Some cruisers will be returning to the port of La Goulette in Tunisia starting in just a few weeks. MSC has officially announced today that it has reinstated the stop in Tunisia on its scheduled Mediterranean itineraries. Civil unrest due to a change in the government earlier this year prompted most cruise lines to drop the port from their itineraries. In a press release, MSC cites customer requests and increased security as the reasons for returning to La Goulette. Several cruise lines, including Disney have maintained their decision to not include the port in their sailings, which has, at least in Disney's case, resulted in high VAT taxes for cruisers onboard due to all port stops residing within the EU. The port of La Goulette in Tunisia is known for being the gateway to Roman ruins such as Carthage and Dougga as well as famous blue and white seaside town, Sidi Bou Said.
June 21, 2011
Some cruisers will be returning to the port of La Goulette in Tunisia starting in just a few weeks. MSC has officially announced today that it has reinstated the stop in Tunisia on its scheduled Mediterranean itineraries. Civil unrest due to a change in the government earlier this year prompted most cruise lines to drop the port from their itineraries. In a press release, MSC cites customer requests and increased security as the reasons for returning to La Goulette. Several cruise lines, including Disney have maintained their decision to not include the port in their sailings, which has, at least in Disney's case, resulted in high VAT taxes for cruisers onboard due to all port stops residing within the EU. The port of La Goulette in Tunisia is known for being the gateway to Roman ruins such as Carthage and Dougga as well as famous blue and white seaside town, Sidi Bou Said.
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Soon smokers will have to look a little harder to find a place to light up on cruise ships. Three Carnival Corp. owned cruise lines announced today that they will no longer allow smoking in cabins, although Carnival and Holland America will still allow smoking on balconies. These new restrictions take effect Dec 1 for Carnival and Jan 15 for the other two lines. Also, effective immediately, Carnival is restricting smoking on its ships to limited sections of the casino, dance clubs and certain areas on the open decks. Passengers who have already booked sailings after the restrictions come into effect have been notified. These new bans reflect what is becoming common in the cruise industry with most of the luxury lines already banning smoking in cabins and on balconies and Disney and Royal Caribbean also banning smoking in cabins. Passengers caught breaking the new rules will be charged a $250 cleaning fee. June 14, 2011 Yesterday, after much speculation, citizens of Charleston, SC, led by the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, filed a lawsuit against Carnival Cruise Lines. They claim that the lawsuit is to "enforce local laws which protect the city's healthy environment and treasured historic assets." The lawsuit asserts that Carnival violates local ordinances, as well as operates without permits required by state pollution laws. The port authority released a statement in response to the lawsuit yesterday. We believe this suit is frivolous and is intended to harass Carnival in hopes they will leave Charleston rather than endure further public attacks by this element of Charleston’s population. We also believe that the suit will inevitably fail on its complete lack of merit. Unfortunately, Carnival is being used to strike out at the South Carolina Ports Authority and the City of Charleston. Carnival not only complies with all applicable laws and regulations but, in many cases, exceeds those requirements. The South Carolina Ports Authority is directed by state law to enhance and increase waterborne commerce through the harbors and seaports of our State, including Charleston harbor. We are compelled to take all legal steps necessary to hasten the failure and end of this lawsuit in the shortest possible time. This suit is a step toward limiting our state’s ability to conduct international commerce. We cannot – and will not – let that happen. Its premise denies this City’s 341-year-old maritime history. Statement by Bill Stern, Chairman, S.C. States Port Authority: Our commercial port system is the economic heart of South Carolina. This irresponsible lawsuit is not only an attack on a valued port customer; it is also an assault on jobs and economic growth all across our State. The special interests behind this lawsuit are clearly attempting to harass port customers. Their goal is to cripple our port system to satisfy their anti-growth agenda. First it's cruise ships, then cargo ships. Next it will be trucks and rails. They don't seem to care that their agenda would irreparably damage economic development and kill jobs all across South Carolina. It's time for people of goodwill to stand against this narrow-minded band of radicals and their frivolous, irresponsible lawsuits. (courtesy of cruiseindustrynews.com ) June 9, 2011 A carpenter was stabbed and killed yesterday at the port of Falmouth by a co-worker. The victim, 33 year-old Wilbert Johnson,was apparantly attacked after an argument. The accused murderer fled the scene, but later turned himself in to the police. Cruise activities were unaffected, although construction on the port was halted for the remainder of the day. The Falmouth port, financed by Royal Caribbean is expected to be completed by August of this year with the project manager stating that the project is 95% complete. Concerned over the safety of visiting this port has long been debated and, although this incident did not affect any cruise passengers, it will likely not ease the minds of the critics. Norwegian has long been known for breaking traditional cruise rules, but their newest announcement breaks the mold of what cruising actually is. Next summer when the Norwegian Epic comes back to the Mediterranean, guests can choose to embark in either Civitavecchia or Barcelona for the SAME cruise. Well, sort of. If you embark in Civitavecchia, Barcelona will be a port day and vice versa. The cruise will be seven days in length, regardless of where you board, you can just choose between the two cities for your round-trip cruise. The rest of the ports remain the same: Livorno, Villefranche and Marseilles. With airline tickets ranging so drastically in price, this is a great option since you can play around with which city might offer the better rates. Also, if you are tired of spending that before and after day in Barcelona, you can change it up and start your cruise in Rome. NCL's season in the Med starts next year on April 29 and runs through Oct 17. Carnival is the newest cruise line to make it easier for Mom and Dad to bring the little ones on a cruise with their "Night Owls" program. For a fee, parents can now take some time with their dessert, catch a show and some much-needed "downtime" while their kids are whisked away for snacks, video games, parties and crafts from 10 p.m. into the night. Kids receive special gifts and prizes. There are three different price brackets based on age and length of stay: Owl Jams: 2-11 year olds. 10 p.m.-midnight. $13 per child plus gratuity. Fun til One- 6-8 year olds. 10 p.m.- 1 p.m. $20 per child plus gratuity. Fun at Sea...til 3- 9-11 year olds. 10 p.m.- 3 p.m. $33 per child plus gratuity. New after hours babysitting is also available from 10 p.m. til 3 p.m. with this new program costing $6.75 per hour which operates as a "slumber party at sea" with snacks, refreshments and complementary blankets and pillows provided. The new program is now offered on all Carnival ships. This step puts Carnival even closer to their competition in terms of children's programs. For comparison, Disney offers a free service called "Dine and Play" where the counselors come and get your children 45 minutes into the meal (second seating only) and bring them to the kids club while you enjoy the rest of your meal and other nighttime activities. Royal Caribbean has a similar program for early seating, but the children's clubs close at 10 p.m. Here's hoping this trend continues because, as any parent knows, you can't fully enjoy a long meal with a bored/distracted child. |
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