Porthole Cruise News Briefs – Nov. 13, 2015

Porthole Cruise News Briefs – Nov. 13, 2015

• Carnival Cruise Line is expanding its craft beer selections with two brews from Baltimore-based Heavy Seas Beer. The pirate-themed Loose Cannon and Crossbones are available on Carnival Pride’s 7-day cruises year-round from the Port of Baltimore. More than a dozen locally made craft beers and microbrews are now offered on Carnival ships sailing from cities and states where the breweries are located.

• P&O Cruises has added a new port to its Australian itineraries, making the first cruise-ship calls ever to Papua New Guinea’s remote Conflict Islands, a privately owned group of 21 islands surrounding a blue lagoon. In June 2016, Pacific Jewel will bring a group of Australian vacationers for the first-ever visit to the uninhabited tropical paradise, home to one of the world’s most diverse reef ecosystems.

• Abercrombie & Kent has launched the first of its “Inspiring Expedition” cruises, chartering the superyacht Saluzi for a journey to the South Pacific island of Palau, November 13–21, 2016. “Three years ago, I came up with the concept for a new kind of journey, led by the best professional explorers,” explains Abercrombie & Kent founder Geoffrey Kent. “Our first Inspiring Expedition will re-create Jacques Cousteau’s famous expedition to Palau and dive surrounded by millions of jellyfish that do not sting.” The expedition line will donate 5 percent from each booking to the Oceanographic Institute Foundation Albert I, Prince of Monaco.

• Royal Caribbean International is showing off Voom, its new, fast, Wi-Fi service, by inviting the world to join a crowd-sourced adventure running through the social media app Periscope. The Come Seek Live experience reaches out to followers around the world, inviting them to join influential cruisers during 13 live-streaming events from five islands over a week. The first takes place at Puerto Rico’s Las Playas natural water slide on November 13. Subsequent events include playing with green monkeys at the Wildlife Reserve in Barbados, riding ATVs in St. Maarten, or enjoying a post-expedition libation made by a robotic bartender at Bionic Bar. Periscope followers can even help steer the adventurers’ next steps. Tune in at https://www.periscope.tv/RoyalCaribbean.

• All Aboard Florida, developer of the only privately owned and operated passenger rail service in the United States, has introduced Brightline, an express train travel service that will connect the major cities of South and Central Florida. Developed by award-winning architect David Rockwell and his firm Rockwell Group, the fleet of trains will be adorned in a spectrum of five distinct colors: BrightRed, BrightOrange, BrightGreen, BrightBlue, and BrightPink, led by BrightYellow locomotives. The 235-mile route will have stops in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Orlando, with service between Miami and West Palm Beach expected to launch in mid-2017, and service to/from Orlando launching six months after that. With stops in such major cruise ports, expect various cruise connections such as shore excursion opportunities as well as pre/post travel options.

^{Photos: Carnival Cruise Line (3), Brightline}

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