Carnival Cruise Line is honoring 15 travel agencies in the U.S. and Canada with its newly created "Excellence Awards," in which winning agencies were selected by Carnival's sales team for their marketing techniques, brand advocacy and sales strategies. A Carnival sales leadership panel, led by Rein, evaluated all submissions from the sales field to select 15 “Excellence Awards” recipients based on the nominees’ strengths in each category.
The winners will attend an “Excellence Awards” celebration in Miami on October 2, 2014. Agency representatives who attend will receive complimentary airfare to Miami for the event, as well as hotel accommodations, a meet-and-greet with senior Carnival executives and a gala awards reception.
The South Carolina Ports Authority is once again seeking federal permits to construct a cruise terminal after a judge tossed out the permit for a $35-million cruise terminal in Charleston. The project under review will be more extensive than the one conducted when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gave initial permission in April of 2012, and now an additional state approval is needed for the project.
The permit was last challenged by environmental and preservation groups, to which U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel ruled in their favor, stating that while the Corps considered how the terminal would affect navigable waters it did not study the larger impacts on the city and its historic district.
Oceania Cruises is expanding its Culinary Discovery Tours on voyages to St. Lucia and Antigua, which will debut aboard Riviera. The tours will be offered during "Holidays In The Tropics” sailing that departs Miami on Dec. 23 and on two “Island Paradise” voyages embarking in early 2015. These tours include visits to local food markets, vineyards, farms and restaurants with a chef from the Bon Appétit Culinary Center.