Royal Caribbean's "Oasis of the Seas"- Naming Ceremony

The brand new Carnival Dream just made its inaugural sailing last month in the Mediterranean

Carnival Dream Takes to the Seas

The Carnival Dream departed on its inaugural cruise on September 21st. The 12-Day Mediterranean voyage was the first of three such voyages before it embarks on a trans-Atlantic crossing to New York.. Starting December 12th, it will begin year-round 7-day Caribbean cruises.

The Carnival Dream can accommodate 3,600 guests and introduces a host of new innovations including the Ocean Plaza, a stunning indoor/outdoor cafe and live music venue; the Lanai, and outdoor area featuring a wrap-around promenade and whirlpools suspended over the ship's side; and the largest Cloud 9 spa in the fleet. There are also new entertainment choices including a comedy club, outdoor laser show and an intranet guest portal, the first at-sea social network system.

A sister ship to the Dream is scheduled to for delivery in in June 2011

http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/ships/carnival_dream/default.aspx?shipCode=DR

Disney Coming to Vancouver in 2011

Disney Cruise Line has announced that it will make Vancouver its home port for 18 Alaska cruises starting in 2011. This comes as welcome news to the Port of Vancouver which has seen several cruise lines discontinue or divert their Vancouver-based Alaska departures for 2010. Disney will make 18 seven-night sailings between May 3 and August 30, 2011. The Disney Wonder will visit Tracy Arm, Skagway adn Ketchikan. Disney will also operate five and six-night cruises from Vancouver to Los Angeles (and back) with stops in San Francisco and Victoria. Jeff James, vice-president of sales for Disney Cruise Lines, said their decision came as a result of demand from passengers wanting sailings to Alaska with Vancouver as a home port. "Our guests said Vancouver will provide them with the experience they are asking for," James said.

Cruise the Beautiful Wine Country of France

French wine lovers are about to get a treat.....seven new cruise-tours offered by Peter Deilmann Cruises that visit the French wine regions of Burgundy, Beaujolais, Maconnaise, and Provence. The trips will be operated by the 140-guest "Princesse de Provence" round-trip from Lyon. The 9-day itinerary includes seven shore excursions to family vineyards including Burgundy's Veuve Ambal vineyard for tastings and Avignon's Chateauneuf-du-Pap to taste red and white vintages. Departures run from May to October, and exclude August.

Award-winning Peter Deilmann Cruises has been offering deluxe river cruises for over 25 years. Besides wine, they also offer other special interest cruises such as music, golfing, cycling and walking, and health & wellness.

http://www.deilmann-cruises.com/theme/index.html

Celebrity Rolls out Anytime Dining

Celebrity Cruises introduced "Celebrity Select Dining" on August 31st, giving passengers greater flexibility in when they choose to dine. Passengers will still enjoy the same menu and service they would receive with traditional seating. Guests will have access to "anytime dining" starting with the September 26th sailing of the Celebrity Equinox. A full roll out fleetwide of select dining will occur during the first quarter of 2010. To see initial applicable sail dates for each ship, log onto www.celebritycruises.com

Vancouver Becomes World's Third Port to Offer Shore Power to Cruise Ships

Cruise ships docking at Vancouver Port can now significantly reduce marine diesel emissions by plugging into the city's electricity grid which uses mostly hydroelectric-generated power that is 90 percent nonpolluting. The port is only the third in the world to install shore power for ships (the other two are Seattle and Juneau). The $9 million project has been in the works since 2005, and is a collaboration between the Government of Canada, the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, BC Hydro and Port Metro Vancouver.

Princess Cruises and Holland America Line have pioneered this technology within the industry and have invested heavily in outfitting their fleet with shore power equipment. Currently nine Princess Cruises ships and six Holland America Line ships have this capability. Port Metro Vancouver is the largest port in Canada and is the home base for the popular Vancouver-Alaska cruise.

2009 Top 10 Rivers for Cruising

If you would like to discover the magic of river cruising, Cruise Critic has put together the top 10 rivers for cruising in 2009.

1. Danube - storied landscapes, cultural heritage and centuries-old architecture of the Old World. You'll discover Europe's vineyard-lined valleys and beautifully preserved medieval towns in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Serbia and Romania.
2. Douro - visit restored palaces, places of pilgramage, cultural centres and vineyards in Spain and Portugal
3. Yangtze - see spectacular scenery and visit some of China's great historic landmarks
4. Rhine - incredible scenery from Alps to the North Sea, visiting Switzerland, Germany, France and Holland.
5. Rhone - this area through Provence and the south of France is renowned for fine wines and culinary delights
6. Nile - visit the sights of ancient Egypt
7. Murray - cruise through the Australian outback, visiting million-year-old gorges, golden sandstone cliffs and majestic red-gum forests.
8. Volga - travel scenic rivers, canals and lakes that connect Moscow and St. Petersburg
9. Mekong River - take in ancient cities, temples and natural wonders in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand
10. St. Lawrence Seaway - visit Montreal and Ottawa, two of Canada's most storied cities.

http://www2.canada.com/topics/travel/activities/cruises/story.html?id=1764066

Uniworld's New Program for Epicurean Adventurers

For wine and food connoisseurs, Uniworld Boutique River Cruise is offering the new Epicurean Adventurer Program that will enable guests to indulge their passion for fine wines and gourmet foods. Guests aboard Uniworld cruises that feature this program will enjoy a special dinner prepared with the region's finests ingredients and then learn how to select the perfect wine to complement the meal. Guests will also participate in cooking demonstrations and learn trade secrets and techniques from master chefs. Guided shore excurisions take guests into vintners' homes where they can enjoy private wine tastings, or to open air food markets where they can sample local food treats.

Los Angeles-based Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection features intimate hotel-style cruise ships with expertly planned itineraries and custom-blended shore excursions. It offers 35 all-inclusive river cruises ranging from 9 to 32 days in over 20 countries throughout Europe, Russia, China and Egypt. Uniworld was named to Travel + Leisure's "World's Best Top 10 Small Cruise Lines"and Conde Nast Traveler's 2008 Gold List.

Will Alaska Axe the Cruise Tax?

Had Alaska voters known that their decision in 2006 to levy a $50-per-passenger head tax on cruiselines would result in the dramatic pullout of several cruise ships from the Alaska market -- including those of Royal Caribbean, Cruise West, Carnival, Norwegian and Princess -- they might have thought twice about passing this initiative into law. It is estimated that Juneau alone will suffer a $25 million loss for the summer of 2010. The number of calls to Sitka will fall 53% next year from 222 to 104.

Alaskans are obviously taking notice and a grass-roots effort is under way to overturn or amend the tax. On July 24th, the First Things First Alaska Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes economic development, sponsored a summit in Juneau to discuss what the state needs to do to woo travelers back, particularly cruise passengers. The summit attracted more than 230 people, including legislators, mayors, tour operators and business owners. The summit did not resolve any issues, but major recomendations were made including revamping the tax and implementing a new marketing campaign aimed at drawing travelers to Alaska. A second summit is scheduled for August 20 in Anchorage, with a third summit possibly taking place in Fairbanks in September.