Miami - Consistently striving to provide its guests with unmatchable vacation experiences, Celebrity Cruises is now offering guests an inside look into the fascinating world of cruise ship operations. A new addition to the unique and robust Celebrity Life onboard activities program, "Celebrity Inside Access" takes guests on a once-in-a-lifetime journey behind the scenes of Celebrity's renowned fleet, inviting them to discover the intricate details and functions behind modern luxury at sea. Celebrity's Inside Access program invites guests to join two intimate and exclusive activities, the "See How It's Done Tour" and the "Bridge Sail Away Experience."

Designed to provide a thorough and rich three-hour experience, the See How It's Done Tour guides an intimate group of guests through several otherwise non-public areas of the ship, including the bridge, mooring deck, crew gym, theater, engine control room, prep rooms and the main dining room galley. At each area of the tour, guests have the opportunity to interact with expert members of the Celebrity crew. Each tour is followed by a savory wine-paired lunch hosted by an officer in the main dining room.

The Bridge Sail Away Experience presents the opportunity for vacationers to join the navigational team on the bridge as the ship sails away from port. Beginning 30 minutes before and concluding 30 minutes after departing, guests are given a tour and an overview of the bridge conducted by a senior Celebrity bridge officer. Guests also have the opportunity to meet and take photos with the ship's captain.

"Celebrity has dedicated itself to providing guests with the finest in culinary experiences, award-winning service and engaging onboard activities," said Simon Weir, Director of Hotel Operations, Celebrity Cruises. "Now, with the addition of Celebrity Inside Access, vacationers can also satisfy their curiosity and gain rare, behind-the-scenes insight into a Celebrity ship's inner workings."

The Celebrity Inside Access program is offered on all ships and available for purchase onboard.


About Celebrity Cruises:
Celebrity Cruises' iconic "X" is the mark of modern luxury, with its cool, contemporary design and warm spaces; dining experiences where the design of the venues is as important as the cuisine; and the amazing service that only Celebrity can provide, all created to provide an unmatchable experience for vacationers' precious time. In addition to offering vacations visiting all continents, Celebrity also presents immersive cruisetour experiences in Alaska, Australia/New Zealand, Canada, Europe and South America. One of the fastest-growing major cruise lines, Celebrity is one of five cruise brands operated by global cruise vacation company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE, OSE: RCL). Celebrity's fleet currently consists of 10 ships, with an additional Solstice Class ship, Celebrity Reflection, scheduled to join the fleet in Fall 2012. For more information, dial 1-800-437-3111 or call your travel agent.

More bad luck!   

In the wake of the capsizing of the 114,000-ton Costa Concordia last month, scandalous international headlines including the ship's master leaving the ship early after "falling into a lifeboat" and the possibility that the $600 million ship might have to be demolished, another of the Company's cruise liners, the 28,600-ton Costa Allegra broke down in otherwise steamy & unsafe Indian Ocean waters.  There was a fire onboard, on Feb 26th, in the ship's electric generator room and which quickly left the vessel power-less.   Passengers & crew were without air conditioning & lighting & proper plumbing.  The ship drifted with cool breezes lessening the warm temperatures aboard and as the passengers slept on deck.   Later, helicopters delivered supplies including fruit, cold meats & fresh bread as well as mineral water to the stricken, 43-yr old  ship.  A small generator for emergency power & communication systems as well as satellite phones & 400 flashlights were flown by helicopter to the 616-ft long ship, which was later placed under tow by a French tuna fishing boat named Tevignon. Many of the 600 passengers, who endured 3 power-less days aboard the ship were later landed at Mahe in the Seychelles and then flown to Rome. 

The 936-berth Costa Allegra is the eldest ship in the Costa fleet.   Built in Finland in 1969 as the Swedish-flag Annie Johnson, an early generation containership that sailed between Europe & North America. Myself, I recall seeing her pass through the locks of the Panama Canal in August 1977. Out placed by bigger cargo ships, she was sold in 1985 to Greek interests, the Lelakis Group, which also owned Regent Cruises.  She was to be rebuilt as the cruise ship Regent Moon, but these plans were later shelved.  In 1988, the 20-knot ship was sold to MSC Shipping Co (later to include MSC Cruises) and was renamed Alexandra.  But then there were more changes - her sister, the onetime containership Axel Johnson had been sold to the Greeks as well, then intended (in 1985) to become the cruise ship Regent Sun, but then was re-sold a year later to an Italian firm, the shortlived Navy Club,  who planned to sail her as the Italia. That too never happened and instead, in 1988, she was sold to Costa, rebuilt, lengthened & re-engined at Genoa, as the Costa Marina.   Last fall, she was sold to South Korean interests, becoming the Asian-based Harmony Princess.  It is believed that the Allegra was to be sold later this year as well following a summer season charter by Costa to France's Taaj Cruises. 

The impact of the Costa Concordia tragedy and now the Costa Allegra breakdown has resulted in a significant drop in bookings for future Costa cruises.  Already, there are rumors that a Costa ship, perhaps one of the newbuilds, might be transferred within the parent Carnival group of companies.

Busy scribbling! Our good friends Anthony Cooke & John Maxtone-Graham have new titles out on the shelves.   London-based Anthony has just released Favourite British Liners with 216 pages & 216 photos (96 of them in color).   Check through Mainmast Books in the UK.   Meanwhile, Manhattan-homeported John has just finished a new title on the immortal Titanic.   It was published by W W Norton & Company.

In the works! The presses are rolling over in England, at the History Press.   I've penned a short, 10,000-word overview of passenger ships entitled The Great Liners.   It should be out soon.   It will be followed, at the same publishing house, by Great Passenger Ships 1910-20 and then Great American Passenger Ships. Happily, my finger keeps on typing ... and happily, there are still photos and anecdotes and maybe something new to be shared.

Another new book project!   Happily, I have been signed to do another edition of the Classic Liners series for the History Press over in the UK. In the wake of our book on the Caronia, Cunard's "Green Goddess," this project will deal with two of the most popular, most beloved post-Second World War French liners, the Ile de France & Liberte.   The Ile was built for the French but back in 1927;   the larger Liberte came to them as post-war reparations, having been the German Europa of 1930.  The Ile sailed the Atlantic between 1949 and 1958;   the Liberte ran between 1950 and 1961. They transported thousands on the regular run between New York, Southampton or Plymouth and Le Havre, and even had occasional cruises. They were of course predecessors to the much larger, faster France, commissioned in 1962. If any of our readers has anecdotes, reflections, comments and shared materials on these great liners, please contact me through Ocean & Cruise News.

On the horizon!   Brian Hawley is penning a new book, filled with lots of photos, about the Olympic, the White Star liner completed in 1911 and sister to the infamous Titanic

Ocean liners in words & pictures!  An updated list of my published ocean liner books ... and available thru bmce48@yahoo.com.

Great Passenger Ships 1910-1920

It was an age of evolution, when size and speed were almost the ultimate considerations. 'Bigger was said to be better' and ship owners were not exempted from the prevailing mood. While the German four-stackers of 1897-06 and then Cunard's brilliant Mauretania & Lusitania of 1907 led the way to larger and grander liners. White Star Line countered by 1911 with the Olympic, her sister Titanic and a near-sister, the Britannic. The French added the France while Cunard took delivery of the beloved Aquitania. But the Germans won out -- they produced the 52,000-ton Imperator and a near-sister, the Vaterland, the last word in shipbuilding and engineering prior to the First World War. They and their sister, the Bismarck, remained the biggest ships in the world until 1935. 

But other passenger ships appear in this decade --- other Atlantic liners, but also ships serving on more diverse routes: Union Castle to Africa, P&O to India and beyond, the Empress liners on the trans-Pacific run. We look at a grand age of maritime creation, ocean-going superlative, but also sad destruction in the dark days of the First War. It was, in all ways, a fascinating period.