Various rumors and odd “news” as heard by the Cruise Industry News editorial team at the 2014 Cruise Shipping Miami conference.

Learn more about other Cruise Events including the Med, Asia and Latin America. Click here for details.

MSC Ship Announcement? Cruise Industry News expects an imminent announcement from MSC Cruises regarding its next ship generation. MSC has been known to roll out news in Miami. Stay tuned. Read our latest news on the ships here.

Pearl Seas – More Ships: With its first ship launching revenue service in June, Pearl Seas Cruises is poised to build more and slightly larger ships, sources familiar with the brand told Cruise Industry News.

South America: After much talk and build up – industry insiders are suddenly asking “why” in regards to South America’s cruise business. MSC has built up and is sustaining and pushing its share. Meanwhile Royal Caribbean remains at one ship, and Carnival’s Costa and Ibero brands are slimming down in the region.

River Cruise News: Multiple sources have pointed to a major river cruise operator entering the U.S. market, which has not traditionally supported successful ventures. American Cruise Lines remains the main (major) U.S. river operator, able to control costs carefully by building its own vessels.

Shorepower: After PR and media glitz, shorepower installations have gone quiet in Brooklyn, New York, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Will there be an update this week? Will more East Coast destinations look to add plug-in power following Charleston, Quebec and Montreal approving it? The estimated cost of an install is well into the seven figure range for a port. 

Good News ECA: After ECA exemptions were handed down from the EPA, Carnival Cruise Lines is heading back to Norfolk and Baltimore. The latter of which is filling up again with homeporting operations by both Carnival and Royal Caribbean. As Princess and Norwegian welcome in tonnage, could Baltimore be once again looking into a second terminal?