Well hey there fabulous folk – guess what?! It’s Wednesday!

Happy hump day everyone, it’s only two days now until the weekend.

And to give you some extra cheer for your middle of the week fun times, we’ve got all your cruisy cruise news bundled up in one gorgeous place. Forget the hassle of the inbox wars, where it’s a battlefield just to get ahead.

No, no, we’ll have none of that. It’s a big fat cruise wrap!

Carnival cruises to a new record

The country’s largest cruise operator Carnival Australia has launched Australia’s biggest ever summer cruise season, with the Sydney arrival of Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess yesterday.

Over the coming months, Carnival Australia will have an unprecedented 22 ships from its seven cruise lines sailing in local waters, including more than 170 calls to Australia’s cruising gateway, Sydney. Between them, the 22 ships will carry more than 530,000 cruisers – more than the population of Tasmania – over the summer period.

The 22 ships sailing in Australian waters represents a 10 per cent increase on last year’s summer season and includes P&O Cruises’ latest ships, Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden, which will join the cruise line’s existing three ships in November; six Princess Cruises’ ships, including Golden Princess on its maiden Australian deployment, and two Carnival Cruise Line ships.

Meanwhile, three Holland America Line ships will sail here over summer including Noordam on its maiden visit, along with world voyage visits by all three Cunard Queens, two ships from P&O Cruises World Cruising and one Seabourn vessel.

Celestyal announces new ship

Celestyal Cruises will extend for another two years the successful homeporting program in Turkey which commenced in 2015 with embarkation from Istanbul, Izmir and Kusadasi.

A new ship, the Celestyal Nefeli (ex Gemini) will replace the Celestyal Odyssey, whose charter agreement will be concluded at the end of October according to its agreed-upon terms. The name, “Nefeli,” comes from Greek mythology – Nefeli was a goddess of hospitality and a nymph of the clouds;

The Celestyal Nefeli will sail Celestyal’s popular itineraries for the next two years, with embarkation from Turkey. Since 2014, Celestyal has added 15 new destinations which include Milos, Ios, Kos, Samos, Symi, Chios, Cesme and Syros. Celestyal Cruises’ 2016 Iconic and Idyllic itineraries have been announced and are available at www.celestyalcruises.com.

Ecruising and MSC going strong

Ecruising.travel have recently announced a new partnership with the renowned Mediterranean cruising company, MSC Cruises.

General manager, Alastair Fernie said that MSC ships and itineraries are perfect match to complement ecruising’s already extensive range of product for cruise consumers.

Ecruising will package an array of itineraries including the MSC Grand Voyages which offer repositioning cruises between Europe and South America, Africa and the Middle East and, of course, their flagship routes around the Mediterranean and Baltic Sea. Durations range from seven nights to 25 nights and there is also a selection of back-to-back cruise packages.

Ecruising and MSC are offering launch pricing from as low as $2649 for a nine night Mediterranean cruise package including flights, pre-cruise accommodation a seven night cruise and transfers. Additional incentives are also available for a range of Grand Voyages.

Visit http://www.ecruising.travel/ for more details or call 1300 369 848.

Fear not, Rugby cruisers

Rugby Union fans rejoice! Celebrity Cruises has announced it will air the next six weeks of the Rugby World Cup across its fleet worldwide, so fans won’t miss a second of all the action live from England.

As teams battle it out for the William Webb Ellis Cup, Australian passengers will have the opportunity to enjoy the highly anticipated preliminary finals, semi-finals and grand final onboard Celebrity Solstice, famous for her half-acre of lawn, as she makes her way to Australia from Honolulu and kicks off her local cruise season on October 21, 2015.

Celebrity Solstice will offer 16 sailings during the 2015/2016 summer season with a range of eight to 18-night Australian, New Zealand and South Pacific cruises.

Curtis Stone onboard Princess

Chef Curtis Stone on the Diamond Princess in Sydney Harbour. Tuesday 29th September 2015.
Photo by DAMIAN SHAW.com

Celebrity chef Curtis Stone took time out to get a taste of cruising in Sydney yesterday, stepping aboard Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess after it arrived at Circular Quay to kick off the Australian summer cruise season.

The exclusive partnership will see culinary offerings designed by Curtis served across Princess’ 18-ship fleet, including “Crafted by Curtis” menu items which will be available in the main dining room across all ships and Curtis’ first restaurant at sea – SHARE  – to be introduced on select Princess’ ships.

Australians will be among the first holidaymakers in the world to experience the new Crafted by Curtis items when they debut next month on Golden Princess, which will be arriving in Sydney on October 18 for her maiden season of cruising down under.

Casinos, Cathedrals and Camels – oh my!

‘Casinos, Cathedrals and Camels’ is the title of this 23-night fly-cruise-and-stay holiday.

The latest offering from Worldwide Cruise Centres (www.worldwidecruisecentres.com.au) includes stays in Las Vegas, Fort  Lauderdale, Barcelona and Dubai – plus a 15-night Spanish Passage transatlantic cruise aboard Royal Princess from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona.

‘Casinos, Cathedrals and Camels’ costs from A$5699 twin share per person, including flights from Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne to Fort Lauderdale (via Las Vegas) and return from Barcelona (via Dubai).

The price is valid for booking till the end of October 2015 unless sold out earlier. Onboard credit of US$60 per twin cabin aboard Royal Princess adds to the value. ‘Casinos, Cathedrals and Camels’ gets underway on 18 April 2016 with a flight to Las Vegas.

Aqua Mekong’s first birthday

Aqua Expeditions has introduced exciting new adventures for guests to mark the first anniversary in October 2015 of Aqua Mekong’s cruises along the Mekong River between Vietnam and Cambodia.

The sleek and contemporary Aqua Mekong is the only vessel on the Mekong River to operate private tenders – with the fleet of four aluminium launch boats – and bikes taking guests to fascinating local settings not accessible to other cruise companies. All excursions are limited to 10 guests per guide.

The adventures transport guests by boat, foot and bike, past pastoral Khmer scenes of sugar palm fronds, emerald rice fields, floating markets and families travelling by ox cart while they enjoy ‘meet and greet’ encounters with local villagers, artisans and learned Buddhist monks.

Aqua Mekong cruises per person twin share in First Deck Suite commence from USD3315 for a 3-night Discovery Cruise, USD4420 for a 4-night Explorer Cruise and USD7735 for a 7-night Expedition Cruise, inclusive of all on-board meals and scheduled shore activities.

Azamara reveals new ship details

Azamara Club Cruises unveiled today new design plans for its suites and staterooms as part of the line’s program to Reimagine Azamara while in dry dock early next year. The boutique cruise line will debut in Australia for the first time this year, when Azamara Quest arrives in late December. Sister ship Azamara Journey will then sail local waters for the 2016/17 season, fresh from her refurbishment next year.

Azamara has contracted several of the world’s leading design consultants for the hospitality, leisure and entertainment industries, to help transform the suites and staterooms into modern oases at sea.

“Life is Beautiful”

‘La Vita e Bella’ is a memorable combination of Italian land touring and an 11-night Greece, Turkey and Malta cruise aboard Celebrity Constellation from Venice to Rome. It includes a full day tour of Italy’s wonderful Lake Como region, visiting the towns of Como and Bellagio, plus hotel stays in Venice, Verona, Milan and Rome.

This 18-night fly-cruise-and-stay holiday like no other is exclusive to Worldwide Cruise Centres (www.worldwidecruisecentres.com.au).

‘La Vita e Bella’ (Italian for ‘Life is Beautiful’) includes flights from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide or Perth to Milan and return from Rome. It costs from A$7799 twin share per person, price valid until 18 October 2015 or until it sells out.

If you book Oceanview or above cabin category, a promotional offer gives a choice of shipboard ‘perks’, such as unlimited free internet or pre-paid ship’s gratuities. ‘La Vita e Bella’ begins on 1 August 2016 with a flight to Milan

Silversea announces 2017 itineraries

Silversea Cruises, known for its luxurious ships and exotic destinations, unveiled an exciting collection of 246 voyages for 2017 that are available for travellers to reserve as of today.  These include itineraries for Silversea’s current fleet of eight ships, which will collectively visit over 800 destinations across seven continents.

The following are highlights from Silversea’s 2017 schedule:

• New ports of call in Sassnitz, Germany; Galway, Ireland; Bodø, Norway; Geraldton, Australia; Ilhabela, Brazil; Fredericia, Denmark; Gisborne, New Zealand; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; and Sir Bani Yas Island, U.A.E.
• World Cruise 2017: Departing San Francisco on 6 January 2017, this 116-day ocean voyage to Monte Carlo will visit 62 destinations in 25 countries.
• Trips to south America, South Africa, Mediterranean, and more!
• Silversea’s luxury expedition fleet will expand to four ships in November 2017 when Silver Cloud joins Silver Explorer, Silver Discoverer, and Silver Galapagos.  Over 100 expedition cruises will explore the world’s most fascinating and remote regions.

Pacific contributes to cruise strategy

Pacific Island Countries (PICs) that were chosen to participate in consultations to develop the Pacific Cruise Tourism Development Strategy (PCTDS) 2015-2019 have contributed invaluable insights into the varying levels of cruise tourism in the region.

The South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) conducted six in-country consultations through workshops and stakeholder discussions at a national level to seek valuable feedback from the private and public sector to develop the PCTDS.

The workshops focused on examining and evaluating key elements that were proposed during the Pacific Cruise Development workshop that was held in Melbourne in June this year. Stakeholders also discussed the best options to adopt in the strategy, keeping in mind the various action steps proposed to put each element into effect.

The consultations were held in Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tahiti, Kiribati and Fiji within the framework of the European Union supported Pacific Regional Tourism Capacity Building Programme (PRTCBP), which is implemented by the SPTO. Over 140 stakeholders participated in the various consultations across the region.