Tag: cruise

Holland America Line has quietly added an announcement to the “Crew Appreciation & Service Charge Policy” page of its website noting that as of February 1, 2023, gratuity rates will be increasing. While the increase is relatively minimal, this follows the trend of other cruise lines likewise raising gratuity fees.

Holland America Line Raising Gratuities

Holland America Line, part of Carnival Corporation & plc, has announced a slight increase in gratuity rates to take effect on all sailings from February 1, 2023. The increase will be $.50 (USD) per guest per day in all stateroom categories.

The new rate will then be $17.50 per person per day for guests in suites, and $16.00 per person per day in non-suite stateroom categories such as balcony, oceanview, and interior staterooms.

Holland America Line describes these fees as “a daily amount for each guest that will be automatically added to your onboard

Carnival Celebration, Carnival Cruise Line’s newest Excel-class cruise ship, is in the United States. The ship sailed on a 14-day transatlantic cruise from the United Kingdom to her new home port, PortMiami.

The 180,800 gross-tons cruise ship is the sister ship to Mardi Gras, Carnival’s hugely successful first LNG-powered vessel. We look at what you can expect from the most anticipated cruise ship of 2022.

Carnival Celebration is in Miami

After much anticipation, the moment is finally here. Carnival Celebration is in PortMiami, ready for her inaugural season sailing from the world’s biggest cruise port. The vessel actually arrived much earlier than expected in the very early hours of Sunday morning, while still dark, due to a guest needing some medical attention ashore.

The 180,800 gross-tons, 5,374-passenger made her way into PortMiami, where she docked at her new home, the 471,000-square-foot Terminal F. The terminal, upgraded recently at

Royal Caribbean International and PortMiami have reached one of the largest ever agreements for the port, with port commissioners approving a lease agreement that will extend for 50 years and net approximately $2.8 billion for the local economy.

The agreement was reached Tuesday, November 15, 2022, and includes new port development projects with an exclusive new terminal, thousands of additional jobs, increased passenger counts, improved port staffing, and more.

New Terminal Agreement Reached

According to Florida Politics, the new agreement between Royal Caribbean and PortMiami is one of the largest ever development and lease agreements for the port, with an estimated value to the county of $2.8 billion over the course of the agreement, a term of 50 years.

This equates to net revenues that will average $56 million per year, though revenues will be lower in the initial years as the port development is completed, and will increase

The Celebrity Beyond cruise ship has come to the rescue of 19 refugees that were stranded on a makeshift boat made out of styrofoam and wood. This rescue operation is the third by a cruise ship in the Caribbean in just a single day and marks a busy start to the year with refugees trying to get from Cuba to South Florida.

Carnival Beyond Rescue

Celebrity Cruises has become the second cruise line involved in rescuing refugees in the Caribbean in 2023 so far, with its flagship, Celebrity Beyond. The large cruise ship spotted the small boat in the Florida straights on January 2.

The small makeshift boat was made of styrofoam and wood and packed with 19 refugees trying to get from Cuba to Florida.

Captained by Kate McCue, the crew launched a rescue boat and brought the refugees aboard. As a procedure, they were checked by