Porthole Cruise News Briefs – Aug. 18, 2017

Porthole Cruise News Briefs – Aug. 18, 2017

• Carnival Cruise Line is adding five more 5- to 8-day cruises to Havana in 2018. All the Carnival Paradise cruises include overnight stays in the Cuban capital, with the 8-day, August 18, 2018, cruise featuring two full days.
• Cunard Line will be celebrating the 50^th anniversary of its longest-serving ocean liner, Queen Elizabeth 2, with a 17-night Mediterranean voyage aboard Queen Elizabeth on September 8, 2017. Events will include a QE2 ball, and a historical retrospective hosted in the 850-seat Royal Court Theatre.
• Crystal River Cruises will be inaugurating Crystal Bach, their new Rhine-class vessel, with a song – Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Air” as performed by godmother Anna-Maria Kaufmann, the celebrated soprano vocalist. The musical ceremony takes place on August 20 at Rüdesheim, Germany, and will be livestreamed on Crystal’s Facebook page.
• Royal Caribbean announced a special musical guest for Oasis of the Seas’ Total Eclipse Cruise – none other than 80s diva Bonnie Tyler. She’ll be singing her hit song, “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” as a duet with headliners DNCE about an hour ahead of the moment of totality.

^{Photos: Andy Newman/Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International}