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PONANT appoints Hervé Gastinel as new CEO

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 09 March 2021 09 March 2021

PONANT has announced the appointment of Hervé Gastinel as CEO. Set to begin his role on March 29, 2021, PONANT begins a new chapter in its pursuit to become the market leader in luxury cruises and the world leader in sustainable tourism under the helm of Gastinel.

François Pinault, Artemis’ founder and manager, said, “I am delighted with the arrival of Hervé Gastinel. He is a true sailing enthusiast, who has all the skills to transform this wonderful company and facilitate the resumption of operations. After a difficult year, the next months will be decisive in accelerating PONANT’s development for the coming financial years.” He also made a point of thanking “the visionary creator who is Jean Emmanuel Sauvée,” the outgoing CEO of PONANT.

Hervé Gastinel is a true enthusiast of the sea and ships, having grown up near the sea with his mother, a philosophy teacher, and father, who was a shipbuilding engineer. A former officer-cadet and watch captain, he currently owns a yacht well-known on the regatta circuit and is an experienced deep-sea sailor. Prior to joining PONANT, Gastinel served as CEO at Beneteau group, world leader in pleasure craft, between 2015 and 2019, increasing its turnover from €970 million to more than €1.3 billion. According to French yachtsman, Loïck Peyron, “Hervé Gastinel is passionate about the sea and sailors, but he is also just as passionate about innovation and sustainable development, two key issues for tomorrow’s maritime transport sector.”

After studying management at ESSEC, finance at Dauphine and public management at Sciences Po and ENA, Gastinel worked on various projects at the General Inspectorate of Finance before becoming technical advisor to the President of the French Senate, where he was responsible for the economy, finance and new technologies. After his time at Saint Gobain as Planning and Strategy Director, he served as CEO at the building materials company Terreal, which has 25 manufacturing sites around the world, for 15 years before joining the Beneteau Group. He also remains Senior Advisor for the consulting firm EIM. Nicolas Hénard, the Chairman of the French Sailing Federation states that he is “a very special ENA graduate, who not only wields the full ENA toolbox but has the pragmatism of a skipper."

Commenting on his new role, Hervé Gastinel said, "Contributing to the restart and international development of PONANT in a sector undergoing rapid transformation is a great perspective. I look forward to joining the PONANT team, the employees on board as well as ashore, in France and abroad, and to continuing the great entrepreneurial adventure led by Jean Emmanuel Sauvée.”

For more than thirty years, PONANT, a subsidiary of Artemis since 2015, has taken its passengers to exceptional destinations by following the steps of the great explorers. The company continues to implement its strategy of innovation and excellence. Over the past five years, PONANT has doubled the size of its fleet, and will launch its thirteenth vessel this summer, Le Commandant-Charcot, the world’s first hybrid electric polar exploration vessel which will be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG).

UK domestic cruising can start 17 May

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 09 March 2021 09 March 2021

Domestic cruising from UK ports can start 17 May alongside of other domestic travel, a move that the cruise industry has welcomed.

“We strongly welcome the announcement that cruise will be included alongside the restart of other domestic tourism in the UK,” said Andy Harmer, director, CLIA UK & Ireland, in a statement.

“The industry has been working with the Government over the last year on health protocols which put the safety of our passengers and crew first. Many of these protocols have already been tested successfully where cruise has been able to operate elsewhere in Europe.”

"The industry has long planned a phased restart for cruise, with domestic cruises representing the first stage of this plan. We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with the Government, including through the Global Travel Taskforce in order to ensure the safe restart of international cruise in time for the summer season,” Harmer stated.

As per 7 March, 22.4 million people or roughly a third of the country’s population has received vaccination against Covid-19,media reports say.

Photo: Liverpool Pier Head

Cruise lines look alternative ways to offer Alaska vacations

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 08 March 2021 08 March 2021

While big cruise ships will not be able to visit Alaska in 2021, Sven-Olof Lindblad, chief executive officer of U.S.-flagged Lindblad Expeditions, says it will operate four vessels there this season.

Speaking at the Seatrade Cruise Virtual Expedition Cruising's State of the Expedition Cruise Industry today, Lindblad called for a suspension of the legislation that prevents foreign flag vessels from trading in US domestic trades as the Covid-19 pandemic is causing major disruption to the cruise industry in Alaska. However, he described the legislation as an “unmoveable rock” and noted that in the past, calls for its suspension or abolishment have not produced results.

The situation in the case of Alaska is complicated by the fact that the Canadian government in early February extended a ban for cruise ships carrying more than 100 passengers from operating in Canadian waters until the end of February 2022. Vancouver in British Columbia has traditionally served as either as a turnaround port, or together with the provincial capital Victoria as a port of call to allow foreign flag ships to operate cruises to Alaska.

In the meantime, two Carnival Corporation cruise lines will take an innovative, land-based approach to offering Alaska trips in the 2021 season. Princess Cruises and Holland America Line have decided to operate land tours in Alaska through Gray Line Alaska, Princess Alaska Lodges and Holland America Line's Westmark Hotels.

"We love Alaska, and we love that we get to share it with visitors from all over the world. We're committed to helping locals and visitors alike experience all the best parts of Alaska in a safe way," said Dave McGlothlin, Vice President, Tour Operations at Holland America Line. "For the last year, many people stayed close to home, so this summer, as we're able to reopen some of these land offerings, we are more ready than ever to welcome visitors back through our doors," he said in a statement.

Among the highlights for escorted tours will be the full eight-hour Tundra Wilderness Tour at Denali, where guests have opportunities to see the big five – grizzly bears, wolves, moose, caribou, and Dall sheep. Other included tours are the Portage Glacier Cruise near Anchorage and Riverboat Discovery excursion in Fairbanks. In addition, optional tours such as flightseeing around the mountain, river rafting, and more will be available to book at each hotel property.

In other news

Other panelists at today's State of the Expedition Cruise Industry, the first of a two day series of virtual panels and events, included Ponant's Herve Bellaiche, Abercrombie & Kent's Geoffrey Kent, Hurtigruten's Asta Lassesen and Silversea's Roberto Martinoli.

Martinoli shared an interesting economic insight. Despite their small size, expedition cruise ships can be highly profitable, he says, noting that they generate returns almost equal to those of mega cruise vessels, but they achieve this by higher per diems rather than by large volumes of passengers. In 2020, Silversea took delivery of its first-ever expedition newbuild. Silver Origin will sail year-round in the Galapagos.

Other panels sessions worth catching include Tuesday's line-up include Innovation in Expedition Ship Design https://seatradecruisevirtual.app.swapcard.com/event/seatrade-cruise-virtual-expedition/planning/UGxhbm5pbmdfMzA1NTEz

and Itinerary Planning and Shoreside Experience https://seatradecruisevirtual.app.swapcard.com/event/seatrade-cruise-virtual-expedition/planning/UGxhbm5pbmdfMzA1NTE2

Virgin Voyages names its third newbuild

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 08 March 2021 08 March 2021

It’s International Women’s Day today (8 March) and Virgin Voyages is introducing a new lady to its fleet. Resilient Lady is the cruise line's third ship and is due to set sail in 2022.

The past year has been filled with adversity and adaptation for everyone – but it’s no secret that women have been challenged to rise up more than ever during the pandemic. Virgin Voyages is announcing Resilient Lady on International Women’s Day to symbolise the spirit of its Lady Ships, and to celebrate women and their achievements, strength, leadership and resilience.

Resilient Lady has a bright future ahead of her, as Virgin Voyages’ second ship to sail the Mediterranean (after her sister ship Valiant Lady).

“Sailing in the Med is such an extraordinary experience, and we’re so excited to bring the adventure of a Virgin Voyage to this beautiful place,” said Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group. “I’m so proud of the incredible work the team has accomplished to introduce Resilient Lady.”

Virgin Voyages will offer two different voyages on Resilient Lady in the Med:

– Greek Isles Itinerary: Sailors will get the opportunity to immerse themselves in Greek history and culture in Athens before island-hopping to Santorini, Rhodes, Crete and Mykonos. The Greek Isles itinerary will feature an overnight stay in Mykonos, offering Sailors a premier location and access to the picturesque promenade

– Adriatic (with Greek Isles) Itinerary: Sailing out of Athens, Sailors will spend their second day at sea before docking in Dubrovnik the following morning. With a 2am departure from Dubrovnik, Sailors will have plenty of time to experience the rich history of Croatia during the day and take part in the active nightlife along the Adriatic Sea, before scenic sailing to Kotor, Corfu and Argostoli

“Welcoming Resilient Lady to our fleet and revealing these amazing itineraries sets the tone for the most memorable summer voyage,” said Tom McAlpin, CEO and President of Virgin Voyages. “We know the time to travel is on the horizon, and Virgin Voyages is here so that we can keep dreaming of irresistible vacations ahead.”

Resilient Lady is due to set sail in summer 2022.

Adria Bono joins Swan Hellenic as Destination Management Director

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 04 March 2021 04 March 2021

Today, Wednesday the 4rd of March, Swan Hellenic announced that its top management was being strengthened with the arrival of Adria Bono, bringing the cultural expedition cruise leader the connections and insight of twenty years’ unrivalled high-end excursions design and commissioning expertise in the luxury and expedition cruise markets.

Joining as Destination Management Director, Adria will work closely with Director of Expedition Operations Pierre Thomas to ensure that the expert lecture, expedition and excursion facets of Swan Hellenic’s cultural expedition cruises complement and enhance one another to the highest standards, providing guests with an exceptionally complete, insightful and enriching experience.

With an increasingly strong management team of top names in the high-end cruise industry, growing local market partnerships to provide close customer care, and an order book of three custom-designed expedition cruise ships all due for delivery on schedule, Swan Hellenic is clearly on track to deliver on its promise of an entirely new high-end cruise experience. Public enthusiasm is reflected in strong bookings for its maiden season, launching year-end 2021.

“We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Adria to the team. With her tremendous focus on quality of guest experience and strong relationships with leading excursion partners worldwide, nobody could be better placed to ensure our guests enjoy unforgettably insightful explorations ashore, fully in tune Swan Hellenic’s pioneering heritage,” explained Swan Hellenic CEO Andrea Zito.

Adria Bono commented: “I’m excited to join the dynamic, expert team bringing the Swan Hellenic vision of cultural expedition cruising to life across a distinctively stylish new five-star fleet. I look forward to contributing to the creation of a truly unique discovery experience.”