Various news, rumors and notes as heard by the Cruise Industry News editorial team on Tuesday in Ft. Lauderdale.

• Check out our 2016 State of the Industry Report from the main panel at the show here.
• Five Years Ago: 2011 State of the Industry.

• Ten Years Ago: 2006 State of the Industry.
• The 11th Annual China Cruise and Yacht Industry Association conference will be held in Tianjin, Sept. 23-25.
• Carnival Corporation’s global deployment committee had a 10-hour meeting scheduled at a nearby hotel on Monday. With over 100 ships, Carnival’s brands are said to be working closer than ever to optimize deployment and not compete with one another.
• United States Virgin Islands Governor Kenneth Mapp told Cruise Industry News he envisions visitors not having a USVI experience, but instead experiential visits to St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John. There are major infrastructure improvements coming in St. Thomas and St. Croix, as well as a new one-tariff strategy in St. Thomas to keep competition between two port operators to a minimum.
• Italian classification society RINA announced its acquisition of a stake in IB Srl. The RINA Group will acquire a minority equity stake in IB, an Italian asset management software solutions “This long-standing cooperation focuses on providing the shipping industry with a unique asset management software solution and a range of additional services for cruise ships,” said RINA in a prepared statement.
• The media room has upped its game, now serving Starbucks coffee to members of the press as well as bloggers, and backed up by an enthusiastic staff.
• Secrets: The mysterious world of off-the-record and lengthy meetings continues this year, utilizing the back rooms in the convention center and hotel suites within walking distance.
• CLIA announced Monday that Cindy D’Aoust has been appointed president and CEO. The executive has been in an acting/interim role since last summer, following the resignation of Thomas Ostebo. D’Aoust becomes the fourth president of the industry trade, lobby and marketing group since 2010.
• Fathom President Tara Russell has been named the recipient of the 2016 “Enterprising Women Advocacy Award,” an annual tribute to the world’s top women entrepreneurs, according to a prepared statement.
• It was an impressive effort by Port Everglades to turn what is the baggage area of one of its terminals into a state-of-the-art venue for Tuesday’s State of the Industry panel discussion.
• The number of press releases sent out by ports and suppliers looking to do business in the cruise world may have reached a new height on Monday. Did any news make it through all the noise?