When Wendy Yoisten arrived at her favourite port last week there was a welcome party to meet her as she disembarked from the Holland America Line's Zaandam. The resident from St Albert, Alberta was the one millionth cruise passenger to visit Juneau for the season.

Yoisten was travelling with her husband John; it was their eighth visit to the Alaskan port. Greeting them was the ship’s captain and John Binkley, president of the Cruise Lines International Association’s Alaska affiliate as well as Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, Juneau Mayor Ken Koelsch, several city Assembly members and a group of about 30 well wishers.
Yoisten was presented with a gift basket, a medal and a glass trophy marking the event.
NASCAR
The first NASCAR themed cruise will sail January 29 2017 for a five-day Bahamas sailing on the Norwegian Pearl and passengers can expect a visit from Dale Earnhardt Jr. The famed racer will greet fans when the ship docks for the day in Key West, though other drivers will complete the cruise, including NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty, Rusty Wallace and Bobby Allison. Dale Inman will also be on the cruise.
Race cars will be displayed on the deck of the ship and activities will be planned for passengers, including virtual racing simulators, pit crew challenges and Q & A as well as autograph sessions.
The ship sails from Miami and will have entertainment by the Beach Boys and 38 Special and.
SHANGHAI AGAIN
At the Seatrade Cruise Awards last week Singapore was named top cruise destination for the second time in three years.
In 2015, there were more than one million cruise passenger arrivals (a 14 percent year over year increase) to Singapore with 385 cruise ship visits.
“We are honored that Singapore remains prominent in the minds of the cruise community as an attractive cruise hub. This is testament to our efforts to grow Singapore’s cruise industry and strong destination appeal,” said Annie Chang, Director, Cruise, Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
Chinese tourists account for half the cruise market in Asia.
HAPPY HOSTS IN ST JOHN
St John saw its busiest week of the year in terms of cruise visitors this week, with almost 27,000 passenger arrivals. “Each of those folks spend, on average between crew and passengers, somewhere in that $60 to $70 range so that has a significant impact for our local merchants and those service providers throughout the region,” said Port Saint John President and CEO Jim Quinn.
SUING PRINCESS CRUISE LINES
A passenger from a Princess cruise filed a complaint last week in US District Court for the Central District of California against Princess Cruise Lines Ltd and two cruise ship doctors alleging that they failed to carry competent medical professional on board.
Dennis McCarthy alleges that he stepped onto a sharp object at the bottom of the pool last September and went to the ship’s medical centre. He claims an inadequate diagnosis led to his foot becoming red and swollen and resulted in his hospitalization after the cruise ended. He is said to have had surgery to remove a foreign object from his foot, which resulted in a delay to his scheduled liver surgery.
The plaintiff alleges the cruise line and medical staff failed to properly treat him, failed to properly inspect and maintain the pool and failed to hire competent and properly qualified doctors.