Magic coming to N.Y.C.
Guests on special 2016 sailings will get a one-day Disney World park-hopper pass.
There will be magic in New York Cit y in the fall of 2016.
Disney Cruise Line will return to New York for a limited time, with sailings to the Bahamas that include a visit to Walt Disney World Resort.
Disney Magic will offer an eight-night cruise Oct. 7, and seven-night sailings Oct. 15, 22 and 29. Each guest on these sailings will receive a oneday Walt Disney World park hopper ticket and round-trip transportation from Port Canaveral to the theme parks.
The ship will also sail from New York on a fivenight cruise to Canada with stops in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Saint John, New Brunswick on Oct. 2.
Also on the horizon in 2016 for Disney Magic: seven-night voyages from Miami to the Eastern and Western Caribbean. On Nov. 20 and Dec. 4, Disney Magic will sail from Miami to the Western Caribbean including stops in Key West, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Castaway Cay. On Nov. 27 and Dec. 11, the ship will sail to the Eastern Caribbean, calling on Tortola, St. Thomas and Castaway Cay. On Dec. 23, the ship will sail to Tortola, San Juan and Castaway Cay.
Additional Miami sailings: a four-night Baha- mas cruise departing on Nov. 16; a five-night Bahamas cruise departing on Dec. 18; and a six-night Western Caribbean cruise departing on Dec. 30. Each sailing will include a stop at Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay.
Bookings for the new itineraries are now open at www.disneycruise. com.
A new star
Viking Ocean Cruises christened its first ship, the 930-passenger Viking Star, on Sunday with great fanfare.
The ceremony, which took place in Bergen, Norway, occurred in conjunction with a cit ywide celebration for Norwegian Constitution Day and featured parades, parties and a public concert in the harbor. The mayor of Bergen, Trude Drevland, served as ceremonial godmother.
Viking Star’s christening was the culmination of a maiden voyage that began April 11 when the ship set sail from Istanbul. Over the past five weeks, the ship made stops in what will be regular ports across the Mediterranean and Western Europe, including Athens, Santorini, Dubrovnik, Venice, Barcelona, Lisbon, Paris (Rouen) and London.
The ship will sail from Bergen, the first time in a decade that a Norwe- gian-flagged passenger cruise ship has chosen Norway’s second-largest cit y as its home port.
Make it four
Plans for a fourth Quantum Class ship are in the works for Royal Caribbean International.
The cruise line has en- tered into an agreement with Meyer Werft shipbuilders in Germany, with delivery for the new vessel slated for 2019. The line’s third ship in the class, Ovation of the Seas, is currently under construction at the shipyard and will debut next year.
Cruise line Chairman and CEO Richard D. Fain said the decision to build a fourth ship in the Quantum Class is a reflection of the success of the first two ships. Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas.
Ships in this newest class span 18 decks, offer 2,090 staterooms and carry 4,180 guests at double occupancy.
Among the many innovative features: robotic bartenders in Bionic Bar; RipCord by iFLY, the first skydiving experience at sea; the North Star, a glass capsule that rises more than 300 feet into the air, and swings out over the ocean; and SeaPlex, an indoor sports and entertainment complex at sea with bumper cars and roller skating.
Find out more about the Quantum class ships at www.royalcaribbean. com.