Fuel surcharge intrigue continues

Back in November when Carnival Corporation announced the retroactive addition of fuel surcharges to existing bookings, we knew, first, that the rest of the industry would follow, and second, that there would be eventual pushback from customers or regulators. Nobody likes making a reservation, paying a deposit, and then being told sometime later that more money is due.

Sure enough, other brands owned by Carnival (like Cunard, Holland America, and Princess) added the fuel surcharge retroactively to existing bookings and, shortly thereafter, so did Royal Caribbean (and its siblings Celebrity and Azamara).

Meantime one cruise line, Norwegian, stands out as taking the most consumer-friendly approach to skyrocketing fuel prices. They added a fuel surcharge only for new bookings. Good for them!

Which brings us to earlier this month, and the regulatory pushback from Florida's attorney general Bill McCollum. The cruise lines had gotten themselves in hot water in Florida in 1997 over the issue of "port charges," since when ports were skipped (say, due to inclement weather), the "port charges" weren't reliably refunded. This resulted in an agreement between the cruise lines and the state requiring clear explanation of charges that make up the fare.

Apparently when Royal Caribbean was approached by Attorney General McCollum about whether, by adding retroactive charges now, they had run afoul of that 1997 agreement, the cruise line thought his argument was persuasive enough to cave in. So last week Royal Caribbean announced they're going to give back the retroactive charges, and clearly disclose the charges on new bookings.

Carnival, though, is resisting the idea of a rebate. Yesterday, Carnival Corp. dug in its heels on its quarterly conference call with financial analysts, falling back on its fine print which it said had mentioned for some time the possibility of future fuel surcharges. The attorney general disagrees that this constituted adequate disclosure, and it will be fascinating to see how this plays out over the next few weeks. We're thinking that kicking sand at their home-state attorney general will probably not serve them well in the long term.

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Carnival singer makes top 20 in America's Got Talent

The sometimes-maligned corps of professional cruise-ship entertainers got a boost from the success of Carnival vocalist Jason Pritchett at cracking the top twenty on hit TV show America's Got Talent.

Pritchett, of Kansas City, Mo., performs lead male vocals during two production shows each week on board Carnival Spirit, which is currently operating seven-day Alaska cruises through mid-September.

"We strive to find truly talented vocal performers for our production shows, which are a highlight of the cruise vacation experience," explained Carnival vice president Roger Blum. "Jason certainly personifies the exceptional talent our guests can look forward to when sailing with us, and all of his friends here at Carnival are cheering him on."

Created by Simon Cowell's production company, America's Got Talent airs Tuesdays at 8 pm eastern on NBC.

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Norwegian Majesty crew clean up Bermuda

Kudos to the crew of Norwegian Majesty, who were reported by the Bermuda Sun as having invested a day in picking up trash around the ship's port in St. George's, and planning to do so again regularly.

Bermuda has a well-earned reputation for being immaculate, so no doubt this effort on the crew's part is appreciated by the locals.

Majesty has spent every summer for many years sailing round-trip Bermuda cruises from Boston, and will keep visiting next year too, although from Charleston, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Norwegian Dream will take over in Boston next summer.

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Liberty of the Seas first look report: surf's up!

We had the chance to sail onboard Royal Caribbean's brand-new Liberty of the Seas recently from the line's artfully named Cape Liberty Port in Bayonne, New Jersey. Like sister ship Freedom of the Seas, Liberty is a home run for the target "active adventure cruiser" market. Take a look at our brand-new Liberty of the Seas photos, and previous Freedom of the Seas photos, to see what we mean.

Freedom and Liberty are the world's two largest cruise ships, weighing in at 160,000 tons and carrying 3,400 passengers. An evolution of the line's successful Voyager-class vessels, Royal Caribbean uses the extra space made available on these behemoths for eye- and adrenaline-popping additions like surfing and boxing, plus a general upsizing of popular Voyager-class features like the rock climbing wall, "main street" Royal Promenade, and ice skating rink.

Surely the catchiest feature remains the Flowrider surfing machine, surrounded by stadium seating for the less adventurous, on which intrepid guests can either bodyboard or stand-up surf.

Lest you think bodyboarding sounds less exciting, wait to pass judgement until you've mastered executing a barrel roll, 360-degree spin, or bodyboarding while standing on your head--all skills the staff there will be happy to demonstrate and teach. Speaking of whom, we tip our hats to the staff manning this attraction, who bend over backwards to make even raw beginners feel welcome and have fun while they learn. The fancy surfing hardware is not what makes the attraction a huge success--rather it's the terrific Royal Caribbean employees working there.

Liberty and Freedom now sail Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries from Miami. Contact us to book and for free bonuses with each booking.

We could go on and on about Liberty of the Seas, but a picture is worth a thousand words so check out our Liberty photos!

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More details trickle out on Empress of the North grounding in Alaska

The NTSB has released a few more details about the May 14 grounding incident involving sternwheeler Empress of the North, a riverboat operated by Majestic America Line. The crew was apparently trying to complete a turn, and failed, when the boat "raked across a rocky shoal" although still no word on why the turn failed.

After hitting the Rocky Island shoal about 25 miles southwest of Juneau, the boat drifted for two miles and came to rest on a reef, where the approximately 200 passengers, and many of the 75 crew members, were safely evacuated. The dual-hulled vessel's outer hull was badly damaged in the incident.

Empress of the North has since been towed to a dock for further analysis.

The next step for the NTSB is to analyze the ship's voyage data recorder, similar to an airplane's "black box," which hopefully will fill in the blanks as to precisely why this accident occurred.

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NCL decision to move Pride of Hawaii to Europe justified by larger Q1 loss

Norwegian Cruise Line just announced a wider first-quarter loss, $60.8 million versus $28.8 million a year earlier, that completes the picture surrounding the line's April decision to move Pride of Hawaii away from the islands and to the Mediterranean. At that time, NCL acknowledged the cause to be "downward pricing pressure in the Hawaii cruise market" caused by NCL's own capacity surge and new Hawaii competition from other lines sailing from the US west coast.

It is now surely a cruise buyer's market for those looking to sail to Hawaii, the Caribbean, and even Alaska to come extent.

Along with NCL's Pride of America and Pride of Aloha, Pride of Hawaii is one of only three vessels allowed to sail inter-island Hawaii cruises due to being US-flagged, whereas everyone else's foreign-flagged vessels must call at an inconvenient foreign port somewhere on their Hawaiian itineraries due to US federal laws.

In search of better pricing, Pride of Hawaii will be pulled out of service in February 2008, renamed Norwegian Jade, repainted, and switched into Mediterranean cruise service as part of the regular Norwegian fleet.

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Celebrity gives birth to Azamara, a new "deluxe" cruise line

It's rare for an existing cruise line to split itself in two, but that's exactly what Celebrity Cruises has done with its introduction of "deluxe" cruise line Azamara Cruises. "Azamara" is word invented for the occasion, from Romance language roots blue ("aza"), and the sea ("mar").

The new upscale cruise line will sail with two of the extremely popular midsize 700-passenger R-Class ships originally built for now-defunct Renaissance Cruises. One of these vessels, Azamara Journey, had been sailing already as Celebrity Journey and launched the Azamara brand in a re-inaugural voyage May 5. The sister ship, Azamara Quest, comes online in October.

Celebrity has emphasized that the Azamara brand stakes out a new "deluxe" territory between "premium" and "luxury" cruising. However, we would argue that the very successful Oceania Cruises, which has sailed with R-Class vessels since its inception in 2002, had already carved out this same niche.

Azamara Cruises President Dan Hanrahan, who also is president of Celebrity, said "Azamara Cruises is expressly designed for travel enthusiasts who appreciate what a cruise vacation has to offer, but are looking for something a little different, and a little more special. And what's special about Azamara Cruises is its distinctive combination of impeccable service, exceptional cuisine and off-the-beaten-path destinations, with truly immersive excursions."

Journey and Quest offer butler service in every stateroom and suite, as well as concierge-style amenities, including fresh-cut flowers, fresh fruit, Elemis toiletries, complimentary use of Frette cotton robes, two complimentary pairs of slippers, plasma TVs and plush European bedding.

The premium cruise lines like Celebrity have struggled for years to convince guests to pay a premium price over their "non-premium" competitors, so from the perspective of Wall Street, an effort like this one to deliver clearly enhanced benefits with separate branding, and command a higher per-diem price, will be most welcome.

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Silversea offers MiG-31 flights in Russia

Every guy dreams of piloting a fighter jet at one time or another. Well, that dream plus $29,815 will have you taking the controls of a MiG-31 Foxhound, Russia's most advanced interceptor, as part of a wild shore excursion announced by Silversea on select Baltic cruises this summer.

Silversea guests will have the chance to experience the incredible thrill of flying near the stratospheric border at 700 miles per hour as part of the new optional three-day overland tour offered from St. Petersburg, Russia.

While the adventure begins in Moscow, the actual jet flight takes place several hours away in the historic Russian town of Nizhny Novgorod.

"We tailor our shore excursions to fit a broad range of interests and our new MiG jet tour is obviously designed for the ultimate thrill-seeker," said Jim Droney, Silversea's director of land programs. "It definitely falls in the category of extreme adventures -- the kind that well-heeled, 'been there, done that' world travelers like to collect and brag about."

The new three-day, two-night "MiG-31 Foxhound" optional overland tour includes a business-class flight to Moscow, where guests have a chance to explore many of the city's highlights, including Red Square, the Kremlin and its cathedral, and the Metro, before enjoying dinner at the famous Writers' Club. The tour continues on a business-class flight to Nizhny Novgorod, where guests are accommodated for the night at a local hotel.

On the second day, guests journey to the airfield for flight training where they are issued a special flight suit that is theirs to keep as a trophy souvenir to show friends and family back home. After training, each participant boards a MiG-31 for an exhilarating one-hour flight, climbing to an altitude of 80,000 feet -- the edge of the stratospheric border. An English-speaking test pilot will assist in letting the novice pilot take the reins and perform basic maneuvers. The entire flight and ground preparations are filmed and presented to the guest. The tour concludes in the evening when guests board an express train for St. Petersburg, enjoying the cocooned luxury of a first-class sleeper cabin as they journey back to their Silversea ship.

The MiG tour is available on eight voyages this summer featuring three-day, two-night stopovers in St. Petersburg. Options include a series of seven-day cruises aboard Silver Shadow with departures from Copenhagen and Stockholm, and Silver Wind offers a ten-day voyage from London to Stockholm. Early Booking Incentive fares start at $4,925 per person, based on double occupancy.

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