Latest news with #FreedomoftheSeas
Business Wire
09-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Fairbanks Morse Defense Names Steve Pykett as Chief Executive Officer
BELOIT, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Fairbanks Morse Defense, a leading OEM and aftermarket provider to a large installed base of mission-critical marine technologies, today announced the appointment of Steve Pykett as Chief Executive Officer. Steve brings more than 25 years of experience in the aerospace and defense industry. Most recently, he served as President of Investment Castings at Precision Castparts Corp. (PCC), where he drove significant growth across a global operation spanning more than 30 international sites and over 7,000 employees. Prior to PCC, Steve served in senior leadership and engineering roles at L3Harris Technologies, GKN Aerospace, and Rolls-Royce. 'Steve has an exceptional track record of leading and scaling complex aerospace and defense manufacturing operations,' said a representative for the company. 'We welcome him to the Fairbanks Morse Defense team and are confident that under his leadership the company will further enhance its vital role in strengthening the U.S. maritime defense infrastructure.' Steve commented, 'I'm honored to lead this next chapter of innovation and growth alongside incredible employees whose expertise, pride, and dedication are the foundation of our mission to ensure Freedom of the Seas.' About Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD) Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD) builds, maintains, and services the most trusted naval power and propulsion systems on the planet. For nearly 100 years, FMD has been a principal supplier of a growing array of leading marine technologies, OEM parts, and turnkey services to the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, Military Sealift Command, and Canadian Coast Guard. FMD stands ready to rapidly support the systems that power military fleets without compromising safety or quality. In times of peace and war, the experienced engineers, sailors, and technicians of FMD demonstrate our commitment to supporting the mission and vision of critical global naval operations wherever and whenever needed. FMD is a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management. To learn more, visit .
New York Post
22-04-2025
- New York Post
Award-winning Caribbean beach destination dropped from cruise itineraries due to new safety fears
Cruisers headed to the Caribbean are steering clear. Royal Caribbean is updating its itinerary to drop an award-winning port from upcoming sailings due to safety concerns regarding escalating gang violence and political instability. 3 Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas in the vicinity of Labadee, Haiti. © 2011 Michel Verdure Labadee, a private Royal Caribbean destination on the northern coast of Haiti, will be temporarily removed from cruise routes, and excursions to Haiti have been suspended. 'Out of an abundance of caution, we have temporarily paused our upcoming visits to Labadee. We have already communicated with guests directly,' Royal Caribbean said in a statement to Travel + Leisure. 3 Labadee, Haiti, will be temporarily removed from Royal Caribbean cruise routes. – Labadee has long been a popular stop on Royal Caribbean cruises, with access to Haiti's beautiful beaches as well as more adventurous activities such as zip lining over the ocean, a rollercoaster, waterslides and a water trampoline. Haitian vendors — who depend on tourists and cruise stops — were notified of the decision last week. This is the second time in one year that the cruise line removed Haiti from its Caribbean stops. Royal Caribbean also suspended stops to their private beach resort last summer through September 2024, at the time pointing to the 'safety and security of our guests, crew, and communities.' 3 Labadee has long been a popular stop on Royal Caribbean cruises. Thenhan – It's unclear at this time when or if the cruise line will resume trips to Labadee, which was deemed the best beach for families by T+L in August 2024. Royal Caribbean's sister line, Celebrity Cruises, already removed the stop from its itinerary weeks ago, The Miami Herald reported. The U.S. Department of State has issued a travel advisory to Haiti with a Level 4 rating, meaning do not travel. The agency cited 'kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and limited health care.' 'The U.S. government is very limited in its ability to help U.S. citizens in Haiti. Local police and other first responders often lack the resources to respond to emergencies or serious crime,' the advisory warns.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Royal Caribbean makes a huge casino and loyalty program change
All Royal Caribbean cruise ships offer a Casino Royale onboard casino. And regardless of the size of the ship, the spaces are generally divided into a smoking side and a non-smoking side. In reality, however, the entire main casino is a rather smoky environment. It's not uncommon to see someone with a lit cigarette walking through the non-smoking side of the casino, and there's no physical barrier separating the two sides. So, some smoke travels throughout the some of the cruise line's modern (and more recently renovated) ships, there is an entirely separate non-smoking casino. For example, the cruise line replaced the Vintages wine bar on the Royal Promenade aboard Freedom of the Seas with a non-smoking casino space. Royal Caribbean's extremely popular Oasis class and Icon class mega-ships feature non-smoking casinos. On the Oasis class ships, the nonsmoking casinos are located towards the back of deck four. The casino space was purpose-built on Wonder of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas, the two newest ships in the class, and the same locations (which used to be the Jazz on 4 venue) were renovated into casinos on other ships in the to several social media sources (and one cruise line source) and on-site reports, the non-smoking casino space on the cruise line's newest ship in service, Utopia of the Seas, is getting significantly bigger. When the renovations are complete, the non-smoking casino will occupy the existing casino space, as well as the spaces currently occupied by the Attic (comedy theater) and Crown Lounge (for Royal's higher-level loyalty members). As a result of the changes, the Crown Lounge is moving to Deck 16, a move that will likely make Diamond and higher-level members happy, taking some of the space occupied by the teen club. Attic comedy shows will simply move to the Royal Theater. As far as the timeline is concerned, the non-smoking casino will temporarily move into The Attic by May 9, and the full, expanded space will be open in the May 30-June 2 timeframe. And to clarify, the Crown Lounge will not close during the renovation at all. The new location will be ready to open by the time the existing space is needed. The same changes are also reportedly planned for Wonder of the Seas, but are scheduled to take place over the summer, and will be ready before the ship switches from week-long itinerary to 3- and 4-night cruises later this year. We reached out to Royal Caribbean for comment on the changes but had not received a reply as of this writing. To be sure, if you've cruised on Wonder of the Seas or (especially) Utopia of the Seas, it's easy to understand why the expansion is a smart move. On a September 2024 sailing of Utopia that I was on, it was difficult to find any open slot machine in the casino on all three evenings of the cruise. More Royal Caribbean news:It's unclear whether other Oasis-class ships will get the same changes. Utopia and Wonder are the mega-ships scheduled for shorter itineraries where the casino tends to be busier, so it makes sense to start with them. Many cruisers believe that the larger (main) casino should be the non-smoking space, with a smaller smoking room. Virgin Voyages uses a setup like this, so it wouldn't be completely unprecedented. But Royal Caribbean's management has stated numerous times that every time they test going completely non-smoking in the casino, revenue falls. With that in mind, a greatly expanded, completely separate non-smoking casino could be the next best thing. A common complaint is that while there non-smoking casino is nice to have, the small size prevents it from having nearly as much of a selection of gaming machines and tables as the main casino, so this could help alleviate the problem. (The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.) , or email Amy Post at or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
