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MSC Cruises has revealed details of a brand-new attraction coming to new ship MSC World America in 2025 – Cliffhanger.

This will be the only over-water swing ride at sea, giving guests the chance to literally swing out from the side of the ship, 50 metres above the waterline.

The four seats will begin on the deck before being lifted into the air, before being propelled back and forth right over the edge of the ship.

The new attraction will thrill and terrify guests in equal measure, depending on your preference for adrenaline. It’s not yet been revealed what the cost will be to try it.

MSC World America will become the new flagship for MSC Cruises when she launches in April 2025.

She will sail from Miami on a range of 7-night cruises to both the Western and Eastern Caribbean. All cruises will include visits to Ocean Cay Marine Reserve, MSC’s private island.

The ship will feature seven distinct districts onboard, each one offering its own unique facilities and experiences. The Cliffhanger will be situated in the Family Aventura district.

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Princess Cruises has revealed the godmother of new ship Sun Princess, and it’s a huge name – Hannah Waddingham.

The British actress and performer joins a list of esteemed past godmothers for the cruise line, which has included Diana, Princess of Wales (Royal Princess, 1984), Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales (Royal Princess, 2013), Audrey Hepburn (Star Princess, 1989) and others.

Waddingham’s star power has never been higher following the success of her appearances in Ted Lasso, Game of Thrones and Sex Education, as well as hosting the Olivier Awards in 2023, the BBC Eurovision Song Contest in the same year, and her own Apple TV+ Christmas Special.

We’re delighted to welcome the illuminous and elegant Hannah Waddingham to serve as Godmother for our sensational new Sun Princess. Just like Sun Princess, she exudes sophistication, beauty and wonderment through her inspiring work as a talented and award-winning actress and performer. We’re truly honored Hannah will officially name our most impressive, luxurious and stunning Love Boat ever created, and join an esteemed group of Princess Godparents including members of the Royal family.

John Padgett, Princess Cruises president

The naming ceremony for the ship has now been confirmed too, taking place in the Port of Barcelona on 23rd April 2024.

By this point, the ship has already been sailing for several weeks but this isn’t uncommon. Some cruise lines prefer to host a naming ceremony before the official maiden voyage, but others often like to let the ship get started, and work out any quirks or minor issues, before celebrating her officially.

Sun Princess is the largest ship built for Princess Cruises and features some amazing new features, including the glass-enclosed Dome and Park 19, a family-friendly activity zone. The ship also debuts several new bar and restaurant concepts.

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Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has announced plans to build eight new state-of-the-art cruise ships over the next 12 years, bringing an additional 25,000 berths to its three cruise lines.

The ships will be split between the three brands owned by the company – Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceana Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

It was also announced that the company intends an expansion of private island Great Stirrup Cay, building a new pier capable of hosting multiple ships at once.

Four of the ships are planned for NCL. These will be the biggest of the new orders, with an estimated gross tonnage of 200,000 – still some way short of the biggest ships in the world, but a significant size increase from the largest ship in the NCL fleet, which is Norwegian Encore with a gross tonnage of 169,000.

It’s anticipated that these ships will be able to accommodate 5,000 passengers each, making up the bulk of the new berths for the fleet. They are expected to launch in 2030, 2032, 2034 and 2036.

Oceania Cruises will get two new ships in 2027 and 2029. These ships will have a gross tonnage of 86,000. The largest ships in the current Oceania fleet are the Allura-class ships at 67,817 GT.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises will also get two new ships, including the first in 2026 and another to follow in 2029. These will host 850 passengers and have a gross tonnage of 77,000. Seven Seas Grandeur is the current largest ship in the fleet, with a gross tonnage of 56,199.

The company has secured most of the funding needed to build the luxury ships for Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and is seeking funding for the NCL ships – it’s expected this won’t be an issue.

The ships will be built at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, which already built the Prima-class ships for NCL.

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Portsmouth has suffered some disappointing news this week, as Norwegian Cruise Line has decided that its ship Norwegian Star will no longer visit the port this year.

The ship was due to use Portsmouth as a changeover port for a British Isles cruise, but the cruise line has instead decided that the ship will now depart from Southampton.

The news may be an inconvenience to passengers due to either leave the ship on 8th May or embark on the British Isles cruise on that day, but with Southampton just 12 miles away it shouldn’t impact plans too much.

However, it is a huge blow for the port and for local businesses that would’ve been hoping to cash in on the visit.

Norwegian Star was due to be the biggest ship to ever visit Portsmouth, which was hoping to have a record-breaking year for cruises in 2024. At the start of the year, the port had been hoping for 10 cruise ship visits.

NCL is on a streak of cancelling and amending cruises across the fleet, including some changes that have been enforced and others that haven’t been explained.

According to an NCL statement, this latest change seems to have been made because Southampton was preferred:

We are committed to providing exceptional vacation experiences, both aboard our ships and by taking our guests to some of the most sought-after destinations around the world. While we try to maintain original itineraries as much as possible, at times, modifications are made to optimize the itinerary or to accommodate certain circumstances.

As such, Norwegian Star’s turnaround port on May 8 and May 18, 2024, was changed from Portsmouth to Southampton, England, to enhance the overall guest experience during the embarkation and disembarkation process.”

NCL Spokesperson

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A man has gone missing from the world’s biggest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, sparking a huge search from government teams.

Edmond Bradley Solomon (known as Brad), 66, was cruising with Royal Caribbean on a 7-night sailing, but went missing in the Mexican port of Cozumel.

Solomon, who suffers with frontotemporal dementia, is believed to have got in a taxi once separated from his family, trading his wrist watch for a trip to the beach. He went missing on Wednesday, 3rd April but has yet to be found.

His wife, Mimi, has remained in Cozumel while the search continues. Reports say that Edmond went missing after visiting a public bathroom in the cruise terminal area, while Mimi waited outside.

The cruise ship was obviously unable to remain in port beyond the normal times, with thousands of guests onboard.

There were five ships in port at Cozumel that day, which meant extremely high passenger numbers around the terminal. Celebrity Cruises had two ships in Cozumel – Celebrity Apex and Celebrity Ascent. There was also the Carnival Valor and Norwegian Prima.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Mimi with the costs of remaining in Cozumel during the search. At the time of writing, it has raised more than three times the initial target of $5,000.

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A new study has revealed that Sutton is the town in the UK most obsessed with cruising, closely followed by Blackpool.

The research was conducted by InsureMy, an insurance comparison website, which looked at Google search data over the past year to determine which towns and cities are searching for cruise holidays the most, analysing 20 different search terms.

Sutton came out on top, with an average of 1,136 searches of cruise terms per 100,000 residents every month. The top terms that the town searched for were “TUI cruise”, “Caribbean cruise”, and “cruise holidays”.

Blackpool wasn’t far behind, with 1,076 monthly searches for every 100,000 residents. The most popular search term for the seaside resort was “cruise deals”, suggesting a priority of finding the best prices.

Unsurprisingly, Southampton makes the list and is third, with 991 monthly searches per 100,000 residents. With most cruises in the UK departing from the city, it’s a great place to live as a cruise fan as you may even be in walking distance of a terminal!

The full top 10 is as follows:

While UK cities and towns may not be traditionally associated with cruise culture, there has been a growing interest and fascination with cruises in recent years. Despite their inland locations, cities like Mansfield and Wakefield have shown a surprising level of enthusiasm for cruising.

With regular searches for cruise-related information and the proximity to cruise terminals like Hull, these cities are embracing the cruise experience.

The allure of exploring new destinations, enjoying luxurious amenities, and experiencing the open sea has swayed the residents in these urban areas. As the popularity of cruises continues to rise globally, UK cities and towns are joining the trend and showcasing their newfound obsession with this form of holiday.

Stewart Barnett, Head of Marketing for InsureMy

Some of the top search terms across the UK are the expected ones such as “cruise deals” and “cruise holidays”, but also cruise lines such as “Norwegian Cruise Line”, “TUI cruise” and “Carnival cruise”. However, it’s not clear which were the top 20 terms checked by InsureMy and whether this included more cruise lines.

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A 20-year-old male has gone overboard on a Royal Caribbean cruise, sparking extensive searches.

The man was sailing on Liberty of the Seas with his family when he reportedly jumped from the ship at around 4am on Thursday 4th April.

The crew were immediately alerted and searches began for around 6 hours, before the Miami Coast Guard took over and the cruise ship continued on her journey back to Fort Lauderdale.

The ship’s crew immediately launched a search and rescue effort alongside the U.S. Coast Guard, who has taken over the search. Our Care Team is providing support and assistance to the guest’s family during this difficult time. For the privacy of the guest and their family, we have no additional details to share.

Royal Caribbean statement

There are unconfirmed reports that the guest had been drinking, and jumped from the ship following a short argument with his father.

Most of the big cruise lines are yet to install Man Overboard (MOB) detection systems, despite the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010 requiring ships to integrate technology for this reason. Recent developments have seen the technology become more reliable, and so more ships will likely start adding it in the future.

At the time of writing, the man still has not been found.

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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

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Royal Caribbean has struck a new multi-year partnership with the Make-A-Wish foundation, with the new Wishes at Sea program designed to offer some amazing experiences for critically ill children and their families.

The program will raise money for Make-A-Wish, while also offering special cruise holidays for affected children and families so that they can make memories on some of the most fun-packed ships in the world.

The memories we make with our families and friends on vacation are among the moments that are the most special and impactful, and for wish kids and their families, that very impact can change the course of their lives.

Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International

The cruise line will raise money both online and across the fleet of ships – guests onboard will be able to donate and take part in fundraising activities if they want to. Walk for Wishes 5ks and walkathons will be organised, along with unique auctions and the option to donate casino winnings.

Donated wish cruises will include a host of benefits to make each child’s vacation the most special it could be.

As well as the free cruise, Wish Kids and their families will enjoy:

• Priority boarding
• Free transportation between the airport and the ship
• The Key, at no extra cost
• An All-Access Pass for Perfect Day at CocoCay
• VIP access for onboard activities including the FlowRider
• Exclusive behind-the-scenes tours with a captain meet-and-greet
• Reserved seating in theatres
• A special celebratory dessert in the Main Dining Room

The announcement coincides with World Wish Month, which celebrates the anniversary of the very first wish granted back in 1980. Since then, over 580,000 wishes have been granted by the charity.

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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

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MSC Armonia is currently stuck in the Port of Barcelona due to problems with visas for 69 passengers onboard.

The passengers – all from Bolivia – were sailing from South America and intended to disembark in the Spanish port, but while their documentation was examined and judged to be correct in Brazil, it’s now been found to be ineligible and so the guests aren’t able to enter the Schengen zone.

The visa issue is not just affecting those passengers – the 1,500-passenger capacity ship is due to carry on the cruise to Corsica, Civitavecchia and then only the Eastern Med before concluding in Venice – and so the other passengers onboard are facing cancelled ports of call if the issue can’t be resolved.

We are currently working with the Spanish authorities to manage a situation with a number of guests from Bolivia that includes families and children…As a result, these guests have not been able to disembark in Barcelona, which was their final destination. The ship has remained in the port while we work with the relevant authorities to find a solution to this complex issue.

MSC Cruises spokesperson

At the moment, no updates have been given on the rest of the cruise itinerary, with the cruise line working closely with the Bolivian Foreign Ministry to try and resolve the issue quickly.

While missed ports of call aren’t uncommon in cruising, for a cruise to cut short an itinerary by more than a day due to visa issues would be a significant event, and would be a big financial hit for the cruise line, as it would have to reimburse all the other passengers for part of their fare along with any missed excursions.

Hopefully, the issue is resolved quickly and the ship can continue, while the Bolivian passengers are permitted to disembark.

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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

Read more about me