Cruise Pulse: Top Stories for Dec. 4, 2015

Photo courtesy of Royal Caribbean International

Jewel of the Seas Receives a $30 Million Makeover to Be Unveiled in April 2016 Royal Caribbean International's Jewel of the Seas is set for a complete overhaul including new staterooms, restaurants, technologies and entertainment ahead of the summer Mediterranean season.

MSC Cruises to Double Capacity in Cuba in Winter 2016 MSC Cruises' recently refurbished MSC Armonia will join MSC Opera in Cuba as the second ship deployed by the line for the 2016 to 2017 season.

Uniworld Brings Luxury to Life with New Virtual Reality App There's now an app to virtually experience Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection's flagship, the S.S. Maria Theresa, with 360 degree vistas.

Royal Caribbean Commits to Using Cage-Free Eggs and Gestation-Crate Free Pork Royal Caribbean International will begin serving guests 100 percent cage-free eggs and getting all of its pork from gestation-free crates by 2022.

JUST THE LINKS

The Cruise the Saint Lawrence group is reporting record results from its 2015 cruise season, featuring 269,940 passengers (115,427 passenger turnarounds at Quebec or Montreal), 29 ships and 435 calls at 9 ports.

The director of the Primorye tourism department, Konstantin Shestakov, says that two companies are contemplating a new cruise route linking China, Japan, South Korea and Vladivostok in an effort to attract lines to Primorye and Russia's Far East.

Carnival Corporation's endeavors to start a new cruise line in China are beginning to take shape as Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co., Ltd is set to begin construction on a new ship in 2017 with technical support from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for a launch in 2020.

A UBS market survey reveals that more Chinese tourists are aware of brands such as Costa Cruises, Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean International and plan to cruise accordingly.

Princess Cruises will offer full refunds to passengers affected by a small fire and power failure onboard the line's Grand Princess that had to forgo two Hawaiian ports and alter its return itinerary to San Francisco.

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