Cruising in Asia http://www.cruisinginasia.com Get tips on planning a luxury cruise in Asia Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:02:08 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Doobie Brothers join Southern rock cruise http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/doobie-brothers-join-southern-rock-cruise/ http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/doobie-brothers-join-southern-rock-cruise/#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:02:08 +0000 Editor http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/doobie-brothers-join-southern-rock-cruise/

Doobie Brothers to play as Norwegian ramps up entertainment

Updated

This item was written by Fran Golden, a cruise expert and Trip Coach for Budget Travel magazine. Golden is serving as Guest Editor of The Cruise Log while USA TODAY Cruise Editor Gene Sloan is away.

Add The Doobie Brothers to the list of musical acts heading to sea. The legendary rock band will join Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Simple Man cruise on the 2,394-passenger Norwegian Pearl.

Also onboard the sailing, the sixth annual Southern rock reunion hosted by Lynyrd Skynyrd, will be The Outlaws and a dozen other bands. The four-night cruise embarks from Miami on Oct. 27.

Meanwhile, Norwegian Cruise Line says it has entered into a strategic relationship with the cruise’s producer, Atlanta-based Sixthman, “to work closely developing and delivering high quality music experiences at sea.”

ALSO ONLINE:  Mexican port suffers loss of cruise ships
ALSO ONLINE:  Tahiti cruise ship undergoes major rehab

In addition to the Simple Man Cruise, Sixthman has produced theme cruises featuring Kiss, Kid Rock, John Mayer, Zac Brown Band, 311, Lyle Lovett, Barenaked Ladies, Sister Hazel and many other performers, often on Carnival ships.

Norwegian was vague about exactly what form the new partnership would take.

“We have been impressed with the range of events Sixthman has produced and believe strongly in this growing segment,” said Norwegian CEO Kevin Sheehan, in a prepared statement. “Sixthman’s expertise and relationships will help us further extend our position as the leader in cruise ship entertainment.”

But Sixthman founder Andy Levine told USA TODAY the cruise line – which brought acts including Blue Man Group and impersonators Legends in Concert to sea on the Norwegian Epic – is especially looking to ramp up entertainment on its new 4,000-passenger ships, Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway, on order for delivery in 2013 and 2014.

PHOTO GALLERY:  Tour the Norwegian Epic

“Our dream as a company has been to partner with a cruise line to outfit a ship to meet the needs of the music experience,” Levine said.

He said Sixthman’s role would be to help create a “game-changing strategy” for Norwegian. “You’ll see us work closely with Norwegian for their new ships and help them take a fresh look at programming music across the fleet,” Levine said.

In addition to the Simple Man cruise, the Sixthman-produced second annual KISS Kruise, embarking Oct. 31 from Miami, also is on the Norwegian Pearl.

The agreement with Norwegian is not exclusive, however. Sixthman also will continue to do its music cruises on the ships of other cruise brands, Levine said.

]]> http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/doobie-brothers-join-southern-rock-cruise/feed/ 0 Tahiti cruise ship undergoes major rehab http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/tahiti-cruise-ship-undergoes-major-rehab/ http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/tahiti-cruise-ship-undergoes-major-rehab/#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:02:06 +0000 Editor http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/tahiti-cruise-ship-undergoes-major-rehab/

Tahiti cruise ship undergoes major rehab

Updated

This item was written by Fran Golden, a cruise expert and Trip Coach for Budget Travel magazine. Golden is serving as Guest Editor of The Cruise Log while USA TODAY Cruise Editor Gene Sloan is away.

The 332-passenger Paul Gauguin, which cruises from Tahiti to French Polynesia and the South Pacific, has undergone a $7 million renovation, the largest rehab in the ship’s 14-year history.

Officials of Paul Gauguin Cruises say the project took place during a recent 10-night crossing from Tahiti to Brisbane, Australia, as well during an 11-night dry dock at an Australian shipyard.

The renovations focused on both interior and exterior areas of the vessel and included new flooring, lighting, window treatments and furnishings. According to Seatrade Insider, the ship’s environmental systems also were upgraded.

ALSO ONLINE:  Mexican port suffers loss of cruise ships

Tweaks were made to the ship’s restaurants. The entrance of Le Veranda was redesigned, furnishings refinished and new solar shades added. The entrance of fancy L’Etoile also was redesigned with video equipment added for conferences. Le Grill was updated with a new buffet area and decorative partitions and divider walls.

New teak railings on balconies and new bathroom flooring were among enhancements to the ship’s staterooms and suites.

Built-in banquettes were added to offer additional seating on the Promenade Deck and the ship’s casino, Le Casino, was expanded. Among other upgrades, the dance floors of Le Grand Salon and La Palette were refurbished.

]]> http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/tahiti-cruise-ship-undergoes-major-rehab/feed/ 0 Haitian capital could welcome cruise http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/haitian-capital-could-welcome-cruise/ http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/haitian-capital-could-welcome-cruise/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 03:01:28 +0000 Editor http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/haitian-capital-could-welcome-cruise/

Haiti: Capital could receive first cruise ship in 25 years

Updated

This item was written by Fran Golden, a cruise expert and Trip Coach for Budget Travel magazine. Golden is serving as Guest Editor of The Cruise Log while USA TODAY Cruise Editor Gene Sloan is away.

Haiti’s Minister of the Interior, Thierry Mayard-Paul, is hoping for a cruise milestone, the first ship to call at Port-au-Prince in a quarter century.

Mayard-Paul met last week with officials of a Christian missionary group, Praisefest Ministries, pushing for the group’s Cruise with a Cause to bring volunteers to the Haitian capital in 2013. Port-au-Prince is still recovering from a devastating January 2010 earthquake.

Cruise with a Cause has done other missions combining tourism and volunteer work to places including Jamaica.

“Haiti is at a turning point as a nation,” Maynard-Paul told church leaders attending a Praisefest retreat in Alabama, according to a press release. He added a cruise ship visit would help in “breathing new life” into Haiti’s tourism sector.

Praisefest officials said they are looking to visit Haiti on a 4,000-passenger ship in 2013, but did not name the ship nor announce the dates.

On the Cruise with a Cause website, Praisefest indicates the Bill Clinton Foundation also is involved in the discussion.

Praisefest’s spring 2011 Cruise with a Cause to Jamaica was on the 2,642-passenger Carnival Destiny.

Maynard-Paul said passengers on the cruise to Port-au-Prince would participate in projects that include building homes, repairing schools and installing water purification systems.

“When you sail into Port-au-Prince, my friends, you will be making history,” the minister told the Praisefest gathering.

Maynard-Paul said the government of Haiti had made the project a priority and is working to evaluate and prepare the port in the capital city for a cruise ship’s arrival.

]]> http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/haitian-capital-could-welcome-cruise/feed/ 0 Lindblad reports big boost in cruise bookings http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/lindblad-reports-big-boost-in-cruise-bookings/ http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/lindblad-reports-big-boost-in-cruise-bookings/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 03:01:27 +0000 Editor http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/lindblad-reports-big-boost-in-cruise-bookings/

Lindblad reports big boost in cruise bookings

Updated

This item was written by Fran Golden, a cruise expert and Trip Coach for Budget Travel magazine. Golden is serving as Guest Editor of The Cruise Log while USA TODAY Cruise Editor Gene Sloan is away.

While big ship cruise lines have reported significant declines in bookings in the wake of the Costa Concordia disaster, at least one small ship line seems to be prospering.

Sven Lindblad, founder of Lindblad Expeditions, says the 33-year-old soft adventure cruise line is having its best first quarter ever, with revenues running 19% above last year.

By comparison, the brands of Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean and others have reported booking declines in the teens following the Concordia crash off Italy, which left 17 passengers and crew dead and 15 still missing.

“I don’t think people seem to be relating us to the Concordia accident in any shape or form,” Lindblad told USA TODAY. “Sales in January are up absolutely, a record over any month ever. February continues to be very, very strong,”

Last year, revenues were up 15% last year, without any change in inventory, Lindblad added. Some 18,000 passengers cruised with Lindblad in 2011.

Operating in alliance with the National Geographic Society, with a team of naturalists onboard ever sailing, Lindblad has five ships and charters five additional ships. The vessels range in size from a 28-passenger Amazon vessel to the 148-passenger, ice-class National Geographic Explorer.

Two ships are based year-round in the Galapagos, and Lindblad also cruises to Antarctica and the Arctic, Alaska, Baja, the British Isles and other parts of the world.

New routes in the works for 2013 include Iceland, Greenland and the Canadian Arctic and what Lindblad said will be an “epic,” 42-day sailing on the east coast of South America, on the Explorer.

The record bookings this year and last may be due in small part to the demise of competitor Cruise West, which shut down in 2010.

But Lindblad said there also is a trend that began after 9/11 of people spending money on both family togetherness and on getting to places on their “bucket list.”

He said 40% of the cruise line’s guests last year were older than age 65, while 7% were under age 18. The company’s Galapagos cruises in particular are popular with families.

Lindblad’s average price tag of $750 per day means it’s not for everyone. “We are not inexpensive,” Lindblad said.

New this year is reduced-rate seasonal pricing in the Galapagos, which Lindblad said appears to be a hit.

“Last year was our best in history from an occupancy and profit perspective. People ask, ‘Why is that?’ I joke it’s because we’re brilliant, but I think it’s a confluence of things,” Lindblad said.

“To a certain constituency who can afford these things, travel is important, a meaningful investment. Everyone wants to be a more interesting person, to have more stories to tell. This kind of travel does that, forever.”

]]> http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/lindblad-reports-big-boost-in-cruise-bookings/feed/ 0 ‘Soul Train’ cruise to set sail in 2013 http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/soul-train-cruise-to-set-sail-in-2013-4/ http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/soul-train-cruise-to-set-sail-in-2013-4/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 03:01:25 +0000 Editor http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/soul-train-cruise-to-set-sail-in-2013-4/

‘Soul Train’ cruise to set sail in 2013

Updated

This item was written by Johanna Jainchill, who covers the travel industry for Travel Weekly. Jainchill is serving as Guest Editor of The Cruise Log while USA TODAY Cruise Editor Gene Sloan is away.

Soul Train creator Don Cornelius was memorialized in Los Angeles this month , but the cruise commemorating his landmark show will sail on.

The first-ever Soul Train Cruise embarks Feb. 17, 2013, from Fort Lauderdale on Holland America Line’s 1,848-passenger Westerdam.

The sailing will feature live performances by legendary R&B artists such as Patti LaBelle, The O’Jays, Kool and the Gang, Jeffrey Osborne, The Spinners, War, Harold Melvin’s Blue Notes, Russell Thompkins, Jr. & The New Stylistics, Cuba Gooding, Sr. and the Main Ingredient, Gerald Alston of The Manhattans, George Duke and many more.

RELATED:  Don Cornelius memorial held in L.A.
ALSO ONLINE:  Deal watch: Last cabins on Titanic cruise are half-price

Besides concerts, the cruise will include Soul By The Sea beach parties, a Solid Gold Theme Ball with the Soul Train Line and DJs spinning R&B hits. Passengers will be encouraged to dress in the style that was popular when the original TV series launched in 1970.

The seven-night Caribbean sailing will visit Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas and Half Moon Cay before returning to Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 24.

“We are extending the Soul Train brand from the television tracks to the high seas,” said cruise organizer Kenard Gibbs, CEO of Soul Train Holdings, LLC, in a statement. “The Soul Train brand is about the best in music, dance and fashion – a cruise on the high seas combined with an incredible music lineup, fun people and top-notch accommodations will make for another fun filled entertainment experience for folks who can’t get enough of our beloved brand.”

Soul Train was one of television’s longest running shows when it was finally retired in 2006 after 26 years. Cornelius hosted the show until 1993. He died on Feb. 1 at age 75 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

]]> http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/soul-train-cruise-to-set-sail-in-2013-4/feed/ 0 ‘Soul Train’ cruise to set sail in 2013 http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/soul-train-cruise-to-set-sail-in-2013-3/ http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/soul-train-cruise-to-set-sail-in-2013-3/#comments Mon, 20 Feb 2012 03:03:00 +0000 Editor http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/soul-train-cruise-to-set-sail-in-2013-3/

‘Soul Train’ cruise to set sail in 2013

Updated

This item was written by Johanna Jainchill, who covers the travel industry for Travel Weekly. Jainchill is serving as Guest Editor of The Cruise Log while USA TODAY Cruise Editor Gene Sloan is away.

Soul Train creator Don Cornelius was memorialized in Los Angeles this month , but the cruise commemorating his landmark show will sail on.

The first-ever Soul Train Cruise embarks Feb. 17, 2013, from Fort Lauderdale on Holland America Line’s 1,848-passenger Westerdam.

The sailing will feature live performances by legendary R&B artists such as Patti LaBelle, The O’Jays, Kool and the Gang, Jeffrey Osborne, The Spinners, War, Harold Melvin’s Blue Notes, Russell Thompkins, Jr. & The New Stylistics, Cuba Gooding, Sr. and the Main Ingredient, Gerald Alston of The Manhattans, George Duke and many more.

RELATED:  Don Cornelius memorial held in L.A.
ALSO ONLINE:  Deal watch: Last cabins on Titanic cruise are half-price

Besides concerts, the cruise will include Soul By The Sea beach parties, a Solid Gold Theme Ball with the Soul Train Line and DJs spinning R&B hits. Passengers will be encouraged to dress in the style that was popular when the original TV series launched in 1970.

The seven-night Caribbean sailing will visit Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas and Half Moon Cay before returning to Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 24.

“We are extending the Soul Train brand from the television tracks to the high seas,” said cruise organizer Kenard Gibbs, CEO of Soul Train Holdings, LLC, in a statement. “The Soul Train brand is about the best in music, dance and fashion – a cruise on the high seas combined with an incredible music lineup, fun people and top-notch accommodations will make for another fun filled entertainment experience for folks who can’t get enough of our beloved brand.”

Soul Train was one of television’s longest running shows when it was finally retired in 2006 after 26 years. Cornelius hosted the show until 1993. He died on Feb. 1 at age 75 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

]]> http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/soul-train-cruise-to-set-sail-in-2013-3/feed/ 0 ‘Soul Train’ cruise to set sail in 2013 http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/soul-train-cruise-to-set-sail-in-2013-2/ http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/soul-train-cruise-to-set-sail-in-2013-2/#comments Sun, 19 Feb 2012 03:00:35 +0000 Editor http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/soul-train-cruise-to-set-sail-in-2013-2/

‘Soul Train’ cruise to set sail in 2013

Updated

This item was written by Johanna Jainchill, who covers the travel industry for Travel Weekly. Jainchill is serving as Guest Editor of The Cruise Log while USA TODAY Cruise Editor Gene Sloan is away.

Soul Train creator Don Cornelius was memorialized in Los Angeles this month , but the cruise commemorating his landmark show will sail on.

The first-ever Soul Train Cruise embarks Feb. 17, 2013, from Fort Lauderdale on Holland America Line’s 1,848-passenger Westerdam.

The sailing will feature live performances by legendary R&B artists such as Patti LaBelle, The O’Jays, Kool and the Gang, Jeffrey Osborne, The Spinners, War, Harold Melvin’s Blue Notes, Russell Thompkins, Jr. & The New Stylistics, Cuba Gooding, Sr. and the Main Ingredient, Gerald Alston of The Manhattans, George Duke and many more.

RELATED:  Don Cornelius memorial held in L.A.
ALSO ONLINE:  Deal watch: Last cabins on Titanic cruise are half-price

Besides concerts, the cruise will include Soul By The Sea beach parties, a Solid Gold Theme Ball with the Soul Train Line and DJs spinning R&B hits. Passengers will be encouraged to dress in the style that was popular when the original TV series launched in 1970.

The seven-night Caribbean sailing will visit Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas and Half Moon Cay before returning to Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 24.

“We are extending the Soul Train brand from the television tracks to the high seas,” said cruise organizer Kenard Gibbs, CEO of Soul Train Holdings, LLC, in a statement. “The Soul Train brand is about the best in music, dance and fashion – a cruise on the high seas combined with an incredible music lineup, fun people and top-notch accommodations will make for another fun filled entertainment experience for folks who can’t get enough of our beloved brand.”

Soul Train was one of television’s longest running shows when it was finally retired in 2006 after 26 years. Cornelius hosted the show until 1993. He died on Feb. 1 at age 75 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

]]> http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/soul-train-cruise-to-set-sail-in-2013-2/feed/ 0 ‘Soul Train’ cruise to set sail in 2013 http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/soul-train-cruise-to-set-sail-in-2013/ http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/soul-train-cruise-to-set-sail-in-2013/#comments Sat, 18 Feb 2012 03:00:36 +0000 Editor http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/soul-train-cruise-to-set-sail-in-2013/

‘Soul Train’ cruise to set sail in 2013

Updated

This item was written by Johanna Jainchill, who covers the travel industry for Travel Weekly. Jainchill is serving as Guest Editor of The Cruise Log while USA TODAY Cruise Editor Gene Sloan is away.

Soul Train creator Don Cornelius was memorialized in Los Angeles this month , but the cruise commemorating his landmark show will sail on.

The first-ever Soul Train Cruise embarks Feb. 17, 2013, from Fort Lauderdale on Holland America Line’s 1,848-passenger Westerdam.

The sailing will feature live performances by legendary R&B artists such as Patti LaBelle, The O’Jays, Kool and the Gang, Jeffrey Osborne, The Spinners, War, Harold Melvin’s Blue Notes, Russell Thompkins, Jr. & The New Stylistics, Cuba Gooding, Sr. and the Main Ingredient, Gerald Alston of The Manhattans, George Duke and many more.

RELATED:  Don Cornelius memorial held in L.A.
ALSO ONLINE:  Deal watch: Last cabins on Titanic cruise are half-price

Besides concerts, the cruise will include Soul By The Sea beach parties, a Solid Gold Theme Ball with the Soul Train Line and DJs spinning R&B hits. Passengers will be encouraged to dress in the style that was popular when the original TV series launched in 1970.

The seven-night Caribbean sailing will visit Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas and Half Moon Cay before returning to Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 24.

“We are extending the Soul Train brand from the television tracks to the high seas,” said cruise organizer Kenard Gibbs, CEO of Soul Train Holdings, LLC, in a statement. “The Soul Train brand is about the best in music, dance and fashion – a cruise on the high seas combined with an incredible music lineup, fun people and top-notch accommodations will make for another fun filled entertainment experience for folks who can’t get enough of our beloved brand.”

Soul Train was one of television’s longest running shows when it was finally retired in 2006 after 26 years. Cornelius hosted the show until 1993. He died on Feb. 1 at age 75 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

]]> http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/soul-train-cruise-to-set-sail-in-2013/feed/ 0 Last cabins on Titanic cruise are half-price http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/last-cabins-on-titanic-cruise-are-half-price/ http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/last-cabins-on-titanic-cruise-are-half-price/#comments Sat, 18 Feb 2012 03:00:35 +0000 Editor http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/last-cabins-on-titanic-cruise-are-half-price/

Deal watch: Last cabins on Titanic cruise are half-price

Updated

This item was written by Johanna Jainchill, who covers the travel industry for Travel Weekly. Jainchill is serving as Guest Editor of The Cruise Log while USA TODAY Cruise Editor Gene Sloan is away.

There are still cabins left on the second of two cruises that will mark the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking this April.

The first cruise scheduled, the Titanic Memorial Cruise, sold out more than a year ago. The second one, scheduled last September, leaves April 10 from New York City, the same day the Titanic embarked on its doomed journey from Southampton, England, in 1912.

U.K. travel agent Miles Morgan, the organizer of both sailings, said the second cruise is 70% sold out, and that the remaining cabins are on sale for 50% off.

The eight-night Titanic Anniversary Sailing, on the 710-passenger Azamara Journey, will visit Halifax, Canada, where passengers can visit the Fairview Lawn Cemetery, the final resting place for many of Titanic’s victims, before arriving at the exact site of Titanic’s sinking on April 14, when memorial services will be held.

A final commemoration will take place at 2:20 a.m. on April 15, marking the 100th year anniversary of the ship’s sinking, and paying tribute to the passengers and crew that perished. The vessel returns to New York on April 18.

The sold-out Titanic Memorial Cruise, on Fred Olsen Lines’ 1,230-passenger Balmoral, departs Southampton, England, on April 8, and will follow the ship’s original route westward across the Atlantic to New York.

RELATED:  Cruise to mark 100th anniversary of Titanic sinking nearly sold out
ALSO ONLINE:  Princess Cruises’ next ship to sail in Europe

Morgan added the second sailing after the first one sold out so quickly. The cruise from New York is four days shorter than the one from Southampton, to account for the fewer vacation days Americans have.

Morgan said that many of the bookings from New York are made up of many of the descendants of the crew and passengers that were on the Titanic. Both ships will feature lecture from Titanic historians.

As to whether January’s Costa Concordia disaster led to any cancellations or a slowdown in bookings, Morgan said the opposite happened. Traffic to his website increased 50% in the days after the disaster, and the only people that called about it were those on the Balmoral’s waiting list who hoped there might be some cancellations.

Unfortunately for them, “We didn’t have one single person contact us about canceling from either cruise,” Morgan said.

Tell us Cruise Loggers, would you want to take a cruise to the site of Titanic’s sinking?

]]> http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/last-cabins-on-titanic-cruise-are-half-price/feed/ 0 Carnival to expand in Southern Caribbean http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/carnival-to-expand-in-southern-caribbean/ http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/carnival-to-expand-in-southern-caribbean/#comments Fri, 17 Feb 2012 03:05:48 +0000 Editor http://www.cruisinginasia.com/community/featured/carnival-to-expand-in-southern-caribbean/

Carnival to expand capacity on Southern Caribbean voyages

By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY

Updated

Industry leader Carnival is expanding capacity in the Southern Caribbean for 2013.

The line today announced the 2,974-passenger Carnival Valor will move from Miami to San Juan, Puerto Rico in February 2013 to operate year-round, seven-night trips to the Southern Caribbean, taking the place of the smaller, 2,758-passenger Carnival Victory.

The Carnival Victory, in turn, will move to Miami to operate year-round, four- and five-night cruises, taking the place of the 2,642-passenger Carnival Destiny.

RELATED:  Carnival to expand in Europe
PHOTO TOUR:  The revamped Carnival Liberty

Carnival didn’t reveal its plans for the Carnival Destiny, other than to say the ship would sail a single, 16-night trans-Atlantic voyage from Miami to Civitavecchia, Rome on Feb. 4, 2013. The line says details on the ship’s deployment beyond February 2013 will be coming soon.

Carnival says the Carnival Valor will sail its first Southern Caribbean cruise on Feb. 10, 2013. The sailings will feature stops in St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and St. Maarten.

The Carnival Victory will sail its first cruises out of Miami on Feb. 4, 2013. Three different itineraries will include four-night cruises departing on Thursdays to Key West and Cozumel, Mexico; and five-night cruises departing on Mondays to Grand Turk island; the private Bahamian island of Half Moon Cay; and Nassau, The Bahamas.

Also on the schedule for the Carnival Victory are five-night voyages from Miami departing on Saturdays to Grand Cayman island and Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

Carnival says the Carnival Victory will be the newest and largest ship to sail four- and five-night voyages out of Miami, and the Carnival Valor will be the newest and largest ship to sail year-round out of San Juan.

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