Nicko Cruises announced temporarily withdraw from the expedition cruise market by handing over the World Voyager, its only expedition cruise ship, to its sister company Atlas Ocean Voyages. The handover is set to take place in September 2023. Nicko Cruises cites an inability to meet the minimum required number of participants for World Voyager's sailings as a reason for this decision.
A port pilot died while boarding the cruise ship Diamond Princess as the vessel was approaching the port of Nagasaki on May 5th. The tragedy happened at around 5:30 am local time when the 69-year-old pilot fell into the sea while climbing the ladder to board the Diamond Princess from a pilot boat, which is a standard procedure before cruise ship enters port and a local pilot takes control of the navigation.
MSC Cruises has extended its global partnership agreement with Formula 1® until the end of the 2026 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. The partnership has achieved significant results due to the growth of interest in Formula 1 around the world, particularly in key markets for MSC Cruises.
MSC Cruises hosted a special event on board MSC Musica at the port of Piraeus to celebrate the ship's summer 2023 sailing season in the East Mediterranean. This marks the second time that MSC Cruises has based a ship in Greece and the first time that MSC Musica will be homeported in the country. MSC Musica will be operating 26 seven-night voyages until October, with ports of call including Santorini and Mykonos in Greece, Kusadasi in Turkey, Haifa in Israel, and Limassol in Cyprus.
Ambassador Cruise Line's second vessel, the Ambition, completed its four-week-long dry dock refurbishment at the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany. The maintenance work involved various tasks, such as repairing the propulsion units, rudders, and stabilizers, as well as a fresh coat of paint matching the cruise company's colors.
A crew member onboard Oceania Marina was medically evacuated in Greece after experiencing an urgent medical condition.
Katie McAlister has been appointed as the new president of Cunard, according to an announcement by the company. Starting in August, McAlister will join the Southampton-based cruise line after a 20-year career at TUI, where she currently serves as Chief Marketing Officer for the UK & Ireland. Throughout her time at TUI, McAlister held various positions across the organization, including roles in overseas delivery, commercial operations, digital, and marketing.
During the National Association of Music Merchants 2023 event, also known as NAMM Show, Kirby Mathurin, popularly known as DJ CUE, represented both Carnival Cruise Line and his home country Saint Lucia as the very first Pro DJ to open up the Pioneer Booth.
Marella Cruises has announced that it has chosen two of its own crew members as the godmothers for its newest cruise ship, Marella Voyager. In a departure from the typical choice of celebrities, Marella Cruises has selected Chief Purser Tatyana Olkhovska and Senior Destination Services Operations Manager Jacqui Nobile, who together have over 40 years of combined experience in the cruise industry across various roles and ships.
A ceremony was held at the Grand Turk Cruise Center, with the Mardi Gras ship in the background, to celebrate the arrival of a fire truck donated by Carnival Cruise Line and the City of Miami Fire-Rescue Department to the Grand Turk Fire Services in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
