Dominicano. For three years, all had gone well for Nuevo Dominicano, but with a capacity of only 177 passengers, there was not much room for profit. Fraser’s absence would only be temporary, however.

The Dominican Republic Steamship Line

To replace Eastern, the Dominicans formed the Dominican Republic Steamship Line in 1953. Unwisely, the naval personnel were withdrawn and a mixed crew took over the deck and engine departments. Standards began to drop. The ship no longer called at Jamaica, but ran 11-day winter cruises on alternate Mondays from Miami to Nassau, Ciudad Trujillo and Port-au-Prince, and 3-night Friday weekend cruises from Miami to Nassau. The 11-day cruises also offered a short one-way passage from Miami to Nassau.

Every Monday and Friday from July through September she ran 3-day cruises from Miami to Nassau. This was the opposite of what had been introduced by New Northland in 1935 as these were summer cruises and not winter ones.

Soon, however, the new management not only failed in passenger service, but the ship also suffered continual breakdowns. That August, she had to be towed into Miami by the US Coast Guard, and again in September by a salvage tug. At this point, the US Coast Guard suspended her passenger certificate and required a general refit of the safety equipment.

She left Miami on October 9, 1953, for a refit in the Dominican Republic and within twenty-four hours was reported aground off Nuevitas, Cuba. On October 17, she ran aground again, on Punta Guarico, near Baracoa. On November 26, she was refloated and anchored in semi-protected waters but she suddenly went down.

Her end was reported in the “New York Times” on November 26, 1953, under the heading “Jinxed Liner Sinks at Anchor in Cuba”: “After a successful salvage operation, the empty passenger liner Nuevo Dominicano rolled over and ‘died’ in southern waters on Thursday night, it was reported here yesterday. No one was injured.”

This ship had been a true pioneer of cruising from Miami – she had operated the first weekly cruises from that port, in January 1927, the first all-inclusive cruises (as opposed to just overnight steamship service) between Miami and the Bahamas and become Miami’s first year-round cruise ship, in 1950.

The Eastern Story

The loss of Nuevo Dominicano produced an opportunity for Fraser. His Eastern Shipping Corporation decided to look for a ship to fill the gap left by her loss and in May 1954, he bought Eastern Steamship Lines’ Yarmouth for $500,000. On June 18, 1954, his new ship began a series of 9-day Miami, Jamaica and Haiti cruises that alternated with 4-day Miami, Nassau and Havana cruises.

However, at the request of the Bahamian Government, which no longer had the services of  Nuevo Dominicano, he soon renamed his ship Queen of Nassau and put her into a two-year contract running between Miami and Nassau. Following the same schedule as the Nuevo Dominicano, the Queen of Nassau left Miami for Nassau every Monday and Friday at 6 pm. If Fraser had not been able to make money with Nuevo Dominicano‘s 177 berths, he could certainly do so with the 500-passenger Queen of Nassau.

At the end of 1954, Fraser reunited the two sister ships by acquiring Evangeline after she completed her last season on the Boston to Yarmouth NS run. Evangeline did longer cruises but she made it to Nassau every second weekend.

Fraser continued to build his business. In 1959, he acquired Bahama Star at auction for $512,000 and promptly began advertising her as the largest cruise ship sailing from Miami. Late in 1960, he bought Ariadne. These two ships at first offered longer cruises, then moved to the 3- and 4-day cycle, out of Miami and Port Everglades respectively, serving both Nassau and Freeport.

Fraser Sells Eastern

Meanwhile, on May 27, 1961, an item in the “New York Times” recorded a change in the ownership of the Eastern Shipping Corporation: -

“The Eastern Shipping Corporation, formerly controlled by the McCormick Shipping Corporation of Panama, has been acquired by W R Lovett of Jacksonville, Fla. Mr Lovett reported yesterday that the corporate name had been changed to Eastern Steamship Corporation. The company is general agent for the cruise ships Evangeline, Yarmouth, Bahama Star and Ariadne, which operate between Miami and the West Indies.”

Three days after this announcement, Rafael Trujillo was assassinated in the Dominican Republic, bringing to an end a dictatorship that had lasted for thirty-one years.And by January 1962, Fraser had passed full control to William Lovett, a 71-year-old financier who was experienced in running banana boats himself, as founder of the Winn-Dixie supermarket chain..

When Eastern changed hands the letter “F” for Fraser on the ships’ funnels was replaced by “L” for Lovett. But unfortunately, Fraser died on July 22, 1962, only a few months after the sale, at the age of 57. And by 1965, Lovett would rename the company once more, this time as Eastern Steamship Lines

Meanwhile, in 1963, Yarmouth had been sold to another Miami company, Yarmouth Cruises Inc, and was soon joined by Evangeline, which was renamed Yarmouth Castle to fit in with the Yarmouth Cruise Lines theme. These veterans were placed onto a new run that served Freeport as well as Nassau, on a schedule of four sailings a week. Yarmouth Castle, of course, is known now for the loss of eighty-seven lives in a fire off the Bahamas on the night of November 13, 1965.

Eastern Steamship Lines had kept the larger Bahama Star and Ariadne, but in 1968 it acquired the larger New Bahama Star, formerly the Peninsular & Occidental Steamship Co’s Miami. New Bahama Star was the largest cruise ship sailing from Miami, and its purchase by Eastern effectively meant the end of a competitor, a company that had introduced the first Miami to the Miami-Nassau route seventy years earlier, in 1898.

Gotaas-Larsen Corporation

Passenger numbers leaving Miami reached 188,000 in 1967 and 246,000 in 1968. In 1970, Lovett, now 79, sold out to Gotaas-Larsen Corporation of Norway, one-third owner of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, which had been formed in 1968. By then, the number of Miami passengers was 610,000 and growing. Royal Caribbean was introducing three new ships to the Miami market in 1970-71 and others had also come onto the scene.

In 1972, Eastern’s new Norwegian owners introduced its largest ship, the 24,458-ton Emerald Seas, acquired from Chandris Lines, partly in exchange for the smaller Ariadne. Although Gotaas-Larsen was involved in both Royal Caribbean and Eastern, any conflict of interest was avoided by Royal Caribbean handling the longer-duration 7- and 14-night cruises while Eastern looked after the 3- and 4-day market, now under its fourth name as Eastern Cruise Lines.

Miami passenger numbers exceeded the million mark in 1977. Ultimately, a merger of Eastern Cruise Lines, its West Coast affiliate Western Cruise Lines and Stardance Cruises led to another new firm, Admiral Cruises, in 1986. By then, Miami was hosting three million passengers a year.

Admiral Cruises was taken over in early 1992 by Royal Caribbean, which decided to sell its older ships and to complete its “Future Seas” newbuilding project as the 48,563-ton Nordic Empress. This was the first ship to be designed and built specifically for the Florida-Nassau short cruise market since Henry Flagler’s Miami of 1898, the trade having been served traditionally by second-hand, seasonal or chartered tonnage.

By the late Capt Carl Netherland Brown and Kevin Griffin of The Cruise People

Illustrations courtesy of Michael L Grace’s “Cruising the Past” website.   www.cruisingthepast.com

Carnival Cruise Check-in at Miami International Airport

Miami International Airport, FL (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Carnival Cruise Lines has opened check-in counters at Miami International Airport.  The counters are available from 8 a.m.. to 2 p.m.. at Concourses D and H on sailing days.

Passengers are directed to counters based on flight arrivals.  After checking in, they get an "Airport Express" boarding card to expedite arrival at the cruise terminal.  Sail & Sign cards are also given to passengers at the airport and transport to the pier can also be purchased during the airport check-in service.

del.icio.us Tags: check-in cruise,Miami Airport

CELEBRITY REFLECTION Delivered

Celebrity Cruises rounds out five-ship Solstice Class fleet with delivery of Celebrity Reflection.

Celebrity Reflection officially became part of Celebrity Cruises’ modern luxury fleet. Celebrity Cruises President & CEO Michael Bayley and Richard D. Fain, Chairman & CEO of parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., joined Bernard Meyer of shipbuilder Meyer Werft in a celebratory handover ceremony onboard the ship.

The ship sets sail on a series of Mediterranean sailings before crossing the Atlantic to begin her first Caribbean season. Celebrity Reflection will be named December 1 in Miami, with four Godmothers – all of them employees of the company whose lives have been touched by breast cancer – presiding over the ceremony.

 

More information on Celebrity Reflection

 

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New York Icons the Rockettes® Named Godmothers of Norwegian Breakaway

Radio City Music Hall (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Norwegian Cruise Line and MSG Entertainment have announced, that one of New York’s most illustrious and beloved icons, will christen Norwegian Breakaway, further strengthening the ship’s strong ties to New York. The christening ceremony will take place in New York City on May 8, 2013 on board Norwegian Breakaway, the largest ship to homeport year-round in New York.

As part of their role as Godmothers, two Rockettes will sail aboard the first six sailings of Norwegian Breakaway, beginning May 12, 2013, and the first sailing of each month thereafter, taking part in special events for guests to enjoy.

“This truly takes the role of Godmother to a new level as the Rockettes will be a special part of Norwegian Breakaway’s unique cruising experience.”

“Norwegian Breakaway is being designed as New York’s ship and we want everyone to know that this is the ‘must-sail’ cruise ship from New York in 2013 and beyond,” said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line’s chief executive officer. “I strongly believe that the Rockettes, one of the most beloved and recognizable New York icons, are the perfect choice to serve as the ship’s Godmothers. The Rockettes not only epitomize New York, they are known as strong role models and talented stars. We couldn’t be more pleased to have these renowned dancers as the Godmothers of New York’s ship, Norwegian Breakaway.”

Onboard Norwegian Breakaway, the Rockettes,will be showcased with a variety of offerings, including a historical retrospective in the ship’s library, exclusive fitness class designed by the Rockettes, featured beverages and more. On select sailings, passengers will have the exclusive opportunity to meet two of the Rockettes. Sailing on the first six cruises from New York, as well as the first sailing of every month, two Rockettes will offer special fitness classes, photo opportunities, meet and greet speaker series and more.

“Having two Rockettes on board select sailings is going to be a very special opportunity for our guests to have more interaction with these incredibly talented and dynamic women,” added Sheehan. “This truly takes the role of Godmother to a new level as the Rockettes will be a special part of Norwegian Breakaway’s unique cruising experience.”

Norwegian Breakaway

The 4,000 passenger Norwegian Breakaway will arrive in her year-round homeport of New York City in early May 2013. The ship will begin weekly summer seven-day cruises to Bermuda on Sunday, May 12, 2013. From October 2013 through April 2014, New York’s ship will offer seven-day voyages from the heart of Manhattan to the Bahamas and Florida, as well as two 12-day sailings to the Southern Caribbean.

Ship details for Norwegian Breakaway

Contact The Cruise People for more details and reservation at 1-800-961-5536 or e-mail cruise@thecruisepeople.ca.  If you like to research and book online that can be done through our website www.thecruisepeople.ca

LiveJournal Tags: Norwegian Breakaway,Rockettes

Star Clippers To Cruise Cuba

by Kevin Griffin writing for cybercruises.com

Over the years, as Carnival Corp & plc and Royal Caribbean Cruises have expanded into Europe by acquisition, a number of Cuban cruise programmes have had to be shut down when they purchased Iberocruceros and Pullmantur.

Star Clippers, however, is European-controlled and has just announced a programme of eight Cuba cruises in the winter of 2014 on board its 170-passenger Star Flyer. This will be an expansion of its already existing winter cruise programme in the Caribbean, which has been based on Barbados and St Maarten.

Star Flyer will operate four Cuban itineraries — in February and March — ranging from six nights to 14 nights in duration. The line’s Cuban base port will be Cienfuegos, which will see positioning cruises at the opening and end of the programme and one 6-night and five 7-night cruises round trip from Cienfuegos.

“Cuba represents an exciting new destination both for our first-time guests and our many repeat clients,” said Star Clippers president, Mikael Krafft. “As well as offering spectacular history, culture and architecture, the island’s coast is ideal for sailing, with many beautiful anchorages and uninhabited beaches and cays.”

The Cuban cruises cannot be sold to US citizens or residents due to the embargo which prohibits travel to Cuba unless under restricted circumstances. While Europeans, Canadians and South Americans will be able to book these cruises, present US laws will mean that US sales agents will not be able to sell this programme.

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Reaction To North American ECA

by Kevin Griffin writing for cybercruises.com

Last Wednesday, August 1, a new North American Emission Control Area came into effect, with rules that call for a maximum sulphur content of 1% for fuel burned within 200 nautical miles of most of the coast of North America. By August 1, 2015, this limit will be lowered to 0.1%. With the approval of the International Maritime Organisation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States and Transport Canada have introduced the rules, and the respective Coast Guards of each country will be responsible for their enforcement.

The penalty for any infringement is $25,000 per day, or $30,000 if records are not kept correctly, although Canada will not be fully enforcing the new ECA for several months yet, as it is still in discussion with its own domestic marine industry over fleet averaging.

The immediate potential cost to the industry is relatively easy to calculate, as many ships will now have to burn more expensive fuel. On the date of implementation, for example, the price per tonne of 1% sulphur fuel in major US ports was 21% higher than that of the Intermediate Fuel Oil (IFO380) that is usually burned by many ships today.

For a ship that burns 100 tonnes per day, for example, the extra cost at $129 per tonne, would amount to $12,900 per day while at sea. Disney, which has changed routes more frequently than any other cruise line, has been fast off the mark, asking visitors to its web site “Do you think Disney Cruise Line will discontinue their Alaskan Cruises? Or, would you be willing to pay upwards of $150 per person in a fuel surcharge in order to keep this or any other unique itinerary?”

Last week, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) released an estimate that indicated that, if enforced as proposed, the new ECA regulations would cause the number of cruise passengers visiting North American ports to fall by 2.2 million, resulting in a loss of 14,000 jobs and an economic loss of $1.5 billion annually to local economies.

For some time now, CLIA has been proposing an emissions-averaging scheme instead of the current plan which simply calls for fuels with no more than 1% sulphur to be used within the ECA zone. CLIA’s approach would be a form of weighted averaging based on air quality, whereby participating cruise ships would consume low sulphur fuels where the human health benefits were the greatest, such as in or near ports, and conventional fuels where the human health benefits are minimal, such as at sea or away from population centres.

The use of shore power in a growing number of ports could also be taken into account but under CLIA’s proposal no community would be subjected to higher emissions from a cruise ship than current levels and the global limits on sulphur content would continue to apply to all fuel consumption.

For several months now, the Bunkerworld web site has been covering both sides of the argument, and its headlines, many of them antagonistic towards the cruise industry, make an interesting read:

April 19: Cruise industry ECA ‘sulphur averaging’ method on thin ice. Model that might allow higher sulphur fuel to be used near low-density pollution areas ‘has not gone down well’ with regulators.

May 2: Cruise industry’s alternative ECA plan splitting opinions. EPA not in favour of CLIA’s sulphur averaging proposal but industry is lobbying Congress for support.

May 23: EPA ‘apoplectic’ over cruise industry sulphur proposals. ‘Flexibility’ for cruise industry could mean emissions ‘ten times’ greater than would achieved by following ECA regulations.

June 6: Cruise lines exaggerating ECA challenges. CLIA’s proposal for flexibility is a ‘flawed’ scheme ‘that will expose communities to harmful pollution’

July 3: Cruise industry seeks alternative compliance to North American ECA. ‘We are looking for a way to comply with the ECA; we are not seeking an exception. That is the spirit we have taken from the very beginning.’

July 23: Cruise line members want to see ECA flexibility. Cruising in Pacific North could be curtailed by bunker shortages and higher prices.

Outside the cruise industry, Boston-based short-sea shipping operator CSL International has called for the limit to be reduced to 50 miles in 2015 for vessels of less than 20,000 horsepower, as use of the low sulphur fuel beyond that distance may not provide any appreciable environmental benefit.

In Europe, meanwhile, ferry companies have proposed delaying the implementation of the lower 0.1% limit.

Meanwhile, on July 13, the State of Alaska filed a lawsuit seeking relief from the enforcement of the ECA in Alaskan waters, saying that the extension of the ECA to Alaska was unlawful because two-thirds of the US Senate had not consented to the extension as required by the US Constitution.

Alaska therefore requested that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s acceptance of the ECA’s extending to Alaska be set aside and the enforcement of the ECA in Alaskan waters be permanently prevented. The defendants in this action were named as the Secretary of State, the EPA, the US Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security.

For the cruise ship industry, Alaska estimates the ECA would mean 585,000 fewer visitors to the state, resulting in $150 million less income for Alaskan workers and $180 million less direct spending by Alaska tourists.

Not only that, but in a state that is heavily dependent on imports through the port of Anchorage, the effect on cargo would be in increase shipping costs of between 8% and 20%.

Over at Congress, where CLIA has been lobbying hard for the ECA regulations to be revised, the EPA does not seem to have many friends. In a late June press release, for example, legislators said the EPA was “an agency that has been has been rife with governmental overreach, overspending on ineffective and unnecessary programs, and costly and questionable regulations.”

When announcing their fiscal year 2013 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill, the House Appropriations Committee said the legislation “reflects significant efforts to rein in the EPA” and “includes provisions to rein in various problematic, costly, and potentially job-killing regulatory actions.”  It also singled out the EPA as a federal agency that mandates “overly burdensome regulatory hurdles.”

The bill reins in funding and out-of-control regulation at the EPA, funding it at $7 billion, which is $1.4 billion, or 17% less than fiscal year 2012. It also maintains a cap on EPA personnel at the lowest number since 1992 and makes cuts to other EPA programs and funding.

“The bill reins in funding and out-of-control regulation at the EPA,” said Interior Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson. House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers said it would prevent the EPA from “stepping out of their lane and stifling our economic recovery.”

The jury is still out on whether Congress will be able to help the cruise industry, but it is interesting that even after the official implementation date Canada is still negotiating fleet averaging with its own marine industry.

Solo Travellers Offered Deal With Sea Voyager — Paying Same As Double Occupancy For 2012/13 Sailings Booked By Oct. 31

 

Solo travellers save when booking a true adventure experience with Sea Voyager Expeditions – paying the same per person price for those booking as a couple.  The company, launching in August, is offering this no supplement programme for those booking any 2012 or 2013 sailing by Oct. 31, 2012.  The relaxed and informal nature of the sailings and ship make it easy for singles to meet other guests, share meals and get to know each other on the varied excursions and activities.  Special single fares for the seven- to 12-night sailings range from $US3,950 to $7,450 (vs. the singles brochure rate of $6,350 to $8,950). Offers are capacity controlled and based on stateroom availability.

The new cruise line sets itself apart from competitors by focusing attention on four of the world’s most fauna- and wildlife-rich countries – Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Ecuador – visiting secluded bays, untouched wilderness, rarely visited small villages and Indigenous peoples.  Nearly all of the itineraries transit the Panama Canal – truly a unique experience from the perspective of a small ship.  Rounding out the unique exploration opportunities is the included onboard and shore-based education provided by the five expedition guides and naturalists aboard every voyage. These experts offer insight into a wide array of fascinating topics, including local culture, history, wildlife, geology and climate.  Included are all meals, pre-post hotels, shore tours, admission to museums and parks, tax and port fees, and transfers when the SVE air programme is used. 

Itineraries choices include:

• Eight-night "Caribbean Parks & Islands of Colombia & Panamá" which focuses on the Panamá Canal transit, the San Blas Islands, and the rainforests, clear waters and exotic wildlife of Columbia’s rarely visited coast;
• 12-night "Pacific Wilds of Ecuador, Colombia & Panama" and its similar reverse sailing, "Last Frontier of Panama Colombia & Ecuador " visiting Colombia’s Malaga Bay and Gorgona Island NP and giving guests the chance to hike Panama’s Darien Jungle and Ecuador’s Cayapas-Mataje Ecological Reserve;
• Eight-night "Unspoiled Pacific of Panama & Costa Rica" where highlights include Las Perlas Islands, Coiba Island – the world’s third largest marine park — and Osa Peninsula, named by National Geographic as "the most biologically intense place on Earth";
• Eight-night "Treasures of Costa Rica & Panama," where guests explore the Secas Islands with hikes, by Zodiac and kayak, and snorkel the secluded bays, Marenco Biological Reserve with its monkeys, toucans, parrots, manta rays, dolphins and other exotic wildlife, and Panama’s Darien Jungle with a visit to the local Emberá village.

Sea Voyager Expeditions understands that every passenger goes at his or her own speed and enjoys different interests.  So the line’s flexible and low-key approach to touring allows guests to participate as much or as little as they wish – hiking the near-virgin forest trails one day, relaxing in the warm waters of a secluded beach, kayaking the calm waters of a hidden bay the next or just going for a leisurely swim off the back platform of the ship.  The friendly international crew ensures the onboard comfort and needs of the guests are met.  Meals are prepared by talented chefs making use of local ingredients, freshly caught seafood and, of course, locally grown coffee.

M/V Sea Voyager is a versatile expedition ship designed for the tropics.  Its 60-passenger capacity allows for easy on/off access, a more personal experience, and close to nature feel.  All cabins are air-conditioned with outside views through panoramic windows, ample storage, and private bath.  The ship has a roomy lounge with large windows, bar, fitness room, library with WiFi, massage room, dining room with 2-12 guests per table, buffet, deck space, fore, aft and covered decks, and a platform for getting on/off Zodiacs, kayaks, swimming and snorkelling.

The Sea Voyager Expeditions team is comprised of cruise industry professionals, many with more than 25 years of expedition travel experience.  The company is committed to becoming the leader in tropical expeditions and preserving their unique destinations.  Further information, reservations and brochures, both printed and downloadable, are available from The Cruise People, Ltd. – 1.800.961.5536 or cruise@thecruisepeople.ca

Oceania’s Newest Ship in Caribbean

Oceania Cruises (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Riviera, Oceania Cruises’ newest ship in the upper-premium cruise segment, arrives at Miami on November 29 for her inaugural winter season. Riviera will sail five Caribbean voyages over 12 departure dates featuring ports of calls from the exotic Eastern to the deep Southern Caribbean.

Guests can enjoy the beaches, natural wonders and the diverse cultures of the Caribbean while foodies can experience the line’s new Culinary Discovery Tours exploring the local food offerings of the islands side-by-side with an expert chef.  

Riviera comes to the U.S. fresh from her inaugural European season, which kicked off in May after a gala christening ceremony in Barcelona. The ship has received much acclaim from guests and travel agents.

“Since her introduction, Riviera has been praised for her beautiful design, exceptional cuisine and outstanding service, consistently surpassing expectations,” said Kunal S. Kamlani, Oceania Cruises’ president. “With Miami as Riviera’s home port this winter, our guests will have the opportunity to enjoy this truly outstanding ship while experiencing all that the Caribbean has to offer.”

Travellers can choose from five different itineraries over 12 departure dates:

• Idyllic Isles – 11 days roundtrip from Miami, visiting Philipsburg, St. Maarten (new port for Oceania Cruises); St. John’s, Antigua; Bridgetown, Barbados; Castries, Saint Lucia; Gustavia, St. Barts; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Departure: Nov 29.

• Mayan Mystique – 10 days roundtrip from Miami. Ports include George Town, Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico; Belize City, Belize; Santo Tomas, Guatemala; Roatan, Honduras; Costa Maya, Mexico; and Key West, Florida. Departures: Dec 10, Jan 13, Feb 22, Mar 18.

• Island Holiday – 14 days roundtrip from Miami, calling at Charlestown, Nevis; St. John’s, Antigua; Kingstown, St. Vincent (new port for Oceania Cruises); Bridgetown, Barbados; St. George’s, Grenada; Gustavia, St. Barts; Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Departure: Dec 20.

On this sailing, Riviera will celebrate the holidays with traditional décor, festive menus and themed entertainment with special guest performers.

• Caribbean Hideaways – 10 days roundtrip from Miami, with visits to Tortola, British Virgin Islands; St. John’s, Antigua; Bridgetown, Barbados; Castries, Saint Lucia; and Gustavia, St. Barts. Departures: Jan 3, Jan 23, Feb 2, Feb 12, Mar 28.

• Ultimate Southern Caribbean – 14 days roundtrip from Miami. Ports include Oranjestad, Aruba; Willemstad, Curacao; St. George’s, Grenada; Bridgetown, Barbados; Kingstown, St. Vincent; Castries, Saint Lucia; St. John’s, Antigua; and Gustavia, St. Barts. Departure: Mar 4.

Plenty of Time Ashore to Discover the Caribbean

With evening departures from many ports, passengers have ample time ashore to explore majestic Mayan ruins, relax on pristine beaches or admire the colourful Dutch colonial architecture in Aruba, among many other options. In fact, Oceania has added numerous new shore excursions to its already robust Caribbean schedule as part of its Pillars of Distinction initiative.

For example, in Philipsburg, St. Maarten, a new port of call for Oceania Cruises, motorcycle enthusiasts can sign up for the Harley in Paradise tour for a memorable island ride. Oceania Cruises’ Artist Loft tours, designed to showcase the immense creativity and natural beauty of a port through art, will be offered in Barbados (Barbados Photo Adventure), Saint Lucia (Saint Lucia for Art Lovers) and Antigua (The Art of Antigua).

Food lovers can partake in Oceania Cruises’ popular Culinary Discovery Tours and explore the gastronomic landscape of several Caribbean ports. These tours take culinary enrichment to a new level combining hands-on classroom learning in the Bon Appétit Culinary Center with visits to local food markets alongside the ship’s chefs. In Tortola, for example, the Culinary Discovery Tour includes a visit to Good Moon Farm, an organic oasis of plants and crops where the planting is orchestrated around the lunar cycle. 

The 1,250-passenger Riviera is purpose-built for epicureans with six open-seating, gourmet restaurants – including a French bistro by Master Chef Jacques Pépin. Interior design highlights include a Lalique-designed grand staircase, elegant public rooms, spacious accommodations and Owner’s Suites furnished exclusively in Ralph Lauren Home.

Guests who book by Sept. 30, will receive two-for-one cruise fares and free air transportation and bonus savings of up to $3,000 per stateroom.

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