November/December 2025
www.nitravelnews.com
Say ‘I Do’ In Barbados- P&O Cruises Launch Wedding Services Ashore
CRUISE NEWS | 67
Holland America Line Concludes 2025 Alaska Season
MSC Cruises Expand Commitment To Marine Conservation STORYLAND
Studios has announced a
partnership with MSC Cruises and the MSC Foundation to design a new iconic building at the Marine Conservation Center on Ocean Cay in The Bahamas. The MSC Foundation’s
Marine Conservation
Center, inaugurated in April this year, is a base for biologists, scientists, students and island visitors. It features interactive pavilions, a lecture hall, a Bio Lab and a land-based coral nursery. This research facility also provides educational opportunities for visitors on the importance of the marine ecosystem and the critical need to protect coral reefs, while also being the hub for the MSC Foundation’s Super Coral Reefs Programme. The new Pavilion will serve to enhance guest
experience as a global hub for the MSC Foundation’s mission to protect and nurture the blue planet. Storyland will apply its design expertise to create a facility that inspires visitors, donors, and partners to engage in marine conservation, transforming complex scientific work into compelling, accessible experiences. “The MSC Foundation building at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve represents our Destination Development philosophy,” said Johnny Davis, Senior Creative Director at Storyland Studios. Davis stated, “Here, at the vital intersection of
Cause and Commerce, we are crafting more than a building – we are giving form to a promise. Every path, every vista, every moment is designed to weave a compelling narrative that moves guests from passive observers to active stewards of our oceans.
This is where inspiration meets action, creating a living destination that embodies conservation and empowers a global community of ocean guardians.” Pierfrancesco Vago, Chair, Executive Committee of the MSC Foundation added “This is the continuation of our multigenerational commitment to ocean conservation, and we are glad
to generosity in designing partner this with
Storyland Studios. We warmly acknowledge Storyland Studios’
signature
pavilion for us. Their creativity and dedication will enhance the Marine Conservation Center’s role as an educational hub, inviting tens of thousands of Ocean Cay visitors each year to discover, learn, and engage with corals, while deepening their awareness of the urgency of coral conservation worldwide”.
GUESTS on P&O Cruises Caribbean sailings on Arvia and Britannia can now book wedding ceremonies on shore for the first time. “Ceremonies on Shore” will offer legal weddings and commitment ceremonies, with guests now able to step off the ship and make their vows on the beaches of Barbados or at th Fairmont Royal Pavilion resort’s private beach or garden. P&O Cruises have launched the wedding packages which include dedicated ceremony specialists before and during the cruise and the Ceremony on Shore package includes a Barbados wedding on one of three beaches, pre-cruise and on- board wedding specialist, a destination wedding co-ordinator and executive transfers to and from ship. The day is also completed with a wedding arch with two
floral arrangements, couple’s breakfast in bed, champagne for toasting and matching bouquet and buttonhole.
Hurtigruten’s First Climate- Neutral Voyage Sets Sail
HURTIGRUTEN’S MS Richard With has now departed Bergen on the company’s first climate- neutral voyage. The ship set sail on October 29 and is currently charting a course along the legendary Coastal Express route to Kirkenes and back, carrying local passengers, goods, and tourists along the way. The battery-hybrid ship will complete a 5,000-kilometre round trip using 100% advanced biofuel, reaffirming Hurtigruten’s position as a leader in sustainable travel initiatives along Norway’s coast and across the wider maritime industry.
HOLLAND America Line has concluded its 2025 Alaska season, completing 117 cruises. Voyages took place across six ships – Eurodam, Nieuw
Koningsdam, Amsterdam,
Westerdam and Zaandam – with roundtrip departures from Seattle, Washington;
Vancouver,
Noordam, British
Columbia, Canada; and between Vancouver and Whittier (Anchorage), Alaska. Across the sailings, guests enjoyed 130 Alaska brunches featuring regional flavours, consumed 125,000 pounds of fresh, Alaska seafood certified and traceable to local family fishing businesses, and sipped 85,000 cups of Dutch Pea Soup. Holland America donated more than $100,000 to local community organisations and conservation partners throughout the region in 2025, while guests raised more than $95,000 in support of the state’s public lands. In addition, guests took part in the cruise line’s ‘On
Deck for a Cause’ programme. This noncompetitive 5k walk is held on every Alaska sailing, with participants donating to join the effort. Proceeds from these walks benefit Alaska
Geographic, the nonprofit education partner of Alaska’s parks, forests, refuges and conservation lands. Over the past three years, the events have raised $250,000. Looking ahead to 2026, six ships will operate to
Alaska, offering roundtrip sailings from Seattle and Vancouver, as well as point-to-point voyages between Whittier and Vancouver.
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