Ports & destinations

Visit Greenland launches a new website for cruise professionals

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 19 April 2012 19 April 2012

Visit Greenland, the national tourism board of Greenland, is proud to announce the launch of www.cruisegreenland.gl, a dedicated website for cruise professionals devoted to providing detailed information on cruise operations in Greenland.

Due to ever-increasing interest in serving Greenland as a port of call, Visit Greenland realized the need for a one-stop dedicated website for cruise professionals that offers everything necessary to add Greenland to a cruise itinerary.

The website features a calendar detailing the ships calling on each port daily during the tourism season, which in Greenland is typically from June to October. Furthermore, it contains rich content on each of the ports which can be called in all regions of Greenland, maritime operation information including berthing and arctic navigation information, a distance calculator to aid in the calculation of fuel consumption between ports and contact information to make adding calls in Greenland simple.

"We hope that cruise professionals will welcome and use the site for planning cruises to Greenland; and while we wouldn't say the site is perfect from the start, it contains all crucial information needed and contact information necessary for professionals to contact us or our partners in Greenland whenever necessary. That's what we're here for," says Senior Cruise Consultant of Visit Greenland Malik Milfeldt.

Visit Greenland is the national tourism board of Greenland and a government owned agency for the development of tourism in Greenland. We are dedicated to developing and promoting Greenland as an adventure and exclusive cruise destination through destination development, regional and national branding and innovation & product development.

Antigua Government retains Global Destinations Development for cruise port fitness test study

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 07 April 2012 07 April 2012

It was announced on April 4 at a press conference in Antigua that Saint John's Development Corporation has retained Miami-based http://www.globaldd.com/ to conduct its trademarked Cruise Destination Fitness Test for the Antigua and Barbuda government. Work began April 2 on the test, which will assess the Port of Antigua and Heritage Quay.

Established in February 1986, the St. John's Development Corporation, which falls under the Ministry of Tourism headed by the Hon. John Maginley, is the government department responsible for the enhancement and development of the City of St. John's, the principle commercial center of Antigua and Barbuda.

In addressing the need Minister Maginley stated, "I am very pleased to be able to allocate funding for the major part of this study in support of St. John's Development Corporation's joint plan with the Ministry of Tourism to chart a plan for our Cruise Business Development over the next 15 to 20 years."

Chairman of Saint John's Development Corp. Sylvester Brown said, "We plan to use the findings of the test to determine physical improvements to make Antigua an even more attractive destination for cruise lines."

Created by Michael Greve, president of Global Destinations Development, the Cruise Destination Fitness Test provides a realistic assessment of a port's prospects in the industry, including recommendations for improvement. The test analyzes major attributes that contribute to a cruise destination's success, including geographic location, docks, condition of the town, marketing attractiveness to cruisers and travel agents, direct costs of calling, on-board revenue potential, operations and guest satisfaction.

Greve said he anticipates the test will be completed by June, with St. John's Development Corp. to start implementing improvements later in the year.

Hamburg welcomes MSC Lirica

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 04 April 2012 04 April 2012

In the early morning hours of 2 April, the 'MSC Lirica' secured its moorings at its new home port. The symbolic presentation of the Hamburg admiralty plaque to the captain of the MSC Lirica, Captain Corrado Iaconis was undertaken by Harbour Master Jörg Pollmann from the Hamburg Port Authority. Also attending the reception were Pierfrancesco Vago, CEO of MSC Crociere S.A., Michael Zengerle, CEO of MSC Kreuzfahrten Deutschland GmbH and Senator Frank Horch, President of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Transport and Innovation.

A trip on the MSC Lirica is particularly suitable for those new to cruising as there are numerous 'mini-cruises' from Hamburg to Helgoland as well as three- to five-day short trips throughout Northern Europe on offer. 'In the coming season, all-in-all the 'MSC Lirica' is offering an exciting range of 21 different ports of call and route distances from the Hanseatic metropolis," explained Michael Zengerle during the on-board event. A fact that ably emphasises the diversity of the routings available from Hamburg.

The port of Hamburg is becoming increasingly important for MSC Cruises. In 2013, the MSC Magnifica, which was also christened in Hamburg and has a passenger capacity of around 2,518, will ultimately adopt Hamburg as its home port.

Senator Horch and Pierfrancesco Vago consider the cooperation between Hamburg and MSC to be highly beneficial for all those involved and are convinced that the coming years will see further development of the partnership.

'The MSC Magnifica was named in one of the finest cities in Germany. Hamburg is an important gateway to both Northern Europe and other cruise destinations. If for no other reason than that, I am convinced that relations between MSC and the City of Hamburg will progress to the mutual benefit of all," stated Vago.

Iconic Titanic Belfast opens its doors

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 05 April 2012 05 April 2012

The new Titanic Belfast visitor experience has opened to the public. The 14,000 sq m building, modelled on four ships’ hulls rising to the same height of Titanic and clad in almost 3,000 striking aluminium shards, was opened by Northern Ireland’s First and Deputy First Ministers, Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness. They were joined by 105-year-old Belfast man, Cyril Quigley, believed to be the last witness of RMS Titanic’s launch.

It’s expected that over 400,000 visitors, including 150,000 from outside Northern Ireland, will visit Titanic Belfast in its first year, with 100,000 tickets having already been pre-sold. The building includes nine interactive galleries looking at every aspect of the Titanic story and the Titanic Suite, a Titanic-themed banqueting venue with a 10,000 piece near replica of Titanic’s Grand Staircase.

Tickets are available via telephone on 028 9076 6399 or online at www.titanicbelfast.com ranging from £5pp for school groups through to £13.50 for adults. Discounts are available for online bookings.

Nestour named Vice President, Global Port and Destination Development – EuroMed Region for Carnival Corporation & plc

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 02 April 2012 02 April 2012

Michel Nestour has been appointed to the newly created position of vice president, global port and destination development - EuroMed region for Carnival Corporation & plc, the world's largest cruise operator.

In this capacity, Nestour is responsible for strategic corporate port and destination development initiatives within the EuroMed region, which includes the Mediterranean and Atlantic coast from Morocco and the Canary Islands in the south to Norway in the north and the Baltic Sea.

Nestour is based in Carnival Corporation & plc's office in Southampton, UK, and reports to Giora Israel, the company's senior vice president of global port and destination development.

Prior to joining Carnival, Nestour spent seven years at the London offices of Ernst & Young LLP working within the company's transaction advisory services division. He also served in the merger and acquisition division of Corus Group, Inc., a leading global steel and aluminum supplier, and held financial positions with global investment firms Schroder Salomon Smith Barney and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

"The EuroMed region continues to expand at a rapid pace and Michel brings a wealth of work experience and a unique set of skills that will allow us to enhance the numerous port and destination opportunities that exist within this area," Israel said.

A native of Lorient, France, Nestour earned degrees in economics and Spanish at the universities of Nantes in France and Valencia in Spain, respectively, as well as a masters of arts in banking and finance from the University of Wales' College of Bangor.

Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest cruise company in the world, with a portfolio of cruise brands in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Ibero Cruises, P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (UK).

Together, these brands operate 98 ships totaling 195,000 lower berths with 10 new ships scheduled to enter service between May 2012 and March 2016. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour company in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.