Porthole Cruise News Briefs – August 26, 2016

Porthole Cruise News Briefs – August 26, 2016

• Crystal Cruises is one step closer to building the world’s largest expedition yachts. MV Werften has signed a letter of intent with the engineering company Foreship to construct the “Endeavor”-class vessels – 200-passenger ships that are 160 meters (525 feet) long and 23 meters (75 feet) wide. “We are excited to build a series of the world’s first purpose-built expedition yachts, with PC6 polar-class designation,” says Jarmo Laakso, Managing Director of MV Werften. The first ships should be delivered in spring 2019.
• Hapag-Lloyd Cruises has also ordered luxury expedition ships, signing on for two PC6 polar-class vessels with Norway’s Vard Holdings. One of the newbuilds will serve markets in America, the U.K., and continental Europe; both ships will measure 138 meters (453 feet) long and 22 meters (72 feet) wide and cruise remote areas from the Arctic and Antarctic to the Amazon.
• Carnival-related organizations are donating a total of $500,000 to support victims of the Louisiana floods. Carnival Cruise Line is donating $125,000, and its parent company, Carnival Corporation, is matching that amount through its Carnival Foundation charitable arm. To top it off, Carnival Chairman Micky Arison has doubled the donation, chipping in $250,000 through the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation. Recipients include the American Red Cross, Louisiana Association of United Ways, and Save the Children. In addition, guests sailing on Carnival cruises from New Orleans have the option to donate when they check in, and Carnival employees are being encouraged to donate as well.
  “Having homeported Carnival ships in Louisiana for more than two decades, we very much consider ourselves a part of the community” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
• In an industry first, Princess Cruises is releasing an album with DMI Soundtracks, a 14-song companion to the show Magic To Do, from Stephen Schwartz, the award-winning composer of Wicked, Pippin, and Godspell.
  The album, available on iTunes, streaming services, or on CD, features 14 of Schwartz’s most famous songs: “Magic to Do,” “Before Your Very Eyes,” “Corner of the Sky,” “No Time at All,” “Day by Day,” “Popular,” “Prestidigitation,” “Just Because it’s Magic,” “Defying Gravity,” “Beyond Belief,” “It’ll Be Me,” “Colors of the Wind,” “A Little Magic,” and “When You Believe.”

^{Photo: MV Werften}