WHAT'S NEW in the WORLD of CRUISING

Experience the World of Ron Roberts Cruising

CLIPPER Cruise lines has purchased a third ship for its fleet. The 121-passenger Clipper Adventure is scheduled to enter service by April 9, 1998. The Clipper Adventure is the former Admiral Lazarev, build in 1991 and used as a Russian research vessel. After a complete reconstruction it will be registered in the Bahamas but will have an All-American crew.
CARNIVAL Cruise Lines joined with Amtrak Vacations to offer rail cruise packages to its port cities. The package includes roundtrip rail and an overnight hotel stay at the port city.
CRUISE Holdings is seriously looking at the possibility of purchasing the Rotterdam from Holland America.
ROYAL Caribbean International is keeping a tight lid on its 130,000-ton Eagle-Class ship. Features leaked from various sources say that the ship will include an alternative evening restaurant where passengers can dine at leisure. The ship will have two atriums as well as a main street off which will be smaller lounges catering to different lifestyles. Such as jazz, sports, etc. There will be a dedicated fast food restaurant. Other rumors coming from inside sources are that there will be a two-story disco build like a tube. The dining room will have more entertainment with strolling musicians, singing waiters, colorful tablecloths and uniforms. All meals and entertainment hours will be flexible so passengers can pick and choose when and where they eat or see a show.
RENAISSANCE Cruises has named its four new ships R1, R2, R3, and R4. Research had indicated that most passengers don't remember the names of the ship they were on, especially when all the ships in a cruise lien have similar names.
WINDSTAR Cruises will take delivery of the Club Med 1 in March 1998. They intent to rename it Wind Surf.
FESTIVALE Cruises recently purchased the Southern Cross. It will be renamed the Flamenco before it scheduled late 1997 delivery. Festivale also operates the Bolero and the Azur. .

For First Class Attention, Call Ron today!.

Quik News
NORWEGIAN Cruise Lines will be stretching the Windward, January 1998, and the Dreamward March 1998. After the modifications, the Dreamward will be too large for the Bermuda itinerary. NCL is planning to replace the Dreamward with the Norwegian Crown for its New York to Bermuda summer itinerary in 1998. It's interesting to note that both, the Windward and Dreamward were originally designed and build to be stretched.
NORWEGIAN Cruise Lines has announced that after its transatlantic crossing in April, 1998, the Norway will remain in Europe until October, 1998. The Dreamward will be repositioned into the Northern Europe/Mediterranean market during the summer/fall 1998. This will give NCL two ships sailing Europe next summer.
DOLPHIN Cruise lines is not planning to bring back the OceanBreeze to New York after this season. It will be sailing out of Jamaica year around. This will leave the Regal empress as the only ship doing a two-day cruise to nowhere from New York
REGAL Cruises Regal Empress will be going into dry dock in September of this year for an extensive renovation to bring it up to Safety Of Life At Sea (SOLAS) standards. the addition of verandas, TV's in each cabin, new carpeting, among many other changes.
CARNIVAL will replace the Tropical with the Jubilee on its Alaska itinerary in 1998. This will increase its capacity in Alaska and it two 12-day Hawaii repositioning cruises by 45%.

New Ships on the Horizon

Carnival
SHIP NAME tba
TONNAGE 101,000
BERTHS 26.42
SPACE RATIO 38.23
SAILING REGION Caribbean
DELIVERY DATE Spring 2000


Royal Caribbean International

SHIP NAME tba
TONNAGE 130,000
BERTHS 3,100
SPACE RATIO 41.94
SAILING REGION tba
DELIVERY DATE Fall 2000
.
Back to Ron Roberts Cruise Home Page
 To Ron Roberts Cruise Specials