Oasis of the Seas to Europe in 2014

Renowned worldwide for its award-winning Caribbean cruise vacations, Oasis of the Seas now will offer a sampling of its unrivaled Oasis-class experience in Europe. Oasis of the Seas’ 2014 Europe season will open for sale on Apr. 11, 2013.

Guests will sail the Atlantic and Western Mediterranean and delight in Oasis-class exclusive amenities and concepts throughout its seven themed neighborhoods, such as an 82 foot-long zip line, a handcrafted carousel, the Rising Tide elevating bar, Broadway musicals, the Aquatheater high-diving performance venue, and Central Park with more than 12,000 live trees and plants. Oasis of the Seas also offers amenities that can only be found on Royal Caribbean, such as twin FlowRider surf simulators, cantilevered whirlpools, an ice-skating rink, the H20 Zone kids aquapark, and the Royal Promenade, an interior boulevard that stretches nearly the length of the ship and flanked by restaurants, lounges and boutiques, among many others.

Royal Caribbean’s family programming also will help ensure that guests of every generation can share in an unforgettable Europe family vacation aboard Oasis of the Seas.

The cruise line’s complimentary Adventure Ocean kids program offers ongoing educational and entertaining sessions for three age groups from three- to 11-year-olds, led by college-accredited counselors from 9:00 to 2:00 a.m. Two curricula for teens age 12 to 17 years offer more organic programming to offer them the flexibility to help shape their day with peers, as well as teen-only sessions on the FlowRider, Rock Wall and Sports Court. Furthermore, Oasis of the Seas also debuted the Royal Babies & Tots Nursery – soon to be fleetwide – that caters to Royal Caribbean’s youngest guests, age six to 36 months old.

Two trans-Atlantic crossings will afford guests the opportunity to experience all of Oasis of the Seas’ unmatched innovative amenities, exclusive entertainment, and variety of dining experiences. On these cruises, guests also will enjoy an exclusive preview of the Quantum-class experience and join in special programs that will amplify the Oasis-class experience.

A 12-night eastbound cruise from the ship’s homeport of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Barcelona departs Sept. 1, 2014 and a 13-night westbound cruise will return Oasis of the Seas to Port Everglades from Rotterdam on Oct. 14. Vacationers also can embark the westbound trans-Atlantic cruise at Southampton on Oct. 15.

Guests also can enjoy the world-acclaimed ship on a choice of three Europe sailings. Vacationers can choose among two roundtrip sailings on a five-night Western Mediterranean itinerary from Barcelona, and a seven-night Spain itinerary sailing from Barcelona to Rotterdam, The Netherlands, where Oasis of the Seas will enter drydock in Képpel Verolme shipyard for routine maintenance.

Additionally, a two-night Bahamas cruise departing on Aug. 30 and a five-night Western Caribbean cruise departing on Oct. 27, both roundtrip from Port Everglades, will bookend Oasis of the Seas’ short 2014 Europe season.

MSC Divina to Sail Year Round From Miami

MSC Cruises' growth in the cruise industry spurred the line's decision to respond to the requests of the travel agency community and consumers for a year round presence in the North American market.

The announcement came during the christening celebration for the line's twelfth new ship, MSC Preziosa, in Genoa, Italy this past Saturday. MSC Divina, sister ship of MSC Preziosa, was christened last spring and will now sail year round from PortMiami beginning November.

MSC Cruises record breaking growth is unmatched in the industry. The line began an investment program in 2003 committing 6 billion Euros to its expansion. Since then the line has acquired two vessels and built ten new ships resulting in one new vessel entering the fleet nearly every year. For the past eight years, the line has offered seasonal late fall and winter sailings from North America.

The extension of MSC Divina's scheduled seasonal sailings to year round sailings illustrates the company's commitment to the North American market. This will mark the first time MSC Divina has sailed from North America and the first time the line has sailed from PortMiami. The itineraries for the ship will be announced shortly.

Norwegian Launches All New Guppies Program for Children Under Three

Norwegian Cruise Line has announced that the line’s children’s program, Splash Academy, has implemented a brand new “Guppies” program offering exciting, interactive programming for kids’ ages six months to three years old.

The new program gives parents, with children under the age of three, the opportunity to engage in a variety of sensory-based programs with children including baby art, featuring organic, vegetable-based “Wee Can Too” art products, baby “Rhyme Time,” where a storyteller recites popular nursery rhymes featuring puppets, and “Motion in the Ocean,” a parent and baby mini-workout.

Now, for a limited time, families have an extra incentive to book a new cruise reservation in order to experience these new programs by taking advantage of Norwegian’s popular Kid’s Sail Free Sales Event.

For cruises booked now through March 23, 2013, kids ages 17 and under traveling with two adults in the same stateroom cruise free on select sailings. Taking advantage of this special offer gives families the perfect opportunity to experience the all new Guppies program and the rest of the exciting Splash Academy and Entourage program offerings.

Norwegian Cruise Line is also celebrating the successful fleet-wide implementation of its enhanced Youth and Teen programs, Splash Academy and Entourage. The new programs, announced in February of 2012, have received enthusiastically positive reviews from parents and kids, and have made a dramatic impact on the overall family cruise experience.

With the new programs, kids and teens have the chance to participate in a variety of innovative events and activities throughout their cruise, specially tailored to their individual age groups. Both Splash Academy and Entourage feature a different theme each day, such as “Rumble in the Jungle,” and “Under the Big Top,” offering new surprises every time the children return to the program.

Kids of all age groups love participating in the sporting activities that were developed through the partnership with The King’s Foundation and Camps, a United Kingdom-based organization. The sports component of the youth programs offers high quality sports activities designed to make a positive impact on the children.

Examples include soccer skills; physical challenges; and icebreaker action games. Bowling tournaments, soccer challenges and “dodge ball under the stars” are just a few of the active offerings for teens. The new program also offers the family a chance to play along in a variety of sporting activities including dodge ball, tug-of-war and other exciting family challenges.

One of the most popular aspects of the new program is the circus workshop, developed through the partnership with Hilario Productions’ Cirque du Jour, which offers fun circus activities for the whole family.

Through the program, children have the rare opportunity to learn a variety of unique skills such as balancing feathers, juggling, plate spinning and even stilt walking. Classes take place within the youth program, but a family circus school performed in a circus ring, hosted by the Cruise Director, who acts as ringmaster, is also offered.

Carnival Dream's Itineraries Expanded to New Five- and Eight-Day Cruises

Carnival Cruise Lines has expanded Carnival Dream’s year-round schedule from Port Canaveral, Fla., to include eight-day Caribbean departures along with two new five-day options, and a one-of-a-kind four-port, seven-day eastern Caribbean itinerary.

With these new options, Carnival Dream will offer six distinctly different five- to eight-day cruise programs from Port Canaveral – the widest variety of itinerary choices from this highly popular Central Florida homeport. Additionally, the expansion further bolsters the line’s position as the Caribbean cruise leader, operating approximately 1,250 voyages and carrying more than 3.6 million passengers within the region each year.

Carnival Dream’s two new eight-day schedules include a three-port Southern Caribbean itinerary with extended stops at the islands of Aruba, Curacao and Grand Turk, and an eastern Caribbean itinerary featuring visits to four tropical destinations: St. Maarten, Tortola, St. Thomas and Grand Turk. Seven southern Caribbean voyages will be offered, departing May 2 and 30, Aug. 23, Oct. 4, and Dec. 6, 2014, and Feb. 7 and March 7, 2015, while six eastern Caribbean cruises depart May 17, Sept. 5, Oct. 17, and Dec. 19, 2014, and Feb. 20 and March 20, 2015.

The two new five-day departures mark the first time that Carnival has offered short-cruise itineraries on a Dream-class ship. One five-day program features the popular ports of Key West, Nassau and Freeport departing May 25 and Oct. 12, 2014, and March 15, 2015, while the other offers day-long visits to Nassau and Grand Turk departing Aug. 31 and Dec. 14, 2014, and Feb. 15, 2015.

The line has also created a new four-port, seven-day eastern Caribbean itinerary – unique to Port Canaveral – that includes stops at Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas and Nassau. These attractive week-long cruises are being offered roughly once a month and complement Carnival Dream’s existing seven-day western Caribbean cruises calling at Cozumel, Belize, Mahogany Bay, and Costa Maya that sail throughout the year.

MSC Cruises to Become Third Biggest Cruise Line This Year

According to data from the 2013 Cruise Industry News Annual Report, MSC Cruises will become the third largest cruise company by capacity this year, trailing only Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International.

With the delivery of the MSC Preziosa, the Italian brand will carry over 1.45 million passengers on 12 ships this year.

That number propels MSC past Costa Crociere, Princess Cruises, and even Norwegian Cruise Line – to third on the capacity lists, with a 9.4 percent capacity increase over 2012.

With Carnival and Royal Caribbean carrying well over three million passengers each, MSC won’t be catching them anytime soon.

Interestingly, MSC is achieving its third place number with just 12 ships, over Norwegian’s 12 ships, compared to Princess, with 17 ships, which sail longer cruises.

By market, MSC will have over 50 percent of its capacity in the Mediterranean, 14 percent in South America, 12.5 percent in Northern Europe, and the rest in Africa, the Caribbean, Canary Islands and Red Sea.