Welcome to the weekly Cruise News Digest. Here you can catch up on the past week’s cruise news and all things La Lido Loca.
Let’s dive in!
Celestyal Cruises has added a second ship to its fleet this year. The cruise line launched Celestyal Journey in September and has now acquired the 2003-built AIDAura and will rename it the Celestyal Discovery. Celestyal Discovery and Celestyal Journey will both receive further refurbishments in Athens before they begin their sailing season of the Greek Isles in March 2024. Both vessels have the capacity for about 1,260 guests which will allow the vessels to continue offering the cruise line’s blend of “marquee destinations and secluded gems” they currently offer.
Carnival Cruise Line awarded the “Spirit of Carnival” award to Miss Universe Philippines Michelle Dee during the 72nd annual Miss Universe competition. The “Spirit of Carnival” award is reserved for those who exemplify the cruise line’s values of fun, friendship, diversity and inclusion. Dee has two siblings with autism and gives them the credit for inspiring her to work with autism advocacy groups nationwide.
While you were eating your turkey and mashed potatoes, Carnival Cruise Line chefs were serving up the largest-ever Thanksgiving feast in the cruise line’s 51-year history. Chefs served more than 48,000 pounds of turkey, greater than 600 gallons of turkey grave and over 6,600 pounds of turkey stuffing.
MSC Seashore arrived in Port Canaveral for the first time on November 16, 2023. She will be sailing three-, four-, and seven-night itineraries to include Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico, and Nassau in the Bahamas. Most of the cruises will also visit Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve. She will remain at Port Canaveral through at least October 2025.
MSC Cruises has also officially inaugurated the Nelson Mandela Cruise Terminal in South Africa. The $16 million, 6,000 square meter cruise terminal will be able to handle up to 4,000 passengers daily, and will be operated by KwaZulu Cruise Terminal Limited. MSC Splendida will homeport from Durban through March 2024 and visit destinations like Port Louis, Mauritius; Saint-Denis, Reunion; and Portuguese Island and Pomene, Mozambique.
Turks and Caicos have welcomed 1.2 million visitors during the first 10 months of the year. The Grand Turk Cruise Center has seen a 30.5% increase in cruise passengers while there has also been a 4.8% increase in arrivals via air when compared to the same time frame in 2022. The majority of arrivals are from the United States with Canada and the United Kingdom in a distant second and third.
There you have it. This week’s Cruise News Digest. Are you a member of the Loca Extra Patreon? You can join here and get extra live content and more. La Lido Loca has even more cruise news, while La Lido Loca Two offers more cruising content along with the Cruise Podcast! Tony updates his weight loss journey over at Have To Lose. You can also join in on the conversation via social media on the La Lido Cruising Community and the Have to Lose Support Crew group pages.