Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. changes leadership in Singapore

Details

Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: More News More News

Published: 24 July 2015 24 July 2015

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announces the appointment of Sean Treacy as Managing Director Singapore & South East Asia, replacing Jennifer Yap who has resigned due to family commitment.

Yap is leaving the company after an office tenure of over eight years. During her leadership, the company’s business in the region has grown over 10-fold and she oversaw the deployment of the region’s largest Voyager Class and Quantum Class ships to Southeast Asia. She is also the Secretary General of CLIA Southeast Asia.

Treacy will take up the role of Managing Director, Singapore & South East Asia for the brands Royal Caribbean International and Azamara Club Cruises, effective August 1, 2015, based in the Singapore office. Having been with the organisation since 2006, he has held a variety of roles within the company, with a focus on Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises in the areas of revenue management and global deployment. His current position is Regional Commercial Director Asia-Pacific, overseeing revenue, deployment, sales, marketing and PR across Australia and New Zealand, based in Sydney. Prior to his time at Royal Caribbean, Treacy has worked for United Airlines where he held numerous roles in Sales and Revenue Management. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a B.A. in Finance and Spanish Literature. Treacy will report to Gavin Smith, Regional Vice-President Asia-Pacific.

Sea Cloud reaches the grand age of 85

Details

Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: More News More News

Published: 23 July 2015 23 July 2015

Sea Cloud Cruises, the Hamburg operator of small, fine sailing cruises will add an exclusive anniversary trip next year to celebrate the 85th birthday of their windjammer legend Sea Cloud. Throughout the cruise, lecturer Patricia Witzigmann will be on board to bring to life the 85 years of her moving history.

Sea Cloud was built to plans drawn up by the renowned American design offices of Gibbs & Cox at the Germania shipyard in Kiel in 1931, for and on behalf of Wall Street broker Edward Hutton. She was initially christened "Hussar". Edward Hutton's wife Marjorie Merriweather Post, heiress to a fortune and a successful business woman, determined the character of the Tall Ship which has been on the high seas for 85 years. Since 1979, the formerly glamorous private yacht has been a cruise ship travelling the oceans around the Mediterranean, the Lesser Antilles, the Grenadines and Central America with a maximum of 64 guests on board.

On her 85th birthday, Sea Cloud will sail together with her younger sister Sea Cloud II to the Iberian coast where they will travel together on a common course for 5 days. The trip starts in Lisbon on the Tagus. What a sight to behold then, Sea Cloud and Sea Cloud II sailing majestically along in front of Belem Tower, a World Heritage Site.

After a day at sea, where the sailing sisters may even compete, they arrive in Cadiz, one of the oldest cities in Europe. In addition to a beautiful cathedral and baroque buildings there are many cosy tapas bars. The wine and sherry cellars of Jerez de la Frontera are just a stone's throw away.

They continue to Malaga with its beautiful old town and botanical gardens. The highlight of the day: Sea Cloud II will invite all the guests of Sea Cloud on a ship’s tour. After another day at sea, Sea Cloud and Sea Cloud II must say ‘au revoir’ to each other in Valencia, as Sea Cloud II sets course for the Balearic Islands.

For the guests of the birthday girl Sea Cloud and the culmination of the anniversary tour: there will be a special evening in Barcelona exclusively for guests of Sea Cloud set in a masterfully designed building by the architect Antonio Gaudí. There will be a cocktail reception and a concert in these special surroundings.

When we sail: Sea Cloud, Lisbon - Barcelona, ​​20th to 27th April 2016, from € 2,995 per person in a twin outside cabin or Sea Cloud II, Lisbon - Palma de Mallorca, 20th to 28th April 2016, from € 2,995 per person in a twin outside cabin.

Since 1979, Sea Cloud Cruises has been one of the top names in the world of cruising. The 84-year-old four-master Sea Cloud and her younger sister Sea Cloud II are regularly elected among the top five boutique ships by the Berlitz Cruise Guide.

Princess Cruises announces exclusive celebrity Chef partnership with Curtis Stone

Details

Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: More News More News

Published: 23 July 2015 23 July 2015

 Princess Cruises today announced a new exclusive partnership with esteemed restaurateur, New York Times bestselling author and television personality Chef Curtis Stone. This collaboration will serve up new culinary offerings designed by Chef Stone, dedicated to fresh flavorful cuisine, ultimately creating memorable experiences as guests travel the world.
 
Internationally known, Chef Stone began his cooking career at the age of 18 in his homeland of Australia and later honed his skills at Michelin-starred restaurants in London. He has appeared on a number of top-rated cooking programs, most recently starring as a mentor on Food Network’s All-Star Academy and is host of the Network’s brand-new show Beach Eats (premiering August 12). His first solo restaurant, Maude, opened to rave reviews in Beverly Hills, Calif. in 2014 from respected outlets such as Time, Travel +Leisure, Eater LA, Los Angeles Magazine, Angeleno and more. Curtis is also a New York Times bestselling author, having written six cookbooks, his most recent Good Food, Good Life.
 
Guests will be invited to enjoy three special offerings developed by Chef Stone, available only on a Princess cruise vacation, including:

– “Crafted by Curtis” menu items available in the main dining room across the entire fleet
– A new specialty restaurant concept and menu designed by Chef Stone
– A special Chef’s Table by Curtis Stone experience

This new partnership adds to the cruise line’s "come back new" brand promise, designed to elevate the onboard guest experience. “Crafted by Curtis” menu items offered in the main dining rooms will debut  aboard Golden Princess in the fall and roll out fleet-wide through the end of 2015. Chef Stone’s first restaurant at sea will debut in December aboard Emerald Princess, sailing from Ft. Lauderdale to the Caribbean and Ruby Princess, sailing from Los Angeles on cruises to Hawaii and Mexico. The rollout will continue on Coral Princess cruising the Panama Canal and then Sun Princess, which will bring Chef Stone’s restaurant to his home country, Australia. Curtis Stone’s Chef’s Table experience will debut across the fleet beginning in early 2016.
 
“We take tremendous pride in preparing and serving our guests freshly made dishes served with passion and care,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises president. “This is an exciting step for Princess and sure to delight our guests since Chef Stone also believes that great meals bring people together to create lifelong memories, much like travel.”
 
She added, “This partnership will appeal to Princess guests around the world and most certainly to those enjoying Australia-based cruises since Chef Stone hails from Oz and is incredibly popular in his homeland.”  
 
“Just the word ‘cruise’ puts me in my favorite mood – relaxed. Princess Cruises is known for visiting great worldwide destinations - I’m set on bringing a new culinary experience to the sea to enhance and complete a cruise vacation,” said Chef Curtis Stone. “Since I travel often, I know that discovering delicious food and sharing a great meal can create some of the most memorable moments and I’ve designed my restaurants with this in mind. It’s important to me that guests have the experience that I would want and food that I’d be thrilled to eat myself, at sea or anywhere else in the world,” added Stone.
 
More program details, including the menu items, specialty restaurant name and concept, as well as a complete roll out schedule will be announced shortly. For more information, visit www.princess.com/curtis-stone.

MSC Cruises launches new guest loyalty program

Details

Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: More News More News

Published: 21 July 2015 21 July 2015

MSC Cruises, the world’s largest privately-owned cruise line, announced yesterday the launch of MSC Voyagers Club, the company’s new loyalty program, that provides increased benefits to members.

MSC Voyagers Club replaces MSC’s former loyalty program, MSC Club, and is designed to reward MSC’s repeat customers and reinforce the company’s consistent commitment to offer guests an exceptional all-around experience before, during and after their cruise.

Joining the MSC Voyagers Club is free of charge, and guests are now able to join a “Welcome Level” before taking their first cruise – all that is needed is a confirmed booking. Other levels of the five-tiered membership program include Classic, Silver, Gold and Black. Personalized cruise cards will be provided to MSC Voyagers Club members directly on board at the beginning of each sailing with their membership level.

As part of the new program, MSC has revamped its points structure so that guests now earn points according to the inclusive experience booked (Bella, Fantastica, Aurea or MSC Yacht Club) as well as length of stay. In addition, points are rewarded for onboard spend as well as pre-paid services, such as shore excursions, spa treatments and beverage packages.

Another major benefit of the new program is that all MSC Voyagers Club members will have exclusive access to significant discounts on future cruises.  Starting July 20, 2015, members will receive a 5 percent discount on all cruise departures (with the exception of the Welcome level). In addition, MSC will make available a broad array of select cruises, called Voyages Selection, that offer an extra 15 percent off – meaning that all members could receive up to a total of 20 percent off future cruises. And to sweeten the deal for higher-tier members, when booking a cruise from the Voyages Selection, Silver, Gold and Black level members will receive $50 of onboard credit per person. A complete list of Voyages Selection cruises can be viewed at: http://bit.ly/VoyagesSelection

The range of other privileges extended to MSC Voyagers Club members includes, among others, an invite to a welcome back cocktail party, complimentary basket of fresh fruit in the stateroom and exclusive onboard offers with discounts on items such as internet packages, spa treatments, logo shop items, in-stateroom movies, photos, and the minibar.

Top tier members also enjoy added benefits such as priority boarding, priority disembarkation in ports where a tender boat is required, late stateroom check out when the ship returns to port, an invite to a private Black Card member party, complimentary spumante with chocolate-dipped fruit in the stateroom, increased onboard discounts, free one-hour thermal area session in MSC Aurea Spa, and complimentary dining in a specialty restaurant. A full list of onboard privileges by level can be found at: http://www.msccruisesusa.com/us_en/MSC-Voyagers-Club/Membership-Benefits.aspx

Loyalty match

Recognizing that many travellers have built up loyalty with other travel reward programs, MSC Cruises is also launching a loyalty match program in which frequent travellers who have a rewards card from another travel land or sea program can now receive instant status and perks with MSC. After signing up for MSC Cruises’ Voyages Club, guests who participate in other leisure travel programs will automatically acquire similar or higher status with MSC and be enrolled in the Classic, Silver, Gold, or Black level. In addition, these travellers will automatically receive the 5 percent discount on any booking given to MSC Voyagers Club members and can also take advantage of the discounts associated with Voyages Selection.