Luxury Cruising Editorial

Viking christened two more new river cruise ships today in Luxor, Egypt as they expand their fleet with more custom built ships for the Nile River.

Viking Sobek and Viking Hathor were christened this evening on the banks of the Nile by Mohamed El Banna, founder of Cosmos Egypt, and the Hon. Edward Herbert, the great-great-grandson of the 5th Earl of Carnarvon whose colleague discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun.

Alistair Miller served as the Master of Ceremonies and Norwegian soprano Sissel performed at the christening dinner at the Karnak Temple.

The new ships will sail the cruise line’s 12 day Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary. Each trip starts off with two full days in Cairo and then guests board a charter flight to Luxor for an eight-day cruise on the Nile.

During the cruise, guests can visit the tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens and the tomb of Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings.

Excursions to the Temple of Khnum in Esna, the Dendera Temple complex in Qena, the temples at Abu Simbel and the High Dam in Aswan, and a visit to a colorful Nubian village are also offered.

When the cruise is over, they will fly back to Cairo for more one last day.

The ships are wider and shorter than Viking’s Longships and have floor-to-ceiling windows all around them for incredible views as you view the sights along the Nile.

However, Viking’s past guests will be enjoy the Scandinavian design along with familiar favorites like the Aquavit Terrace.

There is also a small pool in the aft of the ships by the Aquavit Terrace.

Each ship is identical and has 41 cabins that carry 82 guests. They are sister ships to Viking Osiris and Viking Aton. Viking has four more ships in this class on order with two more debuting each year in 2025 and 2026.

This will give Viking a total of 10 river ships sailing on the Nile River.

Royal Caribbean is making adjustments to the itineraries of at least four cruise ships as Hurricane Rafael intensifies.  The storm is on track to make landfall later this week and is expected to become a Category 2 before arriving in Cuba.

The four ships impacted by the storm include Radiance of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, Vision of the Seas, and Brilliance of the Seas.

Radiance of the Seas is currently on a 7-day cruise out of Tampa, having left the port on November 2^nd.    The original itinerary had the Radiance-class vessel visiting Bimini, Freeport, and Perfect Day at CocoCay.   The adjusted schedule will now see the ship making ports of call in Cozumel, Roatan, and Belize in the western Caribbean

Freedom of the Seas is currently on a 6-day voyage out of Fort Lauderdale.  The ship will be changing the dates for two scheduled stops to avoid the hurricane.   Stops will still be made in  Labadee, Haiti and George Town in the Cayman Islands, but the dates will be swapped.

Vision of the Seas sailed out of Baltimore, Maryland on October 31 on a 9-day sailing.  The ship was scheduled to visit Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay after stopping in Bermuda.  Because of the storm, the ship will now spend more time in Bermuda, skipping the stops in the Bahamas.  Vision of the Seas will also be stopping in Port Canaveral as a port of call.

Brilliance of the Seas is on a 7-day sailing out of New Orleans that left on November 2.  The ship was scheduled to stop in George Town in the Cayman Islands today but will now visit Belize City instead.

Hurricane Rafael is expected to reach western Cuba later tonight with winds over 100 miles per hour.

Most models predict the storm will continue to move towards the Gulf of Mexico and reach the United States on Saturday or Sunday.  The storm is expected to weaken by that time, but cruise lines are on alert for any updates.

Only 63 votes decided the results of a Bar Harbor, Maine initiative that sought to do away with a hard cap on cruise visits to 1,000 passengers a day.

For months, the cruise port had been debating the issue, and a plan to repeal the cap on cruise passengers was ultimately shot down in the recent vote.

1,776 votes opposed the plan to remove the cap, and 1,713 votes were in favor of the repeal.

The cruise passenger limitation was passed in 2022, and a federal judge upheld the ordinance after pushback from local businesses in the area.

Two years ago the initiative was passed by 58%.  The recent vote to keep the ordinance in place was upheld by only 50.9%.

The Town Council had the support of cruise lines and local businesses which helped push the vote even closer this time around.

Each cruise passenger that disembarks a cruise ship in Bar Harbor must be counted and logged until the 1,000 level is hit.

This cap on cruise passengers does not include crew members who are allowed to disembark freely.

Supporters of the cruise passenger cap say that this limitation gives visitors the freedom to enjoy the port without overcrowding. 

However, business leaders are saying that the ordinance is essentially a ban on certain cruise ships, and many locally businesses rely on seasonal foot traffic to stay afloat.

The town itself benefits from cruise traffic as well.  Last year alone almost $1.3 million was brought in through port and passengers fees.

It is not yet clear if the Town Council will bring future challenges to the ordinance, but Bar Harbor is already facing a challenge to how it enforces the 1,000 passenger limit.

With Thanksgiving just three weeks away, Carnival Cruise Line has revealed what’s on the menu for ships across the fleet.

With entrees like Holiday Roasted Tom Turkey and Honey Glazed Ham, cruisers during Thanksgiving week will have plenty of familiar favorites to choose from.

An appetizer of Baked Brie with the obligatory pumpkin pie for dessert will also be served, the pie including salted caramel sauce and crème Chantilly.

In addition to the traditional Thanksgiving favorites like roasted pumpkin soup, starters like shrimp cocktail, lobster & crab soup, and short ribs will be available.

Additional entrees will include ravioli, salmon, striploin steak, and a featured Indian vegetarian option.

See the full menu below: