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AIDAcara reported sold to Russian interests

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 23 August 2021 23 August 2021

AIDAcara, which the Carnival Corporation & plc group recently sold to an undisclosed buyer, has been acquired by Russian intersts, Tradewindsnews.com reports.

The ship has been renamed Astoria Grande and is belived to have been acquired by private investors and managed by Mester Commercial in Limassol on Cyprus, the report said.

AIDAcara was the first ship of the Rostock based AIDA Cruises and entered service in 1996, when it was simply known as AIDA. It is measured at about 38,500 gross tons and was built in Finland.

“The Russian outbound travel market is huge, and many Russians cruise with foreign cruise lines, although they are always in the minority on board. It absolutely makes sense to have a ship dedicated exclusively to the Russian-speaking passengers,” a senior executive at a US-based cruise operator was quoted by Tradewindsnews as saying.

The ship has large food market type restaurants and only smaller table service facilities, which means that it has a smaller crew than a traditional ship of the same size.

Royal Caribbean Group refinances existing debt at lower rate

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 20 August 2021 20 August 2021

Royal Caribbean Group, the world’s second largest cruise shipping group, said it would use part of the $986 million senior note offering to refinance existing debt at a lower rate of interest.

The senior secured notes due 2026 the company has just issued carry a coupon of 5.50%.

The company said it would redeem 40% of the senior secured notes due in 2025 that carry a coupon of 11.50% by the proceeds of the latest note offering.

The 11.50% notes were offered in May last year and the principal amount of the offering was $2.32 billion, according to a statement the company issued at the time.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ flagship Bolette enters service

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 19 August 2021 19 August 2021

Bolette, the new flagship of Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines (FOCL), has sailed for its maiden voyage for the company from Dover, the company said in a statement.

Built as Amsterdam for Holland America Line in 2000 by Fincantieri, the 62,375 gross ton ship follows Borealis, the former Rotterdam, into service with FOCL.

The 1998 built Borealis that is measured at 61,849 gross tons started cruising from Liverpool last month.

The two ships replaced Black Watch and Boudicca, both built in the early 1970s, both of which had a gross tonnage of about 28,000.

EU demands emission free port calls from passenger ships from 2030

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 19 August 2021 19 August 2021

Passenger ships must use shore power when calling at ports in the EU from 2030 unless they can prove that they use another zero emission technology as propulsion.

This is part of a package called “Fit for 55” that the European Commission presented last month and which aim at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 to at least 55% compared to 1990 levels.

The package also includes an emissions trading system for the shipping industry, a maximum limit on the greenhouse gas intensity of energy used on-board and introduction of a minimum tax rate on certain fuels.

Norwegian Cruise Line welcomed first guests to its new cruise terminal at PortMiami

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 15 August 2021 15 August 2021

Norwegian Cruise Line today celebrated two history making milestones for the company: Norwegian Gem commenced voyages from the company's home city of Miami following a 17-month cruising suspension and the first guests were welcomed into its recently completed NCL Terminal at PortMiami.

Marking the third of the company's 17 ships to resume operations after Norwegian Jade from Athens on July 25, 2021 and Norwegian Encore from Seattle on Aug. 7, 2021, Norwegian Gem set sail today on a week-long voyage to the Caribbean with calls to Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; and Harvest Caye, the company's private resort destination in Belize.

"It has been an exhilarating few weeks as we relaunch our fleet, reunite with our shipboard families and welcome our guests back for their long-awaited cruise vacations," said Harry Sommer, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line. "I've been impressed and proud of how our global team and partners have come together to safely bring back cruising, an over $55 billion-dollar industry that positively impacts communities around the world."

Sommer continued, "Today is even more special as it is the first time we are relaunching from our hometown and from the new NCL Terminal at PortMiami. After many months, we are ready to deliver a safe and memorable experience for our guests at every step of their cruise journey."

Defining the Miami Skyline, the new NCL Terminal at PortMiami can accommodate cruise vessels carrying up to 5,000 cruise guests. The construction marvel was designed with sustainability at the forefront and was built to LEED Gold standards for optimizing energy, water efficiency, air quality and utilization of local materials and resources. In addition, approximately 90% of all subcontractors, vendors and suppliers were local to the region, reducing the carbon footprint of the project and encouraging local economic growth. Parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. recently also announced a partnership with Miami-Dade County to make the new state-of-the-art cruise terminal "Shore-Power Ready" by fall 2023.

Constructed by NV2A Group and Haskell, and designed by the Miami-based firm of Bermello Ajamil & Partners Inc., the approximately 188,000-square-foot building draws inspiration from a nautilus, with its spiraled and multi-level façade, opening to grand ocean and city views with approximately 122,000 square feet of energy-saving glass features. Its artistically designed exterior is complemented by a carefully curated collection of art throughout the complex as part of Miami Dade County Art in Public Places, a program dedicated to enriching the public environment and to preserving and enhancing the artistic and civic pride of Miami-Dade County.

Norwegian Gem is scheduled to sail a series of week-long voyages to the Caribbean and four-day cruises to the Bahamas through Oct. 17, 2021 before repositioning to New York for five to 11-night voyages to the Bahamas, Caribbean and Bermuda.