Things To Do In SW Florida

With more room than its two sister ships, Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest vessel will feature several new and redesigned dining options when it arrives at Port Canaveral next spring.

Norwegian Aqua is the first of what the line is calling its Prima Plus class, 10% larger than 2021’s Prima and 2023’s Viva. The ship comes in at 1,056 feet long, 156,300 gross tons and a 3,571-passenger capacity based on double occupancy. That’s still smaller than the line’s popular Breakaway Plus class ships Escape, Joy, Bliss and Encore.

Still, the extra room means a shift of some returning venues found on Prima and Viva and the introduction of three new offerings.

At the top of the list is the line’s first dedicated Thai venue called Sukhothai, a specialty restaurant headed to Deck 17 with items such as Thai cashew chicken, salt and pepper prawns and Thai grilled steak salad. There also will be a variety of curries. The venue’s design comes from SMC Design firm out of London aiming to blend traditional and contemporary Thai elements, according to the line. read more

By DAVID KOENIG (AP Airlines Writer)

An engineer at Boeing said Wednesday that the aircraft company, in rushing to produce as many planes as possible, is taking manufacturing shortcuts that could lead to jetliners breaking apart.

“They are putting out defective airplanes,” the engineer, Sam Salehpour, told members of a Senate subcommittee.

Salehpour was testifying about Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, hundreds of which are in use by airlines, mostly on international routes. He spoke while another Senate committee held a separate hearing on the safety culture at Boeing.

The dual hearings were a sign of the intense pressure on Boeing since a door-plug panel blew off a 737 Max jetliner during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. The company is under multiple investigations, and the FBI has told passengers from the flight that they might be victims of a crime. Regulators limited Boeing’s rate of aircraft production, and even minor incidents involving its planes attract news coverage.

Salehpour alleged that workers at a Boeing factory used excessive force to jam together sections of fuselage on the Dreamliner. The extra force could compromise the carbon-composite material used for the plane’s frame, he said. read more

Orlando-based Red Lobster is considering whether to file for bankruptcy, according to Bloomberg, quoting unidentified sources familiar with the matter.

Red Lobster has been struggling financially for years. The company’s main investor, Thai Union, cut ties with the seafood chain earlier this year and said it would be looking for a buyer.

If it were to file for Chapter 11 restructuring, the company could continue to operate its 650 restaurants while it restructures its debt. Bloomberg reported that talks were ongoing and not yet final.

A $20 “endless shrimp” promotion that began last summer was so popular that it contributed to the company’s $11 million loss in the third quarter. Thai Union said the company would lose more than $20 million for the entire year.

Red Lobster has had three CEOs in the past two years.

When CEO Kelli Valade resigned in 2022 after just eight months at the helm, one industry analyst called the quick departure “very, very, very bad.”

The first Red Lobster was opened by Bill Darden in 1968 in Lakeland. In 1970, General Mills bought the chain and helped it to grow rapidly. read more