Jack Williams News

“DDG-51 hull form is maxed out in nearly every mission area. Meanwhile, the threat marches on.”Rear Adm. Paul Schlise, director for surface warfareThe U.S. Navy’s highly successful USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) surface combatant program is still going strong and growing in capability. Nearly 40 years later, new ships are still being built. But, the navy said, the ship cannot support the systems of tomorrow needed to meet the future threat.“DDG 51 has been in production for over 40 years with basically the same hull we started with in 1985…

Royal Caribbean International announced that Nordic Empress would delay its return to Philadelphia from Bermuda due to a storm that hit Bermuda Thursday night with wind gusts of 80 miles per hour. Royal Caribbean also canceled the next Nordic Empress sailing, scheduled to depart Sunday, October 14. Nordic Empress was docked at Bermuda's West End when the storm struck. made to delay the ship's normal departure from Bermuda, which would have been Friday morning. Nordic Empress is expected to depart Bermuda Saturday morning and arrive in Philadelphia by noon Monday. "The safety and comfort of our guests is always our highest priority," said Jack Williams, president of Royal Caribbean International. Guests booked on the cancelled October 14 cruise will receive a full refund.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. named Jack Williams president and chief operating officer of Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises. In his new role, Williams, previously president of Royal Caribbean International, will manage the day-to-day operations of both cruise lines. The two lines will continue to operate independently under Williams. Williams' appointment follows an earlier announcement that respected cruise veteran Richard Sasso, president of Celebrity Cruises, will resign from the company, effective January 1, 2002. spa facilities and cuisine," said Royal Caribbean Chairman and CEO Richard Fain. "He has built a solid framework for us to build from, and we will continue his legacy of excellence.

and Infinity, into unscheduled drydocks March 29 and April 13, respectively, to repair propulsion pods. Both ships are operating safely today but at a lower cruising speed. Summit will cancel a March 29 sailing from Fort Lauderdale, and an 11-night cruise April 8 will be shortened to a seven-night sailing April 12. Guests on the shorter voyage will receive a 50-percent refund. Infinity will miss her April 13 and 20 sailings from San Juan. In addition, Infinity will modify two itineraries. originally a roundtrip from San Juan, now will originate in San Juan and terminate in Fort Lauderdale. The April 27 Transcanal sailing, originally from San Juan to San Diego, now will operate from Fort Lauderdale to San Diego.

Celebrity Cruises' next ship delivery, Constellation, is returning to the builders' French shipyard, following sea trials, to correct a leak in its starboard propulsion pod. This delay in the ship's delivery will cause the cancellation of one chartered cruise, sailing May 5, 2002. The ship's builder, Chantiers de l'Atlantique, of St. Nazaire, France, will make immediate repairs to correct the leak, which is allowing seawater to enter the pod. "We apologize to our guests for this unexpected situation," said Jack Williams, president and chief operating officer of Celebrity Cruises. "We need to ensure that all aspects of a new ship are operating properly before we take delivery. The May 5 sailing was a seven-night charter to depart from Barcelona, Spain.

Celebrity Cruises' Constellation, the fourth in the top-rated premium cruise line's Millennium-class fleet, yesterday set sail from Barcelona, Spain, on her maiden voyage. The new vessel brings the Celebrity fleet total to nine ships, with more than 16,000 berths. "Constellation completes Celebrity's series of sleek Millennium-class vessels designed to provide our guests with extraordinary vacation experiences," said Celebrity Cruises President Jack Williams. liners. France, one of the most revolutionary vessels of the 1920s. with unparalleled service and cuisine," said Williams.

The Royal Caribbean International cruise ship Grandeur of the Seas experienced a loss of electrical power while approximately 7.5 miles outside of Curacao. "The ship's 2,040 guests and 842 crew members are in no danger," said Jack Williams, president of Royal Caribbean International. "Their safety and comfort are our first concerns. After the outage, the four-year-old ship was functioning on emergency generators. Air conditioning, lighting and plumbing functions were fully restored soon after. The company coordinated with local marine officials to have tugs tow the ship to the port of Willemstad, Curacao. Additional marine operations personnel are being flown on a chartered jet to Curacao to assist with repairs.

The Royal Caribbean International cruise ship Sovereign of the Seas made an unscheduled stop at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., this morning, to end its cruise due to a partial loss of electrical power at approximately last night. The ship was scheduled to terminate its cruise at 9 a.m. this morning in Port Canaveral. "All of our guests and crew are safe and comfortable," said Jack Williams, president of Royal Caribbean International. The ship, which held 2,478 guests and 920 crewmembers, was approximately 50 miles east of Fort Lauderdale when an electrical transformer on the port side of the ship failed, disrupting the distribution of power to certain areas of the ship.

The United States Coast Guard has recognized Celebrity Cruises for its superior environmental operations by awarding the cruise line its 2002 William M. Benkert Award For Environmental Excellence. environmental excellence. standards. The awardees are selected after a competitive evaluation process involving rigorous standards. "I could not be more proud of this accomplishment," said Jack Williams, president and chief operating officer of Celebrity Cruises. award so highly because it is presented by the Coast Guard, which oversees our activities on a daily basis. eight Benkert Awards presented this year. Of the eight award winners, only two companies ranked higher than Celebrity Cruises. Being the first cruise line in the world to use gas-turbine powered cruise ships.

Celebrity Cruises appointed senior marketer Steven Hancock to lead intensified marketing efforts for the premium brand. its customer base. Aug. 15. job. groups, with the sole focus of accelerating growth. praised by Forbes, Money, and Worth magazines. experience, and managing sales and acquisition. an excellent fit. expertise join Celebrity," he said. skills. organization. two corporate start-up ventures, Island Cruises and RCL (UK). will report directly to Williams in his new role. efforts," Williams said. meaningful brand in the marketplace.

The Serenade of the Seas’ atrium is among many of the exotic features aboard the latest addition to the RCCL fleet. The third of Royal Caribbean's Radiance-class ships, Serenade of the Seas will be named in NYC on August 22. At a ceremony today in Eemshaven, Netherlands, Royal Caribbean International added Serenade of the Seas to its fleet. The 2,110-guest ship, built at Meyerwerft Yard in Papenburg, Germany, will be the first Royal Caribbean ship to sail an inaugural season from New York City, as well as the first to offer Canada itineraries from The Big Apple. "Serenade of the Seas is one of the most beautiful ships we've introduced to date," said Jack Williams, president and chief operating officer for Royal Caribbean International.

Celebrity Cruises filed a $300 million lawsuit today against Rolls Royce and Alstom Power Conversion, co-producers of a ship pod- propulsion system, to recover lost revenue and costs associated with failing pods. The lawsuit was filed in state court in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The lawsuit charges that the Rolls Royce and Alstom Power Conversion pods, brand-named Mermaid, have failed repeatedly, resulting in cancelled cruises and thousands of disappointed guests. These recurring failures cost the company hundreds of million of dollars, for which the lawsuit seeks restitution. Mermaid pods are installed on four Celebrity ships -- Millennium, Summit, Infinity and Constellation.

Cruise + Ferry 2003, which is set for London's Grand Hall, Olympia, from May 13-15, will be the 10th biennial exhibition and conference in a series ranked as the passenger shipping industry's premier technical and operations event.The extended format introduced in 2001 - which helped to attract more than 350 exhibitors and 3,500 professionals from 50 countries - is being retained with major maritime hotel content in the trade fair and conference program as well as a gala dinner marking the second Cruise + Ferry Awards. In a new feature, a special arena within the exhibition hall will be available for company and product presentations.

Celebrity Cruises is canceling two cruises on Infinity to replace ball-bearing units in the ship's propulsion system. The ship must enter drydock to replace the bearings, which will result in the cancellation of its February 2 and February 13 sailings. expected to return to its scheduled sailings on February 23. Mexico, to Hawaii. Hawaii to Ensenada. trans-Canal sailing that ends in San Diego Sunday. Year's sailings. rebooking fee per cabin when their clients reschedule their cruise. Celebrity Cruises. the ship to an unscheduled drydock. agents with rebooking, air transportation and other issues. 1-888-701-7192.

Alaska filed a civil suit on Aug. 13 against Royal Caribbean Cruises, accusing the company of dumping oil and other hazardous wastes into state waters after the firm pleaded guilty to federal criminal pollution charges. Royal Caribbean pleaded guilty last month and was fined $18 million for 21 felony counts of violating federal water pollution laws in areas ranging from the Caribbean to Alaska’s Inside Passage. Attorney General Bruce Botelho said the state filed a civil case in Superior Court in Juneau because Royal Caribbean’s previous guilty pleas precluded Alaska from lodging its own criminal case against the firm for dumping oil, photo chemicals and other wastes into Juneau’s harbor and other state waters.

The president of Royal Caribbean International toured ports of call in Alaska on Friday to apologize in person for the pollution of the state's waters by the cruise line's ships. Royal Caribbean last month agreed to pay a record-high $18 million fine to U.S. authorities for dumping oily bilge and chemical wastes at sea, as well as into U.S. ports and wild waterways. The line plead guilty to 21 felonies, including falsifying logs and lying to the U.S. Coast Guard, and admitted Royal Caribbean ships were rigged with secret bypass pipes, which were used to dump used dry-cleaning chemicals and other waste. The fine, the highest ever assessed by a cruise line for polluting U.S. waters, followed $9 million in fines Royal Caribbean agreed to pay in 1998.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the world's second-largest passenger cruise line, was fined $6.5 million on Oct. 21 for dumping oily bilge water and other pollutants into Alaskan waters. "I find the circumstances of this case truly egregious," U.S. District Judge John Sedwick said in handing down the sentence. "What happened is inexcusable. Sedwick placed the Miami-based cruise line on five years' probation and ordered Royal Caribbean to adhere to stringent environmental oversight, within the company and on every cruise ship. Quarterly reports are to be filed to several federal agencies, including the Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency. The court suspended $3 million of the fine in return for prompt payment of the remainder, a U.S. attorney said later.

With the success of Sovereign of the Seas at Port Canaveral since May 2000, Royal Caribbean International has chosen to homeport its newest and largest vessel in the Central Florida market. “The addition of the Royal Caribbean’s largest-class cruise ship firmly establishes Port Canaveral as the location of choice for cruise lines wanting to tap into the lucrative drive-to Greater Orlando vacation market,” says Malcolm “Mac” McLouth, executive director of the Canaveral Port Authority. Still under construction in Finland, the 3,114-passenger Mariner of the Seas will begin sailing from Port Canaveral in November 2003, alternating seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries with Sunday departures.

Celebrity Cruises has been honored by Lloyd's List for building the world's first smokeless gas turbine-powered cruise ship. The recognition came during Lloyd's biennial Shipbuilding, Machinery and Marine Technology (SMM) International Trade Fair in Hamburg, Germany. The event concluded with the presentation of the Lloyd's List-SMM 2002 Awards. Awards were presented for excellence and innovation in merchant shipbuilding, merchant marine technology and machinery, and naval shipbuilding and marine technology. Of the 13 awards presented, Celebrity's Millennium was the winner in the Innovation in Shipbuilding - Passenger Ship category. gas-turbine engines.