Carnival Cruise Line to build private island

Carnival Cruise Line lovers will soon get the chance to indulge in a new destination. The line has signed an agreement with the Bahaman government to build a cruise facility on the east side of Grand Bahama Island. The new port, which hasn’t been named yet, will have a pier large enough to accommodate for two of Carnival’s largest ship at once and the line has said it expects to host up to one million guests a year. “Carnival Cruise Line is the leader in year-round cruising to The Bahamas and this new development will not only provide a truly extraordinary and one-of-a-kind destination experience for our guests but it will further solidify our partnership with the people of The Bahamas,” said Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy.

Plan to ticket tourists visiting Venice hotspots

It’s one of the largest and most popular destinations for cruise visitors – but the city has tried to curb the number of visitors. Venice has taken a step closer to discourage tourists by brining in people-counters at the city’s most popular sites. This will include a ticketing system for the Piazza San Marco which is the city’s main square. The move comes after the city’s council received an ultimatum from UNESCO saying that if action isn’t taken into preserving the historic city, Venice will be blacklisted as an at-risk site.

HAL launches new app for guests

Passengers onboard Holland America Line will be able to use a new app to help them get around the ship. Navigator, which can be used on phones, tables and laptops, is an app which guests can use to plan their daily activities, explore and book shore excursions, view restaurant menus and make dining reservations, view spa treatments, connect to paid internet and look at their shipboard account balance.

Cruise lines send smaller ships to Med due to terrorism threats

Fewer and smaller ships will be deployed to the Mediterranean this year due to terror threats which plague the region. According to a report conducted by Risposte Turismo, a cruise research firm based in Venice, only 15.5% of cruise ship capacity will sail into the Med this year. This figure is down from last year’s figure of 18.3%. President of Francesco di Cesare, president of Risposte Turismo said the decline is due to a mix of factors including some areas considered as “no-go zones for cruise ships” which include Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt.