This Week in Cruise: New Ship for Princess; Crystal Modifies Israel Calls

This week in cruise news saw some big moves in the industry, with Carnival Corp. putting in an order for another Princess Cruises ship, the Gaza crisis prompting Crystal Cruises to modify Israel port calls and Norwegian Cruise Line announcing a new all-inclusive package.

The new, as-yet-unmaned ship for Princess Cruises will hold 3,560 passengers and will be a sister to Royal Princess and Regal Princess. The ship is slated for delivery in 2017. 

“We are incredibly excited to add this fabulous new ship to our already formidable fleet,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises president. “Royal Princess and Regal Princess have been exceptionally successful for us and have received numerous accolades from guests, travel agents and media, so adding another sister ship will enable us to continue to expand our innovative vacation experiences."

Meanwhile, the continued fighting in Gaza prompted Crystal Cruises to revise the September 20, 2015, itinerary of Crystal Serenity. Crystal is removing the port calls in Limassol, Cyprus, and Ashdod and Haifa in Israel. The amended 12-day Crystal Serenity itinerary will now visit Santorini, Greece; Gozo (maiden call) and Valletta, Malta (overnight); and Palermo/Sicily, Italy.

Finally, Norwegian Cruise Line is set to offer an all-inclusive package, available for a limited time on all 2015 sailings from three to 14 days fleetwide (excluding back-to-back sailings and Pride of America). The offer is only available on new reservations made from August 4 through August 29. 

The all-inclusive package, which Norwegian says represents a $2400 value per stateroom, includes signature dining, alcoholic beverages, unlimited soda, shore excursions, internet access, service charges and more. 

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