The line today canceled five more sailings of the vessel so it can undergo repair work at a shipyard in the Bahamas and said the ship wouldn’t return to service until July 12.

Royal Caribbean already had canceled a sailing on the ship scheduled to begin on May 31. The new cancellations affect sailings scheduled to depart on June 7, 14, 21 and 28, and on July 5.

Royal Caribbean also said the incident will reduce the earnings of parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises by 10 cents a share, or about $22 million. The announcement came after trading closed on Wall Street.

This is an excerpt from USA TODAY as it appeared on May 31, 2013. For updates or to read the current version of this post in its entirety, please click here.

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NEW YORK, May 23, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The “EXPERIENCE NISI” global tour will see NISI 2400 make a final debut at ports in New York City, Stamford, Newport, Sag Harbor and Nantucket, where acclaimed yachtsmen report NISI Yachts will feel right at home.

Outfitted and cared for by the company’s CEO, this is an opportunity for a first owner to acquire her following her Northeast-USA introduction.

NISI Yachts has been widely praised for groundbreaking designs, which infuse casual opulence, legendary styling and unsurpassed engineering in vessels including this 78-foot (24-meter) megayacht. From a design perspective, she elicits the experience of discovering the perfect beach club, with seamless flow between indoor and outdoor spaces. NISI sleeps up to eight guests in four beautiful staterooms, each with en-suite head, with additional quarters for two crew members.

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The Mayor of Atlanta Kasim Reed took a few minutes from running the city on May 28, 2013, to meet with Caribbean cultural ambassadors, including Miss Universe Bahamas Celeste Marshall, Rake ‘n’ Scrape artist Stilleet, and from the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, soca artist Jah Bami.

WASHINGTON, May 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — According to a new global analysis led by researchers at the University of British Columbia and other scientists, shark watching is a major economic driver for dozens of countries, generating $314 million annually. Citing the study’s projections that shark-related tourism could more than double within 20 years, generating over $780 million annually, The Pew Charitable Trusts is calling for greater protections for sharks through the designation of sanctuaries around the world.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click here.

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Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe has said that a new operator to run the casino at Grand Lucayan in Freeport could be announced in the next couple of weeks. Watch a ZNS Network report here.
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A delegation of government officials, students and industry professionals will be attending Caribbean Week in New York City next week. Watch an interview with Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe ahead of the event.
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Prime Minister Perry Christie presents the 2013/14 Budget Communication in the House of Assembly May 29, 2013. (BIS Photo/Peter Ramsay)

Prime Minister Perry Christie said the Department of Statistics recently reported that the expansion of real GDP continued on a stable, though still modest, course in 2012.

“The economy grew by 1.8 per cent in real terms last year, in line with the 1.7 per cent growth registered in 2011, but below the 2.5 per cent rate projected in the 2012/13 Budget Communication,” the Prime Minister said as he presented the 2013/14 Budget Communication in the House of Assembly, May 29, 2013.

He noted that this clearly has had significant negative implications for the government’s Recurrent Revenue collections, as was highlighted in the Mid-Year Budget Statement.

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Prime Minister Perry Christie delivered the 2013/14 Budget Communication in the House of Assembly May 29.
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Prime Minister Perry Christie presents the 2013/14 Budget Communication in the House of Assembly, May 29, 2013. (BIS Photo/Peter Ramsay)

The broad thrust of the government’s growth strategy includes diversifying the key tourism and financial services industries, as well as the overall economy, partly through the promotion of innovation in high value-added products, Prime Minister Perry Christie said.

The government also seeks to foster linkages between sectors and to identify and remove impediments to growth, particularly in the business environment, the Prime Minister added as he presented the 2013/14 Budget Communication in the House of Assembly, May 29, 2013.

“More specifically in the tourism area, the government is allocating $10 million in 2013/14 to marketing the new Baha Mar resort development at Cable Beach.”

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Minister of State for Finance Michael Halkitis said this week that the “revenue enhancement measures will not crimp the economy, but provide a more equitable tax burden.”
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