Ambience Breaks Away From Pier in France
Ambassador Cruise Line’s ship Ambience broke away from the pier in Cherbourg, France yesterday after a strong squall caused one of the mooring bollards to be pulled out of the concrete.
In a statement, the line said “this caused the forward mooring lines to come loose, with the ship shifting away from its berth and the gangway detaching from the ship and falling into the sea. We are pleased to report that the gangway was free of passengers at the time and that all guests and crew are safe and well.”
A tugboat helped the ship move back alongside the pier and ropes were reattached.
Ambience is currently on an 11-day British Isles voyage roundtrip from London-Tilbury.
Vancouver’s 2023 Cruise Season Begins
The 2023 cruise season in Vancouver officially started yesterday, with Sapphire Princess marking the first cruise ship visit to the Canada Place terminal. Two more ships are scheduled to arrive today: Holland America’s Koningsdam this morning and Norwegian Bliss this evening.
Vancouver’s cruise season will ramp up in May, with at least one ship expected at the terminal almost every day all the way through October.
331 cruise ship visits are scheduled for Vancouver this year, including six ships docking there for the first time. As many as 1.3 million passengers could move through the terminal, representing about a 10 percent increase over 2019 figures.
Vancouver’s 2023 cruise season is scheduled to end on October 24th with Koningsdam.
Port of Boston Gets Facial Biometrics Screening
The Port of Boston is the latest cruise port to get facial biometrics screening, which helps speed up the debarkation process. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has implemented the new technology in partnership with Norwegian Cruise Line.
When guests get off the ship, they pause for a quick photo which is compared to their existing passport or visa photo in the Department of Homeland Security’s database — a process that takes two seconds. Once verified, they can quickly go through inspections and head out of the terminal.
Currently, facial biometric technology is available at 18 ports across the country. It was most recently added to the cruise port in Jacksonville, Florida.
