Norwegian Breakway to sail from New Orleans in winter 2018-19 

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 04 October 2017 04 October 2017

Norwegian Cruise Line, the contemporary market unit of Norwegian Cruise Line Holding, Ltd, said it would base the 4,000 passenger capacity Norwegian Breakaway in New Orleans for the winter of 2018-19.

Ports of call of the cruises from there will include Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; Roatán, Bay Islands, Honduras; and the beautiful island destination of Harvest Caye, Belize.

“Harvest Caye offers a diverse, enriching experience highlighting the natural beauty and culture of Belize along with lush native landscaping, a swim up pool bar, luxury beach villas, private pool cabanas, thrilling aerial activities and water sports. The destination also features the first ever pier in Belize that allows guests to walk straight off the ship and into paradise,” the company said in a statement.

Norwegian Gem will replace Norwegian Breakaway in New York City in the winter 2018-19 season.

“Norwegian Breakaway will be the largest and newest ship from Norwegian to sail from New Orleans, and we are thrilled to bring our signature Breakaway-class ship to this important homeport,” said Andy Stuart, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line.

 

Wasaline woos conference trade by first fast Internet on Baltic

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 02 October 2017 02 October 2017

Wasaline, the Finnish-Swedish ferry company, said it is the first shipping one in the Baltic Sea to provide its passengers with fast and reliable Internet access. “For the first time, passengers can now surf the web, use social media and streaming services the same way they do at home,” the company said in a statement, adding that the new service would also target shipboard conference business

Wasaline has for a long time worked on ways to develop a better Internet connection to its ship, the Wasa Express, which operates between Vaasa in Finland and Umea in Sweden. Together with Aecorlink's innovative broadband technology, the shipping company can now launch a unique solution that will allow broadband access at the same speed ashore. This has not been possible onboard before.

“Companies that hold conferences onboard now have a unique opportunity to communicate with the outside world, for example through Skype or other streaming services, including calls via the Internet, which are now possible. The availability of fast broadband access will bring significant added value to the journey and supports important transport links between Vaasa and Umeå. It gives an opportunity to work on board with the same connection speed as at the office,” wasaline said.

“Today, fast Internet access is a no-brainer for our passengers. However, in the past it has not been possible to provide a fast broadband connection onboard, for example so that one could enjoy streaming services. It's great that the shipping company, together with Aecorlink, can launch this unique solution with advanced microwave technology. This is an important day to us and the whole region as Wasaline makes history by being the first shipping company in the Baltic Sea to test and introduce this. Wasaline is achieving to be in the frontline to develop innovated technology and this is a important part of the future”

 

 

Mein Schiff floated out in Turku

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 29 September 2017 29 September 2017

Mein Schiff 1, the next generation of cruise ships for ship owner TUI Cruises in Germany, has been floated out at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland.

“New Mein Schiff 1 is an evolution of the successful Mein Schiff 6. She will be 20 meters longer (315 m) than her predecessor, which allowed for substantial redesign and further improvement of the interior spaces. The delivery will be in spring 2018,” Meyer Turku said.

The current Mein Schiff 1 of TUI Cruises will be transferred to the UK market next year as TUI Explorer. It will be operated by the TUI group, whereas TUI Cruises in Germany is a joint venture between TUI group and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCCL)

"With the new Mein Schiff 1, TUI cruises creates a whole new ship generation in its fleet. She is based on our existing newbuilds, which we have again developed and supplemented with new attractions. We can now see these improvements come to life and cannot wait to show them to our passengers,” CEO of TUI Cruises, Wybcke Meier comments.

Norwegian splits EMEA function into two markets

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 29 September 2017 29 September 2017

Norwegian Cruise Line, the contemporary market unit in the Norwegian Cruise Line Holding, Ltd group, said it is splitting its Europe Middle East Africa (EMEA) business into two markets.

The company said the move is the result of rapid growth in the UK in particular, which is second only to the US for Norwegian as source market.

The EMEA region is being restructured into two distinctive markets: Continental Europe (CE) and Scandinavia; and UK, Ireland (UK&I) and Middle East and Africa (MEA). These markets will be responsible for their own sales and marketing activities and each will report directly to Harry Sommer, Executive Vice President, International Business Development Norwegian Cruise Line.

Nick Wilkinson will become Vice President and Managing Director UK&I and MEA heading up the key markets of the UK and Ireland as well as the growing and developing markets of Israel, South Africa and the Middle East. Christian Boell will continue as Vice President and Managing Director Europe including all markets within Continental Europe and Scandinavia, the company said in a statement.