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American Cruise Lines’ second modern riverboat nears completion

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

American Cruise Lines announced that at 5:00 am on June 7, that its second new modern riverboat, American Harmony, moved under its own power to the shipyard’s outfitting pier for final touches. American Harmony was successfully launched at Chesapeake Shipbuilding this past November, 2018, and is well ahead of schedule for its August 17, 2019 inaugural cruise on the Mississippi River.

American Harmony is the second of five new ships in American’s revolutionary new modern riverboat series. The first ship, American Song, was the first modern riverboat in U.S. history and went into service last fall. American Harmony was launched exactly one year to the day of its sister ship American Song. Construction on American Jazz, the third ship in the modern riverboat series, is well underway and will be launched in about three months at Chesapeake Shipbuilding.

American Harmony will have the same sophisticated modern design and state-of-the-art technical features as the series flagship, American Song, including the same unique opening bow and retractable gangway. American Harmony has 10 more deluxe suites on its upper deck and features huge all-outward facing staterooms, all with private furnished balconies. Like American Song, American Harmony also has a gorgeous multi-story glass atrium in the center of the ship.

Chesapeake Shipbuilding has a long history of designing and building innovative new ships for American Cruise Lines. In addition to American Harmony, American Cruise Lines’ 3rd modern riverboat, American Jazz, is coming in 2020, as well as more new ships in 2021 and 2022.

CMV to add two ships to UK, one to Germany in two years – report

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 07 June 2019 07 June 2019

Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV), the rapidly expanding UK based destinational cruise line, plans to introduce two ships to the UK market and one in Germany in the next two years, Travel Weekly reports on its website.

The first ship in the UK should arrive in May next year and be of the same size as the Columbus, which is of 63,785 gross tons and which accommodates 1,250 passengers. An announcement about the vessel's identity should be made before the end of this month.

Ship number two is due to enter the German market, also next year, while the second ship to the UK is planned to commence operations in 2021, CEO and Chairman Christian Verhounig said, according to Travel Weekly.

CMV’s 2019 cruise programme has been completely sold out and 40% of its inventory for next year has also been sold at this point, the report said.

The company added ship number six in its fleet earlier this spring, when it introduced the 1993 built Vasco da Gama, formerly Pacific Eden on P&O Cruises Australia, on the Australian and German markets.

CMV operates its ships on time charter from a Greek principal, which is also in charge of technical management and crewing of the vessels. All ships in the CMV fleet are second hand ones and given the rapid pace of planned expansion of its fleet, these ships too will be second hand acquisitions.

Cuba update: Royal Caribbean to offer new ports, refunds for future Empress and Majesty sailings

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 05 June 2019 05 June 2019

Effective immediately, the U.S. government has implemented new regulations that prohibits travel from the U.S. to Cuba by cruise ship. This change requires us to immediately replace all Cuban ports. "For all 2019 sailings on both Majesty of the Seas and Empress of the Seas, we have secured alternative ports and we are in the process of communicating the new itineraries to our guests and travel partners. For these guests, they will have the option of remaining on their sailing with the new itinerary and receiving a 50% refund or they may cancel their cruise and receive a full refund," Royal Caribbean said in a statement.

"For 2020 sailings on both Majesty and Empress of the Seas, we are working to secure alternative itineraries and expect to be able to communicate to our guests and travel partners within the next week.

We are sorry for this unexpected and sudden change to our guests’ upcoming vacations and appreciate their understanding."

Quark Expeditions names its newbuild Ultramarine

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 05 June 2019 05 June 2019

Quark Expeditions, the leader in polar adventures operating exclusively in the Arctic and Antarctica, yesterday announced the name of their new polar expedition ship scheduled to set sail late in 2020. The technologically-advanced vessel will be named Ultramarine.

"The highly-anticipated new ship takes its name from the precious color of the same name: ultramarine, which means “beyond the sea.” These words, of course, speak to the very ethos of Quark Expeditions, which for the last three decades has been committed to helping people go beyond the predictable in polar exploration, to experience life-changing polar moments they never thought possible," the company said in a statement.

“We picked the name Ultramarine because it links us directly to the sea, which of course is integral to our identity,” said Andrew White, President of Quark Expeditions. “But the word ‘ultra,’ especially by its modern-day definition, ‘beyond what is ordinary,’ reflects our signature approach to polar exploration. We create expedition experiences that go beyond what others in the industry can offer – especially in terms of off-ship experiences. Ultramarine has been designed in a way that will continue to allow us to go beyond and take people to places no one else can.”

In a league of its own, Ultramarine will combine leading-edge technology and advanced safety systems that will allow passengers to get off the ship and deeper into the polar wilderness faster than ever before. The features of this advanced polar vessel will allow Quark Expeditions to continue to redefine what’s possible in the Polar Regions:

– Two twin-engine helicopters and two helidecks: The helicopters on Ultramarine will be the safest and most capable helicopters in the Polar Regions. These robust twin-engine helicopters – which will have exceptional viewing spaces and exceed all industry standards for safety – will allow passengers to experience epic aerial perspectives of the Polar Regions and landings only accessible by air.
– The industry’s largest selection of adventure options: Ultramarine will be the only ship in the polar waters to offer every off-ship adventure in Quark Expeditions’ robust adventure activity portfolio – including sea kayaking, paddling, hiking, mountaineering, cross-country skiing, stand up paddle boarding and now, for the first time ever, helicopter flight-seeing, heli-hiking and heli-skiing.
– Twenty quick-deploy Zodiacs: Ultramarine will house 20 Zodiacs, located close to the waterline, which can be quickly deployed from both sides of the vessel at four embarkation points that will be easily accessible from two passenger ready rooms, allowing guests to get off the ship in less than 20 minutes – which is half the industry average – to enjoy more spontaneous off-ship adventures than previously possible.
– Best-in-class 70-day operational range: Optimized fuel, water, provisioning, and waste-handling systems will enable a best-in-class, 70-day operational range that will allow Ultramarine to offer up a completely new set of polar experiences from exploring innovative itineraries to new, seldom-seen landing sites.
– Advanced sustainability features: In keeping with Quark Expeditions’ recently unveiled Polar Promise sustainability framework, Ultramarine will include technical features that will minimize the ship’s environmental footprint to an extent previously unseen for a vessel of this size. It will also include environmentally-friendly innovations such as dynamic positioning, which will eliminate the need to drop anchor in sensitive seabed areas.

“Ultramarine will be an unrivaled operational base for polar adventures,” said White. “This new vessel – in the hands of the most experienced team in the expedition industry – will allow our guests to go further into the Polar Regions than ever before while maintaining the same respect for nature that has always been paramount to us. Ultramarine will allow our guests to spend their days embracing the off-ship adventures that have made Quark Expeditions so popular. And once back on the ship after a day of polar exploration, they will be able to rest, relax and rejuvenate in a high-end, modern contemporary space.”

The inaugural season for Ultramarine is expected to go on sale this summer. The first voyages will set sail in the Antarctic 2020.21 season.

Commentary – Cuba cruise ban to affect premium pricing, smaller ships and Global Ports Holding

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 05 June 2019 05 June 2019

Norwegian Sky docked in Havana cruise terminal (Photo credit: Teijo Niemela)

A decision of the U.S. to ban cruises from the country to Cuba will affect the cruise industry at least in three aspects.

Firstly, itineraries that have included calls at Cuban ports have commanded a premium over ones that do not. Revised itineraries of the ships involved should lose this premium.

Many Cuban ports have restrictions to the size of cruise ships they can accept alongside. This has provided attractive utilisation for smaller and older tonnage. The cruise ban may accelerate disposals of older vessels from major fleets, given high order books.

The ban should also negatively impact Global Ports Holding, the Istanbul-based port operator that in May 2018 signed a 15-year agreement to operate cruise facilities in Havana. The plan was to increase the number of cruise ship berths to six in 2024 from the present two.