When Cruise Ships Plug In, Ports Prosper

by Chris Owen on

Having the ability to “plug in” to cleaner shore-based electric power, rather than burning diesel fuel when in port, allows cruise ships to eliminate a jumbo-sized carbon footprint. At a number of ports in the United States, ships are doing just that. Now, the Canadian government has announced that it is continuing its commitment to limit air emissions from the Canadian transportation sector by inviting applications for funding under the Shore Power Technology for Ports Program.

The program will provide cost-shared funding for the installation of marine shore power at Canadian ports that allows ships to plug into the local electrical grid to power the vessel and turn off their diesel engines when docked.

In January, the Government announced it would be making a further $27.2 million investment into the program to help reduce air emissions from ships, encouraging more ports to participate in the program.

“Our investment in shore power will reduce emissions from ports, support a cleaner environment and protect the health of Canadians by improving the quality of air we breathe,” said Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport in Portworld. “This program will boost the competitiveness of Canadian ports, provide new opportunities for growth in the tourism sector, and create jobs across the country.”

Ports and cruise lines are making an ongoing effort to grow the industry in an environmentally responsible matter. The Port of Los Angeles has the ability to provide shore-side power to three different cruise lines. Using shore-side power, ships from Princess Cruises, Disney Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line can now turn off their polluting engines while in port.

Also in California, the Port of San Diego gained the plug-in ability in 2010, fitted for Holland America ships. Holland America Line’s Oosterdam was the first to plug in to a similar system, also designed to help cruise ships go green. Initially, the Port of San Diego system can handle one ship but plans are for this system to take on more ships in the future too.

For those ports, it has been smooth sailing on the ability to have ships plug in. But for one other port it has been a stormy sea of setbacks.

More than a year ago, Brooklyn’s Red Hook cruise ship terminal was on schedule to be the first East Coast cruise operation to let ships plug in. Now, ships have still not plugged in and continue to spew pollution into the air, which area residents are fuming about.

“It seems fairly pathetic that all of these things are in place but the Port Authority are twiddling their thumbs,” Adam Armstrong, 48, a blogger and father of two who lives on Pioneer Street near the terminal, told the Daily News. “I thought it was quibbling over a small amount of money considering the impact of the emissions on people’s health.”

It has been almost three years since Carnival Corporation, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal Port Authority first agreed to enable cruise ships to plug in to green shore-side power.

Cruise ships annually bring 1,500 tons of carbon dioxide, 95 tons of nitrous oxide and 6.5 tons of particulate matter to the Brooklyn area when they park and burn their diesel engines.

In April of 2011, Gadling reported that the $15 million project would be funded with $12 million from the Port Authority, nearly $3 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant and Carnival Corporation would spend $4 million to retrofit their Princess Cruises and Cunard Line ships that dock in Brooklyn.



[Flickr photo by Tiago Daniel]

Photo Of The Day: Meet The Princesses

by Jessica Marati on

Who is the fairest of them all? It’s a tough question for guests aboard the new Disney Fantasy cruise ship, who spend their days surrounded by dozens of Disney’s famed princesses. Flickr user David Lytle is one of the lucky few to experience the Disney Fantasy first-hand, snapping today’s featured photo of Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Snow White as they greeted guests. In addition to characters in costume, the Disney Cruise Line vessel, inaugurated in March, features art nouveau design, European-themed dining and nightlife options, and a 1,800-square-foot water play area with an AquaDuck water coaster.

Does your enchanting travel photo belong here? Upload your favorite shots to the Gadling Group Pool and your image could be selected as our Photo of the Day.

Cruise Lines Court New Yorkers With More Ships, Better Value

by Chris Owen on

New Yorkers and most of the upper east coast of the United States have had few cruise ships to choose from. Traditionally, cruise lines sailed most of their ships from warmer, southern ports, which added the cost of a flight to a cruise vacation package too. Now, cruise lines are positioning more ships from upper east coast ports with a special focus on the New York market. The end result is, and will continue to be, more choices, better pricing and the best value ever to New Yorkers.

Norwegian Cruise Lines‘ new 4,000-passenger ship, Norwegian Breakaway, will sail from her homeport of New York City to the Bahamas, Florida, and the Caribbean for her inaugural winter season in 2013. That adds one more drive-to-the-port option for cruise passengers in the often under-served New York market.

“Norwegian Breakaway is one of the most highly anticipated new ships and has seen great demand for her summer sailings to Bermuda,” Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Kevin Sheehan told TravelDailyNews. “We are also excited to announce that the ship will stop at our newly enhanced private island, Great Stirrup Cay, offering an exclusive beach experience.”

Embarking on seven- to twelve day cruises to the Bahamas and Florida from October 2013 to April 2014, the line is taking in ports including Nassau, Great Stirrup Cay, Orlando and Port Canaveral. Two 12-day Southern Caribbean voyages and two “Weekend Escape” cruises in January 2014 are also scheduled with the 12-day itinerary incorporating visits to San Juan, St Thomas, Philipsburg, Castries, Bridgetown and Basseterre.

As the largest ship to homeport year-round in New York City, Norwegian Breakaway is expected to bring 140,000 additional embarking passengers into New York City over two years creating an estimated $35 million in direct spending.

In another move, Carnival Miracle, once a seasonal ship, started sailing year-round from New York this month, marking the line’s first year-round sailings from that port.

“New York is one of the highest-rated homeports for Fun Ship cruising. Carnival Miracle’s new year-round, eight-day departures offer consumers the best of both worlds – a choice of three attractive year-round Caribbean and Bahamas itinerary options with the opportunity to depart from one of the world’s great cities,” Carnival President and CEO Gerry Cahill told BreakingTravelNews.

Carnival Miracle will offer three different eight-day itineraries that visit popular islands throughout the Caribbean and Bahamas. The itineraries include Eastern Caribbean departures to San Juan, St. Thomas and Grand Turk, offered on a rotating basis April through October with a series of Bahamas sailings featuring stops at the private Bahamian island of Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk and Nassau. November through April, Carnival Miracle sails to the Bahamas along with a stop in Florida with port calls to Port Canaveral (Orlando), Nassau and Freeport.

On board, travelers will also find some new programming with an upscale New York flair.

The Taste Bar is Carnival’s newest casual dining option introduced this month on Carnival Miracle with fleetwide implementation expected to be completed by summer 2013.

The Taste Bar features complimentary bite-size offerings inspired by line’s Fun Ship 2.0 initiative dining venues, along with a signature cocktail tied to that eatery’s particular theme available for purchase for $5.

Sample offerings may include roasted pork tacos; meatballs and hand-whipped ricotta bruchetta; fried malanga (sweet potatoes) filled with ginger-scented pork and lime aioli; grilled ham and provolone cheese melt; and short rib croquettes with chipotle aioli.

Also on Carnival Miracle, the debut of the Punchliner Comedy Club Presented by George Lopez, part of a recently announced partnership with the comedian who serves as the line’s “curator of comedy,” acting as a consultant on the vetting and hiring of both established and up-and-coming comedic talent.

The Punchliner Comedy Club will offer five 35-minute shows on multiple nights during each voyage with at least two comedians performing each night. Two early-evening shows are geared toward a family audience, while the later performances feature R-rated, adults-only comedy.

Carnival Miracle’s year-round schedule of eight-day Caribbean voyages from New York with three different eight-day itineraries are offered:

  • Eastern Caribbean departures to San Juan, St. Thomas and Grand Turk;
  • Bahamas sailings featuring stops at the private Bahamian island of Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk and Nassau
  • Bahamas/Florida cruises with port calls to Port Canaveral (Orlando), Nassau and Freeport.

“The cruise industry continues to be an economic boon for the City, and today’s announcement that the Carnival Miracle will start offering year-round cruises from New York City will do even more to stimulate our economy, bringing additional visitors and generating nearly $13 million in direct spending,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation President Seth W. Pinsky in a release.

Also sailing seasonally from New York, beginning May 25, 2012, Disney Magic will sail 20 cruises from New York with three unique and varied itineraries. No stranger to Disney Ships, here is new Disney Fantasy arriving in New York earlier this year for inaugural festivities before heading south to her new home in Florida.

[Flickr photo via Dr.DeNo]

The Titanic Chronicles: No Ship Is Unsinkable

by Chris Owen on

At the time of her maiden and final voyage, RMS Titanic was the most advanced vessel of her day. Proud owner White Star Line thought her unsinkable and set out to show the world their new ship. Little did shipbuilders know that the grand ocean liner’s enduring legacy would not be a new record crossing the Atlantic but a warning to the future. A warning that, while well heeded, could not stop near-tragedies of modern day maritime history.

Titanic was designed to compete with Cunard Line’s Lusitania and Mauretania and focused on high-end luxury travel – very much as depicted in the movie “Titanic.”

Out of 840 staterooms, almost half were first-class accommodations. The ship was built for pleasure and beauty. It was filling that order, which would contribute to the loss of life just days after launching Titanic. The ship was designed to hold 32 lifeboats but only 20 were on board.

Cruise line management thought too many lifeboats would take away from the beauty of the ship. The 20 lifeboats on board Titanic could carry a total of 1,178 of the 3,547 passengers the ship might have if fully loaded. On that tragic night in 1912 when Titanic sank, the SS Californian was the closest ship to Titanic and many believe it could have easily rescued all on board. Unfortunately, the radio operator went to sleep not long before Titanic started broadcasting emergency distress messages.

After the Titanic sinking, ships were required to have enough lifeboats for everyone on the ship. Existing ships were refitted in a variety of ways and ship design changed to address safety issues.

The International Convention for the Safety of Life A Sea (SOLAS) is a treaty passed in 1914 in answer to the sinking of the Titanic. It addressed the lifeboat issue along with specifying emergency equipment and procedures including radio watches.

Today, advanced weather forecasting and navigational equipment on cruise ships take advantage of the great strides made possible by modern technology. GPS monitoring allows cruise lines to know where cruise ships are at all times. On-board video surveillance systems keep track of passengers and crew and are often called upon to solve cases of crime at sea.

Today, there are plenty of lifeboats for all passengers and crew. But the near-disaster of Costa Concordia, the ship that was grounded in Italy earlier this year, profess that simply having enough lifeboats may not be the answer. Laid on its side, many of the emergency craft were rendered useless and had it not been for quick-thinking crew members and sheer luck, the number of lives lost could have been far more.



[Flickr photo via scmikeburton]

‘Titanic’ Back At Box Office, Enhanced For Your Tragedy-Viewing Pleasure

by Chris Owen on

April 15, 2012 marks the 100-year anniversary of the sinking of RMS Titanic, the supposedly unsinkable ocean liner. Today, “Titanic” the movie by James Cameron, is re-released and enhanced for 3D, Real D and iMax, all to make the memorable scenes more vividly spectacular.

“The story of the Titanic endures because it is the soaring story of courage and cowardice,” says an article in today’s Washington Times. “It is the story of the men and women that managed to endure, the selfless officers and crew, and the band of musicians who played almost to the end.”

After recent additions to maritime history including the near-disaster grounding of Costa Concordia, a tragedy in its own right, the re-release of Cameron’s masterpiece is timely and more relevant today than when it was when first released in 1997.

“Titanic’s story carries the sad realization of a number of ‘ifs’ to be endlessly debated,” continues the article. “If only she had had more lifeboats; if Captain Smith and J. Bruce Ismay, Managing Director of the White Star Line, had not pushed the engines to their utmost capacity; if their corporate arrogance hadn’t forced the speed to break some existing record.”

“If only she had collided with the iceberg head-on, there would have been a chance for more survivors, but the side cut made it a tragically different story.”

Bringing home the message of Titanic, it was a side cut in Costa Concordia flooding one too many of that ship’s water-tight compartments that sealed its fate too.

Here we have original footage of Titanic of 1912 before its departure to its final journey.



[Flickr photo via Artshooter]