CRUISE

Carnival Cruise Line is adding a new COVID-19 protocol to its sailings and the company plans to use Port Canaveral to test it out.

The sleek two-passenger electric vehicle is part of Cadillac's Halo Concept Portfolio.

It's unclear at this time what lead to Dan Ammann's abrupt departure, which comes ahead of commercialization plans for Cruise.

A robot car of the General Motors subsidiary Cruise is on a test drive in 2019. Dan Ammann, CEO of General Motors autonomous vehicle branch Cruise, is leaving the company, GM announced Thursday. Cruise's President and CTO Kyle Vogt will take over as interim CEO, the company said. Additionally, Cruise will gain a new board member: Former Chairman and CEO of Northrop Grumman Wesley Bush, who is also a GM board member. GM said the leadership change comes along with plans to accelerate a strategy it laid out at its most recent Investor Day, with Cruise playing a key role in building out its autonomous vehicle platform.

The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for a woman who fell from a Carnival cruise ship over the weekend.

Disney Cruise Line officials shared details about two of the new shows that will debut aboard the all-new ship, the Disney Wish.

Royal Caribbean is offering the perfect trip for anyone looking to getaway for several months.

Cruise, General Motors' majority-owned autonomous vehicle subsidiary, is targeting a fleet of 1 million or more self-driving vehicles by 2030.

The move brings Waymo and Cruise one step closer to offering driverless ridesharing in California.

Just like Kesha said in her hit song “Tik Tok,” well, “the party don’t start till I walk in,” and that goes for her Kesha Cruise that is setting sail in 2022.

Alison Webb was told her field was need for a "VIP who was running late," she told BBC News.

Alison Webb was told her field was need for a "VIP who was running late," she told BBC News.

Crews had been building the set for months and the nearby village had seen lorry-loads of props appearing.

After nearly a year and a half without cruises, Port Canaveral is finally starting to look like one of America's busiest cruise ports again.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has gone to a federal appeals court in a battle with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings about so-called “<a href="https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2021/04/02/florida-governor-signs-executive-order-banning-vaccine-passport-use-at-businesses/" target="_blank">vaccine passports</a>.”

Carnival's Mardi Gras returned one week after the first cruise ship with paying passengers on board departed from Port Canaveral.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and the state of Florida are battling about which court should hear a challenge to the state’s ban on so-called “vaccine passports."

Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras will be setting sail on its maiden voyage from Port Canaveral.

Six Royal Caribbean passengers tested positive for COVID-19 nearly one week after departing from the Bahamas.

Gov. Ron DeSantis remains confident that Florida will win its legal battle to lift orders from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that are preventing cruise ships from sailing out of U.S. ports.

Volunteer of the Seas to be selected this week.

In a flurry of legal activity, attorneys for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have asked a federal appeals court to put on hold a U.S. district judge’s ruling that backed Florida in a fight about the cruise-ship industry.

A battle between Florida and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about cruise-industry restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic went to an appeals court Tuesday, as federal-government attorneys also argued that a lower-court ruling should be put on hold.

As uncertainty remains over a restart of the cruise industry, leaders with Port Canaveral said they're hopeful for the port's first post-pandemic revenue sailing next month.

Disney has postponed its first test cruise scheduled to set sail from Port Canaveral.

The cruise line industry is making a comeback after the first ship with paying passengers on board set sail from a U.S. port in more than a year.

The four-year-old start-up retrofits industrial vehicles like dump trucks, dozers, and skid steers with autonomous systems. It just raised $21 million.

Gov. Ron DeSantis touted Florida's victory in a federal lawsuit against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention aimed at lifting the health agency's ban on sailing which has been in place since March 2020.

Royal Caribbean International is taking small steps for the cruise industry.

Customers and employees of several Carnival Corp. cruise lines might have had personal information stolen.

For “Friends” fans everywhere, being able to witness Monica, Rachel, Ross, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe reunite felt like a real blessing.

The new credit is being provided by GM's automotive financing arm to use for the purchase of Cruise's self-driving Origin shuttles.

Settlement talks have ended in the legal battle between Florida and the federal government about restrictions on the cruise-ship industry.

Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line announces additional voyages as part of its U.S. resumption plan.

The future of cruises in Florida remains in rough water, though many cruise lines are making plans now and are hopeful for a busy return.

California is allowing the company Cruise to offer free rides to passengers in its driverless cars — without safety drivers on board.

The California Public Utilities Commission authorized Cruise to give passengers rides in prototype robotaxis.

Royal Caribbean announced the return of its cruises from U.S. ports on Friday.

Carnival Corp. on Friday received the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s acceptance of a special agreement with Port Canaveral — an agreement that is a key step in the cruise company's resumption of sailings.

Concerts are back!

PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. — Cruise industry leaders are still working to get ships sailing with passengers again by this summer. Royal Caribbean got approved for a trial cruise in Miami, and Canaveral Port Authority CEO Capt. John Murray said other companies are working on agreements to do something similar. Murray told Channel 9 the simulated sailings will involve a lot of testing and CDC oversight. Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, and click here to watch the latest news on your Smart TV.

Norwegian Cruise Line announces that it expects to resume cruise operations from the U.S. beginning Aug. 7.

Carnival Cruise Line's newest and largest ship, the Mardi Gras, will be arriving at Port Canaveral on June 4, in preparation for its first sailing with passengers.

Royal Caribbean International is bringing 1,967 ship crew members to Port Canaveral to be vaccinated.

Cruise's CEO disclosed the timing Thursday, giving the most specific time frame yet for the vehicle and commercialization of its autonomous vehicle business.

Saying Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings isn't one of the bigger cruise lines, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said if smaller cruise lines want to leave the state, their void will be filled.

Cruising could restart in mid-summer in American waters.

Walmart's decision to invest comes about five months after the companies started working on a pilot program for deliveries in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Friday issued its next phase of technical guidance under its framework for conditional sailing order for cruise lines, News 6 partner Florida Today reports.

Disney announced Tuesday it is canceling all U.S. cruises through the end of June.

People line up to get on a Royal Caribbean International, Adventure of the Seas, relief boat that is sailing to Ft. Lauderdale, Sept. 28, In San Juan, Puerto Rico. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesMIAMI – Two Royal Caribbean cruises will resume in June, ending a yearlong hiatus, but passengers 18 and older must test negative for COVID-19 before getting on a ship. The company's Celebrity Cruises subsidiary said Friday that its Celebrity Millennium ship will relaunch on June 5 from St. Maarten. With the Caribbean such a popular destination, “It’s not entirely surprising to see both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean finding a way to return to the region,” said Colleen McDaniel, editor or Cruise Critic, a website that reviews cruises. Shares of Miami-based Royal Caribbean rose more than 2% Friday.

Cruise Chief Technology Officer Kyle Vogt (left) with Voyage CEO Oliver Cameron, who will join Cruise as part of an acquisition of the company. General Motors' majority-owned autonomous vehicle subsidiary Cruise has agreed to acquire Voyage, a self-driving car start-up that operated in retirement communities. The companies, which didn't disclose the terms of the deal, announced it Monday in a blog post by Voyage CEO Oliver Cameron, who will join Cruise as vice president of product. It's unclear how long Cruise will continue operating in the retirement communities. A majority of Voyage's 60 employees are expected to join Cruise, Wert said.

This July 2019 photo provided by Miguel Gonzalez, shows Margrit and Lucio Gonzalez with their granddaughter, Caylie Gonzalez, in Alaska. Lucio Gonzalez died of coronavirus.They put him on a ventilator for three weeks and two days, and after that he died, his widow said. (Miguel Gonzalez via AP)SAN FRANCISCO – The last vacation Margrit and Lucio Gonzalez took together began with an ominous delay: a medical emergency on the cruise ship they were set to board. One was Lucio Gonzalez, an athletic 73-year-old who had worked maintaining trails in the California Parks system for 25 years. But a few days after the trip ended, Lucio Gonzalez started feeling ill.

Norwegian Cruise Line is once again extending its suspension on sailings, this time through the end of May. Norwegian previously pushed back its return to sailing through the end of April less than a month ago. The company is also offering a 10% off coupon for those passengers if they have not already received one from a previously canceled cruise. Norwegian is also trying to figure out whether it will be able to resume any of its Alaska Cruises in 2021. Norwegian said it is “exploring several initiatives that may allow such cruises to continue” including asking the Canadian government to amend its suspension.

All rights reserved)TORONTO, ONT – Canada is banning all cruise vessels in Canadian waters until Feb. 28, 2022. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced Thursday cruise vessels carrying 100 or more people will remain prohibited from operating in Canadian waters. Vessels carrying more than 12 people will also stay prohibited from entering Arctic coastal waters. The temporary measures were scheduled to end on February 28, 2021. Those who do not comply are subject to fines.

Carnival Cruise Line on Friday announced more cancelations for the 2021 season. Earlier this month the cruise line had said it would extend its pause in operations until March 31, 2021, because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The cruise line made the announcement on Twitter and said that all U.S. departures through April 30 have been canceled. “In addition, we’ve moved the start date for Mardi Gras out of Port Canaveral to May 29, 2021,” the cruise line said. The cruise line added that those who are not able to take their trip are receiving a generous future cruise credit with an onboard credit package.

Saga cruise line to require passengers to get vaccineUK-based Saga cruise lines is now the first cruise line in the world to require passengers to get a coronavirus vaccine in order to board. It announced passengers must be fully vaccinated, meaning they’ve received both does of the vaccine, 14 days before their departure. [TRENDING: What to know about Biden’s COVID-19 strategy | 2021 Bike Week will happen| Florida no longer releasing overdue vaccine numbers]The company is also pushing back resuming cruises from Apr. A Saga spokesman says their customers want the reassurance of the vaccine and to know others traveling with them will be vaccinated as well. The vaccine requirement comes as cruise lines struggle to resume operations, nearly a year after ceasing bookings in response to the pandemic.

American Express — Shares of American Express jumped 3.5% in midday trading after JPMorgan issued an upbeat note on the payments company and advised investors to buy the stock. The Wall Street firm said it sees an upcoming surge in dining out post coronavirus. DraftKings – Shares of DraftKings dropped more than 4% after Berenberg initiated coverage on the sports-betting company with a sell rating. The Wall Street firm said investor expectations on the company are "overoptimistic" and shares are priced for perfection. State Street — Shares of State Street edged up nearly 1% after the company reported better-than-expected revenue for the fourth quarter.

This image provided by General Motors shows the new company logo. (General Motors via AP)DETROIT – General Motors is teaming up with Microsoft to accelerate its rollout of electric, self-driving cars. “Microsoft is a great addition to the team as we drive toward a future world of zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion,” said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra. It wants to be seen as a clean vehicle company, rather than a builder of cloud-spewing gas-powered pickups and SUVs. GM scrapped its old square blue logo for a lower case gm surrounded by rounded corners and an ‘m’ that looks like an electrical plug.

Microsoft has entered into a long-term strategic relationship with General Motors and Cruise, the automaker's majority-owned autonomous car unit, to accelerate the commercialization of self-driving vehicles. In its announcement Tuesday, the companies said Microsoft will become the preferred cloud provider for GM and Cruise. The companies said they will work collaboratively on software and hardware engineering, cloud computing capabilities, manufacturing and partner ecosystem. "As Cruise and GM's preferred cloud, we will apply the power of Azure to help them scale and make autonomous transportation mainstream." Cruise will leverage Azure, Microsoft's cloud and edge computing platform, to commercialize its unique autonomous vehicle solutions at scale.

Royal Caribbean is pushing back its plans to resume sailing. The company posted a statement on its website and social media accounts Monday announcing the suspension of sailing through April 30. Royal Caribbean is offering refunds or credits for a future cruise to customers affected by this suspension. 🔗 bit.ly/RCIOperationsUpdate Posted by Royal Caribbean International on Tuesday, January 12, 2021This comes despite the CDC lifting its no sail order at the end of October. [RELATED: Port Canaveral reports $18 million loss in budget year as cruise operations remain idled]Florida Today reports the biggest factor in the loss was the suspension of sailings.

"Their value is based on *projected* revenue that comes from *entirely overlapping* potential customers, with very little discount applied to future projections. The first three companies have announced SPAC deals but have not yet gone public. "Of course, it's certainly not unusual for startups to be valued based on future revenue projections, even in a highly competitive space," Vogt tweeted. "But I typically see private markets put a much larger discount on these future projections than what we see with these SPACs." Luminar went public last month through a SPAC deal with an enterprise value of $2.9 billion.

Cruise, General Motors' majority-owned autonomous vehicle subsidiary, has hired former Delta Chief Operating Officer Gil West as its first COO, the company said Friday. West retired at the end of September after 12 years at the Atlanta-based airline. West started shortly before Delta's 2008 merger with Northwest and was named Delta's COO in 2014.

Miami Herald: Cruise industry "secretly funded disinformation campaign" New reporting from the Miami Herald reveals an association of cruise lines funded a "dark money" campaign to sway voters in Key West with alarming claims about referendums that would affect the cruise industry. Miami Herald reporter Taylor Dolven joins CBSN with the details.

The move announced Wednesday by GM-owned Cruise come two months after the company received California's permission to fully driverless cars in the state. “You’re seeing fully driverless technology out of the (research and development) phase and into the beginning of the journey to being a real commercial product," Cruise CEO Dan Ammann said Wednesday. California regulators also recently approved new rules allowing ride-hailing services to pick up passengers in self-driving cars, but Cruise isn't going down that road yet. Instead, Ammann pledged the company will move cautiously while dispatching up to five fully driverless cars into parts of San Francisco initially. Ammann declined to provide a timeline when asked if Cruise planned to use its driverless cars in ride-hailing service within San Francisco next year.

Two self-driving Chevy Bolt EV cars are seen during a media event by Cruise, GM’s autonomous car unit, in San Francisco, California, U.S. November 28, 2017. Cruise, a majority-owned subsidiary of General Motors, has started testing self-driving vehicles without driver monitors in San Francisco, the company said Wednesday. The California-based company plans to begin testing a handful of vehicles, followed by a "very methodical and responsible" ramp-up across San Francisco, according to Cruise CEO Dan Ammann. While the vehicles will not have humans in the driver's seats, Cruise plans to maintain a safety operator in the passenger seat during the beginning of the testing, according to Cruise spokesman Ray Wert. Ammann declined to say when the company plans to launch a commercial autonomous vehicle business for passengers or cargo, citing "there's a lot more to come next year."

ORLANDO, Fla. – Disney Cruise Line announced Friday that it has canceled its sailings through February due to the coronavirus pandemic. “As we continue to refine our protocols for our eventual return to service, we have decided to cancel all departures through February 28, 2021. Sailings are canceled onboard the Disney Magic through February 25; the Disney Wonder and Disney Dream through February 26; and the Disney Fantasy through February 27. Guests who have not paid their reservations in full will automatically receive a refund of what they have paid thus far. “Our team at Disney Cruise Line remains focused on the health and well-being of our guests and team members.

Norwegian Cruise Line announced Wednesday it is extending all cruise suspensions through Feb. 28, 2021, amid the coronavirus pandemic. Cruise line officials said it “continues to work through its return to service plan to meet the requirements of the Framework for Conditional Sailing Order issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”This latest extension by the cruise line includes all voyages between Jan. 1, 2021 and Feb. 28, 2021. Norwegian officials said this additional suspension does impact some voyages in March 2021 and all voyages on Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2021. The cruise line said in a news release, guests who are currently booked on canceled voyages should contact a travel advisor or the cruise line directly.

PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. – Cruise ships may sail again before the year is over after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it would let the most recent no-sail order expire. At his annual “State of the Port” address, Port Canaveral CEO and Director Capt. (Image: Port Canaveral) (WKMG)Murray expects those same ports to be the first to reopen. COVID-19's impact on Port Canaveral. (Image: Port Canaveral) (WKMG)“Basically, our cruise revenue stopped after March 14th,” Murray added.

General Motors' Cruise autonomous vehicle unit says it will pull the human backup drivers from its vehicles in San Francisco by the end of the year. Cruise will go neighborhood-by-neighborhood in San Francisco and launch the driverless vehicles slowly before spreading to the entire city, he said. Progress toward autonomous vehicles slowed markedly after an Uber autonomous test SUV ran down a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona, in 2018. Both Cruise and Waymo program their vehicles to drive more conservatively than humans, but still need to progress safely, Shladover said. He noted that Cruise will tackle easier areas in San Francisco first before venturing into more complex traffic situations.

Cruise, a majority-owned subsidiary of General Motors, plans to begin testing unmanned autonomous vehicles by the end of this year in San Francisco. The company said Thursday it has received a permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles to remove the human backup drivers from its self-driving cars. "Before the end of the year, we'll be sending cars out onto the streets of SF — without gasoline and without anyone at the wheel," Cruise CEO Dan Ammann wrote in a Medium post. "Because safely removing the driver is the true benchmark of a self-driving car, and because burning fossil fuels is no way to build the future of transportation." Cruise is not the first company to receive such approval but it's a milestone in taking Cruise's privately operated fleet to a public level without having drivers — a goal of the company.

MIAMI – Carnival Corp. says it was the victim of a ransomware attack that likely got some personal information about the cruise company's guests and employees. Carnival operates Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line and other lines, but the company didn't say in the filing which cruise line was affected. The SEC filing also didn't say how many people's personal information may have been accessed, and spokesman Roger Frizzell said in an email that the company wasn't releasing any information other than what was in the securities filing. Carnival says it has launched an investigation into the ransomware attack and notified law enforcement. The Miami-based company also has reinforced the security of its information systems, Carnival said.

PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. – Port Canaveral this week implemented a massive staff cut, largely the result of the continuing shutdown in cruise ship sailings because of the coronavirus pandemic, News 6 partner Florida Today reports. Cruise lines have been idled since mid-March. The port employees who are furloughed will remain on furlough status through Nov. 30, Linden said. Linden said, while most of the port positions cut involved layoffs or furloughs, some involved positions in which employees retired or left the port to take another job, and their jobs were not filled. Take a live look at Port Canaveral with News 6′s live port cam.

(Reuters) - Developers of self-driving cars are amping up criticism of a California reporting requirement on test data, saying the data could mislead, as the state prepares to release the latest results for 2019. The debate is taking on more importance amid delays in the rollout of self-driving vehicles and concerns over a lack of regulation and the prospects for profitability for the companies that make such vehicles. The focus on disengagements when a human driver must take manual control from a self-driving system and the backlash from self-driving companies have been growing since the California Department of Motor Vehicles began releasing annual disengagement reports five years ago. California requires all companies testing self-driving vehicles on public roads to submit an annual report on disengagements and what caused them, written in plain language.In 2018, the companies with the most miles between disengagements were Alphabet Incs (GOOGL.O) Waymo and Cruise. Self-driving companies say the disengagement data can draw unfair comparisons between companies and their self-driving technology.

The driverless, electric shuttle, which GM is calling Origin, does not have manual controls such as pedals or a steering wheel. It is a production vehicle," Cruise CEO Dan Ammann said. Tuesday's event comes six months after Cruise delayed the launch of a commercial, self-driving vehicle service in San Francisco, which it had expected to deploy in 2019. Ammann, formerly president of GM, and GM CEO Mary Barra have said the launch of the company's self-driving vehicles would be "gated by safety." On Tuesday, Cruise did not give a specific timeline for start of production for Origin.

Cruise passengers held their breath as a 22.5 meter wide cruise liner became the largest boat to pass through Greece's narrow Corinth Canal, according to its operator. (Courtesy Fred.Olsen Cruise Lines)(CNN) - Cruise passengers held their breath as a 22.5 meter wide cruise liner became the largest boat to pass through Greece's narrow Corinth Canal, according to its operator. The Corinth Canal is a tidal waterway connecting the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf, dividing the Pelopnnisos from mainland Greece. "Today Braemar made history as the longest-ever ship to cruise through the CorinthCanal," Fred Olsen cruise liners said on social media. At 6.3km (3.9 miles) long, the Corinth Canal shortens the sea route from Italian ports to the port of Athens.

Cruise, the subsidiary of General Motors developing self-driving vehicles and services, said Wednesday it is postponing a plan to launch an autonomous ride-share service by the end of 2019. Cruise CEO Dan Ammann announced the delay in launching an autonomous ride-share program through a post on Medium. Since late 2017, Ammann and General Motors have said they plan to have an autonomous ride-share service on the road by the end of 2019. Late last year, Waymo, Alphabet's autonomous vehicle division, launched its own commercial ride-share service in metropolitan Phoenix. "I feel very confident predicting autonomous robotaxis for Tesla next year," Musk told analysts in May.