Whales Force Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship To Abandon Port Call In Maine

Call it the revenge of the whales.

The Herald Gazette of Rockland, Maine reports Royal Caribbean has canceled a much-anticipated June call in the budding port town due to a new federal right whale regulation.

The news outlet says Royal Caribbean told officials last Friday that the 2,446-passenger Grandeur of the Seas wouldn't be visiting as planned because of a recently announced federal restriction that limits vessels to no greater than 10 knots (11.5 miles) per hour in a protective area off Cape Cod. The ship would have had to transit the area to reach the town.

The Gazette says local businesses in Rockland and Camden, Maine had been planning a big welcome for what was to be one of the largest influxes of tourists to the area ever.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the new restriction in December as a way to reduce ship strikes with right whales. Only around 350 northern right whales exist and ship strikes are one of the leading causes of death for the animals.

The restriction runs from March 1 to July 31.

Carnival Plans 'Drainpipe' Water Slide On Next Cruise Ship

Leave it to the "Fun Ship" folks at Carnival to come up with yet another way to fly down a water slide on a cruise ship.

Dubbed the DrainPipe, the company's latest watery innovation will be comprised of a 104-foot-long enclosed water slide that ends in a giant blue funnel that will swirl you around like you are going down a drain.

The DrainPipe will be one of a record four major water slides on the top deck of the 130,000-ton Carnival Dream -- the line's new ship debuting in September. It'll be in an area called WaterWorks, pictured above, that also will feature a four-deck-high, 303-foot-long enclosed corkscrew water slide –- the longest at sea –- and twin 80-foot-long racing slides. The area also will have squirting fountains, splash zones and dump buckets.

Carnival has been rolling out similar WaterWorks waterpark areas -- sans the Drainpipe -- on its eight Fantasy class ships over the past year during extensive drydocks to overhaul the ships.

As previously announced, the 3,646-passenger Dream also will boast cantilevered whirlpools that extend out over the ship’s beam, a larger spa than previous Carnival ships and other innovations for the line.

The Dream debuts on Sept. 21 with three 12-day Mediterranean cruises round-trip from Rome (Civitavecchia) before crossing the Atlantic to New York and the Caribbean.