Cruise ship news

[ombugge]

The next “beauty” to join the Cruise ship fleet:

Photos: MSC World America Completes Sea Trials

A review of this marvel of a ship:
https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/cruise/msc/msc-world-america?stay=1&posfrom=1

Sailing in the Caribbean, MSC World America will also be the line’s largest cruise ship in the U.S., measuring 22 decks tall (though worth noting: both Deck 13 and Deck 17 are omitted, due to superstition) and more than 150 feet wide, with more than 2,600 cabins and 420,000 square feet of public space.

Family Aventura, located on the ship’s top deck is centred around The Harbor outdoor park which includes a high ropes course, a playground inspired by the lighthouse at MSC’s private island Ocean Cay, twin water slides.

At the center of the Promenade will have the spiral architecture of the 11-deck dry slide Jaw Drop, as well as LED light shows at night.

MSC World America Will Sail in the Caribbean

MSC World America will be deployed in the Caribbean for its inaugural season, sailing weeklong itineraries that alternate between the western and eastern Caribbean. Ports] include Puerto Plata, San Juan, Cozumel, Costa Maya, Roatan and Ocean Cay.

May she stay in the Caribbean for a LOOONG time.

[jdcavo]

@ombugge

May she stay in the Caribbean

Summer she’s going to Alesund, Geiranger, and Flam. You’ll be able to see her from your house.

[ombugge]

@jdcavo

You’ll be able to see her from your house.

Well I can always pull the curtains.

Actually she probably wouldn’t stand out in the crowd of ugly cruise ships visiting Ålesund on a regular basis.
This one is a regular:

AIDAnova - Norway cruises from Kiel 2025 / 2026

[ocnslr]

@jdcavo

Summer she’s going to Alesund, Geiranger, and Flam. You’ll be able to see her from your house.

I assume you were having some fun. WA is scheduled in Miami through Dec 2026.

[ombugge]

Hagen: No Private Island to Fleece Guests - Cruise Industry News | Cruise News

Hagen said that the company has $2.5 billion in cash on hand, and he’d rather invest that money in developing the business as opposed to returning to shareholders.

“I believe we can make better use of it in the company than I as a shareholder can do outside the company. So I think it may sound a little bit rich to sit on $2.5 billion, but it can give opportunities,” he said.

Some of the $2.5 Bn. will probably go to develop the market for Chinese cruise tourists, both in China, Europe and around the world:

Viking: Four River Ships For the Chinese Market in 2025 - Cruise Industry News...

“If you go on a Viking ship, the ones we normally go on, (it’s) English only onboard”.
“If you go on the Chinese-speaking ships, it’s Mandarin only onboard and largely Chinese food. They come to places to experience the history and culture around the river, and then they want to come home and be in comfort on our ships,” he added.

[ombugge]

Pink salmon to be served on a cruise in Norway

Fisherman Kenth Petersen. Photo: Elizaveta Vereykina
But in addition to the Hurtigruten, some local fishermen see the pink salmon as a valuable resource:

"The fight against pink salmon is already lost, - Kenth Petersen, a fisherman from Kirkenes told the Barents Observer, - "Pink salmon are good if you can handle them properly.

There is no system we can use to stop the invasion of Pacific salmon. But what is needed is for the government to make more efforts so that we can produce this product for consumption in the world. Food that comes from nature is usually good. So it would be a good resource for food supply here in Norway, Europe and worldwide”.

[ombugge]

Insignia will be converted to residential cruising late in 2027 (Crescent Seas)

New Residential Cruise Line to Launch Oceania’s Insignia as Second Ship

Crescent Seas reports she will undergo a more than $50 million comprehensive revitalization reducing her current 333 staterooms to 290 residences. The ship, which is 593 feet (181 meters) in length currently accommodates 670 passengers (double occupancy) and is considered small by current industry standards.

The company reports residencies will be priced between $650,000 to $10 million aboard Insignia. She will return to service with an inaugural voyage for New Year’s 2027-2028. Sales will begin in the late summer of 2025.

Anybody here want to live on a ship travelling the world in their golden years?

[Sand_Pebble]

This couple rents their cabin with food & services for $3,500 a month, locked in for 15 years. Retiring on $42,000 a year starting. Might not be a bad gig if they can sublet once they get tired of it. 15 yrs straight seems kind of a long time on a cruise ship? Probably die of E. Coli, dysentery, legionnaires disease before their contract is up.

Couple sells their business and sets sail on all-inclusive, 15-year cruise —...

[ombugge]

Then the cruise season is well and truly on in Ålesund. Two large cruise ships called together today:

AIDAnova is leaving:

Photo: Ålesund Havn webcam

Both are regular visitors through the summer season and into autumn:
Iona:
Arrived|30.04.2025 08:00|
|Departure|30.04.2025 18:00|
|Quay|The Southside Quays|
|Previous port|NOOLD|
|Next port|Haugesund|
|Max passengers|5200|
|Length|344.5 m|
|Width|42 m|
|Depth|8.8 m|
|Flag|BM00|
|Gross tonnage|184089|
|IMO|9826548|
|Signal|ZCHG9|

AIDAnova:
|Arrived|30.04.2025 07:00|
|Departure|30.04.2025 16:30|
|Quay|The Southside Quays|
|Previous port|Nordfjordeid|
|Next port|Kiel|
|Max passengers|6654|
|Length|337 m|
|Width|42 m|
|Depth|8.8 m|
|Flag|IT02|
|Gross tonnage|183900|
|IMO|9781865|
|Signal|IBUK|

[ombugge]

See anybody you know?:

Cruise line bans dozens after massive brawl caught on camera breaks out at...

Fox News Digital has reached out to CBP for comment on the matter.
The New York Post reported that the passengers were disembarking from the ship Carnival Jubilee,

According to CruiseMapper.com, the ship had just returned from a seven-day cruise to the western Caribbean, stopping in places like Cozumel, Mexico; Costa Maya, Mexico; and Roatán, Honduras.

[ombugge]

The NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ENDURANCE seen departing from London having been alongside HMS BELFAST. Built in Norway 2020 for Lindblad Expeditions she has a passenger capacity of 126. Photo : Geoff.Watson ©

National Geographic Endurance

She is presently at Fayard Lindsø, Denmark for docking.

[ombugge]

Iona arrived in Ålesund from Stavanger at 0730 hrs. this morning:

PS> This is her second visit of the season.

She left at 2030 this evening bound for Olden :

Photos: Martin Bugge Slinning (taken from his house)

[ombugge]

Carnival’s Costa Cruises to Dispose of Its Oldest Ship

Costa announced that the Costa Fortuna (102,669 gross tons) will be transferred to a new owner in mid-September 2026. The identity of the new firm was not revealed. The ship is currently operating in the Mediterranean with cruises to Greece and Turkey, and for the winter of 2025/2026 is scheduled to be homeported in the Canary Islands.

The Costa Fortuna was built by Fincantieri and delivered in 2003. It is based on Carnival Cruise Line’s Destiny platform. It is 892 feet (272 meters) in length with maximum passenger accommodations of approximately 3,500 people. The Costa Fortuna was among the first mega cruise ships for the brand and in Europe.

[ombugge]

SERENISSIMA is heading to Longyearbyen.
.She passed Ålesund yesterday: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:7.2/centery:61.7/zoom:5

Photo: Inge Fuhles

Photo: Leszek Golubińsk

She is Hurtigruten’s cruise ship around Svalbard for the 2025 season:

MS Serenissima | Arctic Mini-Cruise

Ex Harald Jarl. She served in the Hurtigruten Coastal Service from new in 1960 until 2001. Converted as expedition cruise ship Andrea in 2002 and became Serenissima in 2012:

skipshistorie

[ombugge]

Another veteran cruise ship likely to have reached the end of her long career:

Historic Cruise Ship Astoria Faces Uncertain Future in 75-Year Career

COURT SALE OF ASTORIA

Photo: Jan Oosterboer ©

Photo: Johan Trommel ©
On Tuesday 17 June 2025 at 13:00, the passenger ship “ASTORIA” IMO number: 5383304, register: Madeira, Portugal, Rotterdam District Court, location Rotterdam, at Wilhelminaplein 100 - 125 there.
Technical data: Passenger ship, 160 metres long, 21 metres wide, GT 16,144, flying the flag of Portugal.
Intended use: demolition. Delivery “as is where is”. Mooring: Rotterdam. Further information and conditions available from law firm Hoek Sinke Ten Katen, Hans ten Katen and Hidde Bol, Sint-Jobsweg 30-Z, 3024 EJ Rotterdam, tel.: +31 10 205 2180 Mobile: + 31 6 405 06 434

[ombugge]

HAL’s NIEUW STATENDAM passing the Nordkapp.
Photo via Chris Koonstra

[ombugge]

Hurtigruten Expedition (HX) MS Finnmarken in Hjørundfjorden.
Photo: Renate Weiler via NSF

MS Finnmarken (prev. Otto Sverdrup): About the Ship | Hurtigruten

M/V Silver Endeavour in Ålesund tonight.
Photo: Ålesund havn webcam

Luxurious Cruise Travel: Silver Endeavour

[ombugge]

David and Goliath:

In 2025, over 90 cruise ship calls are expected to arrive in Lofoten, according to an overview from Lofoten Port. Photo: Helge Gabrielsen

Cruisehavn Lofoten - Lofoten Havn

Forventede cruise anløp - Lofoten Havn

[ombugge]

With a capacity of 2,348 passengers, the Norwegian Star is one of the larger cruise ships visiting Svalbard this season. On May 31, she made port call to Longyearbyen.
Photo: Thomas Nilsen

Cruise ship season begins at Svalbard

Cruise ship passengers enjoy a walk in the world’s northernmost town, Longyearbyen. On Saturday, the visitors outnumbered the local residents in the centre. Photo: Thomas Nilsen

A recently released study made for Visit Svalbard and Svalbard Cruise Forum says the total revenue generated by cruise tourism for Longyearbyen in 2024 was 361 million kroner (€31 million). That counts for 9% of all economy at Svalbard.

Average spending per passenger sailing expedition cruises show an average of 2,227 kroner, while on conventional cruises they spent 1,886 kroner, the study tells.

457 port calls are announced to Longyearbyen from now until the last ship will dock on October 14, according to an overview by Visit Svalbard. Most ships are smaller expedition cruise ships that sails out of, and returns to, Longyearbyen during the summer season.

Last year, Norwegian authorities introduced stricter environmental regulations in regards to tourism on the archipelago which is located halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole.

With the new rules, tourists will be more limited to where and how they can make shore landings.

PS> The large cruise ships only calls at Longyearbyen. Most of the 457 port calls are by smaller Expedition cruise ships. Many of the smaller expedition ship spends the whole summer season carrying tourists to remote parts of the Svalbard archipelago, with base at Longyearbyen.

[quote]
What makes Svalbard so popular among cruise ship operators is the airport.
Longyearbyen is the only destination within the high Arctic where passengers can fly by commercial airliners or charter planes to embark and disembark, saving the expedition cruise ships several days of voyage at open sea compared with sailing from a port at mainland Europe into the white Arctic.

[ombugge]

The 323 mtr long and 37 mtr width ADORA MAGIC CITY with maximum capacity of 5,246 passengers moored in the port of Hakata/Fukuoka – Japan as spotted last Monday she arrived from Shanghai and departed again heading back for Shanghai in the evening ADORA MAGIC CITY is a large, domestically built cruise ship operated by Adora Cruises, a Chinese cruise line, and represents a significant milestone in China’s shipbuilding industry. It is the first Vista-class cruise ship built in China and embarked on its first commercial voyage in January 2024.
Text & photos : Piet Sinke www.maasmondmaritime.com (c)