The Costa Concordia tragedy has failed to dampen enthusiasm for large ships, proved by P&O's announcement today that the UK's biggest-ever cruise ship will enter service next spring - called Britannia.

At 1,082ft long the €559m Britannia is 130ft longer than the Concordia and is even 66ft longer than London's Shard tower is tall. She is 25,000 tons heavier than the fleet's Ventura and Azura sister ships and will boost P&O's capacity by 24 per cent, carrying between 3,600 and 4,300 passengers, plus 1,350 crew.

She is only about 20ft shorter than the world's largest cruise ships.

P&O Cruises & Carnival UK chief executive officer David Dingle said: "The ship will be our greenest yet and will be designed to deliver much greater levels of operational and environmental efficiency. A new hull form will reduce unit fuel consumption by up to 20 per cent."

There will be 13 Bars, 13 restaurants and cafes, 15 passenger decks and four swimming pools. P&O says the engine output is equivalent to the power of 70 Challenger tanks or 86 Bugatti Veyron supercars. On a practical level, changing trends mean there will be more single cabins than on any other cruise ship.

Mr Dingle said: "Britannia is a most fitting name for the newest addition to P&O Cruises, which, with its long and famous heritage, remains Britain's favourite cruise line."

He added: "Today’s Britain is a place of increasing style and sophistication, optimism and excitement. Britannia will reflect that feeling and will mark a new era of growth and success for the cruise industry."

The captain will be Paul Brown, currently on the fleet's Ventura.

At 1,082ft long, the €559m Brittania is only 20ft shorter than the world's largest cruise ships At 1,082ft long, the €559m Brittania is only 20ft shorter than the world's largest cruise ships.

There have been two previous ships named Britannia connected to the company. The first entered service in 1835 for the General Steam Navigation Company, which went on to become The Peninsular Steam Navigation Company. The second, which entered service in 1887, was one of four ships ordered by the company to mark the Golden Jubilee of both Queen Victoria and P&O itself.

By Martin King, The Independent

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A wooden model of the Titanic II was tested earlier this month ahead of the ship's construction in China.

The 9.3 meter model was put through propulsion and power testing in a 300 meter tank in Hamburg earlier this month. Clive Palmer, who is funding the project, said the tests' results would come back later this year.

The Hamburg Ship Model Basin facility hosted the naming ceremony of the Titanic II model earlier this month. Mr Palmer first announced his intention to build a replica of the Titanic in 2012.

The ship is expected to make its maiden voyage in late 2016 from Southampton to New York.

The vessel will be built to resemble the original ship but upgrades such as air conditioning, a hospital and a helipad are being added, the Telegraph has reported.

The most crucial update will of course be the number of lifeboats on board.

Mr Palmer suggested that there will be no televisions or internet access, and said that passengers will be provided with period clothing should they wish to dress up.

And just like in 1912, there will be three different classes for passengers to choose between. Even the gym and the swimming pool will be almost identical to those on the tragic ship.

'The model testing by the Hamburg Ship Model Basin (HSVA), including resistance and open water tests, is an important part of the process in the Titanic II project,' Mr Palmer said.

'The Titanic II model was tested by HSVA at speeds of up to 23 knots and this testing is crucial for assessing the speed and power performance of this prototype vessel design.' Mr Palmer, who was estimated to be worth $795 million (£511m) by Forbes magazine in 2012 but has refused to say how much the new ship's construction will cost.

Among his other projects is an effort to clone a dinosaur to attract guests to a holiday resort near Brisbane.

Mr Palmer stood in this month's Australian elections after founding his own political party earlier this year.

By Jennifer Smith, Daily Mail

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Add MSC Cruises to the list of cruise lines tightening smoking rules -- at least on one ship.

The Europe-based cruise operator says it is expanding smoke-free zones on the MSC Divina, which will cater heavily to North Americans when it moves to the Caribbean in November.

Effective Nov. 2, when the MSC Divina departs Venice for its new home in Miami, smoking areas on the 3,502-passenger vessel will be limited to just two areas: the Cigar Lounge and the port side of designated outside decks (away from all bars and food areas).

The Top Sail Lounge in the MSC Divina's private MSC Yacht Club and the Black & White Lounge, until now open to smokers, will become non-smoking, as will the ship's casino. See photos of the ship's lounges, casino, cabins and more.

A caveat: MSC says smoking occasionally will be allowed in the casino for playing guests during certain hours and in limited areas at the discretion of the casino manager.

As with all other MSC ships, smoking will continue to be prohibited in cabin interiors, cabin balconies, corridors, elevators, stairways and public bathrooms.

MSC's move comes a month after Seabourn Cruise Line and Cunard Line tightened smoking policies on ships. Disney Cruise Line also recently narrowed the options for smokers on vessels.

By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY

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Veteran British journalist and broadcaster David Frost, who won fame around the world for his TV interviews with former U.S. president Richard Nixon, has died, his family told the BBC. He was 74.

Frost died of a suspected heart attack on Saturday night aboard the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship, where he was due to give a speech, the family said. The cruise company Cunard said its vessel left the English port of Southampton on Saturday for a 10-day cruise in the Mediterranean.

Known both for an amiable personality and incisive interviews with leading public figures, Frost's career in television news and entertainment spanned almost half a century. He was the only person to have interviewed all six British prime ministers serving between 1964 and 2007 and the seven U.S. presidents in office between 1969 and 2008. Outside world affairs, his roster ranged from Orson Welles to Muhammad Ali to Clint Eastwood.

Prime Minister David Cameron was quick to send his condolences, praising Frost for being an "extraordinary man with charm, wit, talent, intelligence and warmth in equal measure."

"The Nixon interviews were among the great broadcast moments — but there were many other brilliant interviews," Cameron said. "He could be — and certainly was with me — both a friend and a fearsome interviewer."

The BBC said it received a statement from Frost's family saying it was devastated and asking "for privacy at this difficult time."

Frost began television hosting while still a student at Cambridge University. He went on to host the BBC's satirical news show That Was The Week That Was in the early 1960s, and, later, a sketch show called The Frost Report and a long-running BBC Sunday show, Breakfast with Frost. His signature, "Hello, good evening and welcome" was often mimicked.

'Off-the-cuff' Nixon interview

While popular in Britain and beginning to launch a career on U.S. television, Frost did not become internationally known until 1977, when he secured a series of television interviews with Nixon.

The dramatic face-to-face was make-or-break both for him and for the ex-president, who was trying to salvage his reputation after resigning from the White House in disgrace following the Watergate scandal three years earlier. At the time, it was the most widely watched news interview in the history of TV.

The interviewer and his subject sparred through the first part of the interview, but Frost later said he realized he didn't have what he wanted as it wound down.

Nixon had acknowledged mistakes, but Frost pressed him on whether that was enough. Americans, he said, wanted to hear him own up to wrongdoing and acknowledge abuse of power — and "unless you say it, you're going to be haunted for the rest of your life."

"That was totally off-the-cuff," Frost later said. "That was totally ad-lib. In fact, I threw my clipboard down just to indicate that it was not prepared in any way.... I just knew at that moment that Richard Nixon was more vulnerable than he'd ever be in his life. And I knew I had to get it right."

After more pressing, Nixon relented. "I let the American people down and I have to carry that burden with me for the rest of my life," he said.

The dramatic face-off went on to spawn a hit play. And in 2008, a new generation was introduced to Frost's work with the Oscar-nominated movie Frost/Nixon, starring Michael Sheen as Frost and Frank Langella as Nixon.

Frost was born on Apr. 7, 1939, the son of a Methodist preacher. Besides hosting, he set up his own company, which gave birth to many more popular British programs.

Breakfast with Frost ran on the BBC for 12 years until 2005, and the game show Through the Keyhole from 1987 to 2008. He had recently been working for Al Jazeera International.

By The Associated Press

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The biggest engineering feat ever to be attempted on a ship of its size is a few weeks away. After months of planning, design, fabrication and installation, the 114,000-ton Costa Concordia cruise ship, which ran aground off the island of Giglio on January 13, 2012, is practically ready for parbuckling or rotation to an upright position. Months of work for close to 500 salvage operators have suffered some delays caused by weather conditions and by complications in efforts to drill and level the uneven granite seabed.

The Costa Concordia is now expected to be raised in the month of September but no official date has been announced yet by the Italian authorities or by the two companies - Titan Salvage from the United States and Micoperi from Italy - that were awarded the recovery project. The man in charge of coordinating all of the operations is a 52-year-old South African captain and salvage master called Nick Sloane who has worked on some of the world's major maritime disasters during his career.

The final phase of works on the ship, completed during this third week in August, involved the installation of two massive tanks, known as the "blister sisters" on the bow of the ship.

"The blister tanks are like a large cervical collar you put on a patient with a spinal injury, like a neck brace, that will stabilize the whole bow during the parbuckling and reduce any chance of further damage", Sloane told CBS News as the massive tanks stood on one of the many salvage rigs and barges that now surround the Costa Concordia.

Aside from the blister tanks, which provide 6,000 tons of buoyancy, 11 other tanks or "sponsons" have been attached to the port side of the ship. When the ship is rotated, if all goes according to plan, it will come to rest on six steel platforms that have been placed on the sea bed, on the offshore side. Because the ship is lying on two underwater reefs with a valley in between, salvage workers and divers had to pump 18,000 tons of cement into grout bags that were used to fill the gap to support the ship's hull.

"One of the bigger challenges was dealing with the granite slope of mountain underneath the water where we had to cut into the rock and set the anchor blocks which have chains attached to them going underneath the ship", said Sloane. "On the inshore side there are 11 towers and a strand-jack system that has been installed on both sides of the ship. Each one of these strand-jacks can be individually controlled and these will also help support her belly during parbuckling."

Salvage workers will be placing microphones and cameras in at least five different areas of the ship for constant monitoring of the operation, which is expected to take between eight and 10 hours.

"There will be a lot of noise and it's important that we listen to the different sections," said Sloane. "We can take measures and make adjustments depending on any twist and tortion on the ship. We are confident the ship will be coming upright and know the first 20 degrees of rotation are critical. It's going to be a long, nerve-racking day."

Once the parbuckling is complete, the next phase -- removing the ship from its present location and towing it to a mainland port for dismantling -- will have to wait another eight to 10 months for winter to pass.

One of the first priorities after the ship has been turned upright will be very high-definition survey of the whole starboard side, to assess its condition and decide how much more floatation will be needed to move the stricken vessel. The hope is that, with the addition of some further sponsons, the ship will float again.

To many residents on Giglio, the island will never be the same. Even when the ship is no longer casting its shadow on their coastline, there will still be work to be done to ensure the waters are returned to the pristine conditions they were known for prior to the maritime disaster.

Two of the 32 people killed when the Costa capsized are still missing and authorities hope to recover their bodies after the parbuckling. Officials also still need to empty the safe deposit boxes in the passenger cabins and return belongings to their legitimate owners.

Meanwhile, the trial of the ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, is due to resume in the Tuscan town of Grosseto on Sept. 23. He has been charged with manslaughter, causing the shipwreck by steering the Costa into rocks, and abandoning ship as a senior officer. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of manslaughter.

Five other members of the Costa Concordia staffer were convicted of manslaughter in July and sentenced to less than three years each.

By CBS Radio News correspondent Sabina Castelfranco

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It's been 19 months since the Costa Concordia, one of the largest cruise liners ever built, ran aground off the west coast of Italy, killing 32 passengers and capsizing after granite rock tore a 50-meter hole in the ship's hull.

But in September the rotting 952-foot wreck is set to be raised from its partially-submerged resting place off the Tuscan island of Giglio in what engineers say is a risky and unprecedented operation.

The plan is to use cables attached to hydraulic pumps to rotate the ship upright -- a process known as "parbuckling" -- from the seabed onto a platform, which consists of a series of cement bags and huge under-water steel structure.

After repairs are made to the previously submerged side of the Concordia, giant steel "caissons," or boxes, on the sides of the ship will be pumped full of air and the cruise liner will theoretically float to the surface and be towed to a nearby seaport -- hopefully all in one piece.

Success is anything but guaranteed. Engineers say they only have one shot at parbuckling the ship -- and any error during the days-long process could see the ship break apart, or over-rotate off the underwater platforms and sink completely.

More than 500 people have been working around the clock on the rescue, which is being overseen by Florida-based Titan Salvage and the Italian firm Micoperi. The final bill will be at least $400 million, according to the salvage project's website.

But the raising of the 114,500-ton Concordia is far from the end of the story. After the parbuckling and the repairs to the starboard side of the ship, the salvage crew will have to wait for winter to pass before it can be towed to a nearby seaport to be taken apart.

It could also take years to fully restore Giglio's pristine waters and marine life to their previous state. The island is part of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park, the largest protected marine area in the Mediterranean.

Two bodies are still yet to be retrieved from the wreckage of the $570 million ship, which was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew when it struck the granite rocks off Giglio on January 13, 2012.

Five members of the Concordia's staff were sentenced in July to short prison terms for their roles in the disaster.

Francesco Schettino, the ship's captain, is being tried separately on charges of manslaughter, causing a maritime disaster and abandoning ship. His trial is set to resume in late September.

By Nick Thompson and Nural Choudhury, CNN

CNN's Erin McLaughlin and CNN Wires contributed to this report.

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Three cheers for luxury line Crystal Cruises and the announcement they will soon launch the first hypoallergenic cabins at sea.

As an allergy sufferer myself, I get why hypoallergenic rooms have become a trend at hotels. Wellness is in.

Crystal is working with PURE, the same firm that created allergy-friendly rooms for Hilton and Hyatt, among other brands. It will be interesting to see if more lines follow suit.

For now, cruisers who like me are allergic to a bunch of things from dust to feathers need to find their own ways to stay sneeze-free.

Fortunately, with cruise ship cabins serviced twice a day, dust is less an issue than you think. How the crews keep ships at sea from smelling moldy is a trick to me, but they do (thank goodness, as mold is also on my allergy list).

A big bugaboo of mine has to do with bedding. Why cruise lines think you need a feather comforter in the Caribbean is beyond me. But it seems as if every time a cruise line upgrades their bedding it's with the addition of feathers (in pillows too).

Those allergic to feathers should make sure the cruise line knows about your allergy before you get onboard, then let them know again – as with hotels, pre-arrival requests may go astray.

The cruise ship will have a limited number of non-feather pillows and blankets that they can use to replace the feather products. Check your cabin when you get onboard and if you still have feathers, tell your cabin steward immediately.

On some ships, a pillow menu provides choices, so you can easily avoid goose down in favor of polyester or even memory foam. Silversea Cruises, for one, has eight different pillow choices. Celebrity Cruises (concierge-level and above cabins) and Crystal Cruises have pillow menus too.

On Seabourn ships, you can avoid perfumed soaps by choosing the sensitive-skin option from the selection tray your cabin stewardess will present.

It's especially important to let the cruise line know in advance if you have allergies to food products. Remind the dining crew of your allergies again once you're onboard.

Suffering from allergies is not fun.  Many people find that taking turmeric or curcumin can fight off many of the symptoms of allergies.  Perhaps something else to consider.

By Fran Golden, Special to USA TODAY

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Turkish workers Dogan Balci, 37, and Davut Ozdemir, 40, were killed after inhaling toxic gases in the engine room of the Pacific Princess. The ship was recently sold at auction and had just sailed to the Turkish shipyard to be dismantled for parts.

Two people in Turkey who were dismantling the famed former Pacific Princess have tragically been killed by noxious gases in the ship's engine room, according to local reports.

The ship, which was made famous by the wildly popular 1970s and 1980s ABC television show "The Love Boat," had arrived in a scrapyard in Turkey to be disassembled for parts.

However, during the voyage from the Italian city of Genoa, the Pacific encountered rough seas, and as a result, had significant flooding.

Ten workers entered the ship's engine room Aug. 10 in an effort to siphon out water, according to Istanbul's Dogan News Agency.

The crews used electrical pumps to bilge out the water, but the device started emitting toxic gases, local media reports state.

The workers were rushed to hospitals, but two men — identified as 37-year-old Dogan Balci and 40-year-old Davut Özdemir — died of smoke poisoning. The Hurriyet Daily News reported that the eight remaining workers were discharged from the hospital Sunday.

It's a tragic end for the famed vessel, which was built in Germany in 1971 and skyrocketed to international acclaim during ABC's hit sitcom, which ran between 1977 and 1987.

The ship has had many names, and was originally christened the Sea Venture, cruising between Bermuda and the U.S.

At $25 million, she was a pricey vessel, and relatively small by today's cruise ship standards.

The 554-foot long ship traversed that course for three years before she was sold to Princess Cruises and rechristened the "Pacific Princess." It sailed under the company until 2003.

The ship was sold to scrap by its last owner, Spanish-based Quail Cruises, for $3.3 million at auction. Authorities will launch an investigation into the men's deaths after the water and smoke is completely removed from the vessel.

By Beth Stebner, New York Daily News

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The iconic Pacific Princess is heading for the scrap heap, but her nearly identical sister ship, the Island Princess, is still sailing as the Discovery for Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV). The Pacific Princess was the main ship on the “The Love Boat” TV show from 1977 to 1986, but the Island Princess also was used in some episodes.

“It’s a shame about the Pacific Princess, but there’s still a Love Boat plying the seas,” said John Dennis, vice president of sales and marketing for Cruise & Maritime Voyages. “She’s still in great shape, mainly sailing in Northern Europe in and out of Britain, with occasional Med voyages at the end of her season.”

Dennis said “Love Boat” fans likely would recognize features of the 700-passenger Discovery, especially the funnels and the pool deck. “People who watched the show would say, ‘yeah, that’s where Gopher was.’ The funnel still is pretty recognizable, even though we have CMV on the side instead of flowing hair,” he said, referencing the Princess Cruises’ sea witch logo.

The Island Princess left the Princess fleet in 1999 and operated in South Korea for a few years. In 2002, it began sailing for All Leisure Group, which has since entered into a joint venture with CMV. Fort Lauderdale-based CMV began exclusively marketing the ship in the U.S. in February.

The Pacific Princess, now just called M/V Pacific, left Princess Cruises in 2002. It changed hands several times and then came to languish for years as the cost to renovate it skyrocketed. Reuters reported that Izmir Ship Recycling Co. acquired the M/V Pacific for €2.5 million and will break it up. Newer ships now bear the names Pacific Princess and Island Princess in the Princess Cruises fleet.

The 42-year-old ships and the TV show are often credited with helping increase the profile of the then-young cruise industry — although on the TV show, the huge cabins shown were actually filmed on a soundstage and bore little resemblance to the real accommodations.

CMV’s Discovery now is operating seven- to 15-night cruises to Norway, the Baltic, Iberia, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea through late October, when the vessel leaves service until Feb. 24. It begins its season with three 14- and 15-night “Land of the Northern Lights” cruises and then again explores the British Isles, Norway, the Baltic Sea to St. Petersburg, Iceland and more.

By Theresa Norton Masek, Travel Pulse

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The MS Pacific, a cruise ship made famous by the popular U.S. 1970s television show "The Love Boat," has sailed its final voyage to a ship-breaking yard on Turkey's Aegean Sea coast, a shipping group said on Wednesday.

Called the Pacific Princess when it was on the long-running comedy, the iconic 13,500-tonne, 171-m-long (561-foot-long) vessel will be stripped for its metal and parts, said Ersin Ceviker of the Ship Recyclers' Association of Turkey.

Aaron Spelling's "The Love Boat," starring Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain, ran on the U.S. television network ABC from 1977 to 1986. The show was set on board the Pacific Princess, which mainly sailed from California to the Mexican Riveria.

Each week passengers and crew members, caught under the Pacific Princess' romantic spell, engaged in love affairs or humorous encounters during the one-hour show.

"This ship has undergone several modifications over its lifespan. It had been decommissioned for five years, and renovation now would have been too costly," Ceviker said.

Turkey's Izmir Ship Recycling Co. acquired the 42-year-old Pacific for 2.5 million euros ($3.3 million).

The vintage cruiseliner arrived from Genoa, Italy, at the breakers in the seaside town of Aliaga in Turkey late on Tuesday after a difficult trip in a violent storm, Ceviker said.

The Pacific began taking on water and required the help of additional tugboats to make it to Aliaga. It was now listing on its starboard side at Aliaga.

($1 = 0.7513 euros)

Reporting by Ayla Jean Yackley, Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky (Reuters)

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It's makeover time at Oceania Cruises.

The upscale line this week announced that all three of its older R-class ships -- the Regatta, Insignia and Nautica -- will enter dry dock in 2014 for significant overhauls.

Oceania says every cabin on the 684-passenger vessels and select public rooms will be refurbished, in some cases in the same colors and style of the line's newer, 1,250-passenger sister ships Marina and Riviera.

In addition, the vessels' top accommodations, the Owner's and Vista suites, will receive new bathrooms including the addition of oversized showers and new vanities.

Among public areas getting overhauls on the ships are their casual Terrace Cafés, which will get new grills allowing for grilled dinner specialties such as lobster tails, steaks and lamb chops.

The company also is adding a Baristas coffee bar serving illy coffee drinks and homemade pastries to each ship. The concept first debuted on Oceania's Marina in 2011.

The Regatta, Insignia and Nautica originally debuted between 1998 and 2000, sailing for Renaissance Cruises before its demise in 2001. Oceania's Marina and Riviera debuted in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Take our photo tour of Riviera.

"We will preserve the personality, elegance and comfort of these (older) vessels while furnishing certain areas with the updated décor and amenities that are found on Marina and Riviera," Oceania president Kunal Kamlani says in a statement accompanying the announcement. "This will ensure a consistent experience across the fleet that we know our guests will love and appreciate." Take our photo tour of Marina.

Also getting refurbishments are the ships' Horizons observation lounges, Toscana Italian eateries, main dining rooms and show lounges. The Canyon Ranch SpaClubs on the vessels will receive new steam and changing rooms.

The dry docks will take place between April 24 and June 6, 2014, and cost $50 million in total.

By Gene Sloan, USA Today

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The casino ship that operates out of the Port of Palm Beach, recently renamed the Island Breeze, is expected to begin sailing again in mid-to-late October, port spokeswoman Julie Houston Trieste said Tuesday.

Island Breeze International, which took over the gambling cruise ship May 1, is completely remodeling the ship and installing new gaming equipment. It plans to offer dining and entertainment also.

Bellmawr, N.J.-based IBI had originally planned to launch operations in late August, CEO Brad Prader said in a statement. After taking possession of the former Black Diamond, management determined that the ship’s entire layout needed to be reconfigured.

Equipment upgrades are being made to bring the ship up to the company’s operating standards.

“IBI’s management believes that the customer experience is extremely important, and thus wants to ensure that all aspects of the ship from the standpoint of comfort and aesthetics meet and exceed guest expectations,” Prader said.

Trieste said the port welcomes the development. “While the Port of Palm Beach is anxious for Island Breeze to begin operations, we are encouraged by their willingness to invest both the time and effort needed to ensure the success and longevity of their business at our port,” she said.

In February, after operating for three months, the Black Diamond’s previous operator, Black Diamond Casino Cruises, suspended operations.

By Susan Salisbury, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

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Five employees of an Italian cruise company were convicted Saturday of manslaughter in the Costa Concordia shipwreck that killed 32 people, receiving sentences of less than three years that lawyers for victims and survivors criticized as too lenient.

The guilty verdicts for multiple manslaughter and negligence were the first reached in the sinking of the cruise liner carrying more than 4,000 crew and passengers near the Tuscan shore in January 2012.

The ship's captain, the only remaining defendant, was denied a plea bargain and is being tried separately. He faces up to 20 years, if convicted of manslaughter, causing the shipwreck and abandoning the ship.

On Saturday, lawyers representing the 32 victims of the shipwreck said the sentences of the plea bargain -- a fraction of what is usually handed down for manslaughter -- were inadequate given the gravity of the disaster.

`'It seems like a sentence for illegal construction," said lawyer Massimiliano Gabrielli. "It's an embarrassment."

Another lawyer for victims, Daniele Bocciolini, called the sentences `'insufficient" and questioned the prosecutors' hypothesis placing the lion's share of the blame on Capt. Francesco Schettino.

The five employees of the Costa Crociere SpA cruise company were charged for their respective roles in the nautical maneuver that put the ship in peril, evacuation and response to the emergency.

The longest sentence went to the company's crisis coordinator, who was sentenced to two years and 10 months. Concordia's hotel director was sentenced to two years and six months, while two bridge officers and a helmsman got sentences ranging from one year and eight months to one year and 11 months.

The bridge officials and helmsman were also convicted of a charge of causing a shipwreck, in addition to multiple manslaughter and negligence.

The court's reasoning for its decision will be released within 90 days, as is standard in Italy.

Prosecutors accused the crisis coordinator, who wasn't aboard the ship, of downplaying the severity of the emergency and delaying adequate response, while the hotel director was charged for his role in the evacuation, described by passengers as chaotic.

The helmsman was blamed for steering the ship in the wrong direction after Schettino ordered a corrective maneuver.

Prosecutor Francesco Verusio said the convictions confirmed investigators' version of events.

`'I don't think there are any more doubts about the responsibility that falls above all on the shoulders of Schettino," Verusio said.

Schettino is charged with manslaughter for causing the shipwreck off the Tuscan island of Giglio and abandoning the vessel with thousands aboard. That trial opened this week, and was continued after two hearings until the end of September.

The Concordia, on a week-long Mediterranean cruise, speared a jagged granite reef when, prosecutors allege, Schettino steered the ship too close to Giglio's rocky shores as a favor to a crewman whose relatives live on the island. Schettino has denied the charges and insisted that the rock was not in nautical maps.

The reef sliced a 70-meter-long (230-foot) gash in the hull. Seawater rushed in, causing the ship to rapidly lean to one side until it capsized, then drifted to a rocky stretch of seabed just outside the island's tiny port.

Survivors have described a delayed and confused evacuation. The bodies of two victims were never found, but they were declared dead after a long search.

By Associated Press

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One of the world's most luxurious cruise ships has failed a health inspection conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In what is a rare occurrence for modern day vessels, the U.S. health agency gave a failing score of 84 out of 100 to Silversea Cruises' 382-passenger Silver Shadow, an all-suite icon of luxury cruising that boasts rooms for two starting at over $1,000 a night.

The surprise health inspection took place in Skagway, Alaska on June 17 but is just now coming to light.

As part of its Vessel Sanitation Program, the CDC conducts unannounced inspections of passenger ships docking in U.S. ports twice a year and grades them on a 100 point scale. A score below 86 is considered failing.

The CDC has yet to make its report listing reasons for the failing grade public. The agency normally posts reports on failing ships on its website within a few months of inspections.

In a statement sent to USA TODAY, Silversea says the failure is an aberration, noting that the 13-year-old vessel never has failed an inspection before.

"Silversea is deeply disappointed by this specific and only unsatisfactory score and has taken immediate measures to address the issues identified in the inspection report," the line says in the statement.

The last six inspections of the ship by the CDC have resulted in scores ranging from 95 to 99, according to CDC records.

By Gene Sloan, USA Today

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The Hebridean Princess cruise which sails across the Scottish Isles might be the venue

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have been enquiring about tying the knot aboard the Hebridean Princess cruise, which has been chartered by the Queen.

The couple were keen to marry at their French estate Château Miraval later this summer, but have changed their minds thanks to their son Maddox, 11, and are now looking to tie the knot aboard the Hebridean Princess cruise instead, which sails across the Scottish Isles.

A source told The Sun newspaper: "It was Maddox who came up with the idea of the ship. He came across it after looking back at photos of the Carnell Estate in Ayrshire, where they stayed and all loved.

"So now they've made enquiries into booking the whole vessel.

"It's just what they're after. It can hold up to 50 of their friends and family and serve as a traditional, romantic setting -- all totally private.

"Or they could always sail to a secluded bay off the Orkney or Shetland islands and have the ceremony there."

The source added: "The fact that Maddox found it makes it more special."

The luxury ship has been used by the British Monarch on two occasions - in 2006 to celebrate her 80th birthday and again in 2010 for a family holiday - and could force the pair - who have children Maddox, Pax, nine, Zahara, eight, Shiloh, six, and four-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne - to fork out around £300,000 to have the ceremony on board.

Ken Charleson, chief operating officer of the ship's owners, Hebridean Island Cruises, said: "We have a very confidential relationship with a number of high-profile guests.

"I can't confirm whether they have been making enquiries or not.

"But of course, they are more than welcome."

By Emirates 24/7

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You can make a quick gambling trip by sea to a new Bimini resort beginning Monday.

Genting Group officials announced Tuesday that the U.S. Coast Guard has cleared their ship to begin sailing from Miami to the tiny Bahamian island.

The ship, called Bimini SuperFast, offers blackjack, roulette, craps, baccarat and slot machines. Genting officials planned to launch the service July 1, but the U.S. Coast Guard had not cleared it until this week.

"We are pleased to work with the U.S. Coast Guard to bring Bimini SuperFast to first-class safety standards and appreciate their rigorous examination of the ship," Dana Leibovitz, president of Resorts World Bimini, said in a news release.

The ship is owned by Malaysia-based Genting, the $46 billion casino and entertainment company that has been trying for two years to bring destination casino-resorts to Florida. Genting bought the German-built cruise ship for $70 million, then spent another $30 million on upgrades.

The ship can transport up to 1,500 passengers about 70 miles across the Gulfstream Stream to Resorts World Bimini, a casino resort in North Bimini that opened June 29 at the former Bimini Bay Resort.

Resorts World Bimini has 15 tables and 153 slots, a fraction of the size of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood. But no South Florida casino can offer roulette or craps and only the Seminole Tribe of Florida can offer live blackjack.

The Bimini SuperFast cruises on Saturday and Sunday are sold out. The Monday sailing is at 9 a.m. from PortMiami's Terminal F, arriving in Bimini about 2 1/2 hours later. Prices start at $49 round-trip weekdays and $79 on weekends and holidays, with $20 in port fees and taxes additional. Breakfast and dinner are included.

Resorts World will begin offering an overnight party cruise in early August. It will depart Miami at 10 p.m. daily and return at 6 a.m.

More information at http://www.rwbimini.com or 1-888-930-8688.

By Nick Sortal, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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Lawyers for Francesco Schettino, captain of the shipwrecked Costa Concordia cruise liner, will again request a plea deal in a trial over the disaster in which 32 people died, his defense said on Wednesday.

Schettino faces charges including manslaughter and causing the loss of his ship in the accident in January 2012 when the huge liner struck a rock off the picturesque island of Giglio and keeled onto its side, setting off a chaotic night evacuation of more than 4,000 passengers and crew.

Defense lawyer Donato Laino told reporters Schettino would offer to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of three years and five months, which would allow the complex trial to be resolved more quickly. A previous offer to serve three years and four months was rejected in May.

Five other officials - four ship's officers and the crisis coordinator of the vessel's owners, Costa Cruises - were allowed to present plea bargains for more lenient sentences, with a ruling expected on July 20.

Schettino's lawyers at the trial, which resumed on Wednesday in the town of Grosseto on Italy's west coast after a delay due to a lawyers' strike earlier this month, said he was not the only one to blame for the disaster.

"He has never shied away from his responsibilities. But it is only fair that he is treated justly," another defense lawyer, Francesco Pepe, told reporters outside the courthouse.

"He was the captain, it is right that for certain things he should be the point of reference. But it is not right to blame him for responsibilities that he did not have," he added.

Schettino, 52, is accused of abandoning ship before all crew and passengers had been rescued.

His lawyers argue that he prevented an even worse disaster by steering the 290 meter (950 foot) vessel into shallow waters after the impact and that he was thrown overboard due to the angle of the leaning ship.

"We expect that right from the first we will finally get to the bottom of things and finally understand what really happened that night," Pepe said.

The trial began on July 9 but was immediately suspended because lawyers involved were taking part in a nationwide strike against measures to streamline civil trials.

PLEA BARGAIN

Wednesday's hearing is expected to focus on requests by various people and institutions including Costa Crociere Spa and the Italian Environment Ministry, who wish to be represented as plaintiffs, before the main arguments begin later in the week.

They include Domnica Cemortan, a young Moldovan woman who was at the time a friend of Schettino and was on the liner's bridge when the collision occurred. Prosecutors plan to call her as a witness.

"I hope the truth will come out and the guilty are found responsible for this accident," Cemortan told reporters outside the court. "I'm a passenger like the others."

Costa Cruises, a unit of Carnival Corp, agreed to pay a 1 million euro ($1.29 million) fine to settle potential criminal charges in April. That means that for now Schettino is the only person facing trial.

But Daniele Bocciolini, a lawyer representing victims, said last week he hoped investigations would show that the trial should be widened to include all those responsible.

As the court proceedings got under way, salvagers said they hoped to pull the vessel upright in September despite risks that it could break up.

Senior salvage master Nicholas Sloane said he expected some of the "minor structural elements" of the ship could collapse.

"There will be a lot of deformation," he said. "It's almost like a body with a spinal injury, you need to support the neck as she rolls over."

By Gabriele Pileri and Silvia Ognibene, Reuters

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As the trial against the captain of Italy's Costa Concordia gets under way, the mayor of the island where the ship lies said Monday he was increasingly concerned about its salvage.

An unprecedented operation is under way to refloat the 290-metre (951-foot) liner, which crashed at high speed into Giglio island in a traumatic nighttime accident in January 2012 that left 32 people dead.

But while islanders want the beached ship removed as quickly as possible, the head of Italy's civil protection agency Franco Gabrielli has voiced serious concerns over lingering uncertainties surrounding the ambitious procedure to right it.

Salvage workers hope the vessel will be rolled upright in September, weather and sea conditions permitting -- but there are fears that the ghostly wreck could break open during the manoeuvre, spilling a potentially polluting cargo of gallons of cleaning products, rotting food and sewage.

"Even though engineers have performed simulations and come up with hypotheses, we still today do not know how far the rocks have penetrated into the side of the ship, what type of lacerations they caused and what condition the structure is actually in," Gabrielli said.

Without the necessary assurances over the safety of the operation, "the ship will remain in the condition it is in until next year, when good weather conditions will make it possible to ensure it is completely safe," he added.

Italy's environment ministry has launched an inquiry into possible pollution caused by the crash, and on Tuesday divers will take samples of the water underneath the vessel.

The ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, will be in court on Wednesday for the second hearing in a trial against him for multiple manslaughter and abandoning the ship before all of the passengers had been evacuated, after performing a "salute" maneuver off the island.

He is also charged with causing environmental damage.

Giglio's mayor Sergio Ortelli told AFP the risk of pollution "is non-existent", but the hollowed-out beast instead threatens to damage the island's tourist industry "for a third season" if the salvage operation drags into next summer.

Amid fears of further delays in the removal, he said he was frustrated by receiving verbal promises about the salvage operation's progress and called for ship owner Costa Crociere to commit to a written timetable.

In 2012, visitor numbers to Giglio were down between 28 and 30 percent -- though the economic crisis may also be to blame, he said.

The salvage operation, run by Miami-based salvage giant Titan and its Italian partner Micoperi, has had to adapt to difficult conditions encountered while working to stabilise the hulk.

By AFP

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Windstar Cruises, a leader in yacht style cruising, was named one of the Top Small-Ship Cruise Lines in the prestigious Travel + Leisure 2013 World’s Best Awards readers’ survey. The line was ranked #3 with a score of 90.96 beating out five other small-ship lines. This is the third time Windstar has been named a “World’s Best Small-Ship Cruise Line” by Travel + Leisure, ranked at #5 in both 2011 and 2010.

Cruise line rankings in the 2013 Travel + Leisure's World Best Awards are based on readers’ ratings of cruise ships on the following characteristics: cabins, restaurants/food, service, itineraries/destinations, excursions/activities, and value. This year’s full results will be published in the August 2013 issue of the magazine, as well as on http://www.travelandleisure.com.

"We're so proud to have our unique itineraries, personalized service and private yacht style cruising recognized by our loyal cruisers,” said Hans Birkholz, Windstar Cruises’ chief executive officer. “Our teams both onboard and onshore continually strive to create memorable experiences for our guests, and it’s an honor for us to be acknowledged by the people we serve every day.”

This is not the first time Windstar guests have spoken, last month Windstar’s Wind Surf and Wind Star were named as the “Best Small Ships” in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2013 Reader’s Cruise Poll and voted Wind Surf #3 in “Best Overall Small Ship” and #1 for “Best Embarkation” in its 2013 Cruisers’ Choice Awards. In addition, Yahoo! Travel named Windstar Cruises’ Passage Through Panama voyage as the top Central American cruise for its 2013 Cruise Picks; and FOX News ranked Windstar as one of the top 10 Caribbean Cruises for 2013.

Source: PRWEB

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The 'keel-laying' marks the beginning of the actual ship build for the as-yet unnamed 141,000 ton P&O colossus. Described as a 'modern classic', the ship will be completely unique to the UK cruise market.

Once she's in service, the ship will be able to hold 3611 passengers in 1812 cabins, served by a crew of 1350. Costing a whopping £489 million, the new addition to P&O's Southampton-based ships will boast 17 public decks and be fitted with the latest green technology.

P&O Cruises managing director, Carol Marlow said: "The cutting of the steel marks the moment the ship goes into production so for us it is a very exciting time as we go from the drawing board to reality."

Excitement isn't limited to the team behind the build as cruise aficionados have started to guess what kind of attractions the enormous vessel will hold and what kind of new product innovations will be available.

Iconic design inside and out

For the first time, P&O Cruises has drafted in a British company to oversee the whole of the ship's interior design. Richmond has committed to marry P&O's rich cruise traditions with modern design and amenities to offer an unrivalled experience that will appeal to both existing passengers and a new generation of holidaymakers.

Richmond - a market-leading name for design in hospitality - has a very impressive list of clients including some of the world's top hotels. Cruise Thomas Cook passengers can expect to see the same quality that's on show at The Langham London, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, Four Seasons Hampshire Hotel and Spa, Boca Beach Club and Waldorf Trianon Palace Hotel and Spa, Versailles.

Marlow continued, "We're working hard on the interior and exterior design of the ship. We're surrounded by material samples and carpet samples - all sorts of exciting things! There are signature P&O concepts on this ship, along with brand new ideas and places for people to go. May saw the keel laying for the ship which means she's started to become a reality!"

By Thomas Cook Press Office

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