Ten cruise ships arrived in the port of Funchal, Madeira for the New Year’s celebrations carrying a total of 25,000 passengers and 9000 crew members, according to official data.

With the delivery of the first LNG-powered cruise ship named AIDAnova the cruise industry enters a new era. The German shipbuilder Meyer Werft delivered AIDAnova on December 12, the first vessel of the new generation cruise ships ordered by Carnival Corporation for AIDA Cruises. 

The most anticipated cruise ship of the year, Celebrity Edge was officially baptized during a Tuesday ceremony at Port Everglades by the godmother Malala Yousafzai. In front of 3,000 guests, employees, crew members and students this magnificent vessel was the first to be baptized by a Nobel Prize Laureate.

Scarlett Anthony from Adelaide, Australia is this year’s winner of the OTR Search for a Christmas Star competition. The 19-year-old super talented singer will shine before an audience of around 30,000 people at South Australia's largest Christmas Concert, the QBE Insurance Carols by Candlelight at Elder Park. Scarlet will sing the song Amazing Grace in an arrangement with a modern twist, “but respecting the original words and tune”.

The food prepared on board the Costa cruise ships not served to the guests from now on will be distributed to the ones who need it the most. The Spanish organization “Banc dels Aliments” and Costa Cruises signed an agreement for the food surplus to be distributed, among different NGOs in Barcelona.

The German Cruise operator TUI Cruises has done something unimaginable in the cruise world. From October this year, TUI Cruises has allowed access to guest public areas for all of their crew members when off-duty. Before this was only possible with the so-called “Leisure Time Cards” permit request which was distributed among the departments in limited numbers. With this privilege crew will have access to the bars, guests open decks and crew members may use the guest gym from 9 pm-midnight.

With over 50 thousand useful reports gathered along the Italian coastline and the involvement of over 600 teachers and 5,700 students of 156 Secondary schools, Costa Crociere Foundation is supporting one of the largest citizen science project.

People around the world are accepting the new viral dance challenge In My Feelings Kiki by the superstar Drake. This popular dance has been sweeping internet and people are doing their own dance versions of the challenge by jumping out of the moving vehicles to the music beat.

This evening the first ever LNG powered cruise ship named Aidanova will be baptized in Papenburg, Germany. The organizers expect some 25,000 visitors to attend the ceremony at the Meyer Werft site. After the christening, a two-day open-air concert will take place from 9.30 pm. Star guest of the first evening is the French DJ David Guetta.

Many crew members have inspired thousands with their talents, creativity, achievements, and skills. However the challenge that one former cruise ship crew member will attempt to achieve is truly an epic one. Starting January 1, 2019, the young Argentinian Juan Pablo Savonitti, will run for the first time throughout the American continent, from Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego (Argentina) to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska (USA).