Royal Caribbean tosses Island Cruises overboard.

Royal Caribbean’s role in one of its lesser known ventures, Island Cruises, is being ended. Island Cruises was run jointly with a British travel firm, and presently involves two ships. The Island Star, formally the Celebrity Horizon and owned by Royal Caribbean, is being sent to the Pullmantur fleet and the Spanish market. Island Escape, the former Viking Serenade, is owned by Royal Caribbean’s partner, TUI UK & Ireland, and will be sent to Thomson Cruises next year.Reading this by

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Carnival Continues to Renovate Their Fleet.

The Carnival Desitny, Triumph, and Liberty will all receive 48 new balcony cabins, and a pair of deluxe penthouse suites. The upgrades will occur as each ship dry-docks over the coming months. This continues a trend of Carnival re-investing in its fleet. The eldest ships are already going through large scale improvements, intended to refresh the well worn attractions and exterior décor.

Euro-Disney.

With new ships due to come online in coming years, Disney is testing the waters in Europe. A series of cruises, over five months, are set for 2010. Northern Europe, Mediterranean, and Russian ports are featured. It is the first time since 2007 that the Mouse Boat has spent time in European waters.

Princess Goes to the Islands.

It was with great interest that I read about Princess planning a new slate of cruises in the Hawaiian market. NCL’s US Flagged effort continues, though why remains unclear. The project has proven all but an utter failure and money sink for NCL’s parent companies Star Cruises and Apollo. The move means more ships directly challenging the project, which would make it even more unprofitable. One wonders if this isn’t partially intended to either drive NCL from the market totally, or help push the appearently troubled cruise line to some end which serves Carnival Cruise Lines’ interests.

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