Royal Caribbean Returns to South America Cruising

Royal Caribbean International is returning to South America in winter 2009-2010 with nine 11- to 15-cruises aboard Radiance of the Seas. Bookings opened on Thursday.

Four-night pre- or post-cruise cruise-tours give guests the opportunity to explore Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Iguazu Falls along the Argentina and Brazil border.

Cruise-tours are escorted and include deluxe hotel accommodations, air and ground transfers, certain meals, and time for individual pursuits. Six cruises will go around the horn of South America and through the Straits of Magellan.

These 12- to 14-night itineraries alternate departures from Valparaiso, Chile, and Buenos Aires, featuring a cruise through the glacier-filled Chilean fjords, and a call at Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world.

Three sailings include a shipboard overnight in Buenos Aires at the beginning or end of the cruise.

An 11-night itinerary, departing on Feb. 10, 2010, features three days in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for Carnival. The cruise is round-trip from Buenos Aires and includes an overnight on the ship.

Two Pacific equatorial crossings sail from San Diego to Valparaiso on Nov. 21, 2009, and return on March 7, 2010.

Princess Announces Caribbean, Mexico Itineraries

Princess Cruises announced Tuesday a new season of cruises to the Caribbean and Mexico’s Riviera Maya.

In the Caribbean, Princess will sail six ships on 13 itineraries with 129 departures visiting more than 25 ports in the islands.

Ruby Princess will take over the line's 10-day eastern and southern Caribbean itineraries, offering some of the less-visited ports in the region.

Emerald Princess sails on the line's eastern Caribbean itinerary and Crown Princess will feature the western Caribbean with an enhanced itinerary now featuring the island of Roatan, Honduras.

Caribbean Princess continues to sail on alternating seven-day Southern Caribbean sailings from San Juan.

Grand Princess returns with an extensive 14-day Caribbean Collection route and Sea Princess will again sail on 14-day voyages from Barbados. Sapphire Princess will be sailing on the seven-day Mexican Riviera route from Los Angeles and Star Princess will be cruising on 10-day voyages from San Francisco.

Visit www.princesscruise.com

European River Cruises

Tour Europe's most vibrant cities and beautiful scenery on the intimate and luxurious setting of a small cruise boat.

Cruise Lines Raising - Adding Fuel Surcharges

Constantly rising oil prices continue to affect the cruise industry, influencing several lines to raise the per person fuel surcharge for upcoming trips.

After Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and NCL Corp. hiked their rates in April, several other cruise lines are following the trend.

Oceania Cruises will raise its fuel surcharge to $10 per person per day for all new reservations as of May 1. Oceania says the decision is in response to the "continually escalating price of fuel." The fuel surcharge, however, only applies to the first two passengers in the stateroom, not to third or fourth guests.

Even Mickey Mouse isn't immune to the affects of rising fuel prices.

Disney Cruise Line announced that it is implementing a fuel surcharge of $8 per person per day for the first two passengers in a stateroom, and $3 per person per day for any additional passengers in the stateroom. The supplement will be effective for new bookings made on or after May 28, 2008. In addition, the fuel surcharge will be capped at $112 each for first and second stateroom passengers and $42 for additional passengers. Disney Cruise Line advises travel agents to alert their clients to the now new additional fee before they book.

Meanwhile, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is upping its fuel supplement to $6.30 per person per night for the first two passengers in a stateroom and $2.70 per person per night for third and fourth stateroom occupants. The supplement's cap will be approximately $126 per passenger.

Supporters Plan Rally to Save Delta Queen

Supporters who want to save the Delta Queen riverboat are holding a rally at 12 noon on May 5 in Cincinnati at the National Steamboat Monument, just above the Public Landing, where the Delta Queen will be docked.

The Save the Delta Queen Campaign has scheduled speakers, including Gordon C. Greene, former vice president of Greene Line Steamers, as master of ceremonies; U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot, who has introduced a bill to allow the Delta Queen to operate after November; Dan Hurley, assistant vice president for history at the Cincinnati Museum Center; Alan Bernstein, owner of BB Riverboats and former Delta Queen crew member; and Mike Berry, president of the Kentucky Derby Festival.

Organizers say the Delta Queen is the last traditional steamboat carrying overnight passengers on America's inland waterways and has been designated a National Historic Landmark. In 1966, it was "inadvertently caught in the technical provisions of the Safety at Sea Act, which was intended to cover ocean-going ships, not riverboats.

Recognizing the difference between boats that operate on rivers, within yards of the shore, and ships that sail the high seas, Congress established an exemption for the Delta Queen in 1968. Since then, the exemption has been renewed nine times, in virtually every case by near-unanimous votes in both the House and the Senate," the campaign says.

Without congressional action, the current exemption will expire on Nov. 1. Bipartisan legislation to extend the exemption, H.R. 3852, was introduced by Chabot, a Republican from Ohio, on Oct. 16.

The bill remains in the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure because Committee Chairman James Oberstar of Minnesota "refuses to release it to the floor," the campaign says.

For more information, visit www.save-the-delta-queen.com