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UK market priority for MSC Cruises – Paradiso

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 10 September 2019 10 September 2019

The UK market is a priority for MSC Cruises, which is the fourth largest cruise shipping group in the world, the company’s UK managing director said, as the company unveiled lengthening and upgrading of MSC Magnifica and operating the ship out of Southampton in 2021.

“The UK market is a priority for MSC Cruises and we have shown our commitment consistently over the last few years. Firstly, with our first ever full ex-UK season in 2018, then with the naming of MSC Bellissima in Southampton in March this year and now with another full EX-UK season on a newly refurbished and enhanced ship with brand new itineraries created specifically with the British holidaymakers in mind,” said Antonio Paradiso Managing Director of MSC Cruises UK & Ireland, in a statement.

The 24 sailings from Southampton beginning in May and ending in October will see the introduction of cruises ranging from 2 to 14 nights with brand new varied itineraries encompassing Canary Islands & Madeira, the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and the Baltic Capitals. Most of the 24 sailings will begin on a Saturday ensuring guests can make the most of their holiday experience.

Other cruises include a 12-night cruise that calls at three of the Canary Islands - Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Lanzarote and a 14-night Western Mediterranean cruise in August, including popular destinations for UK guests such as Palma de Mallorca and Monte Carlo will be the perfect choice for the family summer holiday.

MSC Magnifica will offer four different stunning Norwegian Fjord itineraries and will call at two brand new destinations; Skagen in Denmark renowned for hours of sun and unique light plus Rosendal, Norway, which is the world’s fourth largest fjord.

In addition to new itineraries MSC Magnifica will be back with all the ‘Best of British’ enhancements that were initially showcased on MSC Magnifica in 2018, including pie & mash, back bacon and sausages available in the buffet and Kettles in cabins with Yorkshire Tea, which is back by popular demand, the company said.

Hanseatic Inspiration to be named on 11 October in Hamburg

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 10 September 2019 10 September 2019

Hanseatic Inspiration, which is the second of the three new expedition ships from Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, will be named on Friday 11 October 2019 at ceremony at Uberseebrucke in the Port of Hamburg, the company said in a statement.

The three ships, reach built by Fincantieri’s Vard unit in Norway, have a capacity for 230 passengers and they are financed by TUI AG, which is the parent of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.

“The investment highlights the strategy of the global TUI Group, which is focused on its cruise business. The Group is investing in its cruise portfolio and is expanding, modernising and rejuvenating the fleet. Additional new ships will be added to the overall fleet in the coming years,” Hapag-Lloyd Cruises said.

MARINE INTERIORS to open in Hamburg this week

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 09 September 2019 09 September 2019

Culinary specialities, exciting shows and soothing wellness oases: To give their passengers be perfect holiday experience, cruise operators are constantly coming up with new concepts and attractions on board. But there is another aspect that is at least as important for the perfect cruise adventure: interior design. Finding an interior style for the cabins, restaurants, lounges and other spaces that appeals to a wide audience while meeting the stringent safety requirements on board is nothing less than an art.

Experienced suppliers who know how to combine one with the other will showcase their products and services at the MARINE INTERIORS Cruise & Ferry Global Expo, organized by SMM, next week. The new trade fair will take place in parallel with the Seatrade Europe Cruise and River Cruise Convention at the Hamburg Messe und Congress (HMC) exhibition complex from 11 to 13 September 2019.

More than 100 companies to participate

From exquisite bathroom fixtures to high-powered audio systems, through to ergonomic kitchen equipment, the exhibitors at the MARINE INTERIORS Cruise & Ferry Global Expo will reflect the entire value chain of cruise ship interior design. More than 100 companies from 21 countries are expected to participate.

"MARINE INTERIORS adds a new trade fair to our portfolio that caters specifically to the growing cruise ship interior design segment. I'm looking forward to a large number of visitors, fascinating presentations, and the feedback from the supply industry," comments Claus Ulrich Selbach, Business Unit Director – Maritime and Technology Fairs & Exhibitions at Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH.

High-profile programme

The MARINE INTERIORS will be accompanied by a multifaceted conference programme: In three discussion panels, top-ranking architects, designers and decision-makers will highlight how safety requirements can be incorporated into the interior design of the on-board world in an aesthetically pleasing manner while reflecting the owner's brand identity. This will be exemplified by panellists like Kai Bunge, Managing Director of Partner Ship Design, who will elaborate on the new LNG-powered cruise ship Costa Smeralda which sets a new standard in terms of sustainability, as well.

In the conference "How design helps to convey, define or create brand identity”, David McCarthy, Marine Projects & Communications Director at the London-based design company AD Associates, and Tal Danai, CEO of Artlink, will report about their work. ArtLink recently curated over 1,600 pieces of artwork for ‘Seabourn Ovation’ and her sister ship ‘Seabourn Encore’. Other panelists include Nahal Kadora, assistant project head at Tillberg Design; Stefan Seidenfaden, Junior Partner from Partner Ship Design; and Trevor Young, Vice President, Newbuilding & Refurbishment at MSC.

The session ‘How to design to comply’ will discuss the challenges of producing aesthetically pleasing designs alongside regulatory limitations. Ioanna Kyriaku, Chief Architect for newbuilds at MSC, Andrea Brossa, Achitect at Jorio Design, Carl-Gustaf Rotkirch, CEO of Helsinki Shipyard Oy, and the Operations Manager – Passenger Ship Support at Lloyd's Register, Joep Bollerman, will also contribute their expertise.

The Chinese Dialogue Forum is another highlight of the conference programme. It will focus on cooperation between Europe and China in cruise ship and RoPax ferry building. Guests will include Dr. Volkmar Wasmansdorff from Movena Group, and Zhang Leshang from the China Class Society.

[The newest issue of CruiseBusiness.com Magazine will be available in the Media Lounge]

Tallink Grupp sets up Singapore subsidiary, “has plans for activities in Asia”

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 06 September 2019 06 September 2019

Tallink Grupp AS, the listed Estonian ferry company, has set up a subsidiary in Singapore to promote existing business of the company in Asia, but the company also has plans to have foothold in the region, it said in a statement.

“We have plans for activities in Asia, which we cannot unfortunately talk about more today, but which we will shed more light on in the future as the plans progress, Paavo Nõgene, CEO of Tallink Grupp said in the statement.

Tallink Asia Pte Ltd is the group’s first subsidiary in Asia. “The purpose of founding a subsidiary in Singapore is to simplify the development and expansion of the group’s activities in Asia. Tallink Asia Pte Ltd will be headed by Tallink Grupp’s Director of Development Operations, Mr Taavi Tiivel,” Tallink said.

"We have always been open about the fact that Tallink Grupp is continuously looking for opportunities to develop our activities and expand into new markets,“ Paavo Nõgene, CEO of Tallink Grupp said.

Tallink has focused heavily on developing services for Asian passengers in recent years and on promoting the company’s products and services in various Asian countries.

For example, Tallink participates annually in a number of large Asian tourism fairs, cooperates with several Asian tourism agencies, Tallink employs hosts onboard its vessels who speak different Asian languages, and the company has rolled out popular Asian payment Solutions AliPay and WeChat Pay onboard its vessels.

“Tallink has a lot to offer not only here in our Nordic home markets, but globally and there is a significant amount of interest out there in our products and services,“ Nõgene said.

“Our colleagues have done a great job for a long time already, promoting the products and services of Tallink and the wider Baltic Sea region in Asia, thus laying a good foundation to build on from now on” he pointed out.

DFDS buys two vessels from Moby Line for Newcastle –Amsterdam service

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 06 September 2019 06 September 2019

DFDS, the Copenhagen based listed ferry and logistics group, said it has entered into an agreement with the Italian ferry company Moby Line to acquire two combined freight and passenger ferries of about 36,000 gross tons each for its overnight service between Newcastle in the UK and IJmuiden outside Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

The ships, currently known as Moby Wonder and Moby Aki, are built in 2001 and 2005, respectively and they will replace two existing cruise ferries on the route that were built in the mid-1980s. Many people use the service as a mini cruise, with a day at the destination port before an overnight crossing back.

As part of the agreement, Moby Line will in turn acquire the two passenger ferries currently operating on Amsterdam-Newcastle, King Seaways and Princess Seaways, built in 1987 and 1986, respectively.

“The new ferries are ideally suited for our Amsterdam-Newcastle route. Their modern onboard facilities and higher car-deck capacity will allow us to grow revenue by fulfilling the growing demand from high-yield car passengers. To freight customers, we will be able to offer increased capacity that can remain constant throughout the year”, said Peder Gellert Pedersen, EVP and Head of DFDS’ Ferry Division, in a statement.

The agreement is expected to be completed in the second half of October 2019. DFDS will subsequently bareboat-charter King Seaways and Princess Seaways from Moby until January and February 2020, respectively.

The acquired ferries from Moby will be refurbished to suit the Amsterdam-Newcastle route. This includes commercial and technical investments on board as well as port investments. The refurbished ferries are expected to be deployed on Amsterdam-Newcastle during the first quarter of 2020.

The freight capacity will increase around 40% on a full-year basis. The car capacity will increase around 5% on a full-year basis supported by a cabin configuration that is well suited to the requirements of holiday-makers travelling by car.

In 2018, Amsterdam-Newcastle carried more than 600,000 passengers, 122,000 passenger vehicles and 350,000 lane metres of freight. The capacity increase will provide an opportunity to accommodate further growth in trade and travel, including a large tourism flow, between UK and Continental Europe.