MSC Cruises will deploy a second ship in China, MSC Splendida, from May 2018. MSC’s all stars of the seas awards are to take place on board MSC Fantasia on November 13-16 with awards for travel agents in six categories.
- Carnival Corporation announced at the China Cruise Shipping Conference and International Cruise Expo in Tianjin is that it plans to create a new brand around two new ships to be built in China.
- Celebrity Cruises is to trial progressive dinners with a different course in each restaurant.
- Hong Kong-based Dream Cruises showcased the new 150,000-ton Genting Dream at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany
- Crystal AirCruises, a new venture of luxury cruise line Crystal, is to deploy a Boeing 777-200LR on 14-, 21- and 28-day itineraries to take 84 travelers around the world on an air-and-land version of a cruise.
- Princess Cruises won the best cruise line at the Cruise International awards. Viking won the best river cruise and Harmony of the seas the best new ship. Arnold Donald of Carnival won the outstanding contribution to the cruise industry award. New York, and Norway’s fjords won the destination awards.
- Singapore Tourism Board won the Destination of the Year award at the 2016 Seatrade Cruise Awards. The top prize at the event in Tenerife was accepted by STB’s Jason Chan, area director for northern and western Europe.
Bob Binder has become President and CEO of Oceania Cruises, retaining his position of the last 11 years of Vice Chairman of Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Jason Montague, President of Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and Andy Stuart, President of Norwegian Cruise Line, are both becoming CEO within their brands.
- Stena Line is to add additional capacity by introducing a second ship from Europoort to Killingholme.
- The Nunavut government is considering rules to reduce the community impact of giant ships such as the Crystal Serenity, which docked in New York last week with 1,700 passengers and crew.
- A boat designed to carry around fifty passengers, carrying three times that amount, sank last Sunday in Thailand on the Chao Phraya river after colliding with a concrete bridge
