As of May 1 passengers on Royal Caribbean International cruise ships will be paying more for gratuities.  An increase of 55 cents per person will be added to passenger bills, but those who wish to lock into the current rate can pre-pay their gratuities before April 14. This is the second increase for the cruise line in less than a year, but the company says this puts them in line with its competitors in the industry.

Doing the right thing 

Tom Ast and his wife of 45 years planned and paid for a Mediterranean trip with Viking River Cruises. Tragically Mrs. Ast died last December before the trip. Her husband intended to honour his wife’s request to take the cruise without her, but when he called the cruise line to remove her name from the registration he was told to pay a fee of $853 to make a booking change. 

Having spent $11,000 for the cruise, he got in touch with a consumer advocacy group Fox 31's Problem Solvers who managed to get Viking to reverse the penalty. Ast is now reported looking forward to his trip. 

World cruise for Oceania  

For the fifth time in its history Oceania Cruises is offering a 180 voyage around the world and “feedback from our guests has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Jason Montague, president and chief operating of the cruise line. 

The itinerary involves crossing three oceans and 39,000 nautical miles on the 684-passenger Insignia calling on 87 ports in 40 countries. The ship sets sail on January 3 2018 and will visit all five continents before returning to the Florida port on July 1. 

The woman with The Voice 

Former cruise ship performer and recent contestant on The Voice, Angie Keilhauer singing Hometown Glory by Adele lost out to Paxton Ingram singing Sam Hunt's, Take Your Time in the “knockout round.”  

Keilhauer said, "It would have been good to go on. But I got so much out of it and I learned so much." She hasn’t ruled out working on a Carnival ship again and said "I'll be definitely playing a ton," she says. "I'm so shocked by how The Voice fans are interested in seeing what I'm going to do next." Watch the performance:  

Expecting the Flying Clipper 

Star Clippers is proud to announce the name of their fourth ship, Flying Clipper, to be launched at the end of 2017.  Flying Clipper will be the biggest and the most ambitious of the Clipper fleet to date, carrying 300 passengers, measuring 8770 tons GRT and powered by 35 sails. 

The vessel is a near replica of the dramatic France II ordered in 1911 at La Gironde shipyard Bordeaux, which was the largest square rig sailing ship ever built. SPV Flying Clipper will be the world’s largest square rigger and the largest ship of its kind afloat today. 

Star Flyer, Star Clipper, the current flagship Royal Clipper and the new vessel are the realization of Mikael Krafft’s lifetime dream. This Swedish yachtsman and entrepreneur has succeeded in making sailing ships commercially viable again, 100 years after their original demise, recreating the “Golden Age of Sail.” 

Renovation for American Pride 

Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America, the only US flagged cruise ship in the world, received a bow stern enhancement. 

Andy Stuart, president and chief operating officer at Norwegian Cruise Line spoke of the result of the three week dry dock. 

“When guests step aboard the all new Pride of America they will be amazed by the breadth of this renovation. This is much more than just a fresh coat of paint and new drapes. Pride of America is now essentially a new ship, and the only one to offer this incredibly unique way to experience the Hawaiian Islands with 100 hours of time in port.”