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

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Louis to Bari: Louis Cruises executives have revealed they will operate a series of cruises in October 2015 on the Louis Cristal from the Italian port of Bari. A new move for the line, Louis hopes to source Italian “drive-to” market passengers that want to visit Greece.

China Problems: China Cruise started and stopped with the Radisson Diamond, and HNA Cruises is well into its second year with the Henna – however – persistent rumors suggest sailing out of China with a sole ship is an unprofitable adventure.

Shore-Ex Night Tours: More shore excursion companies in Miami told Cruise Industry News  they are racing to come up with interesting night tours as more ships stay longer in port to cut down on fuel burn. In addition, hints from cruise lines have suggested more over-night stays developing in marquee destinations that can be combined with high-yielding tours. 

Oslo Plug-In: Oslo, Norway, is working closely with AIDA Cruises to plug-in cruise ships to the Norwegian power grid starting in 2015. Oslo is already equipped to provide shorepower to Color Line ferries at a dedicated ferry berth. AIDA’s ships will need frequency converters on top of plugs installed to successfully plug-in at a European port. 

Titanic Bust? More than a year ago, Clive Palmer hosted a memorable press conference announcing various details of the Titanic II build, and also noting a firm contract was weeks away. Since then, apart from hiring consulting companies and a design firm, and building a model for tank testing, no contract has been announced and the Australian hasn’t said much on the project for months. Calls and requests for comment to the shipyard continue to go unanswered.