Amsterdam is expecting 84 turnaround calls in 2012 compared to 58 this year, a 45% increase. Total calls number 150 next year, 17% up on this year’s 128.

There will be 26 overnights in 2012 as there are this year.

Newcomers in 2012 are AIDA Cruises’ AIDAmar, Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Reflection and Holland America Line’s Ryndam (three turnarounds).

Highlights for next year are 25 turnaround calls from Costa Cruises on Costa Magica and Costa Deliziosa, 14 on MSC Cruises’ MSC Lirica, nine from Royal Caribbean International’s Brilliance of the Seas and 10 from Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Constellation. Also turning around are Holland America Line’s Prinsendam (six calls), Maasdam (one) and Eurodam (five).

In addition Cruise & Maritime Voyages’ Marco Polo will make nine transit calls and Oceania Cruises’ Nautica seven calls.

Aruba Ports Authority is satisfied with the increase in cruise arrivals as of January of this year. Nearly forty (40) thousand additional cruise passengers visited the island of Aruba during the months of January, February, March, April and May, compared to the same period of time in 2010.

This augment includes a record breaking visit of one hundred and one thousand three hundred and sixty three (101,363) cruise visitors during the month of March.

For the first five (5) months of the year the amount of calls made to Aruba increased by twenty (20). The port welcomed two hundred and three (203) calls, compared to one hundred and eighty three for the same period in 2010.A total of three hundred and sixty eight thousand eight hundred and sixty (368,860) cruise visitors have arrived in Aruba until May of this year, this is a total of thirty eight thousand seven hundred and ninety five (38,795 ) people more than the same time last year.

A total of one hundred and fifty five thousand and eighty five (155,085) crew members arrived during the period from January until May 2011, representing a growth of thirty seven thousand nine hundred and forty five (37,945) crew members.

The Port of Saint John, New Brunswick, kicked off its 2011 cruise season with a day-long visit by the Carnival Glory, which calls at the historic port as part of its four- and five-day eastern Canada cruise program from New York.

The occasion was commemorated with champagne reception on board attended by dozens of dignitaries, VIPs and media. In the photo, Chair of the Saint John Port Authority Stephen Campbell presents Carnival Glory Captain Agostino Fazio with a highly detailed nautical telescope – a new tradition for first-call festivities in Saint John.

Carnival Glory will operate its popular four- and five-day eastern Canada schedule through September 5 followed by a series of seven-day fall foliage cruises from New York that also include a stop in Saint John. Carnival Glory will make 26 calls to Saint John in total this summer and fall, accounting for nearly 75,000 visitors to the port.

Royal Caribbean International and the Port of New Orleans hosted a special evening reception for regional travel agents on May 24 at the port’s administrative offices to celebrate the highly anticipated return of the cruise line in November 2011. Voyager of the Seas will be the largest cruise ship ever to homeport in New Orleans, offering seven-night, roundtrip vacations to the Western Caribbean during winter 2011-12 and generating more than 75,000 cruise guests for the city.

For winter 2012-13, Royal Caribbean recently announced that it will continue service from New Orleans with Navigator of the Seas. Both ships will dock at the new Julia Street Cruise Terminal, which will have completed a $12 million renovation.

With a maximum capacity of 5,186 passengers, Norwegian Epic, with the highest cruise passenger capacity in the Mediterranean, made its first call at the Port of Barcelona. Disembarkation and embarkation operations were conducted simultaneously at two terminals: Terminal A and Terminal B (both run by Creuers del Port de Barcelona), at the Adossat Quay.

Barcelona is the Epic’s homeport for the 2011 season. The vessel departed from Miami and reached Barcelona after a 12-day crossing, and will sail seven-day Mediterranean cruises until October.

Cruise activity at the Port of Barcelona will be especially intense Aug. 20 when eight vessels with more than 31.000 passengers will call on the same day, setting a new record. A week later, Aug. 26, nine vessels will call with more than 26.000 passengers.

The Puerto Rico Tourism Company has announced tourism traffic for the first quarter of 2011, showing solid gains year-over-year, with flights to the Island, cruise ship visitors and hotel occupancy all up.

First quarter 2011 hotel occupancy rates were up 4% from 2010, and new upscale resorts have opened during the past 18 months including the W Retreat & Spa in Vieques and the St. Regis in Rio Grande.

Nine airlines are now providing 63 non-stop daily flights to Puerto Rico from 20 U.S. cities, and British Airways has begun a twice-weekly flight from London.

Homeport visitors from cruise ships increased 34% from last year, and Puerto Rico is now served by 16 cruise lines and 43 ships for an average 1.2 million visitors a year.

Puerto Rico officials expect to be up to a 4% increase in total tourism visits this year, the Island’s first increase in five years.

Jamaica benefited from a nearly double-digit increase in cruise ship arrivals during the most recent, busy winter season, the Caribbean country's tourism minister announced Tuesday.

Edmund Bartlett said cruise ship tourists surged by 9.6 percent this high season over the same period in 2009-2010, an increase of 34,954 visitors. The high season for Jamaica's tourism sector came to an end on April 15.

Bartlett, who made the comments at a conference in the tourism mecca of Montego Bay in the island's north, also said the tourism industry brought in foreign exchange earnings of $852.6 million during the winter, a 6 percent increase over the $804.5 million earned over the same period last season. Stopover arrivals increased by 5.6 percent, he added.

"The stage is now set for yet another remarkable year of performance in terms of arrivals and foreign exchange earnings," he said.

The rebound of cruise ship passengers is especially good news for tourism-dependent Jamaica since the number of ship tourists visiting the island dropped by 1.4 percent last year to 910,000.

Jamaica hopes to capture even more of the cruise ship market with the recent opening of a two-berth cruise port in the north coast town of Falmouth.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and the Port Authority of Jamaica developed the $220 million, three-phase port project, which is nestled between the resort cities of Montego Bay and Ocho Rios.

Although the port received its first visiting cruise ship in February, officials held the opening ceremony last month for the arrival of the 16-deck, 225,000-ton (204,100-metric-ton) Oasis of the Seas.

Rent a Harley-Davidson Motorcycle in a Cruise Port of Call

Here's a trend that Harley-Davidson riders everywhere can get "onboard" with: on your next cruise, hop off the ship and onto a rental bike! If you are a fan of seeing "open road" on the back of a Harley Road King or Heritage Classic, there remain countless global frontiers out there to explore!

Harley-Davidson® has established rental locations throughout the world to accommodate the growing cadre of international road warriors. (All rentals are late-model Harley-Davidson® motorcycles, serviced and maintained to strict company standards)

Here are a few examples of the rental opportunities available to avid riders:

• Want to see the mountains of Switzerland? Start with a 13-day "Enchanting Rhine" river cruise from AMAWATERWAYS, comprised of a 7-night cruise from Amsterdam to Basel, 2 nights in Lucerne, and ending with a 2-night stay in Zürich. Jump off the ship, then motor along the Swiss Alps, courtesy of Harley-Davidson Zürich.
  
• Are you a history buff? A must-see city is Berlin. Rent a Harley from Classic Bike and visit the Alte National Gallery (a UNESCO World Heritage site), the Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin Wall Memorial. After touring the city, you can catch a 10-Night Elegant Elbe — Berlin to Prague river cruise with Viking River Cruises.
  
• Is Rome, up close and personal, your interest? Rent from Harley-Davidson Roma and the bike will navigate the narrow streets, allow you to park anywhere, and get to Appian Way a lot quicker than did Caesar's Roman Legions. When you're done exploring, embark on Princess Cruises' Star Princess for a 12-Night – Egypt & Aegean Roundtrip Rome cruise!
  

While biking on a Harley offers terrific side-trip opportunities on any cruise, note that there are some things to keep in mind before you sign up for your rental. For most of Harley- Davisdson's® international rental locations, riders must:

• Be 21 years of age or older
  
• Have a valid heavyweight motorcycle operator's license
  
• Have a major credit card
  
• Must possess the skills and knowledge to operate a heavyweight motorcycle
  

Riders should expect that their Harley-Davidson Authorized Rentals® will provide:

• Use of a Harley-Davidson country-approved helmet and rainsuit for a comfortable and enjoyable ride
  
• Short-term luggage storage
  
• 24-hour emergency roadside assistance
  

(In addition, Supplemental Liability Insurance and Supplemental Personal Property & Personal Accident Insurance may be available. Availability, coverage and rates vary by location. Riders must speak directly with their rental locations for details.)

Five years ago the Grand Turk Cruise Center (GTCC) was dubbed the “Caribbean’s newest cruise port facility,” destined to become a favorite of vacationers from around the world. With its state-of-the-art facilities and convenient access to the island’s breathtaking white-sand beaches, the Grand Turk Cruise Center has far exceeded those expectations.

The 2010 cruise season was a record for the GTCC with a total of 248 calls from 40 cruise ships representing 14 different cruise brands. The Grand Turk Cruise Center hosted a record 622,720 passengers, representing a 19 percent increase over the previous year and a whopping 113 percent increase over 2006, the center’s first year of operation.

The Grand Turk Cruise Center continues to evolve with more retail outlets and attractions than ever before. New stores within the GTCC’s 45,000-square-foot shopping district include Colombian Emeralds, Effy Jewelers, Diamonds International and Silver Sun.

These retailers joined an array of popular merchants, including Dufry, Milano Diamond Gallery, Ron Jon Surf Shop©, Piranha Joes, Dizzy Donkey, Del Sol, Rasta Pasta, Royal Jewels, Indigo Pearls, Goldsmith and The Trading Post, as well as a variety of local craft stands and souvenir kiosks.

The GTCC has also joined forces with NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in developing a new attraction that commemorates the National Aeronautics & Space Administration’s (NASA) Mercury space program and the historic 1962 splashdown of the Friendship 7 capsule off the coast of Grand Turk. Opened late last month, Splashdown Grand Turk is a 3,500-square-foot attraction that celebrates the unique relationship of the American spaceflight mission and its importance to Grand Turk’s history with interactive exhibits and authentic spacecraft replicas.

In addition to these new features, the GTCC enhanced the 1.25 square acres of beach located on the south side of the facility, making it even more appealing to visitors. The area now features upgraded beach furniture, coconut palms and other landscaping, and a new Turquoise Beach Bar serving drinks and light refreshments. A “cool zone” with various misting machines is scheduled to open soon.

“In just five years in operation, Grand Turk Cruise Center has become one of the most popular cruise facilities in the Caribbean, more than doubling its passenger counts and adding a host of new amenities and attractions, while serving as a gateway to one of the world’s most breathtaking and beautiful destinations,” said Giora Israel, senior vice president of port and destination development for Carnival Corporation & plc, which operates the facility.

Covering more than 14 acres, the Grand Turk Cruise Center can accommodate up to 7,000 passengers per day and features a private beach, swimming pool, and an expansive recreation area that includes a FlowRider® surfing adventure and the Caribbean’s largest “Margaritaville”-themed bar and restaurant.

A unique exhibit commemorating the National Aeronautics & Space Administration’s (NASA) Mercury space program and the historic 1962 splashdown of the Friendship 7 capsule off the coast of Grand Turk is now open at the Grand Turk Cruise Center.

Grand opening festivities were held this past weekend, with representatives from the Turks and Caicos Islands’ government, Carnival Corporation & plc and the Grand Turk Cruise Center in attendance. Special guest speakers included Janet E. Petro, deputy director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center and former NASA astronaut Winston Scott.

“Splashdown Grand Turk” is a 3,500-square-foot attraction celebrating the unique relationship of the American human spaceflight mission and its importance to Grand Turk’s history.

Located on the south side of the Grand Turk Cruise Center, the free exhibit features amazing replicas unique to the Mercury space program, including a scaled 20-foot-tall Atlas rocket and a full-size, three-dimensional replica of astronaut John Glenn in spacesuit, and, of course, a detailed replica of the Friendship 7 capsule, which splashed into the Atlantic in 1962, a few short miles from the island of Grand Turk.

Storyboards at the exhibit depict the accomplishments of the NASA space program and detail the differences in space equipment of yesterday and today while offering an overview of the current space program and future plans.

“This exhibit together with the replica of the Friendship capsule at the entrance of the Grand Turk Airport will serve to educate and inform cruise guests, the citizens of Turks & Caicos and other visitors to the islands about this fascinating connection between Grand Turk and the early days of the Mercury space program,” said H.E. Governor Gordon Wetherell, governor of the Turks & Caicos Islands, BWI.

“We believe that having this great exhibit at the Grand Turk Cruise Center not only pays homage to the remarkable history of the NASA space program, but also shows the historical richness of the island,” said David Candib, director of business development for Carnival Corporation & plc, which operates the Grand Turk Cruise Center.

Opened by Carnival Corporation & plc in 2006, the Grand Turk Cruise Center serves as a gateway to this unique destination and encompasses a state-of-the-art pier and a 14-acre complex offering a variety of shops and restaurants.

The 2011 cruise season will bring 285 ship calls to the Grand Turk Cruise Center carrying approximately 625,000 visitors who will have an opportunity to learn more about Grand Turk’s involvement with the NASA space program.

The 2011 passenger ship schedule for Kaua‘i’s Nawiliwili Harbor shows the number of cruise ships visiting the island next year will increase by 26 percent.

The increase is in international cruise vessels, from 46 visiting days in 2010 to 58 planned for 2011.

There are 18 different ships that will visit Nawiliwili, representing 10 different cruise lines.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s “Pride of America” will continue its twice-weekly visits, arriving on Thursdays and departing on Fridays, and representing a total of 104 visitor days.

Princess Cruise Line’s “Golden Princess” is scheduled to visit 16 times, and its “Sapphire Princess” is listed for seven visits.

In all, Princess Line will have three cruise ships visiting a total of 29 days, followed by Holland America, which will have three ships visiting a total of 10 days. The two lines comprise 67 percent of total international vessel visits.

The new schedule represents a gradual increase in visits by international cruise ships since NCL discontinued “Pride of Hawai‘i” in February 2008 and “Pride of Aloha” in May 2008, said Harbor District manager Robert Crowell on Tuesday.

“NCL used to run six days a week, three different ships,” he said. “They had it locked up. Only on Wednesdays were we open for international ships. Now, other ships can fit in.”

The harbor, which has capacity for only one cruise ship at a time, had a total of 32 international ships visiting in 2008.

Visitor industry leaders at the time said the departure of two of NCL’s ships from Hawai‘i to sail in foreign waters accounted for almost 80 percent of Kaua‘i’s visitor-arrivals decline during the summer of 2008.

Crowell said the new schedule is tentative.

“These are the scheduled stops,” he said. “There are no guarantees. But who knows, maybe in 2012 we’ll have even more international ships.”

He also said he would like to remind folks that due to increased security at the port, “people cannot come here and just meet friends coming off the boat. They have to stay behind the gate. It would be better to choose in advance a meeting place somewhere away from the harbor.”

The $53 million renovation of sites in the historic town of Falmouth, Jamaica, are on track for the first port call, scheduled for Jan. 7, 2011, said Earl Patrick, executive director the Tourism Project Development Company (TPDCo). Jamaica’s port authority is building the port in partnership with Royal Caribbean International.

Construction is 80 percent complete, said Patrick in an interview in the Jamaica Observer. The work includes renovation of the 200-year-old Falmouth Court House, refurbishment of the town’s cenotaph, erection of 12 story boards, refurbishment of the fountain in Water Square, creation sanitary conveniences and establishment of a car park.

TPDCo has embarked on a training program designed to prepare of Falmouth residents for the influx of thousands of visitors beginning in 2011, Patrick said. To date, 300 residents have been trained and an additional 400 “sensitized” in Trelawny. Other development projects sponsored by Jamaica’s National Works Agency, Urban Development Corporation and Trelawny Chamber of Commerce and Industry are also underway. The $7.5 billion Falmouth cruise ship pier development is expected to be fully complete by March 2011.