Cruise Beat: October 2010

[mmerali]

Alright guys, going to try making this a monthly posting for cruise news...

Sections:
News
New Builds
Cruise Hot 10
Deals

News
Few major headlines floating around from CCL and RCI...
Carnival Floats Out Carnival Magic
Carnival Magic - sister to Carnival Dream - was floated out at Fincantieri shipyard this month. The ship is on schedule for completion by mid-2011

Cunard Line Welcomes Queen Elizabeth
Cunard took delivery of, and christened their newest ship, the Queen Elizabeth this month. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth of England was on hand to do the honors of naming the ship

NCL Epic Still Getting Mixed Reviews
Norwegian Cruise Line has had four months to iron out the kinks of their new 150,000 ton ship, but the reviews coming in remain mixed, mainly on the practical failure of the cabin layouts and the lighting inside the cabins.

Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas Completes Sea Trial
Royal Caribbean's new behemoth build, Allure of the Seas completed its lone scheduled sea trial this month to much fanfare from both Royal Caribbean executives and STX Europe. The ship, as it stands is nearly complete and 19 days from arrival in Port Everglades. More about the ships progress here

Royal Caribbean welcomes Taylor Swift onboard Allure of the Seas for concert series tentatively January 16-23 2011 / New Adam Sandler Movie
Royal Caribbean has two major events going on onboard Allure in the coming months including a one-week Taylor Swift concert cruise and filming of Adam Sandler's new movie. To register to win a free cruise on Allure and free T.Swift tix, visit here. 14 and older may enter.

New Builds
Here's the latest off the order books...
Current ships on the order books for the major cruise lines:
Carnival:
Carnival Magic - Wet dock
Carnival Breeze - conceptualized, building to begin shortly

Royal Caribbean
Allure of the Seas - final preparations
Freedom Class No. IV (unnamed) - Letter of Intent signed

Disney Cruise Line
Disney Dream - near float out
Disney Fantasy - conceptualized, will follow Dream

Celebrity Cruise Line
Celebrity Silhouette - under construction
Celebrity Reflection - letter of intent signed

Costa Crociere
Costa Favolosa - under construction
Costa Fascinosa - conceptualized, building to follow Favolosa

Princess Cruises
2 Unnamed Ships - preliminary designing/conceptualization

Cruise Hot 10
And here are the hottest 10 songs this month...

1. Like a G6 - Far East Movement
2. Just a Dream - Nelly
3. Bottoms Up - Trey Songz
4. Club Can't Handle Me - Flo Rida
5. DJ Got Us Fallin in Love - Usher
6. Dynamite - Taio Cruz
7. 2012 (It Ain't the End) - Jay Sean ft. Nicki Minaj
8. Teenage Dream - Katy Perry
9. Take it Off - Ke$ha
10. Back to December - Taylor Swift

Deals
For those of us who have a March Spring Break this year, heads up! Cruises are going at around 500-600 a head with heavy discounts on 3rd and 4th. This means that Carnival has 7 night Balcony staterooms for 3 guests going at around $2,000 all said and done and just get on the boat for $1,500. Keep an eye out for these deals now, because they may be gone soon.

[cruiseeeeaddict]

This thread's a great idea ! Thanks for the info

[Phil&Liz]

Disney Dream - near float out
Disney Fantasy - conceptualized, will follow Dream

Curious that the names are the same as CCL's ships. Plus, the rumor is that Disney is putting a ship in Galveston. Wonder if they are putting Disney Dream against Carnival Magic?

[mmerali]

If Disney is homeporting in Galveston, it certainly is not going to be one of the two newbuilds. The itineraries on the Dream and Fantasy (as shown on their website) are the following:

Dream - 3, 4, and 5 day Bahamas
Fantasy - 7 day Eastern/Western Caribbean

It also appears the Magic and Wonder are pretty set on scheduling too:

Magic - Mediterranean, Bahamas, Transatlantic Crossings, still Canaveral Based
Wonder - Mexican Riviera/Alaska

Of course itineraries are subject to change, so I'm curious to see if they [Disney] actually do make a move to Galveston.