Celebrity Solstice begins sea trials.

Celebrity Cruises' anticipated new ship, Celebrity Solstice, left her dock a Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany and set out to begin her first round of sea trials. These test will last for a few days and then she will return to the dock for the final completion of her interior and decor.



Cruise Critic was allowed onboard prior to the ship departing for the trials and they give some details and impressions. The link to the full story is here: Celebrity Solstice Makes River Transit; Impressions

Oasis of the Seas fire - UPDATE

According to reports from Royal Caribbean, the fire that occurred yesterday on Oasis of the Seas during construction was a minor fire and a non event. No delays are expected as a result of the fire and there were no injuries.

Good News.

Fire on Oasis of the Seas

Reports are indicating that a fire broke out earlier today on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas while under construction in Finland. Apparently, some insulation caught fire as a result of some nearby welding activity. All 1500 workers were evacuated and the fire was dealt with by the shipyard's fire fighters shortly after.

The fire was able to spread from deck 9 to some upper decks but the damage is being described as not extensive. Hopefully this doesn't delay the launch of the ship. So far there has been no statement from Royal Caribbean.

NCL's F3 project in limbo.

Rumors are circulating that there is a dispute developing between NCL and Aker Yards of France over the construction of the new F3 line of ships from NCL. The F3 ships promise to feature revolutionary changes in cruise ship design. That is, if they ever get built. The keel for the first F3 ship was laid in April and delivery was scheduled for March 2010.

Since the contract was signed for the first two ships in the family, there have been major changes relating to NCL and the ships. Originally, the ships were ordered by Star Cruises, NCL's parent company. Star then decided to move the ships over to NCL's fleet. After that Star Cruises sold about half of NCL to Apollo Mgmt who decided that they wanted to make some changes to the design of the ships requiring time and money of both the cruise line and the shipyard.

NCL has no comment on the situation but the rumors persist. Some even suggest that Apollo Mgmt has decided to cancel the project all together and take a $200 million penalty instead of having to pay the full price of the ships at about $1 billion each.

So, at best, it looks like there will be some delay in the delivery date. Worst case scenario is that these ships may never get built. I hope that's not the case. They sounded pretty interesting.

Royal Caribbean unveils Oasis of the Seas sixth neighborhood

Royal Caribbean threw out a surprise reveal of the next "neighborhood" onboard the upcoming Oasis of the Seas. The Entertainment Place is located one deck up from the Royal Promenade and features all sorts of nighttime entertainment.

Blaze will be a fire themed dance club while Dazzles will be a two level lounge that will feature different theme nights like disco or ballroom dancing. Lessons and competitions will also take place at Dazzles. Jazz and blues can be found at Jazz on 4 with a prohibition style decor. Oasis of the Seas will also feature Comedy Live, a stand alone comedy club. The 1380 seat Opal Theater will be the ship's main theater with a stage that extends out into the crowd. For the gambling crowd, Oasis will feature the largest and most advanced casino afloat in Casino Royale. Last, but not least, Studio B ice rink returns featuring ice shows and other events.

Booking are now open for Oasis of the Seas and she makes her maiden voyage in December 2009.

Grand Turk follow up.

Good news, the port at Grand Turk will re-open in October. The Turks and Caicos islands were hammered by hurricane Ike causing extensive damage to the island of Grand Turk and the cruise facilities there. Luckily, the pier itself was not damaged and the repairs to the rest of the terminal complex is estimated to take about 30 days.

Carnival Corp., who owns and built the cruise center, will return with the Carnival Destiny on October 8. Carnival will also be extending a helping hand to shore excursion operators on the island to help them recover from the storm. They will also be running excursions allowing passengers and crew to help out with the rebuilding efforts on the island.

Grand Turk takes a beating

Well, hurricane season has all of a sudden kicked into full swing over the last couple of weeks with one storm after another ripping through the Caribbean. The latest storm, Hurricane Ike, still churning it's way into the Gulf of Mexico just finished wreaking havoc on the Turks and Caicos islands.

Carnival Cruise Line, who built and owns the cruise center on the island of Grand Turk have released a statement indicating that the damage to the island is "substantial". Currently there is no estimate on when the port will reopen.

Damage estimates to the port terminal itself are in the $5 to $10 million range. Some 500 palm trees which were recently planted were ripped from the ground by the hurricane's strong winds.

All lines that call on Grand Turk are currently working on replacements ports to temporarily substitute into their itineraries.