Porthole Cruise News Briefs – Dec. 2, 2016

Porthole Cruise News Briefs – Dec. 2, 2016

• Carnival Corporation will sponsor the two-part finale of The New Celebrity Apprentice airing on NBC next February 6 and 13. The sponsorship also features Carnival Corporation launching the Celebrity Apprentice Charity Challenge, supporting the charities chosen by the celebrity contestants and giving viewers opportunities to win cruise giveaways each week. Further details on the Charity Challenge will be released by Carnival Corporation in mid-December. The New Celebrity Apprentice premieres on January 2 at 8 p.m. EST.
• MSC Cruises and PortMiami have broken ground on Cruise Terminal F, renovating and expanding the facility to house the next-generation ship MSC Seaside, as well as MSC Divina, already homeported in Miami.
• Ultra-luxury line Seabourn has two reasons to celebrate: They’ve just taken delivery of Seabourn Encore from the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera, Italy, and laid the keel for their next ship, Seabourn Ovation, at the Fincantieri shipyard in Sestri, Italy. “Between the keel laying of Seabourn Ovation and the delivery of Seabourn Encore, this has been a historic week for our company,” says Richard Meadows, president of Seabourn. “I am very proud to see our fleet evolving.” The sister ships, each designed by hospitality design icon Adam D. Tihany, carry 600 guests, based on double occupancy, who reside in 300 elegantly appointed suites each with a private verandah.
• Crystal Cruises is bringing back political strategists James Carville (Democrat) and Mary Matalin (Republican) as enrichment speakers aboard Crystal Symphony’s South Pacific sailing next February. The duo will illuminate the heated presidential campaigns and the 2016 elections results during a 13-day sailing from Sydney to Bali.
• After a 4-year absence, Croisières M/S Jacques-Cartier will resume service on the St. Lawrence River in summer 2018. On itineraries between five and 10 days in length, guests aboard the 66-passenger M/S Jacques-Cartier will interact with nature and dialogue with local cultures with options to hike, kayak, and geocache, as well as enjoy the onboard observation room, spas, and sauna. The ship sailed river and sea cruises in the region from 1972 to 2012.

^{Photos: Carnival Corporation, Seabourn}