We aren't always the first to cruise news, and we don't strive to cover every story. Our effort is however to bring you objective information along with our take on why the story is important (or not).
Today the Celebrity Equinox was host to a historic event, as Francisco Vargas and Benjamin Gray became among the first same-sex couples to be legally married at sea on a major cruise line. An intimate ceremony was officiated by Captain Dimitrios Manetas and the couple exchanged vows against the rose wall in Blu Restaurant, a specialty dining venue on Equinox. read more
Today at the STX Shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, the Celebrity Edge came one step closer to entering service as she was floated out of her mounting dock, getting her first taste of the sea. The careful maneuver required seven tugboats to safely position the 1,004 foot (306 meter) vessel to the Saint Nazaire Joubert Dock where her construction will continue ahead of schedule... read more
Recently, Celebrity Cruises recently announced that the much-anticipated Celebrity Edge is ahead of schedule and will begin sailing earlier than expected. While this is generally great news, there are some who may be less than thrilled, and this made us stop and wonder - what is a "maiden voyage?" read more
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (parent company to Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Azamara Club Cruises) made some big announcements this week around the technology in and on their ships. The “Sea Beyond” event was hosted this Wednesday in NYC, and RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com was there to get the scoop. Nobody covers Royal Caribbean like they do, so you should first get the whole story by checking out their coverage of Sea Beyond. These announcements however really had us thinking (we love cruising and technology) so we couldn’t let it go without jumping in and providing our take… read more
Continuing to build momentum in a quickly changing world of alternative-fueled ships, Carnival Cruise Line has signed another in a series of agreements today with Shell to be their supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for North America's first fully LNG powered cruise ships. The ships will be largest for the cruise line, at 180,000 gross tons, and due to sail in 2020 and 2022. They'll be fueled through Shell's LNG Bunker Barge (LBB). The LBB was recently announced as part of a plan to develop a global LNG bunkering network (bunkering is a nautical term referring to fueling-up ships) to support the growing number of LNG-powered ships being constructed, allowing them to refuel along the south-eastern US coast... read more
The Fincantieri's Sestri Ponente ship yard in Genoa, Italy today hosted Virgin Voyages Founder Sir Richard Branson and CEO Tom McAlpin accompanied by the singing of Boy George. The event served as both the keel-laying ceremony for Virgin Voyages' first 110,000 gross ton ship and a party to announce additional details around the highly-anticipated cruise line.
*Updated With Video* read more
Today, Celebrity Cruises announced that their captains are now able to perform same-sex marriages at sea. This is great news - but why isn't everyone doing it? It has to do with flags...sort of. Let's learn a little but about about today's announcement and dig into why we don't see it happening across all cruise lines... read more