Cruise Lines Cancel Mexican Port Calls

Following the outbreak of Swine Influenza in Mexico, the major cruise lines operating cruises in the Caribbean and Mexican riviera have responded with precautionary measures for passengers and crew onboard their ships. Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Fred Olsen Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International have undertaken itinerary adjustments and canceling Mexican port calls.

 

Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival will cancel all Mexican port calls for current sailings and all cruises departing from 30 April 2009 through to 4 May 2009, replacing the cancelled call with an alternative port or an extra day at sea.

 

Carnival Conquest, Carnival Ecstacy, Carnival Paradise and Carnival Legend will have their 29 and 30 April 2009 visits to Cozumel, Ensenada and Progresso replaced with a day at sea, while Carnival Fantasy will call at Key West in place of Progresso and spend an additional day at sea after skipping Cozumel.

 

Carnival Imagination will visit Nassau, Bahamas, instead of Cozumel while Carnival Splendor will arrive in San Francisco on 1 May 2009, having skipped Cabo San Lucas. Carnival Valor will arrive in Key West on 2 May 2009 to replace its original call at Cozumel on 1 May 2009.

 

In addition to the revised itineraries, Carnival Cruise Lines will also allow passengers to reschedule their cruise to a later date.

 

For more information, visit www.carnival.com.

 

Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean International

As with Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean Cruises is suspending all Mexican port calls for its ships sailing under the Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean International brands, replacing them with alternate ports or additional days at sea.

 

On its repositioning cruise, the Celebrity Infinity will replace port calls to Cabo San Lucas and Huatulco with alternative ports currently being finalized at this time.

 

On its 5-night sailings departing Port Everglades on Mondays, Enchantment of the Seas will substitute Cozumel with additional time in Key West and an additional day at sea while its 4-night cruises departing Port Everglades on Thursdays will spend more time in Key West and call at Nassau, Bahamas, instead.  The ship’s 5-night cruises departing Port Everglades on Saturdays will now feature calls at Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

 

Freedom of the Seas will replace Cozumel with more time in George Town, Cayman Islands, and an additional day at sea on its 7-night sailings departing Port Canaveral on Sundays, while sister ship Liberty of the Seas will visit Coco Cay in the Bahamas instead of Cozumel during its 7-night sailings departing Miami every Saturday.

 

Mariner of the Seas will feature a fully-revised itinerary for its 7-night sailings departing Los Angeles on Sundays. The ship will now visit San Francisco, Seattle and Victoria, British Columbia, with the 10 May 2009 sailing calling at Astoria rather than San Francisco.

 

Currently on repositioning cruises, Serenade of the Seas will replace its port call in Cabos San Lucas with a port call in San Diego while Radiance of the Seas will extend its stop in San Diego and spend more time at sea after skipping Huatulco, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas.

 

Royal Caribbean Cruises has also implemented Influenza Prevention and Response Plans on its vessels, including screening passengers and crew, providing hand sanitizers onboard and a readiness by onboard medical personnel to isolate and treat guests and crew displaying flu-like symptoms.

 

For more information, visit www.celebritycruises.com or www.royalcaribbean.com.

 

Fred Olsen Cruise Line

Originally scheduled to visit Acapulco on 6 and7 May 2009 as part of a 104-night World Cruise, Balmoral will now skip the Mexican port and spend an extended stay in San Diego. The ship will then sail to Puerto Quetzal in Guatemala and visit Puntarenas in Costa Rica on 10 May 2009.

 

For more information, visit www.fredolsencruises.com.

 

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Pearl’s current repositioning cruise will have its itinerary adjusted, with the final 2 calls in Mexico scheduled for today and 1 May 2009 cancelled. Norwegian Pearl will now call on San Diego on 2 May 2009. The cruise line’s scheduled deployment until the end of September 2009 will also not include any Mexican ports of call.

 

Norwegian Cruise Line is also implementing protocols to prevent the spread of infectious diseases and precautionary measures.

 

For more information, visit www.ncl.com.

Carnival Pride Arrives To Sail Year-Round From Baltimore

The Port of Baltimore has welcomed its first cruise ship to homeport year-round in the city. Accompanied by The Pride of Baltimore, a replica of a 19th-century topsail schooner, the 2,124-passenger Carnival Pride arrived at the South Locust Point Cruise Terminal, where a reception was held onboard the vessel, during which a traditional maritime plaque exchange took place between Captain Alessandro Galotto and port and community officials.

 

From Baltimore, the ship will sail 6-, 7- and 8-day voyages to the Bahamas, Caribbean and Florida until 29 August 2009, calling at Freeport, Nassau, Half Moon Cay (a private island owned by affiliate Holland America Line), Grand Turk and Port Canaveral in Florida. Carnival Pride will then sail a year-round 7-day schedule starting 6 September 2009, with Eastern Caribbean and Bahamas/Florida itineraries available.

 

The 88,500-GRT Carnival Pride features a selection of amenities and facilities onboard, including 4 swimming pools, Spa Carnival, the Taj Mahal show lounge and the Winner’s Club Casino. Guests enjoy gourmet dining at the ship’s many food and beverage outlets, such as the Normandie restaurant, Mermaid’s Grill Lido and David’s, where Carnival Pride’s supper club is hosted. 5 types of accomodation options are available to guests, ranging from interior staterooms to the luxurious penthouse suite.

 

With the new year-round voyages from Baltimore, Carnival Cruise Lines now operates cruises from 19 ports in North America onboard its fleet of 22 vessels. The world’s largest cruise line by number of passengers carried, Carnival will carry an estimated 3.8 million passengers in 2009.

 

For more information, visit www.carnival.com.

Japan Airlines To Increase Domestic Flights From Tokyo (Haneda)

Utilizing the recent increase in slots at Tokyo (Haneda) Airport, Japan Airlines will be increasing flight frequencies to domestic destinations, beginning with Hiroshima in May 2009, Fukuoka in June 2009 and Naha, Okinawa in July 2009.

 

Tokyo (Haneda) – Hiroshima

From 8 May to 31 May 2009, Japan Airlines will operate an additional daily flight between Tokyo (Haneda) and Hiroshima, bringing the total number of flights each day to 8 roundtrips. Flight JL 1613 departs Haneda at 1550 hrs and arrives in Hiroshima at 1715 hrs. From Hiroshima, flight JL 1618 departs at 1835 hrs, arriving back in Haneda at 1955 hrs.

 

Tokyo (Haneda) – Fukuoka

For the month of June 2009, Japan Airlines will also increase services between Tokyo (Haneda) and Fukuoka from 19 to 20 daily roundtrips. Flight JL 3941 takes off from Haneda at 1045 hrs, arriving in Fukuoka at 1230 hrs. The return leg is operated by flight JL 3942, departing Fukuoka at 1445 hrs and arriving in Haneda at 1620 hrs in the afternoon.

 

Tokyo (Haneda) – Naha

Japan Airlines will add a 12th daily flight between Tokyo (Haneda) and Naha in Okinawa. Beginning from 1 July until 30 September 2009, flight JL 921 will depart Haneda at 1410 hrs and arrive in Naha at 1640 hrs in the afternoon before returning as flight JL 3946 at 1730 hrs to arrive back in Haneda at 1955 hrs.

 

For the month of October 2009, the additional flight will be operated by flight JL 3945 departing Haneda at 1045 hrs in the morning and arriving in Okinawa at 1340 hrs. The return flight, JL 912, takes off from Naha at 1435 hrs and arrives back in Haneda at 1655 hrs in the afternoon.

 

Together with its subsidiaries, Japan Airlines operates more than 18,000 scheduled domestic services daily, flying a fleet of high density Airbus A300, Boeing 737, 747, 767, 777, Embraer E170, McDonnell Douglas MD-81 and MD-90 aircraft. From Tokyo (Haneda), the airline flies to 34 destinations within Japan, including Kobe, Osaka and Sapporo.

 

For more information, visit www.jal.co.jp/en.

Russia Inaugurates New Deluxe Train Service

Russian Railways today inaugurated a new luxury train service between Moscow and St Petersburg. The Alexander Nevsky deluxe train is the first in Russia to offer high levels of service and comfort for passengers, with a variety of travel classes onboard.

 

In First VIP, each car features 4 spacious, convertible compartments equipped with individual climate control, bathroom with shower, internet access and a satellite television with DVD entertainment system. Depending on the passenger’s requirements, the compartments can be configured as bedrooms, living areas or offices.

 

Second VIP cars have 6 compartments, each with upper and lower berths. Passengers enjoy a bathroom with showers in the compartment, internet access and satellite television. There are also 9 sleeping compartments and saloon seating, as well as a dining car serving hot and cold meals and drinks.

 

The overnight trains depart St Petersburg at 2330 hrs every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, arriving in Moscow at 0710 hrs the next morning. From Moscow, the trains depart at 2330 hrs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and arrive into St Petersburg at 0740 hrs the next morning.

 

The state-owned Russian Railways is one of the largest railway companies in the world, carrying over 1.3 billion passengers each year. The company operates over 85,500 kilometers of tracks, including the famous Trans-Siberian railway from Moscow to Vladivostok.

 

For more information, visit www.eng.rzd.ru.

Royal Caribbean To Base Ship Year-Round In UK

Royal Caribbean has announced it is to base the 160,000-GRT Independence of the Seas at Southampton in 2010. The ship is the first vessel from the cruise line to be deployed year-round in the UK and returns after sailing its inaugural summer season in 2008 from Southampton. With the deployment, Independence of the Seas will become the largest ship sailing in Europe.

 

From Southampton, Independence of the Seas will sail a series of voyages ranging from 3-/4-night short cruises to France and Ireland, to 14-night Mediterranean cruises. Ports of call for the ship include Ajaccio, Barcelona, Cadiz, Cagliari, Cannes, Cherbourg, Civitavecchia, Cork, Funchal, Gibraltar, Ibiza, Las Palmas, Lanzarote, Le Havre, Lisbon, Livorno, Malaga, Provence, Tenerife, Vigo and Villefranche.

 

The innovative ship features luxurious accomodation, themed restaurants and bars and a wide selection of recreation facilities onboard. Guests may choose from ice skating at the indoor ice rink and rock climbing to surfing at the ship’s surf simulator. Independence of the Seas also boasts the 4-storey high Royal Promenade, a shopping street hosting shops and performances, as well as the cruise line’s Casino Royale.

 

Royal Caribbean first based a ship from Southampton in 2005, when the 2,076-guest Legend of the Seas was homeported for 2 summer seasons. The cruise line then introduced the larger 3,114-guest Navigator of the Seas in 2007, before homeporting Independence of the Seas at the port in summer 2008.

 

For more information, visit www.royalcaribbean.com.

Asian Low Cost Carriers Expand With New Routes

Asian low cost carriers have announced new routes and frequencies amidst the global economic downturn that is affecting the travel industry. Malaysia’s AirAsia X will fly to Taipei from its Kuala Lumpur hub while both Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia have announced new flights between Singapore and the Malaysian island destinations of Langkawi and Penang.

 

AirAsia X to fly Kuala Lumpur-Taipei from July

After announcing daily flights for its Kuala Lumpur-London service, Malaysia’s AirAsia X continues to expand its network with the addition of Kuala Lumpur – Taipei flights from 1 July 2009. The airline will offer 5 direct flights each week, using its new 383-seat Airbus A330-300 aircraft in XL Class and Economy Class.

 

The new service operates on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. Flight D7 2672, departing Kuala Lumpur at 1000 hrs, arrives in Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport  at 1440 hrs in the afternoon. The return flight, D7 2673, departs Taipei at 1555 hrs and lands back at Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) at 2035 hrs.

 

AirAsia X joins full service carriers Malaysia Airlines, China Airlines and EVA Air on the route and offers passengers flight connections to its other long-haul destinations in Australia and the UK, as well as the extensive regional network of affiliate AirAsia.

 

Tiger Airways, Jetstar Asia Receive Approval To Fly Singapore-Langkawi and Singapore-Penang

In a sign of further liberalisation of air services between Singapore and Malaysia, Singapore’s Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia Airways have announced they will launch flights to Langkawi and Penang, marking their further expansion in Malaysia.

 

Both airlines will commence service on the routes later this year, with schedules and fares to be announced shortly. Langkawi and Penang will be the 4th and 5th destinations in Malaysia for both airlines and bring Tiger Airways’ network from Singapore to 19 destinations, while Jetstar Asia and its Australian affiliate Jetstar will serve 25 cities from Changi International Airport.

 

The announcement offers air travellers greater choice when travelling between Singapore, Langkawi and Penang. Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia join national carrier Malaysia Airlines and Silkair on the Singapore-Langkawi route, while both low cost carriers join Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines in offering flights between Singapore and Penang.

Gulf Air To Operate Special Flights To Alexandria And Salalah For Summer Season

Bahrain-based Gulf Air has announced it will begin flights to the Egyptian city of Alexandria and Salalah in Oman for the 2009 summer season. Both destinations will be served 3 times a week until mid-September, with Bahrain-Alexandria commencing on 22 June 2009 and Bahrain-Salalah flights starting on 1 July 2009.

 

Bahrain-Alexandria

On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, flight GF 073 departs Bahrain at 0130 hrs and arrives in Alexandria at 0445 hrs in the morning. The return flight, GF 074, takes off 1 hour later at 0545 hrs, landing at Bahrain International Airport at 0845 hrs. Gulf Air will operate an Airbus A320 aircraft with 16 Business Class and 120 Economy Class seats on the route.

 

Bahrain-Salalah

The airline will also operate a 2-class A320 aircraft to Salalah. On Wednesdays, flight GF 554 departs Bahrain at 1330 hrs and arrives in Salalah at 1630 hrs in the afternoon before returning as flight GF 555 at 1730 hrs for a 1830 hrs arrival back in Bahrain. On Thursdays and Saturdays, the flight departs Bahrain later in the afternoon at 1520 hrs, arriving in Salalah at 1815 hrs. The return sector departs at 1900 hrs and lands in Bahrain at 2000 hrs.

 

Gulf Air is the national airline of Bahrain and flies to over 40 destinations in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, operating a fleet of 32 narrow- and wide-body aircraft, including the Airbus A319, A320, A321, A330, A340 and the Boeing 777-300ER leased from India’s Jet Airways. The airline has also ordered 32 next-generation Boeing 787s as part of a fleet renewal program and was the first Middle Eastern airline to feature chefs onboard flights to serve premium passengers.

 

For more information, visit www.gulfair.com.

AirAsia X Increases Kuala Lumpur-London Service

Malaysian low cost carrier AirAsia X has announced it will be increasing its flights between Kuala Lumpur and London to a daily service from the current 5 times a week flights.

 

For the period of 1 July 2009 and 24 October 2009, AirAsia X will operate flights to London on Mondays and Fridays in addition to the existing schedule. Flight D7 2008 will depart Kuala Lumpur at 1600 hrs and arrive in London at 2300 hrs. On the return sector, flight D7 2009 departs London Stansted at 0125 hrs and arrives back in Kuala Lumpur at 2125 hrs every Thursday and Sunday.

 

The new schedule offers greater choice for passengers seeking a low cost alternative to travel between London and the Asia-Pacific region. Flights will be operated by an Airbus A340-300 aircraft with 30 seats in XL Class and 256 seats in Economy Class.

 

AirAsia X is the first and only low cost carrier to fly nonstop between London Stansted and its hub at Kuala Lumpur, from where it offers connections to Australia and China, as well as across Southeast Asia through its affiliate AirAsia. The airline operates a fleet of Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft configured in a 2-class layout (Economy and XL Class) to 6 destinations from Kuala Lumpur.

New Boutique Resort Opens In Vietnam

Located on the pristine Ke Ga bay and 150 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City, the Princess d’Annam Resort and Spa is Vietnam’s first all-villa, luxury boutique resort property. Spanning over 45 acres of grounds overlooking the South China Sea, the 57-villa resort offers stunning views of the region’s natural beauty and elements of its rich history through architecture and design.

 

3 accomodation types are available at the resort. The 36 Mandarin Suites offer guests 75 square meters of space and feature a King-sized bed, private verandah and in-suite bathroom with a specially-designed bath tub and separate rain shower. There are 18 Princess Villas, each measuring 100 square meters, with an outdoor plunge pool, open-air bath tub and 4-poster King-sized bed. The resort also has 3 double-storey Empress Villas available to guests, featuring 2 or 3 bedrooms, a large infinity pool and magnificent views over Ke Ga bay. All accomodation options are equipped with a personal in-room safe, plasma television, high speed wireless internet access, a fully-stocked minibar and coffee-/tea-making facilities.

 

The Princess d’Annam Resort and Spa offers guests 3 food and beverage options serving a variety of cuisines. The Dining Room pairs French cuisine with an extensive wine list and views of the South China Sea from its indoor and al fresco seating, while The Terrace offers all-day dining by the main infinity pool. For a round of drinks, The Lounge Bar is an open-air venue with a wide selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Guests may also dine in the comfort of their villas with the resort’s 24-hour in-villa dining service.

 

For recreation and relaxation, the resort offers a variety of beach and watersport activities organized by qualified instructors, as well as excursions and sightseeing tours to neighbouring attractions. In-house, there is a 24-hour health club with a full-range of fitness equipment and the 1,800 square meter spa, with 10 individual treatment rooms built around an inner courtyard with views of the ocean and the century-old lighthouse. The resort also boasts its own Ginger Garden, Vietnam’s first collection of rare plants.

 

As a conference and banquet venue, the Princess d’Annam Resort and Spa offers 8 different event spaces, including the Binh Thuan Ballroom, capable of seating up to 250 guests and 3 boardrooms for meetings and corporate retreats.

 

For more information, visit www.princessannam.com.

Indian Carriers Begin Move To New Domestic Departure Terminal At New Delhi Airport

New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport today opened its new Terminal 1D for domestic departures. Intended to replace Terminal 1B, which will be closed for renovations, flights will be progressively transfered from the existing departure terminals to the new terminal in phases. 

 

Indigo, Kingfisher Red and Kingfisher were the first airlines to use the facility, shifting their operations from terminals 1B and 1A. The 3 carriers will be joined at terminal 1D by Jet Airways, Jetlite and Spicejet in the second phase of transfers, although the exact schedule is still to be determined.

 

The new terminal will raise the domestic departure capacity at the airport to 10 million passengers each year and is designed to improve the travelling experience. There are 72 check-in counters, 16 self check-in kiosks and 14 security channels to ensure efficient processing of travellers. Prior to boarding, passengers wait in spacious holding areas with seating areas and other amenities, such as lounges, food and beverage outlets and retail shops, while a dedicated contact zone caters to passengers with special needs and unaccompanied minors.

 

With the shifting of operations still in progress, passengers are advised to check the departure terminal of their flights to avoid any inconvenience at the airport.