TUI Cruises has resumed sailings from Hong Kong after a three-year hiatus, becoming the first German cruise line to do so. The Mein Schiff 5 arrived at the port of Hong Kong as part of its "Singapore with Hong Kong" voyage on March 8th, greeted with a traditional dragon and lion show.
Disney Cruise Line will expand its list of island destinations with the addition of the all-new Lighthouse Point on the island of Eleuthera in The Bahamas. The new island destination will be open in summer 2024, offering guests a unique celebration of Bahamian culture with the quality and service of a Disney vacation.
A&P Group has completed a multi-million-pound programme of works at the Falmouth ship-repair complex on the MV Bolette, the largest passenger ship to visit the facility in over 60 years.
The cruise ship MSC Meraviglia made an emergency stop at the port of Miami to medevac a passenger in need of urgent medical assistance. The ship was at MSC Cruises Private Island Ocean Cay in the Bahamas when the captain announced on the PA system that they needed to depart to Miami in order for the Coast Guard to perform a medical evacuation.
Norwegian Cruise Line announced a record deployment of three ships to the Asia Pacific in 2024 and 2025. Norwegian Spirit will return to Australia and New Zealand for her third consecutive season, while Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Sky will make their debut in the region and also sail Asian itineraries.
The Italian company Navim Group, a leader in construction and supply of marine equipment, has released a graphical representation of what could be TUI Cruises' newest mega cruise ship Mein Schiff 8, set for delivery in 2024. While TUI Cruises has not yet released any information or renderings of the ship, we know that the vessel is under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, where Navim Group is installing equipment on the vessel.
Life at Sea Cruises, a new cruise brand under the Turkish company Miray Cruises, is set to embark on an unprecedented three-year global tour starting in November 2023 with its MV Gemini cruise ship. Despite the unlikelihood of guests staying on board for the entire voyage, this world tour is expected to break all records as the ship will visit 375 cruise destinations across 135 countries on all seven continents, covering a total distance of 130,000 miles.
Cruise Saudi, a government agency tasked with growing the local cruise industry in Saudi Arabia, has recently acquired the World Dream cruise ship from Genting Hong Kong. This $330 million acquisition represents a significant step towards expanding the country's cruise industry, as Saudi Arabia opened its ports to cruise ships for the first time in 2021 and plans to become a major cruise destination by 2035.
On February 28th, the port of Nassau set a new record for the highest number of daily arrivals, with a total of 28,554 passengers and 10,302 crew members. This was made possible by the presence of two of the largest cruise ships in the world - the Wonder of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas from Royal Caribbean International, as well as four other large cruise ships, such as Carnival Cruise Line's Mardi Gras and MSC Cruises' MSC Meraviglia.
Cunard has launched Sea Views Exhibition to commemorate its century-long history and proud British maritime heritage.
