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Cruise News 

Windstar Names First Female Captain Belinda Bennett

Liam Cusack ,

Seattle, Wa., March 29, 2016 – Small ship luxury cruise operator Windstar Cruises, has announced the promotion of Belinda Bennett to Captain of the MSY Wind Star. Bennett claims several firsts with her appointment including the first woman and first black person to operate at the helm of a Windstar Cruises vessel since the company’s inception in 1984. Bennett, a British citizen, resides in Southampton, United Kingdom and also claims the distinction of being among just a few British woman cruise passenger ship captains as well as a pioneer for minorities working in the cruise industry, understood to be the

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Orlando Ashford President of Holland America Line until end of May 2020
Cruise News 

Holland America Line Receives Community Impact Award From Seattle Business Magazine

Liam Cusack ,

Seattle, Wash., Nov. 12, 2015 — Each year in its headquarters city of Seattle, Washington, Holland America Line contributes to many local non-profit organizations through sponsorships, board participation and employee volunteerism. Seattle’s Hometown Cruise Line honored for work supporting community events, non-profits and fundraising activities The company also supports a wide-range of non-profits and philanthropic efforts throughout the United States and around the world where its premium cruise ships sail. Seattle Business Magazine recently recognized the cruise line’s philanthropic efforts with a Community Impact Award. “Holland America Line is proud to be recognized for the work that we do to

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Cruise News 

Meet The Koningsdam’s Officers – More Than 95 Years Combined Experience

Liam Cusack

Seattle, Wash., Nov. 5, 2015 — When Holland America Line’s ms Koningsdam debuts in April 2016, the ship’s senior staff officers will set sail with a combined 95 years of company loyalty and experience. In addition to the previously announced appointment of Captain Emiel de Vries, the cruise line announced that Hotel Director Stan Kuppens, Chief Engineer Willem Zuidema, Staff Captain Kevin Beirnaert and Safety, Environmental and Health Officer Martijn van Dam will lead Koningsdam’s shipboard teams. NOTE: Click on underlined words for more information. The 99,500-ton ship currently is under construction at Fincantieri’s shipyard at Marghera, Italy. During its

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Cruise News 

Carnival Offering Several Options to Bermuda

Liam Cusack

CARNIVAL TO OFFER WIDE VARIETY OF BERMUDA CRUISES IN 2016 WITH NINE DIFFERENT VOYAGES BETWEEN APRIL AND NOVEMBER MIAMI (Aug. 31, 2015) — With its famous pink-sand beaches, turquoise waters and picture-perfect weather, Bermuda is one of the most popular destinations in cruising. And Carnival Cruise Line will provide its guests with a variety of opportunities to visit the island paradise in 2016 with nine departures that feature at least one overnight docked alongside at historic King’s Wharf. From April through November 2016, guests can embark on four different Carnival ships departing from five convenient U.S. homeports offering itineraries ranging

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Cruise News 

Costa Cruises’ Will Let Your Child Be ‘Captain for a Day’

Liam Cusack ,

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. Aug. 26, 2015 – What kid wouldn’t want a chance to captain a cruise ship? Costa Cruises is making junior cruisers’ dreams come true with the new “Captain for a Day” experience on Costa Diadema and Costa Fascinosa. Kids can see what life is like at the helm on a daylong adventure that begins with donning their captain’s stripes and ends with dinner with the Captain at the Captain’s Table in the Main Dining Room. (Something most adult passengers would envy!) Kids that participate in the program will receive a captain’s uniform for the day to wear during

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Cruise News 

Crystal Yacht Cruises Opens Bookings to All Travelers

Liam Cusack ,

LOS ANGELES, August 25, 2015 – Starting next month, travelers can book their luxury yachting vacation with Crystal Yacht Cruises, the most recent innovation from the world’s most awarded cruise line. As Crystal Esprit charts new waters with its maiden voyage this winter, Crystal Cruises is unveiling the complete itineraries and fares for 2016 through the beginning of 2018. The routes were first made available for booking exclusively for Crystal Society members – Crystal’s repeat guest program – and will be open to all travelers September 1. The new routes mark Crystal’s first-ever offering of immersive itineraries focused in warm

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Cruise News 

Carnival Introduces Internet Packages – $5/Day

Liam Cusack 0 Comments ,

MIAMI (August 10, 2015) – Carnival Cruise Line’s new social media Internet packages – which offer access to a variety of popular Web sites for just $5 a day – are now available on more than half of the line’s ships with fleetwide implementation scheduled by the first quarter of 2016. New Mobile App Available on Carnival Breeze Being Met With Tremendous Response; Fleetwide Implementation Scheduled for Next Year Additionally, the line’s new mobile app – currently available on Carnival Breeze and offering an innovative “chat” feature – has been very well received with a third of the ship’s guests

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Cruise News 

BREAKING NEWS: Carnival is Cuba Bound – New Brand ‘fathom’ Sailing to Cuba

Liam Cusack

07/07/2015 – NEW YORK – Carnival Corporation’s new brand ‘fathom’ will soon be sailing regularly to Cuba. This announcement will be made later today by Carnival Corporation CEO Arnold Donald. ‘fathom,’ is the company’s new social impact-focused fathom brand, and will debut in April 2016 with volunteer vacations to the Dominican Republic. The new brand will launch seven-night “people-to-people” tours to the island via ship beginning in May 2016, contingent on approval by Cuban authorities. When Carnival Corporation announced their new brand on June 4th, many industry insiders saw this as a strategic move to make sailings to Cuba possible.

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Cruise News 

BREAKING UPDATE: Norwegian Dawn Runs Aground in Bermuda

Liam Cusack ,

See breaking updates below. “The ship is now alongside at Heritage Cay, while being inspected, and guests have the opportunity to go ashore.” 19 May 2015 – Miami – Norwegian Cruise Line issued a statement this evening regarding the reported grounding of its ship the Norwegian Dawn which is on a roundtrip cruise from Boston to Bermuda. NCL states: “On Tuesday, May 19th at approximately 5:00 pm ET, Norwegian Dawn temporarily lost power as the ship was departing King’s Wharf, Bermuda. The ship’s propulsion was affected and, at which time, the vessel made contact with the channel bed. All guests

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Cruise News Travel Tips 

Cruise & Travel Report on the High Seas! The Veendam’s Triumphant Return to Bermuda

Liam Cusack ,

EDITORIAL: Cruise & Travel Report’s Managing Editor, Liam P. Cusack, reports on his recent voyage aboard the ms Veendam from Boston to Bermuda — Part 1 of 3 articles.     By Liam P. Cusack, Managing Editor   18 May 2015 -New York City – On May 2nd, a chilly but sunny Boston Saturday, I boarded the ms Veendam as she prepared to sail to Hamilton, Bermuda. This was her first cruise this season to Bermuda and it marked Holland America Line’s return to regularly scheduled cruises to the island of pink sand. Holland America Line had stopped regular calls

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