Two Holland America Line cruise ships collided today, May 4, at Canada Place in Port Vancouver, Canada. According to reports, the cruise ship ms Oosterdam hit the Nieuw Amsterdam during a docking maneuver. The allision happen stern to stern when Oosterdam was backing in while the Nieuw Amsterdam was already stationed at the dock.
The Spanish cruise line Pullmantur Cruceros has partnered with European Design Institute (IED) and Ad Talent to design the new uniforms for its crew members. In achieving this creative task sponsored by the prestigious Spanish designer Juanjo Oliva (fashion designer for Zara before creating his own company), a competition was organized for students to design the uniforms.
The German Cruise Line AIDA has announced the construction of the world’s largest cruise ship named AIDAflex, surpassing Symphony of the Seas by size and capacity. The so-called Tethys-class mega ship scheduled to be completed in 2024, will come in at a staggering 260.900 tons. Its total capacity will be 8,400 passengers, not including crew - a new all-time record for the cruise industry.
On Wednesday, US National Security Adviser John Bolton announced restrictions for Americans traveling to Cuba. The new regulatory changes by the United States administration will restrict traveling to Cuba to family visits only, or other official business.
The following message was sent by a crew member wishing to remain anonymous. According to the crew member, many cruise lines abuse the mandatory time and attendance policy regulated under the Maritime Labour Convention 2006(‘MLC’). He states that supervisors onboard adjusts the crew time cards, especially for the minimum hours of rest, which must be at least 6 hours between the shifts.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises announced Captain Serena Melani will be at the helm of their latest cruise ship Seven Seas Splendor. When the vessel joins Regent Seven Seas fleet in February 2020 this will mark the first time a woman to captain an opening team and deliver brand new cruise liner.
The cruise ship Carnival Fantasy rescued 23 people on Sunday who had been drifting in the Gulf of Mexico for days. According to reports 22 Cuban nationals sailed from Cuba to Mexico on a wooden boat when it lost power, setting them adrift for days. A Cuban-Mexican raised them to his sport fishing boat, but then he also suffered an engine failure and the group spent another three days at sea. They managed to establish contact with the US Coast Guard and requested evacuation from the stranded boat.
The Spanish search and rescue agency Salvamento Maritimo performed a remarkable evacuation of a Brazilian woman who was in labor on a cruise ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. After experiencing contractions and almost giving birth on board MCS Seaview the woman was airlifted from the vessel some 400 miles of the coast of Gran Canaria on Monday, April 8, 2019.
